History Main / MustMakeHerLaugh

* ''FateStayNight'' Gender inverted. Tohsaka realizes that she ''never'' sees Shirou laugh and that he rarely smiles. It makes her mad because while he likes making others happy he never actually enjoys himself. Ayako also notes this early on. Tohsaka decides they'll take a day off to make him enjoy himself. [[spoiler:With good reason, because as a person who never lives for himself, after his death he becomes bitterly resentful of his life and turns into Archer. She likes Archer, but doesn't want Shirou to become like him.]]

* ''FairieTaleTheatre'' has the episode "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed," based on a variation of the Norwegian folk tale above: Howie Mandell plays the peasant, who gets the princess to laugh by pointing out the sheer ridiculousness of the people she sees every day of her life, with the punch-line, "and ''she'' says 'Bring me someone who can make me laugh.'"

* ''FairieTaleTheater'' has the episode "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed," based on a variation of the Norwegian folk tale above: Howie Mandell plays the peasant, who gets the princess to laugh by pointing out the sheer ridiculousness of the people she sees every day of her life, with the punch-line, "and ''she'' says 'Bring me someone who can make me laugh.'"

* ''TeenTitans'' does this with Beast Boy and Raven. It turns out that he got her to laugh in their first meeting, and he's been trying to replicate that ever since. He's succeeded three times: said prequel episode, an encounter with her "happy side" during a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind episode, and when he had a cold and lost control of his powers every time he sneezed. Notably, her happy side told Beast Boy that she always finds his jokes funny; her mildly irritated, DeadpanSnarker reactions to his jokes may be more about maintaining her emotional reserve than being genuinely annoyed.

* ''{{Castlevania}}: Judgment'' Grant occasionally makes it his goal to get an emotional reaction out of Alucard. This example [[JustFriends isn't romantic]]. No, it isn't.
* ''DragonQuest IV'' Subverted where a King will only give a special piece of equipment needed to defeat the BigBad to someone who can make him laugh. ("For the good of the kingdom.") Your party hires a comedian and everything and then...the comedian scolds the king because your party is trying to save the world and nobody will ever laugh again if they don't. ''And it works!''
* ''EliteBeatAgents'' Leo's episode is about his efforts to get the EmotionlessGirl Lisa to smile, and thus inspire artwork. In the good ending, [[spoiler:the [[FauxtasticVoyage "special tunnel"]] finally does the trick.]]
** By the way, that's Leonardo da Vinci and the subject of the Mona Lisa.

** [[SunderTheGold This troper]] found that sequence hilarious, since Shirou himself had done the same thing for Saber in the previous ''Fate'' route. Shirou and Saber are very much alike; Shirou's response to Rin's date was much the same as Saber's was to his.
* The ''{{Firefly}}'' FanFic [[http://moodfic.livejournal.com/69709.html Simply Perfectest]] suggests this happened between Wash and Zoe before they were HappilyMarried:
-->''If he can't make her laugh, how will she know he can make her happy?''

* A Norweigan folk tale involves a king who offers his daughter's hand to anyone who can make the all-too-serious girl laugh. A peasant boy is nice to one of those ubiquitous old ladies, and is rewarded with a goose that can trap anyone who touches it (or touches anything already trapped) if he says "Hang on if you want to come along!" He uses it to catch the entire palace staff, and the princess falls over laughing when she sees it.
** A similar plot device also shows up in the Grimm Brothers fairy tale ''The Golden Goose''.
* OlderThanDirt: In Australian aboriginal mythology, a giant frog named Tiddalik drank up all the rivers and lakes. The other animals tried to get him to laugh and spill the water, unsuccessfully, until Tiddalik saw the eel desperately searching for water and laughed at him, releasing it.

* ''[[PokemonSpecial Pokémon Special]]'' Pearl may be doing this to Platinum, judging from [[RunningGag his reaction to catching her laugh]].

