Just a Kid: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Prince Zuko:''' I've spent years preparing for this encounter... training, meditating... you're just a child!
'''Aang:''' Well, you're just a teenager.
|''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''}}
Common theme running through initial seasons of shows featuring a [[Kid Hero]]. The young hero meets a series of [[Not Now Kid|dismissive]] characters who assume ineptness because (wait for it) -- "You're
Requires a show built around the concept of a hero who is stronger or more competent than they appear.
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Not to be confused with ''Just a Kid'', the Australian name for ''[[Caitlin's Way]]''.
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* Nue of ''[[Air Gear]]'' is the Thunder King making him one of the top riders of the series and is also one of the youngest of the Kings.
* The Girl part of ''[[Gunslinger Girl]]'' means that this is the usual reaction to them, even from people who have heard of their existence. The gunslinger part means that said people die soon after making this mistake.
* Lampshaded by almost all the villains Gohan fights in one-on-one battle in ''[[Dragonball Z]]''. Goku also suffered from this in the ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' series and in ''GT'', which annoyed him even more, as he was reaching his sixties and was one of the strongest beings in the universe.
** Subverted with gleeful enthusiasm in [[Dragonball Z Abridged]] whenever they can get some footage to support it.
{{quote|'''Gohan:''' I'm not going to back down. I might be younger than you, smaller than you, weaker than you, and much less experienced, [[Brick Joke|but I learned more about peach farming than you...
'''Recoome:''' [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner|Recoome agrees.]] }}
* Prevalent in [[Nasuverse]] works. Then again, the one saying it is usually [[Our Vampires Are Different|far]] [[All Myths Are True|beyond]] mere humans.
** ''[[Tsukihime]]'': Nero to Shiki, who proceeds to destroy over a hundred of his beasts.
** ''[[Fate/stay night]]'': Gilgamesh to Shirou, who by then has the perfect counter-ability (Avalon or [[Field of Blades|Unlimited Blade Works]], [[Alternate Continuity|depending]])
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh lecture Ed and Al on how their youth means that they should give adults some more responsibility in the story. Of course, Ross is effectively shut down by Maes Hughes, who, [[Genre Savvy]] man that he is, knows who the main characters are.
** In the manga, though, Ed takes it quite well (despite [[Hot-Blooded|his temper]]).
* ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]'': Ryoma's rivals often comment derisively on him being just 12-to-13 years old and in his first year of junior high. And they end up losing to him soon.
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* ''[[Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs]]'': Fireball is often the butt of jokes because he's 18 years old and his teammates are all over the age of twenty. 24-years-old Colt is the one who treats him like a child the most.
* Saying that cute [[Genki Girl]] [[Ninja]] Misao of ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' is "Just a kid" is a good way to get yourself kicked in the head.
* Both Firo and Luck from ''[[Baccano!]]!'' have a history of dealing with this. Because he started in the upper ranks of [[The Mafia]] at an age no greater than [[Improbable Age|fifteen]] (and potentially as young as ''thirteen'') thanks to family connections, Luck spent much of his career [[Noble Demon|building up a front more ruthless than he actually is]] to counter it. Meanwhile Firo, while attaining his position at a somewhat later age and solely through his own skill, [[Older Than They Look|looks quite a bit younger]] [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|than he may be]] and tends to get written off as a brat because of it.
* The title character from ''[[King of Bandit Jing]]'' is also a victim of this; you'd think by now the bad guys would learn that the infamous "Bandit King" is no more than 16 years old.
** His age is somewhat debatable - in the manga, due to the art style, he looks ''younger'', at least in the [[Art Evolution|beginning]].
* Daisaku gets this a lot at the beginning of ''[[Giant Robo]]: The Day the Earth Stood Still'', especially from Tetsuoko, who is jealous of Daisaku's mature manner (for a kid) but also of the close bond he shares with Ginrei.
* ''[[Gundam Wing]]''. Noin is bitter at having been defeated by "just a kid". To which Wufei retorts she underestimated him because he was young.
** Of course, he 'just a woman'ed her.
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** Talking about the Lambda Driver, episode 12 shows what happens if you think of Takuma as a harmless kid. Hint: it involves a 50-meter-tall mecha and Tokyo.
* Many warriors have this reaction to Thorfinn in ''[[Vinland Saga]]''. They mostly end up dead as a result.
* During the elimination round of the Mahora Fesival [[Tournament Arc]] of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', most of the other fighters were treating [[The Hero|Negi]], [[The Rival|Kotaro]], and [[Old Master|Evangeline]] as silly little kids that seem to have lost their way. The jokes stopped the moment people more than twice their size started getting effortlessly knocked around.
