Cheerful Child: Difference between revisions

[[File:Cropped_ChiyoCropped Chiyo.png|link=Azumanga Daioh (Manga)|rightframe|Awwwwwwww.]]

The [[Constantly Curious]] are usually [[Cheerful Child|'''Cheerful Children]]''', as is [[Curious Asas a Monkey]].

Compare the [[Kawaiiko]] and [[The Cutie]], which is about this appeal regardless of age, and the [[Adorably Precocious Child]], who may or may not be cheerful but is usually very cute.

Contrast the [[Creepy Child]], [[Deliberately Cute Child]], [[The Fake Cutie]], and [[Psychopathic Manchild]]. May overlap with [[Token Mini MoeLoli]].

{{examples|Examples:}}

* Chiyo Mihama from ''[[Azumanga Daioh (Manga)|Azumanga Daioh]]'' (in the picture above) just radiates with cheer and cuteness.

* Rihoko from ''[[Witchblade (Animeanime)|Witchblade]]'' could seriously challenge her for the poster child of this trope.

* Yotsuba from ''[[Yotsuba&! (Manga)|Yotsuba&!]]'', which is like Kiyohiko Azuma (who also created Azumanga Daioh) trying to out-cute himself.

* Most of the girls from ''[[Ichigo Mashimaro (Manga)|Ichigo Mashimaro]]''.

* Sasami from ''[[Tenchi Muyo (Anime)!|Tenchi Muyo]]''.

* Negi Springfield from ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima|Negima]]'' has some moments, when he's able/allowed/forced to be just a kid. The twins, Fuka and Fumika, play the role the rest of the time, [[Older Than They Look|despite being teenagers]].

* Asu from ''[[Binbou Shimai Monogatari (Manga)|Binbou Shimai Monogatari]]''.

* Ryo and Luna from ''[[Little House With an Orange Roof (Manga)|Little House With an Orange Roof]]''.

* Mizuki from ''[[Mokke (Manga)|Mokke]]'', when she's not being pestered by some spirits - and sometimes even when she ''is''.

* ''[[Mahoraba (Anime)|Mahoraba]]'' has two of these: [[Genki Girl|Asami Kurosaki]] and [[Split Personality|Nanako Aoba]].

* Ai from ''[[Aria (Manga)|Aria]]''.

** And even more so Aika, when she was little. [[Grumpy Bear|What happened to her]]?

* Kenpachi's little lieutenant Yachiru from ''[[Bleach (Manga)|Bleach]]''.

** A very disturbing example, as watching her [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl|apparent father figure]] get hurt makes her happy, as he must be "having fun."

* Tomohane from ''[[Inukami (Anime)|Inukami!]]''. Consistently cheerful and cute with [[Twin Tails]].

* Subverted with Rico from ''[[Gunslinger Girl (Manga)|Gunslinger Girl]]'' who is cheerful because she was a former [[Ill Girl]] confined to a hospital bed until given a cyborg body by the Social Welfare Agency. Who in return have made her a brainwashed killing machine. The contrast between her always perky personality and her occupation leads to several [[Creepy Child]] moments, like when she comes across a boy she'd met before (and fancied) in the aftermath of an assassination.

{{quote| '''Rico:''' ''(thinking)'' [What do I say to someone in a situation like this? I remember!]<br />

* Takeru is like this in ''[[Digimon Adventure (Anime)|Digimon Adventure]]'', but he subverted it in [[Digimon Adventure 02 (Anime)|02]]: he mostly acts happy because that is what people expect of him; his greatest trait is Hope, after all, and he's very likely aware of the ramifications of losing that aspect of himself. However, his parents' divorce and his last adventure (especially [[Dead Sidekick|Angemon's death]]) have left their mark on him. The latter of which may cause him to go violent if there is the threat of his friends getting hurt.

** Takeru does seem genuinely happy in some respects, but he's definitely not as well-adjusted as he looks. [http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i320/mpcp13/TakeruDarkAmusement.jpg Episode 02x19], anyone?

