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[[quoteright:327:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AllGrown1C_2679.png]]
[[caption-width-right:327:"I distinctly remember you [[ComicallyMissingThePoint not having a nose.]]"]]
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->''"Thank heaven for little girls\\
for little girls get bigger every day!\\
Thank heaven for little girls\\
they grow up in the most delightful way!"''
-->-- '''Film/{{Gigi}}''', "Thank Heaven for Little Girls"

So this guy hasn't seen his {{Childhood Friend|s}} in a long time. Then they meet again, and she's absolutely stunning. He realizes that his friend that he never thought of in "that way" really can be thought of in that way, usually just as she starts dating someone else. If he pairs up with her in the end, it will invariably be revealed that she had been in love with him all along; she just needed [[BeautifulAllAlong time to mature]] (and maybe [[TheGlassesGottaGo switch to contacts]]) before she could catch his eye.

A variant of this: the first story part, they're so-so to okay looking. Cue the sequel, and BAM! knockout. Sometimes, the reason for this is the character was too young to be thought of "that way" in the first part. In live-action shows and movies, this can happen to a character when puberty hits the actor or actress like a ColonyDrop.

This is TruthInTelevision for many girls in their early teens, though it's not often addressed in TV or movies, where girls are absolutely ecstatic about their physical changes and the (male) attention it gets them or freaked out and unprepared for the harassment that sometimes results. This can happen for a [[{{Stereotype}} variety]] of [[MostWritersAreMale reasons]]. It is also the reason why issues of ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}'' featuring nude pictorials of former-child-stars-turned-hot-bombshells usually sell out their entire production runs.

Despite the trope's name, it is hardly an AlwaysFemale trope and {{gender flip}}s are pretty common.

Contrast with PaedoHunt and {{Ephebophile}} when characters like young-looking characters, UsedToBeASweetKid when a villainous character used to be a good kid, and IWasQuiteALooker when an elderly character was good-looking when they were younger. This can sometimes lead to FirstGirlWins. This sometimes overlaps with SheCleansUpNicely, CurvesInAllTheRightPlaces, and/or FormerlyFat. Might happen to a KidHeroAllGrownUp.

''[[Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly In-universe examples only, please.]] Although the audience can definitely feel this way about a character, this only applies if the character's change is acknowledged in some way by another character.''

----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* There's a variant in ''Manga/XxxHolic'', as of Chapter 187, [[spoiler: as Kohane visits Watanuki some years after he's taken over Yuuko's shop, and comments on how good she looks in her school uniform. When she responds that he's constantly saying it, his response hints at this trope.]]
* ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'''s Kaoru gets this when he realizes the lovely adult woman he meets at the start of the series is the same little girl he played with as a kid. Not to mention he gets an up-close and personal introduction to just how well she [[MarshmallowHell developed]] during that first night.
* In the first episode of ''Anime/{{Basquash}}'', Dan realizes -- a little later than Miyuki would've wished -- that the busty mecha mechanic he's been hanging around with for the past few hours is his childhood friend from years ago.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', this happens to Urahara's child assistants Jinta and Ururu after the TimeSkip. Jinta became very tall and muscular, while Ururu became taller with larger breasts and attracts male attention. Also happens to Ichigo's sister Karin. Post-Time Skip, not only has she filled out considerably from her {{Tomboy}} days, she's also picked up more of her brother's spiritual awareness.
* ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' begins with a group of middle schoolers and has them aging a few years. Satoshi received this. He grew from a cute lil' WholesomeCrossdresser to a tall, {{bishonen}} boy within chapters, despite being younger than the main trio. Puberty hit him hard as he grew several centimeters over a spring break. He quit crossdressing due to said growth spurt. Marika's astonished by his change in clothes but soon falls for Satoshi.
* In episode 4 of ''[[Anime/BurnUp Burn Up Excess]]'', we learn that when Maya (who edges out Rio and Nanvel by 1cm for the bustiest of the squad) left for the Tokyo police academy, she was a {{Tomboy}}. When she returns home to Osaka on personal business, everyone was surprised when they learned just how much she filled out while she was in the academy, and there was a RunningGag where she slugged everyone who noted it in a specifically lusty manner.
* Mixed with LeaningOnTheFourthWall in the ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' TV series. In the first episode of the original TV series's junior high arcs, Sanae Nakazawa is introduced by talking to a bunch of girls that are off-screen, with her back towards the 'camera'. She then turns and directly addresses the viewers, identifying herself as Sanae to show the fans how, in the span of three years, she's gone from an unruly {{tomboy}} to a more mature GirlNextDoor.
* ''[[VisualNovel/DaCapo D.C. ~Da Capo~]]'':
** Subverted in Season 1, everyone was surprised when Sakura returned looking exactly like she did 6 years ago (a little girl). She leaves at the end of Season 1, but on her return halfway through Season 2 (years after the first story) she looks... exactly the same.
** In the sequel ''D.C. II'', which takes place 50 years after the original, Sakura ''still'' looks the same.
* In ''Manga/DNAngel'', Rika decides to go check on Daisuke after he mysteriously collapsed in the middle of school. After getting flustered at the sight of his [[BeautifulDreamer sleeping face]], Riku notes that Daisuke looks a bit more mature than she remembers him being and that it's only a matter of time before he turns into a full-blown {{bishonen}}.
* ''Manga/DeathNote''. After [[spoiler: L's death]], we come back after a few years' gap and Light's little sister Sayu has done exactly as this trope predicts, going from an adorable kid to a hottie. Matsuda even gets a crush on her, despite knowing her since she was a kid and [[MayDecemberRomance being 11 years older than she is.]] Soichiro is not pleased, of course.
* In ''Franchise/{{Devilman}}'', merging with Amon triggers a noticeable growth spurt in Akira's base state, quickly turning him from a fairly scrawny OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent into a tall, athletically built young man who draws more than a few admirers.
* A more platonic and gender-swapped variant of this trope is seen in the first episode in the original Japanese dub of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'', with old friends Hikari and Takeru. Upon their reunion (after a couple of years of not having seen each other) Hikari compliments Takeru by saying that "You've gotten taller." Of course, easily-jealous Daisuke -- and [[{{Shipping}} Takeru/Hikari]] fans -- had a less platonic interpretation of this observation. She makes a similar remark again in the third movie of ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'', though accompanied by a light blush this time -- from both of them.
** In both ''Adventure'' and the ''02'' movie ''Diaboromon Strikes Back'', Koushiro is either too busy with his laptop or too distracted with TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt to pay attention to [[SpoiledSweet Mimi]]. But in ''tri'', once Mimi comes back from New York after [[TimeSkip 3 years]], he can't stop looking at her and quickly develops a not-so-secret crush as a result. She even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it upon their reunion:
--->'''Mimi:''' You're all nervous because I’ve gotten super cute now, aren't you!\\
'''Koushiro:''' ''(flustered)'' [[BadLiar T–That’s not it at all!]]
* In a few ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' movies, oddly enough, despite the main cast being NotAllowedToGrowUp:
** ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheKingdomOfClouds'' brings back Kibo the sentient plant from the manga episode, "Goodbye Kibo!" who went from a shrub in his previous appearance to a fully-grown talking tree. The main gang couldn't even recognize him until Kibo revives Doraemon and asks them, "Remember me?"
** ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasNewDinosaur'', allegedly a remake of ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasDinosaur'', turns out to be a StealthSequel when Nobita's previous dinosaur, Piisuke, returns to save his master from drowning. In his second appearance Piisuke is visibly older, with a longer neck, larger flippers, a more realistically-textured skin, and has visibly aged ever since Nobita left him.
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
** This happens to both Goku and Chichi in the last part of [[Manga/DragonBall the original series]] (before it became ''Anime/DragonBallZ''). First, Bulma and company didn't recognize the 19-year-old Goku at first, having gained a couple of feet of growth and the hotness to match (Bulma herself couldn't help but hesitate a little). They could only believe it when he removed the turban he was wearing to reveal his signature hair. Then, Goku didn't notice that the {{Tsundere}} he was fighting against in the Tenkaichi Budokai quarterfinals was the girl he [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise agreed to marry when they were kids]] (she entered the tournament anonymously), and he didn't find out until Chichi revealed herself. ("But-but-but are you the same little Chichi I met so long ago?!" "Hey, of course I am!") Basically, she got tired of waiting for him and decided to approach him more on his terms...and this time it stuck.
** There's also the time in ''Z'' that Bulma learned that (future) Trunks was her KidFromTheFuture. Her reaction (after the requisite {{GASP}} of surprise, of course) was, "My kid's gonna grow up hot? Sweet!" She also has some trouble keeping her thoughts about Goku entirely platonic ever since he turned eighteen -- even after he's married.
* In the ''Anime/EurekaSevenGoodNightSleepTightYoungLovers'' movie, Renton commented to Eureka in the sickbay that she has grown pretty since he last saw her 8 years ago.
* Suzuna tries to get this reaction out of Sena in ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' and beats up Monta when he pulls this...on Mamori. Poor Sena gets stomped on too.
* In ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle]]'', Jubei notes that Mai has grown, implying that he hasn't seen her since she was too young to have her [[BuxomBeautyStandard most famous attribute]].
* In the ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' manga, Momiji goes from a cute OlderThanTheyLook young teen to a very handsome young man by the end of the series.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', the main character Edward's love interest/childhood friend/automail mechanic has been out of town with a job for months, and Edward finds her, has his limbs adjusted and goes on his way. Winry notes to herself (as she further realizes she is in love with Ed) that his back/shoulders are broader now, and Ed is becoming a man and is no longer a child. At least in one instance, this was mostly due to Ed regaining his self-confidence and his posture improving as a result.
* ''Anime/{{Futakoi}}'' has [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Nozomu and Ichijou sisters,]] with flashbacks and stuff.
* Ruriko from ''VideoGame/GateKeepers'' is a hard-nosed, responsible student by day and a powerful invader hunter by night. Her childhood friend Shun remembers her as a weak-hearted sniffler.
* ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'' starts with Saki noticing her old childhood friend, who's grown into an incredible {{Bishonen}}.
* Parodied in the ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' fifth season where Shinpachi finds the show had a two year timeskip in its one year break and finds Kagura has the body of an adult. [[spoiler: It turns out it wasn't a timeskip, everyone is just acting like it was a timeskip because they were infected with wart parasites. Except for Gintoki]]
* In the ''Anime/GunXSword'', Van's KidSidekick Wendy Garrett is show to have grown up into an attractive young woman when they are reunited years later in the finale.
* In ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'', present-Mikuru is a little moe girl who (despite having a large male following) is generally referred to more as cute or adorable than hot or sexy. Her future version, however, generally gets labels like "bombshell" applied to her, and whenever she does ''anything'' at all, Kyon uses adjectives like "seductively" to describe it. It's hard to tell in the anime because of GenericCuteness, but future-Mikuru is still drawn a bit more beautiful than her younger version.
* Actually seems to have been inverted in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'': Hayate doesn't seem to have noticed A-tan's growth when he meets her after ten years of separation, until he's directed to look via an extremely obviously loaded question...and even then it seems to take him a moment. This is particularly funny as they met when they were children and she's now one of the most developed girls in the cast. Interestingly, he actually seems to prefer the memory of the younger Athena too.
* Tsugumi Shibata from season 1 of ''Anime/HellGirl'' reappears in season 3 as a stunning adult, bonus points for becoming a nurse.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** England leaves the young America and tells him to grow taller and stronger. When they see each other again... oh, my. America is quite taller than England.
** There's also France's reaction to pubescent-but-not-quite-legal-looking-Italy.
--->'''Italy''': What's intercourse?\\
'''France''': It's something you do with someone you like! ''...So, Italy. Do you like me?''
** Played with when Hungary and Prussia meet as teens after she's defeated by the Ottoman Empire. Only ''then'' Prussia fully realized that the kid nation he used to fight against more than once that swore was a boy is actually a woman.
* In ''Manga/HisAndHerCircumstances'', Takefumi's appearance has changed so dramatically from when he was a fat, bullied kid that Tsubaki, the girl he liked back then, doesn't even recognize him at first. He takes advantage of this to get close to her with the intent of [[RevengeOfTheNerd getting revenge]] on her for her only pretending to be his friend back then because a teacher ordered her to. Funnily, it later comes out that Tsubaki actually ''[[ChubbyChaser liked]]'' his fatness so much that she tries to fatten his slimmer older self back up.
