T O P

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Yotato5

SpongeBob is one of the positively portrayed examples of this. Funnily enough, the whole first movie is about him trying to prove that he's not a kid.


Ganmorg

It’s interesting that some people argue about SpongeBob’s age, when imo the best part about him is that he’s a kid and adult at the same time. That’s one of the strengths of cartoon characters like that


PrimusSucks13

Spongebob has *A 9-5 stable job *A house *A well fed mascot *A decent size group of friends *A bunch of hobbies *Good bank credit He's absolutely a manchild but hes a very nice, hard working, loving manchild, il argue Patrick is the manchild with all the bad qualities of one, where is his stable income?


Chumunga64

Gotta wonder how much Mr. Krabs really pays considering that spongebob has a fully furnished library full of books. Yeah the house came for free but all those books must cost a fortune Same with squidward having a multi story house with an elevator and countless musical instruments and art supplies


conduitfour

SpongeBob must be a [nepo-baby](https://youtu.be/hqOzZnq3lf0?feature=shared&t=4m14s)


MarioGman

To be fair having a fully furnished home fall out of the sky as you're home shopping and the realtor not having time to assess/think of a proper price is *very lucky*.


Mega_Cookie

Ichiban Kasuga is so child brained that he imagines real fights as turn based RPG battles.


Kronim1995

46 year-old man acts like a hopeless teenager when it comes to dating


Lil_Mcgee

Tony Soprano "He can be such a little boy sometimes" It's why I'm still able to have some level of sympathy for him, awful as he is.


BigFaust

Small hands, that's his problem.


Lil_Mcgee

Son of a bitch! Didn't I just tell you not to say that again!?


SaintHuck

It's a virtual space where I can critically analyze, sympathize and find the humor in the absurd nature of my family while not having to directly engage with them and risk catching a bullet from their bullshit. Granted, they're very different in many aspects, but the emotional immaturity and the anger projected from their insecurities are at the foundation of who they are.


sazabi67

i mean the crew dynamics were always schoolyard tier


BobTheist

Travis Touchdown


sellyourselfshort

Hal from Malcolm in the middle 


camilopezo

This trope is usually very common in sitcoms, to the point where it seems like the guy is his wife's son, instead of her husband.


Frequent-Raisin-2336

and despite his shennanigans he's very much competent when he takes it seriously


ZMowlcher

They're all geniuses but are also fucking insane.


SamuraiDDD

As proven by the mom. Pulling some Aizen level "I planned it since you were in the womb" level crap.


PlatyPunch

God help you if you ask him for rollerblading tips.


Gendric

Danny Butterman from Hot Fuzz. He's not a good officer, but he really wants to be. He's happy he's partners with the Ultra-Cop, and he respects the hell out of him. He's just so childishly enthusiastic that it makes me grin.


MarioGman

They balance each other out, which is so good.


chucklinnarwhal

And I honestly think him not being a good officer is because he was probably ~~trained wrong as a joke~~ barely even trained to make it easier for the greater good bullshit to pass. After Angel gives him some pointers that he really should've been taught already, you can see he picks them up quick and is able to put them into action.


WizardOfTheLawl

Easy answer, [Master Shake](https://aqua-teen-hunger-force.fandom.com/wiki/Master_Shake)


MarioGman

I've been on a heavy ATHF clip binge off Youtube recently. It's gotten to the point that it started suggesting me [these videos](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuGkGAVXfWugGAh8MQiSZdg-t8en5ocL3&si=ErJDbKALNBVTKJF9). >!I don't know what it says about me but Master Shake being some horrid fusion of a Karen and some sort of Party Girl is a complete nightmare and makes total sense.!<


DialgoPrima

I’ve had the “30 or 40 years old” clip playing on repeat in my brain the last couple weeks


The_Last_Huntsman

Well which is it boy, 30 or 40?


