Not every character in anime is happy and chipper all of the time. After all, any show with characters who are constantly happy would quickly become boring. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some characters are rarely ever happy, or just don't show it on their faces when they are.
This usually makes them an excellent foil to characters who are much more emotional, often delivering dry and often comedic responses. Straight-faced characters do not share too many things in common, which is what makes them so interesting. Some have tragic backstories, some don't understand or feel emotions, some express themselves in different ways, and others just don't smile because they simply cannot.
10 Bleach: Ulquiorra Struggles To Understand Emotions
Ulquiorra is an indifferent individual who only shows interest in a select few. He spends much of his time questioning the existence of emotions and a heart, refusing to believe in things that he cannot see. He is cold to both his enemies and allies and functions solely based on logic. It isn't until he is dying that he finally begins to grasp the concept of emotions, but he is never once seen with a smile on his face.
9 Inuyasha: Kanna Was Born As A Demon Of Nothingness
Kanna was created from Naraku and was completely loyal to him until the moment of her death. She was born without a scent or a demonic aura, allowing her to avoid being detected. Although Naraku was certain that she was unable to feel any emotions, Kanna was in fact capable of it but never showed it on her face. She genuinely cared for her sister Kagura, and if she were born under better circumstances, she may have been able to smile.
8 Demon Slayer: Yoriichi Tsugikuni Appears Emotionless Until He Sees His Brother Became A Demon
Yoriichi was an incredibly humble and thoughtful individual. He was often seen supporting his frail mother, and he grew to adore his brother enough to treasure even the smallest of gifts from him.
He never had any desire to surpass his brother but wanted to support him instead. Most of the time, he had no expression on his face but was seen crying as an old man when he saw that his brother had chosen to become a demon.
7 Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Homura Akemi Puts On A Tough Exterior
Homura became a magical girl after befriending Madoka Kaname, unprepared for the tragedies that came with the job. She kept winding back time in an attempt to save Madoka's life but had to witness Madoka's tragic death over and over again. Her goal was to prevent the tragedy by keeping Madoka from ever becoming a magical girl and eventually becomes rather cold, feeling that she could not afford to be weak if she wanted to achieve her goal.
6 My Hero Academia: Manga Fukidashi's Quirk Allows Him To Express Emotions Through Speech Bubbles
Manga is never seen smiling because his head and neck are a speech bubble. The bubble can change shape in order to communicate what he's saying or feeling, but it is all expressed in text rather than in facial expressions.
His quirk allows him to materialize words in the air to attack enemies with literal blocks of text, and he utilizes onomatopoeia to create the things that the sounds suggest. This allowed him to make the surrounding area damp during his battle against Class 1-A.
5 Elfen Lied: Lucy Had A Traumatic Childhood
Lucy was raised in an orphanage, and because of her pink hair and horns, she often found herself bullied by the other children there. She never gave any reaction, which made the bullying worse. It got to a point where she couldn't take it anymore, and after exacting her revenge, she left. She spent most of her life after that on the run, trying to survive and avoid capture, and she slowly lost her sense of morality in the process. Her other personality smiles on the time, but Lucy herself usually just grins sadistically.
4 Welcome To Demon School! Iruma-Kun: Opera Is The Voice Of Reason
Opera works under Lord Sullivan and is the complete opposite of Sullivan in the sense that he is much more down-to-earth. While Lord Sullivan showers his grandson in adoration and acts silly and emotional, Opera appears to be emotionless, albeit cynical. The way that he expresses his emotions are subtle movements of his tail and ears, but Iruma has picked up on this well enough to understand what Opera is feeling.
3 Naruto: Nagato Only Smiled When He Was Younger
Despite losing his parents at a young age, Nagato learned to be idealistic after meeting his friends, Yahiko and Konan. They wanted to end all war, and after receiving some ninja training from Jiraiya, they tried to make their dream a reality. Upon the death of Yahiko, Nagato took on the name of Pain and decided that people would only want peace after experiencing the tragedy of war. He remotely controlled corpses to move for him, including Yahiko's.
2 Pokémon: Voltorb Is Physically Incapable Of Smiling
Voltorb is a Pokémon that almost always looks angry. Its slanted, narrowed eyes make it unapproachable, and the Pokémon is so sensitive that it isn't afraid to zap anyone who confuses it with a Poké Ball. Worst case scenario, it will explode after the slightest touch, or just because it feels like it. It doesn't have a mouth until it evolves into Electrode, who grins all the time. This is presumably to make up for all the time Voltorb spends not being able to smile.
1 Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto: Sakamoto Remains Level-Headed With A Straight Face
Sakamoto is the main protagonist of the series, who is ridiculously cool despite the fact that most of the things he does are extremely odd. No matter the situation, he remains level-headed and even humble, never actively making any attempt to show off in front of others. His natural talents shine through regardless, such as when he wrote with two hands at once and swiftly cut apart paper to make it into a pencil shavings holder in the blink of an eye.
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