History Main / MatureWorkChildProtagonists

** ''Literature/TheCasteelSeries'' sees the heroine, Heaven, sold by her father to an abusive foster family whose father commits statutory rape on her.

To count for this trope, the work must be aimed at adults or teenagers (likely containing content that's unsuitable for children, though this is not a requirement, as mentioned above); works that are supposed to be aimed at children but contain mature themes do not qualify.[[note]]The reason why UsefulNotes/SchoolStudyMedia such as ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' and ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'' are listed on this page because they weren't originally written for children in the first place, and are almost always assigned in high school rather than any younger grades due to the mature content they contain.[[/note]] Additionally, the main characters in the work must be notably younger than the intended demographic. For example, an R-rated movie that has a 14-year-old as the protagonist, or a PG-13 movie that has a 6-year-old as the protagonist. Generally, a work that prominently features characters who are older teenagers (ages 16+) cannot be an example of this trope, since teenagers of that age are usually considered old enough to be viewing most mature works.

* ''Manga/{{Gantz}}'', which prominently features gore, nihilistic themes and sexuality has a fair share of these.
** The protagonist, Kurono, who is 16 years old at the beginning of the series.
** The deuteragonists, Kato and Reika, who are likewise only 17.
** Taken to its logical conclusion with the 4-year old Takeshi, who is thrown into the story by being beaten to death by his mother's boyfriend and adopted by the hunters.

** ''The Body'': This short story, which became the classic film ''Film/StandByMe'', is about four twelve-year-old boys going to find a dead body.

* ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' is about two young siblings (aged fourteen and four, respectively) trying to survive in war-torn Japan during the final days of World War II. The beginning scene makes it clear the protagonists [[ForegoneConclusion are doomed]] and while the violence isn't hugely graphic, the movie doesn't shy away from depicting the terrible effects of war on civilians and especially children. It's got a reputation as one of the saddest movies ever made for a good reason.

* "Film/Ciske de Rat" is a drama about a 13-year-old boy living in poverty in Amsterdam in the 1930s. He is tormented by his unloving mother, acts out at school and is punished by teachers and bullied by classmates. The scene where his mother tears up a book he cherishes and he fatally stabs her in the neck is particularly jarring.

* ''Literature/LetTheRightOneIn'' is primarily about the relationship between 12-year-old Oskar and Eli, who is [[Really700YearsOld much older than 12]] but still has the body and mind of a child. It is also not at all appropriate for children, what with its bleakness, explicit sexuality, violence, and even the inclusion of a pedophile character whose disturbing desires are explored in detail.

* ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten}}'': The protagonist is a kindergartener who attends a school where he, his fellow classmates, and the school staff can get brutally murdered in various ways.

* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'' starts with teen Rhaenyra Targaryen (who's desired by her own uncle and brought to a brothel by him, no less) and Alicent Hightower. There's also one episode where the Targaryen children of the two forming sides of the Dance of the Dragons CivilWar are rather centerstage, most prominently Aemond, who successfully claims the gigantic dragon Vhagar.

* ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'' is an incredibly dark seinen manga starring 12-year-olds who are just starting middle school. They end up having to fight in a HumongousMecha battle for the fate of the universe in which [[spoiler:the winning pilot dies from having their life drained and the losing pilot's universe is destroyed]]. To illustrate just how dark it is, one of the girls is ''[[TeenPregnancy pregnant]]'' in a subplot that had to be toned down for the anime.

* The ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'' version written by Creator/CharlesPerrault targets an adult audience. The short story ends with Little Red Riding Hood taking off her clothes before going to bed with the wolf dressed as her grandmother, who eventually devours her. The Hood here represents Little Red Riding Hood's virginity, while TheBigBadWolf is a symbol for... ''rapists''. Perrault even explains in a note at the end of the story that it's a cautionary tale about sexual predators.
* ''Literature/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'': A seinen series with an anime adaptation that depicts its protagonist as a reincarnated adult {{NEET}} who retains his adult memories from birth into early childhood where much of the story takes place. His companions throughout the story include other children his own age. The story frequently includes off-putting tropes due to the dichotomy such as DirtyKid, TheirFirstTime, TheJailBaitWait, OlderThanTheyLook, and WifeHusbandry.

