History Main / CuteMute

** Though as of late, he seems to have quit caring. Now he talks whenever he wants.

* ''Webcomic/TouhouJournal''[='=]s version of [[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Reimu]] is mute, but is exceptionally cute and [[NiceGuy kind]], a very different depiction from her usual portrayal as a {{Jerkass}}. Despite her silence, other characters seem to be able to understand her just fine. Other Cute Mutes include Sanae, who also boasts TaremeEyes; Kisume, who always has the same indifferent look on her face; and Miko, who communicates via written text her scroll and makes friends with Reimu mere moments after they meet.

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%%* Mone from ''{{Yumeria}}''.

* [[AntiMagic Suzuho Hasegawa]] from ''MacademiWasshoi'' is mute when her Midnight Blue Vampire personality is dormant. This makes her appear even shyer than she normally would be and forces her to use signs to communicate/

* Hatsumi from ''YamiToBoushiToHonNoTabibito'' is a subversion; she can talk at times, and is nowhere near as innocent or cute as she first appears.

* Shion, the lead character of ''ShionNoOu'', lost her voice after her parents were killed in front of her, communicating via a notepad and pen she carries around with her. [[spoiler:She regains her voice after she defeats the murderer in the finals of the shogi tournament Hani-meijin.]]
* Rita Rossi from ''AshitaNoNadja''. [[spoiler: She lost her voice after seeing her parents' death in an horrendous fire that consumed their circus, which also left her with [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes a phobia of anything fiery, even stoves]]. Halfway in the series, Rita recovers her will to speak when Nadja was trapped in a fire and Rita is the only one able to tell her how to get out of the burning place. From then on, she becomes a GenkiGirl MotorMouth.]]

* Elaine from ''{{Genocyber}}'' was the mind of a feral animal and therefore can't speak. She is very friendly and protective towards those who show her kindness, at least in her human form.
* Mizuna Kuraki from ''Moonlight Lady'' apparently cannot speak, although she tries mouthing her name.
* Kisa Sohma from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' is mute when she first appears in the story, as a side effect of school bullying. This contributes to Tohru's mother duck fawning over her. She recovers from this with the help of Tohru and Yuki.

* Egypt from ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' is often mistaken as one by other nations, since he's very quiet. This is strange considering the country's real life history but Hetalia has never been about historical accuracy.
* ''{{Potemayo}}'''s vocabulary mainly consists of "Honi, honi", but she picks up a few words as the series progresses. This is better than Guchuko, who can't form words.

* Flandre of ''PrincessResurrection'' only says "Huga", but Hime understands what she is saying. Likewise with the rest of Flandre's "siblings". Played straight wither a "Mermaid" character (No name given, she simply called that) who lost her voice and got stuck on a ship until she turned into a [[EmergencyTransformation Blood Warrior]] after saving one of the characters (she could only use her voice once and would've dies afterward).
* Double Subverted in ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}''. 0013 is a chubby but still kinda cute-looking boy with HiddenEyes who speaks through telepathy and acts [[GentleGiant cheerful and innocent]]... [[TragicMonster until he has to fight 009]] and reveals himself as a KidWithTheLeash of a HUGE robot. [[spoiler: He still reminds kind (saves an InnocentBystander, punishes a bunch of assassins, releases the DistressedDude professor) and ultimately commits suicide.]]
* Chane Laforet from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}!''. Her fiance, [[spoiler:Claire Stanfield]], lists her muteness as one of her {{Charm Point}}s -- though he carries on impressively long conversations with her regardless, thanks to the frequent use of yes/no questions and an apparent ability to read her mind.
* ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'': Lily Strosek, a MysteriousWaif that appears to be something similar to the first Reinforce. She's only capable of communicating through telepathic thoughts. Flashbacks later reveal that she used to be able to speak, but the trauma during her time confined as a lab experiment rendered her mute. In other words, a [[TheWoobie woobie]] who can't talk, i.e cute.

* Ren from ''DearS'' is on the same approximate wavelength as Chi from ''Chobits'', above.
* Celty from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' is an interesting take on this one. Because she [[HeadlessHorseman doesn't have a head]], she can't speak or communicate using facial expressions, but she ''can'' communicate well enough by [[TalkingWithSigns typing things out on a cellphone or computer]]. (Her roommate [[spoiler:and later fiancé]] Shinra can tell what she's thinking or trying to say from her body language, though – as Celty puts it, he "can read the expressions on the face I don't have.") Celty also averts the "clueless or childlike" stereotype; she's very intelligent and fully understands what's going on around her, and her twenty-odd years spent in Japan have given her a thorough understanding of Japanese social norms. She is very cute just not in the innocent, childish way you would normally expect.
%%* Lycoris from the DotHack novel ''[[LightNovel/DotHackAIBuster AI Buster]]'' is mute when she first appears.

