Early Teen Hero: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:Laputa Castle in the Sky - Early Teen Hero.png|thumb|400px|link=Laputa: Castle in the Sky|[[Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You|Pazu is about to shoot you]].]]
{{quote|You're not as immature as a child, but you haven't lost the glow of youth. I think that makes [14] the perfect age.
|Astrid Zexis|''[[Atelier Meruru]]''}}
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What if you want to appeal to children, or anyone who hasn't come of age? Enter the '''Early Teen Hero''', where the hero is a young teenager or about to become one.
This is a subtrope of [[Kid Hero]]. The difference between the tropes is the age range. Whereas Kid Hero refers to ''any'' character who hasn't come of age, the difference here is that this trope ''only applies to twelve to fifteen-year-olds''. Fourteen appears to be a popular compromise. Make note of the "twelve"; even though this age does not place a hero in the "teenager" range, it still achieves the same goal of making them relatable to a wide range of audiences, even if it limits mature themes.▼
This age range is specific, and immensely helps any storyteller. The character is young enough to be relatable to every child, but not so young that the writer cannot make the work serious. Having a child too young to be a hero can turn off older teens from viewing the work, but having a teen too old can turn off younger children from a work. Thus, this trope serves as a compromise between the two age ranges. The close age gap to children themselves means they can insert themselves into the character far easier than they can insert themselves into an adult, yet the serious tones which is often presented allows grown-ups to be invested in a work.
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When the trope is used, you're almost guaranteed a [[Hero Protagonist]]. If it is used, chances of [[Cerebus Syndrome]] are high. See also the parent trope [[Kid Hero]].
▲This is a subtrope of [[Kid Hero]]. The difference between the tropes is the age range. Whereas Kid Hero refers to ''any'' character who hasn't come of age, the difference here is that this trope ''only applies to twelve to fifteen-year-olds''. Fourteen appears to be a popular compromise. Make note of the "twelve"; even though this age does not place a hero in the "teenager" range, it still achieves the same goal of making them relatable to a wide range of audiences, even if it limits mature themes.
{{noreallife|real life does not have heroes.}}▼
▲{{noreallife|real life does not have this sort of heroes.}}
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* [[Studio Ghibli]] productions:
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** The thirteen year old Arrietty in ''[[The Borrower Arrietty]]'', turning fourteen at the end of the film.
** In ''[[When Marnie Was There (film)|When Marnie Was There]]'', the twelve year old Anna is the hero.
** Sheeta and Pazu from ''[[Laputa: Castle in the Sky]]'' are around this age range, although their ages are never
** Shizuku Tsukishima in ''[[Whisper of the Heart]]'', attending junior high school. She is around the age of fourteen.
** In ''[[Spirited Away]]'', the protagonist Chihiro Ogino is around ten years old, being a couple years behind the range. On the other hand, the male lead Haku fits this age, appearing around twelve in age and being capable of using advanced magic.
* The Eva pilots in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' are all fourteen. This is a [[Justified Trope]],
* In ''[[Violet Evergarden (anime)|Violet Evergarden]]'', Violet estimates that her age is around fourteen, although the series makes no effort to appeal to younger audiences. Violet's age allows the series to get dark quickly in episode nine.
* Mary Smith in ''[[Mary and the Witch's Flower]]'' is around this age gap, mature enough to go on adventures in the nearby [[Wizarding School]], but not mature enough to excel at it or fit in.
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* Garrod Ran of ''[[After War Gundam X]]'' is 15, but looks pretty young for his age. Presumably apocalypse induced childhood malnutrition is at fault.
* The titular [[Sailor Moon]] is in junior-high school for most of the story ([[Sailor Moon|manga, '90s anime]], and ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Crystal|Crystal]]''), making her 13-14 years old by North American reckoning.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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* Sophie Foster in the ''[[Keeper of the Lost Cities]]'' franchise starts out being twelve, and remain in the range as the series progresses. Book number nine implies that she may have grown out of it, stating that she no longer keeps track of her age and that she may be sixteen.
* The heroes of [[Diane Duane]]'s ''[[Young Wizards]]'' series range between ten and fourteen, depending on the character and the book.
* In ''[[Wintersmith]]'', Tiffany Aching is thirteen years old. Even Death remarks on the age.
{{quote|Death: {{small-caps|Good morning, Tiffany Aching, aged thirteen.}}}}
▲== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
* [[Little Red Riding Hood]] is generally depicted as a girl somewhere between ten and thirteen.
== [[Radio]] ==
* The classic radio show ''[[Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy]]'' revolved around the globe-trotting adventures of the titular Jack who, at the beginning of the series at least, was just starting at Hudson High School. Jack eventually aged up out of both this trope and high school over the ''seventeen years'' it was on the air.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* The tabletop RPG ''[https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/83837/Meddling-Kids Meddling Kids]'', which was created to introduce young first-time roleplayers to gaming by playing a group of kids and their mascot/pet investigating mysteries a la ''[[Scooby-Doo (animation)|Scooby-Doo]]'', is ''designed'' to focus on Early Teen Heroes.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* The playable character in ''[[Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]'' is described to look around fifteen (despite the female being completely flat), scraping the upper limit of the age bracket.
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]''{{'}}s age was given as 15 (five times the usual lifespan of an average non-anthropomorphic hedgehog) [https://web.archive.org/web/20190526143733/http://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannel/character/sonic.html on Sega's official website] between 2015 and mid-2022 (when the age section was removed entirely). His personality of being arrogant, proud, somewhat impulsive and a show-off but ultimately good natured fits the human perception of this age.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The fourteen year old Luz in ''[[The Owl House]]''
* Anne, Sasha, and Marcy are all stated to be thirteen years old in ''[[Amphibia (TV series)|Amphibia]]''.
* In ''[[Gravity Falls]]'', we have the twelve year old Dipper and his twin sister Mabel.
* In ''[[High Guardian Spice]]'', the four main girls Rosemary, Sage, Parsley, and Thyme are all fourteen years old. Other characters, such as the [[Antagonist]]s Olive and Mandrake are sixteen and seventeen, respectively. This puts them at an age where they are similar to the main characters, but isn't relatable to young children.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Pages Original to All The Tropes]]
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[[Category:Heroes]]
[[Category:Stock Characters]]
[[Category:Kid Hero]]
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