* Another genderswapped variation occurs in ''Manga/{{Kekkaishi}}'': Tokine initially has difficulty seeing Yoshimori as anything but the crybaby kid she used to try and cheer up when they were younger even after other people have pointed out that he won't stay a kid forever. Events later in the manga, however, have her admitting to herself that Yoshimori is growing to be a strong, reliable young man. She even finds herself imagining how he'd look in a few years and finds her mental image of an older Yoshimori "surprisingly cool-looking."
* ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess2016'' has a male example. [[spoiler:Darpa]] may joke that Link "got old", but Rusl remarks that he's grown into a striking man shockingly fast when they reunite, and [[spoiler:Zeu]] is impressed by how [[HeroicBuild built]] he now is.
* In the final episode of ''Literature/LibraryWar'', Komaki and a young neighbor that he only ever thought of as the little girl next door, until she turned nineteen or so.
* In ''Manga/LoveLab'', Riko's childhood friend Satoshi was very [[DudeLooksLikeALady effeminate looking and teased for resembling a girl]]. When they run into each other in the present, she doesn't recognize him at first because he's become manly.
* Genderswapped in ''Manga/LovelyComplex'' when Risa's childhood friend Haruka moves back to Osaka and is revealed to have grown taller than her, she's impressed but can't help but think of him as the pretty little crybaby she protected when they were young.
* Genderswapped in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth''. Ascot the Summoner was a little boy in the first part of the series, but when the Knights returned to Cephiro in the second part, he was a handsome teenager tall enough to tower over the girls (even more with his hat). Caldina [[LampshadeHanging says]] he "grew up" out of love for Umi, but he denies it (though his LuminescentBlush and his behavior towards Umi say otherwise...).
* In the first ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' sound stage, Shamal notes that Suzuka has become quite beautiful in the ten years since ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs A's]]''.
* In ''Manga/MaidSama'', when Misaki last knew him, Hinata Shintani was a fat {{gonk}}. Ten years later, Hinata returns as a wide-eyed {{Bishonen}} [[{{keet}} with the personality of a hyperactive puppy]] and his mind set on finding his first love (Re: Misaki). In a subversion, Misaki doesn't particularly seem to notice or care very much. Her younger sister Suzuna, on the other hand...
* In ''Manga/{{MAR}}'', Koyuki and Ginta already had a ChildhoodFriendRomance, but when he returns from MAR Heaven, she is quite impressed to see that he's stronger, taller (courtesy of YearInsideHourOutside training) and doesn't need glasses anymore (the latter was due to the magic of MAR Heaven—his vision cleared the moment he got there).
* In ''{{Manga/Miyuki}}'', Masato feels this way regarding Miyuki Wakamatsu - who is his [[NotBloodSiblings stepsister]]...
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Reversed when Sakura notices that Naruto has grown up. When [[ACupAngst she asks if she looks more like a woman]], he says "[[IdiotBall You look fine. You haven't changed a bit.]]" Yeah, that was the ''wrong'' thing to say.
** According to Tsunade, this happened to Kushina, [[spoiler:Naruto's mother]].
** It also happened to Tsunade herself. Back in her genin days, she was called flat-chested by Jiraiya. The difference between her child and adult physiques is lampshaded in an omake of the anime.
* Chapter 45 of ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'' has a bit where a girl named Miyoko complains to a friend while walking home about how this CreepyChild she knew back in preschool named Takashi Natsume. Miyoko's annoyed because he's going to be in town for a couple of days, and since her parents invited him to stay at their place, she's gonna have to put up with him the whole time. ''Ugh!'' But enough about that, why don't they talk about who that really cute guy standing at the front door is and why he's waiting there like...''Oh.''
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** A series of [[OvernightAgeUp age-disguising pills]] causes this to happen with Negi and his students a couple of times, although the girls didn't recognize it was him. Later, a few more girls get a similar effect when they see how his father looked.
** This is repeated later in the series (the Magic World arc). This time around, though, some of them are catching onto it.
** Also noted by Rakan in referring to Asuna. But since it's Rakan, he says 'Look how big you've gotten!' and pokes her breast. Followed by Asuna decking him and him pretending to fall off of [[FloatingContinent Ostia]].
** Setsuna's feelings for Konoka always lay [[BodyguardCrush in that sort of direction]], but it's implied that she first consciously realised how attractive Konoka had become when she saw her dressed up in a [[KimonoFanservice fancy kimono]] in cinema town. [[TransparentCloset Not that she was willing to acknowledge it just yet...]]
-->'''Setsuna''': Ojousama really has grown into a beautiful young woman. Why am I so shaken up?
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Implied with Asuka when Misato acknowledges that she's "filled out" nicely since their last meeting - when she was closer to eight. It is later in the series when we see her at a much younger age and how she grew up into the attractive girl she is at fourteen.
* Yuki in ''Manga/NoBra'' is all grown up to the main character ...the catch is that Yuki is [[WholesomeCrossdresser male]]. Later on, so is [[spoiler: Kaoru.]] They were in the same nursery, at least.
* In ''Anime/RahXephon'' Haruka makes a comment about Ayato finally growing taller than her just before admitting to him that not only is [[MayDecemberRomance she in love with him]] but that [[spoiler: she's ''still'' in love with him, as they used to be [[HighSchoolSweethearts middle-school sweethearts]] before the universe decided to fuck things up between them with [[YearInsideHourOutside time dilation]] and a mind wipe.]]
* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'': Downplayed and GenderInverted with Akira, with the narrative sometimes having a TimeSkip of months. Due to growing up abused and malnourished in the slums, his body’s development was hindered, and a hospital treatment he gets to recover from that helps to make him taller, as well as all of his TrainingFromHell via his VirtualSidekick Alpha sees him grow to peak human fitness. This is noticed by Shizuka when he changes in front of her. This also leads to some scenes with the tailor Celene and DoggedNiceGirl Sheryl EatingTheEyeCandy when seeing him undress.
* The young Yukari Sendo from ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' takes a dose of temporary aging pills in season two. To her relief, she learns that the only thing separating her from the rest of the harem is [[ChildProdigy about four years]]—she just needs to be patient.
* Gender-inverted in ''Manga/SandChronicles'', Ann notices that her love interest Daigo has gotten taller in Chapter 2 (1.5 years after Chapter 1) and she wonders if it's why she feels nervous around him.
* ''Anime/ScottPilgrimTakesOff'': Gideon Graves was the epitome of a geek in high school. In the current day he's glowed up significantly, wearing nice suits, sporting a stylish haircut, and losing the braces. [[spoiler:Julie]] needs a long moment before identifying him as [[spoiler:Gordon Goose]] rather than Gideon Graves and despite his terrible state when she encounters him, is attracted enough to him to let him stay at her place.
* Mika of ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'' certainly grew up nicely as evidenced by his ShowerScene.
** In chapter 46 Ferid drives up in his car and holds out his hand to Mika and Yuu, with a flirtatious look and teasingly saying "I heard you two were being attacked by a dangerous vampire so I came to your rescue. Come take a ride with me. I'll save you." He plays mind games with Yuu and Mika throughout the chapter, and when Yuu turns into a demon to attack Ferid for showing them Akane's head Ferid tells Mika he's "worried for the poor guy (Yuu)" because he says Yuu could turn into a full demon. He states he has an antidote to cure Yuu and tells Shinoa "Let us go rescue dear Yuu." Mika is adamant to keep Ferid from getting near Yuu and says "I won't let you have your way with him!" Ferid smiles and says he just wants to help Yuu. Mika says he's not going to let Ferid touch him. Crowley engages Mika in a fight while Ferid states cheerfully "Now precious Yuu is all mine." Ferid approaches Yuu and blushes, saying "Wow! Haven't you grown into the cute one!! Your demon is on the verge of rampage yet you still have such clear and beautiful eyes. No wonder you are the extra special guinea pig." He then lifts Yuu's face by his chin and gets close saying "Perhaps before I heal you I'll take a little sip of your blood."
* ''Manga/SkipBeat'' has a Genderswapped version. Kyoko vividly remembers Corn from her childhood, but he left suddenly. During the Guam arc, when she encounters him [[SexySurfacingShot emerging]] from [[ItMakesSenseInContext the ocean]], she immediately recognizes him and her thoughts revolve around how this is exactly how she thought he would look like, if he had grown up into an adult: tall, mature and just as beautiful as he had been all those years ago.
* The ColonyDrop version is also used as a joke in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars W'', where [[LittleMissSnarker Ruri Hoshino]] undergoes all the physical growth she did in the six ''years'' between ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' and ''The Prince of Darkness'' in only six ''months'' between the first and second halves of the game.
* ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'':
** Sasami. It's shown several times over the course of the series that the world's most [[{{Moe}} adorable]] girl is going to grow up to be drop-dead beautiful -- there's even a short story in the manga where Ryoko points this out to Ayeka -- "Sure she's a kid ''now''..." She's so far beyond Ryoko and Ayeka's league that the two can't even come up with a decent comeback in the OVA. The best they can come up with is insulting each other and comparing themselves to ''her''. Or at least, that's how the two of them seem to see it.
** In one episode of the original series, Ayeka on seeing Sasami's adult form in Tsunami bemoaned the fact that her sister's beauty would soon surpass her own.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':
** [[CampGay Leeron]] makes comments about this in respect to [[{{Bishonen}} Rossiu]] after the TimeSkip. There's also Simon, who as a teenager is a short and scrawny BeadyEyedLoser. None of these attributes can apply to him [[http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww262/CapZiggy/317959.jpg after seven years]].
** On the female side of things, Nia goes from [[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/401/nia33d77feeo4.jpg/sr=1 cutie princess]] to [[http://windofthestars.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Nia_Tepperin.png a real knockout]] after the time skip. It's not seen much, but Darry seems to grow up pretty nicely, too.
* The light novel/manga ''Tenkosaki'' follows high school transfer student Hayato finding out that his new class's sweetheart idol student Haruki was his ChildhoodFriend - one he thought was a boy all this time since Haruki presented themselves in a rough boyish manner and dressed the part up too as a kid. It's relatively downplayed in that Hayato is simply happy to hang out with her like before, and Haruki is similarly elated to act normally around him as the tomboy she naturally is instead of the demure girly girl persona she keeps up in public.
* In ''Manga/UncleFromAnotherWorld'', Fujimiya looked and acted like an ill-mannered boy in grade school. Come middle school, however, she made more of an effort to act like a girl. Thankfully for her, puberty was very generous to her.
* ''Manga/WanderingSon'':
** Yuki was surprised to see how her middle school crush grew up once he reached high school, considering she dropped out of school in middle school and became a {{hikikomori}}. Said crush later becomes her boyfriend when they meet as adults.
** In high school Nitori meets up with her old elementary classmates one day. They're surprised at how handsome she's become, especially a girl who had a crush on Nitori.
** Not having seen Nitori much since they split into different high schools, Takatsuki is surprised by how she's matured. [[spoiler:Takatsuki confesses later, but gets turned down]].
* ''Manga/WolfGirlAndBlackPrince'': Erika meets her middle school friend Terasaki, who was pudgy back then, only to learn that he is now a {{Bishonen}}.
* In ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', a brief glimpse of everyone's futures reveals that the children Rua and Ruka grow up well. Guys [[DistractedByTheSexy stare at Ruka and bump into each other]], and Ruka's female friends start gushing about Rua and saying he's hot.
* In a scene later on in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Yusuke stares at his childhood friend/love interest Keiko's body before remarking, "...since when did YOU start filling out in all the right places?", which promptly results in him getting smacked.
