History Main / ExpressiveSkull

* {{Zigzagged|Trope}} in ''LightNovel/{{Overlord}}''. In-universe Ainz is grateful for his {{Lich}} body's unmoving skull, since it gives him the ultimate poker face in situations where he has to [[FeigningIntelligence bluff being more ambitious, intelligent or in-control than he actually is]] (which is ''[[ReluctantRuler always]]''). From the audience's perspective, he still manages to show quite a bit of his true emotions through careful use of camera angles and varying [[GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath the glow of his eyes]], and occasionally through blushes and nervous sweating, or the entire panel going for the SuperDeformed look.

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* {{Zigzagged|Trope}} in ''LightNovel/{{Overlord}}''. In-universe Ainz is grateful for his {{Lich}} body's unmoving skull, since it gives him the ultimate poker face in situations where he has to [[FeigningIntelligence bluff being more ambitious, intelligent or in-control than he actually is]] (which is ''[[ReluctantRuler always]]''). From the audience's perspective, he still manages to show quite a bit of his true emotions through careful use of camera angles and varying [[GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath the glow of his eyes]], and occasionally through blushes and nervous sweating, or the entire panel going for the SuperDeformed look.
* ''Literature/SkeletonKnightInAnotherWorld'' has Arc, who chose a skeleton avatar for his character when creating it and [[TrappedInAnotherWorld woke up as his character in the world of the MMO after falling asleep while playing]]. Because the skeleton avatar is just a reskin of the basic character in the game, Arc is able to express himself as easily as any human (though most don't see it under the face-concealing helmet he wears).
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* Skeletor of ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse'' is usually stuck with a permanent angry expression over his eye sockets, but occasionally he can show other expressions beyond anger, and in one rare case, [[http://www.bustatoons.com/blog_images/blog_not_nice.jpg even form a warm smile.]]

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Compare to ExpressiveMask. See also SkullForAHead, where this trope is usually used, and DemBones if the rest of the body also happens to be nothing but a skeleton.

* ''Manga/GaikotsuShoteninHondaSan'' has the titular character visibly emote time to time, usually during an ImagineSpot.

* {{Zigzagged|Trope}} in ''LightNovel/{{Overlord}}''. In-universe Ainz is grateful for his {{Lich}} body's unmoving skull, since it gives him the ultimate poker face in situations where he has to [[FeigningIntelligence bluff being more ambitious, intelligent or in-control than he actually is]] (which is ''[[ReluctantRuler always]]''). From the audience's perspective, he still manages to show quite a bit of his true emotions through careful use of camera angles and varying [[GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath the glow of his eyes]], and occasionally through blushes and nervous sweating.

* T-Bone, the giant skeletal train conductor from ''VideoGame/CupHead'' rises with a furious attitude, constantly shifts his eyes sockets as he searches for the player, and sports a [[SmugSmiler big smug grin]] in his defeat card if he successfully kills the player.

* Grim from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' uses this to downright silly degrees, even forming lips with the rims of his teeth/jaws at some points.

* Xykon of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is a lich and his skull is surprisingly expressive, even if it can't do an EvilLaugh. Of course, the rest of his body is also moving more than a normal skeleton.

* Atomic Skull and Blight from the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse both have skulls for heads, which tend to be just about as expressive as every other villain.

* Brook from ''Manga/OnePiece'' can emote with his eye sockets, shifting from a neutral to a battle ready angry expression frequently.

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* Lord Hater from ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' is a large green eyed skeleton in robes, and yet he's just as fluently animated as the rest of the cast.

* Mr. Skully Pettibone from WesternAnimation/ScaryGodMother frequently raises his 'eyebrows' and blinks.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', the residents of The Land of the Dead are depicted as skeletons whose faces are almost no different than the faces of living people, aside from being made of bone, having empty sockets with glowing pupils, and having no nose. As such, the undead have exactly the same range of emotion as the living. Possibly [[JustifiedTrope justified]], seeing how the story is being told using wooden puppets.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'', the spirits of the dead appear as [[DemBones skeletons]], but they can contort their mouths and eye sockets to make expressions. It helps that they have eyeballs. Justified by the fact that they're spirits, who obviously do not conform to logic of the human world.

* Papyrus from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has eye sockets that bend around on his face as he lacks the glowing eyes that his brother Sans has, which can even grow eyeballs in their place if he gets particularly frustrated/goofy. The brothers also have mouths that are permanently stuck in joyous, cheek-to-cheek grins befitting their personalities.