Face Of A Thug / Anime & Manga

• Afterschool Dice Club: Takeru Kinjou, Midori's boss at the board game store, is rather intimidating (especially when playing games), but is actually a nice guy.
• Rascal from Akazukin Chacha looks frightening and even has a brash personality to boot, but he adores his "precious" students and is very kind to them.
• Angel Densetsu:
  • Kitano. In fact, the whole plot is driven and catapulted by how he looks like a horrible thug that does drugs and kills people with impunity, which causes everyone to fear and respect him. All of that is false, and he's the nicest person on earth. His bizarre behavior doesn't improve his image either.
  • Also a case of Generation Xerox as his Dad is constantly mistaken for a Yakuza (and attacked because of it) and was shown to pretty much have had the same experience with delinquents when he was his son's age. Kitano's mother on the other hand is so abnormally beautiful it somehow terrifies anyone who sees her, however just like Kitano's dad she's just a normal loving parent.
• In Attack on Titan, Armin claims that Eren and Jean both have the same "vicious" expression. This is used to justify having Jean act as a decoy, disguised as Eren. Eren is insulted by the idea that he looks anything like Jean, calling him a "horseface".
• Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh. She's tall and imposing and her default expression is rather brooding, so everyone assumes she's a juvenile delinquent. In reality, she's a shy girl who loves everything cute and cuddly. The bandages she's seen with early on aren't from getting into fights, but because those cute and cuddly animals she loves don't love her back. Interestingly, one episode had a "dress-up race" and Sakaki dressed like a stereotypical male delinquent.
• Leo Aoi from the manga Beast Master, who looks like he's always giving everyone the death glare. When introduced to the class as the new transfer student, everyone is shown shaking in fear, and even the teacher is shown to say while sweating, "Everyone, please be kind to him. Don't be afraid of him." It turns out that he was raised in a wild jungle, but is actually very gentle and kind. This doesn't stop other delinquents from thinking he's a super violent thug that wants to challenge them.
• Legosi, the main character of Beastars generally makes everyone around him uncomfortable due to a combination of being a relatively large predator (it didn't help he got several growth spurts and even got some more while in Cherryton), having an odd demeanor, and having a rather thuggish looking face. He also is probably one of the nicest and most introspective characters in the story, and his dislike of being such a big scary looking predator makes him a timid person.
• Beelzebub:
  • Oga, who is known as the "strongest juvenile delinquent." He attempts to scare away a baby who has grown attached to him by making his face even scarier than it already is. However, it backfires, since the baby is actually Satan's son, and therefore actually likes incredibly scary faces. In Oga's case, he actually is a delinquent instead of just looking like one. Although he is arguably a much nicer person in comparison to other delinquents around him.
  • Tojo is a more straight example. He is very tall and muscular on top of having a scary face, and even though he likes to fight, he is a genuinely Nice Guy who also has a weakness for cute things.
• Guts from Berserk is a downplayed example who is actually pretty handsome if you stop to appreciate his face, and he's a lot more gentle with his friends than his demeanor would suggest, but he undoubtedly has an image problem especially after the Eclipse. He's a hulking muscular guy in black clothing and armor with tons of scars, fearsome weaponry, and a face that's usually scowling. Even aside from the fact that he's a Walking Disaster Area who attracts demons to him, occasionally uses civilians as shields, and just plain tends to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, most people take one look at him and think he's some kind of criminal or troublemaker. The thing is that he's definitely not a Nice Guy, but he's still a lot nicer than he looks.
• A Bishōnen version of this is Renjou Hotsuma from Betrayal Knows My Name. He is seen frowning more often than not, especially in public, appears to be constantly annoyed at something and scares a small girl upon his second or so appearance. This is mostly a defense mechanism, though to keep people at arms length, because he is scared of losing control of his powers again. Around his partner Shuusei though, he becomes caring and gentle, smiles warmly, is very considerate and devoted.
• Magna from Black Clover has an appearance made complete with the clothes of a Japanese Delinquent, with Delinquent Hair to match. It initially terrifies Asta, who even calls him a gangster, but the two soon become quite friendly. Although his face can't fully be seen with his mask, Zora qualifies with his Tsurime Eyes and sharp teeth. They're called the "thug-faced duo" by Vanessa.