* Ohri from ''{{Gestalt}}''. A [[ManicPixieDreamGirl manic slave girl]], she's cute, ditsy and unable to speak: instead, she lampshades her fantasy origins by making a text box appear straight under her bust and making some [[VoiceGrunting accompaning noises to catch the main character's attention]]. She also plays on her condition to get enrolled in the main cast, convincing Oliver (the protagonist) that [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth she's too cute and helpless to survive on her own]], and likely to be sold to a less caring individual. However [[spoiler: Ohri's muteness is a byproduct of having her sorceress powers sealed away, and she gains access to a cockier SuperpoweredAlterEgo fully capable of speech and sorcery]].
* Natsume's mother from ''MasterOfMartialHearts''. Your average MILF, [[StepfordSmiler caring and lovely]]. Mute due to an unspecified accident in the past, she communicates by [[HandSigns sign language]], using her kids as a proxy. Subverted as [[spoiler: her unspecified accident gets [[TheReveal revealed]]. She's a former ActionGirl, who after losing a StreetFighter expy tournament got [[DisproportionateRetribution her voice box torn out, her personality mindraped into total obedience, AND was sold into sexual slavery]]. Since then, her whole life had been an attempt to regain a semblance of normality and hatch a complicated RevengeByProxy involving her offsprings and TheProtagonist, who is the daughter of her captors]].

%%* "[[NoNameGiven Assistant]]" in ''LightNovel/JinruiWaSuitaiShimashita''. A rare male example
* Deaf-mute Sasaki Kojiro from ''Manga/{{Vagabond}}'' has that child-like innocence...which turns from cute to a bit unsettling once he gets into combat. While he's not AxCrazy or evil, she is a BloodKnight who will sport his best SlasherSmile in the midst of dismemberment and death.

* [[spoiler: Genki Saotome]] from GetterRobo Armaggedon didn't start as such, but [[BreakTheCutie became one]] after [[spoiler: being horribly traumatised via witnessing Michiru's death.]] Also mixed with being a very, ''very'' unsettling CreepyChild.

* The female Scarecrow from ''Legends of Oz: The Scarecrow'' from ''Big Dog Ink'' comic books publisher. While it's mentioned that, in universe, animated scarecrows are deaf, mute and dumb until they gain a brain, and thus devoid of any will and ability to interact meaningfully with people, the female character in the comic book is still mute, but she's fully able of coeherent thought and she can understand spoken language. She's just cheerfully cute, overtly friendly, cutely expressive and sickengly sweet.

* [[{{Moe}} Moeka]] from ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate''. She is uncomfortable speaking to people directly, and prefers to use her cell phone to communicate.[[spoiler: Turns out she's TheMole, and is killed for it.]]

* ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'': Lily Strosek, a MysteriousWaif that appears to be something similar to the first Reinforce. She's only capable of communicating through telepathic thoughts. Flashbacks later reveal that she used to be able to speak, but the trauma during her time confined as a lab experiment rendered her mute. In other words, a {{woobie}} who can't talk, i.e cute.
** From the same manga brings a subversion with Stella Irvine of the Huckebein. She ''seems'' like this and seems to be incapable of speech, as well as checking off the marks of this trope. But once she is connected to the ship and ''is'' able to speak, her [[{{Jerkass}}words show]] [[MoralMyopia that she is]] [[CreepyChild anything but]] [[EnfanteTerrible cute]].

* Celty from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' is an interesting take on this one. Because she [[HeadlessHorseman doesn't have a head,]] she can't speak or communicate using facial expressions, but she ''can'' communicate well enough by [[TalkingWithSigns typing things out on a cellphone or computer]]. (Her roommate [[spoiler:and later fiancé]] Shinra can tell what she's thinking or trying to say from her body language, though – as Celty puts it, he "can read the expressions on the face I don't have.") Celty also averts the "clueless or childlike" stereotype; she's very intelligent and fully understands what's going on around her, and her twenty-odd years spent in Japan have given her a thorough understanding of Japanese social norms. She is very cute just not in the innocent, childish way you would normally expect.

* Anna Mouri from ''Manga/ADevilAndHerLoveSong'' is a subversopm because, as commented by the main character, [[ManipulativeBitch she's bold enough to use her inability to speak as a weapon]].

%%* [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2000}} Batgirl]] Cassandra Cain.

