History Main / AgeIsRelative

* The Steel Dragon Battle Group in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginal 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 19 years would suggest.

* In the earlier ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books, when Ginny was outside the CompetenceZone, 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. Although the events of the second book suggest there might be an element of UnreliableNarrator to this description, as Harry doesn't really get to know her firsthand until much later and Ron's perspective might be skewed by the fact he doesn't always get on with his sister. This ended after she TookALevelInBadass. Lampshaded when Harry tries to keep her out of the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix fifth book]]'s adventure, only to be reminded she's older than he was when he fought Voldemort over [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone the Philosopher's Stone]].

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': 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.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', Gladiolus and Ignis, the respective TeamDad and TeamMom, are both very tall and look and sound like fully-fledged adults, while Noctis (HeroProtagonist) and Prompto (PluckyComicRelief) [[TeensAreShort are shorter]] and look and sound like they're in their late teens. Noctis and Prompto are 20. Gladiolus is 23 and Ignis is 22.

* The Knight Sabers in ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis''. Primarily in the characters of Linna and Nene, who despite being only a year apart in age look like there's closer to seven years between them, although Nene being decidedly {{Fun Size}}d doesn't help.

* [[{{Moe}} Mikuru Asahina]] in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. Though one year higher than the rest of the cast, she is often a victim of [[RealityWarper Haruhi's]] molestations, though [[CharacterDevelopment this decreases as the light novels go on]]. Even [[DeadpanSnarker Kyon]] doesn't know Mikuru's real age, by virtue of her time traveling capabilities.

* The poem ''Wrinkles'' implies a metaphorical use of this trope, as the subject, while young and youthful, feels old and so she sees herself as old, while others see her as young.
* ''Literature/LandOfOz'': Princess Ozma is an example of AChildShallLeadThem but how old she is fluctuates in official art. Even within the same book, illustrations will dramatically change her age. Generally she's depicted as a teenager (with the books claiming she looks no older than sixteen) while other times she looks prepubescent like Dorothy. A few illustrations also depict her looking adult and womanly. As a rule of thumb, she's generally at her oldest when she contrasts with the KidHero Dorothy, but she's depicted as a little kid when the mature sorceress Glinda is also in-shot (with Ozma almost never reaching above Glinda's shoulders). Ozma's GenderBender self from when she was RaisedAsTheOppositeGender, Tip, is consistently depicted as a little boy to emphasise his childish nature.

* [[{{Moe}} Mikuru Asahina]] in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. Though one year higher than the rest of the cast, she is often a victim of [[RealityWarper Haruhi's]] molestations, though [[CharacterDevelopment this decreases as the light novels go on]]. Even [[DeadpanSnarker Kyon]] doesn't know Mikuru's real age, by virtue of her time traveling capabilities.
-->'''Kyon:''' Please tell me your real age.\\
'''Mikuru:''' That's classified.

* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' plays this trope to ridiculous extremes. Almost all of the cast is aged 15-18, yet you have characters like Komosubi who look and act like they're about 10 and characters like Mr. Don who look older then their ''own parents''.

* Pretty much the entire female cast of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. Gentle, motherly ([[BewareTheNiceOnes but scary when she wants to be]], just like a real mother) Chizuru looks to be the third oldest of the class. The first and second, veteran mercenary Mana and wise {{Ninja}}-girl Kaede, [[HugeSchoolgirl can't even get their student discount at the movies]]. Meanwhile, the two least mature members of the class, the Narutaki twins, look younger than their ten-year-old teacher, even though they're about a month older than Chizuru. Another prime example is Chizuru's roommate Natsumi, who's pretty underdeveloped, even goes as far as to use a variant of the "Oneechan" (Big sister) honorific when addressing Chizuru despite being a few months older than her.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'',

* The OG Numbers in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars: 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 19 years would suggest.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Thrall calls Garrosh Hellscream "boy" after he challenges him to a duel for the Warchief title. This fits with the roles of the two characters, with Thrall being the wise spiritual leader and Garrosh being the HotBlooded upstart warrior, however FridgeLogic dictates Garrosh is actually older than Thrall by at least a few years. Thrall was born on Azeroth after the end of the second war. Garrosh was born on Draenor, which means he must have been born or at least conceived before his father Grom Hellscream went through the Dark Portal at the start of the first war.