* ''StarTrekVoyager'' has an interesting take on this: (male) Neelix tries to make the (male) [[TheStoic Vulcan]], Tuvok, laugh. Becomes a ReverseFunnyAneurysm when a transporter accident makes the two of them [[HoYay into one]] in a later episode. I think I need BrainBleach for even thinking that.
* ''StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse. Jacen Solo constantly tried to get Tenel Ka to laugh.
* ''StellviaOfTheUniverse'' Joey wins Akira's heart via this method.
* ''TankGirl'' has a LesYay example. Tank Girl and Jet Girl are in prison. Jet Girl has been very serious in Tank Girl's company up to now.
-->'''Jet Girl:''' You don't understand. The better you behave, the more they leave you alone. And the more they leave you alone, the better off you are.
-->'''Tank Girl:''' Well, that's a bore! There's nothin' to be scared of. You just gotta think about it like the first time you got laid. You just gotta go: "Daddy, are you sure this is right?"
-->'''Jet Girl:''' [giggles] You're sick.
* ''TeenTitans'' does this with Beast Boy and Raven. It turns out that he got her to laugh in their first meeting, and he's been trying to replicate that ever since. He's succeeded three times: said prequel episode, an encounter with her "happy side" during a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind episode, and when he had a cold and lost control of his powers every time he sneezed. Notably, her happy side told Beast Boy that she always finds his jokes funny; her mildly irritated, DeadpanSnarker reactions to his jokes may be more about maintaining her emotional reserve than being genuinely annoyed.

* TruthInTelevision. Definitely the case if you happen to be the PluckyComicRelief...
* ''ValkyriaChronicles'' Ted Ustinov tried to do this with [[ColdSniper Marina Wulfstan]], but he failed at it even after the war. She's just [[EmotionlessGirl really like that]].

* ''TeenTitans'' does this with Beast Boy and Raven. It turns out that he got her to laugh in their first meeting, and he's been trying to replicate that ever since. He's succeeded three times: said prequel episode, an encounter with her "happy side" during a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind episode, and when he hold a cold and lost control of his powers every time he sneezed. Notably, her happy side told Beast Boy that she always finds his jokes funny; her mildly irritated, DeadpanSnarker reactions to his jokes may be more about maintaining her emotional reserve than being genuinely annoyed.

.* ''GalaxyAngel'' did a story like this, where this group of guys followed Vanilla around, trying to make her laugh. Apparently she finally did, but her laughter wasn't [[CopOut shown or heard]] in the actual anime, it was just [[TakeOurWordForIt implied]] that she finally did.

* ''TeenTitans'' does this with Beast Boy and Raven.
** Turns out he got her to laugh in their first meeting, and he's trying to replicate that.
*** Only in the television show.
** Beast Boy did manage to make her laugh three times actually. The first time, as was mentioned before, was at the end of the prequel episode. Raven giggled and told him he was kind of funny, which actually led to him barraging her with jokes. The second was when he was in her mind and making her happy side laugh (ItMakesSenseInContext). The third time was when he had a cold and lost control of his powers every time he sneezed.* ''GalaxyAngel'' did a story like this, where this group of guys followed Vanilla around, trying to make her laugh. Apparently she finally did, but her laughter wasn't [[CopOut shown or heard]] in the actual anime, it was just [[TakeOurWordForIt implied]] that she finally did.

[[caption-width:720:She thinks he's funny! No really, she does!]]

* In the ''StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse, Jacen Solo constantly tried to get Tenel Ka to laugh.

* ''[[PokemonSpecial Pokémon Special]]'' Pearl may be doing this to Platinum, judging from [[RunningGag his reaction to catching her laugh]].

* ''Kyō no Go no Ni / Today In Class 5-2'' had this too.

* ''StarTrekVoyager'' has an interesting take on this: (male) Neelix tries to make the (male) [[TheStoic Vulcan]], Tuvok, laugh. Becomes a ReverseFunnyAneurysm when a transporter accident makes the two of them [[HoYay into one]] in a later episode. I think I need BrainBleach for even thinking that.
* ''Kyō no Go no Ni / Today In Class 5-2'' had this too.
* In the ''StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse, Jacen Solo constantly tried to get Tenel Ka to laugh.
* ''StellviaOfTheUniverse'' Joey wins Akira's heart via this method.
* A LesYay example in ''TankGirl''. Tank Girl and Jet Girl are in prison. Jet Girl has been very serious in Tank Girl's company up to now.
-->'''Jet Girl:''' You don't understand. The better you behave, the more they leave you alone. And the more they leave you alone, the better off you are.
-->'''Tank Girl:''' Well, that's a bore! There's nothin' to be scared of. You just gotta think about it like the first time you got laid. You just gotta go: "Daddy, are you sure this is right?"
-->'''Jet Girl:''' [giggles] You're sick.

