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[[File:Lucky Star - Christmas Cake.jpg|thumb|400px|link=Lucky Star|Nanako Kuroi, age 27 and still single. "You ''are'' wanted."]]
Buying a cake for Christmas is a [[Christmas in Japan|Japanese tradition]]. Unfortunately, no matter how tasty a Christmas cake is, no one wants it after December 25. And no matter how attractive a woman is, it's said, no Japanese male will want to marry her after she's 25. Thus,
A [[Cool Big Sis]] may be one, or heading there, usually with extreme annoyance; referring to this character as ''[[Oba-san]]'' is about as tactful as referring to someone as ''[["Ma'am" Shock|Ma'am]]'' and is likely to induce a rage. Sometimes this is just a device to explain [[Must Have Lots of Free Time|them hanging around]] other characters younger than them.
On the antagonistic side, a [[Punch Clock Villain]] is often a
Interestingly, the more unexpected the presence of the
This is on its way to being a [[Discredited Trope]]: the latest Japanese census data shows that more and more people are marrying older, with most people under 25 remaining unmarried. Many teens and young adults have never heard of the concept and many that have think it's old-fashioned. Having a character believing in the Christmas Cake concept may mark them as being likewise old-fashioned.
See also [[Hot Mom]], [[Grande Dame]], and [[Maiden Aunt]] for the much older Western variants. Also see [[My Biological Clock Is Ticking]] and [[I Want Grandkids]]. For people older than the average brand of
The
Another more modern, but no less blunt, term used in Japan is "urenokori", which is also a term for leftover unsold items in a store's inventory. [[Unfortunate Implications|Yeah.]]
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Both Urd and her mother, Hild of ''[[Ah! My Goddess]]'' are technically examples of this (though since the manga progresses chronologically, a younger Urd eventually ages into it). They're a rare case of a mother-daughter cake combo, and quite happy in that regard, it would seem, and given her apparent immortality, Hild may be well beyond the measurable threshold.
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* Minamo "Nyamo" Kurosawa (''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'': nagged by mom and frequently teased by Yukari, despite the latter being a "cake" herself).
* Yuriko Kuraki, mother of the protagonist in ''[[Moonlight Lady]]'', is a shining example of this trope. She's unique in that {{spoiler|[[Our Ghosts Are Different|she's a ghost]].}}
* Linna Yamazaki in ''[[Bubblegum Crisis
* Emu Hino, the female lead from ''[[Crying Freeman]]''. She was in her late 20's and a virgin by the time she met Yoh Hinomura and was set up for death. So, she asked the handsome and gentlemanly Yoh to take her virginity before killing her... which partially breaks Yoh's conditioning and makes him fall for her, thus he decides to [[Battle Couple|make her his partner instead]].
* Mitsuka Yoshimine from ''[[DearS]]''. Her age is never specified but she sure ''looks'' like she's at least 25, and despite the ridiculously [[Stripperiffic]] costumes she routinely wears (and/or strips out of) ''while teaching a high school class'' (presumably full of horny high school age boys), plus the fact that pretty much everything that comes out of her mouth is suggestive or overtly about sex... Nobody pays any attention to her. At all. Her love life is deader than a doornail.
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'''[[Deadpan Snarker|Conan]]''' (inner thoughts): With a personality like ''[[Jerkass|that]]'', she never will. }}
* Mika-sensei from ''[[Doki Doki School Hours]]'' is 27 and still lives with her parents. She doesn't mind though, since she loves to be spoiled by her father and cares mostly for good food. Her mother is worried though and sets her up for a date for an [[Arranged Marriage]], {{spoiler|which doesn't turn out too well}}.
* Miz Mishtal in ''[[El-Hazard: The
* Mayuko-sensei from ''[[Fruits Basket]]''. {{spoiler|In the ending she gets together with Hatori.}}
* Yura Kawada from ''[[Futari Ecchi]]'', before she meets her match in the equally cute and even-then-not-taken Makoto, whom she met via [[Perfectly Arranged Marriage|an arranged date that went really well]]. Her cousin-in-law/neighbor/counselor Kyouko also fits in, until she gets married as well.
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* Ayako, the [[Shrine Maiden]] in ''[[Ghost Hunt]]''. Naru teases that she's a bit old to be an unspoilt virgin.
** Ayako is only 23 years old according to [[Wikipedia]] and a few other sites, so she's actually still a few years away from becoming a Christmas Cake.
