History Main / OlderAndWiser

* In ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'', Shinji and Asuka are mentally in their early 20's after they return to the past. However, they have the emotional maturity of a person at least 10 years older than that.

* This frequently happens with military officers in between major wars. A few notable examples from American history include UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson, who served as a messenger during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution while a teenager, then went on to become a General in the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812. Quite a few junior officers got their first experience in the UsefulNotes/MexicanAmericanWar before going on to become prominent figures during the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, including Robert E. Lee and UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant. The same goes for the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar giving young officers experience for UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, including the commander of the American forces in UsefulNotes/WW1 General John "Black Jack" Pershing. World War I also served in this capacity for UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, giving officers like UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower (though he trained troops rather than seeing action himself in [=WW1=],) and [[FourStarBadass George S. Patton]].

* This frequently happens with military officers in between major wars. A few notable examples from American history include UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson, who served as a messenger during the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution while a teenager, then went on to become a General in the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812. Quite a few junior officers got their first experience in the UsefulNotes/MexicanAmericanWar before going on to become prominent figures during the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, including Robert E. Lee and UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant. The same goes for the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar giving young officers experience for UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, including the commander of the American forces in UsefulNotes/WW1 General John "Black Jack" Pershing. World War I also served in this capacity for UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, giving officers like UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower (though he trained troops rather than seeing action himself in [=WW1=],) and [[FourStarBadass George S. Patton]].

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': All of the cast of [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original series]] take on this trope in various shades in the movies, particularly in ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]'' and ''[[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry The Undiscovered Country]]'', where they are contrasted with younger characters like Preston, Saavik, and Valeris. Indeed, in ''The Undiscovered Country'', it was Valeris's relative lack of perspective compared to her mentor Spock that lead to [[spoiler: her decision betray the Federation by helping assassinate Chancellor Gorkon to try and start a war with the Klingons.]]

** Obi Wan Kenobi over the course of the films, who starts off as an apprentice to Qui Gon Jinn, but becomes more of a wise and experienced Jedi master, culminating in him teaching Luke, his [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil former]] [[WeUsedToBeFriends padawan's]] son, about the Force in the beginning of ''Film/ANewHope''[[note]]At least, if you watch it starting with the prequels. If you watch the films in the order they were released, we start off with him older and wiser, and then jump back to when he was young and still learning the ropes, with his CharacterDevelopment showing how he became the old hermit in the original film.[[/note]]. Luke goes through a similar development going from a naive teenager in episode IV, to a wise, up-and-coming Jedi master himself in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.

** In ''Film/TheLastJedi'', Luke is now the old Jedi Master, playing this trope with a [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids heavy dose of cynicism.]]

[[JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith Not an]] [[InvertedTrope Inversion]] of YoungerAndHipper.

See also PrecursorHeroes.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': All of the cast of [[Series/StarTrekTOS the original series]] take on this trope in various shades in the movies, particularly in ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]'' and ''[[Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry The Undiscovered Country]]'', where they are contrasted with younger characters like Preston, Saavik, and Valeris. Indeed, in ''The Undiscovered Country'', it was Valeris's relative lack of perspective compared to her mentor Spock that lead to [[spoiler: her decision betray the Federation by helping assassinate Chancellor Gorkon to try and start a war with the Klingons.]]

** Obi Wan Kenobi over the course of the films, who starts off as an apprentice to Qui Gon Jinn, but becomes more of a wise and experienced Jedi master, culminating in him teaching Luke, his [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil former]] [[WeUsedToBeFriends padawan's]] son, about the Force in the beginning of ''Film/ANewHope''. Luke goes through a similar development going from a naive teenager in episode IV, to a wise, up-and-coming Jedi master himself in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.

* Gilgamesh in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is a conceited {{Jerkass}} due to the sheer power he holds, belief that he's superior to people of the modern age, and being an incarnation of the king who has yet to fully experience the tales written down in ''The Epic of Gilgamesh''. When the protagonists of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' go to Ur to find the BigBad's final Holy Grail, they meet a Gilgamesh who has lost Enkidu, failed at his quest for immortality herbs, and is settling down as the wise God-King of Uruk. And it shows, Uruk citizens are really capable, content, and happy with his rule. He only acts rude towards the protagonist because of the sheer stress of running his kingdom and losing a war against the Three Goddess Alliance.