• Orihime of Bleach used to think Ichigo had a scary face due to his constant scowling, then she considered it a bit more and realized it was actually kind of funny-looking. His natural hair color also looks, well, bleached, which is associated with delinquents. On the other hand, other people still think he looks scary: Orihime's friend Michiru cannot bring herself to talk to him, and entire delinquent gangs look for him to beat him up thanks to looking like one. Ichigo is at worst a little grumpy and is actually fairly studious, out of spite for people judging him instantly if nothing else.
  • Shuhei Hisagi of Squad 9 has unkempt hair, three scars on his face and the number 69 tattooed on his left cheek^note inspired by his captain Kensei Muguruma, who saved him from a Hollow when he was young. He is also very calm and level headed and one of the nicest guys you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting.
• Blend-S:
  • Maika Sakuranomiya gains a sadistic looking expression when she becomes nervous. This becomes a problem when she attempts to find a part-time job, but becomes pretty useful in her current position in a Cosplay Café as the resident "sadist" character. An entire scene is dedicated to how attempts to smile for customers are simply frightening. However, aside from her frightening smiles this is largely an Informed Deformity, since her overall character design is just as cute as everyone else's.
  • When Maika attempts to help Team Pet Owner make friends with a female dog they met in the park, we see the two have this in common. The close-up of the two trying to give a friendly smile (with Owner baring his teeth in a threatening expression) sends the dog running away in fear.
• Suzuki Yuuta from Bousou Shojo got such a rough face that the main character, Makino Yayoi, instantly pegs him as a thug and sexual predator from their first encounter alone, despite the fact that he's one of the nicest guys anyone can get to know and completely innocent of whatever she thinks of him.
• Case Closed:
  • Hilariously used in an early case. Ran catches a huge and angry-looking man with Cool Shades spying on the Mouri Detective Agency, and he refuses to take off his glasses even after it's seen he is actually a fellow detective. The moment the glasses come off, however, revealed a pair of very childish-looking Tareme Eyes. Kogoro and Conan end up laughing hard at him.
  • Then there are FBI agents Andre Camel and Shuichi Akai. While Akai is only described by other characters as evil eyed, Camel got into trouble at least twice for looking like a thug. When Camel was introduced, he also served as a Red Herring for the readers/viewers.
  • During the case Makoto Kyogoku was introduced, there was a suspicious-looking man tailing Ran's travel group. He looked like a thug, but he was actually a policeman who was tailing the serial killer who seduced and targeted Sonoko.
• Lud in The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress has this, combining with his former military background and his inability to smile properly means that his bakery business is suffering heavily even if the breads themselves are excellent. His only friend/customer advises him to hire a cute waitress to help being the face of the bakery instead.
• Jet in Cowboy Bebop gets this from time to time — he's a nice guy and a bounty hunter of some renown, but some people mistake him for an outlaw (like the bartender on Callisto) thanks to his imposing physique.
• Principal Enzo from Crayon Shin-chan, whose face is so scary and thuggish, it scares not only the children, but also the teachers. It's to the point where the children take to calling him "Kumichou" (which means "Godfather"). However, he has a tender heart, and is shown to actually be a very nice person.
• The entire Sanada North Perfectual High School's Student Council in Daily Lives of High School Boys is this, save for the Student Council President who is traditionally Bishōnen.
• The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.: Iguchi Takumi, a new teacher at the school, has an extremely creepy face that causes him to be Mistaken for Pedophile. He is actually a very nice guy and a very good teacher. Also, Nendo is assumed to be a delinquent because of his appearance, but is actually quite kind and willing to get his ass kicked to save Saiki.
• The main cast in Dorohedoro mostly plays it straight only when they have their masks on, and avert it by taking them off (Except Cayman of course). En even manages to be a cute little boy in a flashback (Given, an Ax-Crazy Omnicidal Maniac Little Boy, but hey, it's EN).
• Dragon Ball Super: Kale's Kubrick Stare, appropriately, has a stoic, delinquent facade that tends to fade quickly once she becomes weak-willed and emotional. However, once she becomes a Super Saiyan Berserker, the face is very accurate to that form's persona.
• Shinra Kusakabe of Fire Force is a stand-up guy willing to put the needs of others ahead of his own, but he has a bad habit of smiling when he shouldn't, which was caused by a traumatic event when he lost his mother and brother in a fire. This, along with his power to produce fire beneath the soles of his feet, have given him the moniker "The Devil's Footprints."
• Fist of the North Star:
  • Fudoh of the Mountains is a ginormous man who did indeed used to be a marauding killer named Fudoh the Ogre, but a chance encounter with a young Yuria caused him to handle one of the puppies she was caring for her, amazed by the warmth of life, had a huge change of heart and became the gentle, noble and steadfast giant and member of the Five Chariot Stars of Nanto that Kenshiro and Raoh would know him to be.