* In ''Manga/YuriIsMyJob'', Hime Shiraki was friends with a girl named Mitsuki Yano while the two were in fifth grade, but they parted on bad terms, only to reunite in high school, five years later. Over the years Mitsuki, who was only a little taller than Hime back in elementary school, grows into a [[AloofDarkHairedGirl tall, attractive]] and big-breasted OneeSama, which is part of the reason why Hime doesn't recognize her at first. When Hime sees Mitsuki in an outfit that shows off her breasts, Hime is shocked at how much Mitsuki has grown.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'':
** A story titled "A Date with Suzy Stringbean!" had Betty set up a date between Reggie and an old classmate who had a crush on him, Susan Starn (or Suzy Stringbean, nicknamed because she was the skinniest girl in the class). Reggie fakes an illness to get out of the date, so Betty sends Archie in his place. When Reggie sees Suzy the next day:
-->'''Reggie''': S-Sue-Suzy! You've filled out! I mean, you've grown up! I mean, I don't know what I mean! ''[face turns green]''\\
'''Suzy''': Gosh, Reggie! You must still be sick! You're turning a bit green!\\
'''Betty''': Yeah! Green with envy!
** Another example: The reason Jughead avoids women is that [[spoiler:he fears his heart is going to get broken a second time; the first was when his first love and childhood friend Joani Jump moved out of town. [[RetCon Or maybe he who moved away from her.]] At any rate, in one story, when they reunited briefly, for the first time since they were about five years old, she was a knockout. Even Reggie was a little flustered when he saw her. (Archie had enough respect for Jug to leave them alone, dragging Reggie with him.)]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} Legionary'' has Panacea, who returns after many years studying outside the village.
* In ''ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers'' Fat Freddy goes back to his hometown and meets an attractive teenage girl who invites him home. As they're sharing a bath together, her parents come home--and Freddy realizes they're his parents too, having not recognized his now attractive sister.
* ''ComicBook/LesLegendaires'':
** The series takes place in a world where everyone has been turned back into a child because of a curse [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the protagonists accidentally caused on their world]]. In Book 6, [[TheHero Danael]], after going through a TimeTravel, meets with a past, full-grown version of his LoveInterest [[MagicalGirl Jadina]]. He is quick to notice he was used to the child version of her and forgot how beautiful she was as an adult.
** Later played straight in a minor way with character [[Webcomic/GirlGenius Toopie]], who started out as a regular child and as such was still able to grow up until she reaches 12. When the heroes meet her again, she has reached such age, and [[TheBigGuy Razzia]] is quick to notice how much she has grown up, pissing his girlfriend [[DarkActionGirl Tenebris]] off in the process.
* A 1967 issue of ComicBook/TheMightyThor features the first modern encounter of Thor and Lady Sif. He is surprised because he remembers her as a child who he used to dandle on his knee, and he now sees her as a stunning beauty. He concludes that: "By my mallet--thou art child no longer!" This was also Thor's reaction to meeting the grown-up Lorelei, Amora's younger sister, who is in the process of using magic to seduce and rape him. The last time Thor saw her she was still a child.
* ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'' has done this a couple of times:
** In the very first issue, Alex refers to Nico as "that dorky girl" who borrowed his [=DVDs=] of ''Series/{{The Prisoner|1967}}'' the previous year and never returned them. When he sees her again, he is literally speechless. A flashback much later on shows that the younger Nico had shorter hair, glasses, and a much more conservative wardrobe.
** In the second volume, the gang meets a future version of Gert, described in Brian K. Vaughan's script as "busty" and "very, very attractive." The Gert fans know and love is an overweight, bespectacled nerd.
* ''ComicBook/SinCity''. John Hartigan saves eleven-year-old Nancy Callahan from a pedophile rapist. Eight years later he walks into a bar looking for her and is dumbfounded when informed she's the buxom stripper (played by Creator/JessicaAlba in the movie) up on stage in the cowgirl outfit.
-->Skinny little Nancy Callahan. She grew up. She filled out.
* ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' takes notice of how much prettier Lisa Miller is compared to when they were in high school. [[spoiler:Lisa noticed his reaction and starts tramping herself up because she really liked him staring at her]].
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} started out being depicted (and drawn) as a typical teenager, with Supergirl rarely looking more than 13 or 14 in most of her early appearances, only by the mid-1960s to be depicted and drawn as a sexy 20-something woman. Although "eye of the reader" does not apply for this trope, Supergirl becoming a woman is touched on in numerous issues, including stories where she tells her cousin Franchise/{{Superman}} that she doesn't need his guidance or approval anymore.
* In ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/AMindSwitchInTime'', ComicBook/{{Superboy}} travels to the future and is stunned when he sees his childhood crush ComicBook/LanaLang and realizes how gorgeous she has become.
* Layla Miller in ''ComicBook/XFactor''. She was stranded in the future as a prepubescent girl, and returned as a young woman, with hips and "things" as Jamie observed.
* When the 3rd Loki got his PlotRelevantAgeUp in ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'' the reaction to his new teen/young adult self was stunned silence and:
-->'''Kate''': Okay. ''Now'' he looks like trouble.
* Gender-swapped in ''Comicbook/{{Zot}}'': Short-and-nebbish Woody, who has a crush on Jenny (who of course only has eyes for hero Zot), goes to France for the summer. When he returns, he's six inches taller and quite a bit buffer. Jenny's reaction: "My God, he's ''adorable''!!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'' had a slight variation: Michael returned home to find that his sister Elizabeth was actually good-looking, and remarked on this, prompting her to go mark that date on the calendar. In another strip, he noticed that she actually looked similar to his girlfriend Deanna. BrainBleach may have been needed.
* An early-to-mid '60s installment of ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' has Linus reading the paper and fretting because...
-->'''Linus''': '''''Annette Funicello is all grown up!!'''''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Link has this reaction in ''Fanfic/AfterGanon'' when he's reunited with Zelda after six years. She's become even more attractive over the years:
-->''As he expected, she was in the courtyard, where she had been when they were 10. Now she faced him, and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she had gotten. Her eyes had gained more depth, and her hair had lost the bleached tone it once held, and not looked purely like strands of gold. He slowly walked up to her, for fear of breaking the beauty of what lied before him.''
* ''Fanfic/AfterTheEndArabellaAndZsenya'': Everyone is surprised to suddenly find out Eloise Midgen has become ''extremely'' attractive. Also, Colin Creevey has become rather tall and good-looking. There are a few fics out there that sometimes depict Neville has having grown out of his awkward younger phase and becoming something of a stud. No doubt, there is some influence the similar transformation of Creator/MatthewLewis, the actor who plays Neville in the films.
* In the Buffy/Stargate crossover fic ''Fanfic/AllYourBaseAreBelongToHer'', we catch up with Dawn as she approaches her eighteenth birthday. Although she had been cute enough even as a young teen, Dawn has come along nicely in the two and a half years since the end of Buffy Season Five, and is acknowledged by most (though not all) of the characters she meets as being a legitimately gorgeous young woman (as well as being an [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers insufferable]] [[BrattyTeenageDaughter brat]], but that's another point altogether).
* This is used platonically in ''Fanfic/AnotherRainbowInAnotherSky'' when Wind Whistler compliments a now-adult Megan after having not seen her since she was a child.
* Harry 's original intent in ''Fanfic/TheAwakeningOfAMagus'' is to try passing his physical changes from the Awakening as a growth spurt. So far, it is unclear whether the secret will even hold until it becomes relevant. Also, it turns out that the more powerful wizards undergo a less severe case of this; in fact, Voldemort, when shown a memory of the "New Harry" believes this is the case.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Fanfic/BloodThatFlows'' with Vita, who is now suffering from LaserGuidedKarma for calling Signum a Boob Monster, considering that she is about Hayate's height, with Shamal's bust.
* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': When Penny flirts with teen hearthrob actor Lance Stonewell in "The Cameo," he remarks on how much she has changed since her time starring on the ''Bolt'' television show, when she was a pre-pubescent girl.
-->'''Penny''': Oh, you flatter me. I'm Penny, by the way. I guess you remember me from the show's earlier days? And this is Bolt. They used to call him "The Hardest-Working Dog in Show Business" back then.\\
'''Lance''': ''[stammering]''' Ah -- right, right, right! That was a few years ago now, wasn't it? My, my, how you've changed -- and I must say, for the better. You're not that gangly little pixie on a scooter anymore.
* Played straight in the LDD-fanfic, ''Fanfic/BridgeToTerabithia2TheLastTime''. As expected, Leslie who turns out to still be alive is absolutely gorgeous as a teenager, and more feminine than either her book or film counterpart, preferring to wear perfume and lipstick and having her hair grown long. But the same thing also applies to Maybelle, who at age 13 takes on a more spunky persona, is more adorable and prefers figure-hugging clothing, and even more so on Jess, who TookALevelInBadass as a teenager, started working out and changing himself into the complete opposite of the innocent fifth-grader he was in the original story, with one chapter outright stating he even had ''abs''.
* Comes up in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23108104/chapters/55288183 Burnin' Passion]]'' regarding Moe Kamiji. When Izuku first met her, the girl was chubby to the point of being nearly round. By the time they're teenagers, Izuku remarks that puberty "hit her like a fully loaded 18-wheeler with an extra trailer".
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'':
** The fic has Harry undergo this offscreen - while there isn't a time skip, he is, at first, completely oblivious and constantly surprised by how much taller he's got, and the narrative doesn't particularly dwell on it, save to remark on his height. Over the course of the story, he goes from a thirteen year old who could probably pass for eleven to a fourteen year old who could comfortably pass for eighteen by the sequel, after TheGlassesComeOff (thanks to Asgardian magical eye surgery around chapter 57), better food and a long overdue growth spurt - one probably related to his demigod genes at that. He's noted in-universe as being well on course to being very handsome indeed and to be a growing recipient of the FemaleGaze. Since he's still young and a bit shy, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he's more freaked out by it than anything else.]]
** Carol's main problem is that she went through this trope prior to the story starting, ahem, [[YoungerThanTheyLook developing early]] into her canon counterpart. The sexual harassment that results is depicted as absolutely miserable and causes Carol to develop a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold somewhat spiky outlook]] since most guys her age seek to befriend her with a view to getting with her and grown men have no compunctions about hitting on her or copping a feel. When we first encounter her, she's ''[[FridgeHorror 14]]''.
* In ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfTime'', Literature/SherlockHolmes first meets Beth Lestrade when she's a fifteen-year-old, HotBlooded tomboy. When he sees her next, she's seventeen and has matured quite a bit in the past couple of years, acting far more like an adult than a kid. He's left unsure of how to handle it.
* ''Fanfic/TheGodOfDestructionComesToRemnant'': Nicolas Schnee was in a coma for about 17 years. When he wakes up and is reacquainted with his loved ones, he comments that the last time he saw his grandchildren, Winter was a little girl and Weiss was a baby. Now they are grown up and beautiful.
* ''Fanfic/FatesCollide'': Siegfried is a handsome, tall, and well-muscled warrior. Jeanne shows Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos pictures of back when he was just a scrawny kid.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' alternative continuity fanfic, ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6318423/1/Hitchups Hitchups]]'' has a parental version of this when Hiccup, having fled Berk with Toothless for two years of adventures, returns to help his people against the Red Death. To the Berkians amazement, the clumsy boy named Hiccup has returned as a mighty and tested DragonRider warrior on top of being a brilliant inventor and dragon expert favored by Thor himself.
* ''Fanfic/KarmaInRetrograde'' has a platonic version with Shouto. When Touya wakes up in a flaming warehouse, the first thing he sees is a guy who looks disturbingly like his eleven-year-old little brother. But this guy was his age, tall, muscular, and sharp. This only adds to Touya's confusion as he remembers speaking to Shouto over the phone just last night. When he and Shouto finally get a chance to sit down and talk, one of the first things Touya brings up is the fact that Shouto is taller than him now.
* In ''WebAnimation/OutcastBandicoot'', Crunch is abducted when he and Tani are teenagers. It is several years before Crunch can return to Earth. Upon his return, he finds that Tani has grown up and changed in the years that passed.
* In ''Fanfic/OverTheRainbow'', Ozma watches Dorothy from afar using the Magic Mirror. Dorothy grows up to be quite pretty after their years apart, which only makes Ozma feel more upset that they live so far away from one another.
* In [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/93809/a-pleasant-surprise A Pleasant Surprise,]] both Fluttershy and Midnight have this reaction to each other, given that they haven't met in years. Fluttershy didn't expect him to have grown up to be adorkable, and Midnight had no idea that Fluttershy had gone from cute to amazing.
