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Wouldn't you just love to have one of your own? (We don't mean the lollipop.)

Essentially a cute male equivalent to the moe aesthetic in the eyes of female fans, this kid is barely past puberty — if that old — but acts as if he's always preoccupied with responsibility. He works hard at whatever he does and treat things seriously, but every once in a while does indeed act like a kid and hates the subsequent teasing. He is not taken too seriously by anyone and he hates being treated like a kid by adults even if he likes the attention.

Often his family situation is problematic, although he may have a big sister he respects and admires. Said sister may not appear (letting the girls in the audience take that role) and the Cute Shotaro Boy can attach to the closest female who lets him — this is especially common if he's also a Mouthy Kid. Sometimes this works in reverse, and the female character may have to defend herself against unwholesome comments by other characters by insisting he's just like a little brother to her, or he's Older Than He Looks.

If the character's appearance could at all be described as somewhat girlish or at least extremely cute (and come on, this is anime), he will eventually be subject to a comedic drag scene. Usually against his will.

Compare Cheerful Child and The Linus.

Examples

Anime and Manga

Shotaro Kaneda from Gigantor, or, as he's known in the US, Jimmy Sparks, so embodies this trope that he's the trope namer for both this and Shotacon.
- For that matter, Daisaku from Giant Robo.
Momiji Sohma (pictured above) in Fruits Basket, pictured above, who makes his other family members jealous because his cute appearance can manipulate girls. Older than he looks.
- His cousin Hiro might also count, being an actual middle schooler (Momiji is a high-schooler who looks like a middle schooler) who is clearly much more responsible than his mother and gets extremely offended any time he thinks someone is treating him like a child.
- Momiji also grows up in the manga. Of course, Fruits Basket being a Shoujo series, he just becomes a Bishounen. He retains his personality, though.
Son Goten of Dragonball Z is an extremely sweet and cuddly Generation Xerox of his father's younger self, with the rough-edges removed and replaced with good manners.
Negi of Mahou Sensei Negima is the basic polite version, while Kotaro Inugami is more of a Mouthy Kid. Both of them, however, are extremely capable on their own.
- Due to Genre Shift (and liberal use of magical age-up pills), Negi is starting to drift away from this, although he still currently retains a lot of the characteristics.
  - Less "drift away from", and more "have beaten out" by physical and mental trauma.
Ritsuka from Loveless.
Haré from Haré+Guu probably counts. He was mistaken for a girl once and even crossdressed (against his will) once.
The effeminate-looking Junior in the Read Or Die TV series.
Mamoru Shimesu in Phantom Quest Corp. He actually runs the company, the contacts, the finances, etc. while his boss Ayaka spends their funds on booze. He has a very stressful job.
Miharu in Nabari No Ou who is very much aware of his own cuteness and is not above using it to his own advantage, or just to torment people. Shotazawa, later on.
Shippo in Inuyasha is the equivalent age for a young kitsune and, despite being a crybaby at times, often takes delight in being more emotionally mature than Inuyasha himself.
- Kohaku fits the trope better, as most of the fandom would say.
His Holiness Alessandro XVIII, 399th Pope of Rome, from Trinity Blood, is a Cute Shotaro Boy constantly being scolded by his mean, aggressive big brother.
Takumi, youngest of the few boys in Mai-HiME, fulfils most of the requirements. He's gentle, domestic, needs caring for, affectionate to his older sister, whose friends also enjoy him being in a pseudo-Ho Yay relationship with Akira.
Though he's 13 (and then 14), Riku from Blood Plus doesn't look like it. He also acts much older, too.
Parodied with lolishota type Mitsukuni "Hani" Haninozuka in Ouran High School Host Club, who, despite being the second oldest member, uses his over-the-top childish looks and behavior (plus a stuffed bunny he always carries around) to get the club's customers to fawn over him. Later, Renge coaches a decidedly less cutesy Mouthy Kid into a rascal type she thinks will appeal to big sisters.
Hippo's human form in Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch.
Erio Mondial from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.
Hitsugaya Toshirou of Bleach also seems to suffer from this, except that a lot of people in the story do treat him seriously, because he's in a position of authority. Although he's Really Seven Hundred Years Old, he still suffers from this because the rest of the characters he works with are even older.
