Perpetual Frowner: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''....staying all serious and scowling every minute of the day is impossible! How can anyone look so mad all the time?!''|'''Kon''', ''[[Bleach]]'', about Ichigo}}

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* Giichi from ''[[Blade of the Immortal]]''. Admittedly, he has good reasons to never smile.

* A well known anime frowner is Ichigo in ''[[Bleach]]'', early on revealed to be a result of losing his mother at a young age and trying very hard to cultivate a badass image ever since. (In one episode when Kon runs amok in Ichigo's body, Ichigo bemoans Kon ruining his image that he'd worked so hard on.) The example is particularly interesting considering the fact that he is the main protagonist. Hitsugaya is also a major frowner, probably a result of frequently being [[Only Sane Man|the most professional among a group of wackier characters]]. [[Blood Knight|Kenpachi]] is usually frowning whenever he's not in the middle of a fight, in which case he'll have a big [[Slasher Smile]].

* Mugen on ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' always has a nasty, twisted, "don’t trust anybody/ya wanna mess with me?" look on his face. Unless [[Big Eater|presented with food]].

** Jin, as well.

** Could we argue that Yami is one of these too? His face seems to be stuck that way. Even when he's happy he's frowning!

* Sesshoumaru from ''[[Inuyasha]]'' is characterized by his constant aloof, disdainful frown, though it is said that he is all the more dangerous when he actually does smile.

** Especially recently, though. He used to smile and laugh quite frequently in [[Characterization Marches On|early appearances]]. It gets rarer after he loses to Mihawk. In the Arlong Arc, Sanji notes that Zoro developed a bad temper after he lost to Mihawk, so this change is very, very intentional on Oda's part.

** Similar case with Tashigi. She smiled a lot early on, but after some bad experiences in Alabasta, likely disillusioning her in many important ways, she generally looks either impassive or rather miserable.

* Exedore/Exsedol's redesigned version, when seen in ''[[Macross 7]]''. The only time he ever smiles is during his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]. This troper actually thinks he looks a bit like Squidward....

* Kurogane from [[Tsubasa Chronicle|Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles.]]. The only times you see him smiling are when he's fighting... And it's more of a [[Slasher Smile]] than everything. As far as I recall, he only really smiled in the flashbacks from his childhood... And [http://img43.onemanga.com/mangas/00000018/00000167/13.jpg in chapter 167].

* Sagara Sousuke from ''[[Full Metal Panic]]''. He is described numerous times to be a very attractive boy... except for the problem that he looks perpetually angry, with his eyebrows slanting down and lips pressed firmly in a grim straight line, giving him a ''very'' unapproachable appearance. He's actually pretty well known for never smiling in the story. [[media:Sousuke_smile.jpg|Here's his attempt at trying to, for the sake of his photo ID]]. Though more unnervingly, one of the few times he's shown to smile naturally [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/full_metal_panic_sigma/v05/c019/24.html can be seen here]. Yikes, Sousuke, you [[Sociopathic Hero]], you.

* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'''s Vicious is also not a happy camper. The only smiles that he actually gives are [[Slasher Smile|Slasher Smiles]] that live up to his name.

* Shinobu from ''[[Junjou Romantica]]'', when he's not crying. He's even frowning in the opening theme while glomping Miyagi.

* Xanxus from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' is in a permenantly bad mood and nearly always scowling, but his smile is even ''more'' frightening.

{{quote| '''Makoto''': Mizumura looks like she's always angry or something.}}

* Along with a [[Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive|certain pose]], [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Gendo Ikari]] is a reliable owner of one of these.

** He laughs once, in the Ciel in Wonderland OVA. [[Nightmare Fuel|And no, you don't want to see it.]]

* [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica|Homura Akemi]] almost never smiles. To be fair, it's [[Break the Cutie|not like she's got a lot of reason to]].

 

== Comic Books ==

*** It must be genetic, because Batman's son, Damian Wayne (the current Robin) is pretty much this as well.

* The Saint of Killers from ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]'', alive or undead. One character describes his permanent facial expression as someone who's "treadin' through dogshit".

* "I snarled", "I glared", "I scowled"....Harry Dresden of ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' is very much this. This is notable, given the fact that he spends most of his time [[Sad Clown|cracking bad jokes]].

** Morgan from the same series is practically carved out of granite. He smiles maybe once in all of the books.

** Kreacher the house elf makes emo kids look optimistic and happy from his introduction in the fifth book until the seventh, when he finally sees the light and starts to become cheerful.