* In the ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' fanfic, ''Prelude to Heaven'', Balian is tall, gangly, pale and somewhat clumsy. Then after serving in an army, turns into... well, what Orlando Bloom is. This is noted by the girl he was crushing very badly on, who didn't recognise him and had had a [[RapeAsBackstory bad experience]] in the intervening years before he sweeps her off her feet as it were.
* ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has a variation: shortly after being thrown into the new timeline, Ash meets a 15-year-old Misty, whom the narration describes this way:
--> ''Ash couldn't believe his eyes as he saw her; the short, angry, tomboyish girl just a bit older than him was now a tall, angry, tomboyish girl who actually looked like one of her older sisters in body shape.''
* Artificially (though unintentionally) induced in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/26361532/chapters/105916830#workskin Science: Saving Humanity Without Regard to Morals Or Ehics]]''. The retrovirus tailored for Asuka that's meant to cure infertility[[labelnote:*]]Second Impact left humanity nearly infertile across the board and Ritsuko is using the Children as test subjects[[/labelnote]] turns her from a "stringbean of a girl who thought she looked hot" into an amazon fertility goddess, who's not only taller than the rest of the cast but curvier than even Misato.
--> Misato was every bit as dumbstruck as the teenaged boys she’d brought with her. This was ''not'' the Asuka Langley Sohryu she left behind in Germany two years ago. Hell, she was pretty sure this wasn’t the Asuka Langley Sohryu that left Germany a ''month'' ago! She was supposed to be a short girl of slight build, almost waif-like even–not this voluptuous young woman that stood before her… that stood ''taller than her''! And her figure! The way that Asuka filled out was straight up scandalous–and that was coming from Misato ‘no neckline is too low’ Katsuragi!
* Fu of all people gets this in ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin''. She's introduced in Part I as a rather short and scrawny girl, and quickly befriends Naruto and his peers during the Chunin Exams. Fast-forward to Part II, when they rescue her from Hidan and Kakuzu, they're shocked to see she's grown OneHeadTaller than them, [[AmazonianBeauty and has built up some muscle on top of that]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/6473194 The Space Between Us]]'', there is a bit of tension and discomfort (not just in the metaphorical sense) due to Marinette and Adrien having an identity reveal right before Adrien got a growth spurt that made him shoot up about a foot, while Marinette's spurt made her... a lot squishier.
* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fanfic "Strained Reunions", a reclusive 38 year old Harry Potter is shocked to discover that the "drop dead sexy" young witch who "just showed up one day, announced she was going to have me whether I knew it or not, and hung around so much I eventually fell in love with her" is, in fact, Rose Weasley, daughter of his best friends from school, Ron and Hermione, whom he had last seen when she was only three years old. They end up happily married with children, much to her parents' chagrin.
* The whole point of the [[https://twitter.com/Chillguydraws/status/1065244673923579905 Thicc Falls]] AU is that we are re-introduced to all the characters of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' at least ten years later when all of the kid and teen characters have become adults, and [[{{Hunk}} Dipper]], [[BuxomBeautyStandard Mabel]] and [[HartmanHips Pacifica]] in particular have all grown up to be extremely attractive.
** It expands into a whole 'thicc-verse' where most of the former kid characters from other properties have all grown up to be very good looking adults. Including [[https://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/chillguydraws/thicc-verse-adventures Adventure Time]], [[https://twitter.com/Chillguydraws/status/1065338353627869187 Steven Universe]], [[https://twitter.com/chillguydraws/status/1065293322053459969 The Loud House]],[[https://twitter.com/chillguydraws/status/1065270754282037254 Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil]] and [[https://twitter.com/search?q=thicc-verse%20ok%20ko&src=typd OK KO]].
* Naruto and Hinata in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4108845/1/Twice-Shy-Story-Two Twice Shy]]'' (sequel to ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4068221/1/Two-Halves-Story-One Two Halves]]''). Long story short, Tsunade convinced an old student of hers to take Naruto and Hinata for training during the time skip. They come back and well... Hinata has more confidence, doesn't stutter and wears modest clothes that don't hide her figure. Naruto thinks before he talks, eats a balanced diet, is less impulsive and (due to the proper diet and training during time skip) is 6 feet tall and ripped. When they get back to the village Kiba is practically foaming at the mouth at seeing Hinata. Sakura and Ino knock on Naruto's door and look down for when he opens it thinking he's still short... they end up staring at his chest.
* ''Fanfic/UsAndThem'': [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]], who has been raised since he was eight by Aeris' parents, suddenly realizes this one day when when she hugs him from behind, causing him to suddenly realize she has breasts now.
* ''Fanfic/WormGrandOrder'': Around the time that Hero was killed, Miss Militia was a little girl. When Taylor summons him as a Servant, he eventually runs into Miss Militia, who is now an adult, and is amazed at how she has grown.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'', Faline grows into a very pretty doe after the TimeSkip. Bambi briefly gets his antlers tangled in the branches of a tree after seeing her grown up.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'':
** The main plot is kicked off when Maria returns to San Angel after several years of studying abroad.
** Maria herself has a moment like this when she sees Manolo singing "Creep."
* A somewhat wacky version in ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear2''. By the time Kenai meets his childhood friend Nita again, she's a pretty young bride-to-be, and he's a bear. [[spoiler:It works out in the end; Nita becomes a bear in order to stay with him.]]
* ''Franchise/TheLionKing'':
** [[VictoriousChildhoodFriend Nala]]. Simba doesn't even recognize her at first!
** In [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride the sequel]], Kiara (Simba and Nala's daughter), being the protagonist, seems to react more to "''he's'' all grown up" than Kovu does to her when they first reunite. However, she did get a similar moment where everyone comments on how much she has grown, much to Simba's discomfort.
* A platonic variation: In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', Charlotte's reaction to Tiana in the blue dress (which Charlotte loaned her after a costume ruining) is half this, half SheCleansUpNicely.
---> "Look at ''you''. Why, you're just as pretty as a magnolia in May."
* Happens to Princess Odette in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess''. With the added twist that she and Prince Derek were [[ArrangedMarriage engaged]] from an early age, but couldn't stand each other because she was an incorrigible {{tomboy}} and he thought [[GirlsHaveCooties girls had cooties]]. It then gets deconstructed as Derek wants to marry her straight away. Odette asks him if her beauty is all that matters to him, to which -- put on the spot, not having really thought about her kindly before, and rather distracted by his sudden attraction to her -- he replies "what...else...is there?" so Odette calls off the marriage. Derek essentially has to spend the rest of the film proving that his love for Odette is based on more than just noticing how she filled out.
* The beginning of ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'' shows how Ellie goes from a gawky, androgynous little girl to a beautiful woman and continues to age gracefully up to her deathbed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/ThirteenGoingOnThirty'', the main character finds out that her pudgy best friend grows up to be a pretty good-looking guy. Unfortunately, he's also engaged to someone else.
* In ''Film/AngelsWithDirtyFaces'', Rocky doesn't recognize Ann Sheridan's character when he first sees her and is shocked to learn she hasn't been hitched yet.
* ''Film/ArchieToRiverdaleAndBackAgain'' (released on video as ''Archie: Return to Riverdale''): This live-action TV-movie is about the high-school reunion of [[ComicBook/ArchieComics the comic book characters]], now adults. Jughead spends most of the movie trying to avoid Big Ethel, but he decides to confront his fears and goes to her house. She's now a supermodel.
* Enrique's and Ignacio's reunion as adults after not having seen each other after grade school in ''Film/BadEducation2004'' has shades of this.
* In ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'', Riddick (and the audience) discovers that "Jack", now Kyra, not only grew up and filled out, she also TookALevelInBadass (and was very annoyed to find out that her role model had been feeding her BS).
* A ten-year TimeSkip in ''Film/CircusOfHorrors'' allows Nicole to transform from a tomboyish child to a glamorous and sexy equestrian.
* In ''Film/EyesOfAStranger'' the protagonist's [[Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh little sister Tracy]] discovers this ''about herself'' at the end of the film. Having suffered [[TemporaryBlindness hysterical blindness]] after being attacked as a child, Tracy has never seen her grown-up body. In the climax successfully defending herself from a second attack causes her sight to return, and she is bemused by her new appearance, [[{{Fanservice}} examining her breasts in the bathroom mirror]].
* ''Film/AFairlyOddMovieGrowUpTimmyTurner'' does this with Tootie. In the original series, Tootie was a StalkerWithACrush who was absolutely ''obsessed'' with Timmy, but in the film, she's now an adventurous GranolaGirl, who Timmy doesn't recognize until she says her name out loud. In addition, because she's no longer crazy over Timmy, the two manage to get together on mutual terms.
* The [[AshCanCopy infamous unreleased]] ''Film/TheFantasticFour'' has Sue Storm developing a PrecociousCrush on Reed Richards at the age of 13, meeting him again 10 years later with one such introduction, and marrying him by the movie's end.
* During the first ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' movie Mia mentioned this as having happened to her brother Dom in regards to his relationship with his girlfriend Letty.
-->'''Mia''': Letty grew up just down the street. She was into cars since she was like ten years old. [[PrecociousCrush Dom always had her attention]]. Then she turned sixteen...\\
'''Brian''': And she had Dom's attention.\\
'''Mia''': Yeah, it's funny how that works out.
* ''Film/{{Gigi}}''. The plot pretty much turns on the fact that the male lead falls in love with the female lead without even knowing it because he considers her a child, and therefore discounts her charm and appeal until it is all but shoved in his face (so to speak)!
* In ''Film/HeartOfDarkness1958'' a character says to her "little brother" who she hasn't seen for several years: "You're not a cub anymore, are you? You're a panther now, grown black and shiny."
* ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'': George Bailey has to be strong-armed into dancing with his friend's "kid sister" Mary at the graduation party, and reluctantly agrees only as a favor to his friend. Then he sees what Mary looks like now, and isn't reluctant anymore.
* ''Film/JustFriends'' stars Ryan Reynolds as the fat, nerdy teenager in love with his best friend, Amy Smart, who loves him "as a brother". He runs away and 10 years later is rich, cool, and good looking. He comes back into town where she immediately is struck by his new appearance.
* In ''Film/KaamelottPremierVolet'', Karadoc's daughters Mehben and Mehgan have grown up (they were children in [[Series/{{Kaamelott}} the series]]), they're quite pretty and they have suitors now.
* Isabelle from ''Film/LegendsOfTheFall'' had had a PrecociousCrush on Tristan and they get married when he returns.
* Scrawny Chiron from ''Film/Moonlight2016'' grows up to be very muscular. His childhood friend Kevin is very surprised. By the end of the night, Chiron confesses to him.
* In ''Film/TheNamesake'', Gogol isn't thrilled about re-meeting his childhood friend Moushimi, as she was a classic awkward teenager (glasses, braces, frizzy hair), as well as quite stuck-up. He's floored to see that the glasses make her look even more attractive and she's now ''gorgeous''.
* James Norrington noticed this in Elizabeth Swann in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'' after the TimeSkip following the intro, and tries to court her later on. However, she ends up falling for Will Turner instead.
* In ''Film/RushHour3'', we meet Ambassador Han's daughter again after almost ten years. Carter mentions that they should get her a teddy bear, then he sees her and adds "or a bra!". Surprisingly though, for a film series about as bawdy as PG-13 can get, it doesn't play up her attractiveness very much beyond that.
* ''Film/{{Sabrina|1954}}'', the Creator/AudreyHepburn movie, later [[Film/Sabrina1995 remade]] with Julia Ormond, builds a story around this trope.
* In ''Film/ShadowOfADoubt'', Charlie notices how his niece has grown since they last met. Their relationship gets [[IncestSubtext more serious]] afterwards.
* In ''Film/ShesOutOfControl'', dowdy Katie gets a makeover where she gets contact lenses, a new hairdo at a professional hair salon, a new wardrobe, and her braces removed while her father is out of town. He returns to be shocked and horrified that Katie is now being chased by practically every teenaged boy.
* The Creator/TinaFey and Creator/AmyPoehler vehicle ''Film/Sisters2015'' features a scene where they get together with an old high school friend, after exclaiming how Tina Fey's character is still as hot as she was in high school, he sees Amy's geeky character and declares she "grew up to become a peach".
* ''Film/SlumsOfBeverlyHills'', puberty hits Vivian fast and hard, that she almost grows enormous breasts overnight.
