Basic Trope: Characters use guns that are not realistic to keep things more child-friendly.
- Straight:
- Bob is a cop who wields a water gun over a real gun.
- Bob wields a laser rifle instead of a realistic rifle.
- Exaggerated: Laser weapons are used in THE STONE AGE.
- Downplayed:
- Bob wields a flamethrower instead of a proper firearm.
- Bob wields a gun that resembles an actual gun, but it is unrealistically large.
- Bob wields an airgun that resembles an actual gun but is harmless.
- Justified:
- Bob just plain Doesn't Like Guns.
- Most of the characters that Bob fights are bulletproof, and its more practical to use lasers or fire to melt them instead.
- It's an aversion of Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better - regular leadslingers are inefficient and weak compared to the more advanced laser weaponry that is commonplace in the setting, which can not only be easily recharged if it runs dry, but deals way more damage than a kinetic weapon, and don't require that much maintenance either while being substantially quieter. Compare to regular firearms which can jam or backfire if they're not maintained, require physical magazines and are useless if completely spent, and are noisy as hell.
- Bob uses a water gun because most of his foes are made of substances that dissolve in water, so it's more practical to use water instead of bullets.
- The show is set in a sci-fi world where laser guns are just as, if not more, prevalent than realistic guns.
- Subverted:
- Bob looks like he's wielding a water gun, but it fires real bullets.
- Bob decides that a water gun isn't appropriate for the situation, then swaps it out for a real pistol.
- Bob wields a laser gun..... that's objectively deadlier than a "real" gun and can turn people into Ludicrous Gibs.
- Double Subverted:
- But then, someone replaces Bob's ammo with water.
- But the real bullet turned out to be harmless pellets.
- Inverted: Characters use real guns despite the fact the work is meant for toddlers.
- Parodied:
- Water guns are more deadly than actual guns.
- The water gun is labelled as being "Standards & Practices Approved".
- Averted: Bob is a cop who wields an actual gun that fires actual bullets.
- Defied: Bob refuses to use a water gun and opts to use an actual rifle.
- Zig-Zagged: Whether characters wield laser weapons or actual guns is inconsistent.
- Enforced:
- Bob originally wielded a real gun in the original version of the work, but Values Dissonance in a country that the work is imported to leads to Bob wielding a water gun instead.
- The writers wanted to avoid using real guns, so airguns are used in place and made harmless for their sake.
- Lampshaded: "Why would you bring a water gun to a sword fight???"
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Invoked: A law exists in the setting of the story that makes usage of firearms illegal.
- Exploited: Bob's water gun makes him frequently underestimated. However, his water gun fires with such force that the gun is essentially as powerful as a real gun.
- Deconstructed: ???
- Reconstructed: ???
- Played for Laughs: Characters use guns loaded with ridiculous substances that no sane individual would use in a gun fight.
- Played for Drama: ???
- Played for Horror: ???
- Implied: ???