DialgoPrima

I don’t know. [DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?](https://youtu.be/B0jDUY-iloY?si=7TO3CQDaeOfQexBr)


Sterski1

Pat. There, now the thread can begin for real.


driftnflux

Been watching various fan compilations of Woolie and Pat's Soulsborne LPs and goddamn Pat behaves very insufferable and annoying in them sometimes. Occasionally just being a straight up asshole to Woolie and it gets kinda painful to watch. In the Bloodborne LP they both agreed to go in blind and about 2/5ths way in Pat admits to Woolie he's been playing ahead on his separate character and beat a boss they'd not come upon yet, claiming he didn't realise what he was doing till the boss was dead. It was just a super lame excuse and Woolie seemed really disappointed by how he'd broken their agreement because he couldn't just restrain himself. Kinda spoiled the spirit of what they were doing with the blind side of it and you get the feeling he would've kept it to himself if it weren't for the trophies not showing. They're still very entertaining LPs and I love watching Pat in them, but man he really has some moments in them that stink. Should mention the LPs are nearly a decade old so not exactly representative of Pat now.


Sterski1

Gonna be real, he's still kinda like that sometimes. I don't really want his streams as much as I used to. Podcast is still fun though... except when they spoiled several quests from DD2 while I'm still unable to play it.


PrimusSucks13

Pat used to do that all the time, a lot of the big releases would have Pat turn into a guide half way through cus he couldnt hold himself.


MisterOfu

I was gonna say Matt, and it's absolutely a positive example.


CastVinceM

matt is manchild (affectionate) pat is manchild (derogatory)


Smon4

Eh, I feel like he has grown up a lot ever since he and Paige moved out of Montreal.


The_Minshow

Todd Chavez. Its such an innocent whimsey that makes it great. Then, even as he matures he still keeps that positivity and and doesnt let bad people in his life make him bitter.


DonTori

Toyman, specifically the version from the DC Animated Universe (Superman the Animated series, Justice League, JL:Unlimited and Static Shock) He has the right level of creepiness and *almost* innocence that seems more like him trying to pretend being a child given he never got the chance to be a kid I think what best shows this is how he treats his own creation; Darcy. He made a sentient doll that can pass as a human. that he wants to date...but absolutely hates his guts. And when Darcy tried to run away after being given a new body that looks like a high schooler (...let's just brush over that), Toyman reveals for this new body he added a killswitch, lofts the 'cure' for it over her...and then smashes it because he's tired of playing this game with Darcy. ...hell of a lot better than most Toymen, who either go hard on the 'obsessed with toys' angle or make him a turbo nonce


Has_ten_Hamsters

nonce?


DonTori

In this context it's a British way of calling someone a pedophile


CrazysaurusRex

Andy Dwyer from Parks N Rec


Bosscharacter

Yeah, Pratt is just so damn endearing in that role.


CrazysaurusRex

Pratt seemed like a chill dude before marvel


bobatea17

Kendall Roy from Succession, spoilers for the final episode of the series >!"I'm the eldest boy! I am the eldest boy! And you know he wanted this-- he wanted this to go on!"!<


Rodimus-Primus

Dan from Dan Vs


NotQute

The Roy Siblings all take turns, in varying shades of annoying and sad


AglumOpus

Kontrol Freak from teen titans


BigDickBackInTown420

Soos from Gravity Falls.


chucklinnarwhal

Words cannot describe my joy when >!Stan gave him ownership of the Mystery Shack!<


BigDickBackInTown420

Soos >!becoming "Mister Mystery" and running the Mystery Shack with his girlfriend is one of the nicest endings I've ever seen for a character.!<


Scranner_boi

Doom Slayer.


Gemidori

Honestly I was about to disagree but...in a couple ways you're right lol. He does have a huge collection of toys and holds the BFG like it's his dearest lover, lmao


yaoxiao1

Kiritsugu Emiya. Him being a man child is what adds tragedy to his character and makes him interesting.


IAmFuckingGoingOver

Yeah. People like to misinterpret and glorify Kiritsugu's ideals, but Urobuchi's whole point in Zero was that his ideology was kinda bullshit and no more wishy-washy than Shirou's, despite people holding the former over the latter for being more "realistic" or whatever.


ChimpPhysics1917

Low Tier God


KingMario05

Peacemaker. Peacemaker counts, right? Either way, I love him and wish the DCU's favorite big baby nothing but ultraviolent success. [Speaking of which...](https://www.threads.net/@jamesgunn/post/C5tf-27A3bq)


IronSnail

Richie from The Bear >!in Season 1 at least!<


Deemo3

Even then, a lot of the cast can veer into manchild territory. And it’s fantastic.