* A male example in ''[[Film/AttackOfTheClones Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones]]'', when Padmé sees Hayden Christensen-era Anakin for the first time. He replies "So have you, grown more beautiful... for a senator, I mean."
* Between the two movies based on ''Series/UltramanCosmos''. Mari, the childhood friend of Musashi and resident {{Tomboy}} first shows up in the prequel movie ''Film/UltramanCosmosTheFirstContact'', where she frequently hangs out with Musashi and the rest of the boys. In the series proper, she's completely absent. And when she reappears in ''Film/UltramanCosmos2TheBluePlanet'', set 8 years after ''First Contact'', Musashi meets Mari and is stunned at how gorgeous and feminine she had become in 8 years.
* This trope can be inferred in Lord Steyne's attraction to Becky Sharpe when he meets her as an adult after having had an interesting encounter with her as a child in TheFilmOfTheBook of ''Literature/VanityFair''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': In ''The Mallorean'', Silk is completely thrown when he meets up again with Velvet, who he remembers as the child who always pulled his nose. She's been in love with him for years and, now she's on adult terms with him, sets off on a determined campaign to cure him of his bachelorhood. It still takes a while for him to admit that he has indeed noticed she is now all grown up, but she gets him eventually.
* ''Literature/TheChangeRoom'': Sophia has blossomed into a beautiful girl at fifteen, which both her mother Janet and Eliza (her mom's friend) notice, which she accentuates by wearing more revealing clothing. Janet is worried by this, afraid she'll get into trouble with boys. She's actually a lesbian, with a girlfriend (which Janet is also upset by at first).
* ''Literature/ColinFischer'': Melissa Greer was bullied when she was younger for her acne, braces, and wild hair. Over the summer before high school, the acne and braces disappeared, her hair became more manageable, and she developed enough curves that she's now one of the most attractive girls in class.
* In ''[[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} The Dragonlance Chronicles]]'', [[TheHero Tanis]] notices this after he pulls [[RebelliousPrincess Laurana]] down on top of him. Especially justified as he is a half-elf and she is a full elf, so he hit puberty at least a decade before she did. Also happens with Caramon and Tika. He remembers her as a little freckled brat and is stunned by what she's grown into ([[MostCommonSuperPower and what has grown onto her]], [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre if you know what I mean...]]) after he's been gone for five years.
* Molly Carpenter of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Harry met her first when she was "somewhere between training wheels and training bra" and doesn't realise she's turned into a complete stunner until she calls him to help bail her boyfriend out of jail. However, he still feels very uncomfortable with the idea of relating to her in any non-platonic way ''because'' he remembers when she was a little girl. It doesn't help that her father is the one person whose good opinion matters the most to Harry.
* ''Literature/TheElenium'': When Sparhawk returns from a ten-year exile, the child-Queen he remembers serving is now a grown woman of eighteen and extremely interested in him. The situation completely throws him for a while, before he comes to accept it.
* In the first ''Literature/GotrekAndFelix'' novel, the main characters save a young girl named Kat from a Chaos warlord. When they return to the region a couple of decades later in ''Shaman Slayer,'' she has become a badass Beastman hunter and quite an attractive young woman.
* Invoked several times in ''Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits'':
** Clara del Valle, the soon-to-be matriarch of the Trueba family, was a kinda ugly little girl at age 12 when Esteban's fiancèe and the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman Rosa died. Some years later Esteban, now a SelfMadeMan, asks the Del Valle family for Clara's hand in marriage... and is ''stunned'' to see that the 20-year-old Clara has grown into her looks quite a bit.
** Esteban and Clara's eldest daughter Blanca was rather ugly when she was born, average-looking as a child and a total beauty as a teenager/adult.
** Blanca's love interest Pedro Tercero was a CountryMouse as a boy, then borderline TallDarkAndHandsome as a teen/grown man. [[spoiler: Then he loses [[{{Fingore}} three fingers]], but has the charisma and the singing/songwriting skills to be still ''very'' attractive in the eyes of the women around him.]]
** Tránsito Soto was a rather ugly but charmingly plucky teen HookerWithAHeartOfGold when she befriended Esteban Trueba and he gave her some money so she'd make it in the city. Esteban found her again some years later and saw that, even with a tacky dress/hairstyle combo she had on, she looked much better. Each time they meet through their lives, Tránsito has grown further into her beauty [[spoiler: until the last time, where she's a very old and serious-looking MissKitty.]]
* An interesting variant happens to Cosette in ''Literature/LesMiserables''. Fresh out of a [[CatholicSchoolGirlsRule convent school]], she's a mousy little thing who Marius (her future husband) and Courfeyrac just think of in passing as 'Mademoiselle Lanoire' for her plain black dress. Then she ''herself'' notices she's gotten pretty and makes more of an effort to dress accordingly, turning heads wherever she goes and causing Valjean, her adopted father, a lot of anxiety. Courfeyrac notices the change immediately, but Marius doesn't - until he meets her eyes.
* The pre-reviz ''Literature/MagicTheGathering'' novel featured the initiate druid Greensleeves, in her late teens, being spirited away by an archdruid for a crash course in advanced magic. Her brother and some trackers took a week or two to find where she managed to get to in a single night. When they arrived he saw she had grown taller, gone from a skinny youth to being, as the cliche goes, a woman with curves in all the right places--perhaps older than her brother (in his early twenties)--and lost her stutter. The implication is that her mentor did [[AWizardDidIt a magical version]] of [[SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome SORAS]], compressing time for her so she could learn what she needed before she needed it, which she wouldn't have if she had been taught the traditional way, over years.
* A parental version happens in ''Literature/MansfieldPark''. After Sir Thomas returns from many months in Antigua, he notices for the first time that the quiet, timid niece he fostered at age ten has grown up to be a very proper and respectable young lady of eighteen. With his own daughters gone after the elder's marriage, he starts treating Fanny with a much warmer, paternal air and begins to think seriously about advancing her future.
* ''Literature/TheNeapolitanNovels'': The first book explores the squicky side of this trope, as the girls of the neighborhood start being sexualized by older men almost as soon as they hit puberty. This is especially egregious and becomes a major plot point in Lila's case, as she goes from being considered an ugly duckling to being the object of infatuation of several legal adults at only fourteen, which ultimately ends up having disastrous consequences for her.
* In ''Literature/{{Overenskommelser}}'' by Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt, Edvard suddenly has a realisation of this kind about his cousin Beatrice. And being the [[TheSociopath sociopath]] that he is, it only makes him across as a total creep.
* Invoked in the ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'' quartet by Creator/TamoraPierce. When the pages come back from holiday after Keladry has started developing breasts, Owen has this to say:
--> "Mithros' spear, Kel, you're a girl!"\\
"I've always been a girl."\\
"But a ''girl'' girl! With a chest and everything!"
* In ''Literature/RebornToMasterTheBlade'', thanks to the 8 year age difference between the protagonist, Inglis, and her older cousin, Rafael, he leaves for the Knight Academy when Inglis and his little sister Rafinha are both 7. Once he reunites with the now 15-year old ladies when they are old enough to join the Academy, Rafael is ''stunned'' to see how much Inglis has developed, and his fellow knights tease that this is the first time that the Academy's "most popular introvert" has ever been so struck by a lady's appearance.
* Invoked in Creator/KeithLaumer's ''Literature/{{Retief}}'s War'', when Retief meets a '''very''' attractive girl he has no memory of ever seeing before ("Sorry -- and I do mean sorry"), although she clearly knows him. Subversion, or [[KissingCousins maybe not]], since [[spoiler:she turns out to be his cousin]].
-->"You couldn't be over twenty-one," Retief said. "It would take more than twenty-one years to forget that face."\\
The girl tossed her head, her eyes sparkling. "Perhaps you'll recall the name Fianna Glorian...?"\\
Retief's eyes widened. "You mean ''little'' Fifi...?"
* In ''Literature/ShimmeringSplendor'', a retelling of the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Eros/Psyche myth]], Psyche was very plain-looking when she was young and her family and neighbors grew so used to her plain looks that they didn't realize how much she changed as she grew older until a newcomer to the town tried to abduct her in the middle of the night.
* ''Literature/TheSummerITurnedPretty'' opens with Belly visiting the Fishers' beach house after she turned 15 and [[TheGlassesGottaGo changed her glasses with contacts]]. The difference is ''immediately'' noticed by Conrad and Jeremiah, therefore setting up the LoveTriangle of the story.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** Theon Greyjoy returns to Pyke and flirts heavily (and we mean ''heavily''; there is groping aplenty by both parties) with a local ship builder's wife while talking about his sister Asha, who was a skinny little thing with knocky knees and who allegedly has grown into chain mail and leather underclothes. Surprise; the ship builder's wife ''is'' Asha, who was deliberately fucking with him. [[BrainBleach Theon is none too pleased]].
** Deconstructed by Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen who had had a PrecociousCrush on her champion Ser Criston Cole. She grew up a beauty but inexperienced in sex so she asked her uncle Daemon for "lessons". Gossip got out of hand and damaged her reputation and her standing with Criston. [[spoiler: This is just one account, related by a tell-all book by an ex-jester. The whole truth may never be known.]]
** Elaena Targaryen was a pretty young girl when she was in her early teens, but when she grew up she became the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman. In fact, she was said to be more beautiful [[SilverFox at age sixty]] than at age sixteen.
** Arya Stark is certainly growing into this. She is offered a position as a Courtesan, can easily seduce any mark and her beauty has been noted by many other characters.
*** Arya is also noted to bear a striking resemblance to her aunt Lyanna, another gangly and awkward girl who was amply blessed by the puberty fairy.
** Arianne Martell used to be flat chested when she was younger. She's not a child anymore.
* One [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Star Wars EU]] novel features Wes Janson (who flew back seat with Wedge Antilles at Hoth) flirting with a female pilot, who he later finds out is Han Solo's ''daughter'' Jaina.
* In ''Literature/YouthInSexualEcstasy'', in the protagonist's backstory when his big sister started to grow up and develop, their then stepfather started to harass her and molest her, until one night after coming home drunk, he [[AttemptedRape attempted to rape her]] [[MamaBear but was stopped by their mother]]. Later [[spoiler: the protagonist sees a recent picture of her and sees that she further grew into a real beauty]].
* A parental example occurs in Isabel Allendre's novel ''Zorro'' when Juliana and Isabel's father sees that Juliana has outgrown her dresses and the top knot she wears is too childish. He immediately asks their duenna to hire a dancing master, buys her new clothes and prepares them to become ladies.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. When Oliver Queen returns home after five years of being NotQuiteDead, the fact that his kid sister Thea is now a seventeen-year old HardDrinkingPartyGirl with a drug habit and a [[MySisterIsOffLimits string of boyfriends]] causes a lot of tension between the otherwise close siblings in Season One.
* In the ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' special ''Sing and Dance with Barney'', several characters from the first two seasons make a special appearance in a platonic example. All of them are now teenagers (or in Michael's case, a young adult), and show the current batch of kids some pictures of when they were their age.
* The second episode of ''Series/{{Blossom}}'' is called..."Blossom Blossoms". Three guesses as to what it's about.
* In ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' Cory and Shawn are stunned when they find out Topanga went through puberty during summer vacation.
-->'''Shawn''': That's a nice blouse. ''[stares at Topanga's chest]''\\
'''Topanga''': Thanks, I got it over the summer.\\
'''Shawn''': Summer was very good to you.\\
'''Topanga''': At least what I grew is real. ''[rips Shawn's fake sideburns off]''
* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'': Season 5's "Peter and the Wolf" has Greg (desperately) trying to get one of his buddies to date his girlfriend Sandra's cousin, Linda (on a double date to the drive-in movie theater). All of them say no. Why? Because when Sandra last saw Linda several years ago, she was a nerdy girl in pigtails and thick horn-rimmed glasses and wearing braces. Greg then talks Peter into posing as one of his buddies ... and then needless to say, on date night, [[TheGlassesComeOff Linda had grown up — hotter and sexier than ever]]!
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E6Him Him]]", Xander and Willow come to the simultaneous realization that the nubile and scantily clad girl dancing provocatively at The Bronze they've both been ogling (Xander; "Daddy like!") is Buffy's kid sister Dawn whom they used to babysit.
