Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 142 (click to see context) from:
** Admiral Kizaru is [[MellowFellow pretty laid-back]] even when he's in the middle of {{curbstomp|Battle}}ing people. He visibly shows the slightest hint of panic [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness for the first time in the entire story]] when [[spoiler:he's confronted by a [[OneWingedAngel Gear 5]] Luffy in Egghead]]: he starts ''sweating''.
to:
** Admiral Kizaru is [[MellowFellow pretty laid-back]] even when he's in the middle of {{curbstomp|Battle}}ing people. He visibly shows [[OhCrap the slightest hint of panic panic]] for [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness for the first time in the entire story]] when [[spoiler:he's confronted by a [[OneWingedAngel Gear 5]] Luffy in Egghead]]: he starts ''sweating''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Admiral Kizaru is [[MellowFellow pretty laid-back]] even when he's in the middle of {{curbstomp|Battle}}ing people. He visibly shows the slightest hint of panic [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness for the first time in the entire story]] when [[spoiler:he's confronted by a [[OneWingedAngel Gear 5]] Luffy in Egghead]]: he starts ''sweating''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
** Mard Geer of Tartaros carries himself with calm and composure through the entire arc, with rare moments of TranquilFury. But when [[spoiler:Gray uses Devil Slayer Magic to tank and [[NooneCouldSurviveThat survive]] his [[DeaderThanDead ultimate curse]]]]? ''[[UnstoppableRage He flips his shit]]''.
to:
** Mard Geer of Tartaros carries himself with calm and composure through throughout the entire Tartaros arc, with rare moments of TranquilFury. But when [[spoiler:Gray uses Devil Slayer Magic to tank and [[NooneCouldSurviveThat survive]] his [[DeaderThanDead ultimate curse]]]]? ''[[UnstoppableRage He flips his shit]]''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* Erza from ''Manga/FairyTail'' has had quite a few moments, both comedic (the play episode) and dramatic ([[spoiler:the Tower of Heaven arc, anyone?]]).
to:
* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
** Erzafrom ''Manga/FairyTail'' has had quite a few moments, both comedic (the play episode) and dramatic ([[spoiler:the Tower of Heaven arc, anyone?]]).anyone?]]).
** Mard Geer of Tartaros carries himself with calm and composure through the entire arc, with rare moments of TranquilFury. But when [[spoiler:Gray uses Devil Slayer Magic to tank and [[NooneCouldSurviveThat survive]] his [[DeaderThanDead ultimate curse]]]]? ''[[UnstoppableRage He flips his shit]]''.
** Erza
** Mard Geer of Tartaros carries himself with calm and composure through the entire arc, with rare moments of TranquilFury. But when [[spoiler:Gray uses Devil Slayer Magic to tank and [[NooneCouldSurviveThat survive]] his [[DeaderThanDead ultimate curse]]]]? ''[[UnstoppableRage He flips his shit]]''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 146 (click to see context) from:
* ''Franchise/{{Pokémon}}'':
to:
* ''Franchise/{{Pokémon}}'':''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 137 (click to see context) from:
** [[TheBrute Jack]] of the Beast Pirates is shown constantly frowning as he goes around spreading destruction and death, but he loses it twice:
to:
** [[TheBrute Jack]] of the Beast Pirates is shown [[PerpetualFrowner constantly frowning frowning]] as he goes around spreading destruction and death, but he loses it twice:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** [[TheBrute Jack]] of the Beast Pirates is shown constantly frowning as he goes around spreading destruction and death, but he loses it twice:
*** He visibly [[OhCrap loses his composure]] when he realizes that [[spoiler:[[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Zunesha]] is about to [[DoNotTauntCthulhu flatten his fleet]]]].
*** Jack then goes on to [[EyeTake panic]] in Wano when he realizes his boss Kaido has arrived to Okobore Town... [[TheAlcoholic drunk off his ass]].
*** He visibly [[OhCrap loses his composure]] when he realizes that [[spoiler:[[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Zunesha]] is about to [[DoNotTauntCthulhu flatten his fleet]]]].
*** Jack then goes on to [[EyeTake panic]] in Wano when he realizes his boss Kaido has arrived to Okobore Town... [[TheAlcoholic drunk off his ass]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 1 (click to see context) from:
* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Uto typically presents herself as a philosophical WanderingMinstrel with all the coolness of a cucumber. Though since the reality is that it's part of a {{Chuunibyou}} act, she's highly prone to {{Freak Out}}s if she's taken off guard by someone else either sneaking up on her or doing something unexpected.
to:
* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Uto typically presents herself as a philosophical WanderingMinstrel with all the coolness of a cucumber. Though since the reality is that it's part of a {{Chuunibyou}} act, she's highly prone to {{Freak Out}}s if she's taken off guard by someone else either sneaking up on her or doing something unexpected. She will also panic if she falls into water as she can not swim.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** [[MellowFellow Kyoraku is always in a rather relaxed mood]], but he still manages to take things seriously when the situation calls for it. Among the few times he's lost his cool is when Ukitake is incapacitated by Wonderweiss and when [[spoiler:[[ParentalSubstitute Yamamoto]] is killed by Yhwach]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Uto typically presents herself as a philosophical WanderingMinstrel with all the coolness of a cucumber. Though since the reality is that it's part of a {{Chuunibyou}} act, she's highly prone to {{Freak Out}}s if she's taken off guard by someone else either sneaking up on her or doing something unexpected.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'':
** [[EmotionlessGirl Annie Leonhart]] starts [[LaughingMad laughing]] and [[SlasherSmile grinning]] insanely when [[spoiler:she is correctly accused of being the Female Titan.]] WordOfGod says this is mostly out of [[spoiler: relief that she's been exposed and can briefly be a normal teenage girl.]]
** Levi is visibly affected by [[spoiler: the death of his squad.]]
** Bertolt [[spoiler: seems to hold himself together much better than the other two spies even after TheReveal, but it all comes crashing down when he's confronted by his former teammates and breaks down crying because he truly feels horrible about what he's done and really did see them as his friends.]]
* In ''Manga/BeautyAndTheFeast'', Yamato is fairly quiet and straight-laced most of the time with a perpetual "I'm beat" look on his face, but even he can be taken by surprise or reduced to a sputtering mess of embarrassment, particularly when something happens between him and Yakumo or Rui. He freaks out in particular when he bumps into Yakumo in the dark and believes he groped her by accident.
* Guts is stoic to point of lacking emotions in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' until he becomes a member of the Band of the Hawk. He finally begins to open up, but his emotions are mainly limited to mirth and anger, never showing anything tender. Then, during a touching scene when he and [[spoiler: Casca]] make love, he breaks down completely and despairs over his abusive relationship with his stepfather. The following night, he has another NotSoStoic moment when he finds Griffith in the dungeon and sees the horrible suffering that had been inflicted on his friend.
* Ciel Phantomhive from ''Manga/BlackButler'' hits this trope when he has a panic attack in the manga.
* ''Manga/BlackJack'':
** Just one chapter in the ''Manga/BlackJack'' manga, but the "Black Queen", a female surgeon known for her cool, unemotional efficiency in amputations. Even her fiance is freaked out by how cold she is about her work. But then she has a drunken emotional outburst all over Black Jack -- and later learns that she'll have to amputate her lover's leg, which sends the woman into complete emotional collapse. [[spoiler:Black Jack sedates her and manages to save the leg]].
** [[TheRival Dr. Kiriko]] is quite capable of turning the otherwise collected Black Jack himself into an [[DrJerk incoherent bundle of petty rage]].
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Ulquiorra Cifer becomes more and more infuriated with Ichigo during their battle in Hueco Mundo, to the point where he actually starts to yell. It's only as he dies that he finally understands the truth about emotion and the value of the heart.
** Byakuya Kuchiki had a HairTriggerTemper as a kid and, as an adult, his temper is hidden, not cured. He's furious when he learns Ichigo's method of learning bankai has violated shinigami tradition and becomes pure TranquilFury when Zommari tries to kill the almost-dead Rukia. However, it's only when he fights [[EmotionBomb As Nodt]] that his stoic mask shatters completely and the consequences are so devastating it leads to the most [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence brutal defeat]] in this story's history.
* Jo from ''Anime/BurstAngel'' starts the first few chapters deeply troubled by one of Meg's [[FauxActionGirl frequent]] kidnappings.
* Tooya from ''Manga/CeresCelestialLegend'', who even took the BadassLongcoat to stride, breaks away from his poker face for the first time when the subject of his relationship with Aya is brought up.
** Taken even further in one episode where he cries, fearing Aya may die.
** And taken even further than that towards the end of the series when he learns that [[spoiler:Aya is carrying his child]], and he cries again. This time, fangirls swoon.
* Deneve, Clare, and Miria from ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' were all devotedly stoic up until the Pieta battle, when all three experienced emotional breakdowns over the deaths of their comrades.
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
** C.C. is generally a rather stoic character, but the facade is broken when [[ByronicHero Lelouch]] [[spoiler:calls her real name]] and she smiles happily.
** The GrandFinale has C.C. shedding tears just as Lelouch [[spoiler:[[ThanatosGambit stages his own public assassination]].]]
* Vicious from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' usually seems [[PerpetualFrowner stoic and composed]]. But in combat, he is very prone to [[SlasherSmile slasher smiling]]. Lord, is he ever.
** Faye Valentine appears at first to be calm, collected, and manipulative. However, [[spoiler: seeing a tape she made as a child (which she can't remember) and not having a home anymore clearly affected her deeply. The last we see of her is her crying her eyes out after Spike has gone to fight Vicious.]]
* ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'': Izuru, due to undergoing a DeathOfPersonality, is completely stoic and finds everything and everyone around him boring. However, [[spoiler: watching Chiaki, his OnlyFriend and ImpliedLoveInterest back when he was Hajime, die causes his feelings for her to resurface and he cries.]]
* All over the place in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', since while Contractors are generally [[LackOfEmpathy pragmatic sociopaths]], they're ''perceived'' as [[TinMan emotionless]]. Thus, they act {{stoic}} most of the time, but there's usually that ''one'' [[BerserkButton thing]] that gets a rise out of them. Particularly memorable moments included Hei completely flipping out at the mention of his sister and the time when [[EmotionlessGirl Yin]] started crying.
** Hei's character tends to play around with this trope. Compared to other contractors, he's extremely empathetic towards the people around him and is known to act irrationally based on his feelings.
** For a human example, [[FairCop Kirihara]] starts crying when she hears her team laughing and talking about how they'll support the chief and catch the villain without realizing that [[spoiler: their section has been disbanded.]]
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** L, who usually often shows low to moderate levels of outward emotion, freaks out when he watches the second Kira's videotape, and they mention Shinigami. The author stated that this is because he was startled/indignant at the idea that he was supposed to just believe that Shinigami exist and throw all of his logic so far out the window. Also because they "just wanted to include a scene where L butt-hurts into the floor, so that's another reason."
** When L tries to reason with an increasingly panicked and furious Aizawa after [[spoiler:Ukita's death]] in the middle of the second Kira's first broadcast, Aizawa angrily grabs L's shoulder, demanding to let him go out there and help his friend, and immediately goes quiet when he realizes that L is trembling with fear despite the near-absolute calmness in his voice and the impassive expression on his face. He's just as upset about the situation as Aizawa, but hides it and refuses to let it cloud his judgment.
* The super-stoic Amasawa Yuuko from ''Anime/DenNohCoil'' breaks down crying when it is revealed that [[spoiler:her brother has been DeadAllAlong, and all her efforts to revive him from his "coma" have been for nothing]].
* In TheMovie version of ''The Disappearance of Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Yuki transforms from TheStoic into a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, who's just shy. The scene where she (non-verbally) begs Kyon to stay for dinner is just {{moe}}!
* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
** Piccolo is one of the most {{Stoic}} characters in the series. He rarely shows emotions outside of annoyance, especially at the start of ''Z''. However, he has several moments of showing true anger or sadness to the point of tears, especially around Gohan. He loses a lot of his stoic personality after merging with Kami.
** Tien is even more of a stoic than Piccolo. It becomes somewhat of a joke that he has no sense of humor. But he becomes visibly flustered when Launch flirts with him and when training with King Kai when he was forced to chase Bubbles.
** Filler character Pikkon, which is fitting since he's based on Piccolo. His demeanor breaks several times as he fights Goku during the Otherworld Tournament.