** The whole franchise in general seems to go out of its way to avert this trope: Hikari, easily Takeru's closest friend among the Chosen Children, appears carefree and sweet, but is a borderline psychic [[Ill Girl]] with a mild inferiority complex towards her older brother; Iori, Takeru's other close friend, is the [[Kid Samurai]] and moral compass of 02's [[Five -Man Band]] and a strong believer in justice who's ''incredibly'' serious for a nine year old and, quite bluntly, misses his dad, and he's easily the most wary of the [[Heel Face Turn|reformed]] Ken; [[The Atoner|Ken]] himself has the Crest of Kindness and was incredibly gentle and kind as a child, but one [[I Wished You Were Dead]] moment jump-started his [[Start of Darkness]]; originally, the only truly remarkable thing about Juri was her ubiquitous puppet, and it came as a great shock when they [[Break the Cutie|broke the cutie]] and {{spoiler|she attempted to ''strangle herself with it''}}; Tomoki is bullied at school, spoiled by his parents and his [[No Name Given|older brother]] is trying to show him that the bullies are a little closer to the real world; Ikuto's got his identity crisis; [[Spell My Name Withwith an "S"|Shiuchon]] is the only straight example in the franchise, and she's very much the minor character.

*** The ''entire'' cast of ''every'' ''[[Digimon (Franchise)|Digimon]]'' series seems to suffer from [[There Are No Psychologists]]. Which is all the more worrying when you consider that the entire stability and safety of two worlds is basically dependent upon the psyches of this bunch of less-than-well-adjusted eight-to-fifteen year olds.

**** Actually, Ai and Mako are ''six or five'' depending on what dub you're watching. And like all ''[[Digimon Tamers (Anime)|Digimon Tamers]]'' characters, they're a deconstruction of this trope. They're nice and sweet, but only as a result of their parents and Impmon abandoning them. Maturity in the Digimon universe comes at a price. Still, they play this trope in a healthier manner than most.

* Cooro from ''[[Plus Anima (Manga)|Plus +Anima]]'' is a good example of a male Cheerful Child. There are only 2 times in 10 books where he looks solemn.

* Hina Ichigo from ''[[Rozen Maiden (Anime)|Rozen Maiden]]''.

* Zatch/Gashu from ''[[Gash Bell]]''.

* A male example: Gon in ''[[Hunter X Hunter (Manga)|Hunter X Hunter]]''. {{spoiler|And, like many of the examples on this page, deeply, deeply, DEEPLY broken...}}

* Rimone from ''[[Simoun (Anime)|Simoun]]'' remains mostly cheerful, despite the burden of piloting a weapon of mass destruction.

* Freya from ''[[Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok (Manga)|Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok]]'', although her child form is not her true form, nor is her child personality her [[True Self]].

* Another male example: Momiji from ''[[Fruits Basket (Manga)|Fruits Basket]]''.

* Chi (a female kitten) and Youhei (a little boy) from ''[[Chi's Sweet Home (Manga)|Chi's Sweet Home]]''.

* Vivio from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S (Anime)StrikerS|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S]]''.

* Setsuko from ''[[Grave of the Fireflies (Anime)|Grave of the Fireflies]]''. Unfortunately, she stars in one of the [[Tear Jerker|most depressing pieces of media ever made]], so unlike most examples, we see her slowly deteriorate over the course of the story.

* Kyon's sister in ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya (Light Novel)|Haruhi Suzumiya]]''.

* [[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Sealand]] is the happiest (and most deluded) damned micronation EVER.

* Hitsugi in ''[[Hyakko (Manga)|Hyakko]]''. She has yet to interact with the main cast, but her happy elementary school antics usually make their way into the episodes.

* OK, Yuno of ''[[Hidamari Sketch (Manga)|Hidamari Sketch]]'' is overaged a bit (she's 15), but she completely fits the archetype.

** There's also Selim Bradley, although [[Darker and Edgier]] certainly applies to him in both the manga {{spoiler|in which he is actually the monstrously evil homunculus Pride}} and the anime {{spoiler|in which he's murdered by his adoptive father for accidentally revealing his [[Achilles' Heel]]}}.

* Shinji Ikari from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime)|Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. YES I said SHINJI IKARI. Before the activation test of Unit 01 and the "death" of his mother you see him as a constantly smiling, laughing, curious boy. [[Tear Jerker|Oh GOD]]. The same might be true for Asuka, but we only ever see her after Unit 02 {{spoiler|has sucked the brains out of her mother}}. Thank god for [[Fan Fiction]] (Especially [[Nobody Dies (Fanfic)|Nobody Dies]]).

* In ''[[Monster (Mangamanga)|Monster]]'', Tenma's optimism manages to turn Dieter into one of these. In fact Dieter's cheerfulness and optimism are so great, that Dieter later manages to save one of the children that Johan had been [[Corrupt the Cutie|corrupting.]] He also provides a grounding influence for Tenma and, later, Nina.

* [[Cardcaptor Sakura (Manga)|Sakura Kinomoto]], and almost every other female member of her cast.