* ''RurouniKenshin'' A gender-flipped version occurs, where Misao swears that she'll make her crush [[TheStoic Aoshi]] smile no matter what.

* Joey wins Akira's heart in ''StellviaOfTheUniverse'' via this method.
* ''TeenTitans'' does this with Beast Boy and Raven.
** Turns out he got her to laugh in their first meeting, and he's trying to replicate that.
*** Only in the television show.
** Beast Boy did manage to make her laugh three times actually. The first time, as was mentioned before, was at the end of the prequel episode. Raven giggled and told him he was kind of funny, which actually led to him barraging her with jokes. The second was when he was in her mind and making her happy side laugh (ItMakesSenseInContext). The third time was when he had a cold and lost control of his powers every time he sneezed.* ''GalaxyAngel'' did a story like this, where this group of guys followed Vanilla around, trying to make her laugh. Apparently she finally did, but her laughter wasn't [[CopOut shown or heard]] in the actual anime, it was just [[TakeOurWordForIt implied]] that she finally did.

* In ''{{Castlevania}}: Judgment'', Grant occasionally makes it his goal to get an emotional reaction out of Alucard. This example [[JustFriends isn't romantic]]. No, it isn't.
* Subverted in ''DragonQuest IV'' where a King will only give a special piece of equipment needed to defeat the BigBad to someone who can make him laugh. ("For the good of the kingdom.") Your party hires a comedian and everything and then...the comedian scolds the king because your party is trying to save the world and nobody will ever laugh again if they don't. ''And it works!''
* Definitely TruthInTelevision if you happen to be the PluckyComicRelief...
* Gender inverted in FateStayNight. Tohsaka realizes that she ''never'' sees Shirou laugh and that he rarely smiles. It makes her mad because while he likes making others happy he never actually enjoys himself. Ayako also notes this early on. Tohsaka decides they'll take a day off to make him enjoy himself. [[spoiler:With good reason, because as a person who never lives for himself, after his death he becomes bitterly resentful of his life and turns into Archer. She likes Archer, but doesn't want Shirou to become like him.]]
** [[SunderTheGold This troper]] found that sequence hilarious, since Shirou himself had done the same thing for Saber in the previous ''Fate'' route. Shirou and Saber are very much alike; Shirou's response to Rin's date was much the same as Saber's was to his.

* Ted Ustinov from ValkyriaChronicles tried to do this with [[ColdSniper Marina Wulfstan]], but he failed at it even after the war. She's just [[EmotionlessGirl really like that]].
* The ''{{Firefly}}'' FanFic [[http://moodfic.livejournal.com/69709.html Simply Perfectest]] suggests this happened between Wash and Zoe before they were HappilyMarried:
-->''If he can't make her laugh, how will she know he can make her happy?''
* A gender-flipped version occurs in ''RurouniKenshin'', where Misao swears that she'll make her crush [[TheStoic Aoshi]] smile no matter what.
* ''StarTrekVoyager'' has an interesting take on this: (male) Neelix tries to make the (male) [[TheStoic Vulcan]], Tuvok, laugh. Becomes a ReverseFunnyAneurysm when a transporter accident makes the two of them [[HoYay into one]] in a later episode. I think I need BrainBleach for even thinking that.
* In ''EliteBeatAgents'', Leo's episode is about his efforts to get the EmotionlessGirl Lisa to smile, and thus inspire artwork. In the good ending, [[spoiler:the [[FauxtasticVoyage "special tunnel"]] finally does the trick.]]
** By the way, that's Leonardo da Vinci and the subject of the Mona Lisa.
* ''Kyō no Go no Ni / Today In Class 5-2'' had this too.
* One Norweigan folk tale involves a king who offers his daughter's hand to anyone who can make the all-too-serious girl laugh. A peasant boy is nice to one of those ubiquitous old ladies, and is rewarded with a goose that can trap anyone who touches it (or touches anything already trapped) if he says "Hang on if you want to come along!" He uses it to catch the entire palace staff, and the princess falls over laughing when she sees it.
** A similar plot device also shows up in the Grimm Brothers fairy tale ''The Golden Goose''.
* Pearl may be doing this to Platinum in ''[[PokemonSpecial Pokémon Special]]'', judging from [[RunningGag his reaction to catching her laugh]].