  • The general rule of Fist of the North Star is that any hard-looking guy (usually sporting a mohawk) is generally an evil punk that Kenshiro promptly puts in a grave in short order, but this trope is played straight by the Harn brothers, Buzz and Gill. They're two rough-and-tumble looking punks (modelled after pro wrestlers the The Road Warriors) who also happen to be masters of a Nanto Seiken branch style that willingly help Kenshiro fight the corrupt Celestial Empire, and almost sacrifice themselves to defeat Falco with a nuclear bomb. Gill is even willing to mourn the loss of Ein, the very same guy that captured the two long before, and in the manga when Ein's foster daughter Asuka refuses to cry at his funeral so her dad can rest in peace, Gill weeps for her.
  • On the video game side of things, Jagre from Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise looks like the archetypical Fist of the North Star thug, sporting an intimidating dark coloured outfit and even a mohawk (the sign of a soon-to-die mook) and he uses a shotgun much like the infamous Jagi. But despite this, Jagre is the much-loved captain of the Eden Watchmen, is loyal to his friends and to Eden's ruler Xsana, and not once does anything villainous. His only hangups are his initial distrust of Ken (though he has good reason for it) as well as his short temper and hot-headedness.
• Chiba Seiya from Flunk Punk Rumble is really a timid, studious nerd, but has the face of a delinquent thug. Naturally this leads to numerous unwanted confrontations. Being a manga about how looks can be deceiving, it's actually the glasses-wearing female class president who can kick your ass.
• Senzaemon Nakiri, the Director of the prestigious cooking school Tootsuki Institute from Food Wars!, is a tall, heavily muscled and imposing man, with prominent facial scars. He also bears nicknames like "The Gastric Godfather" and "The Food Demon King". In spite of this, he is a kind and loving grandfather to his granddaughters, a generally Reasonable Authority Figure and while he is strict and demanding towards his students, he is also supportive and fair in his judgements.
• Fullmetal Alchemist:
  • Sig Curtis is an enormous bear of a man, and a butcher by trade. He often frightens small children with his size, looks, and sharp implements. Ironically, while he is usually a kind, gentle man, his much less imposing wife is an easily angered firebrand of a woman (though never to him).
  • Alphonse Elric is a sweet, gentle 14-year old boy whose voice never broke... whose soul inhabits a towering suit of spiky, badass armor. Frequently mistaken as the Fullmetal Alchemist; only in Super-Deformed do his true colors show. Observe.◊
  • Ling Yao, a mildly suspicious but otherwise amiable guy who values his comrades, and is also one of many heirs to the Xing throne, admits to knowing that he doesn't have the friendliest looking eyes when Ed points out he wouldn't trust Ling's face. Ling deliberately keeps his Eyes Always Shut for the most part because of this.
• Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin: Moss may be a huge and intimidating English mastiff, indeed being a brutal powerhouse. However, he's also a jovial dog and even has a soft spot for puppies, having raised a son by himself.
• Hedoro from Gintama is an almost unfathomably nice guy who runs a flower shop, respects the elderly, and literally won't hurt a fly. Unfortunately for him, he's an alien who looks like a Tokusatsu Monster of the Week combined with Satan.
• GTO: The Early Years: In Chapter 74, Saejima (who is a yankii, after all) finds out that the woman he thought was his girlfriend already had a boyfriend, but she was too scared of his appearance to say no to him. Depressed, he walks around town and notices how his face scares everyone (and even makes a child cry), but a girl asks him to defend her from some guys, since she assumes due to his scary face he must be a tough fighter (she's not wrong).
• Haikyuu!!: has quite a few of those. Ryūnosuke Tanaka and Asahi Azumane are prime examples. The former rocking a buzzcut and always having an intimidating expression on his face and the latter being a tall and muscular dude with long hair and unkempt facial hair. Tetsurō Kuroo also fits into this category with his spiky, unusually combed hair and his characteristic slasher smile. His hot-headed teammate Taketora Yamamoto couldn't be missing from this trope, as with his bleached mohawk and muscular physique, he stands out from his peers. Aone from Dateko is another great example, for his mere presence intimidates people, with his broad physique and stern face. Although they all seem like typical everyday delinquents to the sore eye, each one of them is a caring and friendly individual who deeply loves their teammates and foes alike.
