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Take one improbably cute Amazon Brigade, add one half pint girl with a plushie.
During the development phase, it was said that "Caster turns into a loli with hyper power", but we only need one loli!
—Taiga, Fate Stay Night (game): Taiga dojo #22

The Token Loli is an aged-twelve-and-under (at least in appearance) female character in an anime cast that is otherwise made up of adults, or at least teenagers. Her presence is often hand-waved in some manner to explain why someone that looks twelve is hanging out with a group of people old enough to be her parents: a younger sibling, Phlebotinum genetics , inherited a Plot Coupon like everybody else, a Child Prodigy who got her position early on the basis thereof, etc. Maybe she just has lots of free time. Again, note that the Token Loli doesn't have to actually be underage. She may be Really Seven Hundred Years Old, or a Robot Girl, or some other variant of the Magical Girlfriend, as long as she's still loli in appearance.

The Token Loli shows up in darn near every series, to the point that if she's not there at the start, it's more a matter of waiting until she does show up than a matter of if. Her purpose is to appeal to one of two warring fandoms. Those with a Big Brother Complex find the Token Loli endearing and feel an emotional response of wanting to protect her from the evil Lolicons. Lolicons... well, yeah.

This might be highlighted by having a Dirty Old Man or Covert Pervert around to lampshade the Token Loli. Or maybe the token loli is sexually precocious and curious (usually an innocent curiosity) about This And That. Perhaps she's only interested in kissing, or doesn't really understand what love and marriage are about. More often it's done more subtly. For example in a harem show have the little girl of the group be jealous of all the attention the older girls are getting and insist on getting her own date. Of course most people see this as cute innocence, but it can appeal to a Periphery Demographic.

This means that a Token Loli can become a Cousin Oliver or The Scrappy without proper care. Little girls who aren't treated in this Fanservice style should be put in Tag Along Kid. See also Cute Shotaro Boy. Sometimes mixed with Little Miss Snarker, although those little girls are intellectually precocious.

Examples:

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