* It's been said that Presidents of the United States age in dog years while in office. Compare 2016 photos of UsefulNotes/BarackObama with those from the 2008 campaign.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Subverted in ''{{Discworld/Wintersmith}}'', where Tiffany tells Annagramma that just because a woman is old and toothless doesn't mean she's wise, just that she's been stupid for longer.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

* ''Literature/LandOfOz'': Princess Ozma is as example of AChildShallLeadThem but how old she is fluctuates in official art. Even within the same book, illustrations will dramatically change her age. Generally she's depicted as a teenager (with the books claiming she looks no older than sixteen) while other times she looks prepubescent like Dorothy. A few illustrations also depict her looking adult and womanly. As a rule of thumb, she's generally at her oldest when she contrasts with the KidHero Dorothy, but she's depicted as a little kid when the mature sorceress Glinda is also in-shot (with Ozma almost never reaching above Glinda's shoulders). Ozma's GenderBender self from when she was RaisedAsTheOppositeGender, Tip, is consistently depicted as a little boy to emphasise his childish nature.

** Ozai, the BigBad, looks to be in his late thirties or early forties. Iroh, a CoolOldGuy and mentor figure, looks like he's in his sixties or seventies. It's never stated exactly how old they are or how big the age gap between them is, but they're supposed to be brothers. They look more like a father and son. WordOfGod eventually clarified that Iroh is indeed about 20 years older than Ozai.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' often uses this. 15-year old Haku has an androgynous, boyish look to emphasise his (relatively) innocent nature, while the 16-year old Sound Nin from the "Sasuke retrieval" arc all look like they're in their 20s to emphasise their villainous natures. Kakashi was 6 when he was made genin and Itachi was 12 in the flashbacks to the Uchiha massacre, yet both look ''years'' older to show off their tough upbringings.

* The Knight Sabers in ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis''. Primarily in the characters of Linna and Nene, who despite being only a year apart in age look like there's closer to seven years between them, although Nene being decidedly FunSized doesn't help.

* Despite great variations in their appearance, most of the senshi in ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' are aged within a year of each other, with any grade differences being a product of also being transfer students. This is obscured the fact artists draw Haruka and Michiru as much older looking than the other characters, who gushed about how mature they seemed. TheNineties [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] even poked fun at the idea that Haruka's hobby of car driving doesn't really make legal sense.

** Ozai, the BigBad, looks to be in his late thirties or early forties. Iroh, a CoolOldGuy and mentor figure, looks like he's in his sixties or seventies. It's never stated exactly how old they are or how big the age gap between them is, but they're supposed to be brothers. They look more like a father and son.

* Pretty much the entire female cast of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. Gentle, motherly ([[BewareTheNiceOnes but scary when she wants to be]], just like a real mother) Chizuru looks to be the third oldest of the class. The first and second, veteran mercenary Mana and wise {{Ninja}}-girl Kaede, [[HugeSchoolgirl can't even get their student discount at the movies]]. Meanwhile, the two least mature members of the class, the Narutaki twins, look younger than their ten-year-old teacher, even though they're about a month older than Chizuru. Another prime example is Chizuru's roommate Natsumi, who's pretty underdeveloped, even goes as far as to use a variant of the "Oneechan" (Big sister) honorific when addressing Chizuru despite being a few months older than her.
** Negi himself falls under this. Later in the series, he spends a good chunk of time magically aged up a few years...and it fits his personality ''perfectly''. Plenty of people comment that he doesn't really act like a ten year old. He does occasionally subvert it however: He still occasionally smiles like a ten-year-old. It also works in reverse where characters who he has seen naked many many times in the bath (he doesn't like to wash his hair) and other places without a problem suddenly give him the MegatonPunch after a slightly embarrassing situation.

* The best duelists are or look older in ''Anime/YuGiOh'' (cf. Seto and Dark!Yugi). Yugi himself is a good example, especially in the anime, where his change from his innocent normal self to Dark!Yugi is accompanied by him actually growing taller and more mature-looking.
** [[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries The Abridged Series]] {{lampshade}}s it:
---> '''Kaiba''': Wait, did your testicles just drop in the last five seconds or something?
* Despite great variations in their appearance, most of the senshi in ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' are aged within a year of each other, with any grade differences being a product of also being transfer students. This is obscured the fact artists draw Haruka and Michiru as much older looking than the other characters, who gushed about how mature they seemed. TheNineties [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] even poked fun at the idea that Haruka's hobby of car driving doesn't really make legal sense.
** For those who are unaware Usagi and the Guardian/Inner Senshi are 14 when the first anime starts (and 15 when the outers are introduced and 16 when the show ends) Uranus and Neptune are 1 year older, while Setsuna is hard to pin due to time travel but is physically in her 20s (and attends college). Hotaru is twelve years at the time of her introduction but due to age-downs and ups it's hard to pin. Chibiusa is physically around 5 then around ages to around 10. In the manga she's really 900 years old. In each case, she physically cannot age until her senshi powers were awakened.

* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' plays this trope to ridiculous extremes. Almost all of the cast is aged 15-18, yet you have characters like Komosubi who look and act like they're about 10 and characters like Mr. Don who look older then their ''own parents''.

* In ''Film/TheGodfatherPartIII'' 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.)

* Noted by Trian in the first book of Literature/TheDeathGateCycle. "Wars and kingship age a man. Magic does not." Zigzagged in that while he appears quite young, he has the power to act on behalf of the king, but he ultimately has very little power in the broader scope the series takes.
** Zigzagged further with Alfred. He is often described as old and balding, but takes little initiative and displays far less power than the more youthful Haplo. He is specifically contrasted with Samah who displays far more power and who is in some ways older (they were both preserved in stasis for very long periods of time) but who is not described to be nearly as old in appearance. In truth, Alfred is the most powerful - magically speaking - of his people when he actually is able to bring himself to achieve his potential.
* Subverted in ''{{Literature/Wintersmith}}'', where Tiffany tells Annagramma that just because a woman is old and toothless doesn't mean she's wise, just that she's been stupid for longer.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** 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.

* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Charlie and Danny Matheson seem to come across as little kids at times, but they are at least older teenagers and young adults at most. There is Nate Walker, who's treated like a kid, even though the actor playing him, Creator/JDPardo, is actually 33 years old.

** The First Doctor was the youngest Doctor and in many ways very naive and unsure of himself, but also the oldest-looking and the one characterised most typically by his old age (implied by later stories to be a facade disguising his relative youth). In several stories he comes across as childish and sometimes even like a [[RebelliousSpirit sulky rebellious teen]], but his basic trope is that of the absent-minded old man. Unlike all of the Doctors until very recently, he's also defined in terms of his familial responsibility - specifically, towards his granddaughter (and string of [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute substitute granddaughter figures]]). In multi-Doctor stories he tends to take charge from his younger-looking but more mature other selves, who defer to his judgement comfortably.
** The Fourth Doctor, the youngest man cast at the time, was initially conceived as an 'eternal student' character to take advantage of the actor's youth (then considered a shock development - for reference, the actor was 40 - hardly as [[YoungerAndHipper young as the revival series got]]). This goes some way to explaining the unusual outfit he wears in his first season (preppy Oxbridge by way of StarvingArtist and general tastelessness). This concept was dropped in favour of a [[ByronicHero Byronic]] aesthetic, but some elements of it stuck around, particularly in Season 17 which dealt a lot with his university education and had a story set in Cambridge. His personality was also much more childish than his predecessors - impulsive, petulant, prone to [[MoodSwinger mood swings]] and [[AttentionWhore attention-seeking]], with a childish disrespect for responsibility and a tendency to act cute to get his way.
-->'''Sarah-Jane:''' ''(teasing)'' Doctor, you're being childish.\\
'''Doctor:''' Well, of course I am! There's no point being grown-up if you can't be childish sometimes.

** Clara's uncomfortable feelings towards the Twelfth Doctor in Season 8 are based partially on the fact that he appears drastically older than he had been when she'd first met him. "Deep Breath" even explained that his previous prettyboy {{Hipster}} incarnation was in part an act of denial - looking young allowed him to convince himself that he was, even allowing himself to think of himself as Clara's 'boyfriend'. His return to an older appearance was finally being honest to himself about his age, and freeing himself of the lie allowed him to pursue his [[NightmareFetishist Nightmare Fetish]].

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', Gladiolus and Ignis, the respective TeamDad and TeamMom, are both very tall and look and sound like fully-fledged adults, while Noctis (HeroProtagonist) and Prompto (PluckyComicRelief) [[TeensAreShort are shorter]] and look and sound like they're in their late teens. Noctis and Prompto are 20. Gladiolus is 23 and Ignis is 22.
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' is forced to deal with this problem because the more HighFantasy-style ''Final Fantasy'' entries treat young characters as adults, and the UrbanFantasy entries tend to treat them more like modern people of their age. The game plays this for intentional irony in places. The oldest Warrior of Cosmos is Cloud, who is 21 and looks and acts like it, making him seem much less mature than Cecil, who is 20 and acts and appears like a mature grown-up. Cloud is also treated as junior to Firion, who is 18. Bartz is also 20, and spends much of his storyline being babysat by the 17-year-old and more grown-up-looking Squall (who is treated in his own game as being a teenager, though one who acts very grown-up for his age). In a particularly cute application, Onion Knight (13) considers himself Terra's (18) big brother.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' has this between Leia and [[StreetUrchin Ezra]], who are both sixteen when they first meet. Leia's been raised as a diplomat and rebel in a royal household while Ezra is physically and emotionally stunted from his time on the streets. As such, Leia comes off as much older despite actually being younger than he is.