** The Mayor gets all teary-eyed seeing Faith go on a torture/kill date with Angelus. "She's not a little girl anymore."
* ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'':
** In the episode "Making the Girl", Castle runs into a model who knows him from somewhere, but who he doesn't remember. She gives him her phone number anyways, much to Beckett's chagrin. [[spoiler: His teenage daughter informs him that the model in question is in fact the gangly girl who used to ''babysit'' her years before, making Castle feel like a DirtyOldMan.]]
** Castle has this reaction to his own daughter while at a sci-fi convention. After cooing to Beckett about how cute Alexis was dressed as a little Princess Leia, he later freaks out when she walks by (under)dressed in a {{stripperiffic}} cosplay outfit.
* An episode of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' has Sam reuniting with an "old" flame and her daughter, who was a child when he knew them before, but now not so much. He tries to sleep with both mother and daughter.
* After listing off the varying ways in which America isn't doing too well at the moment, [[Series/TheColbertReport Stephen Colbert]] consoles the crowd at the Clinton Global Initiative by pointing to Matthew Lewis's successful conquering of puberty.
-->'''Colbert''': And, most importantly, [[Film/HarryPotter Neville Longbottom]] now looks like ''this''. I think we can all agree that that is a real message of hope.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace "The Girl in the Fireplace"]]: The Doctor first encounters Madame de Pompadour at the age of 7. When he meets her again — a few minutes later by his reckoning — she is played by the gorgeous Creator/SophiaMyles.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E1TheEleventhHour "The Eleventh Hour"]]: Amy Pond. The Doctor meets her first when she's seven, and after accidentally time-travelling 12 years doesn't recognize the older Amy at first since she's understandably grown since five minutes ago. The sexy aspect of this trope is shown too, as she's wearing a kissogram outfit that shows off her impressive legs, [[CelibateHero not that the Doctor notices]].
*** The cricket bat to the head may not have helped.
* Inverted on ''Series/{{Friends}}'' when Monica is all grown ''down'' between her first and second meeting with Chandler. There's only a year gap but she loses a ton of weight and he's totally gobsmacked.
** Chandler also had this reaction to his childhood friend, [[Creator/JuliaRoberts Susie Moss]], in "The One With The Superbowl Part 2" and briefly dated her in that episode.
--->'''Chandler:''' [[LampshadeHanging Wow! You look...great job growing up!]]
* In the fifth season episode "Tested" in ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Kurt is seen looking significantly buffer than previous years, where his scrawniness and femininity was a major character trait. He jokes with his friends that he's "finally hit puberty". Several people - girls and guys alike - look on appreciatively while Blaine, his fiancé, [[ItMakesSenseInContext jealously eats Cheetos]] [[FunnyBackgroundEvent in the background]].
* ''Series/GrowingPains'':
** Mike, on the first day of school, spots an incredibly beautiful girl in the halls and spends the day following her around trying to get her to tell him her name. She seems to know him already. Turns out that she's "Buck-Toothed Becky," whom he used to mock for getting corn stuck in her braces.
** Mike's friend Boner catches Carol in her nightgown, ogles her chest, then says to her "Well, they're growing quite nicely."
* ''Series/TheHexer'': Teenage Renfri is rather unimposing, scrawny thing, made look even worse due to her boyish haircut and constant pouting. When Geralt meets her a few decades later, she's a StatuesqueStunner with a fantastic figure, [[FemmeFatale more than aware of how her looks work on men]].
* On the ''Series/ImpracticalJokers'' Ride/UniversalStudios special, Matthew [[Film/HarryPotter "Neville Longbottom"]] Lewis substitutes for Sal in a "Refuse you Lose" challenge on the Jurassic World ride. Lewis could be considered the male poster child for this trope, so the Jokers make him say to fellow riders "You know, I wasn't always this hot. Soak it in!"
* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'':
** There's an episode where Malcolm meets a female friend after the summer holidays, and can't work out why she's suddenly slouching around in baggy jumpers snapping at people. Turns out she... ''filled out'', and isn't used to the male attention she's started getting because of it. Malcolm tries to be understanding, but [[DistractedByTheSexy can't quite concentrate...]] Particularly funny because the last time she appeared, [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Malcolm's mom confidently predicted she would ''fill out'' in front of Malcolm, his friend, and her parents.]]
** Another episode featured an incredibly sexy babysitter hired for the boys, who turned out to have been an old classmate's of Francis'. Francis calls them from military school, and we see his image of her as an obese, awkward nerd.
* On ''Series/{{Maury}}'', he will often feature people who used be nerdy or obese (or both) who improved their looks (usually with plastic surgery). The girls are often {{Stripperiffic}} and the guys are usually muscle-bound beefcakes.
* Parodied in ''Series/TheMonkees'' episode "The Monkees in Texas". Mike visits his aunt in the Lone Star State and meets his cousin Lucy, whom he has not seen in years and of course is now gorgeous. He marvels over how the knock-kneed girl with bad teeth he used to hang around with is now a beautiful swan until his aunt informs him that he is confusing Lucy with his other cousin, Clara, who still looks the same.
* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'': In the first episode, everybody comments that Archie Andrews is a scrawny geek. Everybody is shocked when Archie shows up after summer vacation and is now a handsome, muscular hunk.
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''
** Lindsay Lohan once played Hermione Granger who went through a growth spurt.
** The digital short "Let's Do It In My Twin Bed", which featured a bevy of women trying to seduce their boyfriends in their childhood bedrooms. Only to find the men completely turned off by all the childhood artifacts present, including their seventh-grade class pictures. The skit ends with a montage of the pictures next to the now adult women.
** There was also a sketch where a girl, played by Creator/RachelDratch, who was part of the ensemble of kids who jump about and dance around on a ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' type programme, had 'blossomed' over the summer break, to the dismay of the adults working on the show. While the director (Creator/JimmyFallon) gently tries to talk to her about this, the foul-mouthed, chain-smoking actor in [[GoofySuit a dinosaur costume]] (host Creator/RayLiotta) doesn't show the same tact.
* [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender flipped]] in ''Series/SisterSister''. Tia and Tamera's neighbor Roger was always trying to get a date/a kiss/SOMETHING from either one of them and they'd always blow him off with "Go home, Roger!" Over one summer, however, he goes through puberty, turns into a hunk ("from AS IF...to ALL THAT!"), and the girls spend an episode fighting over him before realizing they'd still rather just be friends with him.
* In the first episode of ''Series/TheSteveHarveyShow'', Steve finds out that Regina Grier, the fat girl he tormented in high school, is (1) no longer fat and (2) now his boss at the high school where he teaches.
* ''Series/TheSummerITurnedPretty'': The title is derived from the fact that Belly grew significantly over the past year and has become beautiful. It sparks new interest from boys due to this, which she's pleased by.
* In ''Series/TeenWolf'', Kate made a predatory "this one grew up in all the right places" comment towards Derek, implying his physique was gained during the six years when he and his sister were away from Beacon Hills. [[FridgeHorror It implies that he wasn't considered "grown up" when she sexually manipulated him.]]
* ''Series/That70sShow'': "Oh my God, it's Casey Kelso and he's so DREAMY!" Also played with in regards to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Eric's Hot Cousin!"]]
* In ''Literature/TheThornBirds'' MiniSeries, Father Ralph [=DeBricassart=] has this reaction upon seeing Meggie Cleary enter Mary Carson's birthday party.
* ''Series/TowardsTheRepublic'': When Sun Yat-sen first met little Song Qingling, she was a seven-year-old girl. And when he met her again years later, she had grown into a nubile young woman whose childhood crush on him had become full-fledged love.
* Twisted in an episode of ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'', where a homely childhood friend of Alan's shows up, now a knockout. As Alan and Charlie compete for her affections, [[spoiler: she reveals she had starved herself and had plastic surgeries to make herself beautiful, so she could rub it in their faces for teasing and ignoring her in high school]].
* On an episode of ''Series/WelcomeBackKotter'', Juan Epstein's slightly younger sister puts in an appearance. Barbarino remembers her -- but not quite like that.
-->'''Barbarino:''' So, Carmen... you've filled out!
* ''Series/TheWonderYears'' ''loved'' this trope:
** Winnie Cooper goes from scrawny dork to "Fanservice for pre-teens" incarnate--all in the first episode.
** "The Pimple" has Kevin's parents expecting a visit from some old friends, the Pruitt family. The Pruitt's daughter, Gina, who adult Kevin described saying "always a scrape on her knee, loved to make mud pies", is shown in a recent photograph to have blossomed into a very pretty young woman.
** In "Growing Up", Kevin cringes when he hears that Dettweiler's daughter is at the party he's attending, as he had found her annoying when they were growing up, but then finds that the girl he and his friends once called "the stick" is now very well-endowed and attractive.
** A meta example happens in the sitcom ''Working'', when the two ''Wonder Years'' actors meet in this setting.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Subject of the songs "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" and "Next Door To an Angel" by Music/NeilSedaka.
* "Little Sister" by Music/ElvisPresley
* "Come on Eileen" by Music/DexysMidnightRunners can be interpreted as this.
* Easily interpreted in the song "Valleri" by Music/TheMonkees.
--> "She's the same little girl who used to hang around my door\\
but she sure looks different than the way she looked before..."
* "Shout" by Music/TheIsleyBrothers has a case combined with PuppyLove.
-->I still remember\\
When you used to be nine years old\\
I was a fool for you, from the bottom of my soul, yeah!\\
Now that you've grown, up\\
Enough to know, yeah yeah\\
You wanna leave me, you wanna, let me go
* "The Little Girl I Once Knew" by Music/TheBeachBoys.
* "Big Girl Now" by Music/NewKidsOnTheBlock featuring Music/LadyGaga.
* "Daddy's Money" by Ricochet.
* "One of the Boys" by Music/KatyPerry is told by the girl in question.
* "All Grown Up" by Music/JohnnyHorton
* "Love Games" by The Drifters.
-->''...When you were only nine and I was ten\\
We had such fun, babe, playing lovers\\
You were never more than just the [[GirlNextDoor kid next door...]]\\
And now you're grown, I wanna play some more\\
Love games...''
* Music/SteelyDan: Well, we used to play when we were three--how about a kiss for your "[[KissingCousins Cousin Dupree]]"?
* Music/{{Weezer}}'s [[Music/{{Raditude}} "The Girl Got Hot"]] is about a narrator who goes to a rock show and sees a girl he knew in junior high:
-->''Knew this girl back in junior high school\\
When nobody gave her a look\\
Look at what we got, the girl got hot\\
Switched up and rewrote the book''
* {{Music/Gorillaz}}'s Noodle caused rampant ViewerGenderConfusion in her Phase 1 preteen days, became more obviously feminine ([[{{Bokukko}} if still with a tomboyish style of dress]]) in Phase 2 at the age of thirteen and fourteen, [[spoiler: and is now a pretty and more obviously-feminine young woman in "On Melancholy Hill"]].
* "Control" by Music/JanetJackson from the first person point-of-view.
* "She Hasn't Always Been This Way" by Doc Walker combines this trope with UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo, as the singer realises that his friend's sister (who used to have a crush on him) has now grown up into a ''very'' attractive young lady who won't give him the time of day.
--> "She hasn't always been this way. I really can't believe how much that girl has changed. She's out of my life, she's out of my reach, I'm out of her mind, she's out of my league..."
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxK_67i-Cd0 This]] Brazilian song is about a woman who went through this rejecting a former PrecociousCrush who previously turned her down for being too young.
* "Centerfold" by The J. Geils Band is about a man who is shocked to discover that his high school crush appeared on the centerfold of a men's magazine.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* An angle in {{Wrestling/ECW}} between Wrestling/TommyDreamer and Wrestling/{{Raven}} revolved around a fat girl named Wrestling/BeulahMcGillicutty whom Dreamer and Raven had both known at summer camp. Dreamer had made fun of her at the time for her weight, see, and so she fell in with Raven. Beulah grew up not just to be a hottie, but according to many wrestling fans, the most classically beautiful valet of all time. She ended up with Dreamer in both the storyline and real life.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* Spoken nearly word for word by Joe Keller about Ann Deever in Arthur Miller's ''Theatre/AllMySons'', though it's his son that's interested in her.
