Years Too Early - Television Tropes & Idioms

"Hyakunen hayai ze!"

A stock insult used by the Japanese to show the confidence of a certain character in a one on one match, or just to say that a character is out of their league.

Most commonly used before a fight. A character will often say "You're 100 years too early to be facing me." (or any number of years they choose. 100 is most common.) The English equivalent would be to call someone "too green" or, less literally, "out of their league."

Not to be confused with years Too Soon to joke about a tragedy.

Examples

Anime and Manga

In Fairy Tail Laxas says this to Natsu before he beats him up
- Although on that note, Natsu ends up winning the fight thanks to the help of Gajeel
One Piece characters in general are quite fond of using this, but of particular note is Shanks, of the Four Emperors, who uses it to tease over-ambitious kids like Luffy. What makes this notable is a flashback that shows when this was said against the same character by his fellow Emperor, Whitebeard, he took such offense that they clashed swords over it!
Urd uses this on Skuld in Ah! My Goddess all the time, with incredibly ridiculous numbers for how long it'll take. Mostly she uses it because she knows Skuld will react.
Used by Deidara on the title character of Naruto: "You're a hundred years too young to be giving ME orders, hmmm!"
- Deidara also says this to Tobi in the Sanbi filler arc. Which becomes Hilarious in Hindsight when we find out that Tobi actually is a hundred years older than Deidara.
Eyeshield 21 likes having people use the phrase.
Used in Ranma �, by Cologne, when Ranma goes up against her. The number of years too early it is changes every time she says it, too... and of course, she turns out to be wrong, thanks to Ranma's 'Fist of The Cat' Super Mode.
- Shampoo uses this statement as well to Akane
Sci-fi variation from FLCL:
Haruko: You're a million years underevolved, primitive monkey!
Amarao: That's discriminatory language used against underdeveloped cultures!
Inu Yasha, at least twice, probably more.
In the first Mahou Sensei Negima! anime, Chisame tells her opponent class that they're 100 years too early to try beating her supreme hacking skills, and that their homepage would fail.
- Also used again by Chisame in Mahou Sensei Negima! manga, chapter 183, unusual because it isn't intended as an insult. Chisame is protecting Negi from exposure to ... ah, "material" above his age level.
"You're 20 years too early for this stuff! I take that back, you shouldn't learn about [it] for your entire life!!!"
- Used more recently in chapter 291, when the fake Eva says to Negi "You're four hundred years to early to be spouting lines like that, brat!"
A common occurrence in Bleach, although usually scaled up to factors of millennia due to the Soul Reapers' extremely long life span.
- Anime episodes 57-58. After Ichigo demands that Byakuya use his Bankai, Byakuya says "It's a thousand years too soon for you to die by my Bankai." Instead, he uses his Shikai to attack Ichigo. After Ichigo defeats Byakuya's Shikai with his own Getsuga Tensho blast, Byakuya changes his mind and does use his Bankai on Ichigo.
- At the end of anime episode 86 (during the Bount arc), the Bount Sawatari tells Chad, Noba and Rangiku Matsumoto that they're "100 years too early" to defeat him. Notable in that it's stated that Chad COULD have killed Sawatari if Ururu had not been stuck inside his whale doll.
- Played for laughs in one of the manga fillers where Soifon and Kiyone try to surreptitiously take pictures of Yoruichi, who remarks that "[Soifon] is 1000 too early to be doing that" after discovering them.
Konata in Lucky Star says this to Kagami, while cosplaying as Haruhi Suzumiya.
- In the manga, Akira says that Minoru should be a million years too early to get pictures of him featured in a magazine.
Used in Gintama by Gintoki to Hijikata when the former defeats a ghost (who turns out not to be a ghost at all, but an alien woman with mosquito-like features, and who happened to look like a ghost) by throwing her upon the latter.
"You're still a hundred years too early to teach me on the ways of the samurai."
Variant from Maison Ikkoku episode 91: Akemi refers to Kyoko and Godai's relationship squabbles, saying that it's "going to take about 100 years to settle this". (It ends up taking 96 episodes).
