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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Miko''': ''You know how to hack? But you're, like, two years old.''<br />
'''Raf''': ''Twelve...and a quarter.''|''[[
A [[Child Prodigy]] is a young genius - in his pre-teen years, in fact; a younger version of the [[Teen Genius]]. Basically, any genius below '''12''' is eligible for the title of a [[Child Prodigy]]. Sometimes ignored or discriminated by those who consider him [[Just a Kid]].
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== Anime and Manga ==
* [[Azumanga Daioh
* Negi in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', kinda. He graduated from [[Wizarding School]] at the age of nine and became a teacher in Japan and mastered the language <ref> in two weeks</ref>, too. Later on, when he starts learning combat techniques and training seriously, it takes him about 9 months to become one of the most powerful combatants alive.
** To be fair, Negi spent an inordinate amount of time in [[Year Inside, Hour Outside|magic resorts, scrolls, and the like]], to the point where he's now actually twelve years old.
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* Rimone from ''[[Simoun]]'' is extremely young even for a Sybilla, which doesn't prevent her from being an [[Ace Pilot]] rivaled only by Aeru and Neviril.
* Kotoko from ''[[Divergence Eve]]'',{{spoiler|The reason being that she's an advanced android}}.
* Becky from ''[[Pani Poni Dash!]]''. Graduated from the MIT and teaching high school girls... at ''eleven'' years old.
* The 10-year old Erio Mondial from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] StrikerS'', who had already achieved a [[Random Power Ranking|Mage Rank of B]] before the show started while his teenage companions were still struggling to achieve the same rank.
** Rumor has it that Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate were even sillier examples, being AAA-Rank Mages under the TSAB's employ when they were younger, [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_shoujo_lyrical_nanoha_strikers_the_comics/c005/5.html but eh... who believes such rumours]? (Link may be [[NSFW]])
** It's revealed in the [[Comic Book Adaptation|supplementary manga]] of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' that the math used in earth and Mid-Childa are very similar, and using advanced magic requires a firm grasp of mathematical formulas. Needless to say, Nanoha and Fate are math geniuses who always ace the subject in school, much to the chagrin of the competitive [[Those Two Guys|Alisa]], and Fate even helps Nanoha's older sister Miyuki with her school work.
* Ai Haibara from ''[[
** Hiroki Sawada from the [[Non-Serial Movie]] ''Phantom of Baker Street'' is more of a book example; he was a grad student in MIT at the age of ''ten''. However, a mixture of [[Parental Abandonment]] and [[Intelligence Equals Isolation]] means his case [[Starts
** The titular character ''seems'' like a [[Child Prodigy]] to those who don't know his true identity. He's actually [[Older Than They Look|Older Than He Looks]] due to an [[Fountain of Youth|'un-aging' pill]], but even so he is a [[Teen Genius]]. And according to the OVA's, Shinichi/Conan ''was'' a [[Child Prodigy]] when he truly was a child.
* Sou Touma from [[
* May Chang from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. She looks to be around 8 years old, but she has the mentality, mannerisms, and [[Cute Bruiser|fighting skills]] of an adult. She was even able to {{spoiler|decode Scar's brother's research notes mostly by herself}}.
** Justified in that she is a [[Child Prodigy]] out of necessity rather than genetics as being the [[Fallen Princess]] and only hope of a dying clan and being charged with such clan's future, ''besides'' probably dealing with assassination attempts that Ling says are common for people in such position, makes you mature fast.
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*** While valid, that makes it sound even more extraordinary than it is in context; the FMA universe is more technologically advanced than ours [[Schizo-Tech|in the area of]] [[Artificial Limbs]], so it's not just a matter of Winry being a [[Gadgeteer Genius]].
**** The FMA manga clarifies that automail "mechanics" are actually closer to surgeons then the people fixing your car. So a more real-world applicable question would be "Were you successfully performing surgery on amputees when you were 11?"