  • Wakatsu Kiryuu from Mujinazaka High looks badass and intimidating but is actually quite self-conscious,
  • To a variable extent, this also applies to Kageyama whose expression comes off as intimidating and "plotting", even when he's thinking about mundane things such as food or wanting to buy t-shirts. His forced smile is also terrifying.
• Misao Zaitsu from Hatsukoi Limited. He looks terrifying, but he's as much of a lovelorn idiot as the rest of the cast.
• Kenji Ban from Heart Catch Pretty Cure. While he has a really intense face and can give Death Glares that send even the most hardened of Delinquents running, he's really a just a sweet guy who loves drawing Shōjo manga.
• Hetalia: Axis Powers:
  • Poor, poor Sweden. His Death Glare scares the crap out of everyone, his partner Finland included... but after leaving his Viking life, he's actually one of the sweetest nation-tans. Germany also displays this, but he's got a hard exterior.
  • Notably averted by Russia. Despite his immense height and large build, he has a round, childish, sweet face with a calm smile as his default expression. Because of how it contrasts with his intimidating aura, this actually manages to make him more scary, displaying his Psychopathic Manchild and Cute and Psycho nature before he even says or does anything.
• The titular Hitomi from Hitomi-chan Is Shy with Strangers is unintentional Death Glare incarnate. In one case, she was just trying to fetch a baseball she flew away from a ballpark after nailing a hit, but between her highly tomboyish looks, her tall build, her muscular physique and her default expression of apparent murderous rage, she single-handedly managed to scare away an entire gang of tough Delinquents without even intending.
• Tonio Trussardi from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable can get quite threatening when talking about food, and his Stand Pearl Jam looks like a swarm of sharp-toothed monsters. This makes Josuke think he might be a Villain of the Week, but in actuality he's a Sheep in Sheep's Clothing, and Pearl Jam empowers his food to heal potentially any malady.
  • Protagonists Josuke and Okuyasu also fit this description. While they are indeed punks as their faces and attire would have one believe, are prone to violence when needed, and aren't exactly pure, they are good people at heart who want Morioh to be as safe and happy as possible. One moment, they could be hoarding money through the use of Shigechi's Stand Harvest, but the other, the two of them could be bringing petty thieves and serial killers to justice.
• Downplayed in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. Shirogane's Exhausted Eye Bags give him a constant Death Glare and most of the students find him intimidating, but pretty much everyone already knows that he's a Nice Guy.
• Yuuka from Kanojo ni Naritai Kimi to Boku looks like a delinquent at first glance. She's a tall schoolgirl with blonde hair, several piercings, and a stern expression. Yuuka calls out Hime for judging her based on looks alone.
• Karakuri Circus: Narumi looks pretty scary, which doesn't help for his survival since he has to make someone laugh.
• Usui Kenta from Karin has this problem. To the people around him, his neutral face seems to be a glare. His actual glare is capable of scaring off a street thug. The manga shows a glaring cobra in the background when he does this, just to drive the point home. It's apparently due to a curse that one of his ancestors was plagued with, at least that's what the soul of his future daughter told him.
• Sakaki Shio from Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. He is a huge muscular guy with a scarred face and looks very scary and violent. While that's partially true because he is a Dou fighter (one who fuels his martial arts by rage and aggression) he is the Master who cares and worries about Kenichi the most, going out of his way to protect him.
• Sawako Kuronuma, the protagonist of Kimi ni Todoke, has frequently been mistaken for a nightmare-inducing ghost due to her appearance, particularly when she tries to smile. This has led to her being nicknamed "Sadako," after the ghost girl from The Ring to whom she bears a resemblance. In reality, she's an incredibly withdrawn girl with the heart of a saint.
• Kindergarten Wars: Gordon looks terrifying, enough to make Rita, Doug and Hana run away from him when they first meet him. Despite this, he is the school doctor and doesn’t like fighting.
  Rita, Doug and Hana: He looks scary but he seems like he is actually a nice guy.
• Kannu from Koihime†Musou is The Bandit Hunter and ironically she gets confused for one and in one episode she is called thuggish.
• Komi Can't Communicate:
  • Played with in regards to the title character, Shouko Komi. Her beauty and aloof behaviour invites peoples' admiration, but also intimidates them from becoming closer to her. On the inside, she's just a very shy and sweet girl who is incapable of personal interaction and the whole premise of the series is helping her in her desire to make friends.