* An obvious reference to his namesake, Harpo, a harp-playing pony in [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/19731/Room-213 Room 213]], though it's stated he ''can'' talk. Also, Chirp from {{Fanfic/Silent Knight}}. Possibly a first as HIE fics go.

* WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}} can manage only a few sounds and words, and is indisputably cute! He used to be the page image for {{woobie}}.

* ''AMonsterInParis'' has Francœur, who is a giant flea and therefore only speaks in chirps and bleeps. It's adorable.

* Calvin from the movie ''{{Scrooged}}'' fits. He hasn't spoken since he saw his father killed. But at the end of the movie he reminds the [[HeelFaceTurn reformed Frank Cross]] to say "God bless us, every one."

* Helen, TheProtagonist of ''The Spiral Staircase'' is mute and this is a plot point. There's a SerialKiller on the loose who targets disabled women. Thus the inability to speak is combined with DistressedDamsel appeal.

* Lise Acquin in the French novel ''Sans Famille'' by Hector Malot (and the media coming from it, like the movies and the two anime series). Remi, the vagabond child protagonist, who becomes close to her, learns that it's not permanent and she'll eventually recover if she's, for example, faced by a violent emotion. They get separated a few months later as the Acquins is scattered after her father is put in a debt prison, and Remi going back to wandering as none of Lise's uncles and aunt can take him with them. [[spoiler: And near the end, Lise recovers her voice when hearing Remi, whom she thought she'll never see him again, singing his trademark Napolitan song. Years later, [[VictoriousChildhoodFriend she and Remi get married]].]].

* The slave girl Eirene from ''Series/{{Rome}}'' is this in her first few episodes. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because she doesn't speak Latin (yet) and is understandably terrified of her masters. The trope plays a big part in [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Titus Pullo]]'s attraction to her, and is the reason why he doesn't treat her [[PoliticallyIncorrectHero like he usually treats women]].

* A brief example in Cassandra from ''Series/StargateSG1'', who first appears as the only survivor of a plague unleashed by the Goa'uld Niirti. Her inability to talk combound with her age and situation made Samantha Carter [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe dote on and want to adopt her.]] Once she gets over the trauma enough to start talking again she's been able to talk just fine.

* Nina from ''BreathOfFire: Dragon Quarter''. When the hero asks for her name, it takes all of Nina's strength and energy to squeak out "Ni...na." Makes sense when you realize [[spoiler: her lungs were replaced with a fancy air filter, and her tongue cut out.]]
* Keria from ''HarvestMoon DS (and DS [[DistaffCounterpart Cute]])'' is mute. She communicates by writing messages on a sign (in the English version, she writes in YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe). However, one event between her and the [[CuteWitch Witch Princess]] lets her speak briefly; in his InternalMonologue, the hero remarks, "It's nice to know Keira talks like that."

* In ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight'', [[spoiler: Sophia]] gets hit hard by this trope near the end of the game, as [[spoiler: she suffers a psychological trauma caused by being in the middle of the [[BombThrowingAnarchists terrorist bombing]] of the Theater]]. She can get partially better if the Asian stays by her side and visits her each week-end at the Hospital : she'll then get her voice back, but won't be able to sing as her voice is too rough and low. [[spoiler: But if you manage to get her Happy Ending after that, she shows signs that she'll fully recover, [[ThePowerOfLove as she manages to]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming sing beautifully for him]]]].

* Sona Buvelle, the Maven of Strings of ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends''. A cute [[{{Vocaloid}} Hatsune Miku-lookalike]] with big boobs that can only speak via telepathy (only for the summoner, allegedly) and otherwise plays a melody that supports her allies or disrupts her enemy.

* [[http://dawnoftimecomics.com/ Dawn of Time]]: The titular Dawn is a slight variant, in that we rarely ''understand'' what she's saying when she does speak. Her SpeechBubbles are simply filled with {{Peanuts}}-like tick marks.

* ''Webcomic/TouhouJournal''[='=]s version of [[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Reimu]] is mute, but is exceptionally cute and [[NiceGirl kind]], a very different depiction from her usual portrayal as a JerkAss. Despite her silence, other characters seem to be able to understand her just fine. Other Cute Mutes include Sanae, who also boasts TaremeEyes; Kisume, who always has the same indifferent look on her face; and Miko, who communicates via written text her scroll and makes friends with Reimu mere moments after they meet.

* Subverted in ''{{Futurama}}'': Nibbler ''appears'' to be this, but it eventually turns out he can talk and is intelligent. The Planet Express crew remains oblivious to this because he erases their memories every time he reveals the truth.

