History Main / WhenSheSmiles

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

On rare occasions, this can be played with a character who typically shows an insincere smile (such as a StepfordSmiler or a SmugSmiler) who then has a sincere smile.

** In Ultra Despair Girls, after developing her friendship with Komaru, Fukawa begins to genuinely smile, looking content and comforted. It's even more heartwarming when you consider that, given her difficult life thus far, she probably hasn't smiled like that in a very long time, if ever.

** Later on, Ultra Despair Girls shows a time when Toko shows a small yet cute and comforting smile for the first time ever.

%%* The human form of Amalion, a Third Circle demon in ''{{TabletopGame/Exalted}}'', to the point that she wears a veil to keep everyone she meets from falling head over heels in love with her if she cracks a smile.

%% * ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' has Cait, the chem-addicted gladiatorial fighter. [[spoiler:When she's successfully cured of her addiction, the only physical change is that her normally dour expression is replaced with a beaming, optimistic smile]]

* Every morning, Richard ''Series/{{Castle}}'' brings Kate Beckett a cup of coffee just so he can see a smile on her face. Given what a serious and sombre character Beckett often is (particularly in the early seasons), and given the way Beckett's (and Stana Katic's) face lights up whenever she smiles, it's hard to blame him.

* ''VideoGame/SINoALICE'': The ending of the Taiwanese server has Alice, who has been rather morose for the entire game, finally smile after [[spoiler:[[AllJustADream waking up from her dream with a new lease on life]]]], depicted in a positive light as her friend then happily heads out of the classroom they were in alongside her.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AlterEgo2018'': In the True Ending, [[spoiler:Es]] is finally able to smile with contentment at herself, having made peace with both her impulses, restraints, and desire to explore herself. That ending is the final one in both her and the Wanderer's journey, so her smiling symbolizes a HappyEnding and invites a feeling of healing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheSandman'', one character describes the normally stoic and emotionally repressed Sophie as having "a smile like a goddess of the sun". And indeed, in the best ending, we get to see her flash a lovely smile for the first time all game.

* ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters Godzilla: King of the Monsters]] -- The Official Movie Novelization'': The book describes the normally arctic-hearted eco-terrorist [[Characters/MonsterVerseAlanJonah Alan Jonah]] smiling at Asher the only person he still genuinely cares about) as "a really genuine smile [Jonah] almost never brought out."

* In ''Webcomic/TrueVillains'', Bayn is an 88-year-old EvilSorcerer cursed into an eight-year-old body, remarkable for his phlegmatic attitude, formal speech patterns, and "complete rejection of having fun." The six-year-old Mia's PrecociousCrush on him is a source of constant irritation for him, so when he ''[[http://www.truevillains.com/comic-2014-09-15-A%20Deal-jpg.htm smiles]]'' for the first time because of something she wrote, she is absolutely overjoyed.

%%** [[[DeathSeeker Marianne]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' has Cait, the chem-addicted gladiatorial fighter. [[spoiler:When she's successfully cured of her addiction, the only physical change is that her normally dour expression is replaced with a beaming, optimistic smile]]

* [[spoiler:Isa]] at the end of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII''.

* Ryu from ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' becomes a PerpetualFrowner in later titles but when he reunites with Ken and Chun-Li in the ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterV SFV]]'' he has [[http://game.capcom.com/manual/sfv/en-us/img/5_1_1_1.jpg unmistakable warm smile]] on his face.

* ''Film/MackennasGold'': Gloomy DarkChick Hesh-Ke looks a lot less threatening the very few times she smiles throughout the film (always at her former lover Mackenna).

* This might seem to be a strange trope to bring up when you're talking about a PerpetualSmiler, but [[spoiler:Sans the Skeleton]] from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' apparently has a distinct enough difference between [[StepfordSmiler the smile he normally sports]] and the smile he makes when he's genuinely happy that it's even recognizable in a photograph.

* ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters Godzilla: King of the Monsters]] -- The Official Movie Novelization'': The book describes the normally arctic-hearted eco-terrorist [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Alan Jonah]] smiling at Asher the only person he still genuinely cares about) as "a really genuine smile [Jonah] almost never brought out."

* ''LightNovel/FateRequiem'': When Voyager smiles, Erice Utsumi compares it to a shining star or a window straight to the heart.

* Inverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy.'' PerpetualFrowner Mandy enters a beauty pageant and Grim and Billy spend the entire episode trying to make her smile. When Mandy finally does smile it '''''breaks reality,''''' so much so that our main protagonists end up as ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''.

It's not actually AlwaysFemale; the title comes from the song "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)". GoOutWithASmile often involves this plus {{Tearjerker}}. May involve FingerForcedSmile. A shy cousin to WhatBeautifulEyes, and UnkemptBeauty; a subtrope of OOCIsSeriousBusiness. Contrast with TheUnsmile, where the smile is just plain unnatural. Compare with SerendipityShock, BeautifulTears (when ''crying'' makes a character look prettier). See SmileOfApproval if the character's smile is geared towards someone they don't think too fondly of.

%%** Gamora from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' is extremely stoic and hardened but she has a sweet smile [[https://media.tenor.com/images/337e719956c9f0ecfb6a8aa76dbcab77/tenor.png when she lightens up]].

* Subverted early in the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' cycle when the creators had to cut every incidence where Commodore Norrington smiled (they are still in the deleted scenes on the ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl Curse of the Black Pearl]]'' DVD). [[Creator/JackDavenport Jack Davenport's]] smile was charming enough for the writers to go DracoInLeatherPants on their ''own character'' and start re-writing him accordingly -- these scenes were cut out because the character wasn't supposed to have so much of the audience's sympathy.

* The IronicHell for suicides in ''[[Film/WristcuttersALoveStory Wristcutters]]'' is just like the real world, except that nothing works, everything's kind of gray, and it's impossible to smile. After seeing nothing but despondent looks from all of the characters for the entire movie, the last shot--the leads smiling at one another -- is like a wash of beautiful sunlight.

** Cyril and Lysithea's supports center around Cyril's illiteracy. Lysithea starts helping Cyril by reading lists for him, but at one point asks why he doesn't try learning on his own. Cyril replies that he enjoys having Lysithea read things for him as she always seems happy when he asks for help- and when she's happy, she smiles, and he thinks she's pretty when she smiles. [[{{ShipTease}} This flusters Lysithea greatly, and Cyril is surprised to learn that other people haven't told her this.]]

%%** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblem Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War]]'' has Fury, a serious and naive LadyOfWar. Her love talks often involve her love interests trying to get her to loosen up and smile.

* ''[[{{VideoGame/Yakuza2}} Yakuza Kiwami 2]]'': If Kiryu manages to get Shoko to lower her guard and let her real personality shine through a little in her interactions with the rest of the cast at Four Shine, everyone she comes into contact with will comment on how her real smile is much more beautiful than her professional one.

** Pinkie Pie and her family were a whole group of [[PerpetualFrowner Perpetual Frowners]] living on a rock farm. When Pinkie witnessed Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom, the sight of it caused her to smile for the first time and throw her own party. With that, the rest of her family smiles too, and she earns her cutie mark.

But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles.

* "Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while / But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles," - Anna Nalick, Breathe (2am)
%%* Nine Days' "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" defines this trope and may well be the trope namer.

* Dia Frampton, "Inventing Shadows":
--> Don't you know the world shines
-->Every time you smile?
-->Why can't you just smile?

* "Absolutely" by Nine Days is the TropeNamer:
-->This is the story of a girl
-->Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
-->And while she looked so sad in photographs
-->I absolutely love her
-->When she smiles