** Evangeline's opponent in the first round tried to avoid this by treating her as an equal and not to be underestimated; of course since Evangeline is one of the strongest characters in the setting even while depowered, she still took him down in a split-second with a half-hearted punch while distracted.
** The Thousand Master himself, and a bit of a sore point. When a threat level of Ala Rubra was placed, with Zect and Eishun listed as the most dangerous... then Nagi was mentioned as, "oh, and this kid is pretty good too," complete with his own picture, which is suddenly scowling. Oh, and Zect looks like an eight-year-old while Nagi was fifteen or so.
*** Recent events seem to say that {{spoiler|Zect <s>is</s> was [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|over 2000 years old]].}}
* ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' is notorious for this, as every single one of the main characters' families plays the
** [[Digimon Tamers|"Tamers"]] wasn't the only season to have a
*** Issuing requested correction: Iori is ''one'' year older than Takeru and Hikari were when their adventures began.
* In [[Highschool of the Dead]], despite most of the main cast being high school age and obviously competent from the reader's perspective, they receive this treatment once they reach the Takagi mansion. This mostly speaks towards a [[Values Dissonance|cultural stigma in Japan]] that you're not really an adult until you're 20 and are dismissed as a kid up to that point. Fortunately, the cast gets their chance to prove themselves.
==
* ''[[Spider-Man|The Amazing Spider-Man]]'': Spidey gets unmasked by Dr. Octopus in an early issue, but thanks to Peter Parker's youth (and Spidey's poor performance in the proceeding fight) [[Your Costume Needs Work|neither Ock nor the assembled crowd believe Parker is really Spidey]], assuming that Peter just donned a Spider-Man costume to play the hero. Years later, when Spidey unmasks on national TV, Doc Ock goes on a rampage fueled by the humiliation of being constantly beat by a high-schooler.
** Subverted a lot in ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'', where Spiderman is normally a well-respected threat to the bad guys until he begins to quip. His talking points normally date him (making pop-culture references or naïve assumptions), prompting the bad guy to reply along the lines of "Wait, how old are you?"
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* ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia|Prince Caspian]]'': Trumpkin doesn't even try to hide his initial disappointment to find that the powerful kings and queens who ruled Narnia during the Golden Age have come back as ''children'' ([[Year Inside, Hour Outside]] complicates things that way).
* In the ''[[Night World]]'' series, made vampires are frozen at whatever age they are turned at, and lamia (vampires that can eat, have children, etc.) can stop their physical aging at any time they want. This ends up meaning that several people who have to fight vampires have to silently recite something along the lines of, "They're not really kids." Amusing, considering even vampire kids who are young would still be rather dangerous to a human.
* In ''Hunger'', the second book in the ''[[Gone (novel)]]'' series, by Micheal Grant, this is the excuse of almost everyone for not working, because every character is under 15.
* [[Harry Potter]] saves the day about once a year, but the good adults, with the exception of [[Reasonable Authority Figure|Dumbledore]], treat him like a child until the sixth book or so. In particular, using this trope was [[Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher|Umbridge]]'s ''modus operandi''.
** To be fair, even disregarding the number of near-death experiences, hairs-breadth-escapes, and hideously one-sided battles Harry's had to face, you can't blame the adults for trying to prevent him from getting blown up or having his soul sucked out.
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* "A terrorist doesn't let strangers into her flat because they might be undercover police or intelligence agents, but her children bring their mates home and they run all over the place. The terrorist doesn't know that one of these kids has bugged every room in her house, made copies of all her computer files and stolen her address book. The kid works for [[CHERUB]]."
* The frequently-underestimated eleven year old chemistry genius and proto-goth-chick Flavia de Luce solves mysteries in books like "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" and "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag." In the latter, the constabulary are infuriated she is always better informed than they are and put it down to the fact that as a kid, people open up to her. (The fact is, she's also smarter than they are.)
* [[The Hobbit (novel)|Thorin Oakenshield]] was equivalent in age to a fourth or fifth grader when he fought at Nanduhirion and earned his nickanme. [[The Lord of the Rings|Daín Ironfoot]] was even younger at that battle, where he slew an orc-chieftan. And not just any orc chieftain but ''Public Enemy Number Two<ref>Smaug was Public Enemy Number One at the time.</ref> Azog''!
* Children under fifteen are by default looked down on in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', but they can definitely prove themselves and gain a following if they're strong enough. Women are treated the same way. Being both of these things, Daenerys likes to twist this trope to her own benefit whenever an advisor or commander voices some opinion that she disagrees with or believes is short-sighted.
{{quote|'''Daenerys''': I am only a young girl and know little of such matters, but it seems to me that ''[voices an opinion she has no intent of changing]''.}}
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== Live-Action TV ==
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'': Buffy, at least during the high school years. It disappears largely after then, because everyone in Sunnydale (and beyond) has apparently heard of Buffy and is no longer surprised at her abilities. The trope was back in full swing during season seven, with the training of Dawn and the Potentials.
