History Main / FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' episode, "[[Recap/ThomasAndFriendsS21E7HastyHannah Hasty Hannah]]", Henrietta is the responsible sibling to her sister Hannah's foolish sibling. Henrietta treats Toby with respect and knows that tramway coaches are not built for high speeds, while Hannah demands the engine pulling her go faster and faster, even if it means going past closing crossing gates and other engines at switches, [[spoiler:and leads to her coming apart]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheUntoldTalesOfTheVocaloids, Player Character Rin and her brother Len are this. Rin is lazy and prefer to die than doing her homework, while Len is diligent and regarded as a prodigy. Besides that, Rin is hot-headed and reckless to the detriment of her friends, while Len is more careful at facing problems on their way.

* Mycroft and Sherlock Holmes in "Series/Sherlock". While the former is a high-ranking government official, the latter is a freelancer detective, and also a drug addict.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'': [[spoiler: As seen in [[Recap/HildaS3E8 flashbacks]], Hilda's maternal grandfather Phinium is a foolish sibling to his sister Astrid's responsible sibling, as the latter tried to remind him that fairies aren't allowed to interact with humans]].

* The first part of ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' showed this dynamic, with Ramses as the responsible sibling and Moses the foolish one. Future Pharaoh Rameses is terrified of disappointing his father, while Moses tries to get him to lighten up.
-->'''Moses:''' You know what your problem is, Rameses?\\

** Conversely, though, Moses also shows enough responsibility to recognize when his antics have gone too far, and to stick up for his brother.
** This then gets reversed in the second half. Moses takes responsibility for being God's instrument and freeing the Hebrews, while Rameses defies God's will even as Egypt is suffering a divine beatdown.

* In ''Literature/DoctrineOfLabyrinths'', Mildmay is shrewd and streetwise with plenty of practical skills, while his brother Felix (despite being a powerful wizard with an extensive education) is volatile, self-destructive, and lacking in common sense. Mildmay often remarks that Felix can't be trusted to cross the street unattended without calamity ensuing. He's barely exaggerating. On the one occasion their roles were reversed and Mildmay's temporary illness meant Felix had to act as his caretaker for a while, Felix immediately [[spoiler: resorted to prostitution, despite having other viable options]] resulting in him being badly hurt and inadvertently triggering off a national disaster (long story).

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}''. Princesses [[SpiritedYoungLady Siri]] and [[ProperLady Vivenna]] appear to be the foolish and responsible sisters respectively. Vivenna was raised from practically birth to marry the God-King of a neighboring country for a treaty and was taught to survive cutthroat court politics by restraining her emotions, while Siri was left to her own devices and spends most of her time playing in the countryside. Siri gets sent in Vivenna's place since the king loves Vivenna too much to lose her, and they discover that they're not as stoic or foolish as they thought. Vivenna turns out to have a rebellious streak when the reins come off, sneaking into the city and trying to get Siri out, while Siri discovers that she thrives in the Court of Gods and gets along well with its residents.

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':

** ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'': Madison is the responsible one to her brash sister, Vida.
---> '''Madison:''' Don't look at me. I'm the sister with the common sense.

* An interesting variation is used in ''Series/That70sShow'', with Eric, a nerdy stoner, being much more responsible and level-headed than his slutty and ditzy older sister, Laurie.

* ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance: In the first game, Gary Roachburn is arguably this to his alcoholic, drug-addicted older brother, Larry, and to his GeniusDitz sister, Megan ("Sparky").

* ''WebVideo/CreamHeroes'': Dodo is the Foolish, having jumped atop Claire's kitchen cabinets despite the dangers and has eaten soil, silicone and paper. This stands in contrast to his brother Toto, who tends to be calmer and more responsible, acting as a defender from the robot vacuum and the zombie hand massager. Notably, if Dodo doesn't go to DD or Nana for comfort when he's upset, he will seek out Toto.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'': [[spoiler: As seen in [[Recap/HildaS3E8TheFairyIsle flashbacks]], Hilda's maternal grandfather Phinium is a foolish sibling to his sister Astrid's responsible sibling, as the latter tried to remind him that fairies aren't allowed to interact with humans]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}: [[spoiler: As seen in flashbacks, Hilda's maternal grandfather Phinium is a foolish sibling to his sister Astrid's responsible sibling, as the latter tried to remind him that fairies aren't allowed to interact with humans]].

In this trope there will be one sibling who is foolish, usually acting melodramatically and prone to doing irresponsible and impulsive things. They may be louder, more outgoing and usually more popular (or at least ''[[CoolLoser try]]'' to be), and desiring attention, especially from the opposite sex. Usually, they don't have outright bad intentions, they just don't understand that anything they do can have consequences for themselves or other people. Alternatively, they may just be a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter and get involved with the wrong people on a regular basis; they refuse to believe their "friends" could be anything but pure of heart, despite obvious evidence to the contrary. Their antics will be their undoing, getting them into trouble for which there is no one but themselves to blame. The Foolish Sibling may be a BrattyTeenageDaughter, AlphaBitch, FilleFatale, ChildishOlderSibling, AnnoyingYoungerSibling, TheCasanova, {{Manchild}}, {{NEET}}, DumbassTeenageSon, TheIngenue, or a DisappointingOlderSibling.

* Inverted in ''Manga/{{Aruosumente}}''. It's flamboyant, chatty and seemingly carefree Lante who takes responsibility when the serious, quiet Dante acts on an impulse and goes off the hook, sometimes even attacking people at random.

* ZigZagged in ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers''. Daggett is hyperactive, clueless and temperamental, while Norbert is level-headed, savvy and laid-back. Their actual ''roles'' depend on the episode: Daggett's high-strung nature means he'll sometimes play the wary StraightMan to a painfully nonchalant/smug Norbert.

* ZigZagged in ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers''. Daggett is typcially the hyperactive and temperamental foolish sibling, while Norbert is the more level-headed and laid-back responsible sibling. However, there are times where the roles are switched with Daggett being more laid-back and Norbert being more neurotic.

* ''Webcomic/ILoveYoo'': {{Subverted}} with the siblings Nol and Kousuke. At first, Kousuke seems to be the responsible older sibling, with Nol as the irresponsible younger sibling. However, once Nol starts working at his family's buisness, he is very competent, and decides that he wants to continue working there. On the flip side, Kousuke is shown to be more explosive than depicted, eventually [[Spoiler: attacking Nol]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Nebula}}'' has older sister Earth as a naive GenkiGirl, with her younger sister Venus being a pragmatic and more mature DeadpanSnarker.

* Dōjo and Oguna in ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}}''. Dōjo is a SpoiledBrat who doesn't hesitate to insult even her older brother when he tries to reason with her, even though he always puts up with it. According to Oguna's in-game autobiography, there was a time when Dōjo was lost ''eight'' times in a single month.

A SubTrope of SiblingYinYang. Usually involves AnAesop about the right way to act, that is to say, be more like the responsible sibling and not the foolish sibling (although the responsible sibling may learn a lesson about "loosening up" and "having fun"). And while the responsible sibling is usually the elder of the two, the roles can be switched, with the younger sibling being the responsible one. Another possibility is a middle child being the responsible one to his or her older and younger siblings. However, [[NotSoAboveItAll there are some moments when the responsible sibling can act melodramatic and impulsive]]. Also compare SlobsVersusSnobs, RedOniBlueOni, RightWayWrongWayPair, AllWorkVsAllPlay, TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry, and CainAndAbel.