* [[spoiler: Genki Saotome]] from GetterRobo Armaggedon didn't start as such, but became one after [[spoiler: being horribly traumatised after witnessing Michiru's death.]] Also mixed with being a very, ''very'' unsettling CreepyChild.

%%* Lucy's "Nyu" [[SplitPersonality self]] from ''Manga/ElfenLied''.

* Rita Rossi from ''AshitaNoNadja''. [[spoiler: She lost her voice after seing her parents' death in an horrendous fire that consumed their circus, which also left her with [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes a phobia of anything fiery, even stoves]]. Halfway in the series, Rita recovers her will to speak when Nadja was trapped in a fire and Rita was the only one able to tell her how to get out of the burning place ]]

* Mizuna Kuraki from ''MoonlightLady'' apparently cannot speak, although she tries mouthing her name.

* Nill from ''Manga/DogsBulletsAndCarnage''. Her being mute is the result of being genetically engineered to have features that appeal to certain fetishes and make it easier for her to be sold as a whore (in this case, a pair of tiny wings), but the method is inexact and often leaves the subjects missing something (in her case, her voice).

* [[spoiler:Tomoyo Daidouji]] temporarily becomes one in the ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' anime, [[spoiler: under the magic of a Clow Card. Shaoran and Sakura have to team-work to seal the card and dispel its effects.]].

* Natsume's mother from ''MasterOfMartialHearts''. Your average MILF, [[StepfordSmiler caring and lovely]]. Mute due to an unspecified accident in the past, she communicates by [[HandSigns sign language]], using her kids as a proxy. Subverted as [[spoiler: her unspecified accident gets [[TheReveal revealed]]. She's a former ActionGirl, who after losing a StreetFighter expy tournament got [[DisproportionateRetribution her voice box torn out, her personality mindraped into total obedience, AND was sold into sexual slavery]]. Since then, her whole life had been an attempt to regain a semblance of normality and hatch a complicate RevengeByProxy involving her offsprings and the daughter of her captors]].
* PlayedForDrama in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', when [[spoiler:[[CreepyChild Yukio]] was [[http://www.mangareader.net/bleach/471/3 rejected by his parents]] because he couldn't speak.]] As years pass he begins to talk normally, but the psychological consequences have completely screwed him up... [[spoiler:enough to accept Ginjou's offer and become a Fullbringer.]]

* Nishimiya in ''Manga/KoeNoKatachi'' is deaf and as such communicates, or at least tries to, with a notebook. This failed early on, because her fellow students saw her muteness and the notebook as reasons to mock and torment her. She is able to speak, but her deafness leads to her words being extremely strained and extremely hard to understand.

** Unlike his more sociable G1 version, Soundwave from the same series provides a deep mystery on if he really can talk besides his recordings. No face, no voice but alot of potential to the point of even topping Starscream (according to characters like Megatron).

* The reindeer Seven in ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' is silly, snarky, lovable, and yet he does not say a single word the entire movie.

* Mayu Morita from ''Anime/{{Morita-san wa Mukuchi}}'' rarely speaks. She's also cute and has some ditzy moments.

%%* Marc, Ed Brown's adopted white son in ''VisualNovel/{{Policenauts}}'', was traumatized after his real father, a drugged-up ex-cop, murdered his mother in front of him.

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%%* Clare from ''{{Claymore}}'' starts out this way.

* Rin from ''InuYasha'' had been mute since the trauma of losing her parents, but she grew out of this quickly when she became Sesshoumaru's MoralityPet.

* Lirio from ''ElCazadorDeLaBruja''. She only talked in one scene, and in that she was possessed by a witch so that the witch could communicate with the heroes.

* Kisa Sohma from ''FruitsBasket'' is mute when she first appears in the story, as a side effect of school bullying. This contributes to Tohru's mother duck fawning over her. She recovers from this with the help of Tohru and Yuki.
* [[{{Moe}} Moeka]] from ''SteinsGate''. She is uncomfortable speaking to people directly, and prefers to use her cell phone to communicate.[[spoiler: Turns out she's TheMole, and is killed for it.]]

* Egypt from ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'' is often mistaken as one by other nations, since he's very quiet. This is strange considering the country's real life history but Hetalia has never been about historical accuracy.

%%* Saya from ''PeacemakerKurogane''.

* Double Subverted in ''{{Cyborg 009}}''. 0013 is a chubby but still kinda cute-looking boy with HiddenEyes who speaks through telepathy and acts [[GentleGiant cheerful and innocent]]... [[TragicMonster until he has to fight 009]] and reveals himself as a KidWithTheLeash of a HUGE robot. [[spoiler: He still reminds kind (saves an InnocentBystander, punishes a bunch of assassins, releases the DistressedDude professor) and ultimately commits suicide.]]

