Line #63 Main/TinySchoolboy


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3	%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
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6	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1443447572032991400
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9	[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/KotouraSan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/322976.png]]]]
10
11	->''Then it all went downhill\
12	You grew tall, I stayed the same\
13	I guess that's just puberty\
14	Making us boys always play a losing game''
15	-->-- "School Uniforms", Music/TheWombats
16
17	Puberty can affect a teenager in many ways, and in the case of the Tiny Schoolboy, it's not always good. Males are expected to be taller than females, so this character is rather strange.
18
19	These small teenage boys (particularly in high school) are the target of bullying and teasing from other students for being below-average, (probably) struggle to find a girlfriend because many girls want a TallDarkAndHandsome boyfriend, and dread falling into the TinyGuyHugeGirl category.
20
21	This causes some of them to lash out and become [[TheNapoleon aggressive, short-tempered and loud-mouthed]] to [[NoRespectGuy show everyone that they're just as good]] as any normal-sized guy for any normal-sized girl. Expect some of them to have a [[BigGuyLittleGuy taller best friend]] as a human shield or as a good tool for threatening people he's rubbed the wrong way (usually for being [[BerserkButton insulted about their height]]), although these characters usually end up as the DumbMuscle, meaning that this Tiny Schoolboy is probably a pariah to ''everyone'' except for [[TheDitz the ditzy characters]].
22
23	Some versions are usually the AttentionWhore and can be all mouth and no legs. In many cases, it's seen as either annoying to others or just EndearinglyDorky. If their boasts turn out to be true, they become the PintSizedPowerhouse or just BadassAdorable. In some cases, expect these versions to befriend the HugeSchoolgirl, or be dating the Huge Schoolgirl because they're the only ones that understand each other and see the person instead of the height.
24
25	Other versions of these characters are usually the NiceGuy who respects others and is a FriendToAllLivingThings. Unlike the aggressive version of their characters, these Tiny Schoolboys ''actually'' get the attention from the girls... [[ImTakingHimHomeWithMe but not for being studs]]. Expect these types to be constantly the target of the school bullies and the jocks that struggle to get girls.
26
27	The one thing that the types can relate to is that they’re constantly [[MistakenAge confused with children by adults]], or are too short to do certain things that other teenagers can do ([[YouMustBeThisTallToRide expect them to be rejected from theme park rides]]).
28
29	This is also a case of TruthInFiction as girls tend to have their growth spurths a bit earlier than boys, often peaking in sixth or seventh grade. Meanwhile, the later may need to wait until mid-way through high school to catch-up to or surpass the opposite sex.
30
31	The inverted DistaffCounterpart to HugeSchoolgirl. JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith DawsonCasting. A SisterTrope to ShortTeensTallAdults. Also see PintSizedKid for the preteen/children idea as a whole. If they're lucky, they eventually go through the IGotBigger trope.
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33	%% No Real Life Examples Please
34	----
35	!!Examples:
36
37	[[foldercontrol]]
38
39	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
40	* Though only in Junior High, Haruyuki Arita, lead protagonist of ''Literature/AccelWorld'' stands at barely half the height of many of the other characters even at the age of 14. This, combined with his obvious weight problem, was what resulted in him being such a popular target for local bullies. Whether he'd retain this aspect when he enters High School is actually something of a minor concern for his girlfriend Kuroyukihime. This is an [[CharacterExaggeration anime-only element]] as Haruyuki is of average height in the light novel.
41	* Nagisa Shiota from ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'' is 159 cm tall, which coupled with his [[DudeLooksLikeALady androgynous appearance]] leads some to mistake him for a girl. [[spoiler:The fact that his mother wanted to rear him as a girl may or may not have factored into this]]. [[spoiler:The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows that time was not kind to him. He only grew one measly centimeter over the past seven years, leaving him only three centimeters taller than Kayano]].
42	* Connie from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is the nice guy type, even though there are technically no schools in [[CrapsackWorld their universe]]. [[spoiler:[[IGotBigger He shown to have gotten taller]] post-time skip, however]].
43	* Dan from ''Manga/BambooBlade'' is within the age range of most of the teenage characters, but is a head taller than the shortest girl Tamaki. Strange to some, he is the only character with a real relationship -- dating the much taller Miya.