* A platonic version occurs during ''Theatre/DisneysBelieve'''s princess medley. Dr. Greenaway sees Sophia all grown up with a prince of her own and comments on how beautiful she is, lamenting that he missed out on her childhood.
* In a more sentimental and nostalgic way, in ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''. In the song "Sunrise, Sunset", the older characters come to terms with a young couple getting married. "Is this the little girl I carried, is that the little boy at play? I don't remember growing older, when did they?"
* Regine Engstrand in Theatre/{{Ghosts}}. It is strongly implicated by all the other characters (up to and including [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer Helen Alving]]). that she has "filled out" and has become quite attractive.
* In most variations of ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', Christine and Raoul were childhood friends. In the musical version by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Raoul has the line "What a change! You're really not a bit the gawkish girl that once you were!" when he sees the now-adult Christine on stage.
* The comedy ''Two and Two Make Sex'' spends the entire second act establishing this fact [[HilarityEnsues then sitting back and watching the consequences]]. George discovers that Jane, who he's been having an affair with, is in fact Janey, a girl he hasn't seen since she was three. [[spoiler: He was reminded of this fact by his old football friend, Jack, who just happens to be Janey's father.]]
* Played with in ''Theatre/TheYeomenOfTheGuard''. To avoid execution, Col. Fairfax masquerades as Leonard Meryll, who's been away in the army for years. When Leonard's sister Phœbe greets him in front of everybody, Fairfax is baffled and has to be told who she is. He quickly covers with "Why, how you've grown! I did not recognize you!"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]
* {{Franchise/Barbie}} has not one, but two kinds of dolls with "growing up" mechanisms that give them taller statures and larger breasts.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
%%* Naru from ''VideoGame/BattleArenaToshinden'' clearly aged very gracefully between ''3'' (where she was prepubescent) and ''4'' (where she's now a young adult).
%%* In ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'', Tiny Tina is a 13-year-old psychopath who mixes explosive murder with the whimsy of tea parties. In ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'', we see Tina at 19 years, showing that she's matured into an attractive woman...unfortunately, her body's the only thing that matured.
%%-->''TINA: All grown up. Still'' '''INSANE'''.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** Averted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. Adorable seven-year-old Rydia [[YearInsideHourOutside travels to another dimension]] and returns as a stunning seventeen-year-old, but the only person who comments on her beauty is Edge, who didn't meet her until after her PlotRelevantAgeUp.
** Serah is amazed how much older Hope is in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since she traveled 10 years into the future and sees the young teenager "suddenly" aged by a decade into a young man. A Live Trigger option during the game can also be used to lampshade her reaction.
%%** Rydia from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', after she [[YearInsideHourOutside spends some time]] in the Feymarch.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', Kyle and Syrene's C support has them realize that they met as teenagers (Syrene was a Pegasus Knight in training for Frelia, Kyle was a squire for the Renais military, some years ago he ran some errands for his country in her land and she helped him with that). Cue Kyle being surprised to see that the cute girl he befriended years ago is now a beautiful LadyOfWar.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'', there's a platonic example in regards to Finn and his childhood friend Selphina:
--->'''Finn''': So this is the little girl with the braids...?
--->'''Selphina''': Ten years can make a difference. I'm now [[BattleCouple married to Glade]]! %% Keep this quote and names the same until the Thracia 776 retranslation patch is released.
** Sothe of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' gets a more mature portrait when he reappears in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn''. Aimee approves.
%%** Tiki appears in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' as a ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Manakete who looks about 12. Her appearance in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', which is set more than 2,000 years later, shows her to have aged into a very well-endowed adult body.
%%* El Presidente's Daughter to Juan in ''VideoGame/{{Guacamelee}}''.
%%* An example that was a good 4 years (IRL) in the making - in ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' pre-searing there was, once upon a time, a cute little girl named Gwen. She wanted to find her missing flute, and occasionally cast healing spells on you if you had her follow you. After the events of the Searing, the entire countryside was destroyed, and many people died. We never got to find out what happened to her, except we found her broken flute...Three expansion packs and four years later, we got Guild Wars: Eye of the North (GW:EN) expansion. Guess who came back as a fully grown-up woman! (plus full backstory). The player eventually gets to attend her wedding (no, not to the player, to another NPC)
%%* 8-year-old Kaylie from ''VideoGame/HunterTheReckoning'' returns in ''Hunter: The Reckoning: Redeemer'' as an 18-year-old hottie.
* ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'': During the Vertumnan Youth Ball on their 17th birthday, the protagonist is surprised by how much their friends have blossomed from awkward teens to attractive adults that they could "hardly recognize some of them."
* Dart is amazed at how much Shana has changed in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon''. She was a scrawny 13-year-old when he left but now she's an 18-year-old young woman, and she doesn't want to be Dart's "little sister" anymore either.
%%* Tita Russell was just a twelve- to thirteen-year-old kid in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky''. After a four year TimeSkip, she grew up in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel III'' as a student at Thors II.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', Nabooru, upon meeting up again with Link after seven years, expresses much annoyance over the fact that she never gets the chance to give him that "Something Special" now that he's a smokin' {{Bishonen}}. Link's [[JawDrop reaction]] to seeing [[CuteMonsterGirl Ruto]] post-TimeSkip implies this as well.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has the Champions' Ballad DLC that reveals Mipha (a female Zora), viewed Link (a Hylian) as a kid brother in the same way she saw her actual brother, Sidon. When Link became a more handsome adult, Mipha took notice and [[ChildhoodFriendRomance instantly became attracted to him]], yet [[CannotSpitItOut she couldn't bring herself to tell him how she felt about him]]. By the time Mipha was ready, she was killed by a minion of Calamity Ganon.
* This happens to Tali'Zorah from ''Franchise/MassEffect''. In her introduction, she was just a quirky teenage ill girl who just happened to be very good at hacking, with no romantic subtext. Come the sequel, she is officially a romance option for male players, and this trope comes to full effect. Even if the player chooses not to romance her, other characters will still remark on this, like Javik or Garrus, who forms a BetaCouple with her in case neither of them is romanced by the player. This can lead to some very funny dialogue, especially when it comes to Tali's embarrassed surprise at finally being noticed after [[ObliviousToLove years of having a crush on Shepard]], her bumbling romantic interactions, and her dialogue with Ashley, in case Shepard romanced her in the first game:
--> '''Tali''': "Good to see you again, Lieutenant-Commander Williams."
-->'''Ashley''': "You sure about that?"
--> '''Tali''': "Definitely. We're all adults here."
-->'''Ashley''': "Of course. Oh, and congratulations on getting your [[DeadpanSnarker big-girl name]]."
--> '''Tali''': "Thanks! I'm glad you decided to [[LastGirlWins help Shepard this time]]."
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** Applies to the entire cast of ''VideoGame/Persona2'' ''Innocent Sin.'' While Tatsuya and [[spoiler:Jun]] start out as attractive and stay that way, Lisa, Eikichi, and [[spoiler:Maya]] all get hit with this trope ''hard'' -- Lisa, a white girl raised in Japan, was mocked for her appearance as a child but grew up to be the envy of her high school, and Eikichi, a popular and skinny Visual Kei fanatic, was an obese, shy loser as a kid. [[spoiler:Maya]] looks drastically different as an adult, having developed nicely and grown her hair out [[spoiler:to the point that the others don't recognize her as their childhood friend until well into the game.]]
%%** Inverted with Yukiko Amagi in the PSP remake of ''VideoGame/Persona3'', as we get to see her two years prior to the events of her own [[VideoGame/Persona4 game]].
%%* Sherry Birkin goes from the TagalongKid in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' to the MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''.
%%* AvertedTrope - What Red is to [[spoiler: Asellus]] in ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier''. [[spoiler:Asellus used to babysit him when he was a kid, it helps that she hasn't aged a day because of the whole being a half-Mystic issue. But there is no relationship between Red and Asellus other than her watching him when he was younger.]]
%%* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', Asbel, Cheria, Hubert and Richard end up looking mighty fine after the TimeSkip. Asbel and Richard became {{Bishounen}}, Hubert proves that NerdsAreSexy and Cheria is hot with a mini-skirt to boot.
%%* In ''[[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonThree The Walking Dead: A New Frontier]]'', it's clear that the CheerfulChild that players met in the treehouse is very much gone. Clementine starts out as a hot-tempered, aggressive loner looking out for number one, and eventually confides in Javier that she's started menstruating. She matures further into ''[[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonFour The Final Season]]'', taking care of AJ and leading the Ericson's Boarding School into battle against Lilly and the Delta.
* A non-romantic example from ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'': When Geralt brings their adoptive daughter Ciri to Kaer Morhen after months of searching for her, and years since they last saw her, Yennefer's first reaction to seeing Ciri after a massive hug is to remark on the beautiful young woman Ciri has become.
-->'''Yennefer''': [[NotSoStoic CIRI!]] My, you've grown beautiful.
%%* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
%%** Adventurers who ran the original Upper Blackrock Spire dungeon came to the aid of Awbee, a dragon whelp tortured to near death by Blackrock orcs. In the Warlords of Draenor expansion, Awbee returns to the dungeon as a fully grown adult dragon and repays the favour to the adventurers.
%%** An inverted example: In post-Cataclysm Westfall and Deadmines the players face off against [[DaddysLittleVillain Vanessa Van Cleef]]. Earlier, they are shown a flashback to the original Deadmines instance, where Edwin Van Cleef's death is [[StartOfDarkness mourned by a child Vanessa]].
* ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'':
** Haruka Sawamura, when she introduced in the first ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'' game, she was a cute 9-year-old kid who would go on to become series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu's adopted daughter. As the series progresses, she can be seen growing into a young woman over time, where by ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'', she's 16 and has grown quite beautiful. ''VideoGame/Yakuza6'' then shows her having grown into a beautiful woman of 20, and even has a kid of her own, which kickstarts the events of the game's plot.
** In ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'', Kiryu joins a Pocket Circuit Racing Derby, where he gets to race a bunch of toy cars with children, even making friends with some of the kids. By the time of ''VideoGame/YakuzaKiwami'' (the remake of the first game that adds in new side-quests and storylines that continue off of ''0''), they've all grown up into fine young adults that Kiryu has trouble remembering until they remind him of who they were.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'': Mei, briefly, in the GrandFinale. Blink and you might miss it[[note]]Trust us, [[SincerityMode you won't want to miss it]][[/note]]. The rest of the girls in the series also qualify, though much more subtly. They were already beautiful, but look generally more mature at the end than they do in high school. Justified in that they're all in their mid-20s at this point. Subverted for Fuko, who is still very childlike in appearance and mannerisms though she is the same age as the other characters.
* Puberty seems to favor the cast of ''VisualNovel/ClockZero'' ''a lot'' considering how ''gorgeous'' everyone is in the future. Nadeshiko gets this reaction by Nakaba in the DramaCD and in the bonus epilogue, while Madoka also gets this reaction from Nadeshiko [[spoiler: twice: as Bishop and]] as his adult self from Nadeshiko's present timeline ten years after the main plot has ended.
* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', [[BrattyHalfPint Hiyoko Saionji]] is a classical dancer who looks like a child despite being the same age as the rest of the cast. However, [[spoiler:the only reason she looks like that is that the cast is trapped in a simulation and look the same as they did when they first entered Hope's Peak Academy. Later on, the main character finds a newspaper clipping from the real world that shows how Hiyoko really looks, and she's definitely grown up, looking taller and much more mature.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Shirou mentions early on that lately he's been getting this feeling for Sakura.
* [[spoiler:Waver Velvet]] in ''Literature/FateZero'': short, scrawny, wimpy nerd. [[spoiler:Waver Velvet]] ten years later: Officially voted #1 [[HotTeacher TILF]] [[http://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1037177?tags=lord_el-melloi_ii of the Mage Association]].
* Played with in ''VisualNovel/IfMyHeartHadWings'': Aoi did already confess to ChildhoodFriend Ageha before he left, but he'd merely innocently mistaken his worries about leaving for love and didn't really have a crush on her yet. And in process of confessing, he inadvertently offended Ageha by claiming that he wants to go out with her because she's OneOfTheBoys, meaning that in the meantime until they meet again Ageha deliberately tried to invoke this trope by making herself into a cute girl in the hopes that he'd be shocked and humbled when he returns. He's definitely surprised to see his young, boyish friend having turned into a such a pretty girl... but he doesn't remember the comment, and as soon as they start interacting again they fall into familiar patterns. It's not until they get caught in the rain one day and see each other half-naked and wet that it hits both of them that they're the opposite gender and damn attractive, too.