* Hikaru's older sister Kei in the (rather explicit but romantic h-manga) ''[[Take on Me]]'' once gave Tsuda a kick to the face when he mistook her for still being in middle school. Then again, if you're 26 years old and [[Token
* Subverted in ''[[Fairy Tail]]''. [[Sexy Mentor|Ur]] gets advice from a friend that she should settle down and get a man since she's approaching that age. It turns out Ur already had a daughter, which she never mentioned because she believed her daughter was dead. While we don't know what happened between them, her daughter Urtear is alive and kicking as [[The Dragon]] (and hates her mother because she actually believes that Ur abandoned her to her luck).
* Technically, as of ''[[Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force|Force]]'', [[Lyrical Nanoha|Nanoha, Fate, and Hayate]] have all moved into this category (especially Nanoha and Hayate, who are both Japanese), whereas Shamal and Signum have officially been here since at least ''A's'' epilogue. Though I really dare you to walk up to the [[Colonel Badass|top-ranked]] [[Power Levels|over-S mage]] career officers of the [[Space Police|TSAB]] and tell them they ought to [[Stay in the Kitchen|get married]]. Go ahead and try. On a side note, Nanoha ''has'' formed her own family by now... with [[Romantic Two-Girl Friendship|Fate]] and [[Has Two Mommies|Vivio]], so that may be a moot point.
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* The adult manga ''[[Toshiue no Hito]]'' uses this for some drama when the 20-year-old protagonist (in university at the time) introduces his new girlfriend to his parents; they're scandalised that he's living with a 26-year-old widow. When they actually meet her, they're somewhat surprised to find she's really, ''really'' [[Older Than They Look|young-looking]].
** How young? She later models clothes for ''pre-teens''.
*
* The Second Guest in ''[[Gregory Horror Show]]'' is an unmarried woman who is, if Judgement Boy's observation is true, in her late twenties/early thirties. The fact that she chose her career over her boyfriend (resulting in him breaking up with her) and that she had to watch her best friend marry the guy actually turns out to be the root of [[Sanity Slippage|all her mental problems.]] [[The Woobie|Poor woman...]]
* A [[Running Gag]] in the early episodes of ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' is how Madoka's [[Meganekko]] homeroom teacher, Kazuko Saotome, complains endlessly about her Christmas Cake status. ''Even in class''. Her age isn't fully disclosed, but she is a friend of Madoka's [[Hot Mom]] Junko... so she may be already in her ''thirties''.
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* Tomoe from ''[[Hanasaku Iroha]]'' is ''[[Berserk Button|REAL]]'' [[Berserk Button|sensitive about her lack of relationships]].
* Tesla Magnets in ''[[Mega Man NT Warrior]]'' is not only a Christmas Cake but obsesses over it. Just to give you an idea, she hijacks a robot named Thirty and goes on a rampage. And if she's ever especially angry, expect a backdrop covered in "30" to appear.
* ''[[Hidamari Sketch
* ''[[Bleach]]'': Although she's never directly called "Christmas Cake" in the [[Filler|anime]], Rangiku's age is a very sore point for her, with one filler episode going so far as to even create a male version for the sole purpose of having one [[Bratty Half-Pint|kid]] press two [[Berserk Button|berserk buttons]] by referring to Rangiku as "oba-san" and Yumichika as "o-san" in the same conversation. The anime later takes Rangiku's age references [[Up to Eleven|even further]] by making it such a big issue in the Zanpakutou Arc {{spoiler|that it's actually one of the reasons why Rangiku's zanpakutou is angry with her}}.
* Implied to be the case with Major General Armstrong in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. She uses it to her advantage when charming information out of an enemy.
* Sae Shirai from ''[[Kodomo no Jikan]]'' bounces back and forth between being proud of her independent, unmarried life in her thirties and regretting it.
== Film ==
* In Alfred Hitchcock's ''[[Psycho]],'' Marion is motivated to set the film's action in motion {{spoiler|that is, steal $40,000, and run off with it in order to pay off her boyfriend's debts so he can marry her}} in part because she is over 35, and desperate to get married. The film was released in 1960, and audiences believed this character's motivation. When Gus Van Sant [[Psycho (1998 film)|remade the film shot-for-shot in 1998]], with a younger Anne Heche as Marion, the motive vanishes. Aside from the age of the character, an audience in 1998 was not inclined to believe a woman would
* In ''[[Darby O'Gill and the Little People]]'' Katie gets warnings about becoming one of these if she doesn't settle down soon.