  • Played straight with Katai. He looks like a delinquent and his attempts to appear friendly often backfires. Like Komi, though, he's just a shy guy who wants friends. Hilariously, he and Komi are scared of each other.
• Sasayama of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is bald with a nasty-looking scar on his head, and has only one working leg. These traits, coupled with his style of dress, makes the protagonists initially think he is a Yakuza. However, he's actually a former cop and currently works in social services, and is a good guy. To a lesser extent, there's Numata, who looks like a tough guy, always wearing leather jackets and sunglasses at all times. However, he also listens to J-pop groups, and the reason for wearing his Cool Shades completely subverts the thuggish image he's a highly emotional guy, and they hide tears.
• Umibouzu, Risa and Otani’s favorite rapper from Lovely★Complex has a perpetually angry looking face but is a nice guy.
• Gotou from March Comes in Like a Lion has a rather rough face, and several characters comment on how scary it is. Smith even claims that he feels a Yakuza vibe coming from Gotou.
• Seiji from Midori Days has a face of a thug. It's why he constantly has a stream of bullies challenging him, which led to how he became so good at fighting. However, underneath, he's actually a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who wants to be loved.
• In Mieruko-chan, when Miko and Hana are looking for a new owner for the kitten they just found, they end up giving the kitten to a guy who's large, muscled, bald, tattooed and very noticeable scars. While Hana expresses concern over whether the kitten is going to a good home, Miko saw that the guy had the happy, contented ghosts of his two previous cats on his shoulders, and in a Twitter message she sees that the kitten indeed went to a good home.
• Mobile Suit Gundam:
  • Kai Shiden has mismatched eyes, a perpetual smirk, and a crooked nose. Personality wise he can be an abrasive Jerkass, but he's also an extremely brave and reliable (if at times difficult to get along with) soldier. He's gotten better (and more badass) by the time the events of Zeta and even Unicorn came around, though he still looks like a Mafia don.
    • Dozle Zabi from Principality of Zeon. Face and body type of standard Super Robot villain, but arguably the most decent person among the Zabi family.
  • Mobile Fighter G Gundam's Argo Gulskii is a Russian Space Pirate, seven feet tall and with bulging biceps. He also has Big Ol' Eyebrows, a perpetual frown, and a permanent Death Glare. He's the calmest and most mature person in the Shuffle Alliance and often acts as an understated Big Brother Mentor, and never took a life during his raids.
• Umetarou Nozaki in Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun occasionally comes to school pissed off and covered in bandages. Everyone thinks he might've been fighting, but that's how Chiyo Sakura knows that he's been on deadline—he is, after all, a mangaka.
• Musuko ga Kawaikute Shikataganai Mazoku no Hahaoya:
  • Garron has the looks of a shady and villainous demon who works with Minami in order to exert government control over Lorem and Gospel, but he's actually a genuinely good guy that fully supports Minami's desires to bring about a peaceful coexistence between humans and demons. Minami even lampshades that his appearance can give people the wrong impression about his character.
  • Eliza has a perpetual Thousand-Yard Stare, is near-constantly wearing a small frown, her way of speaking is difficult to understand and somewhat unnerving, and she acts incredibly awkwardly, which all combine to give her a Nightmare Face whenever she tries to interact with other people. However, despite all that, she's a good woman and loving mother, with her creepy stare being due to staying up late reading way too many parenting books, and her awkward attitude being simply caused by nervousness.
• My Hero Academia:
  • Gang Orca is a professional hero who looks like a monstrous, humanoid orca, complete with Scary Teeth and crazed-looking eyes. He's even high on in-universe lists of "heroes who look like villains," to the point that during the Provisional License exam, he is the one chosen to roleplay as the villain fighting the students during the second round. He's nonetheless a decent guy whose internal monologue shows that he is impressed by and proud of the students who show initiative during their fights against him, and his character profile states that he angsts over scaring kids when giving lectures at aquariums.
  • Eijiro Kirishima has dyed Delinquent Hair and sharklike teeth, and his Quirk can let him cover himself in enough rocky material that he resembles a spiky Rock Monster. Yet there’s not an indecent bone in his body; he frequently tries to defuse tensions between his classmates, he's quick to comfort Tsuyu when she feels guilty, and even the notoriously short-tempered Bakugo considers him the first true friend he's ever had.
  • Katsuki Bakugo might have this going for him too. His spiky hair, frequent Slasher Smile, explosive powers and breathtaking anger management issues make him seem like a future villain, and he did bully Izuku Midoriya when they were growing up. But he actually has a very strong sense of honor in his way, idolizing All Might to the point of wanting to be a great hero just like him and often showing grudging respect to his classmates. And when the League of Villains kidnap him in order to recruit him (having been inspired to do after seeing Bakugo's wild antics during the Sports Festival and his sour reaction to winning on terms he didn't like), he bluntly turns them down.
  • A brief flashback to Tsuyu Asui's middle school days shows that she once had a classmate named Habuko Mongoose who had the head of a viper-like snake. Her Quirk let her briefly paralyze people with her gaze, and she would stalk Tsuyu and use this ability on her. But Tsuyu was surprisingly unbothered by this because she got the impression that the other girl was lonely like her, and one day asked Habuko if she wanted to be her friend. Initially, Habuko started mocking Tsuyu's request — but then cried Tears of Joy and glomped onto Tsuyu before saying she did want to be friends. The OVA My Hero Academia - Training of the Dead introduces her in the present for a "Survival Training" competition between U.A. and her school; Izuku, Ochaco, and the other U.A. students are predictably freaked out by the snake-like girl from the other school, which leaves them all the more taken aback when she and Tsuyu hug each other so warmly upon reuniting.
• One Piece:
  • Zoro, despite being a generally good guy and a Friend to All Children, is often accused of having a scary face (and his Slasher Smile is enough to freak out even the viewers).
  • Captain T-Bone of the Marines is an even better example. He looks like a zombie or ghoul but he is one of the most compassionate and caring people in the whole series, ripping his own mantle to pieces just to provide bandages for his wounded men.
  • Genzo's face scared little baby Nami so he put a pin wheel on his hat to make her laugh and didn't remove it til Nami was 18 and leaving home for good.
  • Boss Cat Viper, one of the two rulers of Zou, is probably one of the scariest-looking Minks on the island, since, thanks to his large amount of sharp-looking teeth, he has a resting face that looks like a frightening grimace. However, his personality is actually a lot like Luffy's: serious and powerful in battle, but a fun-loving party animal the rest of the time, who's very loyal to his friends. Even Cat Viper's men note that he has a scary face, but his smile is actually very cute.
• Ritsu Kasanoda (a.k.a. Bossa Nova a.k.a. Casanova) from Ouran High School Host Club. He's actually an incredibly gentle soul, who loves cute things. The only problem is that he just scares the heck out of everyone because of his thuggish face. The Host Club try all sorts of ways to "soften" his appearance, but all their efforts seem to only make him seem more unnerving and scary. Eventually, his crush on Bifauxnen Haruhi leads him to be Mistaken for Gay by his Yakuza underlings, and the Host Club's sizeable Yaoi Fangirl clientèle, who start seeing him as Troubled, but Cute.
  • This guy terrified his father (boss of the biggest Yakuza gang in the city) when he was five, his face is so terrifying. He was just born that way.
• Utilized several times in Pokémon: The Series; much like in the games, many fierce or intimidating looking Pokémon have as much a capacity for gentle or sweet personalities as the cuter ones:
  • Ash's Gliscor is oddly adorable, and is a bit of a crybaby, that it's hard to remember that it's part of a Flying Scary Scorpions species.
  • Kaiwe's Turtonator is a draconic turtle creature that towers over it's trainer and one of the top powerhouses of the Alolan protagonists besides Ash's Pikachu. He also has a fairly gentle personality and takes part in the playful activities of the group as often as his smaller classmates.
  • Ash's Poipole starts off a fairly cute little alien creature, complimenting its very affectionate Keet personality. Later it evolves into Naganadel, a huge wasp-dragon type abomination....and still acts like a sweet dizzy infant.
• Randoh from Pretty Face, before the whole mess with the surgery that made him look like his crush. He's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold delinquent, and certainly looked scary.
• Kaidou Kaoru from The Prince of Tennis, to a degree. Most of the regulars (from Seigaku and otherwise) and teachers have no problem with him, but practically every other student he meets (especially the younger ones and girls) consider him to be terrifying. In fact, on one occasion, two nasty girls from another school were planning to humiliate him after he won a match against their school — when he turned around to see what they wanted, they freaked out so badly that one of them smashed her can of soda onto her own head. Humorously, adults (especially elderly couples) tend to find him very nice and consider him a "good boy", rarely even noticing what he looks like. This usually makes him blush. It does help that he's quite polite and well-mannered towards adults.
• Tomoka Kayahara from Ramen Fighter Miki, unless she's enjoying a meal, has a face that frightens children, small animals, adults, and Megumi.