** When he's not smirking, Snape spends his time either scowling or frowning.

*** Or sneering. He likes sneering a lot too.

* The titular character in the ''[[Eisenhorn]]'' trilogy, though not by choice. You see, early in the first book, he gets tortured so horribly (an this is set in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'', so feel free to imagine just how) that the muscles in his face are irreparably damaged. He ''can't'' smile, even if he wanted to.

* ''[[The Death Gate Cycle]]'': The fact that Haplo tends to maintain a grim expression even while sleeping is remarked upon by other characters. He does smile occasionally, however.

* Lord Droon, the villain of Dr. Seuss's early picture book The King's Stilts, is described as a "scowler," mutters that "the lines at the corners of the mouth should go down," and loathes smiles, fun, and anything that seems unserious or undignified - so much that he endangers the entire kingdom by stealing the titular stilts, pushing the king toward the [[Despair Event Horizon]].

 

== Live Action TV ==

* Live action/puppetry: The grouchy Oscar and Bert on ''[[Sesame Street]]''. All the more remarkable in that their faces aren't articulated enough to make it ''obvious'' that they're frowning -- Carroll Spinney and Frank Oz rely on their ability to create character for that.

** "She's scaring me!"

** Not so much in the original TV series. She was [[Perky Goth|quite cheerful]] there. (And how dare you even mention the name of Reunion?!)

** However, she was in the ORIGINAL newspaper comics, which preceded the live action show

** You try smiling after your forehead is cut with an Orak knife and molten gold is poured into the wound. Makes a kick-ass tattoo, though.

** Compare with Christopher Judge himself, who always seems cheerful.

** Ronon Dex scowls half the time, usually to intimidate someone (he's 6'4"), although he has been shown to smile occasionally.

*** This becomes hilarious in a crossover episode where Teal'c and Ronon are trying to out-scowl each other before they beat the crap out of each other.

* [[Angel]] smiles so rarely that when he does it's enough of an event that one of the other characters may feel called upon to remark on it.

* Stefan Salvatore from ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'', in more episodes than not. You can tell that if he's smiling things must be going really, really well.

* As a kid, I found the [[Backstreet Boys]] to demonstrate this trope in any opportunity they could, mainly posters/CD covers. In fact, the only way I could tell the difference between them and N'SYNC was that N'SYNC smiled - the [[Backstreet Boys]] didn't.

** She also smiles for another reason [[Yaoi Fangirl|that involves "slash"]].

* [[Henry Rollins]] always looks angry - and he probably is at something

 

 

== Video Games ==

* Besides her creepy little smiles directed towards Becket, [[First Encounter Assault Recon|Alma]] is pretty much always frowning.

* Akuma/Gouki from the ''[[Street Fighter]]'' series is a famous and extreme example, as he never smiles ''at all''. To be fair, however, the Satsui no Hadou has twisted his physical appearance somewhat over the years, so this may well be a side effect. On the other hand, he ''is'' a demonic [[Blood Knight]], so it may be intentional.

'''Raven:''' ...This is my normal face. }}

* The ''Tales'' RPG series has a few.

* [[Elite Beat Agents]] Derek and Chieftain almost never smile.

** Arguably, Mona from the "I Was Born To Love You" stage. The entire goal for that stage is to help Leo to get her to smile, so he can paint her portrait. And no, taking her to a concert, taking her for a flight in a flying machine, and saving her from a stampede of bulls isn't quite enough to do it. {{spoiler|The [[Fauxtastic Voyage|"special tunnel"]] does the trick, though.}}

** Let's not forget Jake, who only starts smiling if {{spoiler|you fail his stage and he turns into a giggling zombie.}}

*** After Iris dies, he not only stops smiling, practically at all, but loses essentially all of his [[Badass Boast|Badass Boasting]] personality and becomes [[The Stoic]].

*** After X4, he no longer throws a thumbs up at the player after beating a boss either. He just turns away.

** Then there's Geo Stelar of ''[[Mega Man Star Force]]'', who spends much of the first game on a massive angst-trip and is shown frowning both in human and wave forms. He lightens up later, though.

* There are those who doubt that [[Hitman|Agent 47]] can even smile.

* [[God of War|Kratos]] isn't this so much as "perpetual enraged-snarler".

** For the record, he can smile. He did it in the European version of God of War 1. That said, if he does smile, FUCKING RUN!

* Huang Lee of ''[[Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars]]''. Comes from being a [[Deadpan Snarker]] [[Only Sane Man]].

* Kazuma Kiryuu of the ''[[Ryu ga Gotoku|Yakuza]]'' games has a forbidding scowl permanently etched onto his face. He does smile a few times, usually when he's around Haruka, and it's adorable.

* [[Ganbare Goemon|Goemon]] started out like this.