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* ''[[Carnivale]]'''s [[Belly Dancer|snake charmer Ruthie]] (who has a son and has no intention of getting married), [[The Vamp|bearded lady Lila]] (whose whatever-that-is relationship with Lodz isn't marriage), and [[The Dragon|Iris]] [[Magnificent Bastard|Crowe]] (whose [[Brother-Sister Incest|relationship]] with her [[Dark Messiah|brother]] doesn't leave too much time for getting married).
* The title character of ''[[Ally McBeal]]'' is severely insecure about her age, her inability to form a viable relationship with a man and her "biological clock". These insecurities of her is often the butt of other (similarly aged and unmarried) female characters' jokes, but it is implied that she is just being crazy over nothing, and her actually celebrating her 32nd birthday (instead of, you know, spending the day wanting to die) in the show's last season is treated as a sign of huge character growth.
* [[Stargate SG-1|Samantha Carter]], who ended the series as an unmarried colonel ("[[Fan Nickname|Black Widow Carter]]" and all that jazz).[https://web.archive.org/web/20130928085933/http://quantumconservative.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/flag-amanda-tapping.jpg Amanda Tapping] <ref>OK, she was near the lower limit of true Christmas Cakedom when that picture was taken
* ''[[Casualty]]'' and ''[[Holby City]]'' have a ''lot'' of hot older women. Notably Rosie Marcel in Holby, and Kath, played by unnamed actress in Casualty.
* In ''[[Downton Abbey]]'', Mary seems to be bordering on this - Violet is keen to see her get married "before the bloom is quite gone off the rose."
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==Professional Wrestling==
* Until the 90s, [[All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling]] had a policy that their wrestlers had to retire at age 25. (Until the establishment of JWP in 1986, they were the only women's pro wrestling promotion in Japan. After that, wrestlers had the option of jumping to other promotions instead.)
* In America, we have former [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] General Manager Vickie Guerrero, a middle-aged but still reasonably attractive woman who is [[Hollywood Homely|relentlessly mocked for being "fat" and "ugly."]] [[Edge]], however, genuinely loved her and once almost married her, making him a [[Likes Older Women|cake eater]]. However, Vickie is now visibly more attractive than she used to be - this is referenced by her being called a cougar by everyone, and it's only [[Jerry Lawler]] who still makes jokes about her weight.
** The [[WWE/Characters/Divas|Divas]] are likely to be released once they hit their 30s. The exception is Ivory, who was signed while she was in her 30s and kept with the company well into her 40s.
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* Lotus from ''[[Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors|Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors]]''. She's graphically depicted as [[Ms. Fanservice]], in a skimpy outfit with large, shiny assets. But the game's ''characters'' complain repeatedly about being forced to look at her "wrinkly grandma boobs". {{spoiler|She's actually 40 years old and a divorcee with twin daughters.}}
* ''[[Soul Series|SoulCalibur V]]'' seems to be aware of the phenomenon and is taking all their older females (since the game is set 17 years after the previous game) and replacing them with younger successors. Exceptions are Ivy (Who was 32 in the original games but has stopped aging, making her 49 chronologically), Tira (Who was 17, her height is listen as unknown which could mean she has stopped aging but is chronologically 34) and Hilde (Who was 18 in the original series and is 35 here.)
** In Ivy's case, she has sworn to celibacy, as taking a husband or lover could cause her to conceive a child would inherit the corruption of Soul Edge from her, a dark fate she does not wish on any other.
* The above incident is a repeat of what happened between ''[[Tekken|Tekken 2]]'' and 3, which saw a timeskip of a similar length and the removal of Jun Kazama and Michelle Chang. Michelle was immediately replaced with an adopted daughter Julia, while it took until ''Tekken 5'' to replace Jun with her niece, Asuka.
* In ''[[Luminous Arc]]'', the Garden Children talk about Vanessa in this manner, shortly before she starts a [[Bar Brawl]] with them...
* ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' has a brief joke alluding to this: Mion quips "You like photography so much, you missed your chance to be married!" to Tomittake, who retorts: "A man becomes more attractive at 30!"
* Deliberately averted by Gust in ''[[Atelier Meruru]]''. Rorona would have been in her 30s in Meruru, but Gust couldn't stand the thought, so they had her take a potion that turned her into an eight year old. [[The Scrappy|A large portion of the fanbase was not pleased.]]
* Olivia from ''[[Pokémon Sun and Moon]]'' is beautiful, rich, kind and generous - it is implied this trope may be the only reason she is single.
==
* The woman in [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2264 this] ''[[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]]''.
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