History StepfordSmiler / AnimeAndManga

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' takes it UpToEleven 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.]]

*** In the first anime she's even better, only showing her larger-than-life persona in the first season when they mostly needed a leader and putting on an incredibly silly mask in the rest of the series when they don't need a pillar again... And never cracking once. She only shows her true persona, or part of it, three times: in the first season, when Katarina, one of her friends from London, comes to ask why she had [[FakingTheDead faked her death]]; in the S Season her insecurities emerge when it seems the Death Busters aren't targeting her for a Pure Heart Crystal and make her doubt of her purity until she's indeed targeted, at which point she briefly becomes [[UpToEleven sillier than usual]]; and in the Stars season she drops the act for a few minutes, making Yaten realize he doesn't know her ''at all'' in spite of knowing her for months by now. On the other hand Usagi here knows her true persona, as she was there when Katarina showed up, so Minako has some moments where she can be herself and isn't in as bad a state as in the other incarcations of the franchise.

** 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 ''[[UpToEleven 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]].

** Yamamoto shows signs of being this at times. Fanon usually takes such subtleties and [[UpToEleven runs with 'em for all they're worth]].

* Mercedes Morcerf of ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'' tries to maintain a perfect appearance and smile and loves to pretend that everything is okay even when everything ''really'' isn't.
** Also Heloïse Villefort. She seems perfectly normal in her first few appearances, with a warm motherly appearance and pleasant smile. She is the stepmother of Valentine and is the second wife of the crown prosecutor Villefort. She is the biological mother of her young son Edward, from her first marriage. Valentine is to inherit all of the fortune, leaving her stepmother jealous because Edward doesn't get a single penny. So when the Count seduces her and innocently introduces her to toxicology and gives her a deadly ring which releases a deadly poison Heloïse becomes murderous and tries to poison Valentine and her husband, as well as inadvertently almost poisoning Albert and poisoned one of the servants of the Villefort household. And she does all this while maintaining her angelic motherly facade up till near the end of the series when her husband finds out what she's been doing and points out that she's nothing more than a murderous insane woman. She tries to deny his accusations before she breaks down and collapses to the ground, finally giving in to her insanity. Her husband then puts her in an insane asylum for the rest of her life.

* [[spoiler:Natsume's mother]] from ''Anime/MasterOfMartialHearts'' spends all of her screen time Depressed, because [[spoiler: she used to be your average plucky ActionGirl, until the took part to a StreetFighter expy for a MacGuffin supposedly able to grant wishes to the winner. However, she wasn't warned beforehand of the FateWorseThanDeath awaiting the losers, so she was mindraped into helplessness, got her voice box removed and sold into sexual slavery. Upon escaping she found out that her younger sister, another Action Girl in tag team with her, was raped and beaten to death by the very man organizing the tournament... who also had married the winner (the indirect responsible for her tragedies) and sired a daughter as strong as her mom. She stays a smiling CuteMute until the reveal, then is shown scratching a picture of her former self and her dead sister with nightmarish expression. Until worse happens...]]

-->''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.''

*** ''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 Kyoko'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 wasnt overreacting.

* 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 [[KnifeNut 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.

** [[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 (currently undisclosed) "secret" she has in her body]]. Also [[spoiler:has Unstable traits, considering the end of Episode 14...]]

* [[spoiler:Himari Takakura]] from ''Anime/{{Penguindrum}}'' is Depressed. She ''is'' a genuine sweetie, but hides [[spoiler:the pain from her TragicDream]].

*** 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, [[FoeYay smirk]], or [[SugarWiki/{{WAFF}} genuinely smile]] at each other instead). It's possible he may act like this to all his enemies.

** Yuki Soma is so terrified of being rejected by his peers that he uses his numerous skills (martial arts, good looks, charisma, etc.) to hide the inferiority complex that ParentalAbandonment and Akito's MindRape gave him.

* Mary Magdalene in ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' almost constantly smiles, even though she's constantly having visions of the future and the past, some of them horrifying and violent. In fact, she has so many visions she has no memory of her childhood or even her name--except for a reoccurring vision of [[spoiler:Chrono killing her with tears streaming down his face]]. She's even smiling when [[spoiler:she dies]].

* Chikane and Himeko both from ''Manga/DestinyOfTheShrineMaiden''. Himeko had a really terrible childhood and tries to hide her insecurities. Chikane [[spoiler:is constantly trying to hide her feelings of love for Himeko...and eventually remembers that she killed her in a past life for a ritual to rebirth the world]]. Because of this, she was unable to help in the ritual to summon Orochi's nemesis [[spoiler:so she wore the mask of the villain at this point in the series when she realized the reason why she couldn't help, because a deep part of her still hated the god. That was Himeko would become stronger and kill her to complete the ritual]].

** Nanami in episode 14 as well, who hides the grief from losing her mother under a perpetual smile, believing "A smile is the most important". She eventually loses it when her sister snaps and believes her to be uncaring, leading for her heart to be released and stolen by Sasorina.

** [[spoiler:Rika]]. She has been murdered and revived countless times throughout the series, and [[spoiler:retains the memories of every death she has ever suffered.]] This has resulted in a mix of types - [[spoiler:Rika]] is revealed to have lost pretty much all hope of saving herself from this brutal cycle, becoming very depressed and hollow inside as a result (she even gets '''[[DrowningTheirSorrows drunk]]''' on occasion - [[spoiler:this is a girl of about 10 years old]] - to drown out everything). Despite her struggles, [[spoiler:Rika]] keeps a brave face, and constantly acts like the sweet, cute CheerfulChild that everyone expects her to be, to avoid freaking her friends out if anything (she does break this pretence at times to scare her killer(s), or to convince others to listen to her).

* ''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.

* 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 nine-year-old paraplegic orphan at the time.

** [[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 (currently undisclosed) "secret" she has in her body]]. Also [[spoiler:has Unstable traits, considering the end of episode 14...]]

** Dawn surprisingly enough, fits this trope. This is actually foreshadowed from a very early point - pretty much her first episode - and hits its nadir with her losing streak, where she fails to qualify in the ''appeals'' round two times in a row. She tries hard to put on a happy face whilst not having the confidence to enter another Contest in a while, which she fails to upkeep. She finally overcomes the act when she wins the Wallace Cup (beating May, a more seasoned opponent). It was part of her CharacterDevelopment - given how hard she tries to live up to her mother's legacy - and she comes full circle when she's happy with 2nd place in the Sinnoh Ribbon Cup.

** ''Magical Project S'''s tough Misao Amano is the ShrinkingViolet. While she appears to be cheerful, in reality she's hiding her lack of self-esteem-- and her loneliness and jealousy which manifest as [[DarkMagicalGirl Pixy]] [[SplitPersonality Misa]].

*** ''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 laters gets closer to the manga, so the others don't suspect anything.
*** In the first anime she's even better, only showing her larger-than-life persona in the first season when they mostly needed a leader and putting on an incredibly silly mask in the rest of the series when they don't need a pillar again... And never cracking once. She only shows her true persona, or part of it, three times: in the first season, when Katarina, one of her friends from London, comes to ask why she had [[FakingTheDead faked her death]]; in the S season her insecurities emerge when it seems the Death Busters aren't targeting her for a Pure Heart Crystal and make her doubt of her purity until she's indeed targeted, at which point she briefly becomes [[UpToEleven sillier than usual]]; and in the Stars season she drops the act for a few minutes, making Yaten realize he doesn't know her ''at all'' in spite of knowing her for months by now. On the other hand Usagi here knows her true persona, as she was there when Katarina showed up, so Minako has some moments where she can be herself and isn't in as bad a state as in the other incarcations of the franchise.

*** ''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 ten-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 Kyoko's pitiful life has put into it. So apparently she '''really did''' keep her spirits up, and wasn't Stepford Smiling that much?

* ''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]].

* Sunao from ''Anime/YokaiWatch'' is a Yo-kai that causes people he posseses to agree with everything, even in situations where you would normally be upset. He posseses Eddie easily in episode 45, due to his meek and obedient nature and he's able to open the doors inside his soul, except one, behind which hides Eddie's real feelings about the fact that his parents have to work on his birthday. He pretends not to mind them working because he doesn't want to cause them trouble, but deep down, he misses them and wants to celebrate his birthday with them. At the end of the episode, he gets the courage to tell them the truth on the phone and everything ends well in the end.

** 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.

* ''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.

* 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]].

* 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.

** 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.

** 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.

** 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]].

** 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]]]].

** 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]].

** 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]]]].

* ''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.]]

* 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 inferiority complex that ParentalAbandonment and Akito's MindRape gave him.

* In ''VisualNovel/EfAFairyTaleOfTheTwo'' and in its anime adaptation, [[spoiler:Amamiya Yuuko displays a particularly disturbing and twisted version of this]].
** Another example, while less extreme, would be [[spoiler: Miyako, who has her own fair share of troubles]].

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

*** In America's case, he does play it straight when around [[SitcomArchNemesis Russia]], responding to Russia's behavior by [[NotSoDifferent acting similarly]]; America keeps his goofy smile even when showing aggression towards him (unfortunately, fanworks tend to overlook this, often having these two scowl, [[FoeYay smirk]], or [[SugarWiki/{{WAFF}} genuinely smile]] at each other instead). It's possible he may act like this to all his enemies.

* Yoko Nakajima, the main character of ''Anime/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.

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', 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.

* Mary Magdalene in ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' almost constantly smiles, even though she's constantly having visions of the future and the past, some of them horrifying and violent. In fact, she has so many visions she has no memory of her childhood or even her name--except for a reoccurring vision of [[spoiler:Chrono killing her with tears streaming down his face]]. She's even smiling when [[spoiler:[[GoOutWithASmile she dies]]]].

** He ambiguously stops existing at some point in the third season for no particular reason. His friends apparently do not care. Or notice. Or something. He kept turning into the crazy guy so they couldn't trust him, and the pharaoh decided killing him was acceptable given the threat to the world, so maybe he committed soul suicide. Or just retired to his soul room forever.

* Certain chapters and episodes of ''Anime/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.

* Mai Tokiha from ''Manga/MyHime'' 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]].

* Hino Kahoko of ''VideoGame/KiniroNoCorda'' following her BreakTheCutie process tends to smile and act like everything is alright around her friends but if she's alone she tends to lose her smile and get depressed.

* [[spoiler:Himari Takakura]] from ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' is Depressed. She ''is'' a genuine sweetie, but hides [[spoiler:the pain from her TragicDream]].

* [[spoiler:Himawari Kunogi]] from ''Anime/XxxHOLiC'' is a lovely schoolgirl best described as concentrated ''cute''. She later reveals that [[spoiler:she suffers a curse that makes her a magnet for tragedies, and everyone around her dies horrible deaths or at least suffers terrible accidents, ever since she was a little child]]. And she tells this story ''with a smile on her face''.

* Mickey Simon from the ''Manga/{{Area 88}}'' manga and OVA. He veils his [[ShellShockedVeteran war trauma]], cynicism, and regret with a friendly exterior.

* ''Manga/BungouStrayDogs'': [[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.

---->'''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!!!!!!!

%%* ''VideoGame/KiniroNoCorda'': Yunoki.

* Shouma Takakura from ''Anime/MawaruPenguindrum'' 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."

* Certain chapters and episodes of ''Anime/SeitokaiNoIchizon'' 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.

* 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.]]

* ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer''

* Chikane and Himeko both from ''Manga/KannazukiNoMiko''. Himeko had a really terrible childhood and tries to hide her insecurities. Chikane [[spoiler:is constantly trying to hide her feelings of love for Himeko...and eventually remembers that she killed her in a past life for a ritual to rebirth the world]]. Because of this, she was unable to help in the ritual to summon Orochi's nemesis [[spoiler:so she wore the mask of the villain at this point in the series when she realized the reason why she couldn't help, because a deep part of her still hated the god. That was Himeko would become stronger and kill her to complete the ritual]].

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' features [[DepravedBisexual Tsukuyomi]].
* Mai Tokiha from ''Manga/MyHime'' 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]].
** The anime version of [[PsychoLesbian Shizuru]]: She manages to keep up a cool and semi-cheerful facade for the vast majority of the series, all while trying to content herself with being Natsuki's friend despite believing that she can't tell her how she feels. We don't see it break until Natsuki rejects her.

* 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.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': 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''.

** Underneath [[spoiler:Rena's]] cheerful facade, and obsession with [[spoiler:all things that she believes are cute]], lies a girl who is utterly broken over her parent's divorce, tried to [[DrivenToSuicide kill herself]] in the past, and lives every day with a smile just to make others believe she is happy.

* Russia from ''WebComic/AxisPowersHetalia''. 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 [[NotSoDifferent acting similarly]]; America keeps his goofy smile even when showing aggression towards him (unfortunately, fanworks tend to overlook this, often having these two scowl, [[FoeYay smirk]], or [[SugarWiki/{{WAFF}} genuinely smile]] at each other instead). It's possible he may act like this to all his enemies.

* In ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'', 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 [[UpToEleven runs with 'em for all they're worth]].

* ''VideoGame/KiniroNoCorda'': Yunoki.

-->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.

** That one time he showed up [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness WITHOUT SMILING]], he sent a villain into the stratosphere
* Manga/{{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.

* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'''s 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 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.
** Wolfwood has the advantage of inside information. The old Professor among the Last Unfallen humans, who's known him for decades, can also read through this kind of thing, although Vash doesn't try it so much with him. Stuff like bickering childishly with Wolfwood apparently reads as 'real' to both these parties.
** [=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.
*** That's in Maximum #39 'Colorless Emotions,' the first time Vash reflexively uses the angel arm to block a bullet in a relatively casual gunfight. (Read: the people trying to kill him aren't plot-related characters.) Meryl cracks up briefly at seeing it after the trauma she had last time he used it, and the townspeople conclude he's a demon and start [[BullyingADragon ''stoning'' him]]. Wolfwood snarls at them. Then there's this
--->'''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.

** And let's not forget that 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.

* ''Manga/KareKano'': 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.

* In ''Manga/SandsOfDestruction'', Morte becomes one for a bit after she realizes [[spoiler:Kyrie ''was'' the Destruct, and she managed to drive him away (and thus lose her change at using his powers) by being too psychotic]]. She puts on a cheerful face for her shipmates, but the manga makes it clear she's heartbroken inside.
* 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]].
* 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.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' features [[DepravedBisexual Tsukuyomi]].
* Mai Tokiha from ''Manga/MaiHime'' 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]].

* 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 [[FrickinLaserBeams Kikuko]].

* 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 ([[YourCheatingHeart this may coincide with the promiscuity bit]]).

** Minako could have become one 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.
*** This is made even more apparent in ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'' as she cheerfully greets the Senshi after the battle with Zoisite and sweetly accepts their offer to help in fighting the Dark Kingdom. When they leave, she turns to Artemis, the smile abruptly fades, and she reassures Artemis that she would be taking on the Dark Kingdom alone.