Searching for manga with male child protagonist...

"Child" being 13 and under. Or, if older, they're child-like in appearance, personality, treated like a child, are young for what they're doing (profession, goals, etc...), or are young compared to the adults they're surrounded by. Though, I'd just REALLY PREFER if they're just 13 and under.

Examples:

13 and under:
Shounen Note
Magi - Labyrinth of Magic
Tegami Bachi
+Anima

Child in appearance:
Detective Conan

Young for what they're doing:
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi
Pandora Hearts
D.Gray-man

The genre doesn't really matter. I just find child protagonists, in anything, really endearing, and I enjoy others' reactions to the amazing children! I've already read a bunch of manga with female child protagonists (Gakuen Alice, Kodomo no Omocha, Yotsubato!, Shoujo Shounen Gakkyuudan, Chinatsu no Uta, Usagi Drop, Oboreru Knife [?], etc...), but I'm having a harder time finding males...

And while I actually enjoyed manga like Mahou Sensei Negima!, Gun x Clover, and Mushoku Tensei - Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu, I'm not really looking for anything with a lot of ecchi.

Also, I know that there's a category tag of "Child Protagonist"/"Young Male Lead," and I've searched through it and still had a hard time finding anything.

Thank you for any and all suggestions!

might help somewhat
Hanaotoko
Kyou no 5 no 2
Bokurano middle school kids
Hyouryuu Kyoushitsu
Eden no Ori middle school kids, i dont think they are 13 though
Captain Tsubasa
Tekkon Kinkreet iirc they are 13, or close to it

So far I've only tried Kyou no 5 no 2 and it was really funny!!! I'm planning on checking out all of the others too, so thank you for the suggestions!

How about Mahou Sensei Negima!

Thank you for the suggestion! 😀 ...but I've already read it, as stated above. 😢

I can't believe no one said Kuroshitsuji. ^__^ Ciel is a twelve-year-old boy genius, too young for everything he's doing, and he looks the part.

Couple of questions for you: Does the protagonist have to remain a child for the entire series, or would it be ok if he grows older as it progresses (e.g. Dragonball)? And does the child have to be the clear main protagonist, or can he split equal time with an adult (or teen)?

Anyways...

Tamashii no Futago
Saturn Apartments - Fits under the "young for what he's doing" requirement.
Gogo Monster - By the same mangaka as Tekkonkinkreet & Hanaotoko recommended by ngebe, and I second those two as well.

If you don't mind older works, there are several series by Tezuka with boy protagonists... Such as:

Brave Dan
New Treasure Island
Lost World

smacks head Oh yeah! That one definitely counts! I had completely forgotten about it since I stopped reading it a while back, but it definitely fits the bill and I could get back into it. Thank you!

@hahhah42
It's cool if he ages. Definitely don't have a problem with that! And it would also be fine if the focus was split, too. 😃

Nope! I don't mind older works, usually. The art always trips me up in the first few chapters, but they're fairly easy for me to adapt to.

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I'm gonna check them all out. I've been given more works I've never heard of in this discussion than what I've ever been able to find on my own while searching the Internet. 😀 Either I did something wrong or I didn't search hard/long enough... 😕

If you're still taking suggestions...

Doubutsu no Kuni (he ages)
Dear Mine (a romance)

A few more suggestions then. Note that some of these have some explicit violence/sexual content, albeit not usually of the ecchi fanservice variety... Also note the age progression tags for some of them.

Pygmalio
Piano no Mori
Goodnight Punpun

Ryuguden - The younger brother seems to be around 11-12; the older brother is high school age. Despite the series being a rather violent, madcap sci-fi adventure, the younger brother is one of the best characterizations of a boy just entering puberty I've seen.

Finally, if you're ever in the mood for something really absurd, one of the later arcs in Fourteen (starting around volume 10) features a bunch of children - who are supposed to be around three or four years old - going out into space as humanity's last hope of survival.

They turn into dinosaurs once they reach their fourteenth birthday. No, there is no reason ever given for this, or anything else that happens in the series, really.

The ones I remember are:
Dragon Quest - Dai no Daibouken
Galaxy Express 999
Hirahira-kun Seishun Jingi
Mahou no Yama
Kiichi!!, there's tragedy in this one tough.
Hope it helps.

Hunter x Hunter 2011? Does that work for you?

I haven't read it in a while (years), but I think this fits the "young for what they're doing" category:
Q.E.D. - Shoumei Shuuryou

The main character is 14, I believe, and is a genius (attended MIT already). He likes solving things, so he does some detective/investigative work.

Jigokudou Reikai Tsuushin

Have you tried The Seven Deadly Sins or Mob Psycho 100? If I remember correctly the lead for Karneval was super young too.

Senpai will never notice you.