* Tsukasa in ''Manga/DrStone'' is often cool-headed and in control. Though he reacts to Taiju's stupidity (these are removed in the anime). After he's revived a second time later on, he immediately asks Senku "what's the situation". Everyone comments that Tsukasa always keeps his cool. Senku tells him that they're going to the moon, causing Tsukasa to lose his cool.
* ''Manga/ElfenLied'':
** Kurama spends his early appearances as a professional, businessman, and BenevolentBoss. After chasing Lucy for a while, his facade breaks down, as she starts to destroy his life, [[spoiler: dismembering his adopted daughter and getting his biological daughter killed, and several members of his staff]]. By the end of this, his mind snaps, he grows a BeardOfSorrow and lives disheveled in a hut on the beach with one of his hitmen. His mind continues to break down after [[spoiler: seeing the dying clone of his biological daughter]], and being taunted by Lucy over it. [[spoiler: he eventually recovers]].
** The Agent is also a stoic character, hanging around in the background, and fighting off numerous Diicoloni while keeping a calm demeanor. She saves a scientist from an Army of them and sacrifices herself to get her to safety. Once the scientist is gone, she begins crying, afraid to die, as the creatures advance towards her.
* Erza from ''Manga/FairyTail'' has had quite a few moments, both comedic (the play episode) and dramatic ([[spoiler:the Tower of Heaven arc, anyone?]]).
* Louise of ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' gets this during the rescuing of the Staff of Destruction in the first season. When Louise tries to defeat the giant golem and is more of a hindrance than anything what with her spells not doing any damage and Saito having to push her out of the way of an attack by the golem, Saito tries to get her to leave and run to safety, which she absolutely flat out refuses to do and tells Saito to let her continue, despite both of them knowing she's doing nothing to help. After a wake-up slap, Saito tells her that her life isn't worth anything if she throws it away on pride, where upon Louise immediately breaks down and admits the reason she doesn't want to quit is that all the bullying due to the lack of talent and constant explosions from failed spells really has gotten to her deep down, and in reality, she is outwardly tough but inwardly she's emotionally damaged from verbal bullying, name-calling, and her own failings as a mage, and doesn't want to be labeled a coward on top of already being labeled as a no-talent mage, and even admits that in reality the name Louise The Zero "hurts (her) feelings" despite her visually brushing it off until this point. This doesn't change her personality in the slightest, however, but at least the audience has an explanation for some of it.
* ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Riza Hawkeye when she thinks Roy is dead in the [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist manga]] and ''Brotherhood''.
--->'''Riza:''' "So... when you said that you already killed someone... You didn't. You ''couldn't.'' You... You... '''YOU ''BIIIIIIIIITCH!!'''''"
** In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'', Riza breaks down when she [[spoiler:sees Roy bleeding out and injured]] in the final episode.
* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'':
** Sagara Sousuke: after being a nigh-perfect [[TheStoic Stoic]] for the entire first season, he is [[spoiler:subjected to a BreakingSpeech by Gauron, [[ShutUpHannibal beats him up]]]] and finally snaps.
** This happens again through Second Raid. Beginning when he was ordered to [[spoiler: immediately cease guarding Kaname]] and ending with [[spoiler: ''another'' BreakingSpeech from Gauron]], he spiralled downhill into a TenMinuteRetirement and a full-blown HeroicBSOD.
** Interestingly enough, in the anime, he ''never'' cries. However, in the novel, he ''does'' break down crying and showing vulnerability... ''not'' over Kaname, ''not'' over any of his comrades dying... but over his shame and hurt pride that the hostage situation (during the Behemoth Arc) failed to go the way he planned.
** On a smaller scale, he also unintentionally breaks his [[TheStoic stoic]] image by, amazingly enough, acting like a {{Tsundere}} in regard to Kaname. During the party on the Tuatha De Dannan, Kurz tells Sousuke, "She's pretty, cute, and has a nice sense of style. ''Any'' man would fall for her in an instant." Sousuke quickly and coldly responds, "[[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend I wouldn't know. I'm not interested.]]" Certainly a response very unlike his normal stoic, clueless attitude.
** ''Fumoffu?'' has several examples, PlayedForLaughs. Sousuke's [[BlueWithShock immediate reaction]] on realizing he's forgotten Kaname's notes at home spring to mind, as does his entire DrillSergeantNasty persona during the Rugby episode, complete with an extremely HotBlooded RousingSpeech that he admits to repeating from a book that Mao gave him.
** And then there's [[http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/Sil_Screenies/RUN.png this]] [[SarcasmMode picture of tranquility]] when he was under the impression that someone was torturing Kaname. Luckily for the "kidnapper" in question, he was wrong.
** A massive example comes right at the end of the series: [[spoiler:Sosuke is stranded at ground zero of an incoming [[NukeEm nuclear missile]] and has accepted his fate. But then his HumongousMecha receives a transmission: a video message from his high school classmates, thanking him for saving their lives and reminding him of his promise to return to school along with Kaname. This makes Sosuke break down crying and declaring that he wants to live, which leads to his mecha's AI trying something that ends up saving them both.]]
** ''The Second Raid'' has Sousuke show his trust towards Kaname by letting her cut his hair. Let's review it: a teenage {{Child Soldier|s}} conditioned to perceive everyone as a potential enemy is letting another person handle scissors near his head and behind his back (falling asleep in the process). More so, he actually gets aroused by her proximity even though he is TheStoic. It doesn't make him any less of a badass, though. That's just some good character development.
* ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C: 2nd GIG]]'':
** Batou is riding in a vehicle with Gohda when the latter starts questioning Batou about his [[SubordinateExcuse relationship with the Major]], openly asking if he's in love with her. Batou (who clearly ''is'' in UnrequitedLove with his female superior) keeps his usual stoic expression until Gohda turns to look out the window, whereupon Batou's face twists with anger and he snarls over his comlink: "This guy's a real comedian!"
** The Major herself falls into this category as well. She usually is a complete [[IceQueen hardened super-woman]] with a rather [[DeadpanSnarker dark sense of humour]], but she can and WILL break face if you push her far enough. She goes [[spoiler: into a murderous rampage against a mech-operator in season one after he nearly broke her body and cries at certain points in season two, mostly involving her feelings towards Kuze]].
** She normally shoots once to incapacitate and kill, dealing with her missions calmly and coolly. At least, until she meets the guy who shot Togusa and damaged her body. Then she got scary.
--->'''Motoko:''' FORK OVER THAT GUN!
* In ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'', the first time [[EmotionlessGirl Imai Nobume]] displays any semblance of emotion is when [[{{troll}} Sougo]] eats [[TrademarkFavoriteFood donuts]] in front of her while she's locked up in a prison cell. She reacts [[GroinAttack rather violently]] (and is possibly being egged on by Kagura, who herself has a rivalry with Sougo). [[PlayedForDrama A much more serious example]] takes place in the [[RescueArc Farewell Shinsengumi arc]] after [[spoiler:[[ParentalSubstitute Isaburo's]] death]]: [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness she outright]] ''[[BrokenTears cries]]''.
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' has times when even the most hardened characters can crumble...
** Paptimus Scirocco of ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' is in almost all of his appearances the very model of TheStoic, with only two incidents breaking his icy calm. The first is when his most devoted follower, Sarah Zabiarov, is killed TakingTheBullet for him. This notably causes the cool and collected Scirocco to go absolutely ''berserk'', completely forgetting about the psychic duel he was fighting with rival BigBad Haman Kahn just seconds earlier to go after her killer. [[spoiler:As for the second time, that comes at the very end of the series when his mobile suit is paralyzed and he sees the main hero's mobile suit rocketing straight at him. But that one's a little more understandable]].
** Speaking of Haman, in her role as the BigBad of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'' she is normally made of [[IronLady lunar titanium]]. However, when Judau Ashta erupts into a Newtype-powered rage after [[spoiler: his sister is shot]], she completely loses her composure and runs for her life. Interestingly, this leads to her developing somewhat of an obsession with Judau, constantly making him WeCanRuleTogether offers and trying to be his EvilMentor. Judau never once takes the bait.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' gives us TheStoic hero Setsuna F. Seiei screaming his lungs out of grief over a certain comrade '''[[spoiler:"[[SayMyName LOCKOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!]]"]]'''
** Aila Jyrkiäinen from ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'' is introduced as an icy, detached [[SuperSoldier super sportsgirl]] who [[CurbStompBattle curbstomps her opponents]] with her Qubeley Papillon model. Later episodes, however, show her as anything ''but'' detached when it comes to food and those who come between her and food. This is especially the case whenever she bumps into fellow BigEater Reiji.
** [[Anime/GundamBuildDiversReRise Hiroto Kuga]] suffers an emotional breakdown [[spoiler:in Episode 20 after he finishes sharing his DarkAndTroubledPast about Eve (an EL Diver and his close friend whom he was [[MercyKill forced to kill]]) and his run-in with the original Build Divers with his BUILD [=DiVERS=] teammates. It takes a CooldownHug and a kiss from May for him to [[ManlyTears finally let out his grief]].]]
--->'''[[BrokenAce Hiroto]]:''' I trampled on people's feelings and wishes. There's no way someone like me could ever help anyone!\\
'''May:''' ''(kisses and embraces Hiroto)'' Don't hold back. If you want to cry, you should cry as much as you like.
** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'' Elan is nicknamed the Ice Prince for his indifferent and emotionless affect. It starts to break down when he learns [[spoiler: Suletta doesn't suffer from piloting the Aerial]], acting gratuitously cruel in his anger, and by the end of their duel he's screaming in rage.
* Van of ''Anime/GunXSword'' has a sort of breakdown after facing a particularly powerful enemy. Not only does he show real fear for what may be the only time in the series, but the breakdown leads him to finally talk to his closest companion about his horrible past and his love for his dead fiancee. During this conversation, his voice shakes, his hand trembles, and he covers his face in a gesture more heart-wrenching than tears would have been.
* Ai Emna of ''Anime/HellGirl'' is usually the picture of stoic, bordering on being emotionless. Then the season one finale rolls around, when she confronts Hajime and his daughter about [[spoiler: being descendants of the boy who betrayed her and got her killed.]] Let's just say an angry Ai is something you ''definitely'' don't wanna meet.
* ''Literature/IWantToEatYourPancreas'': The protagonist is usually an unemotional, aloof DeadpanSnarker. However, as the story grows darker, there are three moments where the protagonist breaks down:
** [[spoiler:The protagonist slams Sakura to her bed in a show of anger after one prank too many and doesn't let go until she starts crying.]]
** [[spoiler: After Sakura is killed, [[HeroicBSOD he is so visibly distraught]] he refuses to attend her funeral and doesn't recover enough to visit her family home until days later. The animated adaptation amplifies this by showing him walking out of the living room after seeing the news broadcast announcing her death and stumbling on the stairs to his room, unable to get up.]]
** [[spoiler: After reading Sakura's farewell message, the protagonist finally sobs in front of her mother.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', there is actually an episode entitled "Inuyasha Shows His Tears for the First Time" in which the title character believes his friends are dead and almost breaks down. He fully starts crying in relief when he finds out they survived. Later, Inuyasha cries again, this time in grief when [[spoiler: Kikyo dies in his arms]].
* ''Anime/{{K}}'':
** Kuroh is usually TheStoic when compared to Shiro, but he gets agitated a few times. A good example is when Shiro procrastinates on proving his innocence, or when he calls Kuroh his wife. The only time his calm facade really derails, though, is at the end of episode 3 when he shows off his tape recorder, which has all of his old master's quotes on it. He gets a big smile, giddy fanboy sparkles, and a LuminescentBlush.
** An even better example is Munakata, who spends basically the entire show cool and unruffled, even when he's in combat...until [[spoiler: Mikoto]] pisses him off one too many times and Munakata shoves him to the ground in a rage. He also makes a ''heartbreaking'' face when he realizes he [[spoiler: has to kill Mikoto]].
* [[EmotionlessGirl Mai]] from ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'' is very much TheStoic at first, and seems pretty much emotionless up until the middle of her story arc. Sayuri gets attacked when Mai is not around, and Mai's reaction to this is absolutely heart-wrenching. She [[spoiler:first collapses in shock at the sight of the wounded Sayuri. Once Sayuri is admitted to the hospital, Mai then tries to kill herself, feeling guilty for not having been able to protect her friend. When her suicide attempt is foiled by Yuuichi, she breaks down into tears.]] And if at first you don't succeed...
* ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'' has an example in Ryu: [[spoiler: in a flashback to his mother's death, little Chizu starts to bring him onigiri as his mother used to make. When he finds her leaving it on the doorstep, both of them break down crying.]] He ''was'' only around eight years old at the time, but it's still a shock, and very heartwrenching.
* Throughout 90% of ''Literature/KinosJourney'', Kino is the definition of TheStoic. Then, in the last episode ([[AnachronicOrder which takes place before the first]]), she stops in a town, befriends an adorable little girl, and is welcomed warmly by the rest of the people. She comes to love it so much that she considers settling down and living there. Eventually, however, the townspeople begin insisting that she leaves, to the point that they all but force her to. Reluctantly, she complies, only to end up [[spoiler:watching from a safe distance as a volcano erupts, completely destroying the town and killing everyone in it...including the aforementioned adorable girl. Made even worse when a letter she was given before she left reveals that they ''knew'' it was going to happen, but loved their town so much they decided to stay regardless.]] Quite understandably, Kino ''flipped out''.
* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'':
** Chrono in the second Sound Stage. His usual stoic expression of professionalism gives way to a lot of spluttering, spatial disorientation, and general bewilderment when going-to-be-adopted Fate blind-sides him with an awkward attempt to address him as "Onii-chan (brother)".
** At the end of Season 1, [[LuminescentBlush he turns purple]] after Nanoha suggests that he's quite nice despite his stoic exterior for suggesting that the TSAB will be lenient with Fate by taking her circumstances into account, and immediately claims that what he said isn't necessarily his opinion.
** Signum gives us two more examples from the same season:
*** She loses her cool and punches the wall when the Wolkenritter find out that Hayate's illness is life-threatening.
*** She sheds a tear after this exchange:
---->'''Signum:''' [[WorthyOpponent Had we not met like this... we may have been really good friends]].\\
'''Fate:''' There's still time for that!
* Crown Prince Kouen in ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'' is normally very emotionless, even when his stepmother Gyokuen flirted aggressively with him, when [[spoiler:Gyokuen succeeded his father before him]] and when half of his body was burned away by [[spoiler:the Medium]]. However, he would occasionally show emotions such as [[http://www.mangahere.co/manga/magi/v12/c190/6.html getting angry]], [[http://www.mangaeden.com/en-manga/magi---labyrinth-of-magic/208/9/ chuckling]] and [[http://www.mangaeden.com/en-manga/magi---labyrinth-of-magic/210/9/ laughing]] at Alibaba.
* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': Johan loses his DissonantSerenity exactly two times in the entire course of the series. Both times become memorably creepy for it.
* World Champion Most from ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' is almost a WarriorPoet, with a Jedi-like detachment and calm. Although the heroes are forced to fight him in order to win the cup he doesn't hold this against them, actually helping his rival Mocchi improve his skills and trying to persuade him to forfeit the match as Most was worried about hurting him. This last scene subtly displays a patronising and arrogant side, and indeed when Mocchi [[MinorInjuryOverreaction actually knocks him down he clearly loses his temper and roughly shoves the referee aside as he starts to count]]. He quickly recovers his composure.
* ''Manga/NabariNoOu'':
** Miharu is adorable, and loves to use his sweet smiles and ability to blush at will to his advantage; still, unless it's just to [[MindScrew mess with someone]], he's extremely apathetic towards basically everything. ...And then he meets [[EnigmaticMinion Yoite]], whom Miharu finds impossible to ''not'' care about. Miharu has a few good outbursts here and there concerning Yoite, and even laughs genuinely, but the turning point is his not-so-stoic breakdown, which leaves him openly sobbing. It's... yeah.
** Yoite himself counts. He shows almost no emotion when first introduced, but over the course of the story he has more and more emotional moments, usually concerning his [[YourDaysAreNumbered impending death]], his desire to be erased, or Miharu.
* Used in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' to the point where pretty much ''every'' developed character who tries to be emotionless (as {{ninja}} are expected to be) fails at some point:
** Shino tries to be cool and calm, but on several occasions is irritated by being left out or unrecognized. Zabuza spent the entire StoryArc priding himself on being an emotionless killing machine, but in spite of himself flat-out ''[[ManlyTears cried]]'' when [[spoiler:Haku died]]. Danzo's policy is that emotions just cause trouble, but he outright flies into a rage when it's suggested [[spoiler:Kakashi be promoted to 6th Hokage ahead of him]]. Itachi gives what appears to be a raging VillainousBreakdown but states that is really ''how he always feels'' [[spoiler:then [[GoodAllAlong it turned out]] he was actually a former pacifist feeling so horrible for being NecessarilyEvil that [[GoOutWithASmile he's rather happy]] when he thinks it's all over.]] [[MasterofIllusion Subverted,]] [[spoiler: Itachi had such a powerful grip on his emotions that his believable act of hysteria may fool any character and even the viewer. Sasori claimed to be as emotionless as his puppets, but at several points when fighting seemed anything but calm. During the present storyline, Konan avoids expressing herself, even the entire time she fought her former master, but is vocally upset several times when Nagato]] starts pushing his body beyond its limits. I think I'm sensing a theme.
** Gaara gets a special mention. When he's first introduced, he speaks in a dull monotone and barely shows any reaction to, well, anything. This seemingly impenetrable stoicism is shattered spectacularly when he wakes up Shukaku for his fight with Rock Lee, and later, Sasuke and Naruto; and also when he tries to deal with Might Guy's defense of Rock Lee and his horrible emotional background (thank you, Yashamaru). Sasuke making him bleed for the first time got quite the reaction. He's also had his moments post-TimeSkip, such as when [[spoiler:he broke down in tears when his temporarily revived father told him that his mother ''did'' love him, contrary to what he was told.]]
** And Pain in Episode 167 of ''Shippuden'', what with some of the [[OffModel bizarre]] facial expressions he pulled.
** Sasuke, calm and cool in almost any situation, even when all the other characters are panicking, laughing uncontrollably, or cheering. But push his BerserkButton (the Uchiha and their fate) and [[UnstoppableRage look out.]]
** Kakashi is for the most part very stoic, never really shedding tears at the mention of his dead father and closest friends, but read/watch the Kakashi Gaiden special, especially the end where he breaks down crying at the death of Obito. It's truly heartbreaking to see that. In Chapters 599 and on [[spoiler: Kakashi discovers just who Tobi actually is -- his old teammate Obito -- which leaves him completely shocked to the point where]] Guy actually has to shake him back to the real world. Cue Chapter 608, where he barely even tries to defend himself [[spoiler:from Obito's attacks...]] The poor guy is completely out of it.
** Can't leave Hiashi out, either -- beneath that icy demeanor is a man who will get on his knees to beg his nephew to reconcile with him.
** Chapter 518 has [[spoiler:Sai]] finally lose his ever-present control over his emotions and fly into a rage when [[spoiler:Zombie!Deidara blows up Sai's zombified older brother, threatens to do it again and again after the guy reforms, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking insults Sai's art]]]].
** [[spoiler:Madara]] remained fairly cool and level-headed despite being in the middle of a massive war where his side consists of two people and a barely-controlled monster. Then [[spoiler:Hashirama]] shows up and [[spoiler:Madara]] slips into BloodKnight mode. He soon goes back to his normal personality, only for it to slip twice when [[spoiler:he goes mad with power on being resurrected and then joy when realizing Guy is a WorthyOpponent]].
* Princess Arika of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' mostly acts like TheStoic, but finally shows some emotion after [[spoiler: Nagi rescues her from execution and tells her he loves her.]]
** In a LotusEaterMachine that showed Negi what life would have been with his parents, Arika remains extremely distant and aloof even to her own son. It is very obvious that she cares about him though, and she holds his hand while walking down the street with him and Nagi.
*** Rather than "distant and aloof", she was more nervous and awkward having absolutely no idea how to treat her own child. Regardless, this still underlines her graduation from TheStoic.
** Also, Tsukuyomi managed to send Fate in a fit of rage by threatening to [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou "steal his kill"]].
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'':
** Rei is heavily implied to have fallen in love with Shinji by the end. Either that, or developed motherly feelings for him since [[spoiler: she's partially a clone of his mother, and is choosing him over his father Gendo to become the "Messiah" of instrumentality in ''End'']].
** Gendo himself does this twice in the series proper. The first is when Rei's Eva goes berserk, and he severely burns his hands in his rush to get to her afterwards (opening the superheated release mechanism for her entry plug). The second time is when he orders the activation of Unit-01's dummy plug (autopilot) when his son's life (as well as the Eva, which contained the soul of his wife) was threatened by the 13th Angel. The look on his face shows it in the Japanese version, but the English dub has him swearing and yelling at his subordinates.
*** An interesting instance, as in the Rebuild, Gendo still orders the activation of the dummy plug but as the frenzied Evangelion proceeds to tear the Angel/Evangelion-03 to gibs, we see a satisfied smirk from Gendo in spite of the carnage that forces Maya to turn away and bury her face in her hands, and the others on the bridge to watch in silent horror. It is also one of the few (or possibly the only) time Gendo has ever really smiled since Yui died.
*** In ''End of Evangelion'' Gendo flat out ''panics'' on a level not seen before when Rei [[spoiler:absorbs [[ItMakesSenseInContext the Adam embryo in his hand]] into herself and initiates Third Impact on her own]] with both actors in English and Japanese making it clear from their tones of voice just how ''screwed'' Gendo knows he is now that [[spoiler:his LaserGuidedTykebomb slash surrogate daughter slash clone of his dead wife has effectively told him to fuck off and die]]. And in his final scene [[spoiler:he flat out states that the reason he has been so distant to Shinji is that he was afraid he'd only hurt him.]]
** Rei meanwhile looks at what happens with the dummy plugs, and she looks pretty freaked out [[TheStoic (for her)]], at least as much as she does when she sees Shinji rip apart an Angel and it's hinted that she would find the truth about them horrifying enough to turn on Gendo.
** Let's not forget Ritsuko's breakdown in the Dummy Plug Plant, where she starts screaming and crying for her mother. Bear in mind she's somewhere between Rei and Gendo on the scale of stoic-ness. Ironically, her reaction upon realizing that [[spoiler:Caspar, the Magi who represents her mother as a woman, has chosen Gendo over her when she attempts a TakingYouWithMe by blowing them all up]] is tearful but fairly composed after the initial shock wears off, with her simply stating "[[ThatLiarLies Liar]]" in response to what Gendo tells her[[note]]the exact words of which have only ever been revealed to the actress playing Ritsuko[[/note]] [[spoiler:before shooting her dead]].
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** The biggest example is Robin. She showed little to no emotion from the first time she was introduced as TheDragon and continues being stoic even after [[HeelFaceTurn joining the Straw Hats]]. Then comes the [=CP9=] saga, the majority of which is ''dedicated'' to this trope; when Robin's TearJerker past comes to bite her, she starts showing genuine fear, anger, and sadness. The apex comes after seeing her companions [[YouAreWorthHell declare war on the World Government for her sake]], after which she tearfully screams "I WANT TO LIVE!" She goes back to being The Stoic at the arc's conclusion, though, as though nothing had ever happened...though she's gradually started showing more and more emotion since then.
*** And it seems that she's slowly slipping into a lesser Stoic status as of the Dressrosa arc: after several hundred chapters of being the calmest person in the world, she has finally adopted her crewmates' habit of showing overreactive faces. [[spoiler:Those dwarves just don't get it. And she has another, even ''bigger'' WildTake a bit later in the same arc when talking with some [[LivingToys toy soldiers]].]]
*** Without saying a word, sometimes what she's thinking is shown to us through thought bubbles and the results usually range from goofy, odd, or cute. It's as though she says morbid things to throw people off about [[CloudCuckooLander how lighthearted she actually is]].
*** During the beginning of the Zou Arc, Kanjuro the samurai draws a pathetic-looking dragon and brings it to life. The Straw Hats dub it "Ryuunosuke" and in her mind, Robin refers to it as "cute" 3 times, all while ''blushing''. Ryuunosuke had the task of climbing up to a very high destination with the Straw Hats and Law on its back. When they finally make it, Robin is driven to tears by the dragon's efforts to help them as it slowly bonds with the surface, reverting back into a drawing.
