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Technically a Smile: Difference between revisions
split "comics" into "comic books" and "newspaper comics"
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{{trope}}
[[File:balalaika.png|link=Black Lagoon|
{{quote|''"What? That was a smile! I smiled!"''|'''[[Calvin and Hobbes|Calvin]]'''}}
Related to the [[Cheshire Cat Grin]], [[Slasher Smile]], [[The Un
Humans are one of the few mammals to bare their teeth as anything other than a threat; this trope comes into play during those times when a "smile" conveys something more... animalistic. Look for the phrase "didn't reach his/her eyes" to appear.
Obviously, this is far more common in print media. In comics, film and TV, the expression doesn't have to be described because the audience can see it right there.
{{examples|Examples}}▼
== Anime
* Averted in ''[[
* Played with in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. When [[Big Bad]] Fate attempts an [[Evil Laugh]], it seriously freaks out Asuna, because "it doesn't touch his eyes".
* Kiyo in ''[[Zatch Bell]]'' frequently smiles when he's not at all happy with a situation; it's more of an indication of altogether irritation and/or embarrassment, and is usually accompanied with [[Mind Control Eyes]]. Other characters, like Folgore and [[Author Insertion|the mangaka himself]], are almost always drawn with that kind of smile, though.
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* [[Black Lagoon|Balalaika]] (pictured above) does this occasionally. It is on those occasions that the audience is reminded that, despite her [[Affably Evil|affability]], she's still a ruthless mass murderer.
* It is noted about [[Aloof Big Brother|Sesshoumaru]] from ''[[Inuyasha]]'' that if he ever smiles, it is generally not a good thing.
* The [[Omnicidal Maniac|Millennium Earl]] from ''[[D
* For a visual example of the smile "not reaching someone's eyes", check out [[Darker
* [http://shortpacked.com/comic/book-10/02-i-am-also-batman/youarenotalone/ This] ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' parody, courtesy of ''[[
** Which is also a [[Call Back]] to Amber's "smile" in [http://shortpacked.com/comic/book-1-brings-back-the-80s/01-just-a-toy-store/a-3/ this strip].
** There is also [https://web.archive.org/web/20140405072917/http://visublog.mechafetus.com/archives/630 this other] parody of the same moment. Notice the AT (Absolute Terror) Field.
* Sunako Nakahara from ''[[The Wallflower]]'', when she is asked to smile, smiles like this.
* Izaya Orihara of ''[[Durarara
** When Akane first meets Shizuo, she gives a smile that's compared to the sort a child would make while stomping on ants. Then she attempts to kill him.
* When Ren of [[Skip Beat!]] gets angry, he doesn't shout or frown. Instead, he smiles. He smiles so hard that the [[Bishie Sparkle]] can blind onlookers. Kyoko and Yashiro find this to be incredibly terrifying.
==
* [[Calvin and Hobbes]]: [http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/12/16 Calvin does a grotesquely awful/hilarious one for a photograph.]▼
* In an issue of [[G.I. Joe]] Special Missions, the Joes go to a rural house to rescue a family from terrorists. They see one guy who always has a crazy-looking grin on his face. They initially assume that he is one of the terrorists. Turns out he's one of the hostages. He has a rictus, a facial spasm that causes a permanent teeth-baring grin.
== Fan Works ==
* "Ms. Aoyama" from ''[[Desperately Seeking Ranma]]''. Descriptions of her smile always indicate that it is anything but pleasant and reassuring; at least one character thinks of it solely as "that terrifying thing she did with her mouth". It frequently has an effect equal to or beyond that of a [[Slasher Smile]] without looking ''anything'' like one.
== Film ==
* Wednesday in the film ''[[The Addams Family
{{quote|
* In the Director's Cut of ''[[Terminator]] 2: Judgement Day'', John Connor tries to teach the titular killer robot to smile. The results are horrifying enough that John abandons the attempt.
* When ''[[Hancock]]'' is beginning to reform, he gives an imitation of a smile at a press conference. It looked more like a snarl.
* Toothless in [[How to Train Your Dragon (
* Michael Keaton's [[Batman (
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* Seems to occur about once a chapter throughout ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' series, with the phrase "didn't reach his/her eyes" attached about 80% of the time. In the latest book, one of the Wise Ones makes a comment about Aes Sedai and smiles to show she's joking. The narration notes that she only succeeds in baring her teeth.
* The ''[[Discworld]]'' books have this from time to time, usually with werewolves and vampires, but sometimes with Vetinari, and once even with Vimes.
{{quote|
** Rincewind does it at least once
** And Granny Weatherwax, who has the "corners of her mouth turn up slightly when [[Laser
** The Librarian (a three hundred pound orang-utang) smiles a lot. Or at least, his lips turn up showing lots and lots of big yellow teeth.
* A staple of [[Larry Niven]]'s ''[[Known Space]]'' books. Kzin are predators, born and bred. So when you can see all of their teeth, this is not a ''friendly'' expression.