• From Reborn! (2004), we have Lanchia, who despite being quite scary looking, is apparently a Friend to All Children. They literally like to be all over him. Though he acts like he doesn't notice.
• The Ride-On King: Saki and many others remark that Purchinov is "evil-looking" and initially treat him as a slave trader or dark cultist despite his attitude being nothing of the sort.
• Rooster Fighter: A former Yakuza scares schoolgirls away by trying to sell them baby chicks he's been taking care of.
• Makoto/Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon, sorta. While she did get into a lot of fights at her old school (and still got into some after transferring, even before becoming Sailor Jupiter), she's a Nice Girl who loves to cook and is great at cleaning.
• Parodied and subverted in Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei. Mayo Mitama has creepy looking eyes, but since Dark Is Not Evil, everyone is still nice to her, thinking she fits this trope. Turns out they are all Wrong Genre Savvy and not only is she really as evil as she looks, she exploits this trope to do all the villainy she can. However, it is implied that she does all those bad thing hoping that just once, someone would call her out on it.
• Harima Kenji from School Rumble. He's got a temper and a mean-streak, but once he mellows out, he can be the goofiest, chummiest guy in the world.
• Hirata Mihane, the protagonist of Seishun Otome Banchou!, is considered by everyone else at the school to have the face of a monster and is nicknamed Satsujinki ("murderer"). Art-wise, she usually has a rather plain face, like what other manga would use for a background character, but deforms into strange apparitions when she's angry.
• Samejima of Shinkaigyo no Anko-san is a great white shark mermaid with a perpetual glare and a mouth of sharp teeth. In reality, her squint is because she's a shark and therefore has poor eyesight without her glasses, and her teeth, like a shark's teeth, are constantly falling out. She's actually a fairly shy girl who ended up being named a awe-inspiring monster by the local boys and decided to roll with it.
• In Silver Spoon, Hachiken's father. His classmates (not realizing who he is) immediately think he's a mob boss and treat him like royalty. The animals instinctively treat him as a dangerous predator—the horses refuse to break eye contact with him (it's a sign of weakness), and the school dog barks madly at him for a minute before falling over and playing dead. Hilariously, his father has the same reaction to Chestnut, the ugly horse that Hachiken rides.
• Slam Dunk: Hanamichi Sakuragi is considered scary, but that's mainly because of his bright red hair and his MASSIVE height. Miyagi's delinquent aura seems to come 100% from his face, however.
• The nameless Golem of Somali and the Forest Spirit is quite intimidating looking. Nearly 7 feet tall with a skull like face, no emotion, a disturbing ability to open its face to reveal an eye and has its shell flaking off to reveal pitch black musculature. Despite his looks, his kind are peaceful keepers of the forest and he is a hard-working guardian to Somali. Which isn't to say he doesn't have limits to his temperament...
• In SSSS.DYNɅZENON, Gauma has a look that practically screams "villain". However, he's a traitor of the antagonist group of the show, the Kaiju Eugenicists, piloting Dynazenon and fighting against them and Kaiju to protect humanity against them. He also has a strong sense of loyalty, becoming Yomogi's friend after he gave Gauma food when he was starving.
• In Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note, Aya once says Sunahara looks "a bit intimidating." Viewers just see him a handsome guy and nothing else.
• In Tanaka-kun is Always Listless, Ohta and Echizen's scary looks when Echizen tells Tanaka they used to be in the same gang together in episode 3 gets a callback at the end of the episode when a police officer genuinely suspects that they're extorting Tanaka. In reality they're both very nice, regardless of how much Echizen is loathe to admit it.
• Yuki Sanada from Tsuritama has frequent panic attacks in social situations, which causes his face to twist up and turn red until it resembles a demonic noh mask. The people around him tend to think he is extremely angry or has a bad attitude when he is actually just shy.
• In Usotsuki Ouji to Nisemono Kanojo (translated to The Liar Prince and the Fake Girlfriend) the heroine Luna Narumi has this, in part to her Gothic clothes and her poor vision making her squint and people mistaking it for a Death Glare. She really is a kind and sweet girl who wants friends.
• Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!: Male lead Shinichi Sakurai isn't that bad-looking and he's actually very polite and mild-mannered when he's in good mood, but his eyes give off a pretty intimidating glare by default (not helped by him being a Perpetual Frowner).
• Sigurd Halfdanson from Vinland Saga is a physical copy of his father Halfdan, a cold, calculating, eternally glaring, and intimidating money lender. Sigurd is desperately afraid of being an Inadequate Inheritor to his father and his bloodline, so he does his best to act the way his father does, but people fairly often see through the act and overcompensation to see the Hidden Heart of Gold below. Lampshaded when Sigurd and his group of comedic friends are chasing the protagonists and stop at an island to ask if the people there had seen Thorfinn and company; the islanders note that despite Sigurd's intense face his manners were impeccable and kind. This is another contrast with his father, who is known for extreme bluntness and Brutal Honesty.
• Sunako from The Wallflower has a face that isn't so much like a thug, but a ghost. It scares pretty much everyone to death. She's revealed in rare instances to clean up nicely.
• Sotomura from Waratte! Sotomura-san is feared by all, primarily because she can't seem to smile without somehow looking like she's about to shank you. The plethora of misunderstandings that follow her around don't help, either.
• The Way of the Househusband: The Yakuza Retired Badass turned House Husband Tatsu looks scary enough that his every attempt to look friendly makes civilians' blood run cold.
• Why the Hell Are You Here, Teacher!?:
  • Not only is Rin very tall for his age, but his face seems to instinctively switch to a glare whenever he is unsure of how to approach people. At the start of Volume 2, Satou is his Only Friend because he is the only one who knows he is a Nice Guy inside.
  • Kana herself can fall into this whenever she has an intimidating glare, which is enough to make babies cry.
• In Ya Boy Kongming!, we have Kobayashi, the boss of Eiko and Kongming. Despite dressing and carrying himself like a member of the yakuza, he's not only a very enthusiastic Romance of the Three Kingdoms nerd, but he also acts as a Parental Substitute for Eiko, genuinely caring for her wellbeing and hoping for her to succeed in her aspirations.
• Reina's dad in Yandere Kanojo scares pretty much everybody away because of this trope, along with not being very sociable... though really he's a Shrinking Violet in the extreme and couldn't harm a fly. On the bright side, he met his wife, an actual thug, because she thought he looked like a total badass. She was wrong, but fell head over heels in love with him anyway and they ended up Happily Married.
• The Four Dimension Dragons of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V. They're giant, sharp-toothed dragons covered in spikes, and even their summon chants tend to portray them as scary and intimidating. But Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is not only completely loyal to Yuya, it's actually shown to play along and enjoy duels, to the point where it can sometimes be seen smiling happily with everyone. The other three dragons, post-Heel–Face Turn also help Yuya in duels. This is most obvious with Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, whose first appearance with Yuya terrified an audience, but later happily joins Yuya in performing a show to entertain people.
• Kazuma Kuwabara from YuYu Hakusho looks like a big bully, to the point that at worst he looks like the meanest delinquent when compared to the rest of the cast and at best he looks like a Jerk with a Heart of Gold with an emphasis on the Jerk portion with only a Hidden Heart of Gold. The reality is that he is actually nicer than The Hero, Yusuke Urameshi himself. He is a Kindhearted Cat Lover and has a strong moral code and unlike Yusuke, who keeps on playfully harassing his Love Interest, Keiko, Kuwabara is extremely nice to the women he is attracted to, even if they are not interested. He is willing to get beaten up by other delinquents even though he is fully capable of beating them up without breaking a sweat, when one of his best friend's job is on the line. He also finds the Bad Boss of a former foe, who was trying to kill him and his friends in the last two episodes disgusting for pulling a You Have Failed Me on said foe. Lampshaded by Yusuke in the Chapter Black arc when Kuwabara, despite being attacked by Mitarai, (who had joined Sensui because he was bullied throughout his life) in the Chapter Black arc, insists on helping him.
  Yusuke: A big oaf like Kuwabara, he's got that bully look you must hate. But he cared about you. Bet you weren't expecting that.
• In Zipman!!, Kaname is a swell guy who dreams of bringing people smiles as a Toku hero, but his devilish appearance, creepy scars, and perpetual Slasher Smile get him labels like "Devil-Gorilla" and "White Demon".
• Takeo Go in Zombieland Saga. A hulking brute of a man that the girls assume is a stalker, then a debt collector, and after he gets too close to Number 6 (real name: Lily), a kidnapper. Turns out he's Lily's dad, still grief-stricken by the death of his daughter who has latched on to "Number 6" due to her resemblance.
  • The zombies themselves apply, seeing as they're perfectly ordinary girls who just happen to be the dead walking. Every time they're seen without their makeup, there are intense freakouts for everybody involved.