Nowhere else is the phrase "age is just a number" more applicable than in anime. From teenagers who look like they're pushing 30 to full grown adults who don't look a day over 12, the medium is filled with characters whose physical appearances are very misleading when it comes to guessing their ages. Death Note's Near, for instance, has the body of a child and the mind of a middle-aged adult. His real age? Somewhere between 13 and 17. Hunter X Hunter's Leorio Paladiknight and A Certain Magical Index's Stiyl Magnus have the facial features of men at least a decade older than them, but they're only 19 and 14 years-old respectively. It's also safe to assume that whatever age you think a character in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure looks should be halved to work out their real one.

The same goes for female characters, particularly those drawn with the diminutive bodies and squashed faces of the chibi style. Lucky Star's Kanata Izumi could easily be mistaken for a small child, but she ends up with a husband and child, so while her real age remains a mystery we can assume that she's (hopefully) way older than she appears. On the other end of the spectrum you'll find octogenarians who are weirdly in the best shape of their long lives. One Piece's Whitebeard, Dragon Ball's Master Roshi and Bleach's Shigekuni Yamamoto might be white in the hair and long in the tooth, but they can kick the stuffing out of young whippersnappers half or even a quarter of their ages.

20 BETTER: GOKU

When we first met Son Goku, he was a pudgy little kid training to become Earth's greatest martial artist. Travelling alongside a teenage Bulma, the adolescent Saiyan stayed pretty stunted in the height department until he hit age 15, often being mistaken for not much more than a 10 year-old in his preteen years.

What a difference hormones can make! Between 15 and 18, Goku did some considerable growing, bulking out into something much closer to the beefy frame we recognize today. In fact, he didn't stop his physical transformation until 25, reaching a much more impressive height of 5'9" by the end of Dragon Ball. Nowadays he's around 35 -- though a brief stint in the afterlife means he's technically 42.

19 WORSE: GOHAN

Like father... not quite like son. It's not so much that Gohan has physically aged worse than his dad. Other than being half human, Goku's first born son is the spitting image of him -- particularly when he was the same age that Goku was at the start of Dragon Ball. For a while, it looked like Gohan was set to actually surpass his father, too.

But, creator Akira Toriyama ended up backtracking on plans to have the leading man torch passed to Gohan, and though Gohan can still turn on the Super Saiyan mojo when necessary, his lame alter-ego as "Super Saiyaman" coupled with his Clark Kent-inspired resting nerd face are a shadow of what the character could have been by now. The series has somewhat rehabbed that character in later Dragon Ball Super episodes.

18 BETTER: SHANKS

As well as being a legendary pirate captain who sailed with the even more legendary Gold. D Roger, Shanks inspired a young Luffy to begin his quest, making him one of the most important characters in One Piece. From looks alone, you can see why Shanks was so impressive to the fledgling adventurer. Not even a few scars can detract from a smoulder like that.

As we see in flashbacks, Shanks was never bad looking but -- like the Straw Hat captain -- he didn't look like he was capable of much. Other than his distinctive red hair, there was little to indicate that this scruffy boy would grow into something special. It could also be a good indicator of what's in store for his young protege.

17 WORSE: GRAN TORINO

Standing at just 4'2", you'd never guess that the gruff, grey-haired superhero, Sorahiko was actually one of the most powerful heroes who ever lived. Though he theoretically hung up his cape and mask as Gran Torino years ago, he hasn't been able to take the uniform off, nor give up his mentoring duties when his former pupil's disciple seeks him out.

As a younger man, Gran Torino was a good couple of feet taller, and his facial features softened by age were smooth and carved like granite. The grey hair, however? That appears to have been there from the get-go. In senility, Gran Torino's superficial deterioration hasn't affected his Jet quirk. Few people can match his super speed or strength.

16 BETTER: SIMON

Talk about levelling up! Gurren Lagann's blue-haired hero was considered a bit of a runt for his age, dwarfed even by most of his contemporaries. As a digger, his baggy work clothes didn't help with this -- his shorts had to be belted to stay up, his torso and neck buried in a shabby cloak and his face permanently smeared with dirt.

Following a timeskip, this grubby 14 year-old morphed into a 6'2" 21 year-old; his babyish face grew into stronger, more manly features and his wardrobe got a major upgrade -- from grubby digger-wear to the bare-chested, cloaked garb of a pilot. The hair color and goggles stayed, becoming the last reminders of his humble youth.

15 WORSE: LIBRA DOHKO

Despite being physically 18 years-old, Libra Dohko is actually one of the elders of Saint Seiya's Gold Saints -- the highest ranking officers of the goddess Athena's army. As such, he earned the nickname "Old Master," despite his boyish good looks and muscly frame. But, Dohku nobly sacrificed all this in order to extend his life even longer.