Toutaku delivers this line in episode 4 of Ikkitousen to thugs from his school after they are completely outclassed by Hakufu's mother.
Leozack says exactly this to Star Saber when they meet for the first time in Transformers Victory. Later, in Transformers Return Of Convoy, Super Megatron tells Sixliner that he's two million years too early.
From The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya:
Haruhi: You peeping Kyon! Trying to peep on Mikuru-chan's underwear? You are two-million-five-thousand-six-hundred years behind!
In the Midori Days manga, Seiji's bossy sister Rin informs him that "you're about 100,000 years too young to defy me!"
Used by Teana on the last chapter of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S manga while in full Tsundere mode, when she successfully deduced that the reason for Subaru's apprehension in joining the Special Rescue squad was because she was unconsciously being worried that she won't be able to protect the other members of Riot Force Six, including...
Teana: You're 10 years too early to even worry over Nanoha-san!
Subaru: Ah, yeah, true that.
- Just before the Forwards leave for the final battle, Subaru attempts to cheer Nanoha up, but notices that Nanoha was the one who ended up reassuring her. Teana says the same phrase about Subaru hoping to reassure Nanoha when Subaru tells her this.
Somewhat subverted in Bastard!!, when the main character is fighting a demon who keeps bragging about how he is 400 years old... with no idea that the protagonist is much older than that. (The dub even adds a line to this effect after the demon's inevitable facepwning.)
Mashiro from Mai-Otome taunts her castle guards with this before she tries to run away from them.
Extra in Idol Project tells a tentacle monster trying to molest her that he's "a billion years too early to touch her skin".
From Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, Takeda is trying to get a sensei, but is "56,700,000 years too early."
Happens A LOT in Great Teacher Onizuka.
Likewise, Hajime No Ippo, particulary when Ippo challanges Eiji Date.
Variation from A Certain Magical Index: when Touma first tries to punch Accelerator, Accelerator stomps the ground, sending Touma flying away while he says, "Too slow. You're a whole century too slow!"
Some random female delinquent tells this to Kuroko in A Certain Scientific Railgun, who promptly teleports her upside down six feet above the ground and mocks her age.
A humorous variant occurs in the second arc of Umineko: When They Cry, where Battler tells Maria that she's "ten years too early to be telling someone to eat her," but to say it to him when the time comes. This right after telling Beatrice to make him a sandwich out of her breasts. It was a rather odd scene, given what had just happened...
- Also used in EP 6 of Umineko: When They Cry: "It's a thousand years too early for you to capture Battler's heart, little girl."
Soul Eater has Black Star using this on occasion, in line with his claims to being the best everything in the anywhere.
Seto no Hanayome has Lunar using this line on Nagasumi when he offers to help her prepare for one of her acting roles.
The World God Only Knows has Keima using this when challenging someone to a shogi match: "It's 100 years too early for you to challenge Master Tenri! First you must face her student, me!"
Psyren, Chapter 142, Yoshina Ageha to Amagi Miroku: "You're going to kill me? Just try it. After all, even if you had 10 years, you still wouldn't be able to do it." It ain't no boast either; Ageha had already defeated a much more powerful Miroku once before, 10 years in the future.
Nancy tells Yomiko that she's "100 years to early to worry about me" in Read or Die.
In the second season of Rosario + Vampire, Inner Moka tells a Phoenix "You are ten years too early to defeat me"
In Goshuushou Sama Ninomiya Kun, Ryoko gripes that Shungo is ten years too young to catch a cold from exhaustion.
When Squid Girl loses at a fighting game to her new friend Kiyomi, she says she'll jet her revenge. Kiyomi tells her she'll have to train 10 years before she can beat her.
In Initial D, Kenta says this to Wataru when he attempts to challenge Keisuke.