* The titular [[Cute Mute|Shion]] from ''[[Shion no Ou (Manga)|Shion no Ou]]''.

* {{[[media|:30311.jpg| Rika}}]] from ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Visual Novel)|Higurashi no Naku Koro Nini]]''. {{spoiler|Subverted when we find out that [[Wise Beyond Their Years|she actually understands]] [[Groundhog Day Loop|what's going on]] better than anyone else and is [[The Fatalist|rather dissatisfied]] with her [[Fate Worse Than Death|current situation]], but [[Stepford Smiler|she pretends to be happy and optimistic for the sake of her friends]]. [[Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Visual Novel)ni/Tear Jerker|Until season two]].}}

* Yutaka from ''[[Lucky Star (Anime)|Lucky Star]]'' is also overaged, but she can easily pass off as one, especially considering [[Older Than They Look|her height]].

* White of ''[[Tekkon Kinkreet (Anime)|Tekkon Kinkreet]]'', as the [[Red Oni, Blue Oni|perfect foil]] to his older brother Black. It is even mentioned during the film that Black needs White's cheerful innocence to balance out the pair. That being said, {{spoiler|he does set someone on fire when they were threatening Black}}

* The titular character of ''[[Ponyo Onon the Cliff By The Sea (Anime)|Ponyo Onby the Cliff By The Sea]]'' is cheerful about lots of things, mainly ham.

* The robot Tachikomas of ''[[Ghost in Thethe Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Anime)|Ghost in The Shell Stand Alone Complex]]'' have the personalities and voices of cheerful children... and the bodies of [[Spider Tank|Spider Tanks]]s. They're the cutest war machines ever.

* Ogami Daigoro, the titular Cub in ''[[Lone Wolf and Cub (Manga)|Lone Wolf and Cub]]'', does a really good job of keeping his spirits up in spite of the hardships (and [[Blood -Splattered Innocents|goriness]]) of his dad's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]].

* Maria, of ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (Visual Novel)|Umineko no Naku Koro Nini]]'', was evidently this way [[Used to Be Aa Sweet Kid|in her backstory]], in spite of having an [[Abusive Parents|Abusive Parent]], but after [[Despair Event Horizon|an event mentioned in the fourth arc]], became the [[Creepy Child]] we all know and are creeped out by.

* In ''[[Change 123 (Manga)|Change 123]]'', Motoko's [[Split Personality]] Mikiri is a [[Cheerful Child]] in a well-endowed body of a teenage girl, which makes her a perfect [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]].

* Yellow from ''[[Pokémon Special (Manga)|Pokémon Special]]''. A cheerful, happy-go-lucky [[Friend to All Living Things]] who likes to fish and draw (badly) in her spare time. She counts even though she's gotten older over the years due to the fact she never seems to mature as well as the other female Dex Holders.

* The Professor from ''[[Nichijou (Manga)|Nichijou]]'' is one of these, especially when she reads picture books or talks about sharks. She also likes to joyously modify Nano, the [[Robot Girl]] [[Child Prodigy|she invented]], for no other purpose than that it's fun.

* Shouta from ''[[Happy Yarou Wedding (Manga)|Happy Yarou Wedding]]'', especially when he's doing his Takoyaki Man routine.

* Kou, Fuu's younger brother in ''[[Tamayura (Anime)|Tamayura]]''.

* Chirin from ''[[Chirin no Suzu (Anime)|Chirin no Suzu]]''.. At least for the first fifteen minutes of the film.

* Rin Kokonoe from ''[[Kodomo Nono Jikan]]'' before her mother died.

* [[X-Men (Franchise)/Characters/Other Teams/Characters|Megan]] of the [[New Mutants|New X-Men]] during its run became this toward the end; the art style made her look younger and she fit the personality to a T. Leading the other students to believe she was the youngest of the group ([[Older Than They Look|she wasn't the youngest]]).

* In a flashback in the ''[[The Sandman (Comic Book)|The Sandman]]'', Delirium was shown in her previous form as Delight, who was normal-looking and very much a [[Cheerful Child]].

* Again, Roll in the ''[[Mega Man (Comic Bookcomics)|Mega Man]]'' comics from [[Archie Comics]].

* Maggie Banning in ''[[Hook (Film)|Hook]]'' is an unusual example, as she ''is'' in peril for much of the film as a prisoner of Captain Hook. It's her innocent, positive outlook on life that allows her to see through his claim that her parents don't love her, and she lashes out at him for trying to manipulate both her and Jack. She has an idea about what's wrong with the villain, too: "You need a mommy very badly!"

* Boo from ''[[Monsters Inc. (Animation)|Monsters, Inc.]]''

* Young Franny from ''[[Meet the Robinsons (Disney)|Meet the Robinsons]]''

* Brianna, the girl who hires the ''[[Mystery Team (Film)|Mystery Team]]'', is rather cheerful for a girl whose parents just died.

* Jack-Jack the baby from ''[[The Incredibles (Animation)|The Incredibles]]''.

* Tommen Baratheon from a ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire (Literature)|A Song of Ice and Fire]]''.

* Two year old Lani Nita serves this function in the ''[[Breaking the Wall (Literature)|Breaking the Wall]]'' trilogy.

* Kalid in ''[[Someone ElsesElse's War (Literature)|Someone Elses War]]''.

* Despite the combat-oriented nature of the series, a couple of ''[[Touhou (Video Game)|Touhou]]'' characters fit this trope. Mostly these are fairly weak characters like Chen or the Aki sisters, but then there's [[Bonus Boss]] [[Physical God|Suwako]]...

** And the [[Final Boss]] [[Cute Bruiser|oni]] [[Bottle Fairy|Suika ]] [[Sizeshifter|Ibuki]]...

* [[Kawaiiko|Cream the Rabbit]] from the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (Franchise)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series. She's a '''''very''''' cheerful, kind-hearted, and optimistic 6 year old rabbit girl who enjoys playing outside, gathering flowers, and playing with her cute sidekick, Cheese the Chao. Also, both Tails and Charmy Bee fits into this trope as well, although they are both a [[Gadgeteer Genius|nerd]] and [[Keet]] as well, respectively.

* [[The Legend of Zelda (Franchise)|Link's]] little sister Aryll, arguably also Malon and Romani.

* Apparently, [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|Brick]] from ''[[Borderlands (Video Game)|Borderlands]]'' was absolutely adorable as a little child, grinning happily as he cuddled a puppy in his massively oversized hands in the treehouse with him and his future mercenary friends. Then we get into the game, where he blows things apart with rockets, shotguns, and a pipe, and goes into [[The Berserker|furious rages]] where he makes people explode by punching them and screaming blood. Not for blood. Just...screaming 'blood.' Repeatedly.

* Again, ''[[Mega Man (Videovideo Gamegame)|Mega Man]]'': Roll, Roll, Roll (at age 10)

* [[Bomberman (Video Game)|Cheerful White Bomber]].

* [[Pac-Man (Video Game)|Pac-Man]] becomes one in ''[[Pac Man Party]]''.

* In the sequel to ''[[Fate/stay Stay Night (Visual Novel)night|Fate Stay Night]]'', ''Fate/hollow ataraxia'', Kogil serves this role. Of course... he's the younger version of Gilgamesh, who as we know is more than a little messed up. We'd wonder what happened, except the prequel tells us.

* Ushio from ''[[Clannad (Visualvisual Novelnovel)|Clannad]]''.

* Pearl from ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney]]''.

*** Although [[Beneath the Mask|she may not be so cheerful herself beneath that radiant smile...]]

* Hisui, from [[Tsukihime (Visual Novel)|Tsukihime]], was quite cheerful as child, until Shiki left; at which point she become [[Emotionless Girl|not so cheerful anymore]].

* Coco of ''[[Ever 17 (Visual Novel)|Ever 17]]'' is technically a little old for this trope (she if 14 years old), but looks like, acts like and is mistaken for an elementary student. Occasionally she has little streaks of not-quite-despair {{spoiler|which makes sense when you realize she's seeing the future/talking to people in the future, where she doesn't seem to exist anymore.}} But she cheers up quickly enough anyway and plays strange games like staring contests with dogs or pretending to be a chicken.

* In ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court (Webcomic)|Gunnerkrigg Court]]'', a [[Flash Back]] reveals that Antimony used to be quite cheerful. Surprisingly so, in light of the fact that in the present day, she's a slowly-[[Defrosting Ice Queen]] [[Emotionless Girl]]. Apparently, the intervening years were not kind to her.

* Schism from ''[http://discordiacomic.com Discordia]'' is a [[Cheerful Child]]... with the powers of a God.

* Mistake from ''[[Dandy and Company (Webcomic)|Dandy and Company]]''.

* [[Digger (Webcomic)|I ate a sock!]]

* ''[[Bittersweet Candy Bowl (Webcomic)|Bittersweet Candy Bowl]]'', Molly appears to be a prime example of this trope, despite having a very upsetting past.