- Ukitake's zanpakutous in the recent filler arc are represented by twin shota kids.
Jim Hawkings in Outlaw Star, who is clearly the more mature of the group between him and his "aniki" Gene.
Fullmetal Alchemist's Alphonse Elric was this before his soul was placed in a suit of armor.
- Selim Bradley from the same. In the first anime, he's a straight example. In the second anime, he's actually a centuries-old shota from Hell.
The title character from Mamoru-kun ni Megami no Shukufuku wo! has a slightly older, slightly taller girl demand that he go out with her due to his falling into this trope. thank god this was in the first episode...
In a similar vein, Kanokon has its girls falling over this character type.
Angel Sanctuary has Metatron as this. Yes, that Metatron.
Naota from FLCL, an entire series based around him trying to act adult (to be a good Replacement Goldfish for his big brother) and being mocked for lapsing into childish behavior.
Yukiteru from Mirai Nikki most definitely.
Shingo Tsukino from Sailor Moon is like this (when he's not slipping into Annoying Younger Sibling mode). He's highly intelligent, more mature than his sister, and manages to charm quite a few ladies over the course of the series (both older and younger than him).
Kohta from Elfen Lied. Later grows into something of a Bishonen.
Czeslaw Meyer of Baccano! deliberately tries to cultivate this image, despite being Really Seven Hundred Years Old. He claims he isn't used to being treated any other way.
Kota Shinyoji in Midori No Hibi, who gets kidnapped by a gang of female delinquents, who promptly fall in love with him when they see how adorable he looks in a dress.
Gon and Killua from Hunterx Hunter, and especially Gon fit this troupe to a T.
Chrono from Chrono Crusade looks (and sometimes even acts) like he's one of these, but he's a demon that's Really Seven Hundred Years Old and looks like a Bishounen in his true form.
The three younger knights in Pretear.
In D.N.Angel, there's the main character, Daisuke, and his rival, Troubled But Cute Satoshi. Daisuke acts closer to the typical version, whereas Satoshi is a Wise Beyond His Years college graduate (despite being only 14).
Revolutionary Girl Utena's Mitsuru Tsuwabuki, who is constantly bending to Nanami's every whim and taking care of her business, takes the desire to be treated like an adult to extremes - his rants during the Mikage Seminar and his duel with Utena border on the Ax Crazy. "I want to become an adult and wreck the whole world! Wreck it!" "You become an adult by destroying other adults!" Or something to that effect.
13-year-old Wataru from Hayate The Combat Butler fits both the acting hard-working and responsible (he does pretty much run the head branch of his family's video rental franchise) and Mouthy Kid aspects of the trope. He doesn't have a big sister, although his maid Saki does fill the role.
- If Hayate wasn't just a bit too old to qualify, he would probably be the poster-child of this trope. The levels of Moe that boy radiates are staggering.
Would Kunikida of Suzumiya Haruhi count? Despite him being in high school he looks and sounds like he should be in middle school.
Simon or Rossiu in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann are possible examples (and both became Bishonen after the Time Skip), but according to the last Parallel Works video when freaking Lord Genome of all people was a kid he was one of them. Hell, he practically looked like a somewhat masculine version of his daughter Nia.
Tadase from Shugo Chara. He's even compared to a prince, even thought if you call him that, you're dead.
Syrup from Yes Precure 5's sequel Yes! Precure 5 Go Go. For some reason.
Mitsuuru, the male Mikuru from the very popular Gender Flip fanproject of Suzumiya Haruhi. He's also well hung.
Loki (yes, the god) gets turned into one in Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok.
"One day, Sealand-kun will be a huge empire that even that jerk England will bow to!"
- Latvia counts as well.
Usso Evin in Victory Gundam, being the youngest Gundam protagonist at the tender age of 13.
- Quatre Raberba Winner in Gundam Wing,' who only looks like a kid. Cemented (for this troper, at least) by the end of Endless Waltz, where his hard hat falls over his eyes.
Mokuba Kaiba from the (second) Yu-Gi-Oh anime. A clear case of Bowdlerization, since in the original manga he qualifies more as an Enfant Terrible (but responsible, for that). His big sister is a big brother.
- He even had the comedic drag scene, although that was his own idea. It Makes Sense In Context.
  - Also, Yugi himself. Such big expressive eyes...
  - Is that a baby panda?
  - Yugi follows Momiji's example above, since he is sixteen years old, though looks much younger.