After the Hades War, Dohko took up guard duty over the evil god's seal, using an ability known as Misopetha-Menos to slow his heart rate and shrink his body down into that of a frail old man's. This spell allows him to effectively live forever, and one that he can break to switch back his youthful warrior's body whenever he needs to.

14 BETTER: NARUTO, SASUKE & SAKURA

While the likes of Pokemon has kept its central character in suspended animation as far as ageing goes, it's been incredibly satisfying watching Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura grow up. Since Naruto began airing in 2002, we've watched its trio of protagonists graduate from inexperienced kids into the toughest ninja around -- with kids of their own to benefit from all those years of battling.

It doesn't seem like so long ago that the preteens were thrust together as Team 7 under Kakashi's tutelage. Since then, in Boruto, Naruto has trimmed his spiky locks and become the Seventh Hokage, while Sasuke has become his right-hand man and settled down with Sakura -- who is now the world's best medical-nin.

13 WORSE: KOKORO

Mermaids are famous for being the most beautiful creatures in the ocean, and believe it or not, One Piece's Kokoro once epitomized this. The icefish mermaid now works as the Puffing Tom's conductor, often hiding her aquatic heritage by mimicking human physiology. One thing she can't hide, however, is that... well, some might say the years haven't been kind to her.

When Kokoro started in Tom's service, she was known as his "lovely" secretary, and in her younger years, she was far more shapely. Sadly, after Tom was imprisoned and Franky -- who she'd cared for -- seemed to have passed, Kokoro allowed her vices to consume her and her youthful good looks. Her high-kicking strength, however, remains as powerful as ever.

12 BETTER: THE DIGIDESTINED

Like Naruto, the original Digimon cohort of Digidestined have been allowed to age with time -- something long-time fans have loved watching. Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, T.K and Kari have only aged by six years across Digimon Adventures and Digimon Tri, but a lot can change in the intervening years between preteen to young adulthood.

Tai, for instance, began as an energetic, goofy 11 year-old in oversized sneakers and messy hair in 1999. By 2005, he's a tall, wiry 17 year-old who has learned not to run headfirst into trouble if it means endangering his friends. By the end of Digimon 02 in 2027, Tai matures even more to become an official ambassador to the Digital World.

11 WORSE: OTOSE

Owner of the Otose Snack House in the weird world of Gintama, Terada Ayano -- more commonly known as Otose, her hostess name -- has all the characteristics of a fierce landlady: sour-faced and stern-voiced. Although this side of her personality is reserved only for those in her debt and Otose is actually a sympathetic boss -- a glimpse of the woman she used to be.

She was revealed to be very pretty in her youth, so pretty in fact that two men fought for her affections. The one she eventually chose sadly perished on the battlefield, a fate that led her to cross paths with Gintama's lead protagonist, Gintoki, while visiting her late husband's grave; he became something of a surrogate son to her.

10 BETTER: RAKI

That seven-year timeskip in Claymore did wonders for Raki. The human boy was once little more than a weedy sidekick to inhuman warrior, Clare, who rescued him from a yoma that devoured his family and posed as his brother. To his credit, Raki demonstrated his potential as a fighter by confronting the disguised creature himself.

After Clare saved him from becoming its next meal, he became the obedient squire to her wandering knight, until they were separated. During the years apart, Raki trained hard to master the sword and hone his body, until the boy he had been was virtually gone. By then, it was his turn to rescue Clare, proving himself to finally be her equal.

9 WORSE: COLOGNE

Considering Ranma ½'s Cologne is anywhere between 118 (according to the manga) and 400 years-old (according to the anime) any look other than completely deceased is impressive. Even though Genma unkindly refers to the little old lady as a "3000 year-old ghoul," she is the head of the Chinese Amazons and she runs a cafe-slash-fight-club. Cologne deserves respect.

Though it's hard to see it now, the great-grandmother to Shampoo was a teen beauty, as revealed in a third season flashback. At 18 years-old, Cologne had long, dark hair and more normal proportions than the tiny body she'd ended up with. But though her youth (and height) may have left her, Cologne is still the fiercest warrior around.

8 BETTER: BAT & LIN

Bat and Lin are two other beneficiaries of the customary anime time-skip. When Fist of the North Star's main hero, Kenshiro, first meets Bat and Lin -- separately -- they're a pair of scrawny kids trying to survive in the barren desert. Bat is a plucky boy with an affinity for technology that proves useful to Kenshiro, while Lin's kindness is rare in FOTNS's dog-eat-dog world.