*** The Wano arc takes this to a new level when Robin makes the same expression as Franky and Usopp when learning Luffy is in Wano (and already a wanted criminal). [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enh8osnwoaaipoz.jpg As seen in here.]]
** [[TheLancer Zoro]] has only cried about three times thus far in over 700 chapters, and two of them were when he was a kid. This is because Zoro is SO STOIC that he can make a TearJerker out of standing there, staring off into the distance, and saying "Nothing happened!" While covered in blood. Though as stoic as he is, he's had his fair share of [[WildTake wild takes]] alongside the other Straw Hats...except for Robin, of course.
** Marco, the first Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, usually maintained a stoic reaction throughout the battle. However, he visibly lost his cool when [[spoiler: Whitebeard was stabbed by one of their allies, when Ace dies, and when Whitebeard himself dies.]]
** Jimbei is usually one of the most focused characters in the series. But he lost his cool in regards to [[spoiler: Ace's death]] and cried ManlyTears when [[spoiler: Nami forgave him]]. On a lighter note, he got a WildTake when he saw [[spoiler:Princess Shirahoshi and an injured Hachi with Luffy.]]
*** He got another Wild Take when Luffy is more concerned about food than the important information Jimbei was telling him. After getting angry with Luffy who cheerfully tells him that he likes to leave things to chance, Jimbei then goes into a minor depression.
** In Chapter 597, [[spoiler:Dracule Mihawk]] thinks that training the man who wants to take his life in battle is hilarious, so he ''[[http://www.mangapanda.com/103-56928-4/one-piece/chapter-597.html actually laughs]]'' when [[spoiler:Zoro]] begs him for training.
*** On the next page, it shows [[spoiler:Mihawk]] agreeing to train [[spoiler:Zoro]]. The look on [[spoiler:Zoro's]] face also falls into this trope. [[http://www.mangapanda.com/103-56928-5/one-piece/chapter-597.html He looks so happy and bright-eyed]], like a little kid that got ''exactly'' what he wanted during the holidays.
** Doflamingo is always seen smirking, and almost never stops pre-TimeSkip. Even then, it was only due to puzzlement. However, [[spoiler:when Law cuts the SAD, Vergo, and practically the entire island of Punk Hazard, all while giving a NewEraSpeech to him,]] Doflamingo actually ''shows frustration'' for the first time ever.
*** But that's merely the prelude of a massive symphony, the first movement of which comes when [[spoiler:Law gives him a SadisticChoice after taking Caesar Clown hostage. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place: either he would give up his position as a Warlord and get Caesar back, or keep the position and be unable to produce [=SMILEs=]. If he takes the former, the Admirals won't stand idly by anymore and hunt him down. But if he takes the latter, he'll anger '''''Kaido of the Four Emperors''''' and get wiped out. After being given this choice, Doflamingo loses it and starts going on a rampage on Punk Hazard, slaughtering G-5 marines and giving Smoker a ''severe'' NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, all while demanding the heads of the Straw Hats and Law.]]
*** The next movement comes many chapters later when Doflamingo finds out that in spite of how smart he was, he severely underestimated exactly how massive of a SpannerInTheWorks the Straw Hats could be. [[spoiler:Sugar, one of his crewmates whose Devil Fruit powers are the linchpin to maintaining his {{Masquerade}} over his kingdom, is knocked out, reversing her powers and exposing Doflamingo as the devilish man he is. His expression as everything he had worked for over the past decade comes crumbling down around him screams this trope, and the apex comes when he's taken by surprise and ''[[OffWithHisHead decapitated]]'' by Kyros... or rather, his doppelgänger is.]]
*** And the third movement comes when [[spoiler:Luffy and Law]] confront him. At first, he's taking it as easily as he can under the circumstances; that is, he's gotten so frustrated that [[LaughingMad he's just laughing it off]]. But then [[spoiler:a lengthy fight commences, and he finds himself victimized by a few sneak attacks before Law takes out his last and most powerful crewmate, and then he begins a fight with Luffy one-on-one. They're evenly matched for a while…up until Luffy unleashes his trump card, Gear Fourth, and turns it into a CurbStompBattle. And in the end, despite Doflamingo revealing all of the trump cards ''he'' had hidden, he loses.]]
** Trafalgar Law is seen as a lesser example of The Stoic; he's smug, smiling, takes battles casually, and is not above showing emotion at times. However, he is unmistakably serious in all aspects, which leaves him rather bothered by the Straw Hats' quirks [[spoiler:after they form an alliance. Examples include tying Chopper to his head, Luffy not following his plans, and the Straw Hats' absurdly nonchalant behavior in the calm before the storm. The first instance of this trope is shown after their victory on Punk Hazard when instead of fleeing, they throw a party. Law is shocked but ultimately joins in, albeit [[http://www.mangahit.com/one-piece/696/18 managing to keep his Stoic appearance intact]]. Four chapters later, however, when he realizes that he's grown too used to the Straw Hats' casual pace, [[http://www.mangahit.com/one-piece/700/11 he is FLABBERGASTED.]]]]
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'':
** When Kyouya first meets IdiotHero Tamaki he takes all of his strange antics and outbursts relatively well... until he blows up at Tamaki and unloads all of the pent-up rage and insults he had been keeping inside. [[spoiler:It turns out Tamaki was (at least part of the time) [[ObfuscatingStupidity deliberately playing up]] his IdiotHero side, in order to [[InvokedTrope force Kyouya into this]] so that he could find out what Kyouya was really like BeneathTheMask.]] After the outburst, they're closer than ever, and Kyouya knows he's free to occasionally tell Tamaki how stupid he is without ruining their friendship... just like everyone else does.
** Mori is also quite stoic, but when the moments where he truly {{Face Fault}}s are few and far in between, but when he freaks, he ''freaks''.
* Vincent Nightray of ''Manga/PandoraHearts'' usually manages to keep up his [[FauxAffablyEvil cheerful disposition]] quite flawlessly, even while ''torturing and killing'' people. The first time his facade slips, which is PlayedForLaughs, is when [[ThePollyanna Ada]] introduces him to her [[NightmareFetishist special collection]]. The second time is much more serious: [[spoiler:Vincent confronts Duke Nightray after Elliot's death and loses his temper when the duke doesn't express any remorse over his son's death. Vincent beheads Duke Nightray along with his two bodyguards, thereby ending the legitimate Nightray bloodline. He {{Lampshades}} this trope when he comments that it isn't like him to lose control like this.]]
* In ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'', Yu is usually comically stoic, casually remarking that he feels like dying when Teddie bites his hand and having a blank expression when he and Yosuke are shoved into a river by Chie and Yukiko during a school camping trip, for instance. Later in the series, though, [[spoiler:when his cousin and surrogate younger sister Nanako is kidnapped, he loses his shit. Worse still, when she ([[DisneyDeath temporarily]]) dies, while the rest of the Investigation Team is debating whether to stick the suspect into the TV World for revenge, Yu silently drags the suspect to a nearby hospital TV and nearly shoves him in, himself!]]
* ''Manga/PingPong'': Smile, in spades. His demeanor hasn't changed since elementary school, and he barely shows any emotion throughout the series…that is, until he surpasses Mr. Koizumi. After that, OOCIsSeriousBusiness.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokémon}}'':
** Silver from ''Manga/PokemonAdventures''. Cool and composed, except for the one time he got a HeroicBSOD when he found out who daddy was. The one moment that really sticks out though, is when he falls over when he sees his wanted poster.
** ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
*** Paul normally has a scowl as his trademark expression with a condescending smirk or intense concentration thrown in during a few battles. The one time that he has ever flipped out completely is in ''A Pyramiding Rage!'' when he battled Brandon and Brandon kept knocking out his Pokémon with no sign of his even taking damage.
*** Nando the Pokémon minstrel, in his early appearances, was so calm and polite that even getting arrested and framed for robbery failed to rile him. Then came the Grand Festival, where when Zoey begins shutting down his combinations, he drops the facade and gets even ''more'' intense than she is.
*** Hun from ''Anime/TheLegendOfThunder'' likewise. Usually he remains calm and blah, including telling his partner to stop joking around. Then the fighting starts and he gets, shall we say, [[AxCrazy into it]].
* Genichirou Sanada from ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'' tries to act as TheStoic leader of his team, but he loses his temper ''far'' too often.
* Shows in small pieces earlier, but in Episode 8 of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' Homura breaks down crying over how [[spoiler:Madoka refuses to understand that others like her the way she is.]]
** Episode 10 puts all of that into heartbreaking perspective. [[spoiler:Homura was once a cute, glasses-wearing, dorky ShrinkingViolet. Four time loops (possibly more) of seeing Madoka die or turn into a witch (one of which involved ''[[MercyKill killing Madoka herself]]'') [[BrokenBird later]]... It's clear that she's crying on the inside.]]
** A lesser example, also from Episode 10. Mami, who is second only to Homura in the stoic department, snaps into a sobbing mess when [[spoiler: the Sayaka of that timeline turns into a witch. She so breaks from the revelation that they'll all eventually become witches, that she shoots Kyoko's soul gem, killing her, and would have killed Homura too, had Madoka not killed her first.]]
* Also could count in ''Anime/SailorMoon'' when the typically hardass Sailor Uranus [[spoiler: witnesses her lover, Sailor Neptune get her heart stolen and die in front of her,]] while Uranus doesn't break down or cry, for the first time in the series she looks truly heartbroken. She then [[spoiler: attempts to kill herself. (Whether that action was performed due to anguish and desire to follow her girlfriend into death, or purely for the sake of the mission is never fully clarified]]
* Hotaru from ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo'' possesses an aloof demeanor that often breaks when an interesting fight or opponent stirs his inner BloodKnight.
** Hishigi from the same series is a very strong example of TheStoic. He loses his cool very rarely, such as when Fubuki's suffering is trivialized. When he does get angry...''run''.
* In ''Manga/SchoolRumble'''s later chapters, we learn that [[spoiler:Karasuma]]'s lack of facial expressions was all an act. Once he ''does'' start showing emotions, he becomes ''almost unrecognizable''.
* Ken Washio on ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' is extremely controlled. Except when it involves his father. [[spoiler: Who was undercover for most of Ken's life. Then killed for real before the two could develop any sort of relationship. And angered Ken enough that he dragged the entire team into an enemy trap.]]
* Langa of ''Anime/SK8TheInfinity'' is stoic for the majority of his screentime, but as the series goes on, he shows the depths of his emotions, despite it still being his default state. He'll smile incredibly gently [[ImpliedLoveInterest at Reki]], sport an unnerving GrinOfAudacity in the face of danger, grin excitedly around friends he skates with, and even look crushed as [[spoiler:his closest friend decides to leave him behind]].
* While Zelgadis Graywords of ''{{Literature/Slayers}}'' isn't entirely stoic -- he enjoys good company and can occasionally be as mischievous as Lina and Amelia -- he certainly never lets himself be vulnerable, and his default mood is a mix of stoicism and [[DeadpanSnarker condescending snark.]] Come the fifth season of the anime, he learns that [[spoiler:he can never turn his chimeric body back to its original human state, ever]], from his great-grandfather, a man he loathed, he starts to openly weep and yell.
* ''Manga/SoulEater'':
** This is used to comedic effect. Normally, Death the Kid is a quiet, observant, and intelligent young man. That is, [[ObsessivelyOrganized until he notices something that isn't symmetrical]].
** The Shinigami/Reaper is a quirky example. While not exactly stoic, he usually brushes off any and all situations by being/looking/talking/acting goofy, putting him firmly in comic relief territory. That is, until the Kishin gets loose. Just as the BigBad is about to flee outright, the Reaper shows up. There's some brief banter, where the Kishin calls the Reaper out on his goofiness, to which the Reaper offers some terse explanation and cuts loose. His voice drops to a low growl, his goofy mask takes on a thoroughly pissed-off expression (which is actually more effective than his previous "scary face"), he actually starts swearing at the Kishin and shows everyone exactly why he's the boss.
** To be reminded that the Cloudcuckoolander and the usually low-key boy are father and son, just point out something (significant) which goes against their sense of order. Kid also counts for the moments when his calm, matter-of-fact attitude towards being a god is broken by his occasionally hysterical concerns over not being a '[[WellDoneSonGuy 'good enough'']] god.
* Haku from ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' is normally calm and emotionless, even when Yubaba was breathing fire inches away from his face and wrapping her hair around his neck and body. But when he is around Chihiro, he reveals many more emotions, such as concern, [[DeadpanSnarker a hint of snarkiness]] and [[WhenSheSmiles happiness.]]
* Barnaby of ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' is normally a very restrained individual, but after the discovery and subsequent loss of a lead on the organization responsible for [[spoiler:his parents' murder]] he completely loses it -- physically attacking his partner Kotetsu, snapping at everyone who talks to him, and briefly going AWOL before his mentor manages to get a hold of him and calm him down. Likewise, any mention of his [[spoiler:parents' killer]] makes him almost unrecognizable in his fury.
** From Episode 18 onwards the story is littered with such moments on Barnaby's part -- so much so that it counts as a complete subversion of the StoicSpectacles archetype he previously represented; {{the scream}}ing in TheStinger of Episode 18, a number of crying (nay, ''sobbing'') scenes in Episode 19, and the TenderTears in Episodes 20, 24, and 25.
* Thorfinn of ''Manga/VinlandSaga'' tries to be TheStoic, but the mask slips more often than not.
* Takayama from ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' [[spoiler: kisses Masane after she visits him following his forced resignation from Doji.]]
* Haguro Dou from ''Manga/WolfGuyWolfenCrest'' is an unsmiling and absolutely gigantic middle-schooler who, as the violent son of a Yakuza boss, serves as werewolf protagonist Inugami's main enemy for the first arc. When Inugami shows him just how powerless he really is, Haguro starts busting out [[SlasherSmile Slasher Smiles]] like nobody's business and goes on a psychopathic rampage that still shows no signs of stopping, all to regain his original image as a "monster."
* ''Anime/WolfsRain'':
** A particularly heart-wrenching example is when resident tough guy Tsume breaks down and openly weeps after [[spoiler: Toboe]]'s death.
** In the same series we also have Darcia, the cool, quiet, and enigmatic noble who completely loses it when [[spoiler:he returns home with Cheza, (she of the HealingHands) to save his ill fiancee, only to find that his fiancee was murdered shortly before his return. [[FreakOut He doesn't take it well]]]].
* Karasu from the Dark Tournament saga of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' initially seems to be the calmest and most reserved member of Team Toguro. During his battle with Kurama however, he turns out to be much more malicious and brutal than expected.
** Kurama tends to be calm most of the time, but after [[spoiler:winning a game against [[CreepyChild Amanuma/Game Master]] that costs the poor kid his life]], he becomes enraged under his stoic facade, [[spoiler:instantly decapitating Makihara/Gourmet with his Rose Whip and setting up a plan to defeat Elder Toguro (who was controlling Makihara's body after killing him) while he is ''still unable'' to read his thoughts through his rage]]. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Hoo Lee Shit]].
----
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'':
** [[EmotionlessGirl Annie Leonhart]] starts [[LaughingMad laughing]] and [[SlasherSmile grinning]] insanely when [[spoiler:she is correctly accused of being the Female Titan.]] WordOfGod says this is mostly out of [[spoiler: relief that she's been exposed and can briefly be a normal teenage girl.]]
** Levi is visibly affected by [[spoiler: the death of his squad.]]
** Bertolt [[spoiler: seems to hold himself together much better than the other two spies even after TheReveal, but it all comes crashing down when he's confronted by his former teammates and breaks down crying because he truly feels horrible about what he's done and really did see them as his friends.]]
* In ''Manga/BeautyAndTheFeast'', Yamato is fairly quiet and straight-laced most of the time with a perpetual "I'm beat" look on his face, but even he can be taken by surprise or reduced to a sputtering mess of embarrassment, particularly when something happens between him and Yakumo or Rui. He freaks out in particular when he bumps into Yakumo in the dark and believes he groped her by accident.
* Guts is stoic to point of lacking emotions in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' until he becomes a member of the Band of the Hawk. He finally begins to open up, but his emotions are mainly limited to mirth and anger, never showing anything tender. Then, during a touching scene when he and [[spoiler: Casca]] make love, he breaks down completely and despairs over his abusive relationship with his stepfather. The following night, he has another NotSoStoic moment when he finds Griffith in the dungeon and sees the horrible suffering that had been inflicted on his friend.
* Ciel Phantomhive from ''Manga/BlackButler'' hits this trope when he has a panic attack in the manga.
* ''Manga/BlackJack'':
** Just one chapter in the ''Manga/BlackJack'' manga, but the "Black Queen", a female surgeon known for her cool, unemotional efficiency in amputations. Even her fiance is freaked out by how cold she is about her work. But then she has a drunken emotional outburst all over Black Jack -- and later learns that she'll have to amputate her lover's leg, which sends the woman into complete emotional collapse. [[spoiler:Black Jack sedates her and manages to save the leg]].
** [[TheRival Dr. Kiriko]] is quite capable of turning the otherwise collected Black Jack himself into an [[DrJerk incoherent bundle of petty rage]].
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Ulquiorra Cifer becomes more and more infuriated with Ichigo during their battle in Hueco Mundo, to the point where he actually starts to yell. It's only as he dies that he finally understands the truth about emotion and the value of the heart.
** Byakuya Kuchiki had a HairTriggerTemper as a kid and, as an adult, his temper is hidden, not cured. He's furious when he learns Ichigo's method of learning bankai has violated shinigami tradition and becomes pure TranquilFury when Zommari tries to kill the almost-dead Rukia. However, it's only when he fights [[EmotionBomb As Nodt]] that his stoic mask shatters completely and the consequences are so devastating it leads to the most [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence brutal defeat]] in this story's history.
* Jo from ''Anime/BurstAngel'' starts the first few chapters deeply troubled by one of Meg's [[FauxActionGirl frequent]] kidnappings.
* Tooya from ''Manga/CeresCelestialLegend'', who even took the BadassLongcoat to stride, breaks away from his poker face for the first time when the subject of his relationship with Aya is brought up.
** Taken even further in one episode where he cries, fearing Aya may die.
** And taken even further than that towards the end of the series when he learns that [[spoiler:Aya is carrying his child]], and he cries again. This time, fangirls swoon.
* Deneve, Clare, and Miria from ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' were all devotedly stoic up until the Pieta battle, when all three experienced emotional breakdowns over the deaths of their comrades.
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
** C.C. is generally a rather stoic character, but the facade is broken when [[ByronicHero Lelouch]] [[spoiler:calls her real name]] and she smiles happily.
** The GrandFinale has C.C. shedding tears just as Lelouch [[spoiler:[[ThanatosGambit stages his own public assassination]].]]
* Vicious from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' usually seems [[PerpetualFrowner stoic and composed]]. But in combat, he is very prone to [[SlasherSmile slasher smiling]]. Lord, is he ever.
** Faye Valentine appears at first to be calm, collected, and manipulative. However, [[spoiler: seeing a tape she made as a child (which she can't remember) and not having a home anymore clearly affected her deeply. The last we see of her is her crying her eyes out after Spike has gone to fight Vicious.]]
* ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'': Izuru, due to undergoing a DeathOfPersonality, is completely stoic and finds everything and everyone around him boring. However, [[spoiler: watching Chiaki, his OnlyFriend and ImpliedLoveInterest back when he was Hajime, die causes his feelings for her to resurface and he cries.]]
* All over the place in ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', since while Contractors are generally [[LackOfEmpathy pragmatic sociopaths]], they're ''perceived'' as [[TinMan emotionless]]. Thus, they act {{stoic}} most of the time, but there's usually that ''one'' [[BerserkButton thing]] that gets a rise out of them. Particularly memorable moments included Hei completely flipping out at the mention of his sister and the time when [[EmotionlessGirl Yin]] started crying.
** Hei's character tends to play around with this trope. Compared to other contractors, he's extremely empathetic towards the people around him and is known to act irrationally based on his feelings.
** For a human example, [[FairCop Kirihara]] starts crying when she hears her team laughing and talking about how they'll support the chief and catch the villain without realizing that [[spoiler: their section has been disbanded.]]
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** L, who usually often shows low to moderate levels of outward emotion, freaks out when he watches the second Kira's videotape, and they mention Shinigami. The author stated that this is because he was startled/indignant at the idea that he was supposed to just believe that Shinigami exist and throw all of his logic so far out the window. Also because they "just wanted to include a scene where L butt-hurts into the floor, so that's another reason."
** When L tries to reason with an increasingly panicked and furious Aizawa after [[spoiler:Ukita's death]] in the middle of the second Kira's first broadcast, Aizawa angrily grabs L's shoulder, demanding to let him go out there and help his friend, and immediately goes quiet when he realizes that L is trembling with fear despite the near-absolute calmness in his voice and the impassive expression on his face. He's just as upset about the situation as Aizawa, but hides it and refuses to let it cloud his judgment.
* The super-stoic Amasawa Yuuko from ''Anime/DenNohCoil'' breaks down crying when it is revealed that [[spoiler:her brother has been DeadAllAlong, and all her efforts to revive him from his "coma" have been for nothing]].
* In TheMovie version of ''The Disappearance of Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Yuki transforms from TheStoic into a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, who's just shy. The scene where she (non-verbally) begs Kyon to stay for dinner is just {{moe}}!
* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
** Piccolo is one of the most {{Stoic}} characters in the series. He rarely shows emotions outside of annoyance, especially at the start of ''Z''. However, he has several moments of showing true anger or sadness to the point of tears, especially around Gohan. He loses a lot of his stoic personality after merging with Kami.
** Tien is even more of a stoic than Piccolo. It becomes somewhat of a joke that he has no sense of humor. But he becomes visibly flustered when Launch flirts with him and when training with King Kai when he was forced to chase Bubbles.
** Filler character Pikkon, which is fitting since he's based on Piccolo. His demeanor breaks several times as he fights Goku during the Otherworld Tournament.
* Tsukasa in ''Manga/DrStone'' is often cool-headed and in control. Though he reacts to Taiju's stupidity (these are removed in the anime). After he's revived a second time later on, he immediately asks Senku "what's the situation". Everyone comments that Tsukasa always keeps his cool. Senku tells him that they're going to the moon, causing Tsukasa to lose his cool.
* ''Manga/ElfenLied'':
** Kurama spends his early appearances as a professional, businessman, and BenevolentBoss. After chasing Lucy for a while, his facade breaks down, as she starts to destroy his life, [[spoiler: dismembering his adopted daughter and getting his biological daughter killed, and several members of his staff]]. By the end of this, his mind snaps, he grows a BeardOfSorrow and lives disheveled in a hut on the beach with one of his hitmen. His mind continues to break down after [[spoiler: seeing the dying clone of his biological daughter]], and being taunted by Lucy over it. [[spoiler: he eventually recovers]].
** The Agent is also a stoic character, hanging around in the background, and fighting off numerous Diicoloni while keeping a calm demeanor. She saves a scientist from an Army of them and sacrifices herself to get her to safety. Once the scientist is gone, she begins crying, afraid to die, as the creatures advance towards her.
* Erza from ''Manga/FairyTail'' has had quite a few moments, both comedic (the play episode) and dramatic ([[spoiler:the Tower of Heaven arc, anyone?]]).
* Louise of ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' gets this during the rescuing of the Staff of Destruction in the first season. When Louise tries to defeat the giant golem and is more of a hindrance than anything what with her spells not doing any damage and Saito having to push her out of the way of an attack by the golem, Saito tries to get her to leave and run to safety, which she absolutely flat out refuses to do and tells Saito to let her continue, despite both of them knowing she's doing nothing to help. After a wake-up slap, Saito tells her that her life isn't worth anything if she throws it away on pride, where upon Louise immediately breaks down and admits the reason she doesn't want to quit is that all the bullying due to the lack of talent and constant explosions from failed spells really has gotten to her deep down, and in reality, she is outwardly tough but inwardly she's emotionally damaged from verbal bullying, name-calling, and her own failings as a mage, and doesn't want to be labeled a coward on top of already being labeled as a no-talent mage, and even admits that in reality the name Louise The Zero "hurts (her) feelings" despite her visually brushing it off until this point. This doesn't change her personality in the slightest, however, but at least the audience has an explanation for some of it.
* ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Riza Hawkeye when she thinks Roy is dead in the [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist manga]] and ''Brotherhood''.
--->'''Riza:''' "So... when you said that you already killed someone... You didn't. You ''couldn't.'' You... You... '''YOU ''BIIIIIIIIITCH!!'''''"
