History StepfordSmiler / AnimeAndManga

* Isabella in ''Manga/ThePromisedNeverland'' is as sweet and loving a mother as one can have. [[spoiler: At least she does her best to give that impression to the children in the PeopleFarm she's managing for her demonic patrons. Considering it's implied that her ''own'' life is at stake, she has some reasons to keep a perfect act,]] but she still seems to enjoy herself a bit too much in this job.

* Ewon from the manhwa ''Manhwa/TotallyCaptivated''. He smiles, he's friendly, and he will be an ExtremeDoormat... until you push him too far. But he's been so [[BreakTheCutie utterly and completely broken]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast as a child]] that if you dig a layer beneath his engaging exterior he's basically an EmptyShell. As a result, he's [[ReallyGetsAround pretty damn promiscuous]], and will shy away from any serious relationship. Fast (this may coincide with the promiscuity bit).

* In ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', [[spoiler:Masaya Aoyama]] is revealed to be one of these, keeping up his "perfect" mask to hide the fact that he hates all of humanity.

** Toko and the other residents of Ebisu Town are always optimistic and full of smiles and laughter, in spite of the horrible living conditions they find themselves in daily. As Yasui explains it, humans have been blessed with the gift of laughter, and it would be a shame not to use it. [[spoiler:The truth, though, is far more horrifying. The people of Ebisu Town are outright incapable of expressing emotions other than joy and laughter, due to the failed SMILE fruits fed to the citizens. No matter what tragedy might befall them, be it hunger or the death of a loved one, the residents of Ebisu Town can do nothing but laugh.]]
** A recent case has the three princes of the Ryuugu kingdom (Fukaboshi, Ryuuboshi, and Mamboshi). The three are seen smiling and, in the last two's case, singing and dancing [[spoiler:in a last attempt to keep their little sister Shirahoshi calm... after all four of them just witnessed their mother Otohime being shot and dying]].

** [[spoiler: Mizuki]] shows signs of being Unstable, especially in his MonsterOfTheWeek arc. Even as a child he was shown to have virtually zero empathy for Iruka's suffering. More specifically, he tells Iruka that he acted supportive, hoping the positive attention Iruka recieved would rub off on him. His girlfriend believes he was once genuinely kind-hearted, before the {{Envy}} he had slowly made him cruel until the good was gone (it probably didn't help that suspicions on him killing a teammate on a mission led to him being distrusted and denied a promotion, which made him ''more'' resentful). Whichever is true, his kind smiles are certainly a lie in the present.

** Reiner Braun is a surrogate [[TeamDad big brother]] to the others, always trying to offer reassurances or awkward jokes even in the worst situations. [[spoiler:He's actually being driven [[OutDamnedSpot slowly]] [[VillainousBSOD insane]] with [[MurderMakesYouCrazy guilt]] over his [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone crimes]] as TheMole. After the TimeSkip and his return to his homeland, he ends up getting even ''worse'' if that's possible. As AHeroToHisHometown, he puts on a brave front for the sake of the public and his family... but he's actually severely traumatized and suicidal]].

* ''Anime/KyouranKazokuNikki'' has at least 2.

** She used to be a spoiled, pampered LonelyRichKid that had what she needed to be happy. In appearance. It appears she was actually a PyroManiac EnfanteTerrible who was suffering from her parents' HandsOffParenting and was called the "demon child" of the Vandimion house, making her a combination of Depressed and Mentally Unstable.

* ''VisualNovel/TogainuNoChi'': Keisuke has shades of this in Episode 5 where he smiles at Akira despite it being clear he is disturbed by what Akira had done. Naturally, Akira [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls him out on it]].

* Like Misao, Tsubomi Hanasaki of ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' is Depressed. Her parents were once major workaholics and, despite the loneliness, she had watched them go off with a smile. This went on for years and years until she finally broke down upon seeing a mother bird tending to its young. It was just pure luck that her parents had returned for notes they forgot in time to see their daughter break down and eventually changes job from botanical researchers into normal flower shop owners to make up for the lost time. The rest of the series shows her growing up from this incident and becoming a much stronger person.

%% ** Prussia in the Christmas strips is "So happy being alone." [[BlatantLies Really]].

* ''Anime/KyouranKazokuNikki'' has at least 2. Kyouka, the self proclaimed GodInHumanForm, is actually a [[spoiler:banished princess from a race of sentient creatures from a place called Shangri-la]]. In Episode 26's, she boldly proclaims that she [[spoiler:is the child of Enka, and must be killed]]. She breaks down, claiming that she doesn't even know who she is since her people are [[spoiler:effectively a race of sentient beings that possess you and give you animal ears]], lending evidence to her being Empty.

** Iruka was a mild example during his childhood (after his parents' deaths).
** [[spoiler: Mizuki]] shows signs of being Unstable, especially in his MonsterOfTheWeek arc. Even as a child he was shown to have virtually zero empathy for Iruka's suffering.
*** More specifically, he tells Iruka that he acted supportive, hoping the positive attention Iruka recieved would rub off on him. His girlfriend believes he was once genuinely kind-hearted, before the {{Envy}} he had slowly made him cruel until the good was gone (it probably didn't help that suspicions on him killing a teammate on a mission led to him being distrusted and denied a promotion, which made him ''more'' resentful). Whichever is true, his kind smiles are certainly a lie in the present.

* Many female characters in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', the most notable ones being Asuka, Misato and Ritsuko.

** Also, Ryouji Kaji, who was smiling calmly in the very moment [[spoiler:he was shot to death]]

%% ** Also thought to be this are the Boa sisters and some of the other slaves of the Celestial Dragons.

* Several, but most notably, Tatsunosuke, Suzu, and Tetsunosuke in ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane''.
** Okita "I smile constantly, love candy, play with the neighborhood kids, am pretty much a male HouseWife to Hijikata, and am pretty much the most terrifying swordsman in all of Japan" Souji. [[spoiler:Okita "I've been killing since I was eight and don't appear to actually regret it" Souji]]. That man's a TEXTBOOK StepfordSmiler! This may be why his ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' counterpart keeps trying to murder Hijikata.

* The villainous Seta Sojirou, TheDragon of ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'''s best known story arc, also fits here -- a cheerful young person who's capable of incredible violence because he has no soul or conscience behind the mask. (Or at least that's what ''he'' thinks.) He actually started doing this because it stopped his family from abusing him if he didn't appear bothered by it. As for his reasons? Soujiro was constantly beaten as a child by his family due to being an illegitimate child, and learned to smile as a defense mechanism to get them to stop. He did this so much that he subconsciously repressed all his emotions, projecting nothing but a pleasant smile, even as he kills people. As a swordsman, this makes him virtually impossible to read and predict, and in addition to his speed and natural talent with the sword, this makes him a very dangerous opponent. This all changes when Soujiro battles Kenshin for the second time: Kenshin's worldview clashes with Soujiro's, irritating him to the point where his emotions finally return to the surface, causing him to break down in confusion. This state of emotional turmoil is what allows Kenshin to finally defeat him.

* Koala from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is Depressed: During her time as a slave, she had to put on a smile at all times, because slaves who stopped smiling or cleaning would be killed. Needless to say, that smile hid. The poor little girl was so scarred by her time as a slave that she kept the Stepford Smiler façade even after she was freed. Fisher Tiger finally broke that façade by altering her slave mark to make it look like a sun, and telling her that it is OK to cry.
%% ** Also thought to be this are the Boa sisters and some of the other slaves of the Celestial Dragons.
** Toko and the other residents of Ebisu Town are always optimistic and full of smiles and laughter, in spite of the horrible living conditions they find themselves in daily. As Yasui explains it, humans have been blessed with the gift of laughter, and it would be a shame not to use it. [[spoiler:The truth, though, is far more horrifying. The people of Ebisu Town are outright incapable of expressing emotions other than joy and laughter, due to the failed SMILE fruits fed to the citizens. No matter what tragedy might befall them, be it hunger or the death of a loved one, the residents of Ebisu Town can do nothing but laugh.]]

** * Monkey D. Luffy is thought of this by a good portion of the fandom because of his [[{{Determinator}} relentless]] [[ThePollyanna optimism]] considering all of the terrible things that have happened to him in the past. But the main reading is still that he's just that stupid.

** The lead... no, ''all'' of the ''Code: Breakers'', seeing as they're super-powered [[AxCrazy Ax Crazies]] put to good use by the government (or something).

* ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' had a StepfordSmiler-in-training in Juri Katou. Early on, her main character traits are being cheerful and carrying around an alternatively cute and creepy puppet; later in the series, we find out that she never quite got over her biological mother's death, and [[BreakTheCutie everything went to crap]] as soon as the series' running "joke" happened: for non-fans, [[MegaNeko Leomon]] ''always'' [[DeadSidekick dies]], and ''this'' time, he just so happened to be Juri's {{Bond Creature|s}}.
** And then the EldritchAbomination that feeds off of despair showed up. Cue Juri getting [[MindRape mind raped]] with the memory of Leomon's death, over and over.
* ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' takes it up to eleven with ''every single Digimon partner of the Digidestined'' in the third movie ''Confession''. [[spoiler: After realizing that they're all slowly succumbing to an infection that will drive them mad and start hurting others, they are informed that the only way to fix is to wait for some higher being of the Digital World to trigger the 'Reboot' process to remove the infection, that has a side effect of removing all their memories. Not wanting to inform their partners of this terrible truth, they try their best to act cheerful in front of their partners while doing happy and nostalgic things with them with what little time they have left. Only Patamon, whom Takeru already knew is infected, and Agumon, who goes overboard with the act that he accidentally reveals to Taichi that something is wrong, are only able to share the grief with their partners.]]

** ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' has a [[PlayedForLaughs hilarious]] example where Bulma, who doesn't know that she's his mom, hits on him. And due to Trunks trying not to reveal his identity yet, he can only smile and [[ScreamingAtSquick scream internally]].
---->'''Bulma:''' Hey, I'm just gonna throw this out there, but you're really cute.\\
'''Trunks:''' Well, my mother always said I was a cute kid...\\
'''Bulma:''' Oh, a momma's boy, huh? [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre I'll be]] [[RightForTheWrongReasons your]] [[SurpriseIncest mommy]].\\
'''Trunks:''' ''[internally]'' AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
* In ''VisualNovel/EfAFairyTaleOfTheTwo'' and in its anime adaptation, [[spoiler:Yuuko Amamiya displays a particularly disturbing and twisted version of this]].
** Another example, while less extreme, would be [[spoiler: Miyako Miyamura, who has her own fair share of troubles brought about by her parents' divorce]].

!! Female Examples
* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' has Natsu from Team Summer B. She's [[ShrinkingViolet incredibly shy]] and she doesn't like confronting people, so she prefers to be nice and agree with them, regardless of what she might actually think or even ''like'' the person.

* Farnese from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''. She used to be a spoiled, pampered LonelyRichKid that had what she needed to be happy. In appearance. It appears she was actually a PyroManiac EnfanteTerrible who was suffering from her parents' HandsOffParenting and was called the "demon child" of the Vandimion house, making her a combination of Depressed and Mentally Unstable.

* Orihime Inoue from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is a very gentle, sweet girl as well as the local GenkiGirl BarrierWarrior. Also has huge self-esteem problems, views herself as inferior to the Shinigami, feels troubled because she adores said Shinigami (especially Rukia) ''and'' is in love with Ichigo. Cue her almost having quite the breakdown in the Arrancar arc... [[spoiler:and a full-blown one in the Hueco Mundo arc.]]
** [[spoiler:Captain Unohana.]] Not only is she the '''First''' Kenpachi, she is also just as AxCrazy as the current one. She named herself Yachiru due to having mastered all known sword styles, and was, and still is, considered to be the most diabolical criminal to have ever existed in all of Soul Society. The braid she usually has her hair in is to hide the scar of the only wound she has ever gained, inflicted by Zaraki, while the scar on Zaraki's eye was inflicted by her.
*** That being said, her motherly persona we've seen for the most part is implied to be as equally genuine as the AxCrazy BloodKnight side of her personality she's been hiding for centuries.

* [[spoiler:Anko]] from ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'' spends some time Depressed, after [[spoiler:she's chosen as next pilot as punishment for hitting TheMole Youko, her dad is caught cheating on her mom, and Mrs. Tokosumi goes LadyDrunk mode out of despair]]. With the help of her friend [[spoiler:Kanji]], she gets better, [[spoiler:just in time to fight and die in peace]].

* ''Manga/DeathNote'': Misa. She acts happy and cheerful but BeneathTheMask she is psychologically traumatized, uncaring, self-destructive, manipulative and genuinely believes that criminals should die.

* Oh, ''Lenalee'' of ''Manga/DGrayMan''. She looks [[NiceGirl cheerful kind and sweet]], but she actually is Depressed because [[spoiler:she ''hates'' the Black Order for subjecting her to an ''horrendous'' TrainingFromHell to make her [[ActionGirl a kickass exorcist]]. For a long time, she wishes all of these bad experiences were only nightmares, and a big part of her CharacterDevelopment relies on her accepting her Exorcist role, culminating in a big fight.]]

* Tohru Honda from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' is a genuinely kind and caring person, but has serious insecurities that she hides behind her smile and cheerful disposition to avoid troubling her friends. This doesn't really apply to her characterization in the 2001 anime, where she comes off as more of ThePollyanna due to her deeper issues never being fully explored.

* Hana Nono from ''Anime/HugttoPrettyCure'' suffers from this as well. Despite her positive outlook and the lengths she'll go to to help others, there are times where Hana genuinely feels she'll never amount to anything groundbreaking in life, especially since she's considered the MasterOfNone unlike her friends who each have natural talents. [[spoiler: It doesn't help that in Episode 8, Henri flat out tells Hana that her cheers are thoughtless since they're something anyone could do, which just causes Hana to sink deeper into her depression. It all comes back to bite her in Episode 10, where her self doubt outweighs her positive emotions to the point where she looses the ability to transform, forcing Hugtan to suffer from a PowerStrainBlackout purifying the MonsterOfTheWeek.]]

* Hayate of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' shows signs of being depressed when in her DelicateAndSickly phase, as Shamal notes that she hides her pain from those closest to them, and while she often comes off as cheerful, she confesses in the second Sound Stage for the season and the start of Episode 9 that she realizes that she might die soon, and for a long time, was not scared at all because of how lonely she was. Note that she was a 9-year-old paraplegic orphan at the time.

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' features [[DepravedBisexual Tsukuyomi]].
** Negi himself is revealed to be this once he shares with Asuna (and unbeknownst to him, the rest of the class staying with him at Evangeline's resort) his dark past, showing that the cheerful boy he is is nothing more than a facade to mask the incredible pain and enormous [[ItsAllMyFault self-blame he bears for his village being attacked by demons and most of its inhabitants being turned to stone]].

* In ''Manga/NewGame'', Rin states that Kou used to be pretty serious when she first came into the company, and her current funny personality is a way to cope up with all the bullying she had experienced at work.

** Also thought to be this are the Boa sisters and some of the other slaves of the Celestial Dragons.

* [[spoiler:Himari Takakura]] from ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'' is Depressed. She ''is'' a genuine sweetie, but hides [[spoiler:the pain from her TragicDream]]. [[spoiler:Yuri Tokikago]] turns out to be one as well, likely Empty [[spoiler:due to her strong self-hate and hidden issues related to the "secret" she has in her body]]. Also [[spoiler:has Unstable traits, considering the end of Episode 14...]]
* [[spoiler:Mima and Rumi]] in the Creator/SatoshiKon's movie ''Anime/PerfectBlue''.

* Mami Tomoe from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' looks sweet, kind and gentle, but this hides a very scarred little girl from all the fighting she's already done. And she [[HeroicSelfDeprecation knows it]]. [[spoiler:What she doesn't know is that [[MaskOfSanity this has gone to the extent of hiding a very]] '''[[MaskOfSanity fragile]]''' [[MaskOfSanity little girl as well]], should she know the {{Awful Truth}}s it become rather clear that she is between [[GoMadFromTheRevelation Unstable]] and [[BeneathTheMask Depressed]]]].

* Wakaba Shinohara in ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''. Effervescently [[GenkiGirl bubbly, energetic, and perky]]... until during the Black Rose Arc, we find that [[spoiler: she deeply resents people who are special, having a rather low sense of self-worth herself]].

* In ''Manga/SailorMoon Stars'', Usagi/Moon slowly becomes one of these [[spoiler:to hide her worry because Mamoru hasn't come in contact with her ever since he left to study in the USA]]. She thought he was working too hard in university, but unbeknownst to her, [[spoiler:poor Mamoru was dead through BusCrash]].
** In the live-action ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'', a somewhat similar theme's explored when Usagi learns from Mamoru that [[spoiler:her own negative emotions are empowering [[SealedEvilInACan Metaria]] and helping bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]], and so remakes herself into a Stepford Smiler. After [[spoiler:Minako has died]], Usagi tries to greet him with a teary-eyed, obviously fake smile, and when he tells her it's okay to cry now, she practically falls into his arms in tears.
** Minako is the series' poster child for this trope:
*** In the manga, it starts at the end of the ''Manga/CodenameSailorV'' manga. In the final chapter she recovered the memories of the fall of Silver Millennium, discovered she's about to embark in a battle that may well end with her own death and bring TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, her love interest was revealed to be [[spoiler:the BigBad of the series and a subordinate of Kunzite]] before dying [[spoiler:''at her own hands'']], received a prediction she'd never find love due herself choosing duty over it, and renounced her dream of becoming an idol... And yet, as she returns to Tokyo she smiles cheerfully. She's so good that the others don't notice her enormous burden until the Dream arc, when [[InnocentlyInsensitive they accidentally hit her insecurities multiple times]] and [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness she suddenly shouts at them]]. Thankfully she mostly abandons the act after being exposed shortly after and [[WhatTheHellHero Haruka calls her out on it]], and she's started recovering by the time the final arc rolls in.
*** ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'' mostly follows the plot of the manga but makes this even more apparent: when she first meets the other Senshi after the battle with Zoisite she cheerfully greets them and sweetly accepts their offer to help in fighting the Dark Kingdom, but as soon as they leave she turns to Artemis, the smile abruptly fades, and she reassures Artemis that she would be taking on the Dark Kingdom alone. She later gets closer to the manga, so the others don't suspect anything.

*** In [[Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon the live action series]] she rarely ever shows herself as anything but her cheerful idol image or the strong leader of the Sailor Senshi, with only Artemis and Rei seeing the rest of her... And it takes a while for Rei to see her true self, as Minako, knowing that [[YourDaysAreNumbered she's terminally ill]], is trying to train her and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold is harder than usual]]. After the series, however, she doesn't have to keep up the act... And it turns out that, without all the stress, she's quite close to her idol persona (that in turn is based on her actual self from the manga and anime).

** Sakurako is [[{{Yandere}} Unstable]].

* ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'': Shinoa shows shades of this, due to her friendless background and history of abuse from her family.
* Kyouko Mogami from ''Manga/SkipBeat'', due to having had an abusive, unpleasable mother, and later living and working in a ''ryokan'' (Japanese inn) where she picked the attitude of "clients shouldn't see you upset ever." Any time her real feelings and temper come to surface, she managed to put them back quickly, to not disturb the people around. Kyouko only breaks with this when she is properly informed that all her efforts will be not rewarded at all, and then realizes that living like she was constantly tending clients neither does her any good.
** Complicating Kyoko's case is that after [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend she]] discovers her "prince" Shou's heartless betrayal of her and snaps (in the first chapter), she continues from there. And the skills and habits she learned in her previous life and her tendency to live for others coexist really ''strangely'' with her new life goals. She wouldn't have made it so far if she wasn't the person her childhood made her, but she had to break with her childhood to go anywhere.
*** ''Really'' complicating her story? She has had a truly, deeply miserable, loveless life, but she always kept her spirits up. On the other hand, her OrphansPlotTrinket was received ten years ago from a talented 10-year-old hollywood brat whose main sources of suffering were "I can't live up to my father's legend" and "My parents (who adore me) are busy a lot." A psychic exposed to the rock reports that the pain it absorbed from that kid was about a hundred times worse than what Kyouko's pitiful life has put into it. So apparently she '''really did''' keep her spirits up, and wasn't Stepford Smiling that much?
*** She was, but it turns out that kid's past includes [[spoiler:guilt over maybe having killed someone]] so she wasn't overreacting.
* ''Everyone'' in ''Manga/{{Soil}}'''s [[StepfordSuburbia New Town]] but especially the missing Suzushiro family who remain cheerful in the face of vicious harassment and continuously [[spoiler: deny that there's anything unusual about them to their daughter. For example they insist she has a birthmark on her back despite it being on her chest and they ignore the fact that her memories of her old town are off (EG "I lived on the third floor" -- building has two floors -- "school was behind the supermarket" -- the only thing behind the supermarket is the edge of a cliff). It's heavily implied they're from another dimension]].

* Isabella in ''Manga/ThePromisedNeverland'' is as sweet and loving a mother as one can have. [[spoiler: At least she does her best to give that impression to the children in the PeopleFarm she's managing for her demonic patrons. Considering it's implied that her ''own'' life is at stake, she has some reasons to keep a perfect act,]] but she still seems to enjoy herself a bit too much in this job.

!! Male Examples
* Tetsudo "Poppo" Hisakawa from ''[[Anime/AnoHanaTheFlowerWeSawThatDay Ano Hana]]''. He's a happy, cheerful guy who loves to [[WalkingTheEarth travel the world]], but that is to cover up the guilt over [[spoiler:his inability to save Menma from drowning over 10 years prior to the main story]].
* Mickey Simon from the ''Manga/Area88'' manga and OVA. He veils his [[ShellShockedVeteran war trauma]], cynicism, and regret with a friendly exterior.
* Griffith of ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' is an excellent commander, a masterful swordsman, graceful, elegant, and charismatic. He's also got [[{{Yandere}} serious problems]], mostly involving his greatest warrior Guts. When Guts leaves the Hawks, it starts a downward spiral for Griffith that would [[spoiler: culminate in the betrayal of all the Hawks in order to become Femto during the Eclipse]] as well as his [[spoiler: monstrous rape]] of Casca.
** Not to mention that this trope is played eerily straight after the eclipse and Griffith [[spoiler: reincarnates himself into the real world with a brand new human body]]. [[LackOfEmpathy Lacking empathy]] and just [[EmotionlessGirl emotions in general]], the most that Griffith ever gives to display any form of emotion is a soft smile which only serves to give the effect that he's constantly giving you the KubrickStare. It's amplified with his [[RedRightHand unsettling]] [[HellishPupils eyes]].
* Yuki Giou of ''Manga/BetrayalKnowsMyName'' clearly has some issues of self-worth stemming from being abandoned by his parents when he was real young. However, if someone should ask him if he's doing alright he usually gives them a cheerful smile and says "nothing's wrong" but tends to get depressed if he's by himself.
* Luck from ''Manga/BlackClover'' is the unstable type. Ever since he was a kid, he seemed to do nothing but smile, even as he started kicking butt well above his weight. By the time his mom succumbed to the stress, it seemed all he wanted was to find someone powerful to fight with an excited smile on his face. He ended up in the [[BlackSheep Black Bulls]] because no one else knew how to handle "The Cheery Berserker".
* Ichimaru Gin of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' hides a cruel and sadistic personality behind a set of [[EyesAlwaysShut perpetually closed eyes]] and a [[ObfuscatingStupidity dumb grin]].
** Add to that that apparently he served Aizen for a hundred years [[spoiler: just to be in position to betray him at the last minute in order to avenge Aizen's wronging Matsumoto (he stole part of her soul) when they were children. She doesn't remember and moves on. He doesn't say anything and keeps his revenge]]. And he waited ''waaaay'' too long. So add a couple pounds of psychosis and [[TheStarscream Starscream]] to that description.
** Hirako Shinji, too -- he's hardly ever seen not smiling, and when he isn't it's because he's either really angry or something [[PlayerPunch unsettling just happened]]. That man has been through a load of crap, and is probably in need of some counseling. Not as much as some other characters, but still...
** Kisuke Urahara is probably one too, in a similar vein to Shinji. Sharing many of the same experiences, he carries himself with an enigmatic smile most of the time in public and can even act ridiculously goofy at times. Inside, he's really quite broken and when the smile fades he has many an introspective moment. Having to play TheChessmaster ManipulativeBastard with everyone for 100 years -- which means acting quite ruthless towards people he'd otherwise care about ForTheGreaterGood -- and distancing himself from all save his closest friends really doesn't help. It must especially sting because Kisuke was a ''NiceGuy'' before [[BigBad Aizen]] ruined his life.
* In ''Manga/BlueExorcist'', we have [[BigLittleBrother Yukio]]. Smiling, nice, accomplished and smart...recently has been slipping and showing his insecurity, jealously, and hints of a [[HeWhoFightsMonsters far from stable mind set]]. On top of that, his own brother [[TroubledButCute Rin]], who is cheerful, book dumb, and loyal to a fault, has been showing signs that [[SurvivorGuilt not]] [[LaserGuidedTykebomb all]] [[FantasticRacism is]] [[HunterOfHisOwnKind well]] [[HeroicSelfDeprecation in]] [[AntiAntiChrist his]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters world]]. The latter is worse than the former; while Yukio is pretty good at hiding his issues, Rin outstrips him by far, being capable of ''smiling'' and pretending things will be alright even when they ''definitely won't'' be and he's internally wondering '''why he is still alive'''. See the Impure King arc for ''that'' prolonged incident of fake smiling.
** To wit; Ryuji knows Rin is faking things but ''thinks he's just being optimistic''. In other words, even if you clue into him faking his smiles ''you will probably just think he's doing his best to remain positive''. This isn't a lie, but is '''far''' from the whole truth.
** And, more recently it turns out [[spoiler: Renzo]] is one as well. [[spoiler: What was [[HarsherInHindsight originally funny is now very tragic]], as it turns out he was probably abused by his family, has been put into too much pressure into being what ''everyone else'' wants, and is now stuck working for a bunch of psychos and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] in the Illuminati. He's even ''worse'' than Rin and Yukio combined, keeping a cheery tone and facial expression. Unless one pays attention to his [[EyesNeverLie eyes]] one might very well buy that he doesn't care]].
* Ryousuke from ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' dresses up as [[{{crossdresser}} his deceased sister]] to help his mentally ill mother. He hides it from all his friends besides Marika and Tamura and acts like everything is fine. Even prior to his sister dying he had issues due to being TheUnfavorite.
* In ''Manga/BrynhildrInTheDarkness'', after Kana has a vision of Neko lying dead with [[MysteriousTransferStudent Kotori]] standing over her smiling, they instinctively believe Kotori is an AxCrazy murderess come to kill them all. She's [[RedHerring actually]] a combination of this trope and ExtremeDoormat, [[spoiler: and is merely fulfilling her friend's dying wish that she keep smiling no matter how sad she feels]]; the real danger is [[EnergyWeapon Kikuko]].
* ''Manga/BungoStrayDogs'': [[DeathSeeker Dazai]]. Behind his [[ObfuscatingStupidity laziness]], [[PerpetualSmiler benevolent smile]] and [[ThePollyanna optimism]], is someone who is still very damaged by [[DarkAndTroubledPast what happened in his past years]]. Both the second and fifth novel revealed his youth was…not that bright, [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior and he had already been suicidal before that]]. His appearance is the foremost happenstance when his smile turns into a SlasherSmile.
* Shuan from ''Manga/ChildrenOfTheWhales'' keeps a smile on his face regardless of whether he's currently fighting an enemy combatant, telling his own wife to kill herself, or aiding in the destruction of his home. In truth, he's a DeathSeeker DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife, a problem exacerbated by his role as the guard captain of a peaceful island community with nothing to guard from. As more dangers beset the [[SapientShip Mud Whale]] and CharacterDevelopment hits, he starts letting his real thoughts show more often.
* Okami in ''Manga/CodeBreaker'' initially seems to be successfully pulling ObfuscatingStupidity on his class with his NiceGuy persona. However, one chapter has several classmates wanting to cheer him up, commenting that he seems to be very sad but putting on a happy front for their benefit.
** The lead... no, ''all'' of the ''Code: Breakers'', seeing as they're super-powered [[AxCrazy Ax Crazies]] put to good use by the government (or something).
* Oh so many people in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. Lelouch Lamperouge and Suzaku Kururugi, to start. Lelouch is Empty (seems kind and cheery, but is hollow and futile inside), at least initially, and Suzaku becomes Depressed (seems kind and cheery, but feels sad and depressed) over the course of the series.
** And then there's Mao: he smiles a lot and seems quite cheerful, but he's [[UnhappyMedium completely insane from reading all the minds around him]], and desperately pining for C.C., [[LonersAreFreaks the only person who can provide him with any measure of companionship]].
** And Rolo Lamperouge. He seems like a perfectly normal and very nice kid ... until people start dropping dead around him. Not to mention he can be considered Unstable due to his CuteAndPsycho and {{Yandere}} tendencies.
* You Takami from ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'' seems to be one of the friendlier people in the prison/themepark, but he's not above [[spoiler:stealing the antidote for Ganta's poison, taking someone's ''entire'' ear for their earring, selling out [[TheDitz ditzy]] possible DarkActionGirl Shiro to the guards, and killing his own father]], although the last part was because he thought he was protecting his sister. Then again [[spoiler:he doubted that his dad could've really raped her]] so one wonders exactly what kind of person You was ''before'' being imprisoned.
** Actually, [[spoiler:his little sister, Minatsuki, killed their father. He even asks, upon her about to BackStab him with her Branch Of Sin, if 'this is how you killed our father?']]
** After his confrontation with Minatsuki, he actually starts becoming happier/more content, and babies the hell out of his little sister, which is pretty strange considering that [[spoiler: Minatsuki is an AxCrazy, PsychoForHire, CombatPragmatist BloodKnight who is a very experienced killer and has been a CombatSadomasochist for the last 5 to 10 years]]. However, this change seems to coincide with the fact that Minatsuki [[spoiler: mellows out from outright [[TheSociopath sociopathic killer]] to just {{Sociopathic Hero}}ine because of her interactions with Ganta and You]]. That said... [[spoiler: if you threaten Minatsuki, You will probably try to beat you up, but if you ''[[HairTriggerTemper piss Minatsuki off]]'', she will probably tear your head off]]. Literally. Nuff said.
* Also from ''Manga/DeathNote'', VillainProtagonist Light. He presents himself as positive, thoughtful, and cheerful to the world, but at the beginning of the series he's so bored and empty inside that a quest for a new world and godhood seems like a great idea; and of course, as the series goes on, that smile hides an increasingly unstable and cruel personality.
* ''Manga/DescendantsOfDarkness'': Tsuzuki appears cheerful and childish, but in fact is a [[TheWoobie woobie]] with many issues.
* ''Manga/DGrayMan'': Lavi. Or perhaps in this case we should say [[NoNameGiven Bookman Junior]], since "Lavi" is just another one of his aliases. ([[BecomingTheMask He started changing]] once he started to get into his new role more and came close to his teammates though.) But what was the actual person like before joining the Order? During the fight with Road, Lavi gets flashbacks -- what we see is a jaded and cynical young man who has lost all the faith in humanity, who doesn't give a damn about anything. He socializes with people only because it helps him to get information more easily ("Let's be frivolous and friendly like always"), face all smiles, not being a bit like {{keet}} we know he is in the series. It's even mentioned in Reverse Novel 2 how his eyes seemed dead when he first came to Black Order.
** But when you consider his past, is it any wonder he turned out like that? After all, growing up while recording wars and seeing bloodshed wherever you go isn't exactly the happiest childhood there is. To sum it up: Bookman Junior is Empty, perhaps a bit milder version since he's not totally soulless, maybe a bit hollow, yes, but not empty. After becoming Lavi, his fake smiles have started slowly turn into genuine ones.
--> "1 year...2 years...The time within the order passed on. I soon came to the point where I didn't know whether my smiling face was a lie or not."
** Some interpretations of Allen Walker's character. Allen tends to smile and throw out optimistic and enthusiastic support at the drop of a hat when around his friends, but whenever he's alone he tends to be either beating himself up, wallowing in some deserved self-pity, or worrying about his entire freaking existence. He's even called out on it by his mentor. When his foster father died, he went into trauma, and had to be taken care of for months. When he finally snapped out of it, he adopted his father's personality. Pre-trauma, he was rude and foul-mouthed. Now, he's somewhat repressed. He hid behind false smiles, and would sometimes claim to be fine when he wasn't. In a message, his master told him to stop wearing the mask of his father, and be his own person if he hasn't lost hope.
** Sheril Kamelot qualifies as the unstable StepfordSmiler. He's always smiling but [[spoiler: after the Noah kidnap Bookman and Lavi]] he goes [[http://www.mangahere.co/manga/d_gray_man/c207/3.html absolutely nuts]] trying to figure out Road's relationship with [[spoiler: the 14th]].
%%* Lemilia of ''Manga/DawnOfTheArcana''.
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Future Trunks. In his first appearance, he's friendly to the Z Warriors and is polite to a fault with them. However, he comes from a horrible future where every main character is dead. Made worse because his father Vegeta apparently ignored him, though at the end he leaves at peace.
** ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' has a [[PlayedForLaughs hilarious]] example where Bulma, who doesn't know that she's his mom, hits on him. And due to Trunks trying not to reveal his identity yet, he can only smile and [[ScreamingAtSquick scream internally]].
---->'''Bulma:''' Hey, I'm just gonna throw this out there, but you're really cute.\\
'''Trunks:''' Well, my mother always said I was a cute kid...\\
'''Bulma:''' Oh, a momma's boy, huh? [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre I'll be]] [[RightForTheWrongReasons your]] [[SurpriseIncest mommy]].\\
'''Trunks:''' ''[internally]'' AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Part]] of the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fandom sees Gohan as this, post-Cell Saga. Considering what the poor guy [[TheWoobie went]] [[BreakTheCutie through]], it's not hard to understand why.
* Yuki Sohma from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' is so terrified of being rejected by his peers that he uses his numerous skills (martial arts, good looks, charisma, etc.) to hide the massive inferiority complex that ParentalAbandonment and Akito's MindRape gave him.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Shou Tucker appears to be a kind, gentle man, but in reality is insane enough to [[spoiler:transmute his daughter and his pet dog into a chimera]].
** Selim Bradley from the manga and ''Brotherhood'' anime is a sweet little boy. [[spoiler:He's actually Pride, the eldest, and arguably most sociopathic, of the homunculi]].
** [[spoiler:The Dwarf in the Flask - later known as [[BigBad Father]] - needed to be this to fool Slave #23 - later known as Van Hohenheim - into going along with his plans]].
** [[spoiler: King Bradley]] is this; he appears to be a kindly family man but is actually [[spoiler: a homunculus]].[[spoiler: He really fits the trope to a T because when he was human he spent his entire life from infancy on being trained to take on the role of "President Bradley." He was manufactured like a stepford wife.]]
* Chichiri from ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' has a literal mask that helps him pull off the goofy, care-free smile; it's a significant plot-point when he takes it off to relay his tragic backstory.
* ''Manga/GameXRush'' has smiling, laughing, charming Yuuki, who's hiding a treasure-trove of Capital-I-Issues in his head. Memori reflects that ''"Even a face laced with a tiny bit of pain... is a thousand times better than seeing that mask."'' It's implied that a large part of Yuuki's impetuous to stay around Memori is that Memori can discern the real smiles from Yuki just being a SadClown.
* Andrea Cavalcanti/Benedetto in ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'' is an effortlessly charming man who smiles sweetly at all times who happens to also be a crazy wild-eyed rapist with daddy issues.
* Tohma Seguchi of ''Manga/{{Gravitation}}'' initially seems to be a polite, mild-mannered man until he shows other characters just how far he's willing to go to protect his brother-in-law Eiri, which includes [[spoiler:pushing a man in front of a car]] and [[spoiler:making Eiri break up with Shuichi by threatening to hurt Shuichi if he didn't do so]]. All while smiling calmly. He stops smiling for more than one panel only when he's in full-on {{Yandere}} mode.
** In the manga sequel, Tohma seems to have shifted from mostly Empty to Unstable. He holds an axe over [[spoiler:a comatose Shuichi, threatening to kill him if he doesn't wake up]]. He does this while still maintaining a huge smile. He's completely Unstable in the 10th volume when he comes face to face with Yoshiki Kitazawa.
** Tohma's younger cousin, Suguru Fujisaki, is also a Stepford Smiler early on. At least until Shuichi's lazy work schedule gets to him and Suguru ends up panicking about how the band will ever finish its next album instead of worrying about maintaining a smiling appearance. He still has moments where he forces a smile, like when [[spoiler:Tohma confronts Suguru in his office about who will be paying for the destruction of NG]].
* The titular ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler''. Recent chapters/episodes have implied that his kindness and decency are coping mechanisms he developed to cope with the harsh, nay, downright vicious realities of his life rather than his fundamental personality.
* Russia from ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. He was, at first, [[CloudCuckooLander a not 100% stable but still generally pleasant nation]]. The [[DespairEventHorizon Bloody Sunday incident in 1905]] finally [[FreakOut makes him snap]]. It says in the manga that while he's always smiling, his eyes are ''not''.
** Prussia in the Christmas strips is "So happy being alone." [[BlatantLies Really]].
** Lithuania's a minor case. He can show fear and frustration from time to time, and he's genuinely a really {{nice guy}}. But he'll often be smiling and laughing while Russia is stalking and abusing him, or when the girl he loves is breaking his fingers, or when his boss is overworking him, or when Poland is giving him severe stomachaches...he also has NoSenseOfHumor.
** For that matter, Poland is hinted to be this as well. He acts bubbly, cheerful and silly around his friends, but he actually has [[ShrinkingViolet extreme anxiety around strangers]]. He doesn't seem to be a ChewToy like Ukraine and the Baltics, but it's clear he is ''no'' luckier than them.
** APH DarkFic often [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpret]] characters as fitting this trope, especially the most loudly cheerful and dense ones like [[LoveFreak America]], [[TheDitz Italy]], and [[{{Keet}} South Korea]], considering that just about every single nation has had their fair share of brutal historical events in real-life.
*** Since APH is based on world history, (with one of its initial lead characters being freaking UsefulNotes/NaziGermany), ''all'' its characters are all prone to act like sociopaths from time to time, because the community of nations has never, ever been civilized or characterized by good faith.
*** Considering the LighterAndSofter tone of the manga, however, this is ''greatly'' overblown by {{fanon}}, which in its tries to accommodate canon to more RealLife-like history ends up more often than not making the characters fall victim to lots of OOC behavior rather than finding a medium.
*** In America's case, he does play it straight when around [[SitcomArchNemesis Russia]], responding to Russia's behavior by acting similarly; America keeps his goofy smile even when showing aggression towards him (unfortunately, fanworks tend to overlook this, often having these two scowl, smirk, or [[SugarWiki/{{WAFF}} genuinely smile]] at each other instead). It's possible he may act like this to all his enemies.
* Gon of ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' is hinted at being this.
** He's also a deconstruction of shonen heroes, and possible a rare type of psychopath with fascinatingly ProtagonistCenteredMorality (i.e. "This serial killer helped us learn a lot by fighting us, so I'll show him mercy in good, shonen-hero style, even when you point out that he will go kill more young women and eat them if set free. Because he helped us.") It puts the manga-trained reader into the weirdest headspace after a while.
** Well his best friend [[ProfessionalKiller Killua]] has killed possibly hundreds of people in the past. Gon himself, in the life of a Hunter, will probably have to kill someone at some point. It's hard to condemn someone for killing when doing so will make you a hypocrite.
*** During the Ant Arc he kind of snaps. No past-pain comes into it, though. Just his failure that got someone important to him killed and his determination to be revenged.
*** And Hisoka is a rather crazy MonsterClown and frequently wears a smile on his face.
* Mikael from ''Anime/ImGonnaBeAnAngel'' . [[spoiler: He usually tries to act all calm, cool and composed -- like in the first 13 episodes of the series -- smiling gently when talking to Noelle and being all nice and polite when dealing with her family. But when his teacher, Raphael showed up, it turned out that Mikael, when indoors, is just a very serious, uptight and insecure boy. And then he went all insane and evil when things didn't go as he planned and ended up just pathetically broken. Fortunately, he got better and returned to his uptight and highly anxious self]].
* Miroku from ''Manga/InuYasha''. He's cursed with a [[WeaponsThatSuck miniature black hole]] in his right hand that's constantly expanding and [[SuperPowerMeltdown will eventually consume him along with everything around him]] and tends to hide any worries and fears about it behind a mask of [[HandsomeLech cheerfulness and lecherousness]].
* Narusawa of ''Manga/{{Jazz}}'', having absolutely no life outside of being a doctor as that was all his parents cared about. The only thing he seems be passionate about is jazz music and only mildly so.
* Serge Battour of ''Manga/KazeToKiNoUta'' has shades of this. He's every bit as sweet and friendly as he appears to be, but there is more to him than he lets on.
%%* ''VideoGame/LaCordaDOro'': Yunoki.
* [[BrokenBird Soubi]] of ''Manga/{{Loveless}}'' is a pretty extreme Empty. He seems happy and cheerful, but is actually an ExtremeDoormat whose been essentially conditioned into only existing to obey his master.
* Kaito Kuroba/Kaitou KID from ''Manga/MagicKaito'' thrives on his use of "Poker Face," an important skill taught to him by his father when he was young. Kaito's poker face (both as Kaito and KID) is pretty much always some variation of a smirk, and he rarely lets it drop even when things go wrong. Let's put it this way: if Kaitou KID ever stops smiling, ''everything'' has GoneHorriblyWrong.
* Kumagawa Misogi of ''Manga/MedakaBox'' manages to oscillate between all three types somehow. From [[MoralEventHorizon his first appearance]] it is obvious, that his smiling and cheerful appearance not so much hides [[AxCrazy his evil and insanity]], as is cultivated to disturb his opponents even more. Kumagawa's former doctor believed that he really had no emotions at all, until at one point he got actually enraged to the point of losing control. And it is quite believable (not thanks to his MotiveRant, as he's a compulsive liar, but thanks to the track record of this manga so far [[spoiler:and his later HeelFaceTurn]]), that he is also extremely embittered and twisted.
** This applies to all Minuses in ''Medaka Box''. As Kumagawa put it:
--->Even if things don't go the way you want them to. Even if you lose. Even if you don't win. Even if you look like an idiot. Even if you're walked on. Even if you're kicked. Even if you're sad. Even if you're bitter. Even if you're tired of it all. Even if it hurts. Even if it's hard. Even if you're weak. Even if you aren't right. Even if you're humble. Through all of that, we Minus always laugh.
* Duo Maxwell from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' who seems to be upbeat (and [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]]), but really is traumatized by the war and losing many people who were close to him.
** Duo is the most cynical pilot by some way, and also the only one who doesn't seem to have something childlike about him, although he's the one who seems the most ''childish'' on first meeting. He hasn't been sheltered, trained, or broken, just hurt and rolled with the punches; he's almost certainly the most stable of the five of them. Cynics are hard to surprise, after all. So...questionable, despite Duo Torture being a major hobby of the fandom.
*** Despite being weird, the English dub that made him sound forty wasn't the worst casting choice ever.[[note]]He's voiced in English by Creator/ScottMcNeil whose higher-pitched characterization trends snarky.[[/note]]
* [[DragonWithAnAgenda Glemmy Toto]] of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'' initially appears to be a LaughablyEvil NobleDemon with a [[BunnyEarsLawyer quirky sense of humour]] and some other odd, but [[TheCharmer charming]] behaviours. He's actually a deeply screwed-up [[TeensAreMonsters kid]] who has [[TheStarscream no loyalty to his boss]], [[BigBad Haman Khan]], is out to [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate]] his way into power and doesn't particularly care who gets hurt in the process. His [[VillainousCrush crush]] on [[ActionGirl Roux]] goes from cute to twisted very fast, he's implied to have some warped sexual preferences, and several of his lines imply that behind the cheerful facade he is ''screaming'' on the inside. Being a [[YouClonedHitler clone of]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Gihren Zabi]] will do that to a guy.
** Muruta Azrael of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED''. While his evil is public knowledge, his enthusiastic personality and dark sense of humour are a ruse to cover just how ''[[AxeCrazy unstable]]'' he is. When he finally [[VillainousBreakdown slips up]] in the penultimate episode, the results are nothing short of horrific.
* IntrepidReporter Wolfgang Grimmer, from ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', a rare male version of the mask as the only personality. [[spoiler:The fact that sometimes he snaps in a Hulk-like killer alterego with no memories afterwards doesn't help his case, although he pleads [[FreudianExcuse childhood abuse]] and unethical assassin training]]. However, he's also one of the rare ''good'' examples of this trope, genuinely wanting to do the right thing, and [[CharacterDevelopment as his role in the series progresses]] it seems like the [[BecomingTheMask emotions he displays grow more genuine]].
** In fact, Johan's own ability to project a happy, kind, innocent and childlike demeanor worthy of a cherub, other than for purposes of manipulation and as a cover for his true sociopathic nature, doubles as a mask for covering up his dark past, [[spoiler: spent in the orphanages of the Communist bloc]].
** Also, Johan's muscle and pawn, Roberto, harbors an extremely creepy Stepford Smile, [[http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd282/mon15/05/ster749q.jpg as seen here]]. Let's just say that it's a common trait amongst Kinderheim alumni...
* All Might from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' when in hero-mode nearly always has a smile. However this smile is just a brave face he puts to reassure everyone (including himself).
** That one time he showed up [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness WITHOUT SMILING]], he sent a villain into the stratosphere.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Naruto himself. He smiles near-constantly, which, during his childhood, was to mask the sadness of his lonely life. Those who are closest to him are able to recognize when his smile isn't genuine (which is, surprising enough considering [[{{Keet}} his personality]], much of the time). He will tend to mask his pain with a smile, such as when he promises Sakura to bring back Sasuke for her before and after the retrieval mission. Before the Chunin Exams finals, he privately admitted to [[TheConfidant Hinata]] that the smile is a mask, and that he viewed himself as a loser and tried to act cool and brash to cope with this. Later, Pain put him on the ropes by breaking him down with words, getting him to second guess his own actions.
** Make no mistake that Naruto ''is'' an optimistic, lively person by nature, but given how little reason he had to smile in his childhood, it's small wonder not all of it is totally genuine. If he didn't have the zest for life which he generally displays, everything Naruto had to deal with would have probably driven him mad. As he slowly gains recognition and respect, the smiles appear less but in turn become more genuine.
** From the same series, Sai. As part of his indoctrination into Danzo's forces, all of his emotions were stripped away until he was emotionally empty. When assigned to Naruto's team he tried to teach himself how to smile in order to pass himself off as normal, but Naruto easily saw through it. He still has trouble understanding and feeling emotions, but he's getting better... He will never be normal, but who wants normal?
** Iruka was a mild example during his childhood (after his parents' deaths).
** [[spoiler: Mizuki]] shows signs of being Unstable, especially in his MonsterOfTheWeek arc. Even as a child he was shown to have virtually zero empathy for Iruka's suffering.
*** More specifically, he tells Iruka that he acted supportive, hoping the positive attention Iruka recieved would rub off on him. His girlfriend believes he was once genuinely kind-hearted, before the {{Envy}} he had slowly made him cruel until the good was gone (it probably didn't help that suspicions on him killing a teammate on a mission led to him being distrusted and denied a promotion, which made him ''more'' resentful). Whichever is true, his kind smiles are certainly a lie in the present.
** Itachi's gentle and loving, if somewhat distant, attitude in Sasuke's flashbacks before the massacre count as Unstable. [[spoiler:Can probably be considered Depressed once we learn the truth about him]].
** Jiraiya puts himself down a lot despite acting goofily perverted and smiling a lot. Even in his last moments he believes that his life was a complete waste and that he was a loser. His only goal in life was to have an awesome death. [[spoiler:He managed it]].
** Kakashi too, who smiles when he tells Sasuke everyone he loves has already been killed, and generally acts rather carefree, but is actually filled with self-loathing and feelings of guilt over his teammates' deaths.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': Negi Springfield. He is genuinely kind and sweet, but it's made very clear that [[spoiler:that his RoaringRampageOfRevenge and transformation into a OneWingedAngel didn't come out of nowhere]]. Bear in mind, Negi is ''ten''.
* Monkey D. Luffy is thought of this by a good portion of the ''Manga/OnePiece'' fandom because of his [[{{Determinator}} relentless]] [[ThePollyanna optimism]] considering all of the terrible things that have happened to him in the past. But the main reading is still that he's just that stupid.
** A recent case has the three princes of the Ryuugu kingdom (Fukaboshi, Ryuuboshi, and Mamboshi). The three are seen smiling and, in the last two's case, singing and dancing [[spoiler:in a last attempt to keep their little sister Shirahoshi calm... after all four of them just witnessed their mother Otohime being shot and dying]].
** [[DemBones Brook]] is definitely one of these when we first meet him. Prior to encountering the Straw Hats, he's been trapped on his broken-rudder ship, drifting around the foggy seas for 50 years after he and his crew died. And five years ago he lost his shadow to Gecko Moria, meaning he can no longer go into the sunlight without disintergrating. And it's implied in flashbacks that the isloation did something to his head. Now he acts like an UpperClassTwit with poor manners. As he energetically summerizes his existence, Sanji asks, "Why the hell are you so cheerful? Your life sucks!"
* Tamaki Suoh from ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' is this. He has to live with the knowledge that he'll never be the heir to the Suoh dynasty, that his grandmother despises him simply because of birth circumstances (his father married a lower-status French woman instead of the arranged girl) and that he may never amount to anything famous. Until the last two episodes of the anime, he covers it up remarkably well, mostly by holding ostentatious events with the host club. We also hear about it during Kyouya's backstory, when he explains how he and Tamaki became friends and started the host club.
* There are many, [[DysfunctionJunction many]] instances of this trope in ''Manga/PandoraHearts'':
** Oz is determined to keep [[AngstWhatAngst perky and optimistic]] no matter what life throws at him. At the start of the series, he's Depressed because of [[AbusiveParents his father's rejection and cruel dismissal of him]]. Later on, when he realizes [[spoiler:[[TomatoInTheMirror he's not]] [[LossOfIdentity who he thought he was]]]], he becomes more Empty, though as of Retrace LXXIX, [[spoiler:he's gradually coming out of it]].
** Break is also one. Then again, [[spoiler: having the family that you tried to save end up dying even at the cost of losing your eye is enough to shock someone into faking smiles forever]]. He never lets the smile fall [[spoiler:except when he's close to his breaking point]]. Like many of the characters in this series, his smiles seem to become more and more genuine as the story progresses.
** [[spoiler:Jack]] is a combination of all three types. He is described by many characters as appearing "empty" inside even before [[spoiler:Lacie's death]]. Needless to say, he's quite the complex character in a series known for complex characters.
** [[spoiler:Levi, one of the past Glens,]] qualifies for all three types. It's pretty hard to keep smiling like that when [[spoiler:you're rotting alive painfully and one of the people you cared about ended up being dragged to the Abyss to be DeaderThanDead]], but somehow, he managed. His "[[ReversePsychology friendly advice]]" to [[spoiler:Jack]] reveals him to be somewhat Unstable as well.
** [[spoiler:Leo]] has become this way as well after [[spoiler:Elliot's death]]. He's equal parts Empty and Unstable, having essentially StoppedCaring, and Oz even comments, "You don't want to destroy anything. You're just trying to destroy yourself."
* Several, but most notably, Tatsunosuke, Suzu, and Tetsunosuke in ''Manga/PeacemakerKurogane''.
** Okita "I smile constantly, love candy, play with the neighborhood kids, am pretty much a male HouseWife to Hijikata, and am pretty much the most terrifying swordsman in all of Japan" Souji. [[spoiler:Okita "I've been killing since I was eight and don't appear to actually regret it" Souji]]. That man's a TEXTBOOK StepfordSmiler!
*** This may be why his ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' counterpart keeps trying to murder Hijikata.
* Shouma Takakura from ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'' is normally calm, but [[http://ninteenpointzerofour.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/spinning-penguin-drum-novel-chapter-1/ in the novels]] he describes himself:
-->'''Shouma''': "I've always thought I was a more pathetic and helpless person than I seem to be on the outside."
* Surprisingly, ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'' reveals [[spoiler: Yu]] to be one of these. [[spoiler: He's really a deeply lonely person who is so determined to keep his friends and so terrified that he'll lose them that he traps himself in a LotusEaterMachine GroundhogDayLoop so he can stay with them]].
* In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', Ash at times put on this trope when he losses a battle sometimes as he doesn't want anyone around him to worry about him, although not all of his friends are fooled as they know how he truly feels and that something wasn't right. However, Ash in the inside was upset about the loses but overtime it became more about on how he did, although in the end he made into a lesson to better himself both as a person and Trainer.
* [[spoiler:Sasame]] from ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'' is an example of this in both the manga and anime, but particularly the anime. Outwardly he's jovial and flirty, as well as [[BigBrotherMentor always willing to be a listening ear to anyone who has problems]] -- while keeping his own problems a secret. [[spoiler:Inwardly, he suffers [[FailureKnight from an extreme amount of guilt and anger]] over Takako becoming a DarkMagicalGirl, because he was in love with her but kept silent. The manga only briefly touches on this, but in the anime he becomes so obsessed with Takako that he performs a FaceHeelTurn so he can stay by her side]]. Until TheReveal, ''nobody'' catches on, even when has brief moments of his mask slipping.
* Shuusuke Fuji of ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'' was a bit like this due to the problems with his younger brother Yuuta that caused him to bear a huge guilt. He starts acting more genuinely cheerful when he and Yuuta patch their relationship.
* In ''Manga/Reborn2004'', the BigBad of the TYL arc, Byakuran, is a StepfordSmiler who currently has shown no other expression other than his smile.
** He is beginning to show cracks, though; we got a nice "oh fuck" face with [[spoiler: Uni's]] arrival.
** Rokudo Mukuro can also definitely be considered one. He apparently copes with his [[AxCrazy insanity]] and [[BreakTheCutie horrible past]] by being a StepfordSmiler NietzscheWannabe. Especially noticeable when he continues smiling, even when he [[EyeScream stabs his own eye out]]. Of course, [[AllLovingHero Tsuna]] manages to get him to [[NotSoStoic break part of that facade]], at least momentarily. Make what you will of Mukuro's subsequent [[spoiler:[[HoYay attachment and obsession]] with him]]...
** Yamamoto shows signs of being this at times. Fanon usually takes such subtleties and runs with 'em for all they're worth.
* Akio of ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' at times when you look at his past as [[spoiler:Dios]] and how he became the [[ManipulativeBastard smiling suave person]] he is today.
* The villainous Seta Sojirou, TheDragon of ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'''s best known story arc, also fits here -- a cheerful young person who's capable of incredible violence because he has no soul or conscience behind the mask. (Or at least that's what ''he'' thinks.) He actually started doing this because it stopped his family from abusing him if he didn't appear bothered by it.
** As for his reasons? Soujiro was constantly beaten as a child by his family due to being an illegitimate child, and learned to smile as a defense mechanism to get them to stop. He did this so much that he subconsciously repressed all his emotions, projecting nothing but a pleasant smile, even as he kills people. As a swordsman, this makes him virtually impossible to read and predict, and in addition to his speed and natural talent with the sword, this makes him a very dangerous opponent. This all changes when Soujiro battles Kenshin for the second time: Kenshin's worldview clashes with Soujiro's, irritating him to the point where his emotions finally return to the surface, causing him to break down in confusion. This state of emotional turmoil is what allows Kenshin to finally defeat him.
** And again, Okita Souji, in the brief times he appears to interact with Kenshin and Saito Hajime. This is the popular portrayal of him in Japanese fiction in general, and it has been stated by one of his descendants that he did indeed smile frequently. (This is probably because Sojirou's character was based on Okita Souji.)
** On that note, Kenshin himself. He hides the guilt and shame over his checkered past (and hides his temper) behind a cheerful and laid-back persona. Common for WalkingTheEarth RetiredBadass types. The key difference is that the smile is not meant to be shallow; Kenshin really wants the smile to be real but keeps having to deal with his past, placing him somewhere between this trope and BecomingTheMask.
* Cho Hakkai from ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' qualifies, as he smiles constantly even while fighting, despite his angsty past [[spoiler:which includes but is not limited to killing over 1000 demons to rescue his lover Kanan (who is really his twin sister), then watching Kanan kill herself with his sword because she was raped and impregnated by a demon, then to top it off, [[KarmicTransformation becoming a demon himself]]. Whew]]. His companions note that whenever he actually ''does'' stop smiling and looks angry, it's extremely scary.
** Manages to overlap with SlasherSmile without changing his expression. Creeeeepy.
* Kisa Shouta from ''Manga/SekaiIchiHatsukoi'' shows to be Depressed after his arc shows that he's not a {{Keet}} [[HiddenDepths like he portrays himself as]] at work. In fact, Kisa is shown to be [[TheEeyore very cynical]] of the world and has [[HeroicSelfDeprecation low self-esteem]] because he's [[OldMaid already 30 years old]] and feels like he [[TheGenericGuy hasn't accomplished anything in his boring life]]. To make matters worse, [[WhatisThisThingYouCallLove he has never fell in love]] before [[ReallyGetsAround despite sleeping around all of his life]], so when he finally falls in love with [[NiceGuy Yukina Kou]], he gets paranoid about Yukina playing with his feelings and leaving him because Kisa has done that in his past.
* ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'': Both Yuu and Mika. In the novels its stated that Mika deals with the desolate situation involving his real family that abused him and his adoptive family of other orphans and Yuu being subjugated by vampires by smiling cheerfully. After his turning into a vampire he becomes more of a PerpetualFrowner and only seems to smile [[HoYay around Yuu]].
** Yuu's cheerful side and ability to never give up even when faced with impossible odds (even Ferid notes it in the novel) is something he either naturally had or developed in the orphanage and in the vampire city under the influence of the kids and Mika. So in a few recent chapters it is both a facade he uses to cheer up his friends and lessen their worries and a manifestation of his own determination and positivity (he is aware of how grave his situation is, but he is determined to fight to the end with everything he’s got to change it).
** It's been implied in the Catastrophe light novels that Shinya's smile developed as a defense mechanism that allowed him to survive when those that got angry or shut down didn't.
* ''Manga/SgtFrog'': Kogoro, who never stops smiling. He's far less dangerous than the usual example though.
** His sister, Lavie, is the only one who can read his emotions.
* Xellos from ''Anime/{{Slayers}}''. A case where the Stepford Smile hides a SlasherSmile.
* It's been implied at this point that Takuto Tsunashi of ''Anime/StarDriver'', up to this point a typical kind, cheerful, badass IdiotHero with a bit of CloudCuckooLander mixed in, at the very least has some HiddenDepths that are... well, not nice, at the very least (and at the most, this is all a facade and he's completely SCREWED UP) if these implications are to be believed. Knowing Yoji Enokido, these are probably going to be fully explored by the time the series is over.
* Kotetsu from ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' is implied to hide feelings of worthlessness and unhappiness with his life under his HotBlooded demeanor. WordOfGod supports this, stating that Kotetsu exaggerates his behavior as a means of putting people off of him (because he doesn't think he's worth worrying over), that he's never fully sorted out the emotional baggage anti-NEXT discrimination's saddled him with, and that he was on the verge of major depression at the beginning of the series.
* ''VisualNovel/TogainuNoChi'': Keisuke has shades of this in Episode 5 where he smiles at Akira despite it being clear he is disturbed by what Akira had done. Naturally, Akira [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls him out on it]].
* When asked whether he's curious about his past in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' Sasaki cheerfully informs Arima that he's "very happy" with his current life. That [[CharacterTic he touches his chin while smiling]] (it means he's lying) reveals he's not nearly as happy as he'd like the world to believe. In general, he masks his massive emotional and psychological issues behind a cheerful smile, terrible puns, and a gentle attitude. It's later implied further that he's absolutely terrified of Arima.
* In ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', [[spoiler:Masaya Aoyama]] is revealed to be one of these, keeping up his "perfect" mask to hide the fact that he hates all of humanity.
* Ewon from the manhwa ''Manhwa/TotallyCaptivated''. He smiles, he's friendly, and he will be an ExtremeDoormat... until you push him too far. But he's been so [[BreakTheCutie utterly and completely broken]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast as a child]] that if you dig a layer beneath his engaging exterior he's basically an EmptyShell. As a result, he's [[ReallyGetsAround pretty damn promiscuous]], and will shy away from any serious relationship. Fast (this may coincide with the promiscuity bit).
* In ''Manga/ToYourEternity'' Fushi, being the titular immortal being, [[WhoWantsToLiveForever has seen many deaths]]. But when [[spoiler: Pyoran, his mother figure, starts to going senile and develops advanced dementia shattering her once bright personality and mind in a sullen, cranky, helpless shell of herself]] Fushi starts smiling and laughing to himself, trying his hardest to overcome the crippling depression and his growing feeling of helplessness, bracing himself [[MayflyDecemberFriendship for the only possible outcome]].
* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'':
** Vash the Stampede combines this with ObfuscatingStupidity to create CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass so that nobody realizes just how dangerous he is, or what horrific memories and experiences he lives with every day. In the whole anime series, only Nicholas D. Wolfwood (who has the advantage of inside information) is able to see right through Vash's act -- in his first episode, Nicholas shares some food with a pair of hungry children while Vash watches, then tells Vash that he looks good with a real smile on his face, not the fake one he's been showing. [=Manga!Millie=], who's dumbfounded by this, eventually compares Vash's fake smile with the grey colour you obtain when you mix paints of all colours.
--->'''Millie:''' Vash! I don't understand. What's happening? What's wrong? When it's as hard as this...you can still keep smiling like that?!\\
'''Vash:''' ''[Beat panel, still smiling]'' What other expression should I make? I don't know anymore.
** Nicholas D. Wolfwood himself thrives on this trope, although it's clear almost from the beginning he is a dark, conflicted, and potentially angsty character.
** In the manga, young Knives managed to [[spoiler: hide his feelings of agony and murderous hatred from Vash and Rem]] by having fun with them just as usual, making crepes while smiling and laughing, claiming to go all 'business as usual' because he had to go on with his life etc.
* [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Fay/Fai]] from ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' has traits of the StepfordSmiler, though by the time the series rows The Beard/Jumped the Shark this has begun to crack and continues to do so as more and more time passes.
** Even before the series hit rough territory in the Acid Tokyo arc, in Outo Country Kurogane had blatantly told Fay he knew he was hiding something. During the Celes arc we find out just what he had been hiding. We learn about his past [[spoiler: and that his real name isn't Fay, but Yuui; Fay was the name of his identical twin who sacrificed himself to let Yuui live... but Yuui thought he killed his brother]]. That's not all, either. Fay has other dark secrets we learn about. No wonder he tried to hide behind a smile.
* Kei Yuzuki from the second ''Manga/VampirePrincessMiyu'' OAV. He hides his boredom with life in general, his feelings of inferiority towards his more academically-successful siblings and his apathy towards his EducationMama's constant pressure under a polite, soft-spoken, [[ChickMagnet beautiful]] princely mask.
** Also Lemures from the third OAV, who appears to be a helpful Dandy in his human form, but is soon revealed to be ''scary'' and a {{Yandere}} [[HoYay for his old friend Larva]], [[spoiler: whom he has kidnapped and imprisoned in hopes to free him from Miyu]].
* Amasawa of ''Manga/TheWeathermanIsMyLover'', as in spite of his outgoing and eccentric personality he secretly never got over the guilt of his parents' deaths and lives a really isolated existence as a result.