Following the fall of Roah, the story jumps ahead to show that while Kenshiro has been away, Bat and Lin have aged into strong, capable and handsome adults who now lead an army in their idol's name. Of the two, Bat goes through the most dramatic change -- from a doughy child to a strapping, square-jawed warrior.

7 WORSE: GENKAI

While most anime features an older male mentor, Yusuke of YuYuHakusho has Genkei to thank for molding him into the fighter he is today. The 70 year-old woman doesn't look terrible for her age at all. In fact, she's still in fantastic physical shape. But during the Dark Tournament Saga arc, we learn that the mystic martial arts expert used to be in even better shape.

Initially, her identity in the tournament is hidden by a mask. When she take it off to reveal to Yusuke who she really is, the face of a woman decades her junior is underneath. It turns out that Genkai's Spirit Wave technique fluctuates her appearance between young and old, and after she duels Yusuke, the rejuvenation is sapped away.

6 BETTER: FLIT ASUNO

Rarely do we get a chance to see a character at so many different points in their life, and Mobile Suit Gundam AGE's Flit Asuno is the definition of ageing gracefully. This entry in the Gundam franchise spans three generations of the Asuno family, starting with Flit as an optimistic little kid and ending with him as a grandfather.

The premature demise of his first love, Yurin wears down some of his naive positivity, setting him on course towards grounded maturity as an adult. Is Flit ever bad looking? No. But he also seems to get better and better with age -- you can't beat that bushy, green 'stache and that ever-present glint of determination in his eyes.

5 WORSE: SOLOMON MUTO

Foster parent to Yugi "King of Games" Muto and owner of the Kame Game shop, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Solomon Muto is everything you'd want in a grandfather: he's cute, he's cuddly, he's forgetful and he fancies himself as a ladies' man --  a weakness that has gotten him into trouble. He also taught Yugi and Joey the art of Duel Monsters and passed on the "Heart of the Cards" philosophy to them.

We love the elderly goofball that Solomon became, but boy was he cool in his younger years. Flashbacks to Solomon during his Valley of the Kings expedition depict a tall Indiana Jones-type sporting similar gold, spiky locks as his future grandson. How did this fearless adventurer shrink into an overalls-wearing shop keeper?

4 BETTER: COBY

No one could have predicted how dramatic the "Then" and "Now" pictures of One Piece's Coby would be after just two years. When we first met the 16 year-old dogsbody of the Alvida Pirates' ship, he was a meek, round-faced kid with nerdy glasses and terrible hair. He was also the very first person to benefit from Luffy's altruism.

The wannabe Pirate King's ambition and heroism inspired Coby to aim higher in life, and he began to climb the ranks in the seafaring world. Serving under Garp, Coby toughed up in both mind and body. He lost the baby fat, gained some height and earned a character-building scar above his right eye. Post time skip, he's now Marine Captain Coby.

3 WORSE: BOB

Bob is the flamboyant Guild Master of the Blue Pegasus guild in Fairy Tail, and though his role is relatively minor, he's anything but forgettable. The bald-headed older man feels very at home in women's clothing and jewellery, is no stranger to a make up brush and wears a pair of angelic wings at all times -- purely decorative, naturally.

Rewind a few decades and you would never guess that the slim, dark-haired, suited young man who used to be a member of the Fairy Tail guild was the same person as that portly drag queen. Though Bob might have lost his conventional attractiveness, he clearly enjoys the freedom of living life on his own terms now as a guild founder.

2 BETTER: TRUNKS

Not even actual Trunks can compete with Future Trunks. Considered to be one of the coolest characters in a franchise overstuffed with cool characters, Future Trunks burst into Dragon Ball Z just in time to cut down Frieza's minions mid-mission before his past self had even been born. The perfect introduction to a time-displaced Saiyan warrior who never leaves the house without a giant sword strapped to his back.

Of course, present-day Trunks who, as of Dragon Ball Super, is barely out of nappies, will benefit from learning from his father's strength and his mother's sharp wits, but can he ever rival an alternate self hardened by years of training in a post-apocalyptic wasteland?

1 WORSE: PROFESSOR OAK

You know Professor Oak as the older guy in the lab coat who appears at the start of the original Pokemon games to ask you what his own grandson's name is. You also know him as the same lab-coated senior that introduces Ash to his Pikachu, deals with the Taurus horde he deposits into the PC and definitely hooks up with his mom while the kid's away.

Professor Oak looks like your average, temperamental old scientist, but when you discover from the manga that he used to be a muscle-bound trainer known as "Dr. O" whose skills rivalled that of the Elite Four, it makes you wonder what could have been if he'd kept his battling career -- and fitness regime -- going into his older years.