44	* Valt from ''Anime/BeybladeBurst'' is tiny for an eleven-year-old. Shu and Rantaro are his age but look older because they're quite a bit taller than Valt. While not an AttentionWhore, Valt is very [[NoInsideVoice loud]] and HotBlooded.
45	* ''Manga/BreakTheBorder'': Sei is 156 cm (5'1") due to being a trans boy. He's the shortest member on his all-girls basketball team but makes up for his height with his ability and energy.
46	* Another old series called ''Manga/DashKappei'' has Kappei who plays basketball despite standing at less than one metre tall.
47	* Sena Kobayakawa from ''Manga/Eyeshield21''.
48	* In ''Literature/FateZero'', Waver Velvet is all of 5'2" at ''19'', which doesn't help his inferiority complex over being a less powerful mage than most of his classmates -- even the Servant he summons suggests early on that he ask the Holy Grail to make him taller if he wants people to respect him. Fortunately for poor Waver, he does turn out to have been a late bloomer, and sometime in the ten years between ''Fate/Zero'' and ''[=Fate/StayNight=]'' he shoots up to 6'1".
49	* Naota from ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'', although it's kind of justified in that he's in 6th grade before going to 7th grade at the end of the series.
50	* Latvia of ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' is physically 15 years old, and roughly 4'7" tall. It's implied that his small size is due to his former boss [[PsychopathicManchild Russia]]'s smothering influence leaving him unable to develop properly, as well as Russia's [[AndCallHimGeorge affectionate head pats]] ''[[BodyHorror crushing part of his spine]].''
51	* ''Manga/HitomiChanIsShyWithStrangers'' has Yuu Usami, a second-year high schooler who is mistaken for much younger thanks to his short height. The focus of the series is his relationship with Hitomi Takano, a girl who is [[HugeSchoolgirl taller than him]] despite being a grade below his and is also [[FaceOfAThug much scarier-looking]] than the diminutive Yuu despite being a ShrinkingViolet.
52	* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'' has two:
53	** Koichi Hirose is a [[ZigZaggingTrope zigzagged]] example. Koichi's actual height is 5'2", a plausible (if rather short) height for a 15-year-old high schooler. However, he's always depicted as shorter than he actually is, at one point being shown to be barely taller than 11-year-old Hayato. It doesn't help that the rest of the main characters in the series usually stand at over 6 feet tall, making him look even shorter by comparison.
54	** Shigekiyo "Shigechi" Yangu is almost the same height as Koichi, at 157 cm or so, though his neotenous proportions make him look even shorter. What's bizarre is that Shigechi's weight is listed as 110kg, or 240 pounds, 60 pounds heavier than the 6'4" Jotaro.
55	%%* An older series called ''The Kabocha Wine'' (''The Pumpkin Wine'') has a short boy named Aoba Shunsuke as its main character.
56	* Ootani from ''Manga/KomorisanCantDecline'' is the shortest teenage member of the cast, which stands in contrast to the [[HugeSchoolgirl 6 foot tall Komori]]. Ironically, the first character of his name translates to "large".
57	* Featured in the trope image is ''Manga/KotouraSan''[='=]s Dai'chi Muroto, who is often compared to an elementary schooler.
58	* Given that TinyGuyHugeGirl is the story's core premise, ''Manga/LovelyComplex'' has two Tiny Schoolboys vying for [[HugeSchoolgirl Risa Koizumi's]] affections; the male lead, [[TheNapoleon Atsushi]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Otani]], and one RomanticFalseLead, [[LikesOlderWomen Kazuki]] [[SuperGullible Kohori]].
59	* Minoru Mineta of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is ridiculously tiny, coming in at a whopping 3'6" and a half. Being a pervert, it's perfect for staring at girls' butt. But for things like playing an electric guitar? Nope.
60	* Naruto from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' starts out like the AttentionWhore and dorky type and is shorter than his two friends. However, as an adult, he's one of the tallest characters and is easily OneHeadTaller than Hinata (who was taller than him in Part 1).
61	* Shinji in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is the shortest boy out of the teenagers we meet. The only human character that's shorter than him is the mysterious girl Rei [[WordOfGod by three centimeters]].