* ''Literature/LetTheRightOneIn'' is primarily about the relationship between 12-year-old Oskar and Eli, who is [[Really700YearsOld much older than 12]] but still has the body and mind of a child. It is also not at all appropriate for children, what with its bleakness, explicit sexuality, violence, and even the inclusion of a pedophile character whose disturbing desires are explored in detail.

* ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'': While the protagonist is the middle-aged Joel, he's accompanied by the 14-year-old Ellie, who's just as important to the story as Joel is and is a constant presence past the prologue. [[spoiler:She's actually playable for one of the four main segments of the game, in which she has to face adult cannibals, zombies, and the cannibal leader who wants to keep her as his ''pet''.]]

* ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' is a story about a black man accused of raping a white woman in the 1930's, written from the perspective of his lawyer's young daughter. Though it is narrated by her adult self (framed as her telling the story of how [[spoiler: her brother broke his arm]]), it doesn't go far beyond the child's perspective.

* ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain''. Lain Iwakura is a girl in middle school who still wears teddy bear pajamas. During the course of the series, she visits a night club where a man on a mind accelerating cyber drug shoots someone else and then himself, inadvertently causes her older sister to suffer a brutal MindRape that leaves her a blank slate, sees a young man playing a VR game mistake a young girl for a monster in his game and shoot her, and has her become involved with a couple of MenInBlack who murder all the members of a rival faction. She catches a friend of hers masturbating while fantasizing about a teacher, and then witnesses the same friend have a complete breakdown when they're confronted with a self-styled "God of the Wired".

* ''Film/{{Juliana}}'': The film deals with deep-rooted societal problems such as child labor, sexism, and to a lesser extent racism. It also portrays several instances of emotional and physical abuse inflicted on children by the adults who ought to be looking after them. All of these topics are explored from the point of view of Juliana, a 13-year-old girl, and the kids she interacts with and eventually befriends --most of them are younger than her by up to five years or so.

* ''Literature/EndersGame'' and its spin-off ''Literature/EndersShadow'' both take place at a military school for children- Ender is 7 at the beginning of his story and Bean is 4. Although they grow up a bit during the story, they are still young teens at the end of the book- but it is clearly written for adults, featuring adult themes and a reading level far too difficult for most elementary schoolers to read at all. The sequel books feature the characters at ages nearer to their target audiences, with Ender in ''Speaker For The Dead'' being 35 while Bean in the ''Shadow'' series goes through his teens.

* ''Film/JojoRabbit'' is about a ten-year-old boy growing up in Nazi Germany- it is written from an adult perspective, and deliberately contrasts our protagonists innocent acceptance of his world and his child-like view of Hitler with the harsh reality.

* ''Literature/EndersGame'' and its spin-off, ''Literature/EndersShadow'' both take place at a military school for children- Ender is 7 at the beginning of his story and Bean is 4. Although they grow up a bit during the story, they are still young teens at the end of the book- but it is clearly written for adults, featuring adult themes and a reading level far too difficult for most elementary schoolers to read at all.

* ''VideoGame/FugaMelodiesOfSteel'' involves the peaceful lands of Gasco getting suddenly invaded by the malevolent [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Berman Empire]] in a setting blatantly inspired by World War I and II, yet the main characters are a ragtag group of children no older than 12 with the youngest being ''4''. By circumstances, they end up as unofficial ChildSoldiers [[ChildrenForcedToKill Forced to Kill]] radicals and fanatics who truly believe their causes to be just, and all of them are forced to take refuge in a mobile ancient superweapon battle tank equipped with a cannon that ''must'' be loaded with the bio-energy of any of the 12 children in order to fire, leading to situations where AnyoneCanDie.

* ''Butterfly'' is a coming-of-age story about a young boy learning about love and other matters during the waning days of Spain's Second Republic, with an ending that is not terribly kid-friendly at all.

* The protagonists of ''[[Film/It2017 IT]]'' are children, and it is a very mature horror flick, fully earning its R-rating (and this is even after much of its content was toned down compared to the novel).

* A French animated film, named ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsAZucchini'', features the story of a kid sent to an orphanage after the AccidentalMurder of her abusive mother.

%% * ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks''