They always present a polite and kind face, quietly protecting their charges. Can appear dense to others, but these are intelligent characters who note details and quirks and file them away without letting others know they're doing it. They would prefer having the mysterious stranger who showed up in the first episode come live with you, just to find out their real intentions. Or they'll casually suggest you go visit that abandoned field where a ghost is supposed to haunt.
Keeping the peace and serenity of the group and household is what prevents them from outwardly doing things, since they seem the type who could be very dangerous and create chaos if they wanted to. Anyone pointing this out (usually a villain or very smart character) will be met with a pleasant and suspicious dismissal.
Very commonly a character's mother or grandparent, this often overlaps with the Harem Nanny. Compare Silk Hiding Steel for a similar pleasant-yet-powerful personality and indeed this trope may be their role in the household.
Examples:
- Bleach: Kisuke Urahara is unfazed by anything and will steer The Protagonist (or others) where he wants them while they think it was their idea. All the while, he will pretend to be a silly guy in clogs. Of course, nobody from Soul Society is fooled, knowing that he's not only a former captain but also the founder of the R&D department.
- Fruits Basket: Shigure is a skilled manipulator who uses Obfuscating Stupidity to his advantage; he may be well-intentioned, but if you're looking for it, it's painfully easy to see where seemingly innocuous or teasing comments have another purpose.
- Happy World!: Sanae is immediately but quietly suspicious of her nephew's sudden Magical Girlfriend. She also puts down (violently) the perverted advances of her daughter towards other characters.
- I'm Gonna Be an Angel!:
- Mikael fits this trope to a T, mostly in regard to Noelle even going evil later on in the series.
- Raphael, on the other hand, while may not look like it at first glance, is this trope (albeit well-intended) to Mikael.
- Love Hina: Aunt Haruka is this in the anime. The manga, though, shows her making a quick and uncharacteristic exit from Kanako, and a full-blown loss of temper at Seta.
- Maria†Holic: God, the dorm leader. She holds an iron grip over the dormitories, and occasionally shows mercy towards her students, but is definitely smarter than she lets on. Everything is accounted for.
- Ranma ½: Kasumi Tendou is practically the prototype of the trope: She's the only member of the cast (regular or extended) who doesn't have some sort of major mental issue (or three).
- Sekirei: Miya Asama, the Team Mom. Though she maintains a cool charm, sekirei familiar with her are terrified of her power, and she can make herself understood without losing her arete.
- Tenchi Muyo!: Tenchi's grandfather Katshuhito, aka Prince Yosho of Jurai.
- UFO Baby: Mr. Deerfield, Christine's all-purpose butler. He contains Evil Chris when her fits get out of hand, serving as a reverse Berserk Button.
- Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter: O-Sensei is unflappable in the face of the oddities he faces, calmly reacting to Richard trying to steal from him by, somewhat forcefully, taking him on as a student.
- Butler from Artemis Fowl, who stands by his charge no matter what. Come fairies, interspecies war, magic, or time travel, he will always have Artemis' back, reacting calmly (after maybe a wry quip or two) to whatever craziness Artemis is involved in this month.
- Moominmama of The Moomins, who even in the face of the numerous magical happenings around Moomin Valley barely ever shows the slightest surprise, concerning herself with housework first and foremost. This even extends to when she herself gets shrunk down to miniature size, and she comments that she'll have to cook smaller portions for dinner from now on.
- El Goonish Shive has the Dunkels. Dear God, the Dunkels. Utterly unflappable. Their response when their son accidentally creates a magical, opposite-gender clone? He doesn't get any dessert because he snuck out on a school night. His clone still gets some, she wasn't in on the decision. In a world of weirdness, they take EVERYTHING in stride. They are also more than able to organize a search party for maximum efficacy, including how to use people that can fly to cover more ground.
- Tooey's dad, Kenji in Molly of Denali keeps a calm, level head in almost any situation. His reaction when he found out that Molly and Tooey were spying on him was to offer them a snack. The only time he lost his cool was in "Tooey's Hole-i-Day Sweater" where he flips out upon learning that Tooey ripped a hole in his Homemade Sweater from Hell.