** It's more like he's trying to force her to admit she has her unlady-like moments whenever she does something.
* An episode of "{{Zoey 101}}" has Michael determined to get Quinn to laugh at one of his jokes. The only problem is, she doesn't find his jokes funny at all. In the end, she ends up laughing at a pun he makes just to shut him up.
* In {{Kanon}}, [[DeadpanSnarker Yuichi]] often does this to [[HotChickWithASword Mai]], claiming that [[EmotionlessGirl getting any kind of reaction from her at all is like winning a medal]].
* In the ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' manga, Shinji tries to see if Rei can laugh by doing something funny - [[CrowningMomentOfFunny in this case, shoving two fingers up Touji's nose, causing him to freak out]]. This makes all the other girls laugh, but not Rei, who merely turns away with the same blank expression after seeing what all the noise was about.
** The anime doesn't have a single instance of Rei laughing. Not even the HighSchoolAU in the final episode goes past grinning.

** Beast Boy did manage to make her laugh three times actually. The first time, as was mentioned before, was at the end of the prequel episode. Raven giggled and told him he was kind of funny, which actually led to him barraging her with jokes. The second was when he was in her mind and making her happy side laugh (ItMakesSenseInContext). The third time was when he had a cold and lost control of his powers every time he sneezed.
* In the ''StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse, Jacen Solo constantly tried to get Tenel Ka to laugh.
* Joey wins Akira's heart in ''StellviaOfTheUniverse'' via this method.
* ''GalaxyAngel'' did a story like this, where this group of guys followed Vanilla around, trying to make her laugh. Apparently she finally did, but her laughter wasn't [[CopOut shown or heard]] in the actual anime, it was just [[TakeOurWordForIt implied]] that she finally did.

* In the ''StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse, Jacen Solo constantly [s]tries[/s] tried to get Tenel Ka to laugh.
** Erm...That's going to need to be "tried" now. Those days were a long time ago, [[spoiler: although the scene in the Dark Nest Trilogy where Tenel Ka would only let Jacen borrow the Hapan navy if he has sex with her, leading to Jacen literally whoring himself out to her]] probably made her laugh. And, of course, in Legacy, [[FaceHeelTurn Jacen doesn't make anyone laugh very much]], least of all Tenel Ka.
*** Some fans would argue that [[DisContinuity didn't happen]].

I told you dirty jokes\\
Until you smiled\\
Well you may be right\\
I may be crazy\\
But it just might be a lunatic you're looking for...''

* In {{Kanon}}, Yuichi does this to Mai, often.

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<<|ComedyTropes|>>

Said girl's friends will wonder why she puts up with it. Don't expect his jokes to actually be funny. The comedy really comes from her reaction, or lack-there-of.

* In the ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' manga, Shinji tries to see if Rei can laugh by doing something funny - [[CrowningMomentOfFunny in this case, shoving two fingers up Touji's nose]]. This makes all the other girls laugh, but not Rei, who merely turns away with the same blank expression after seeing what all the noise was about.

* In the NeonGenesisEvangelion manga, Shinji tries to see if Rei can laugh by doing something funny - [[CrowningMomentOfFunny in this case shoving two fingers up Touji's nose]]. This makes all the other girls laugh, but not Rei, who merely turns back to the book she was reading.

This is often played as romantic interest. After all, guys like girls that laugh at their jokes. And, although she doesn't laugh, she does at least listen. If it's meant to become a romantic relationship, don't expect them to resolve it anytime soon.

* Pearl may be doing this to Platina in ''[[PokemonSpecial Pokémon Special]]'', judging from [[RunningGag his reaction to catching her laugh]].

--> '''Platina''': "No I didn't."

--> '''Platina''': "No I didn't. Don't be a pest."