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
** Harry himself is also prone to a rather shark-like [[Slasher Smile]] when he's about to set someone on fire...
* [[Anne McCaffrey]]'s Acorna series eventually has the titular [[Petting Zoo People|Petting Zoo]] [[Unicorn]] reunite with her species. There's a hiccup in the road because she, having been raised by humans, will show big toothy grins which are threat displays to the unicorn people. It's really the only notable instance of culture shock.
* From [[Charles Stross]]'s ''[[The Laundry Series|The Concrete Jungle]]'':
{{quote|
* In [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[
* Javert from [[Les Misérables]]. "Would you like my hat?"
* Morrachane, an awful woman in one of the [[Circle of Magic]] books, has such an unnatural-looking smile that it takes the main character a second to figure out what her face is doing.
* One of the few signs that [[The
{{quote|
* ''[[X Wing Series]]'': Wedge Antilles sometimes wears a smile that's pure predator. As he gets older it becomes even more so - in ''[[Legacy of the Force]]'' he once flashes a smile at someone "like he was a rancor, and they were made of meat."
** A good deal of the works in [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]], particularly that which took place during her political career, depict some variant of the sentence "Leia grinned, showing teeth," giving the notion that the gesture is not particularly friendly.
* In ''[[Johannes
* Quite commonplace in the ''[[
* The Abh are described as having elevated this to an art form in [[Crest of the Stars]]. When it was animated the version Lafiel gave was... pretty intimidating.
* In [[Roald Dahl]]'s ''[[The Witches]]'' the first witch the protagonist encounters is described thusly:
{{quote|
== Live
* Michael in ''[[Burn Notice]]'' often laughs and smiles, but rarely conveys actual warmth, having great difficulty showing emotion thanks to his abusive childhood and training as a spy. Notably, his fake smiles when dealing with his family are ''much'' more obvious than the ones he uses to deal with criminals, due to their somewhat strained relationship. Some of his antagonists have similar mannerisms. Take a good look at ''Victor's'' smiles sometime; he looks like [[Ax Crazy|he wants to bite out your throat]].
* ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'': "Honey, your teeth are showing, but your lips are tense."
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* Sheldon of the [[Big Bang Theory]] cannot smile (or laugh) to save his life. As Leonard put it: "We're here to congratulate Koothrapali, not kill Batman!"
* Cromartie's attempts to smile in ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'' are not convincing.
== Newspaper Comics ==
▲* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'': Calvin does [http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/12/16
== Tabletop Games ==
* Inverted in ''[[
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* Baraka from ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' always seems like the cheerful type, but that most likely comes from having [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family]].
* This was implied in [[Sonic Unleashed]] where one of the NPCs asked Sonic why he doesn't smile in his Werehog form and wants him to do it. Sonic does so (albeit offscreen) and the NPC was startled by the [[More Teeth Than the Osmond Family|discovery]], regretting that he asked.
* There are about three instances where [[The Hero|Atsuki Saijo]] smiles in ''[[Lux
== Webcomics ==
* Inverted in ''[[
** Although she has discovered that many arguments can be averted by calmly stating her case and then flashing a big, toothy smile.
** Her smile looks forced ''[[Fridge Brilliance|because it]] '''[[Fridge Brilliance|is]]'''''. The same as with the ''Werewolf'' example above.
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** [http://questionablecontent.net./view.php?comic=1215 Nor can Faye.]
* [[Basic Instructions]], twice. Had its own devoted strip [http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2006/8/23/how-to-fake-a-smile.html here], and sent up with [http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2010/2/28/how-to-pose-a-photo.html "what is a smile but a grimace of happiness?"]
* Luca in ''[[
== Western Animation ==
* In Disney's ''[[Beauty and
* [[The Batman
** To be precise, it's the uncontrolled laughter [[Fridge Horror|that kills them]].
*** It's worth noting that even the [[Word of God|producers and writers]] thought it was probably more horrifying than simply killing someone with a gunshot.
* In [[The Pagemaster]], Horror "smiles" to show he's [[Dark Is Not Evil|actually very friendly.]] Unfortunately, he has bad teeth, thin lips, and an ugly face to boot, so it comes off as frightening/hideous anyway.
{{quote|
'''Richard:''' "That's a smile?" }}
* Octus gives his best go at a full grin on [[Sym
* ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (
** Hey, ''he'' was happy about it!
* In one episode of [[Hey Arnold!]] Arnold is forced to pair up with Willie the Jolly Olly Man, an ice-cream man who happens to be an intense [[Child
* The prehistoric episode of [[
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* There are several accounts of dog owners getting growled at, nipped, or even bitten by their frightened dogs after smiling.
** This is because in "dog language", baring your teeth and/or snarling - the motions of which can be simulated by an enthusiastic smile - is considered to be a threat. In their minds, they're simply defending themselves after you've threatened them.
* Dalmatians are the only dog breed that can approximate a [https://web.archive.org/web/20111227133343/http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/dalmatians/81362 smile], usually done so if they know they're in trouble or are just very happy. It looks like a snarl, but they do not show their back teeth, and they're usually wagging their tails.
** Some Jack Russell terriers can do it too.
** A mutt, half beagle and half schnauzer, may be capable of doing this.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Smile Tropes]]
[[Category:Technically
[[Category:
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