** Normally Dawn complains about being called a kid (to be fair, by the end of the show, she's older than Buffy was when she started Slaying), but [[Out of Character|one time she referrers to herself as just a kid]]. Nobody cares because, well:
{{quote|'''Dawn:''' [[Crowning Moment of Funny|It's like a meat party in my mouth.]] ''(pause)'' [[That Came Out Wrong|Okay, I'm just a kid and even I know that sounded wrong.]]}}
* ''[[Doogie Howser, M.D.]]'': The premise: medical doctor who is just a kid. Faintly based on a real-life example.
* ''[[Sliders]]'': Quinn Mallory
* ''[[The Wire]]'': Omar Little, one of the lead characters, dismisses many young players in the Baltimore drug trade because they're "just kids", including using the phrase exactly to describe Michael, who is meeting with Marlo, in late season four. One such child, {{spoiler|Kenard}}, is looked at by a Baltimore police officer as an example of how Omar's influence and brazen antics have spread to young, impressionable children, who view him as a hero. Near the end of the series, {{spoiler|Omar is unexpectedly gunned down by Kenard, and had dismissed the child as a threat when he walked into the store}}.
** The trope is then used word for word in the season five finale. {{spoiler|Michael}} has become a stick-up boy in Omar's mould, and when he holds up {{spoiler|Marlo's "bank"}} is told "Shit, you just a boy!";
* ''[[Game of Thrones]]'': [[Badass Grandpa|Tywin Lannister]] dismisses the 18-year-old [[Young and
== Myths & Religion ==
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: Jeremiah, from ''[[The Bible]]''.
* In the ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge
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** Also played straight with Rolf in ''[[Fire Emblem]] 9/10'' (less so in the sequel since [[Time Skip|he does get older]]) by his brother Boyd, and the majority of the people on his support list, excluding the [[Ill Boy|sickly priest Rhys]] and his mentor [[Tall, Dark and Snarky|Shinon]], for the most part. Some of his support conversations basically begin with someone telling him that he's too young to be on a battlefield, [[Berserk Button|while he denies it vehemently]], and later proves them wrong at the A support level.
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' series: The younger Links occasionally get this treatment. Apparently, even after thousands of years of legends about boys in green saving the world, [[Genre Blindness|nobody has realized]] that you should ''let boys in green do what they want''.
** In the defense of the general populace of Hyrule, wearing the Hero's clothes doesn't necessarily make someone the
*** Or, put another way, letting boys in green do what they want could lead to a Tingle-shaped nightmare.
*** Or the ''Wind Waker'' example: EVERY kid HAS TO wear the green clothes of the hero when they reach certain age, usually on their birthday. Now, would you let them do what they wanted?
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*** Amusingly averted after Link regains his normal Hylian boy form. Children aren't allowed outside the city walls, it's too dangerous, but since Link has a sword the guards will let him do whatever he wants, despite the fact that he's ten and barely comes up to the guards' waist. The best part about that is that the guard ''apologies for treating him like a child''.
** In Link's Awakening, a pair of boys playing catch will give you tips on what to do in the game, followed by "I don't know what that means, I'm just a kid".
* ''[[Mega Man 8]]'': Tengu Man looks down (literally) on our hero and says, "It's just a kid. Don't make me laugh." in some instances in the English releases.
** Which is kind of a silly case, when you think about it. Mega Man might look and act like a child at some points, but he's actually ''older'' than every other robot in the franchise save Proto Man.
*** [[My Life as a Teenage Robot|Tengu Man was BUILT just last year, but he was DESIGNED as an adult.]]
** If playing as X in ''[[Mega Man X]] 4'', Frost Walrus says this pre-battle: "They sent a kid like you after me? I promise to end this quickly".
** Also from the metaseries is [[Hot Mom|Hope Stelar]] of ''[[Mega Man Star Force]]'', where she calls her own son (and the hero of the game) "Just A Boy" in the third game.
** In ''[[Mega Man ZX]] Advent'', Atlas, the Mega ([[Viewer Gender Confusion|Wo]])Man of Fire, tells young Thetis, Mega Man of Ice and fellow member of a [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] that he's just a kid and wonders why he was picked to be Model L's [[The Chosen One|Biomatch]]
* NES ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'' (For NES): Ryu Hayabusa mistakes MIB agent Irene Lew as "Just a girl. Get out of here." He is promptly shot and captured.
* Used frequently in the ''[[Pokémon]]'' games. Every evil "team" has at least one member that says some variation of this, despite the fact that physical age has no effect on battles. Even Team Rocket continues to do this in the second generation games, which is surprising, considering that it was a kid who caused them to disband three years before.