62	* ''Anime/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' features Honey-senpai, whose childlike appearance, stature, and personality are explained as him being a leap-year baby. He is really 17 and caters to girls who are into a male {{Moe}} archetype.
63	* 10-year old Ash from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' was originally short for his age, which fit his bratty and immature personality in ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries''. He was dwarfed by his similarly aged friend Misty. However, since his CharacterDevelopment in Hoenn, his proportions have changed so that he's almost the same height as Misty (but he's still shorter than Gary).
64	* [[NiceGuy Umino]] from ''Manga/SailorMoon'' is slightly taller than the 145 cm[[note]]4'9"[[/note]] Usagi... but is at least a head shorter than other male students at their school.
65	* Fuuta from ''Manga/SpiritCircle'', who has HeightAngst and hopes that the new student will be much shorter so the attention will be on someone else.
66	* The [[WordOfGod 152 cm]] Yugi Mutou from the [[Manga/YuGiOh manga]] and anime ''Anime/YuGiOh'', who's sixteen, goes to high school, and is shorter than all of his teenage friends -- even [[TinyGuyHugeGirl Anzu/Tea]]. When he becomes [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Yugi]], it makes him grow, and there's a rather glaring difference, and he's nearly as tall as Jonouchi/Joey.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
70	* Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks suffer from this in the second live-action movie ''[[Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks The Squeakquel]]''. Being the size of normal woodland chipmunks (unlike in other parts of the franchise, in which the chipmunks were the size of the children they were classmates with), in their high school, one of them is nearly run over by a skateboarding student in the hallway, and all three were inches away from being stepped on. Naturally, they are brought to the attention of giggling female students in their classes that coo over their cuteness, making [[JerkJock the school's American football team]] jealously target them for their bullying pranks.
71	* Marty [=McFly=] in the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy is the nice guy/dorky type, portrayed by the (at least) 5'4" Creator/MichaelJFox.
72	* Harry Potter becomes slightly smaller than Hermione throughout the years that the trio hit puberty as the ''Film/HarryPotter'' series progresses because his actor Creator/DanielRadcliffe is 5'5".
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Literature]]
76	* Literature/HarryPotter [[WordOfGod is said to have had]] a huge growth spurt between ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' and ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows The Deathly Hallows]]'' and becomes almost as tall as (the already-tall) Ron, meaning he was probably this trope throughout his time at Hogwarts. There is a moment in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]'' when Harry is asked out to the school dance by a variety of girls, and a taller girl who he politely rejects, despite being scared of her. Trope's possibly implied because this {{huge schoolgirl}} might want to invoke the Tiny Boy befriending the Huge Girl and doesn't care that he's a champion in the Triwizard Tournament.
77	* Tailchaser from ''Literature/TailchasersSong'' is a tiny adolescent cat. He gets [[MistakenAge mistaken for a five-month-old at nine months]]. He's also a NiceGuy and a KidHero.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
81	* ''Series/Adam12'' has a two-part episode about a boy who is 14 but hadn't done much growing yet and is getting picked on at school because of it. He was acting out and getting in trouble and is sent to a police-run summer camp with Malloy as a counselor. He gets in trouble there, too, and Malloy hopes he can be steered in the right direction before he does something that lands him in juvenile hall.
82	* Carlton from ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' in the seasons when he's in high school. His much-taller cousin Will [[ManipulativeBastard constantly uses it]] to [[ArmorPiercingResponse shut him down]] whenever he tries to get his point across.
83	%%* Toby Isaacs from ''Series/{{Degrassi\|TheNextGeneration}}''. He is the dorky kind.
84	* 4'8" Arnold from ''Series/DiffrentStrokes'', due to his actor Gary Coleman's suffering from congenital autoimmune kidney disease. It's rarely a plot point, once Arnold moves out of the "cute kid" phase and into his teens.
85	* Vinnie from ''Series/DoogieHowserMD'' was so upset by his short stature he looked into a medical procedure to try and stretch his legs.