** In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'', Riza breaks down when she [[spoiler:sees Roy bleeding out and injured]] in the final episode.
* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'':
** Sagara Sousuke: after being a nigh-perfect [[TheStoic Stoic]] for the entire first season, he is [[spoiler:subjected to a BreakingSpeech by Gauron, [[ShutUpHannibal beats him up]]]] and finally snaps.
** This happens again through Second Raid. Beginning when he was ordered to [[spoiler: immediately cease guarding Kaname]] and ending with [[spoiler: ''another'' BreakingSpeech from Gauron]], he spiralled downhill into a TenMinuteRetirement and a full-blown HeroicBSOD.
** Interestingly enough, in the anime, he ''never'' cries. However, in the novel, he ''does'' break down crying and showing vulnerability... ''not'' over Kaname, ''not'' over any of his comrades dying... but over his shame and hurt pride that the hostage situation (during the Behemoth Arc) failed to go the way he planned.
** On a smaller scale, he also unintentionally breaks his [[TheStoic stoic]] image by, amazingly enough, acting like a {{Tsundere}} in regard to Kaname. During the party on the Tuatha De Dannan, Kurz tells Sousuke, "She's pretty, cute, and has a nice sense of style. ''Any'' man would fall for her in an instant." Sousuke quickly and coldly responds, "[[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend I wouldn't know. I'm not interested.]]" Certainly a response very unlike his normal stoic, clueless attitude.
** ''Fumoffu?'' has several examples, PlayedForLaughs. Sousuke's [[BlueWithShock immediate reaction]] on realizing he's forgotten Kaname's notes at home spring to mind, as does his entire DrillSergeantNasty persona during the Rugby episode, complete with an extremely HotBlooded RousingSpeech that he admits to repeating from a book that Mao gave him.
** And then there's [[http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/Sil_Screenies/RUN.png this]] [[SarcasmMode picture of tranquility]] when he was under the impression that someone was torturing Kaname. Luckily for the "kidnapper" in question, he was wrong.
** A massive example comes right at the end of the series: [[spoiler:Sosuke is stranded at ground zero of an incoming [[NukeEm nuclear missile]] and has accepted his fate. But then his HumongousMecha receives a transmission: a video message from his high school classmates, thanking him for saving their lives and reminding him of his promise to return to school along with Kaname. This makes Sosuke break down crying and declaring that he wants to live, which leads to his mecha's AI trying something that ends up saving them both.]]
** ''The Second Raid'' has Sousuke show his trust towards Kaname by letting her cut his hair. Let's review it: a teenage {{Child Soldier|s}} conditioned to perceive everyone as a potential enemy is letting another person handle scissors near his head and behind his back (falling asleep in the process). More so, he actually gets aroused by her proximity even though he is TheStoic. It doesn't make him any less of a badass, though. That's just some good character development.
* ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C: 2nd GIG]]'':
** Batou is riding in a vehicle with Gohda when the latter starts questioning Batou about his [[SubordinateExcuse relationship with the Major]], openly asking if he's in love with her. Batou (who clearly ''is'' in UnrequitedLove with his female superior) keeps his usual stoic expression until Gohda turns to look out the window, whereupon Batou's face twists with anger and he snarls over his comlink: "This guy's a real comedian!"
** The Major herself falls into this category as well. She usually is a complete [[IceQueen hardened super-woman]] with a rather [[DeadpanSnarker dark sense of humour]], but she can and WILL break face if you push her far enough. She goes [[spoiler: into a murderous rampage against a mech-operator in season one after he nearly broke her body and cries at certain points in season two, mostly involving her feelings towards Kuze]].
** She normally shoots once to incapacitate and kill, dealing with her missions calmly and coolly. At least, until she meets the guy who shot Togusa and damaged her body. Then she got scary.
--->'''Motoko:''' FORK OVER THAT GUN!
* In ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'', the first time [[EmotionlessGirl Imai Nobume]] displays any semblance of emotion is when [[{{troll}} Sougo]] eats [[TrademarkFavoriteFood donuts]] in front of her while she's locked up in a prison cell. She reacts [[GroinAttack rather violently]] (and is possibly being egged on by Kagura, who herself has a rivalry with Sougo). [[PlayedForDrama A much more serious example]] takes place in the [[RescueArc Farewell Shinsengumi arc]] after [[spoiler:[[ParentalSubstitute Isaburo's]] death]]: [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness she outright]] ''[[BrokenTears cries]]''.
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' has times when even the most hardened characters can crumble...
** Paptimus Scirocco of ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' is in almost all of his appearances the very model of TheStoic, with only two incidents breaking his icy calm. The first is when his most devoted follower, Sarah Zabiarov, is killed TakingTheBullet for him. This notably causes the cool and collected Scirocco to go absolutely ''berserk'', completely forgetting about the psychic duel he was fighting with rival BigBad Haman Kahn just seconds earlier to go after her killer. [[spoiler:As for the second time, that comes at the very end of the series when his mobile suit is paralyzed and he sees the main hero's mobile suit rocketing straight at him. But that one's a little more understandable]].
** Speaking of Haman, in her role as the BigBad of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'' she is normally made of [[IronLady lunar titanium]]. However, when Judau Ashta erupts into a Newtype-powered rage after [[spoiler: his sister is shot]], she completely loses her composure and runs for her life. Interestingly, this leads to her developing somewhat of an obsession with Judau, constantly making him WeCanRuleTogether offers and trying to be his EvilMentor. Judau never once takes the bait.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' gives us TheStoic hero Setsuna F. Seiei screaming his lungs out of grief over a certain comrade '''[[spoiler:"[[SayMyName LOCKOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!]]"]]'''
** Aila Jyrkiäinen from ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'' is introduced as an icy, detached [[SuperSoldier super sportsgirl]] who [[CurbStompBattle curbstomps her opponents]] with her Qubeley Papillon model. Later episodes, however, show her as anything ''but'' detached when it comes to food and those who come between her and food. This is especially the case whenever she bumps into fellow BigEater Reiji.
** [[Anime/GundamBuildDiversReRise Hiroto Kuga]] suffers an emotional breakdown [[spoiler:in Episode 20 after he finishes sharing his DarkAndTroubledPast about Eve (an EL Diver and his close friend whom he was [[MercyKill forced to kill]]) and his run-in with the original Build Divers with his BUILD [=DiVERS=] teammates. It takes a CooldownHug and a kiss from May for him to [[ManlyTears finally let out his grief]].]]
--->'''[[BrokenAce Hiroto]]:''' I trampled on people's feelings and wishes. There's no way someone like me could ever help anyone!\\
'''May:''' ''(kisses and embraces Hiroto)'' Don't hold back. If you want to cry, you should cry as much as you like.
** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'' Elan is nicknamed the Ice Prince for his indifferent and emotionless affect. It starts to break down when he learns [[spoiler: Suletta doesn't suffer from piloting the Aerial]], acting gratuitously cruel in his anger, and by the end of their duel he's screaming in rage.
* Van of ''Anime/GunXSword'' has a sort of breakdown after facing a particularly powerful enemy. Not only does he show real fear for what may be the only time in the series, but the breakdown leads him to finally talk to his closest companion about his horrible past and his love for his dead fiancee. During this conversation, his voice shakes, his hand trembles, and he covers his face in a gesture more heart-wrenching than tears would have been.
* Ai Emna of ''Anime/HellGirl'' is usually the picture of stoic, bordering on being emotionless. Then the season one finale rolls around, when she confronts Hajime and his daughter about [[spoiler: being descendants of the boy who betrayed her and got her killed.]] Let's just say an angry Ai is something you ''definitely'' don't wanna meet.
* ''Literature/IWantToEatYourPancreas'': The protagonist is usually an unemotional, aloof DeadpanSnarker. However, as the story grows darker, there are three moments where the protagonist breaks down:
** [[spoiler:The protagonist slams Sakura to her bed in a show of anger after one prank too many and doesn't let go until she starts crying.]]
** [[spoiler: After Sakura is killed, [[HeroicBSOD he is so visibly distraught]] he refuses to attend her funeral and doesn't recover enough to visit her family home until days later. The animated adaptation amplifies this by showing him walking out of the living room after seeing the news broadcast announcing her death and stumbling on the stairs to his room, unable to get up.]]
** [[spoiler: After reading Sakura's farewell message, the protagonist finally sobs in front of her mother.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', there is actually an episode entitled "Inuyasha Shows His Tears for the First Time" in which the title character believes his friends are dead and almost breaks down. He fully starts crying in relief when he finds out they survived. Later, Inuyasha cries again, this time in grief when [[spoiler: Kikyo dies in his arms]].
* ''Anime/{{K}}'':
** Kuroh is usually TheStoic when compared to Shiro, but he gets agitated a few times. A good example is when Shiro procrastinates on proving his innocence, or when he calls Kuroh his wife. The only time his calm facade really derails, though, is at the end of episode 3 when he shows off his tape recorder, which has all of his old master's quotes on it. He gets a big smile, giddy fanboy sparkles, and a LuminescentBlush.
** An even better example is Munakata, who spends basically the entire show cool and unruffled, even when he's in combat...until [[spoiler: Mikoto]] pisses him off one too many times and Munakata shoves him to the ground in a rage. He also makes a ''heartbreaking'' face when he realizes he [[spoiler: has to kill Mikoto]].
* [[EmotionlessGirl Mai]] from ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'' is very much TheStoic at first, and seems pretty much emotionless up until the middle of her story arc. Sayuri gets attacked when Mai is not around, and Mai's reaction to this is absolutely heart-wrenching. She [[spoiler:first collapses in shock at the sight of the wounded Sayuri. Once Sayuri is admitted to the hospital, Mai then tries to kill herself, feeling guilty for not having been able to protect her friend. When her suicide attempt is foiled by Yuuichi, she breaks down into tears.]] And if at first you don't succeed...
* ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'' has an example in Ryu: [[spoiler: in a flashback to his mother's death, little Chizu starts to bring him onigiri as his mother used to make. When he finds her leaving it on the doorstep, both of them break down crying.]] He ''was'' only around eight years old at the time, but it's still a shock, and very heartwrenching.
* Throughout 90% of ''Literature/KinosJourney'', Kino is the definition of TheStoic. Then, in the last episode ([[AnachronicOrder which takes place before the first]]), she stops in a town, befriends an adorable little girl, and is welcomed warmly by the rest of the people. She comes to love it so much that she considers settling down and living there. Eventually, however, the townspeople begin insisting that she leaves, to the point that they all but force her to. Reluctantly, she complies, only to end up [[spoiler:watching from a safe distance as a volcano erupts, completely destroying the town and killing everyone in it...including the aforementioned adorable girl. Made even worse when a letter she was given before she left reveals that they ''knew'' it was going to happen, but loved their town so much they decided to stay regardless.]] Quite understandably, Kino ''flipped out''.
* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'':
** Chrono in the second Sound Stage. His usual stoic expression of professionalism gives way to a lot of spluttering, spatial disorientation, and general bewilderment when going-to-be-adopted Fate blind-sides him with an awkward attempt to address him as "Onii-chan (brother)".
** At the end of Season 1, [[LuminescentBlush he turns purple]] after Nanoha suggests that he's quite nice despite his stoic exterior for suggesting that the TSAB will be lenient with Fate by taking her circumstances into account, and immediately claims that what he said isn't necessarily his opinion.
** Signum gives us two more examples from the same season:
*** She loses her cool and punches the wall when the Wolkenritter find out that Hayate's illness is life-threatening.
*** She sheds a tear after this exchange:
---->'''Signum:''' [[WorthyOpponent Had we not met like this... we may have been really good friends]].\\
'''Fate:''' There's still time for that!
* Crown Prince Kouen in ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'' is normally very emotionless, even when his stepmother Gyokuen flirted aggressively with him, when [[spoiler:Gyokuen succeeded his father before him]] and when half of his body was burned away by [[spoiler:the Medium]]. However, he would occasionally show emotions such as [[http://www.mangahere.co/manga/magi/v12/c190/6.html getting angry]], [[http://www.mangaeden.com/en-manga/magi---labyrinth-of-magic/208/9/ chuckling]] and [[http://www.mangaeden.com/en-manga/magi---labyrinth-of-magic/210/9/ laughing]] at Alibaba.
* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': Johan loses his DissonantSerenity exactly two times in the entire course of the series. Both times become memorably creepy for it.