* Ryu and Ken in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII''.
* Terry Bogard in ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Garou: Mark of the Wolves]]''

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar2018'': Kratos has had a ''lot'' of time to think about everything he did in the original trilogy, and it shows. His famously UnstoppableRage has been reigned in, and when he ''does'' get angry, it's a TranquilFury. Kratos clearly regrets everything he's done, and he wants nothing more than to keep his son Atreus from repeating his mistakes.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' in which the cast of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'' all make appearances as major characters and despite some maturity still have their own problems and issues to deal with.
** Finn and Oifey, from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]'', are straighter examples; you had them in the first generation as young apprentices, in the second generation they are back as mentors to Leif and Nanna, and Seliph and the other children at Tirnanogue respectively. Shanan also serves as a mentor to Seliph as well his much younger cousins, Larcei and Ulster. Lewyn, who comes back as Seliph's strategist, also counts, though this may be because of his [[spoiler: [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]] and LaserGuidedAmnesia]]
** But played straight in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' where [[spoiler: Tiki, who was just a dragon child in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'', reappears [[SheIsAllGrownUp as a dragon teen]] who takes up a mentor role towards Lucina and, in the DLC, her JuniorCounterpart Nowi. And [[MayflyDecemberRomance she can even be romanced by a male Avatar]].]]

** While ''Videogames/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' came out a few years after ''Videogame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'', it's a prequel to Binding Blade, taking place nearly 20 years before. In Blazing Blade, we see Bartre as a [[HotBlooded hot-blooded]] [[BoisterousBruiser Boisterous Bruiser]] who is extremely [[BookDumb Book Dumb]] and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Insensitive, though unknowingly]]. Come Binding Blade, he is [[ActionDad the father of Fir]], a myrmidon and is much more subdued, while still having some hotblood. He also grew a [[BadassMustache Badass Mustache]]

* Jim Hawkins in VideoGame/TreasurePlanetBattleAtProcyon, compared to how he is in the [[{{Disney/TreasurePlanet}} film]], due to the game taking place 5 years after the events of the film.

* In ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', almost the entire cast of the first two seasons returns as OlderAndWiser mentor figures to the newcomers in ''[=StrikerS=]''. Nanoha specifically designs her training programs to prevent them from [[TrainingFromHell making the same mistakes]] that she did when she was younger.

[[NotToBeConfusedWith Not an]] [[InvertedTrope Inversion]] of YoungerAndHipper.

* Bleu (Deis) from the ''BreathOfFire'' series, especially in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' ([[GuideDangIt provided that you can find her...]]) where she proves to be one of the best spellcasters in the game.

* This frequently happens with military officers in between major wars. A few notable examples from American history include UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson, who served as a messenger during the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution while a teenager, then went on to become a General in the Main/WarOf1812. Quite a few junior officers got their first experience in the UsefulNotes/MexicanAmericanWar before going on to become prominent figures during the UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, including Robert E. Lee and UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant. The same goes for the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar giving young officers experience for UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, including the commander of the American forces in UsefulNotes/WW1 General John "Black Jack" Pershing. World War I also served in this capacity for UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, giving officers like UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower (though he trained troops rather than seeing action himself in [=WW1=],) and [[FourStarBadass George S. Patton]].

* The ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' cast to the ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' cast. Four[[note]]Three in the original[[/note]] years separate the two.

* Cornelius in ''WesternAnimation/{{Babar}}'' and the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/BabarAndTheAdventuresOfBadou''is the oldest and wiser elephant in the cast and probably in the entire kingdom. Madam may also count as a female version.

* Peppy Hare, from ''VideoGame/StarFox'', is seen as this, having been part of the original Star Fox Team. He even gives up piloting his arwing after ''Star Fox Adventures''.

* Zuko, Katara, and Toph all act as mentors to Korra at some point in WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra. And as Roku did to Aang in the AvatarTheLastAirbender, an older Aang acts a spirit guide to Korra, since he is now the previous Avatar.

* Averted in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]'' in which the cast of Path of Radiance all make appearances as major characters and despite some maturity still have their own problems and issues to deal with.
** Finn and Oifey, from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Genealogy of the Holy War]]'', are straighter examples ; you had them in the first generation as young apprentices, in the second generation they are back as mentors to Leif and Nanna, and Seliph and the other children at Tirnanogue respectively. Shanan also serves as a mentor to Seliph as well his much younger cousins, Larcei and Ulster. Lewyn, who comes back as Seliph's strategist, also counts, though this may be because of his [[spoiler: [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]] and LaserGuidedAmnesia]]
** But played straight in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' where [[spoiler: Tiki, who was just a dragon child in VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia, reappears [[SheIsAllGrownUp as a dragon teen]] who takes up a mentor role towards Lucina and, in the DLC, her JuniorCounterpart Nowi. And [[MayflyDecemberRomance she can even be romanced by a male Avatar]].]]

* Sonny Bonds, the hero of the original ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest'' {{Creator/Sierra}} point-and-click adventure games, is your SWAT unit's commanding officer in the tactical FirstPersonShooter ''VideoGame/{{SWAT 4}}''.

* [[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]] has at least two examples: