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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shashinkan.png]]
2''Shashinkan'' (English: ''The Portrait Studio'') is a 2013 animated short by Takashi Nakamura and released by Studio Colorido about a photography studio in 20th century Japan, centered around a photographer and little girl who never seems to smile.
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4The story starts with a young couple visiting the studio; however, the wife is so shy that she doesn't look at the camera. The photographer gets her to smile by having her pose with lilies. A year later, the wife brings their daughter, who's a PerpetualFrowner, and the photographer does everything to get her to smile - but she never does. Throughout the years, whenever the girl visits, he tries to get her to smile.
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6!!Tropes for ''Shashinkan'':
7* BittersweetEnding: By the time the Girl does smile, [[spoiler: it's when she and the Photographer are in their old age taking a picture together]]
8* BlushStickers: The Photographer has these, possibly to emphasize how cheerful he is. The only time he doesn't have these is when [[spoiler:he's handing the Girl a portrait of her deceased son]]. The Girl also has these, probably as a contrast to her frown, though she loses hers later in the short.
9* EyesAlwaysShut: The Photographer in his old age.
10* FriendToAllChildren: The Photographer, even if the Girl doesn't smile that much. As we find out later in the short, [[spoiler: he has a variety of toys and tricks to help his young clients smile]].
11* HairstyleInertia: The Girl and the Photographer keep their respective hairstyles as time goes on.
12* IntergenerationalFriendship: The Photographer and the Girl, with this friendship begining when he was a young man and she was a young child. Even though she doesn't look it, the Girl is definitely fond enough of the Photographer to keep visiting him.
13* MimeAndMusicOnlyCartoon: One of the few anime examples, as the short is told without any dialogue or even sound effects in some shots, only what the characters are doing and the music.
14* MiniatureSeniorCitizens: The Photographer later in the short, though this is downplayed, as he's shown to be hunchbacked (or always has that stance), so he'd ''look'' shorter than the Girl is in her old age.
15* NiceGuy: From what we can see, the Photographer is this trope, being patient with his young client, even if her lack of smile makes him feel a little sad. He really just wants to see people happy.
16* NoNameGiven: If the Photographer and the Girl have names, they aren't in the short itself.
17* PerpetualFrowner: The Girl. She's been like that since she was little. In most of her photos by the Photographer, she's never smiling and still has the same serious expression. Interestingly, when she takes a picture with her son, he's smiling but she isn't.
18* ShortFilm: The film is about 16:46 long.
19* WhenSheSmiles: Much of the short is the Photographer trying to encourage this. [[spoiler: When the Girl finally does smile for the camera, it's a heartwarming moment]].

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