86	* Blaine from ''Series/{{Glee}}'', which is rather glaring when he stands next to his much-taller LoveInterest Kurt, considering he's at first a MentorArchetype to him (which is a character that is usually taller than their student). Coach Sylvester sometimes points out his height in her usual FloweryInsults, and [[TheDitz Brittany]] at one point calls him a gnome. Speaking of Brittany, she and Blaine get some sweet moments with each other in the glee club and other lessons but aren't constantly attached to each other's hip, making this a mild version of the Huge Schoolgirl befriending the Tiny Schoolboy. (You wouldn't really be able to tell because they're the same height.)
87	* In ''Series/EvenStevens'', Ren dates a boy in her grade and is made fun of by everyone in her class. When she asks her friends why everyone is acting strangely around her, they tell her that everyone saw her being asked out by him and cannot believe that she didn't know he was short. She tells them that she doesn't see people for their height and doubts that there's a glaring difference, but when she turns up to the date, the boy stands up to escort her, showing her that she is head ''and shoulders'' taller than him, making her rather embarrassed that she's unknowingly fallen into the TinyGuyHugeGirl trope, and struggles to accept this and consider going out with him ever again.
88	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In several flashback episodes, the exceptionally tall Sam Winchester is played by diminutive child actors, indicating the character had a growth spurt sometime after his freshman year in high school. In an episode featuring Sam's freshman year, he's tormented by bullies and older brother Dean towers over him.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Roleplay]]
92	* In the online roleplay game ''Roleplay/AcademyOfMerlin'', you have the 4'8 greedy teenager Magnus, and the 4'4 Rowan, who's got HeightAngst and is often mistaken for a child. He is also dating the much-taller Potato.
93	* Even as a teenager, [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Kenny]] is the shortest of the main four boys on the blog ''Blog/AskTheMainFour''. Maybe that's what happens when you're [[RunningGag constantly]] [[TheyKilledKennyAgain killed off]].
94	* Michal from ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'' is only 4'9" at 16 years old, which makes him one of the smallest members of the cast. It's mentioned that his shortness is what's stopping him from asking Luna or Zia (6' and 5'10" respectively) out.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Video Games]]
98	* Despite being [[PintSizePowerhouse one of the most skilled athletes]] around, Pablo Sanchez is consistently designed as the smallest boy in ''VideoGame/BackyardSports''.
99	* In ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'', the three shortest characters are Tori, Shinobu, and Nazuna at 152, 159, and 160 centimeters respectively. Tori explicitly utilises his position as TokenMiniMoe by taking on a DeliberatelyCuteChild persona, and Shinobu admires tall people (such as his friend Midori, the tallest first-year) but due to his [[ShrinkingViolet shy personality]] is happy to stay somewhat below notice. Nazuna however is actually a ''third-year'', and is very much unhappy about how cute his short appearance makes him look.
100	* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': Epel Felmier is only 154 cm tall and is also rather delicate-looking. For this, he has been picked on, both at his current school and in the past, and is mostly concerned with trying to become manly and tough.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
104	* Every ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' game has at least one of these as a RecurringElement.
105	** [[TheHero Makoto Naegi]] from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' is only 5'3, making him the shortest boy in the class. He is roughly the same height as Aoi Asahina (who is the second-shortest girl in the class after [[ShrinkingViolet Chihiro Fujisaki]]). [[spoiler:[[WholesomeCrossdresser Chihiro]] himself is also an example, being the shortest student in the class at 4'10]].
106	** [[{{Yakuza}} Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu]] and [[SupremeChef Teruteru Hanamura]] from ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' clock in at 5'1 and 4'3 respectively. The former often takes offense at any remark regarding his baby-faced appearance, while the latter is the resident NonStandardCharacterDesign {{Gonk}} of the game.
107	** [[OlderThanTheyLook Ryoma Hoshi]] from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' is only 3'5/105cm, being another NonStandardCharacterDesign {{Gonk}} like the aforementioned Hanamura, and is the shortest student in the series. He has to [[ScullyBox stand on a box]] during class trials. There is also [[ManipulativeBastard Kokichi Oma]], who clocks in at 5'1.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Web Animation]]
111	* Robbie Dobbs from ''WebAnimation/EddieAtTheLMV'' is the shortest member of the band -- even the girls tower over him.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Webcomics]]
115	* ''Webcomic/MyImpossibleSoulmate'': Theo is the shortest student in Room P-1, being 4'10".