* Fennoswede from ''[[Scandinavia and The World (Webcomic)|Scandinavia and The World]]''

* Mimi from ''[[Fiyora Nya (Webcomic)|Fiyora Nya]]''.

* Donny of ''[[Ears for Elves (Webcomic)|Ears for Elves]]'' is this and a [[Tagalong Kid]], much to Tanna's despair since she has to look after him. He also always wants to play, and ''will'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20150121074306/http://www.earsforelves.com/archives/520 hold you to your word] if you say "later".

* ''[[Erikas New Perfume]]'''s titular character is this, when she isn't insanely embarrassed. Also from what little we see of Sarah before she [[Plot -Relevant Age -Up|grows up]] she seemed to fit this as well.

* Red from ''[[Pokémon Red and Blue (Video Game)|Pokémon Red and Blue]]'' is portrayed like this in ''[[There Will Be Brawl]]'', showing him to truly care about the Pokémon and is one of the few truly Good characters in a [[Grey and Grey Morality]] setting, {{spoiler|making his death all the more poignant, especially since it was indirectly the protagonist's fault}}.

** [[Earthbound (Video Game)EarthBound|Ness]] and [[Mother 3 (Video Game)|Lucas]] had made a cameo in one episode playing and looking to fill this trope too. {{spoiler|They turn out to be the serial killers who killed and stuffed all the victims in the series.}}

* Molly Cunningham from ''[[Tale Spin (Animation)|Tale Spin]]''.

* Jazmine from ''[[The Boondocks (Comic Strip)|The Boondocks]]''

* Mindy from ''[[Animaniacs (Animation)|Animaniacs]]''.

* Orel Puppington, until ''[[Moral Orel (Animation)|Moral Orel]]'''s second season finale.

* Jake from ''[[Taz Mania (Animation)|Taz -Mania]]''.

* Butters from ''[[South Park (Animation)|South Park]]''.

* Bubbles from ''[[The Powerpuff Girls (Animation)|The Powerpuff Girls]]''

* Ding-A-Ling Wolf from the [[Hokey Wolf (Animation)|Hokey Wolf]] segment of ''[[The Huckleberry Hound Show (Animation)|The Huckleberry Hound Show]]''.

* Mac from ''[[FostersFoster's Home for Imaginary Friends (Animation)|Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends]]''

* Loopy from ''[[Ka Blam (Animation)|Ka BlamKaBlam!]]!''

* Sneezer from ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures (Animation)|Tiny Toon Adventures]]''.

* In ''[[Phineas and Ferb (Animation)|Phineas and Ferb]]'', the number of times Phineas is sad or angry can probably be counted on one, maybe two hands.

** [[Beware the Nice Ones|But he can be scary when he's angry.]] "Get on the trike!"

* Mimi and Scooter Chan in ''[[The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan (Animation)|The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan]]''.

* Keef from ''[[Invader Zim (Animation)|Invader Zim]]'' takes this to somewhat creepy levels.

* Eugene on ''[[Hey Arnold (Animation)|Hey Arnold!]]'' despite his [[Born Unlucky|ridiculous level of bad luck]]. [[The Everyman|Arnold]] has shades of this himself, though more in the sense of being calm and optimistic than peppy and cheerful.

* The titular star of ''[[Pearlie (Animation)|Pearlie]]''.

* Panini from ''[[Chowder (Animation)|Chowder]]''.

* Lemony from ''[[Yakkity Yak (Animation)|Yakkity Yak]]''.

* The titular character of ''[[Jimmy Two -Shoes (Animation)|Jimmy Two Shoes]]''.

* Gene from ''[[Bob's Burgers (Animation)|Bob's Burgers]]''.

* T.J. Detweiler from ''[[Recess (Animation)|Recess]]''.

* Finn from ''[[Adventure Time (Animation)|Adventure Time]]''.

* In ''[[Thundercats 2011 (Western Animation)|Thundercats 2011]]''

** In "Song of the Petalars" Emrick the Petalar, a [[Foil]] and surrogate sibling for [[The Hero|Lion-O]], is also a young [[The Pollyanna|Pollyanna]], quite convinced that, despite being trapped in the [[The Lost Woods|Briar Woods]] for generations, Lion-O and his Thundercats will help them find a way back home.

* Numbuh Three from ''[[Codename Kids Next Door (Animation)|Codename: Kids Next Door]]''.

[[Category:CheerfulAlliterative ChildTrope Titles]]

[[Category:TropeAll the Tropes Superhero Team]]