* [[spoiler: Tomoyo Daidouji]] temporarily becomes one in the Manga/CardcaptorSakura anime, [[spoiler: under the magic of a Clow Card. Shaoran and Sakura have to team-work to seal the card and dispel its effects.]].

* Celty from ''{{Durarara}}'' is an interesting take on this one. Because she [[HeadlessHorseman doesn't have a head,]] she can't speak or communicate using facial expressions, but she ''can'' communicate well enough by [[TalkingWithSigns typing things out on a cellphone or computer]]. (Her roommate [[spoiler:and later fiancé]] Shinra can tell what she's thinking or trying to say from her body language, though – as Celty puts it, he "can read the expressions on the face I don't have.") Celty also averts the "clueless or childlike" stereotype; she's very intelligent and fully understands what's going on around her, and her twenty-odd years spent in Japan have given her a thorough understanding of Japanese social norms. She is very cute just not in the innocent, childish way you would normally expect.

* PlayedForDrama in Manga/{{Bleach}}, when [[spoiler:[[CreepyChild Yukio]] was [[http://www.mangareader.net/bleach/471/3 rejected by his parents]] because he couldn't speak.]] As years pass he begins to talk normally, but the psychological consequences have completely screwed him up... [[spoiler:enough to accept Ginjou's offer and become a Fullbringer.]]

* Deaf-mute Sasaki Kojiro from ''{{Vagabond}}'' has that child-like innocence...which turns from cute to a bit unsettling once he gets into combat. While he's not AxCrazy or evil, she is a BloodKnight who will sport his best SlasherSmile in the midst of dismemberment and death.
* Nishimiya in Manga/KoeNoKatachi is deaf and as such communicates, or at least tries to, with a notebook. This failed early on, because her fellow students saw her muteness and the notebook as reasons to mock and torment her. She is able to speak, but her deafness leads to her words being extremely strained and extremely hard to understand.
* It's implied that Ran Mao from ''BlackButler'' doesn't know much English (she's only spoken about four words thus far). She usually just stays silent and lets Lau do all the talking.
* The eponymous and TokenMiniMoe Shirayuki from Manga/SnowWhiteAndSevenDwarfs, who is incapable of speaking [[spoiler:due to the strain of her powers on her body]] and so resorts to enthusiastic charades instead.

* Chibi Chibi from ''Manga/SailorMoon'', named for the only sound she could produce. She literally ''was'' otherwordly in the sense of NotOfThisEarth. In the anime she was a child but in the manga she [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld older than she seemed]].

* Harpo Marx, pictured, most notably in DuckSoup. He can't talk at all, and instead talks in horns, which leads to the most clever scene he's ever done where he is able to carry on a phone conversation by honking horns in such a way that it sounds like replies.

%%* In ''AlphaProtocol'', Sis, who is Albatross' personal bodyguard.
* ''Claudia'', from ''CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow''. Cute and innocent as the trope allows. She can't speak, but she can use telepathy to express herself. And she does. A lot.
* In ''PlanescapeTorment'' there's Ecco, a [[PlatonicProstitution Platonic Prostitute]] with some very important information that you must learn to get through the game, who unfortunately has her voice permanently stolen. You must cure her muteness by giving her a Fiend's Tongue, but its original owner keeps using it to make crude insults and not letting her get a word edgewise. Fortunately, there is also an antidote.

* [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Oshino Shinobu]], the tiny ruined vampire from ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' is supposed to be voiced by Creator/AyaHirano. Whether or not this is true we have no idea, as she hasn't uttered a sound. She spends most of her time sitting in a corner, apparently sulking. She's ''adorable,'' especially when [[KissOfTheVampire drinking blood]]. In episode 4 of ''Nisemonogatari'', she broke her silence and revealed herself to be talkative. [[TheOtherDarrin She was voiced by]] MaayaSakamoto.

* Nishimiya in ''Koe No Katachi'' is deaf and as such communicates, or at least tries to, with a notebook. This failed early on, because her fellow students saw her muteness and the notebook as reasons to mock and torment her. She is able to speak, but her deafness leads to her words being extremely strained and extremely hard to understand.

* Nill from ''DOGSBulletsAndCarnage''. Her being mute is the result of being genetically engineered tp have features attractive to fetishists for the purpose of prostitution (her pair of tiny wings), but the method to engineer such things is inexact and often leaves the subjects missing something (in her case, her voice).

* Nishimiya in ''Koe No Katachi''. [[spoiler:Subverted In-universe where most of the other characters there find her incapability of speech a reason to ridicule and bully her.]]