* Ryou Bakura of ''Anime/YuGiOh'' is one of these. When he first appeared in the manga, the Millennium Ring was giving him chest pains, but he covered it up so people wouldn't find him strange. He overall acts incredibly cheerful most of the time, but he also hides his problems, which is pretty bad for the protagonists. Yami Bakura, however, takes advantage of this, as he often ''pretends'' to be the normal Bakura so he can carry out his evil plans on the quiet, meaning he does this on purpose.
* [[spoiler: Judai/Jaden Yuki]] of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' pretends to be goofy and friendly, doing many shenanigans through the series. Until you find out halfway the third season that [[spoiler: he used to have a card with a duel monster spirit that would send people into comas if they upset him when he was a little kid]] and then [[spoiler: he sent the said card to space to irradiate it with cosmic energy to make it better, but instead it got attacked by the Light of Destruction, making the monster feel pain and due to his connection with it the boy had nightmares until somehow they managed to suppress his memories, making him having amnesia]]. The US dub cut 80% of said backstory.
** To make things worse, during all the previous seasons in the Japanese version there is a strong criticism on hierarchy and status quo, and the said character hates it with a burning passion effectively doing whatever he can against that to the point that during the Season 4 the rank system was mostly moot.
* Yuya Sakaki of ''Anime/YuGiOhARCV'' is the depressed variety. His father, Yusho, taught him to laugh whenever he felt sad. When Yusho disappeared one day, Yuya started to make a fool of himself to cope with the disappearance.