Kuroshitsuji's Ciel Phantomhive is a sort of creepy version of this.
- On that note, Near from Death Note is along that vein, only he's actually in his late teens by the time the series ends.
Nai from Karneval most certainly qualifies. Just look at this.◊ Instant "D'AW." His default chibified face is an even worse offender, though...
Akito from Air Gear is a good example, he even wears a wedding dress in one occasion, although most of the time we only see his Super Powered Evil Side Agito
Tsuna from Katekyo Hitman Reborn has most certainly evolved into this. It's impossible not to notice his blatant moe-ness in later chapters.
- Ranking Fuuta and Ginger Bread are also one of these.
Boo from Now And Then Here And There is adorable, loyal, protective, loving, responsible, mature, kind, innocent (but not for long), and realistic. He's also a child soldier, forced to fight in a mad king's army. The responsibility on his shoulders is staggering. Doesn't have a Cool Big Sis, but latches onto the series' Ensemble Dark Horse, even taking a bullet for him.
Arguably, Schrodinger from Hellsing.
Garcia Lovelace from Black Lagoon. The closest thing to a Cool Big Sis for him, though, happens to be a killer maid from hell.
- Hansel also counts, though in his case the trope is subverted as both he and his sister like using their cuteness to fool their victims into a false sense of safety before they kill them. And then there's the fact that he may or may not be a girl some of the time...
From a bit of questionably-canon Star Wars manga, we have Tao, Vader's second and very much younger secret apprentice. (How many illegitimate apprentices did this guy have, anyway?!) ...Honestly, it's kind of creepy.
Sousuke from Full Metal Panic when he was young. Very Moe. You seriously just want to hug him. Ironically, even after he's sixteen, people still treat him like a kid and don't take him seriously.
- That would be because he's sixteen, Ie, a kid, albeit a slightly taller one with a greater chance of not screwing up and coming out of trauma a bit better. Those who actually know he's a child soldier tend not to treat him as a kid, of course.
Arguably, Emile from Count Cain, Although he is possibly to messed up to fit this exactly.
Train from Black Cat temporarily reverts back to being a child (due to being shot with a Lucifer bullet). He is so incredibly Moe Moe, it's not even funny◊. This is milked for what it's worth in the anime, where it's complete with his original clothes falling off of him because they're suddenly too big for him, he blinks innocently several times, and says "eh?" in a very cute, high voice. Later, he's even shown to be forced to wear Eve's dress temporarily, since no one else had clothes that were his size. It's an interesting thought as to what Creed would've done if he had seen Train like that...
Pico, Coco, and Chico in the Boku no Pico series.
Sayonare Zetsubou-Sensei has Majiru, Nozomu's nephew, who looks to be around 7-9 and sorta looks like a mini version of Nozomu. A bit snarky/mouthy, but still cute. And he & Kiri Komori seem to be developing feelings for each other.
Ascot from Magic Knight Rayearth.
- Same with Clef. Who would believe that the kid is actually Really Seven Hundred Years Old and the most powerful mage in Cephiro?
Conan Edogawa of Detective Conan. Glasses + bowtie + blue blazer + matching shorts = kawaii.
Sota Higurashi, Kagome's little brother in Inu Yasha. Especially when he's mimicking Inuyasha's moves, and in particular, dressed up like Conan (see above) for his date.
The human form of Sakutaro from Umineko No Naku Koro Ni, seen in the fourth arc. Seriously, look at him.◊
One of the most Bad Ass ones: Allen Walker from D.Gray-Man. Over time, he's shifted a bit from "most adorable thing ever" to "most adorable and hot thing ever," but he certainly started out as one and still cuts it close.
Darker Than Black has two: July and Maki. July is extremely cute (as well as the male equivalent of an Emotionless Girl), but Maki kind of subverts it by being a sociopathic Yandere nutcase.
Karluk Ayhan from Otoyomegatari pretty much epitomizes this archetype physically, being a cute twelve-year-old. But the story takes this one step further, in that his wife is twenty. However, this avoids being creepy for anyone involved as they live in 19th century Turkey.
Satoshi from Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni manages to be this, mixed with Bishonen, even though he's seventeen years old. Not that he sounds like it in the Japanese version.
The other Satoshi, Ash from Pokemon tends to be this at times.
Mamoru Amami from Gao Gai Gar also deserves a mention here. If he wasn't cute enough, he's a Space Fairy that really adds some heartwarming charm to what was otherwise a hot-blooded Super Robot show.

