History Main / NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe

* Reversed and parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', in the episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E17LisaTheSimpson "Lisa the Simpson"]], in which Jasper attempts to [[HumanPopsicle freeze himself]] in the Kwik-E-Mart freezer, in a bit to behold the wonders of the future. He defrosts and reanimates within a few days of his hibernation, and, assuming that he had indeed been frozen for many years, gazes in amazement around him. Upon encountering Apu, Jasper laments to him that "time has ravaged [Apu's] once youthful looks".

* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'':
** Parodied when Doc Brown returns from the future to pick up Marty in the beginning, he's wearing a latex mask of himself so Marty will recognize him, as he's received rejuvenation treatments. When he takes off the mask, telling Marty to brace himself for a surprise, he looks pretty much the same, just minus a few wrinkles. In real life this was for a few reasons: first, [[RuleOfFunny it's funny]]; second, it was so Creator/ChristopherLloyd wouldn't have to wear makeup to play Doc anymore; and finally, [[{{Foreshadowing}} to ensure that Doc can start a family and live long enough and see his sons grow up]], making it a parody ''and'' a HandWave.

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', Old Snake and Meryl meet up again but Snake has aged so much that she doesn't recognize him at first. Justified by the fact that Snake has [[RapidAging aged much more rapidly]] than would have been possible under normal circumstances. Meryl would not likely jump to the conclusion that the old man in front of her was the same 30-odd year old guy that she had dealt with just a few years before.

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'': Despite numerous other playable characters having seen Krohnen before he changed his looks, as he is [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 K9999]] having gone incognito]], only 3 (K', Angel and Kula) show awareness of who he really is.

This is a set-up where Alice reappears after a long absence [[ThatManIsDead disguised and/or changed]] by the passage of time and then reveals herself to Bob and other characters. Typically, she will be unrecognizable until she tells Bob to look closely, at which point her identity will be obvious. Whether Bob's reaction is pleased or horrified will depend on his relationship with Alice, although this trope is notably present in fiction dealing with revenge.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Syndrome reveals that [[spoiler: he was Mr. Incredible's fan and wannabe sidekick who was shunned years ago.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001'''s K9999 returns after a 20-year long absence in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' as Krohnen, looking far different (and legally distinct from Tetsuo Shima from ''Manga/{{AKIRA}}'') than how he used to. Of the numerous other characters that participated in both ''2001'' and ''XV'', only 3 (K', Angel and Kula) show awareness of who he really is.

* In ''The Irony of Fate 2'', a 2007 Russian sequel to 1976 film ''Film/TheIronyOfFate'', lovers Zhenya and Nadya meet again after 30 years apart. She asks "Have I changed a lot?", he says she's just the same, and she thinks he's just flattering her.

* An early episode of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' has a mad alchemist trying to replace his "dead" love. Surprise! She's not dead, she's that old lady we've been seeing throughout the episode. When TheReveal finally comes along, he doesn't believe her because he's so caught up in his fantasy.

* One notable real life example: Syd Barrett, after being apart from his bandmates in Music/PinkFloyd for a number of years, walked anonymously into the mixing room during the sessions for ''Music/WishYouWereHere''. The formerly lithe and wavy-haired pop idol had become quite overweight and shaved his head, and was not recognized by his old friends for the better part of an hour. Reportedly, the song being recorded when Syd walked in happened to be about him (the most common story goes that it was the album's TitleTrack, with the second most being "Shine on, You Crazy Diamond")

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', Old Snake and Meryl meet up again but Snake has aged so much that she doesn't recognize him at first.
** However, Snake has aged much more rapidly than would have been possible under normal circumstances. Meryl would not likely jump to the conclusion that the old man in front of her was the same 30-odd year old guy that she had dealt with just a few years before.

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001'''s K9999 returns after a 20-year long absence in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' as Krohnen, looking far different (and legally distinct from Tetsuo Shima from ''Manga/{{AKIRA}}'') than how he used to. Of the 24 other characters that participated in both ''2001'' and ''XV'', only 3 (K', Angel and Kula) are aware of who he really is.

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001'''s K9999 returns after a 20-year long absence in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' as Krohnen, looking far different (and legally distinct from ''Manga/{{AKIRA}}'''s Tetsuo Shima) than how he used to. Of the 24 characters that participated in both ''2001'' and ''XV'', only 3 (K', Angel and Kula) are aware of who he really is.