!!Mixed Gender Examples
* There's a good bet that anyone that seems too cheerful in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is one, due to the CrapsackWorld they live in.
** Krista Lenz is the sweetest, kindest girl anyone has ever met and referred to as the "Goddess" of the 104th as a result. [[spoiler:She's actually deeply troubled, with a dangerous martyr complex and a need to be seen as virtuous and kind regardless of the risk it places her ''or others'' in]]. She's getting better.
** Reiner Braun is a surrogate [[TeamDad big brother]] to the others, always trying to offer reassurances or awkward jokes even in the worst situations. [[spoiler:He's actually being driven [[OutDamnedSpot slowly]] [[VillainousBSOD insane]] with [[MurderMakesYouCrazy guilt]] over his [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone crimes]] as TheMole. After the TimeSkip and his return to his homeland, he ends up getting even ''worse'' if that's possible. As AHeroToHisHometown, he puts on a brave front for the sake of the public and his family... but he's actually severely traumatized and suicidal]].
* ''Anime/BirdyTheMighty: Decode'' has a number of characters who show signs of being this.
** Satyajit Shyamalan, the first season's villain, presents as a friendly, sweet-looking, successful TV executive, but is in reality a SocialDarwinist who thinks nothing of resorting to murder to achieve his goals, [[spoiler:plots to use a super weapon to wipe out most of humanity]], ''and'' is implied to be desperately lonely and have deep psychological scars stemming from [[spoiler:getting caught up in a terrorist attack that killed everyone around but him]].
* Outside of the ones that act fairly emotionless, many Contractors are like this in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack''. November 11 and Amber are a good illustration, as their cheerfulness seems to be inversely proportional to their sincerity.
* ''Manga/HisAndHerCircumstances'': Both Arima and Yukino are Depressed. However, Yukino's version is played for laughs because hers stems from her own narcissism and desire to have people compliment her. Arima's, on the other hand, is played as drama as he tries to coverup his insecurities of that developed from [[AbusiveParents being abused and abandoned]] by his parents and being considered the BlackSheep by the rest of his extended family.
** This all culminates into a relationship between the two, with Arima thinking some...terrifyingly possessive thoughts about his girlfriend who is oblivious to the dark turn his thoughts took.
* ''Franchise/KagerouProject'': Given that the entire cast is made up of teenagers with a DarkAndTroubledPast, a few were bound to slip in:
** Ayano, the core of her family [[spoiler:after her mother Ayaka's death]], ManicPixieDreamGirl to [[{{Jerkass}} Shintaro]] and LivingEmotionalCrutch to Kido, Kano and Seto ([[spoiler:especially Kano -- see below]]) spent the last year or so of her life Depressed; [[spoiler:a few months after her mother's death, she found evidence that the old Medusa Legend actually had some basis in reality, and that her father had been possessed by the most evil snake of them all -- [[BigBad the Wide-Open Eyes Snake]]. She also discovers that his plans involve the deaths of her surrogate younger siblings ''and'' half her social circle, so she's understandably downtrodden. Despite keeping up her ManicPixieDreamGirl persona around her friends, we are shown that beneath that, she is emotionally exhausted, and desperately searching for a way to save her siblings and friends. [[DrivenToSuicide The solution turns out to be her own suicide]]]].
** Kano. After his self-sacrificial/abusive relationship with his mother, Kano latched onto Ayaka, and later Ayano, as female role models/mother figures, and when they were taken away one by one, his mental health took a serious hit. The fifth novel and anime also reveal that he was involved with Ayano's investigation of her father, and was ''standing right there'' when she jumped off the roof of the school. Following this, the Wide-Open Eyes Snake (who was also present) essentially told him that he would murder the little family he has left if he tells anyone, and that their fate is unavoidable. By the present day, Kano finds it so hard to be happy that he actually has to [[MasterOfIllusion use his powers]] to just ''giggle''. When all of this inevitably comes out, he almost unleashes hell on his brother Seto]].
** Before her death, [[spoiler:Ayaka is implied to have been Depressed. She is always referred to as the glue holding the Tateyama family together, yet her journal reveals that she spent every day fervently researching the Medusa Legend, for fear of what would eventually become of her adoptive children Kido, Kano and Seto -- who had already been possessed by snakes]].
** Haruka is implied to be a milder case; despite his illness, which prevented him from joining in and mingling with peers (his fellow Special Needs student Takane aside), he was always cheerful and happy [[spoiler:[[BreakTheCutie right up until he died and was forced]] to make a SadisticChoice regarding his [[IdentityAmnesia body and memories]]]].
** Ene also counts; [[spoiler:despite appearing as a 'shallow' (in Shintaro's opinion) program that is perpetually energetic, cheerful (and occasionally, [[{{Troll}} deceitful]]), she is actually Takane's consciousness -- after being killed, losing her body and wandering the cyber world for months with no direction. Oh, and her last memories before death were running to Haruka's side, after he was hospitalised because she ignored him when he was having an attack. When she discovers that Haruka ''died'' after that... [[TearJerker it's not pretty]]]].
** Even though Momo tends to act like a text book ''GenkiGirl'' the anime shows that she struggles quite a bit with her inferiority complex, plus the stress her powers and work as an Idol put on her.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'': The Wano arc reveals that large groups of people actually are Depressed as a side-effect of the [[spoiler:SMILE Fruits]]. [[spoiler: Since [=SMILE=]s are artificial Devil Fruits, they are imperfect and only 10% of them will actually give Zoan powers (if incomplete ones). The rest just rob the eaters of their ability to express any emotion but happiness, so they'll smile and laugh even if being beaten down or seeing their loved ones die (and this counts as a Devil Fruit power too, so they still can't swim). The Pleasures of the Animal Kingdom Pirates are the unlucky sods who ate these Devil Fruits, and Orochi ''invoked'' this on the poor district of Ebisu by hiding [=SMILE=]s that the Pleasures had bitten into among their garbage. He did this just because their sadness (caused by the PerpetualPoverty he put them in) annoyed him.]]