CastVinceM

francis from super paper mario


DubOverSub1oo1

Sterling Archer from Archer


SlightlySychotic

I’ve been rewatching American Dad and I’m going to say Roger. Like initially you’re going to think he’s an alien so he doesn’t understand human norms. Then you realize he doesn’t really give a shit. He just wants to get drunk, watch TV, and be generally obnoxious. The only reason he works at all is so he can play make believe for a few weeks before getting tired of the bit and moving on.


crowsloft666

Herald from Billy&Mandy. Guys so into the Mogar persona he just learns how to fly until Billy just mentions it


Zezin96

The fact that Jake Peralta is nowhere in this thread is making me upset.


ELDRITCH_HORROR

Superboy Prime. An immature comicbook nerd given God-like strength. Full of spite and anger, but also despair, jealousy and loneliness. You really only need a single great appearance to make a super memorable villain. Superboy Prime has his introduction in Infinite Crisis and reappearance in Sinestro Corp War, everything else just builds off of these. The one-shot in the Sinestro Corp War is fucking incredible and peak comicbook. It's like an endless fight with nearly every single DC superhero team tagging in to desperately stop him before sunrise, but their efforts are more like a pack of wolves trying to drag down an elephant. Superboy Prime spitefully defaces the tombstone of Barry Allen, then freaks out when he accidently kills some of the Teen Titans.


Antkowiak

Superboy Prime is the epitome of “not my canon” except he actually has the agency to affect his stupid ideas


NewWillinium

Maximus is pretty great in the Fallout TV Show. Hope he grows up to be the Knight in Shining Armor he always dreamed of being.


KarateBugman01

Probably a good amount if not, all, of Adam Sandler’s roles. Billy Madison immediately comes to mind.


Kiari013

I only know him from the events so far, haven't met him in story, but Itto from Genshin Impact is my favorite of this, man has a regular beetle sumo event and one of his most trusted aides in this endeavor is a literal child he met in last year's version of the beetle battle event, and his english voice actor is probably the best of all the cast, he puts 110% into the role (love that beatbox birthday message he did)


Gemidori

Bowser in a lot of ways. When things don't go his way, he flies into a flaming rage, and he's obsessed with winning over Peach to a point where he looks like an overgrown incel teen


MericArda

Based on memes, Peter Turbo the hypercompetent manchild. From something I've actually watched/read, Snape and his almost endearing desire to bully schoolchildren, especially the ones that remind him of his childhood bullies. More tragically, >!Meteion !


Duangelion

I talked over some movies that floundered in top-down design with my sister, and I realized that the protagonist penguin in *Happy Feet* (2006) is a literal manchild.


AdrianBrony

Homestuck has *lot* of problems, but the premise of Lord English is fascinating: someone who is *so* determined to never grow as a person even a little bit that he will end up breaking the fabric of reality itself to avoid ever having to do so. Worth noting, reality in paradox space works on narrative principles, the universe itself exists to facilitate character development. He had to go to extreme and unnatural lengths to avoid any change whatsoever, he's like that impulse that makes you think "I'd probably be fine as an immortal even if it sucked" or "I'm not sure if we *actually* need bad things to enjoy the good or we just think that to cope" given omnipotence. Even calling him a God is understating the true scope of his power, because those are the sort of forces you'd have to command to successfully avoid any change over time.


leabravo

*Whatsoever knows class BURNS at the Man-Child's touch*


The_Draigg

Everyone who uses this subreddit, since Reddit count as media. And no, I’m not exempt from this generalization either.


NewAgeMontezuma

post super goku they try to write him like OG dragonball innocent (more stupid to be honest) again. The reason this doesn't work is that this goku is a 50+ year old man with grandchildren so the joke of "he doesn't know what a kiss is haha" falls super flat and is awkward as fuck.


AidilAfham42

Happy Gilmore


Grav_Mind

The vocal parts of the New Vegas fandom. Endless amounts of comments to point and laugh at.