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]!'': Seto Kaiba is not only a [[Teen Genius]], but he beat Gozaburo in a chess match in order to get him and Mokuba adopted. When he was TEN. THAT takes SKILLZ!
** Also, Rebecca Hopkins; she's taking College classes by the time she reappears for the Doma arc... Even in the dub, where she was ''eight'' as opposed to twelve in her initial appearance.
* Megumi "Nodame" Noda in ''[[Nodame Cantabile]]'' is shown to have been a piano prodigy as a kid.
* Kanon Hayashi in ''[[Kanon By Chiho Saito]]'' was a violin prodigy when she was a little girl, able to play brilliantly even without proper training.
* Kai of ''Piano No Mori'' is a musical genius who started play at three and doesn't receive any formal lessons until he is ten. he can play almost any piece perfectly after hearing it once.
* As a pre-teen nation-tan, Japan from ''[[
** Belgium was already a trading and businesses whiz as a little girl nation, according to the [[Hetalia Bloodbath 2011]].
** A young Greece is depicted attempting to discuss "[http://aph.starry-sky.com/blog-entry-146.html the concept of time and our relation with moussaka]."
* A whole slew of characters from ''[[Naruto]]''. To name a few: Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Neji Hyuuga, Gaara, Itachi Uchiha, and {{spoiler|Naruto's [[Disappeared Dad]]}} Minato Namikaze.
** And the most recent one is {{spoiler|Killer Bee.}}
* In ''[[
* The [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|Professor]] in [[Nichijou]], despite being eight years old, has managed to build, among other things, a speech-giving scarf and a [[Ridiculously Human Robot]] (which she constantly modifies without the robot noticing).
* Taiki Kudou in [[Digimon Xros Wars]] who is not aware that he is this. He is both exceedingly athletic and intelligent, and has engaged various sports like a pro. Further more he is capable of forming brilliant strategies within a flash of a second in the heat of battle.
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* Katie Lindberg from ''Alyosha'' was one of these before maturing into a [[Teen Genius]]. She achieved a near-perfect SAT score at the age of 6 and graduated at the top of her class at MIT when she was 12.
* Subverted in [[Kaleido Star]]. May Wong was an ice skating prodigy in the past, but she kept it only as a hobby and pursued becoming an acrobat in the Kaleido Stage instead.
* Minoru from ''[[
== Comics ==
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* The professor's son from ''The Great Debaters'' is in college at 14.
* That kid from ''[[Revenge of the Nerds]]'' attending college (and joining a frat!) at age 10, his name was Wormser.
* ''[[
* Josh Waitzkin in ''[[Searching for Bobby Fischer]]''.
* From ''[[Little Man Tate]]'', [[Jodie Foster|Jodie Foster's]] directorial debut, Fred Tate (played by Adam Hann-Byrd, also known for ''The Ice Storm'') reads at age two without having been taught, and in second grade paints with a mature grasp of art history.
* The title character of ''[[Matilda (
* Near in ''[[L
== Literature ==
* ''[[
* The ''[[Ender's Game]]'' series. Half the IF is commanded by a bunch of prepubescent kids.
** Judging from Alai, puberty wreaks havoc with your political and military judgement.
* The titular character in ''[[Matilda (
* Sophie from ''[[Child of the Hive]]'' is shown at the age of seven capable of speaking near-perfect German after only three lessons. She also has knowledge of Latin by that age and is later shown reading a book in the original French. As a teenager, she is acknowledged as being a mathematical genius and being extraordinarily good at computer programming.
* [[Older Than They Think]]: one of the first novels to feature a [[Child Prodigy]] was ''The Hampdenshire Wonder'' in 1911. The protagonist is not only a genius, but a truly [[Super Intelligence|superintelligent]] little kid who judges the whole human culture an "elementary, inchoate, disjunctive patchwork"... at age ''[[Up to Eleven|four and a half]]''. He's right, and [[TV Tropes]] proves it.