Film

Cute? Young? Super-Serious? Doesn't like to be treated like a kid? Family problems? Relationship with an older girl? Anakin Skywalker!
- Only in the first prequel, since Attack of the Clones takes place around ten years later.
Midshipman Blakeney in Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World. Being a midshipman in the Napoleonic-era British navy, he also counts as a Child Soldier.
Chekov in the reboot Star Trek film manages this.
- Make that a very cute shotaro boy. I feel dirty. (Also, young!Spock appears only briefly, but displays elements of this trope. Cute, young, super-smart, super-serious, and you do not insult his mom.)
- young!Spock speaks as if his sentences were previously written down. (Well they are, but what I meant was in the context of his world; the script exists in a different context.) What child greets his tormentors with, "I assume you've prepared further insults for me."? OK as a kid I got targeted by bullies for my overly-formal mode of speech—and eventually learned to dumb it down, as a defense—but nowhere near as quotably as Spocklet.
  - Well, a Vulcan one would.
- Analysis: It's the accent and the actor's gift for puppy-dog eyes.
The Artful Dodger in the 1968 musical movie Oliver!. (He was specifically described as being a rather ugly child in the book, but movie adaptations always use cute kids.)
The younger kid, Alexandre Motier (Didier Haudepin's acting would be scary-good at any age) in Les amitiés particulières usually released in English as This Special Friendship. If there's already a trope for European boys' boarding-school romances (another example Another Country, albeit with a mid-twenties actor as half the couple) then I've yet to encounter it, but feel free to contradict/enlighten me.

Literature

The trope goes at least as far back to the detective novels of Edogawa Rampo (1894-1965, real name Hirai Tarou), whose protagonist Kogoro Akechi was frequently aided by the "junior detective" Yoshio Kobayashi; this makes it Older Than Television. According to Wikipedia: "Kobayashi was written as a perfect young teenager who, some might say, had a strong 'dependency' on Mr. Akechi. Every time he appeared, he was either worried about Akechi's well-being or helping Akechi set the trap for criminals. On the numerous occasions that the boy was captured, Akechi swooped in for a timely rescue."
Rare Western literature example - Eoin Colfer's book The Supernaturalists involved a 'kid' called Ditto who was Really Seven Hundred Years Old - okay, in his early twenties - but as he was a naturally-immature adult he occasionally cracked.
- Eoin Colfer also brings us Artemis Fowl, who at the beginning of the series is a twelve-year-old evil genius who plans to rebuild the Fowl family fortune using fairy gold.
  - Did you just call Artemis Fowl cute? You realize if he were real, he'd have to have you killed for that, right?
  - This entirely different troper will venture to say he's freaking adorable. His sinister machinations and tendencies towards very stylish evil deeds only make him more moé-tastic.
  - Perhaps this troper should mention that Artemis is consistently described as very skinny with a face "bleached white by long hours in front of the monitor." Appearance-wise, something tells me our young mastermind is quite the opposite.
  - If Snape is any example, that doesn't matter in the slightest.
  - Being a Pale Skinned Brunette doesn't disqualify you from being cute any more than it disqualifies you from being awesome.
  - This troper agrees that a) he's adorable and b) he'd probably build a positron cannon just so he could use it on you if he heard you say that. But since she also doubts Edward Elric or Hitsugaya Toshiro would particularly appreciate being called cute when they very clearly are, she considers this to be some sort of "Angry Moe."
Markl from the movie of Howl's Moving Castle fits this trope. He's generally more mature than his mentor, Howl, and yet still young enough to freak when a girl threatens to clean his room.
- Better yet, Howl's child disguise in the new sequel, House of Many Ways, fits this trope to a tee, as not only does he speak with an exaggerated lisp, but also is described to be ultimately cherubic with golden curls, adorable puppy-fat, and a lot of lace. It's even more ridiculous when his reasoning for adopting a jailbait disguise is simply because he had a horrid childhood (or so he says, Sophie immediately denounces him as a liar) and he has every right to relive being six years old... only prettier. But because it is only a ruse, he manages to surprise the main character, Charmain, into speechlessness when he drops all pretenses and acts very adult and down-to-business.
- While on the subject of Diana Wynne Jones' books, Ceri in The Power of Three.
Petya Rostov is a mild version of this. He joins the Russian army because of a mix of responsibility over his family's sad state and patriotism.
Lamb The Gospel According To Biff gives us a Cute Shotaro Boy Jesus Christ. Yes, really.
How about Good Omens? Cute shota Antichrist.
- That's Anti Antichrist, which somehow only makes it cuter.
Olver fits this trope in-universe despite being described as downright ugly in the books. It probably has to do with when he follows his Big Brother Mentor Mat around to watch his back and tries to mimic the Warders.

Music

Len Kagamine is sometimes portrayed as one, despite his age of 14, but Your Mileage May Vary.
- There is no question.