Fan Fiction

In Kyon: Big Damn Hero, after Kyon's sister awakens her brother by trying to tickle him, Kyon tells her she's a hundred years too young to try that on him.

Live-Action TV

From ''Vikings:
Man: I don't want to kill you, woman.
Lagertha: You couldn't kill me if you tried for a hundred years.
In the first season of Highlander, Duncan faces a much older immortal who initially holds a significant advantage over our hero. The other immortal, while evil, nonetheless respects Duncan as a Worthy Opponent and comments that with another century of practice, (and defeating other immortals) Duncan might become strong enough to beat him.

Video Games

In Super Mario RPG, when you're chasing down the crocodile thief, there's a point when you have to sneak up behind him. When you do, he says, "At this rate it will take 100 years for you to catch me" and runs away. The second time you catch him, he says it'll take fifty years. The third time, before he can come up with a proper number, Mallow interrupts and demands the stolen property, prompting the boss fight.
In Pokemon Red And Blue/Yellow, there's a trainer in Brock's gym who tells you that you're "light-years away" from facing Brock (or something along those lines). After you defeat him (the gym trainer, that is, not Brock), he says this line:
"Darn! Light-years isn't time! It measures distance!"
- His annoyance at this unit confusion makes more sense in light of this trope.
The Higurashi: When They Cry series has Mion saying pretty much the same thing as the previous example, with Keiichi making the same correction.
- Satoko always says something similar.
Soulcage pulls something like this when you fight it in Final Fantasy IX, claiming that it has foreseen its death.
EarthBound:
Pokey: It is a gazillion years too early for you to oppose Giygas!
Akira Yuki of Virtua Fighter is famous for his usage of this line ("Juu'nen hayain da yo"). Other characters even make reference to it.
- It also shows up a few times in the Japanese dub of the Shenmue, likely as a Shout Out, since both games were created by Yu Suzuki, and the protagonist is an Expy of Akira.
- Super Robot Wars' Ascended Fanboy Ryusei Date uses the same line, in a clear allusion to their voice actor.
- As a Sega game, Bayonetta uses this as a Bond One-Liner if she finishes a fight with Shuraba.
- In Dead Or Alive, Zack refers to this line after Kokoro beats Akira in story mode.
One of Tales Of Vesperia's end-battle quotes is a variation on this between Yuri and Estelle:
Yuri: It'll be a hundred years before you can beat me!
Estelle: Because you've lived a lot longer, right?
Yuri: ...Not exactly.
- If you lose to Peridot on Mt. Grimm in Tales of Hearts, she says this almost verbatim.
Fatal Fury: This is one of Ryuji Yamazaki's win lines in every game he appears in.
- In KOF Maximum Impact, Billy Kane will tell a defeated Alba and/or Soiree Meira, "It's a hundred years too soon for you to rule this town!"
From Gitaroo Man: "Not in a million billion years." (infinity impossible)
- Later on the game, there's "Not... in all of eternity." (infinity impossible)
Disgaea 2 uses this before a certain Hopeless Boss Fight (unless you've been grinding like a fiend or are on a New Game Plus).
"No!!! With those herbs, I could've regained my levels! Ugh... why'd you have to go out of your way to ruin my life, you little brat?!"
"What's the matter? Are you hungry or something?"
"I'm pissed off!! I don't care about our level difference anymore... today's the day I beat the crap outta you, you hear me?!"
"Don't you know anything? It's a million years too early for you to beat me!"
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan has the "Thrill" level, where Ryuuji says that "Wakana-chan is one million years too early for you!"
Said by a few characters when evading an attack in Super Robot Wars.
Lass of Grand Chase tends to use this as a victory quote and/or a taunt.
In the first Advance Wars game, Kanbei says, "Come back when you've matured some! Say, in ten years!" the first time he uses his CO Power in the mission "Kanbei's Error?".
The arcade game The First Funky Fighter by Taito has the most exaggerated example where the main character says "You're one million years too young to be challenging human beings!!!" when he beats a monstrous animal.
Rin taunts one of her cats saying that he's 100 years late to defeat her after it fails at snatching the toy she was carrying.

Webcomics

A variation in the D&D-based comic The Order of the Stick: when Roy finally confronts the Big Bad Xykon, the lich calmly suggests that Roy is a dozen of levels too early to face him and even politely offers to postpone their showdown for him to do some Level Grinding.

Web Animation

You're way too young to be The Guy!

Web Original

In one Global Guardians story, the Evil Overlord Lord Doom told Achilles, who is one of the villain's sons, "try as you might, you're not yet the man to overthrow me. Come back in twenty or thirty years and try again." And then Lord Doom casually beat the ever-living snot out of Achilles.

Western Animation

Shego constantly addresses Kim Possible with childish nicknames, implicitly dismissing her as someone too young to be fighting grownup battles.

Real Life

Before the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Ichiro Suzuki spoke about how badly he wanted to "make the other teams [in the Asian group] think they wouldn't be able to beat them for the next 30 years". Then Japan lost a game to South Korea. Of course, their broken pride was repaired when they won their first WBC title.
Frequently mentioned in boxing, as in a recent example from ESPN's Friday Night Fights:
Joe Tessitore: "Mike Arnaoutis beat Juan Urango back in 2004, but that was a young Urango, not the one we know today."

Yonkoma

Japanese Media Tropes

X Called; They Want Their Y Back

Stock Phrases

You Exclamation