* There's a weird "instant" version that happens in the ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' games with Nick's spirit medium sidekicks Maya and Pearl. In TheVerse, whenever somebody channels a spirit, they take on the physical appearance of said spirit. Naturally, when Nick's very busty SpiritAdvisor Mia gets summoned by either her teenage sister or her 8-year-old cousin, the... er, ''maturity'' is very noticeable. In ''Trials and Tribulations'', the third game, an old man who goes to a coffee shop to ogle the waitresses refuses to talk to Phoenix, who then semi-concocts a scheme to get Maya employed at the coffee shop. He then convinces her to come with him to meet the old man, who looks at her uniform with obvious lechery...until deciding that she's too "small". Cue the spirit possession, and the much more "developed" Mia begins questioning the old man, who is only too happy to provide answers. Lampshaded afterwards when Mia states she "can't believe Maya called [her] for this!" before dispossessing her sister.
* One of the most interesting bits of ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial 2''. The game features an interactive prologue where the protagonist is in grade school and meets the various female characters as children. After the prologue, the protagonist moves out of town, and is only reunited with his childhood friends when he starts high school (the game proper): naturally, they're all grown up. The protagonist and Hikari, [[ChildhoodFriendRomance his closest childhood friend]], regularly have discussions of how much and in which way they have changed, throughout the storyline. Also, if the protagonist is a Track & Field Club member, and sees Hikari if [[ThePeepingTom he peeks at the girls' bathroom]] during Summer Training Camp, he'll make a comment on how much she has grown physically.
* In the words of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'''s Battler Ushiromiya: "Jessica has breasts now!" Much of the family is surprised too to see that Battler's a tall {{bishonen}} now ([[HandsomeLech if a horny, immature one]]).
* "[[HonoraryUncle Uncle]]" Kunihiko in ''VisualNovel/MyForgedWedding'' does not have an immediate reaction to seeing the protagonist again once she arrives in Tokyo from Kyushu after graduation from university. Instead, he continues to think of her as the little girl he used to babysit, and only begins to become aware of her as a woman halfway through his route, with a sudden corresponding change in the way he treats her once the realization hits him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* Parodied on ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' in episode 4 of ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad''. So-and-So's [[ImaginaryFriend imaginary boyfriend]] "Brett Bretterson" apparently tells her that she's filled out nicely over the summer, and she says the same to him.
-->'''Narrator Strong Bad:''' [[UnsoundEffect Weirded out!]]
* In ''WebAnimation/PokemonTwilightWings'', the abused Feebas that Nessa cheered up as a child returned to see her many years later when Nessa went to the same lake for a photo shoot, only the Feebas had evolved to a Milotic by then.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''ComicStrip/ThePerryBibleFellowship'' applies this to AnthropomorphicTypography. [[https://pbfcomics.com/comics/b/ b]] is far more enticing when she's an adult B: She goes from "butt-ugly" to (apparently) "beautiful" or "buxom".
* Gordito in ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', as Doc himself put it, [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/21p21 "got handsome"]] over the course of the BadFuture.
* ''Webcomic/BigEthelEnergy'': Archie doesn't recognize the formerly unpopular Ethel when he first meets her again after high school, even mistaking her for a model.
* ''WebComic/DragonBallMultiverse'': One of the early fights features a version of Dende's little brother, Cargo, who by this point in time is an adult.
%%* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Elliot notes this about Sarah's older sister [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-11-05 here]].
%%* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': "Hey Sora, [[Webcomic/VGCats I have boobs now!]]"
* In ''Webcomic/{{Kubera}}'', Leez is a {{gonk}} (though she's usually drawn with GenericCuteness in deference to her status as a main character) who gets scowls all the time. Flashforwards and a temporary PlotRelevantAgeUp show that in a few short years she will be a curvy StatuesqueStunner who turns heads everywhere she goes. [[spoiler:And she'll die shortly after. The PlotRelevantAgeUp was a warning: It was showing her guardian what she would look like twelve hours before her death]].
* ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'': TheNondescript Shigeo Kageyama keeps ''hoping'' this will happen with him, joining his school's bodybuilding club despite his comically fragile constitution. He seems to get his wish late in the comic when he overhears girls whispering about a handsome "Kageyama-kun" and appreciatively glancing in his general direction as he's walking home... completely forgetting that he's walking home with his brother Ritsu, the resident SchoolIdol and actual focus of their attention. In the end, he never does get the makeover he was hoping for, but by then, he's gained enough self-confidence that it longer really matters to him.
%%* [[https://pbfcomics.com/comics/b/ This]] ''ComicStrip/PerryBibleFellowship'' comic pulls the trope off for no less than a single letter. [[PungeonMaster B-lieve it or not]].
* ''WebComic/QuestionableContent'' plays with the idea in [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1658 this strip]], though in this case, the "she" in question is a daydreaming robot.
* ''Webcomic/Reunion2021'': In the second chapter, reunited childhood friends Shiro and Rhea both positively comment that the other looks so different from how they looked as kids. Bas later relates that Shiro had told him Rhea was "cute now".
* ''Webcomic/ScaryGoRound'' did this in [[http://www.scarygoround.com/index.php?date=20080312 early 2008]] - after a three-year absence, the hero's former student-exchange partner becomes worthy of his romantic attentions after straightening her hair and getting contact lenses. She has also become magically cool, interesting and something of a ManicPixieDreamGirl, the latter probably due to the fact that she is French. Meanwhile, the audience is encouraged to laugh at her little sister, [[spoiler: who is as ugly now as the elder was three years ago]]. In 2014, the little sister has gotten the same treatment. [[http://scarygoround.com/?date=20140223 That's her on the right, in the hoodie.]]
* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': When Tessa transfers to her new school, she runs into Will, an old schoolmate of hers from middle school. She initially doesn't even recognize him, and it's hard to blame her -- he used to be nerdy-looking with braces and pimples, but now he's clear-skinned, tall, and [[{{Bishonen}} "kind of cute"]].
* ''Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns'' plays with the trope a couple of times -- once for each gender:
** When the bisexual Zii encounters {{ingenue}} Ruby for the first time in years, having last seen her as a child, she remarks that Ruby has [[http://www.stickydillybuns.com/strips-sdb/real_books "grown into a very fine young woman."]] While Zii shows no signs of active sexual attraction in the ensuing conversation (Ruby may be naive, but she's somehow very obviously straight in every way), she's happy to talk to her as a sexual being.
** The teenage Dillon used to babysit a little boy named Julian. When Julian turns up to visit in the present, [[http://www.stickydillybuns.com/strips-sdb/he_was_an_angel he turns out to have grown impressively;]] the gay Dillon's first response is "Oh, my!". However, Dillon can't get over the idea of Julian being a child, and hence isn't comfortably attracted to him; unfortunately, both Julian and YaoiFangirl Ruby promptly start looking for ways around this.
* The entire premise of [[https://chillguydraws.newtumbl.com/ Chillguy's]] 'Thicc-verse' is this. Virtually every character from across multiple cartoon universes are presented years later as young adults, with virtually all of them being 'blessed' in one way or another.
** When Grenda and Candy meet Dipper again for the first time in years and see he grown to be tall and muscular, Grenda starts stammering while Candy says something in Korean.
** When Marceline meets Finn again after some time. She stares at him for a few seconds, then asks her girlfriend if they can break up for a little bit.
** While they are impressed by how tall and in shape KO is now that he's a 18-23, Rad and Enid assume Dendy hasn't changed much in the years they've been gone from the bodega when they see her, only for her to stand up and reveals she has [[BuxomBeautyStandard very big "glasses"]]. [[NotDistractedByTheSexy KO]] really does mean her glasses by the way, saying they make her look super cute.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's Nella greets Mara Wilson with the following:
--->'''Nella''': Holy shit, {{Film/Matilda}}, you've got a great rack!
* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic:
** The host went through all the stereotypical downfalls of puberty at about thirteen, but as he's bragged, thankfully grew "handsomener— han— hand— han— ner, prettier" when he got older.
** A lot of commenters on the ''A Simple Wish'' review seemed to have this reaction to Creator/MaraWilson when she confronted the Critic at the end.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''[[WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers Captain Planet And The Planeteers]]'' has a platonic example. In the episode "The Night Of The Wolf", [[TheBabyOfTheBunch the youngest Planeteer, Ma-Ti]], develops a crush on a young girl named Laura. Seeing them walk away holding hands makes Wheeler say in surprise, "Ma-Ti? With a ''girl''?"
* In the five-part story that begins ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', Monterey Jack had known Gadget when she was younger; when he and his two friends first meet her in the story, he exclaims that he hasn't seen her "since you were knee-high to a knee!" (Slightly inverted because Jack shows more a paternal attitude towards her than anything else since he was friends with her dad and she probably thinks of him as a favorite "uncle".)
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': A platonic version appears in "Duck to the Future". When Scrooge sees the future Webby, he says that she's "changed into Cinderella". Being her adoptive uncle, he's not in love with her himself, but he can't help remarking that she grew up beautiful.
* Parodied with Stewie and his old dancing school rival Olivia in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. Stewie falls in love with her because "she's all grown up," but she looks just the same as before.
* In ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'', Max hasn't seen his (now college age) cousin Debbie in a while. By his own admission, she's now super hot.
* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'': In "Creatures From The Tar Swamp", Prince Adam's cousin Lady Edwina visits. She hadn't seen Adam since he was a child, so she is struck by how big and handsome he has become. [[KissingCousins She then proceeds to flirt with him, though he ignores it]].
* Happens in the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' movie ''A Sitch in Time'', to both Kim's little brothers and Wade.
* On ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'':
** Baljeet has this reaction when his old childhood friend Mishti comes to visit and looks like she's a [[WiseBeyondTheirYears teenager]]; he refers to her transformation as "turning into a girl" (given the flashback of them playing soccer in the mud, she seems to have been something of a tomboy). Somewhat like the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' example, because both Baljeet and Mishti [[VagueAge seem to be]] preteens who last saw each other as children.
** Doofenshmirtz has the same reaction when his old childhood friend Grulinda moved to Danville; she was a tomboy [[LovingBully who used to dump water on his head because she liked him]] but he was too petty to see it that way. He was stunned speechless when he saw her.
* Portrayed in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", where the male fourth-graders behaved like apes when they saw Bebe's naturally-developing chest.
* Invoked in the Creator/{{Terrytoons}} short, "The Wolf's Pardon"; Taking place in a 'verse' where the figures of Mother Goose stories have grown up, the Big Bad Wolf, having spent the last ten years in prison, realizes that Literature/LittleRedRidingHood must have become more…''(Traces an hourglass shape, wolf whistles)''. He goes to her home and finds that while Red does appear more shapely, [[ButterFace her face looks a bit goofy with thick-lensed glasses.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': In "[[Recap/StarVsTheForcesOfEvilS2E31RunningWithScissors Running with Scissors]]", [[Characters/StarVsTheForcesOfEvilMarcoDiaz Marco Diaz]] becomes stuck in another dimension where [[YearInsideHourOutside time flows faster than on Earth]]. When Star arrives to retrieve him, he's gone from a scrawny teen to a rugged man mountain. Star can barely [[DistractedByTheSexy keep her eyes off him or keep her sentences coherent]]. Much to his regret, his body reverts to his 14-year-old self when he returns to Earth.
-->'''Marco''': My hot bod! Where did it go!?
* Happens to both genders in season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'':
** Amalia was always a cute girl with HartmanHips, but after the time skip between Season 2 and the [=OVAs=] and Season 3, she has [[{{Pun}} blossomed]] into a young woman, which hasn't go unnoticed by Yugo.
** As a result of his stretched-out life expectancy, Yugo in season 3 still looks like the kid he started out at, but an encounter with some time magic briefly ages his body, showing that when he ''does'' reach full maturity, he'll be taller than the rest of the Brotherhood. This, incidentally, has not gone unnoticed by Amalia.
[[/folder]]
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