Video Games

Sora, Roxas, and Ventus from Kingdom Hearts.
Roan in Grandia 2.
Bridget from the Guilty Gear series not only falls into this category, but, as he is a convincing crossdresser, also appears to be custom-made for yaoi fandom.
- Also his Spiritual Successor from Blaz Blue, Carl Clover. Though Carl is certainly missing a certain something only Bridget has.
Shiva from the Galaxy Angel Gameverse... or so the player thinks.
Link from The Legend Of Zelda, in games where he's not old enough to qualify as Bishonen.
All three of the main Kid Heroes of each Mother game is a Cute Shotaro Boy (Ninten, Ness, and Lucas, respectively). However, they'er all Older Than They Look.
- Their ages are actually between 12 and 13, so it's not much of a surprise. But still...
Laharl from Disgaea, of a particularly vicious kind. Taro of the second game is a straighter example, though a bit of a Cloud Cuckoolander
Larsa of Final Fantasy XII probably fits this trope.
Hope Estheim, of Final Fantasy XIII.
Ken Amada from Persona 3 seems like one of these at first. However, it's later revealed that he joined SEES so he could exact revenge on his mother's killer.
Culotte of La Pucelle.
Jr. from the Xenosaga series. Combined with Cloning Blues, lots of Ho Yay (with his brother) and Older Than They Look, he is a pseudo main character who fits this trope to a T (popularity with the female fanbase as well) and even gets some Shipping with the Loli character. Also someting of a Kid Anova, flirting with every female in the cast to some degree, popular among the 100-series Realians, and somewhat implied to get "attention" from his other brother's twin "assistants".
Rolf from Fire Emblem certainly qualifies often putting a tough front despite being very sensitive and sweet. (Sothe may also qualify before he grows into a Bishonen, where as Tormod is more of a Bratty Half Pint. Earlier examples include Nils from Rekka no Ken, Rei and Lugh from Fuuin no Tsurugi, Corple from Seisen no Keifu, Asvel from Thracia 776, and Ewan from Seima no Kouseki.
Genis from Tales Of Symphonia qualifies very much. He's dang mature and can even be a Deadpan Snarker when he feels up to it.
- Also see Karol from Tales Of Vesperia. Given how anime trope-heavy the Tales Series is, more will doubtless follow.
  - You forgot Mao from Tales Of Rebirth.
  - What, no Ion?
- Amusingly enough, Tales Of Graces starts out with 3 of the main characters as shotas in the prologue.
Machi Tobaye from the 4th game in the Ace Attorney series. It doesn't help either that he was originally meant to be designed as a girl.
Laliar in Super Robot Wars R and Original Generation, being the only boy in Duminuss' creations. The rest are lolis.
- Elma, Selena's assistant from Alpha 3, would fit this trope to a T if he were human (or at least human-shaped).
Beat from Eternal Sonata is the poster boy for this trope.
Pop N Music has countless examples; this troper's personal favorites are Timer and Hugh.
The professor's boy assistant Luke from Professor Layton.
Brian of Quest 64
Nasir of Lagoon is somewhat older, unlike his brother Thor.
Shinra from Final Fantasy X-2. A bit unusual in that he is wearing a suit that covers him completely, including his face.
Flower Sun And Rain has a character actually named Shoutaro. He fits the aesthetic visually, but is closer to a Bratty Half Pint in personality — although everyone except the main character and player seems to think he fits this trope, instead. He's also an egregious Fourth Wall Breaker in a game already full of Breaking The Fourth Wall.
Edward in the Clock Tower 2 (Also known as Clock Tower in USA).
Although it is a furry version, Tails from the Sonic games qualifies. YMMV.
Bugsy from Pokemon. Yes, he's a boy. Look at him, he's◊ so◊..Cute◊.
- Possibly ~~Gold~~ ~~Hibiki~~ Ethan◊, Lucas◊, and Pearl◊.

Western Animation

Mac from Fosters Home For Imaginary Friends.
Toby from Word Girl fits most of this trope... except for the relationship with an older girl (not that he doesn't WANT one with a certain superheroine...).
Beast Boy from Teen Titans. Simultaneously The Bumblebee. So cute, he's huggable! Comes with optional cute animal-forms.
Brainiac 5 in the Legion Of Super Heroes cartoon was made into this kind of (pre-)Teen Genius for the first season, in contrast to his snarky Insufferable Genius characterization in recent comics. He even gets a good amount of Ho Yay with Superman, the hero he looks up to. And watches with cameras. And calls at ungodly hours of the night. And... you get the idea.
Jake from Taz Mania.
Tricks from Scruff is a Talking Animal version of this trope, being a young Border Collie pup with an easygoing, smart, modest but playful personality.
Russell in Up.
Flapjack from The Marvelous Misadventures Of Flapjack is the very definition of Cute Shotaro Boy for western animation. He was even mistaken for a girl in one episode. (then again, he is shown with long eyelashes in several epiodes)
Ding-A-Ling Wolf from Hokey Wolf cartoons.
Both Thomas and Percy from Thomas the Tank Engine.