Best child protagonist?

[The Wykydtron]

The kid in Limbo because he doesn't talk, is visually just a monochrome blob and dies in a multitude of hilarious ways a lot.

Yeah i'm *never* having kids. Even when the most solid of child characters in Walking Dead's Clementine still rubs me the wrong way you know i'm unsalvagable. Ah season 2 you say? Maybe this one will be more interesting because you aren't shepherding a little kid around, maybe i'll even buy it. Oh, now we ARE the little kid... Oh.

Of course the exception would be Persona 4's Nanako because she doesn't take up plot time much, is decently sympathetic, has not got ear bleedingly awful voice acting and isn't in your face. Hell you can get through the game and more often than not you will just hear the old, 1 second long "welcome home" from her after every school day.

 

[rosac]

What, no red from pokemon? Literally the best pokemon trainer EVER (ever)

 

[Robot Number V]

I don't know, does Aang from "Avatar" count as prepubescent? I think he's 12. At any rate, he's a great character.

If not, I'll throw in my vote with Clementine.

 

[Aedes]

Yotsuba.

I honestly can't think of a single child protagonist I like more than I like her, no matter the medium.

You. Yes, you right there.
For that answer, I gladly give you a random image.

Spoiler

Personally, I can think on quite a few but I have a favorite: [a href="http://myanimelist.net/anime/66/Azumanga_Daioh"]Chiyo Mihama from Azumanga Daioh.[/a]
She's just too adorable and friendly for you to not want a world of happiness to happen to her.

 

[Twintix]

I'd say Brutha from Terry Pratchett's Small Gods.

Brutha doesn't fit the criteria for this thread, though. He was 17-18, if I recall correctly.

I agree with you anyway, however; Small Gods is one of the best books in the series.

OT:

Yotsuba.

I honestly can't think of a single child protagonist I like more than I like her, no matter the medium.

I second this notion. Having a crappy day? Read Yotsuba&!. It's one of the most enjoyably simple and innocent comics I've ever read.

For a pick of my own, probably the main kids (Sector 5, was it?) from CODENAME: Kids Next Door.
I watched this show whenever it was on when I was a kid. My god, was it awesome! High-tech weapons and equipment? Space stations? Holy shit. You wanted it all to be real so bad and get a chance to join them...

Ah, that was a bit off-topic.

I feel like the main characters are all very well-rounded and well-written, and all five of them have their distinct personalities. They really feel like individuals. I guess they didn't really feel like kids sometimes, but they always felt like people you wished that you could be as a kid. And since it was a show that was aimed at kids, that's a job well done, right?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

What, no red from pokemon? Literally the best pokemon trainer EVER (ever)

Why? He's as good as any *insert name* Pokemon avatar from every game ever.

 

[rosac]

What, no red from pokemon? Literally the best pokemon trainer EVER (ever)

Why? He's as good as any *insert name* Pokemon avatar from every game ever.

In the manga he's the first person to ever fully complete a pokedex! Also to find mega evolutions in an anime short series, and he comes back as Gold and Silvers final boss.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

What, no red from pokemon? Literally the best pokemon trainer EVER (ever)

Why? He's as good as any *insert name* Pokemon avatar from every game ever.

In the manga he's the first person to ever fully complete a pokedex! Also to find mega evolutions in an anime short series, and he comes back as Gold and Silvers final boss.

I don't know about the manga but for what little characterization he receives in Gold, he always struck me as a weirdo that spent the rest of his days standing perfectly still inside a cave waiting to fight kids in the dark.

 

[rosac]

What, no red from pokemon? Literally the best pokemon trainer EVER (ever)

Why? He's as good as any *insert name* Pokemon avatar from every game ever.

In the manga he's the first person to ever fully complete a pokedex! Also to find mega evolutions in an anime short series, and he comes back as Gold and Silvers final boss.

I don't know about the manga but for what little characterization he receives in Gold, he always struck me as a weirdo that spent the rest of his days standing perfectly still inside a cave waiting to fight kids in the dark.

Woah woah woah, it's not just a cave. It's a mountain, with it's own unique weather, a legendary pokemon inside, and the best place (potentially only) place to catch Larvitar, who evolves into the games pseudo-legendary.

He's the king of the mountain, and the hail probably rendered him mute.

Alos, at least it gives gold and silver some post-elite 4 content... I've clocked so many hours building a team to beat him, whereas in black and white I got bored.

 

[mrdude2010]

The obvious answer is Limbo. Little shit doesn't say a word or spread germs or leave snot on your stuff or any of the another annoying shit children do.

 

[CelestDaer]

I really like Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service, I guess because Miyazaki? Was going to say Calvin as well, but got beaten to that punch... half tempted to say Precis just to see who even knows who she is. Kind of a protagonist... but annoying as hell... like a time locked Washu with her tinkering...?