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* Dairine from the ''[[Young Wizards]]'' series. At age 3 she decided that she was going to learn '''everything''', by age 4 she taught herself to read, and by age 5 was reading from encyclopedias all by herself.
* Ollie of ''[[In the Keep of Time]]'' ''was'' a very precocious reader for her age; after her jaunt into the past, this has to be re-taught to her.
* A disturbingly large percentage of the Remillard clan of the ''[[
* The Blue Children from Stephen Baxter's ''[[
* Euphemia in ''My Godawful Life'' by Michael Kelly
* The [[Thursday Next]] books have Tuesday.
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* [[Sixth Ranger|River Tam]] from ''[[Firefly]]'' was once this. In the show she may be too old.
** In the show's present and the R. Tam Sessions, she's a [[Teen Genius]]. She was definitely a [[Child Prodigy]] when she was younger, but the only time this shows up ''on-screen'' is the flashback at the beginning of "Safe".
* Micah Sanders from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' shows incredible political prowess and was able to {{spoiler|lead the resistance against a [[Government Conspiracy]]}} at the age of eleven.
** Oddly enough, his actor [[wikipedia:Noah Gray-Cabey|Noah Gray-Cabey]] is somewhat of a prodigy in real life too. By the time he was 4 he was on Ripley's Believe It Or Not for his amazing piano skills - notably being the youngest soloist to perform with an orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. By the time he was 9 years old he was in a 9th grade math class.
* [[Goodness Gracious Me]] has an [[Crowning Moment of Funny|utterly hilarious take]] on a child prodigy [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cpp71tpehg in this video].
* Major Nelson had to babysit a kid with a 153 IQ once on ''[[I
* Janice in ''[[Head of the Class]]''.
* This is Reid's [[Backstory]] in ''[[
* Also the backstory for Sheldon Cooper in ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' - he went off to college at 11. Another [[Teen Genius]] turned [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist]], when he went to Germany at age 15, he was a visiting professor, not a student, and he got his first Ph.D (he has two at present) at age 16.
** May possibly be seen as a Deconstructed adult version of this trope. His early successes have fueled his large ego, making him quite insufferable to those around him. He's around 30, but still has the emotional capacity of a kid since he didn't have a normal childhood. And his vast intelligence greatly alienated him from his own family.
* Will Robinson of [[Lost in Space]] was an electronics prodigy.
* Malcolm in the earlier episodes of [[Malcolm in
** Stevie, Lloyd, Dabney, and Cynthia also fit.
* The backstory of Charlie of [[Numb3rs]] is that he is a math child prodigy. When he was three or four, he was able to multiply four digit numbers in his head.
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== Music ==
* [[
* [[The Heart|Noodle]] of the [[
== Newspaper Comics ==
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[
== Video Games ==
* ''[[
** According to the first game, the thing runs on (Dad's) everclear, gets power from (Mom's) car battery, and uses (Mom's) vacuum cleaner (modified) for ion propulsion.
** Other things Keen built include an interstellar transceiver (the reception was bad, but it did get a signal worth investigating) and a fully-functioning wrist computer (complete with a Pong clone!).
** Keen's archenemy - Mortimer McMire. The final boss in the original trilogy; Keen's got an [[You Fail the IQ Test|IQ]] of 314, Mortimer has an IQ of 315.
** His spiritual successor, Andy of ''[[Heart of Darkness (
* {{spoiler|Jennifer}} of ''[[Disgaea]]'' is said to have been a child prodigy and quite a technology genius, but by the time the plot happens {{spoiler|she}}'s no longer a child.
* The protagonist is apparently a battling prodigy in ''[[
* In ''[[The Sims]] 2'', the highest aspiration ranking<ref>A sort of mood-meter that measures how many of their wants and/or fears have come true lately</ref> for child Sims is "Child Prodigy". However, the game's not programmed to let children do things like go to college or write novels, so it's not really possible to make a legitimate [[Child Prodigy]] without using mods.