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* Happens in the ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' games with Genis, the [[Teen Genius|Kid Genius]] [[Squishy Wizard]] of the party.
* Laharl of ''[[Disgaea]]'' has gotten quite a bit of this from both Etna and '''Captain Gordon, Defender of Earth!''' Etna uses it to legitimately call him out on his [[Royal Brat|brattiness and emotional immaturity]] while He Who Has [[No Indoor Voice]] is just incapable of believing that some [[Badass Adorable|tiny little punk]] is stronger ''and'' smarter than him.
* In ''[[
** At one point, Yuna actually calls him out directly on this. She wants to communicate with the cactuars in the Cactuar Nation, but Benzo, the Al Bhed kid who understands their speech, isn't around. She asks Shinra if he can communicate with them and Shinra gives his standard excuse, to which Yuna responds that Benzo is also just a kid. Shinra seems ''very'' put out by this.
* ''[[
** Considering the protagonists are all in their early teens: "At times like this, kids like you should be playing video games!"
** Also in ''Earthbound'', the sea captain who is ferrying the group to Scaraba exclaims that he thought that the foursome were just a group of kids upon them defeating the Kraken.
* ''[[Backyard Sports]]'': This is the way Sally Dobbs acts toward her brother Ronny.
* One of the motivating factors behind {{spoiler|Naoto's}} shadow in ''[[Persona 4]]''.
** Also seen in the Good Ending when {{spoiler|Adachi}} taunts the team by saying things along the lines of "Students should stay home and study." (As opposed to, you know, bringing him to justice.)
* A [[Running Gag]] in the fourth case of ''[[Ace Attorney]] Investigations'' was that everyone was dissing the young Miles Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma as just kids, even though Edgeworth was already a prosecutor.
** Starts off even earlier than that in ''Apollo Justice'' where almost everyone in the cast brushes off Apollo and Trucy as kids trying to play as grown ups, which is weird for Apollo since he IS a Defense Attorney and is almost the same age Phoenix Wright was (24) when he first started and no one called Phoenix a kid then.
* In ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star
* In the non-canon ''Yu-Gi-Oh GX! Tag Force 1'', [[Big Bad|Kagemaru]] say this to the player during their second duel (after going from being stuck in a machine to being youthful, a glowing aura, and eight-pack abs) when he's losing.
* Paige tries treating the others as kids in ''[[TCTRPG|The Colour Tuesday,]]'' at which point Alex points out that she's the same age as the rest of them.
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** It's simultaneously averted and played straight (by Yue and Aang respectively) in the season one finale (which, coincidentally was aptly named "[[The Siege]] of the North").
{{quote|'''Aang:''' I must have taken out a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them. I can't fight them all.
'''[[The Chief's Daughter|Yue]]:''' But, [[Because Destiny Says So|you have to!]] You're the [[The Only One|Avatar!]]
'''Aang:''' I'm just one kid. ''(buries his head in his arms)'' }}
*** Played straight by Aang in that he later goes on to use his Avatar powers (with a little help) to {{spoiler|[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|destroy the entire fleet]]}}. "Just one kid" indeed.
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** Also referred to in the opening theme. ("...Danny Fenton, he was just fourteen, when...")
* A huge theme of ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' is the fact they ''are'' just kids, yet still manage to do so many bizarre and amazing things; this is the main reason that their mother [[Refuge in Audacity|never believes Candace]] when [[Cassandra Truth|she tries to bust them]].
{{quote|'''Adult:''' [[Mad Libs Catchphrase|Aren't you a little young to be [insert whatever Phineas and Ferb are doing]?]]
'''Phineas:''' [[Blunt Yes|Yes]], [[Running Gag|yes I am.]] }}
** Parodied when Candace once asks the boys (renowned for making bizarre inventions) why they couldn't just create some way of fixing their rocket ship without necessitating a space walk. The boys simply stare at her for a moment before Ferb comments, "Candace, we ''are'' just kids."
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== [[Real Life]] ==
* [[Truth in Television]]: There are some children who are really, really good chess players. If you see a kid playing chess in a park, you underestimate him at your peril.
** The same could be said about kids playing the most brutal Fighting Games in arcades.
* Several notable bands who are known as extremely talented have had teen members, Primus among them.
* There were those that thought that about Charles XII. [[It Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time]].
* All of Europe thought that about Maria Theresa. [[You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry|They proved mistaken]].
* No matter how old your are or how much experience or education you acquire you will always be a child in your parent's eyes.
* If you have any elder siblings, they will always think of you as the baby, even if you qualify as a genuine badass [[Crazy Awesome]].
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[[Category:Stock Phrases]]
[[Category:Action Adventure Tropes]]
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