Favorite child characters?

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Though they're more often than not torturously annoying or badly executed, sometimes there are really good child characters in fiction. Kids we really root for and want them to win. Which are your favorite ones?

I'll start off with mine. My #1 favorite is Ponyo (though practically any Studio Ghibli child character could be here).

What makes her so endearing IMO is her complete lack of emotional or social restraint, which makes every emotion she displays have more weight than with "normal" characters. Plus her Japanese voice actor's performance is damn adorable.

#2 (and I'm expecting to see this one many times) is Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. Just suffice to say that if I ever have a daughter, I'd like her to be like Arya. I don't think I've ever liked a child character outside of animated media so much.

And I'm not limiting this to just humans. Simba, Pingu and just any creatures all count!

 

[Fappy]

Arya is a total baller. Not going to argue that.

Hmmm, let me think of some.

1. Nanako from Persona 4 is probably one of my favorite child characters. She's a total badass and is ironically one of the most mature people in the entire game.

Spoiler

2. Clementine from The Walking Dead is a sweet little girl that you'd give your right arm (see what I did there?) for to keep safe. She's funny and charming!

Spoiler

3. Rin from Usagi Drop is an energetic and fun little girl who basically represents everything good about children (i.e. ideal daughter). It's easy to relate to her plight and watching her help the protagonist "grow up" is inspiring.

Spoiler

Child characters are really easier to do wrong, but these were examples of how to do it right. I think little boys are generally harder to make relatable in fiction for whatever reason. They're usually too whiny.

EDIT: He's a tad older, but I'd put Naota from FLCL on that list too.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I'm a big ASoIaF fan, but I'll never understand the widespread affection for Arya. I don't want to get into a bunch of spoilers or anything for the people who are only familiar with the television show and thus only up to date through book 2 (insomuch as the often shabby show actually conveys the novels, anyway), but even by now you must have noticed that Arya is...not exactly WELL, psychologically. She's a bit mental, yeah? Like a wee bit psychopathic?

But as for the question, I'm going to take a little from the 1st and 2nd posts. Any Studio Ghibli character, and Clementine.

 

[Coffeejack]

Are we just talking about human children, or does Pingu count?

I cast my vote for either Clementine from The Walking Dead or Jamie from Empire of the Sun. In Jamie's case, he transitions from a spoiled, privileged child to a haunted, hardened man. He throws away the suitcase filled with his treasured childhood possessions during this transition, and by the end of it, he hardly remembers his parents - who are almost wearing the same clothes as they were when he was separated from them in the crowd.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Clementine from the Walking Dead is the first that comes to mind.

She's a little girl swept up in everything that's going on around her, she's vulnerable without being completely useless, naive but not stupid, and just all in all, a very sweet, charming girl that you want to protect.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Mei and Satsuki from My Neighbor Totoro manage to be both realistic portrayals of kids their age AND totally and absolutely endearing.

Spoiler

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

Yup, Clementine is pretty much the only child character I have ever not hated with a passion.

 

[alphamalet]

I think there is a simple answer to this:

Vivi is the best child character ever!

 

[JoJo]

Gavroche from Les Miserables (both book and musical) is a personal favourite, he's cute and has a lot of character. It annoys me when children are written as attachments to their parents or caregivers rather than actual characters.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Let me think about this.

I suppose my are-

Sari from Transformers Animated. While her key was the cause of the episode problem most of the time in season 1 but I still find her cute.

Tony Tony Chopper from One Piece? Sure he's a pro at being a doctor but I think he is still a kid given to his Raindeer age.

Wendy from Fairy Tail. She is cute as an button and while she lack confident in herself (and at times a diz for tripping up) but she can be powerful with her dragon air magic. Pretty much someone you shouldn't underestimate.

 

[Ruedyn]

Spoiler: The one true answer

I'm sticking with Arya Stark. Cause she's a badass. Second choice would be (comic) Carl from the Walking Dead. I still consider the character ruined a bit in the TV show.

 

[Rawne1980]

Damien from the Omen films.

The only child character that hasn't pissed me off .... mainly because he's the Antichrist and kills people for fun.

 

[Jamieson 90]

Andrew 'Ender' Wiggin From Ender's Game.
Jake Chambers from the Dark Tower Series.
John Connor from Terminator 2.
Billy Drayton from the Mist.
Jordan from Stephen King's Cell.
Newt from Aliens.
Oliver Twist from well ... Oliver Twist.
Sean Mullen from Ransom.
Matilda from Leon.
Eliot from E.T
The boy (that's his name) from The Road.
Cid from Looper mainly because the kid who played him was a very good actor.
Luke from the Witches.
The book version of Tim Murphy from Jurassic Park.

So yeah all are the above are kids I've generally either liked, not been totally pissed off by, or wanted to win or survive.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Right now? Gav...

Gavroche from Les Miserables (both book and musical) is a personal favourite, he's cute and has a lot of character. It annoys me when children are written as attachments to their parents or caregivers rather than actual characters.

... *sigh* damn you... -_- No disrespect to (young) Cossette, but really don't know why she gets so much attention compared to him...

Other than that... Radical Ed from Cowboy Bebop. No real reason, just 'cos...

 

[sextus the crazy]

Other than that... Radical Ed from Cowboy Bebop. No real reason, just 'cos...

hell yeah. Edward is just a joy to watch, as she's one of the most lively animated characters.

Also, obligatory clementine reference.

Garcia lovelace from Black lagoon is pretty cool for a kid. And of Course, Hansel und Gretel are just fucked up (but very interesting).

 

[Scrubiii]

Toph Beifong from the original Avatar series was great. She had such a different perspective on the world than the rest of the characters. Her animation was so good as well, like the way she would be looking in just slightly the wrong direction at times, when people talked to her or an important event was happening. I've never seen blindness conveyed more skillfully or subtly by an animator, normally you just get the over-the-top walking into things all the time, or it's so irrelevant to the character you forget about it except when someone mentions it. The attention to detail was expertly done, and at the same time, she managed to easily be the most badass character in the whole series.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Mei and Satsuki from My Neighbor Totoro manage to be both realistic portrayals of kids their age AND totally and absolutely endearing.

Spoiler

I'm going to totally agree regarding Mei.

In my opinion she's the best child character I've seen ever. In so much that she acts like a child, and not like how an adult thinks a child acts. That scene where she's alone doing her thing is the perfect example of that: First she pretends her dad's desk is a flower shop, but then almost instantly forgets about it and runs off to do something else. Then she sees some tadpoles and finds a bucket to to catch them in. She spots a hole in the bucket through which she sees some acorns and immediately forgets the tadpoles to go and collect them.

It perfectly displayed the fickleness of child's play.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

You know half of the posts on this thread, mine included, are gonna cast their vote for Clementine, right?

 

[Little Woodsman]

I have quite a few of these....
Yotsuba from the manga Yotsuba&! comes to mind, adorable, kind of weird and has enough of the annoying
traits that you know *real* children actually have to keep her realistic.
All three fairy children from Sugar Snow Fairy (Ok, there are actually five fairy children in that series,
but the three primaries) once again, adorableness paired with the hard to put up with traits of real children.
Added to that, the story's recurring theme of the relationships between children and the people who care for
them wove a very touching story about the way Saga and Sugar felt about each other.
Rakka from Haibane Renmei....I don't think I really need to say anything about this one....
Kaoalla Su, Sarah and Shinobu from the Love Hina manga....each of them could be considered very annoying,
until you find out the backstories behind them.....
I'd better leave it at those for now...

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Probably Ken from Persona 3. I like how he tries to not be a kid but still somehow acts like a kid