 

[L. Declis]

Clementine from The Walking Dead I guess.

She does the forced-to-grow-up-before-her-time thing well. Although the adult characters give her words a bit too much weight, and place an awful lot of responsibility on her. But it's still nice to see a game have the balls to make you play as an 11 year old girl in a grounded setting (y'know, with zombies) filled with unrelenting death and despair.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who read the forum title and thought "Clementine, duh?"

The first season was amazing, and Season 2 is... very, very good, slowly sliding down to annoyance. But Clem has remained consistently good (in terms of quality; in terms of morality, I was disappointed I couldn't have the medicine guy killed).

 

[Kevin McGechie]

Wow, I'm impressed we even reached three posts before we mentioned Clementine. Well done escapists!

In all seriousness, she was uniquely capable while still appearing vulnerable at points. This was weaved into the story in perfect proportion to greatly enhance telltale's creation by making her truly endearing. That appears to be the end goal for most when writing a child character, also she's female and coloured too so SJWs will be happy too. I'll be eagerly monitoring this thread to see deviations from the norm of vulnerable child characters.

 

[VanQ]

Snip.

Snip.

I'm glad that the very first post was Yotsuba&! but I wonder if it counts since Koiwai is the protagonist, not Yotsuba.

Oh well, it's a great read and one of my all time favourites.

I also love the edits that come out of it. http://imgur.com/a/1mTfV WARNING: Link is NSFW and Not Safe for Special Snowflakes.

 

[DataSnake]

Clementine has already been mintioned several times, so I'll go with the Baby Police [http://podtoid.wikia.com/wiki/The_Baby_Police].

 

[Zhukov]

Wow, I'm impressed we even reached three posts before we mentioned Clementine. Well done escapists!

In all seriousness, she was uniquely capable while still appearing vulnerable at points. This was weaved into the story in pervert proportion to greatly enhance telltale's creation by making her truly endearing. That appears to be the end goal for most when writing a child character, also she's female and coloured too so SJWs will be happy too. I'll be eagerly monitoring this thread to see deviations from the norm of vulnerable child characters.

What the hell is a "pervert proportion"?

Also, at least in a realistic setting, wouldn't it be weird if a child wasn't somewhat vulnerable? Real children generally are. Clementine already bumps up against the limits of what an eleven year old kid could be expected to be capable of.

Not even going to dignify the SJW jab with a response.

 

[Kevin McGechie]

Wow, I'm impressed we even reached three posts before we mentioned Clementine. Well done escapists!

In all seriousness, she was uniquely capable while still appearing vulnerable at points. This was weaved into the story in pervert proportion to greatly enhance telltale's creation by making her truly endearing. That appears to be the end goal for most when writing a child character, also she's female and coloured too so SJWs will be happy too. I'll be eagerly monitoring this thread to see deviations from the norm of vulnerable child characters.

What the hell is a "pervert proportion"?

Also, at least in a realistic setting, wouldn't it be weird if a child wasn't somewhat vulnerable? Real children generally are. Clementine already bumps up against the limits of what an eleven year old kid could be expected to be capable of.

Not even going to dignify the SJW jab with a response.

Lolwut, editing now.

 

[lord canti]

ViVi Ornitier of FF IX is easily my favorite child character because of the way he responds to all the stuff around him and grows throguh out the game.

 

[lord canti]

What, no Recette? That adorable rapscallion with a crude grasp of economics and an insatiable lust for candy? Her naive optimism and ability to fleece neighbors is just too infectious!

Spoiler

Nice one. The most infectious thing for me was the thing she did whenever she put an item on the counters. That was so adorable.

I would also have to second Aang from Avatar: the Last Airbender. With all he had to go through, he could've been just a pile of misery, but he showed a range of emotions and was quite mature for his age.

This one might be debatable, but I have to go with Chopper from One Piece. Yes, he is still at the age that he would be considered a child. He can be both Childish and really mature. He's also a boss because of all the things he can do. The fact that he's a doctor as well is impressive. He's not the main protagonist, but he's a protagonist non the less.

For non-debatable, I have to go with the three girls from Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone. I liked each one and they had a nice story for each of them. It's a shame it didn't sell well, since there was promise for more of the world, but it ended nicely still. Game was crazy difficult though.

chopper isn't a child though, when they first meet him he's is 15 years old.

 

[Queen Michael]

Snip.

Snip.

I'm glad that the very first post was Yotsuba&! but I wonder if it counts since Koiwai is the protagonist, not Yotsuba.

Oh well, it's a great read and one of my all time favourites.

I also love the edits that come out of it. http://imgur.com/a/1mTfV WARNING: Link is NSFW and Not Safe for Special Snowflakes.

Kowai's the protagonist? How do you figure? There aren't really any chapters without Yotsuba, but there are a few where Kowai doesn't show up.