* World Champion Most from ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' is almost a WarriorPoet, with a Jedi-like detachment and calm. Although the heroes are forced to fight him in order to win the cup he doesn't hold this against them, actually helping his rival Mocchi improve his skills and trying to persuade him to forfeit the match as Most was worried about hurting him. This last scene subtly displays a patronising and arrogant side, and indeed when Mocchi [[MinorInjuryOverreaction actually knocks him down he clearly loses his temper and roughly shoves the referee aside as he starts to count]]. He quickly recovers his composure.
* ''Manga/NabariNoOu'':
** Miharu is adorable, and loves to use his sweet smiles and ability to blush at will to his advantage; still, unless it's just to [[MindScrew mess with someone]], he's extremely apathetic towards basically everything. ...And then he meets [[EnigmaticMinion Yoite]], whom Miharu finds impossible to ''not'' care about. Miharu has a few good outbursts here and there concerning Yoite, and even laughs genuinely, but the turning point is his not-so-stoic breakdown, which leaves him openly sobbing. It's... yeah.
** Yoite himself counts. He shows almost no emotion when first introduced, but over the course of the story he has more and more emotional moments, usually concerning his [[YourDaysAreNumbered impending death]], his desire to be erased, or Miharu.
* Used in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' to the point where pretty much ''every'' developed character who tries to be emotionless (as {{ninja}} are expected to be) fails at some point:
** Shino tries to be cool and calm, but on several occasions is irritated by being left out or unrecognized. Zabuza spent the entire StoryArc priding himself on being an emotionless killing machine, but in spite of himself flat-out ''[[ManlyTears cried]]'' when [[spoiler:Haku died]]. Danzo's policy is that emotions just cause trouble, but he outright flies into a rage when it's suggested [[spoiler:Kakashi be promoted to 6th Hokage ahead of him]]. Itachi gives what appears to be a raging VillainousBreakdown but states that is really ''how he always feels'' [[spoiler:then [[GoodAllAlong it turned out]] he was actually a former pacifist feeling so horrible for being NecessarilyEvil that [[GoOutWithASmile he's rather happy]] when he thinks it's all over.]] [[MasterofIllusion Subverted,]] [[spoiler: Itachi had such a powerful grip on his emotions that his believable act of hysteria may fool any character and even the viewer. Sasori claimed to be as emotionless as his puppets, but at several points when fighting seemed anything but calm. During the present storyline, Konan avoids expressing herself, even the entire time she fought her former master, but is vocally upset several times when Nagato]] starts pushing his body beyond its limits. I think I'm sensing a theme.
** Gaara gets a special mention. When he's first introduced, he speaks in a dull monotone and barely shows any reaction to, well, anything. This seemingly impenetrable stoicism is shattered spectacularly when he wakes up Shukaku for his fight with Rock Lee, and later, Sasuke and Naruto; and also when he tries to deal with Might Guy's defense of Rock Lee and his horrible emotional background (thank you, Yashamaru). Sasuke making him bleed for the first time got quite the reaction. He's also had his moments post-TimeSkip, such as when [[spoiler:he broke down in tears when his temporarily revived father told him that his mother ''did'' love him, contrary to what he was told.]]
** And Pain in Episode 167 of ''Shippuden'', what with some of the [[OffModel bizarre]] facial expressions he pulled.
** Sasuke, calm and cool in almost any situation, even when all the other characters are panicking, laughing uncontrollably, or cheering. But push his BerserkButton (the Uchiha and their fate) and [[UnstoppableRage look out.]]
** Kakashi is for the most part very stoic, never really shedding tears at the mention of his dead father and closest friends, but read/watch the Kakashi Gaiden special, especially the end where he breaks down crying at the death of Obito. It's truly heartbreaking to see that. In Chapters 599 and on [[spoiler: Kakashi discovers just who Tobi actually is -- his old teammate Obito -- which leaves him completely shocked to the point where]] Guy actually has to shake him back to the real world. Cue Chapter 608, where he barely even tries to defend himself [[spoiler:from Obito's attacks...]] The poor guy is completely out of it.
** Can't leave Hiashi out, either -- beneath that icy demeanor is a man who will get on his knees to beg his nephew to reconcile with him.
** Chapter 518 has [[spoiler:Sai]] finally lose his ever-present control over his emotions and fly into a rage when [[spoiler:Zombie!Deidara blows up Sai's zombified older brother, threatens to do it again and again after the guy reforms, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking insults Sai's art]]]].
** [[spoiler:Madara]] remained fairly cool and level-headed despite being in the middle of a massive war where his side consists of two people and a barely-controlled monster. Then [[spoiler:Hashirama]] shows up and [[spoiler:Madara]] slips into BloodKnight mode. He soon goes back to his normal personality, only for it to slip twice when [[spoiler:he goes mad with power on being resurrected and then joy when realizing Guy is a WorthyOpponent]].
* Princess Arika of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' mostly acts like TheStoic, but finally shows some emotion after [[spoiler: Nagi rescues her from execution and tells her he loves her.]]
** In a LotusEaterMachine that showed Negi what life would have been with his parents, Arika remains extremely distant and aloof even to her own son. It is very obvious that she cares about him though, and she holds his hand while walking down the street with him and Nagi.
*** Rather than "distant and aloof", she was more nervous and awkward having absolutely no idea how to treat her own child. Regardless, this still underlines her graduation from TheStoic.
** Also, Tsukuyomi managed to send Fate in a fit of rage by threatening to [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou "steal his kill"]].
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'':
** Rei is heavily implied to have fallen in love with Shinji by the end. Either that, or developed motherly feelings for him since [[spoiler: she's partially a clone of his mother, and is choosing him over his father Gendo to become the "Messiah" of instrumentality in ''End'']].
** Gendo himself does this twice in the series proper. The first is when Rei's Eva goes berserk, and he severely burns his hands in his rush to get to her afterwards (opening the superheated release mechanism for her entry plug). The second time is when he orders the activation of Unit-01's dummy plug (autopilot) when his son's life (as well as the Eva, which contained the soul of his wife) was threatened by the 13th Angel. The look on his face shows it in the Japanese version, but the English dub has him swearing and yelling at his subordinates.
*** An interesting instance, as in the Rebuild, Gendo still orders the activation of the dummy plug but as the frenzied Evangelion proceeds to tear the Angel/Evangelion-03 to gibs, we see a satisfied smirk from Gendo in spite of the carnage that forces Maya to turn away and bury her face in her hands, and the others on the bridge to watch in silent horror. It is also one of the few (or possibly the only) time Gendo has ever really smiled since Yui died.
*** In ''End of Evangelion'' Gendo flat out ''panics'' on a level not seen before when Rei [[spoiler:absorbs [[ItMakesSenseInContext the Adam embryo in his hand]] into herself and initiates Third Impact on her own]] with both actors in English and Japanese making it clear from their tones of voice just how ''screwed'' Gendo knows he is now that [[spoiler:his LaserGuidedTykebomb slash surrogate daughter slash clone of his dead wife has effectively told him to fuck off and die]]. And in his final scene [[spoiler:he flat out states that the reason he has been so distant to Shinji is that he was afraid he'd only hurt him.]]
** Rei meanwhile looks at what happens with the dummy plugs, and she looks pretty freaked out [[TheStoic (for her)]], at least as much as she does when she sees Shinji rip apart an Angel and it's hinted that she would find the truth about them horrifying enough to turn on Gendo.
** Let's not forget Ritsuko's breakdown in the Dummy Plug Plant, where she starts screaming and crying for her mother. Bear in mind she's somewhere between Rei and Gendo on the scale of stoic-ness. Ironically, her reaction upon realizing that [[spoiler:Caspar, the Magi who represents her mother as a woman, has chosen Gendo over her when she attempts a TakingYouWithMe by blowing them all up]] is tearful but fairly composed after the initial shock wears off, with her simply stating "[[ThatLiarLies Liar]]" in response to what Gendo tells her[[note]]the exact words of which have only ever been revealed to the actress playing Ritsuko[[/note]] [[spoiler:before shooting her dead]].
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** The biggest example is Robin. She showed little to no emotion from the first time she was introduced as TheDragon and continues being stoic even after [[HeelFaceTurn joining the Straw Hats]]. Then comes the [=CP9=] saga, the majority of which is ''dedicated'' to this trope; when Robin's TearJerker past comes to bite her, she starts showing genuine fear, anger, and sadness. The apex comes after seeing her companions [[YouAreWorthHell declare war on the World Government for her sake]], after which she tearfully screams "I WANT TO LIVE!" She goes back to being The Stoic at the arc's conclusion, though, as though nothing had ever happened...though she's gradually started showing more and more emotion since then.
*** And it seems that she's slowly slipping into a lesser Stoic status as of the Dressrosa arc: after several hundred chapters of being the calmest person in the world, she has finally adopted her crewmates' habit of showing overreactive faces. [[spoiler:Those dwarves just don't get it. And she has another, even ''bigger'' WildTake a bit later in the same arc when talking with some [[LivingToys toy soldiers]].]]
*** Without saying a word, sometimes what she's thinking is shown to us through thought bubbles and the results usually range from goofy, odd, or cute. It's as though she says morbid things to throw people off about [[CloudCuckooLander how lighthearted she actually is]].
*** During the beginning of the Zou Arc, Kanjuro the samurai draws a pathetic-looking dragon and brings it to life. The Straw Hats dub it "Ryuunosuke" and in her mind, Robin refers to it as "cute" 3 times, all while ''blushing''. Ryuunosuke had the task of climbing up to a very high destination with the Straw Hats and Law on its back. When they finally make it, Robin is driven to tears by the dragon's efforts to help them as it slowly bonds with the surface, reverting back into a drawing.
*** The Wano arc takes this to a new level when Robin makes the same expression as Franky and Usopp when learning Luffy is in Wano (and already a wanted criminal). [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enh8osnwoaaipoz.jpg As seen in here.]]
** [[TheLancer Zoro]] has only cried about three times thus far in over 700 chapters, and two of them were when he was a kid. This is because Zoro is SO STOIC that he can make a TearJerker out of standing there, staring off into the distance, and saying "Nothing happened!" While covered in blood. Though as stoic as he is, he's had his fair share of [[WildTake wild takes]] alongside the other Straw Hats...except for Robin, of course.
** Marco, the first Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, usually maintained a stoic reaction throughout the battle. However, he visibly lost his cool when [[spoiler: Whitebeard was stabbed by one of their allies, when Ace dies, and when Whitebeard himself dies.]]
** Jimbei is usually one of the most focused characters in the series. But he lost his cool in regards to [[spoiler: Ace's death]] and cried ManlyTears when [[spoiler: Nami forgave him]]. On a lighter note, he got a WildTake when he saw [[spoiler:Princess Shirahoshi and an injured Hachi with Luffy.]]
*** He got another Wild Take when Luffy is more concerned about food than the important information Jimbei was telling him. After getting angry with Luffy who cheerfully tells him that he likes to leave things to chance, Jimbei then goes into a minor depression.
** In Chapter 597, [[spoiler:Dracule Mihawk]] thinks that training the man who wants to take his life in battle is hilarious, so he ''[[http://www.mangapanda.com/103-56928-4/one-piece/chapter-597.html actually laughs]]'' when [[spoiler:Zoro]] begs him for training.
*** On the next page, it shows [[spoiler:Mihawk]] agreeing to train [[spoiler:Zoro]]. The look on [[spoiler:Zoro's]] face also falls into this trope. [[http://www.mangapanda.com/103-56928-5/one-piece/chapter-597.html He looks so happy and bright-eyed]], like a little kid that got ''exactly'' what he wanted during the holidays.
** Doflamingo is always seen smirking, and almost never stops pre-TimeSkip. Even then, it was only due to puzzlement. However, [[spoiler:when Law cuts the SAD, Vergo, and practically the entire island of Punk Hazard, all while giving a NewEraSpeech to him,]] Doflamingo actually ''shows frustration'' for the first time ever.
*** But that's merely the prelude of a massive symphony, the first movement of which comes when [[spoiler:Law gives him a SadisticChoice after taking Caesar Clown hostage. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place: either he would give up his position as a Warlord and get Caesar back, or keep the position and be unable to produce [=SMILEs=]. If he takes the former, the Admirals won't stand idly by anymore and hunt him down. But if he takes the latter, he'll anger '''''Kaido of the Four Emperors''''' and get wiped out. After being given this choice, Doflamingo loses it and starts going on a rampage on Punk Hazard, slaughtering G-5 marines and giving Smoker a ''severe'' NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, all while demanding the heads of the Straw Hats and Law.]]
*** The next movement comes many chapters later when Doflamingo finds out that in spite of how smart he was, he severely underestimated exactly how massive of a SpannerInTheWorks the Straw Hats could be. [[spoiler:Sugar, one of his crewmates whose Devil Fruit powers are the linchpin to maintaining his {{Masquerade}} over his kingdom, is knocked out, reversing her powers and exposing Doflamingo as the devilish man he is. His expression as everything he had worked for over the past decade comes crumbling down around him screams this trope, and the apex comes when he's taken by surprise and ''[[OffWithHisHead decapitated]]'' by Kyros... or rather, his doppelgänger is.]]
*** And the third movement comes when [[spoiler:Luffy and Law]] confront him. At first, he's taking it as easily as he can under the circumstances; that is, he's gotten so frustrated that [[LaughingMad he's just laughing it off]]. But then [[spoiler:a lengthy fight commences, and he finds himself victimized by a few sneak attacks before Law takes out his last and most powerful crewmate, and then he begins a fight with Luffy one-on-one. They're evenly matched for a while…up until Luffy unleashes his trump card, Gear Fourth, and turns it into a CurbStompBattle. And in the end, despite Doflamingo revealing all of the trump cards ''he'' had hidden, he loses.]]
** Trafalgar Law is seen as a lesser example of The Stoic; he's smug, smiling, takes battles casually, and is not above showing emotion at times. However, he is unmistakably serious in all aspects, which leaves him rather bothered by the Straw Hats' quirks [[spoiler:after they form an alliance. Examples include tying Chopper to his head, Luffy not following his plans, and the Straw Hats' absurdly nonchalant behavior in the calm before the storm. The first instance of this trope is shown after their victory on Punk Hazard when instead of fleeing, they throw a party. Law is shocked but ultimately joins in, albeit [[http://www.mangahit.com/one-piece/696/18 managing to keep his Stoic appearance intact]]. Four chapters later, however, when he realizes that he's grown too used to the Straw Hats' casual pace, [[http://www.mangahit.com/one-piece/700/11 he is FLABBERGASTED.]]]]
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'':
** When Kyouya first meets IdiotHero Tamaki he takes all of his strange antics and outbursts relatively well... until he blows up at Tamaki and unloads all of the pent-up rage and insults he had been keeping inside. [[spoiler:It turns out Tamaki was (at least part of the time) [[ObfuscatingStupidity deliberately playing up]] his IdiotHero side, in order to [[InvokedTrope force Kyouya into this]] so that he could find out what Kyouya was really like BeneathTheMask.]] After the outburst, they're closer than ever, and Kyouya knows he's free to occasionally tell Tamaki how stupid he is without ruining their friendship... just like everyone else does.
** Mori is also quite stoic, but when the moments where he truly {{Face Fault}}s are few and far in between, but when he freaks, he ''freaks''.
* Vincent Nightray of ''Manga/PandoraHearts'' usually manages to keep up his [[FauxAffablyEvil cheerful disposition]] quite flawlessly, even while ''torturing and killing'' people. The first time his facade slips, which is PlayedForLaughs, is when [[ThePollyanna Ada]] introduces him to her [[NightmareFetishist special collection]]. The second time is much more serious: [[spoiler:Vincent confronts Duke Nightray after Elliot's death and loses his temper when the duke doesn't express any remorse over his son's death. Vincent beheads Duke Nightray along with his two bodyguards, thereby ending the legitimate Nightray bloodline. He {{Lampshades}} this trope when he comments that it isn't like him to lose control like this.]]
* In ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'', Yu is usually comically stoic, casually remarking that he feels like dying when Teddie bites his hand and having a blank expression when he and Yosuke are shoved into a river by Chie and Yukiko during a school camping trip, for instance. Later in the series, though, [[spoiler:when his cousin and surrogate younger sister Nanako is kidnapped, he loses his shit. Worse still, when she ([[DisneyDeath temporarily]]) dies, while the rest of the Investigation Team is debating whether to stick the suspect into the TV World for revenge, Yu silently drags the suspect to a nearby hospital TV and nearly shoves him in, himself!]]
* ''Manga/PingPong'': Smile, in spades. His demeanor hasn't changed since elementary school, and he barely shows any emotion throughout the series…that is, until he surpasses Mr. Koizumi. After that, OOCIsSeriousBusiness.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokémon}}'':
** Silver from ''Manga/PokemonAdventures''. Cool and composed, except for the one time he got a HeroicBSOD when he found out who daddy was. The one moment that really sticks out though, is when he falls over when he sees his wanted poster.
** ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
*** Paul normally has a scowl as his trademark expression with a condescending smirk or intense concentration thrown in during a few battles. The one time that he has ever flipped out completely is in ''A Pyramiding Rage!'' when he battled Brandon and Brandon kept knocking out his Pokémon with no sign of his even taking damage.
*** Nando the Pokémon minstrel, in his early appearances, was so calm and polite that even getting arrested and framed for robbery failed to rile him. Then came the Grand Festival, where when Zoey begins shutting down his combinations, he drops the facade and gets even ''more'' intense than she is.
*** Hun from ''Anime/TheLegendOfThunder'' likewise. Usually he remains calm and blah, including telling his partner to stop joking around. Then the fighting starts and he gets, shall we say, [[AxCrazy into it]].
* Genichirou Sanada from ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'' tries to act as TheStoic leader of his team, but he loses his temper ''far'' too often.
* Shows in small pieces earlier, but in Episode 8 of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' Homura breaks down crying over how [[spoiler:Madoka refuses to understand that others like her the way she is.]]
** Episode 10 puts all of that into heartbreaking perspective. [[spoiler:Homura was once a cute, glasses-wearing, dorky ShrinkingViolet. Four time loops (possibly more) of seeing Madoka die or turn into a witch (one of which involved ''[[MercyKill killing Madoka herself]]'') [[BrokenBird later]]... It's clear that she's crying on the inside.]]
** A lesser example, also from Episode 10. Mami, who is second only to Homura in the stoic department, snaps into a sobbing mess when [[spoiler: the Sayaka of that timeline turns into a witch. She so breaks from the revelation that they'll all eventually become witches, that she shoots Kyoko's soul gem, killing her, and would have killed Homura too, had Madoka not killed her first.]]
* Also could count in ''Anime/SailorMoon'' when the typically hardass Sailor Uranus [[spoiler: witnesses her lover, Sailor Neptune get her heart stolen and die in front of her,]] while Uranus doesn't break down or cry, for the first time in the series she looks truly heartbroken. She then [[spoiler: attempts to kill herself. (Whether that action was performed due to anguish and desire to follow her girlfriend into death, or purely for the sake of the mission is never fully clarified]]
* Hotaru from ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo'' possesses an aloof demeanor that often breaks when an interesting fight or opponent stirs his inner BloodKnight.
** Hishigi from the same series is a very strong example of TheStoic. He loses his cool very rarely, such as when Fubuki's suffering is trivialized. When he does get angry...''run''.
* In ''Manga/SchoolRumble'''s later chapters, we learn that [[spoiler:Karasuma]]'s lack of facial expressions was all an act. Once he ''does'' start showing emotions, he becomes ''almost unrecognizable''.
* Ken Washio on ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' is extremely controlled. Except when it involves his father. [[spoiler: Who was undercover for most of Ken's life. Then killed for real before the two could develop any sort of relationship. And angered Ken enough that he dragged the entire team into an enemy trap.]]
* Langa of ''Anime/SK8TheInfinity'' is stoic for the majority of his screentime, but as the series goes on, he shows the depths of his emotions, despite it still being his default state. He'll smile incredibly gently [[ImpliedLoveInterest at Reki]], sport an unnerving GrinOfAudacity in the face of danger, grin excitedly around friends he skates with, and even look crushed as [[spoiler:his closest friend decides to leave him behind]].
* While Zelgadis Graywords of ''{{Literature/Slayers}}'' isn't entirely stoic -- he enjoys good company and can occasionally be as mischievous as Lina and Amelia -- he certainly never lets himself be vulnerable, and his default mood is a mix of stoicism and [[DeadpanSnarker condescending snark.]] Come the fifth season of the anime, he learns that [[spoiler:he can never turn his chimeric body back to its original human state, ever]], from his great-grandfather, a man he loathed, he starts to openly weep and yell.
* ''Manga/SoulEater'':
** This is used to comedic effect. Normally, Death the Kid is a quiet, observant, and intelligent young man. That is, [[ObsessivelyOrganized until he notices something that isn't symmetrical]].
** The Shinigami/Reaper is a quirky example. While not exactly stoic, he usually brushes off any and all situations by being/looking/talking/acting goofy, putting him firmly in comic relief territory. That is, until the Kishin gets loose. Just as the BigBad is about to flee outright, the Reaper shows up. There's some brief banter, where the Kishin calls the Reaper out on his goofiness, to which the Reaper offers some terse explanation and cuts loose. His voice drops to a low growl, his goofy mask takes on a thoroughly pissed-off expression (which is actually more effective than his previous "scary face"), he actually starts swearing at the Kishin and shows everyone exactly why he's the boss.
** To be reminded that the Cloudcuckoolander and the usually low-key boy are father and son, just point out something (significant) which goes against their sense of order. Kid also counts for the moments when his calm, matter-of-fact attitude towards being a god is broken by his occasionally hysterical concerns over not being a '[[WellDoneSonGuy 'good enough'']] god.
* Haku from ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' is normally calm and emotionless, even when Yubaba was breathing fire inches away from his face and wrapping her hair around his neck and body. But when he is around Chihiro, he reveals many more emotions, such as concern, [[DeadpanSnarker a hint of snarkiness]] and [[WhenSheSmiles happiness.]]
* Barnaby of ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' is normally a very restrained individual, but after the discovery and subsequent loss of a lead on the organization responsible for [[spoiler:his parents' murder]] he completely loses it -- physically attacking his partner Kotetsu, snapping at everyone who talks to him, and briefly going AWOL before his mentor manages to get a hold of him and calm him down. Likewise, any mention of his [[spoiler:parents' killer]] makes him almost unrecognizable in his fury.
** From Episode 18 onwards the story is littered with such moments on Barnaby's part -- so much so that it counts as a complete subversion of the StoicSpectacles archetype he previously represented; {{the scream}}ing in TheStinger of Episode 18, a number of crying (nay, ''sobbing'') scenes in Episode 19, and the TenderTears in Episodes 20, 24, and 25.
* Thorfinn of ''Manga/VinlandSaga'' tries to be TheStoic, but the mask slips more often than not.
* Takayama from ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' [[spoiler: kisses Masane after she visits him following his forced resignation from Doji.]]
* Haguro Dou from ''Manga/WolfGuyWolfenCrest'' is an unsmiling and absolutely gigantic middle-schooler who, as the violent son of a Yakuza boss, serves as werewolf protagonist Inugami's main enemy for the first arc. When Inugami shows him just how powerless he really is, Haguro starts busting out [[SlasherSmile Slasher Smiles]] like nobody's business and goes on a psychopathic rampage that still shows no signs of stopping, all to regain his original image as a "monster."
* ''Anime/WolfsRain'':
** A particularly heart-wrenching example is when resident tough guy Tsume breaks down and openly weeps after [[spoiler: Toboe]]'s death.
** In the same series we also have Darcia, the cool, quiet, and enigmatic noble who completely loses it when [[spoiler:he returns home with Cheza, (she of the HealingHands) to save his ill fiancee, only to find that his fiancee was murdered shortly before his return. [[FreakOut He doesn't take it well]]]].
* Karasu from the Dark Tournament saga of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' initially seems to be the calmest and most reserved member of Team Toguro. During his battle with Kurama however, he turns out to be much more malicious and brutal than expected.
** Kurama tends to be calm most of the time, but after [[spoiler:winning a game against [[CreepyChild Amanuma/Game Master]] that costs the poor kid his life]], he becomes enraged under his stoic facade, [[spoiler:instantly decapitating Makihara/Gourmet with his Rose Whip and setting up a plan to defeat Elder Toguro (who was controlling Makihara's body after killing him) while he is ''still unable'' to read his thoughts through his rage]]. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Hoo Lee Shit]].
----
