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The Competence Zone gets intimate with the Rule of Perception: The physical appearance (and sometimes emotional maturity) of the cast isn't determined as much by their age, but rather their characterization and relative position within the cast. This can seemingly place them outside the normal Competence Zone, until you find out their true age.
In short, the more competent or mature you are, the older you look. And the inverse is true. A character in a position of leadership may look five to ten years older than they really are, while the youngest character will often look, and sometimes act, like a kid. This is especially true with preteen and teenaged characters, for whom their level of maturity is often mirrored by their physical development.
A prime cause of Younger/ Older than They Look. Compare Methuselah Syndrome, Acceptable Targets, Old Master, and Vague Age.
Examples
Anime and Manga
Film
- X-Men:First Class does this in many ways with Mystique. She is about as old as Xavier. But as a shapeshifter, she chooses to look younger, and she prefers to stay with the teenage recruits. And according to Hank, her body ages slower. Then, Magneto dumps her, and states that maybe he will be willing to sleep with her in ten years.
- In The Godfather Part III Mary Corleone is technically in her mid to late twenties (she's actually older than Michael was at the beginning of the first film). However she is portrayed very much as an innocent, wide eyed teenager (being played by the then 18-year old Sophia Coppala is also a factor.)
Literature
- In the earlier Harry Potter books, when Ginny was outside the Competence Zone, she was described as "little" and in general made to sound like she was practically still sucking on a pacifier, despite being only one year younger than the trio. This ended after she Took a Level in Badass.
Live-Action TV
- A non-animated example of the emotional maturity part (obviously physical maturity is probably not going to be fudged this way in a live action show): At the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawn was the same age Buffy was at the start of the series. Dawn was treated as immature and whiny, while Buffy was treated as justified in her conflict with adults and generally as fairly mature in most matters.
- While Dawn was quite whiny and downright bratty in seasons 5 and 6, there was a shift in her maturity during season 7. She was certainly as mature as Buffy who shirked her responsibilities and lied to her Watcher, mom and friends so she could go make out.
Real Life
- It's been said that Presidents of the United States age in dog years while in office. Compare current photos of Barack Obama with those from the 2008 campaign.
Video Games
- The OG Numbers in Super Robot Wars: Original Generation. Compare BFS-swinger Sanger Zonvolt to XO-slash-Captain Tetsuya. Both are the same age (27), but as Sanger is a battle-hardened veteran, he looks noticeably older than Tetsuya, who over the course of the series is just starting to grow into the role of a capable commander. Another example is fellow captain Lefina Enfield, who looks noticeably older than her nineteen years would suggest.
- Tales Of Symphonia presents the rare triple subversion. When the characters are introduced to Presea, she's clearly a child, but strikes the characters and remarkably mature and capable (among other things, being responsible for single-handedly maneuvering a giant log that two grown men can't handle). The characters find out later that she's less mature than numb, and once fixed, she seems slightly more childlike. As the game moves on, she's revealed to be twenty-eight, having been locked as a child for sixteen years, and presents herself as being both young and mature. Characters like Raine and Regal are played straight, however, as they seem rather older than their respective ages (mid-twenties, early thirties).
Western Animation
- Avatar The Last Airbender has Sokka explicitly stating that he can't remember his mother without Katara's face, because she has been acting as such since their mother's death. She is his younger sister.
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