116	* There are five boys in ''Webcomic/SWAPEnsemble'' who stand less than five feet tall. The shortest is Patrick Tempo, at four feet flat, who is easily mistaken for an elementary school kid and is barely taller than one girl's kneeling height. In fact, he is shorter than an actual elementary schoolgirl, whose 4'6" stature makes the other short boys insecure about being mere inches taller than her.
117	* Larson from ''Webcomic/VenusEnvy'' is only 5'4" due to being a UsefulNotes/{{transgender}} boy. He makes up for it in feist. The first time he meets Zoe (who is trans herself) and her date, he tries to get into a fight with them before noticing the girls are 5'10" and 5'6" respectively.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Western Animation]]
121	* Although not a human boy, nice guy Theodore from ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' is the shortest of his brothers and the canon universes that they interact with human children in.
122	* Ben from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' isn't the shortest boy of his age (in some cases, he meets kids his age that are shorter than him), but when he is denied access to a water slide because he isn't tall enough, cousin Gwen laughs gleefully as she's let through with no hesitations. Ben spends most of the episode trying to sneak on the ride with his alien transformations until the villain of the episode shows up.
123	* ''WesternAnimation/BigMouth'': Nick is the only one of his friends who hasn't undergone puberty, leaving him much smaller than the other boys and a bit insecure about his masculinity.
124	* Aqualad from the TV series incarnation of ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls2019'' is a high school freshman, "[[https://twitter.com/Fyre_flye/status/1195230892337188864 but one of those poor kids who's still waiting for puberty]]."
125	* Dexter from ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' isn't exactly the shortest person in his circle of friends his age, however, Dee Dee's friends have the "ImTakingHimHomeWithMe" mentality whenever they visit his sister.
126	* Eddy from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''. Although his height isn't really used to be insulted by the neighborhood kids (except in one of the earlier episodes where his height is a plot point), he's short-tempered and has [[DumbMuscle Ed]] and [[TheSmartGuy Edd]] as his friends/sidekicks.
127	* Bobby from '' WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' is considerably shorter than the other kids on the show, having not hit puberty yet. Part of this is because the producers didn't want to replace his [[CrossDressingVoices voice actress]] Pamela Hayden.
128	* Exaggerated with one of the middle school students in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mixels}}''. He is a Glowkie that is so tiny, a ''sports ball'' is bigger than him. Meanwhile, Booger is taller than him, though still ridiculously short compared to the other middle schoolers.
129	* From ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'':
130	** Phineas, who is a {{cheerful\|child}}, NiceGuy that makes wacky plans with his stepbrother Ferb to amuse themselves over the summer break. The top of his head comes up to [[LoveInterest Isabella's]] eyes.
131	** Baljeet, who is as tall as Phineas, and is a ChildProdigy who is IndianAndNerdy.
132	* Morty of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' is significantly shorter than his classmates, male and female.
133	* PlayedForDrama in the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Steven's Birthday". [[MuggleBestFriend Connie]] is shocked to learn that Steven's turning [[OlderThanHeLooks fourteen]], despite him looking maybe ten. It turns out Steven hasn't visibly aged in years, possibly due to his mother being [[TheAgeless an ageless]] MagicalGirl. [[NotGrowingUpSucks He begins worrying about the implications of this]] for the first time.
134	* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': It's [[VagueAge unclear]] if Beast Boy is the same age as his other teammates, but he is considerably shorter than any of them ([[ShapeshifterDefaultForm by default]]), the PluckyComicRelief, and the closest friends with Cyborg, the largest of them.
135	* Pidge Gunderson from ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'' is dwarfed by the other MilitaryAcademy students and dropout that make up the bulk of his fellow paladins. [[spoiler:This is understandable given that [[SweetPollyOliver Katie Holt is on the petite side for a girl]] and may have falsified her age as well.]] It should be noted that the original Pidge was just as short.
136	* Omi from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown''. He is the smallest member of the Xiaolin Dragons, beginning as the NiceGuy, but [[{{Flanderization}} ends up as]] a hybrid of TheNapoleon and AttentionWhore by the end of the show. Not to mention, he's an AdorablyPrecociousChild.
137	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TinySchoolboy