* ''[[Pokémon]]'' has Red in his remake design. He's always shown frowning, except for his victory animations in ''[[Super Smash Bros]] Brawl'' and once when he gives a haughty smirk in said game. Ironic since his original design is nearly always drawn happy and smiling.

 

== Webcomics ==

** A good adventuring fight seems to perk him up a little, though, if [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040430 this page] is anything to go by.

* ''[[Earthsong]]'''s Gwen.

* [[Sabrina Online (Webcomic)|Sabrina's mother and father]] are a pair of frowners, too.

* [http://lowroad75.comicgenesis.com/d/20090501.html Butler] insists that he has more than one expression, but apparently doesn't look into mirrors often.

* Dave of [http://gunshowcomic.com/ac/ The Anime Club]. Since Mort and Mark are always yelling at each other, they might count, too.

* [[Walkyverse|Mike Warner]] has smiled about ten times over a ten year period of existence. Note that these smiles only appear when he's completely [[In Vino Veritas|hammered]]. The comment section following [http://www.shortpacked.com/2009/comic/book-9/03-mikes-double-life/unexpectedsmile/ this comic] and Amber's reaction kind of says it all.

 

== Western Animation ==

* The complex but bitter and sometimes just downright [[Wangst|angsty]] Prince Zuko on ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' always has a big angry look on his face and has a strong tendency to stand around with his arms crossed. At the culmination of his character progression within the second season, he recovers from a spiritual illness and spends an entire episode at peace, smiling, and gaining a more optimistic look on life...Cue the [[Wham! Episode]]. He pretty much sums it up in one line:

{{quote| ...are you happy now?<br />

I'm never happy. }}

** Not surprisingly, Zuko's [[Emotionless Girl|emotionless girlfriend]], Mai, also fits. Interestingly enough, the only times they seem genuinely happy are when they're together. This is likely a result of Mai's listlessness and Zuko's angst canceling each other out.

* Mandy in ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]''. In one episode, a shape-shifter turns into Mandy, and Billy remarks "No, wait... Mandy never smiles." She has smiled exactly three times in the entire series. The first time was at the end of the pilot episode. Next, she made an evil smirk after she realized [[Be Careful What You Wish For|she'd accidentally wished every other human off the planet]], and had the whole world to herself. Finally, she smiled during a beauty pageant in "My Fair Mandy", it literally [[Reality Warper|warped reality]]. On one occasion she's made a look of genuine sadness- even rarer than a smile.

* Eva the "Female Bully" from ''[[Total Drama Island]]'' rarely smiles.

* Hank from ''[[King of the Hill]]'' was said by Peggy to sleep with a look of extreme disgruntlement. And his father, Cotton, is always frowning.

* [[Stoic Woobie|Chuckles the Clown]] of ''[[Toy Story]] 3'' is always seen with a frown on his face, as a result of {{spoiler|going through exactly what Lotso and Big Baby went through and seeing them corrupted by their experiences. He does [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|crack a smile at the end though.]]}}

* Huey Freeman from [[The Boondocks]]. An Adult Swim bump once featured a fan asking the question, "Does Huey ever smile?" The AS team, apparently stumped, claim to have called up Aaron McGruder to ask. The answer? Apparently, the animators are contractually obligated never to depict Huey smiling or laughing, ''ever''.

** Huey actually does smile a few times in the series. Once when he fights Riley in "Let's Nab Oprah" and twice at Riley's basketball game. There are a few other instances of Huey smiling, but they're harder to notice. But he does fit this trope perfectly.

* [[Popeye]], at least in the earlier shorts.

* Agent Six from [[Generator Rex]] has never changed his perpetual frown. Even when knocked out in a nanite induced coma, he has the exact same expression on his face.

* [http://www.progressiveboink.com/archive/ihbfd/schleprock.htm Schleprock] from [[wikipedia:Bad Luck Schleprock#Synopsis|The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm show]] (a spin-off of [[wikipedia:The Flintstones|The Flintsones]] ) was always depressed. His catch phrase was the miserable "Wowzee wowzee woo woo". He even had a perpetual storm cloud over his head.

* Bleak from ''[[Lite Sprites]]''

** It's rumored that he made a vow to not smile in front of a camera after Proof died.

* What about [http://www.extremefunnyhumor.com/pics/steven_seagal_emotion_.jpg Steven Seagal]?

** Which makes the video for "Mein Teil" creepier than it would be otherwise, as he as a rather impressive rictus throughout.

* [[Jason Statham]]. It's mentioned on his page that all of his good movies could alternatively be titled ''Jason Statham Drives A Car And Kills People (While Scowling A Lot)''.