** Sim children in the Sims 3 can write novels, though.
* Genis from [[
* Tails from [[Sonic the Hedgehog]]
* Sunny from ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots]]'' is a computer prodigy. She was raised by a computer for most of her developmental years.
* Relm from Final Fantasy VI. She's so good at painting that Owzer, the world's biggest art collector, wants a painting from her. She's also the best Magic user of the game, but to many this doesn't make up for her otherwise useless attributes in battle.
* Mechanic Puck from [[Vanguard Bandits]]. He works faster than the best engineers in a nation and is small enough to fit under the seat of one the [[A Mech
* [[Magnificent Bastard|Albert Wesker]] of the [[Resident Evil]] series is eventually revealed to have been one of these.
* Raz from [[
* We meet [[Fire Emblem the Sacred Stones
* Leon Gheste from ''[[
* [[Professor Layton|Luke Triton]] is a bit of a puzzle master for his age. {{spoiler|It is assumed that [[Professor Layton and
* Pearl "Pearly" Fey from ''[[
== Visual Novels ==
* In ''[[Maji
== Web Animation ==
* Sudoku in ''[[Banana
** In later episodes he might be a [[Teen Genius]] since the voice actor sounds like he's hitting puberty.
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== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[Arthur (
* Chester McTech of ''[[Beverly Hills Teens]]''.
* A.J. of the [[Fairly Oddparents]]. He is in fifth grade and only ten years old and not only does he have the highest I.Q. in his school and his town of Dimmsdale, he frequently invents items which that are futuristic such as a suspended animation tube in one movie. He also can make several clones of himself and is apparently an adviser to the government concerning technology issues.
* Dexter of ''[[
* [[Phineas and Ferb]] .
** Perhaps due to the show rule that nobody is "a jerk or an idiot", even [[Friendly Enemy|Buford]], whose theme song claims that "he's got the IQ of gum", is shown to have [[Genius Bruiser|a fondness for Voltaire and existentialism]].
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* Stewie from ''[[Family Guy]]'' can build time machines and a multi-verse transporter and yet he is only one year old.
* Gretchen Grundler from ''[[Recess]]''
* [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
* ''[[Western Animation]]/Cyberchase Inez''. Case in point: this 9-year-old girl knew the scientific family that hawks belong to.
* ''[[Hey Arnold]]''
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** Toph is 12 years old and already the self-proclaimed “Best earthbender in the world”. She backs this talk up by beating the crap out of people twice her size and who have much more experience. She is also the inventor of {{spoiler|metalbending}}, a skill previously thought to be [[Beyond the Impossible]].
** At a very young age, Azula was shown pulling off firebending techniques her older and relatively skilled brother Zuko had problems with. She is also one of three characters in the original series knows how to use lightning.
** The sequel series ''[[
* The Broflovski brothers in ''[[South Park]]'' are this, Ike moreso and more blatant than his older brother.
** Ike's entered kindergarten 2 years early, watches conservative political commentary, makes a macaroni replica of The Last Supper, has been hired to help cover up a massive jewel heist and is a knight in Canada. As of seasons 15ish he's only 4.
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* Seiyuu [[Hiroko Kasahara]] debuted in a lead role when she was 12 years old.
** Same goes to [[Yoko Honna]], who was around 10 when she started her career.
* A few [[
* Sho Yano, who started university by age 9 and is in medical school and studying for a PhD on the side by age 12.
** To be more specific, according to [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-boy-wonder-20120603,0,7796464.story news reports], he was (deep breath....) reading by age 2, writing by age 3, composing music at age 5, scored 1500 on his [[SATs]] (out of 1600) at age 8, entered college at age 9, entered medical school at age 12, finished his Ph.D. in three years, and this year got his M.D. from the University of Chicago at age 21. His IQ is estimated at over 200. Oh, and he's also a concert pianist who's played at the Ravinia festival. Do you have an inferiority complex yet?
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