* Asakura Ryoko from ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' fits this trope more or less. As she acts like a PuritySue, she keeps a cute, caring and friendly appearance, even when she is about to stab you with her beloved combat knife, ''or'' when dying. Since she is an ArtificialHuman, unable to empathize with humans, it is very likely that it is just a fixed masquerade, thus Unstable.
** It becomes especially disturbing when you consider that it's likely the only time only time she's ''really'' smiling is when [[spoiler:she's trying to kill Kyon]]. She's also, arguably, a deconstruction of both the StepfordSmiler and the PuritySue. How is it possible to never stop smiling for a moment? To have no understanding of what the expression means.
*** In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5B-KZNIZYs the Disappearance movie]] (spoiler warning, it shows a scene from the film), that smile seems even more sinister than it did before.

* Akeno Himejima of ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'' is rarely seen not smiling or giggling, most of the time maintaining a cheerful and flirtatious disposition. However, she probably has the worst DarkAndTroubledPast among the members of Rias' Peerage (which is saying ''a lot'') due to losing her mother and blaming her father for not protecting her, and Issei is pretty shocked when she breaks down crying as she tells him of it.

* ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':
** Most of the time, Geordo's princely smile only consists of this. This is because he's so much of TheAce that [[LonelyAtTheTop he has no drive in life since everything is too easy for him]].
** While Maria is always been and always will be a genuinely kind and caring girl, [[BlessedWithSuck everything that happened since the reveal of her light magic drove her into deep loneliness]], which she kept hidden by masking it with her normal kind and caring attitude. Though that all changed after she met Catarina.
** According to Catarina, Mary has two types of smiles. First is the genuine, affectionate smile reserved almost solely for Catarina herself. Second, there is the "social" smile that she uses as a mask. At one point, Catarina notices the change but does not put two-and-two together that it's because Mary noticed that Geordo was up to something with Catarina.
--->''Mary, who had been smiling at me just a second ago, now suddenly had the smile she usually reserved for social affairs on her face.''
** In the original ''Fortune Lover'' scenario, Keith's womanizing tendencies belie a lonely heart, broken by years of verbal and/or physical abuse from his half-siblings, and then [[AlphaBitch Catarina]]. Of course, in the work's timeline, Catarina has a major change in personality and makes everyone's lives better.

* The [[GenkiGirl over-enthusiastic]] [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething princess]] Amelia from ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', if one looks deeper, is Depressed; as a daughter of a prestigious and powerful royal family, she is subjected to horrific violence and carnage as her family battles over the line of succession to the throne. Her MissingMom was murdered, in-series she sees one of her uncles and her cousin get killed attempting a coup, her sister has long since run away, and her father (the current heir apparent) is a go-to target for assassins. It's summed up well enough in the LightNovel she's introduced in:
--> "''But you know," [Amelia] added, still sporting that strange smile, "I really don't like that you can't trust people in your own family around here." It could've been my (Lina's) imagination, but just then I sensed a great sadness in Amelia behind that bubbly facade. There was definitely more to that girl than met the eye''.
* ''Literature/SoICantPlayH'': Initially, it seems Ilia has it all: she's a popular {{teen idol}} and [[HeadTurningBeauty a babe]], who doubles as a spokesperson for the Merlot Life Insurance company. That is, until Ilia's manager reveals that people used to make fun of her, because [[spoiler: Ilia's [[ACupAngst semi-flat-chested.]] Plus, her lisp and her natural accent slurred her speech so badly, hardly anyone could understand her]]. It's left her with an extremely poor self-image. So as long as the spell holds, Ilia brims with confidence, but if it anyone sees, ''or hears'', what she's really like, [[DontLookAtMe she runs away in tears.]]

* Yoko Nakajima, the main character of ''Literaturef/TheTwelveKingdoms'', starts out the series as a junior version of this in regards to her home and social life; she reveals later the fear that there was truly nothing inside.

* ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'': [[spoiler:Kida]] is not naturally that cheerful; it's a front he puts up for Mikado's sake.
* Yuki Sohma from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' is so terrified of being rejected by his peers that he uses his numerous skills (martial arts, good looks, charisma, etc.) to hide the massive inferiority complex that ParentalAbandonment and Akito's MindRape gave him.

* Itsuki Koizumi from ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' always keeps a constant smile and a cheerful attitude, regardless of how much is Haruhi casting upon the Universe. Granted, he's still mostly sane and calm, but his Stepfordness always creeps Kyon out to no end. [[BrokenSmile But when his smile disappears... you better start fearing the worst!]] He actually expresses an open jealousy towards Mikuru and all the other members of the SOS brigade, because he has to keep a facade of his true personality to fit Haruhi's expectations of his, while the rest do not (aside of Mikuru's Obfuscating Helplessness). At points in the novel it's made pretty clear that Itsuki's finding it difficult to keep smiling, such as in volume 9 [[spoiler:he's been unable to sleep well for a lengthy period of time due to constant closed space activity, appearing exhausted and using a rather forced version of the usual grin, which falls off if he isn't concentrating]]. What is he really thinking? Who knows, [[MrExposition it's the one thing he doesn't really talk about. Probably]].
** [[spoiler:To add fire to the fuel, in the eleventh novel, he cheerfully prepares to fight (and probably kill, it wasn't made clear afterwards) the novel's BigBad. Note the word ''cheerfully''.]]

* Shion of ''Literature/No6'' is hinted at being this. He smiles constantly and is generally very cheerful and sweet but he's also hinted to have a suppressed {{Yandere}} side to him. BewareTheNiceOnes indeed.

* Natsuki Subaru from ''Literature/ReZero'' starts to become one of these as the series goes on. [[spoiler:Possibly even started out as one from the beginning.]] As the series goes on it becomes clear that his happy-go-lucky attitude is covering up severe self-doubt and depression [[spoiler:from trying to save his friends only to see them die over and over again and regret with how he spent his old life on Earth]].

* Certain chapters and episodes of ''Literature/StudentCouncilsDiscretion'' imply that Ken's happy-go-lucky persona is a defence mechanism to keep him from a severe emotional trauma from back in junior high, and not his actual personality.

* Kisa Shouta from ''Manga/SekaiIchiHatsukoi'' shows to be Depressed after his arc shows that he's not a {{Keet}} [[HiddenDepths like he portrays himself as]] at work. In fact, Kisa is shown to be [[TheEeyore very cynical]] of the world and has [[HeroicSelfDeprecation low self esteem]] because he's [[ChristmasCake already 30-years-old]] and feels like he [[TheGenericGuy hasn't accomplished anything in his boring life]]. To make matters worse, [[WhatisThisThingYouCallLove he has never fell in love]] before [[ReallyGetsAround despite sleeping around all of his life]], so when he finally falls in love with [[NiceGuy Yukina]] [[PrinceCharming Kou]], he gets paranoid of Yukina playing with his feelings and leaving him because Kisa has done that in his past.

* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':

* Shion of ''LightNovel/No6'' is hinted at being this. He smiles constantly and is generally very cheerful and sweet but he's also hinted to have a suppressed {{Yandere}} side to him. BewareTheNiceOnes indeed.

* Asakura Ryoko from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' fits this trope more or less. As she acts like a PuritySue, she keeps a cute, caring and friendly appearance, even when she is about to stab you with her beloved combat knife, ''or'' when dying. Since she is an ArtificialHuman, unable to empathize with humans, it is very likely that it is just a fixed masquerade, thus Unstable.

* Akeno Himejima of ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'' is rarely seen not smiling or giggling, most of the time maintaining a cheerful and flirtatious disposition. However, she probably has the worst DarkAndTroubledPast among the members of Rias' Peerage (which is saying ''a lot'') due to losing her mother and blaming her father for not protecting her, and Issei is pretty shocked when she breaks down crying as she tells him of it.

* The [[GenkiGirl over-enthusiastic]] [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething princess]] Amelia from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', if one looks deeper, is Depressed; as a daughter of a prestigious and powerful royal family, she is subjected to horrific violence and carnage as her family battles over the line of succession to the throne. Her MissingMom was murdered, in-series she sees one of her uncles and her cousin get killed attempting a coup, her sister has long since run away, and her father (the current heir apparent) is a go-to target for assassins. It's summed up well enough in the LightNovel she's introduced in:

* ''LightNovel/SoICantPlayH'': Initially, it seems Ilia has it all: she's a popular {{teen idol}} and [[HeadTurningBeauty a babe]], who doubles as a spokesperson for the Merlot Life Insurance company. That is, until Ilia's manager reveals that people used to make fun of her, because [[spoiler: Ilia's [[ACupAngst semi-flat-chested.]] Plus, her lisp and her natural accent slurred her speech so badly, hardly anyone could understand her]]. It's left her with an extremely poor self-image. So as long as the spell holds, Ilia brims with confidence, but if it anyone sees, ''or hears'', what she's really like, [[DontLookAtMe she runs away in tears.]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': [[spoiler:Kida]] is not naturally that cheerful; it's a front he puts up for Mikado's sake.

* Itsuki Koizumi from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' always keeps a constant smile and a cheerful attitude, regardless of how much is Haruhi casting upon the Universe. Granted, he's still mostly sane and calm, but his Stepfordness always creeps Kyon out to no end. [[BrokenSmile But when his smile disappears... you better start fearing the worst!]] He actually expresses an open jealousy towards Mikuru and all the other members of the SOS brigade, because he has to keep a facade of his true personality to fit Haruhi's expectations of his, while the rest do not (aside of Mikuru's Obfuscating Helplessness). At points in the novel it's made pretty clear that Itsuki's finding it difficult to keep smiling, such as in volume 9 [[spoiler:he's been unable to sleep well for a lengthy period of time due to constant closed space activity, appearing exhausted and using a rather forced version of the usual grin, which falls off if he isn't concentrating]]. What is he really thinking? Who knows, [[MrExposition it's the one thing he doesn't really talk about. Probably]].

* Natsuki Subaru from ''LightNovel/ReZero'' starts to become one of these as the series goes on. [[spoiler: Possibly even started out as one from the beginning.]] As the series goes on it becomes clear that his happy-go-lucky attitude is covering up severe self-doubt and depression [[spoiler: from trying to save his friends only to see them die over and over again and regret with how he spent his old life on Earth.]]

* Certain chapters and episodes of ''LightNovel/StudentCouncilsDiscretion'' imply that Ken's happy-go-lucky persona is a defence mechanism to keep him from a severe emotional trauma from back in junior high, and not his actual personality.

** Mari's mother Eriko is Unstable. At first she seemed like a nice, normal mother however it's eventually revealed she is [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] and has control issues. She went as far as to [[spoiler:change her daughters name from "Fumiko" to "Mari" as a child to disassociate her from the recently deceased DotingGrandparent she loathed]].

* Hayate of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' shows signs of being depressed when in her IllGirl phase, as Shamal notes that she hides her pain from those closest to them, and while she often comes off as cheerful, she confesses in the second Sound Stage for the season and the start of Episode 9 that she realizes that she might die soon, and for a long time, was not scared at all because of how lonely she was. Note that she was a 9-year-old paraplegic orphan at the time.

** Mai Tokiha keeps a smile on her face almost constantly because she doesn't want to burden any of her friends with her personal problems, which include a [[ParentalAbandonment dead mother]] and a [[IllGirl sick younger brother]].