History Main / ForHappiness

* Love Momozono from ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure''. She's born with her MultiEthnicName from her parents (but mainly her grandpa) so she's able to spread love and happiness to everyone, and she took that thing ''at heart''. She's extremely friendly, her CatchPhrase is "Get your happiness!", attempts to make her friend happy going south (at first) is enough to make her bawl, and if able, she's also reaching out for some of her ''enemies'' to reach their own happiness. It works on [[spoiler:Eas, culminating her HeelFaceTurn into Setsuna/Cure Passion]], and she even attempts that on the BigBad Moebius to reach his happiness, [[spoiler:which backfires when Moebius declared that his happiness is the destruction of the Pretty Cure, even at cost of his destruction. The Cures survive the attempt, though.]]
** And Miyuki Hoshizora from ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure''. It's even in her Cure name: Cure ''Happy''.

Compare TheNeedsOfTheMany, GoodFeelsGood, and ThePollyanna. For more on the philosophy behind For Happiness actions see UsefulNotes/EthicalHedonism. Compare ''and'' contrast TotalitarianUtilitarian and HappinessIsMandatory, as well as GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul, for when this goes horribly, ''horribly wrong''. Contrast also ItAmusedMe for the utterly selfish variant of this, i.e caring only about their ''own'' happiness, often in expense of others.

* Empires of the Bard philosophy in ''VideoGame/Spore'' run on this trope, as they desire to make the galaxy as a whole happier. However, this is explained by their Blocks of Chance artifacts, 1-7 being their results in the search for the meaning of life, summarizing their findings as "Life is just a big joke, and we're the punchline," with the Bards [[TheAntiNihilist fully embracing their role as the punchline, and acting as the social entertainers of the galaxy.]]

* In the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting TabletopGame/ScarredLands, the titan Gulaben held the powers of granting happiness. The mortal peoples believed her to be For Happiness, and her popularity made her a threat to the Gods' reign over the world. Claiming that her power was merely a sinister kind of GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul, the Gods captured her and destroyed all memories of her so that no one would try to set her free. The official truth is that she was a fickle and cruel titan, who might kill you even as she induces pleasure beyond imagination. The gods simply [[IDidWhatIHadToDo did what they had to do]]. And since we no longer remember the real truth about Gulaben, we'll just have to take their word for it.

* This is pretty much what drives Wander from [[WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder Wander Over Yonder]]. His goal in life is to help others and spread joy. This even extends to the villains of the galaxy, and he often tries to help them by converting them over to the side of good. The only villains he's failed to do this to are [[EvilOverlord Lord Hater]] (repeatedly) and [[OmnicidalManiac Lord Dominator]].

* The King of Bhutan measures the prosperity and success of his nation (and, hence, his rule) in terms of Gross Domestic Happiness. While one of the world's poorest countries when measured in dollars, there are more important things in life than luxuries and the Bhutanese people are considered among the most happy ones with the life they have.

* ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'': ''Kushiel's Mercy'' has Ptolmey Solon, the world's probably smartest man, who holds that happiness is the highest form of wisdom.
* ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'' had Patricia Paiwonski, who "wanted to sacrifice herself on an altar of happiness for the world."

* ''Literature/WickedLovely'' has the Summer court, who are described as 'happy by nature' and 'frivolous and passionate'. They oftentimes tell others to 'choose happiness'. However, due to their nature as part of TheFairFolk, they often put happiness before things like morality and loyalty, on one occasion telling [[BadassNormal Seth]] to leave [[InterspeciesRomance Aislinn]] because he'll be happier that way.
-->"Sometimes it's not about being happy, but courting happiness." --Siobhan.

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the Pemalites fit this trope to a T. Created by [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien The Ellimist]] to spread life, love, and freedom, they did exactly that... until [[EldritchAbomination Crayak]]'s pet creation, the Howlers, straight-up [[CurbStompBattle slaughtered their asses.]] It's worth noting that the Howlers [[spoiler:are also like this, Crayak just gave them a warped sense of what people find fun.]]
* ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'' is a [[TotalitarianUtilitarian merciless]] [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]]: the government makes sure people are basically [[HappinessInSlavery enslaved to happiness]].
--> "Happiness is a hard master—particularly other people's happiness."
* ''Literature/JeevesAndWooster'': Bertie Wooster is an UpperClassTwit rolling in the right stuff, [[LazyBum unashamed of his useless lifestyle]], and spends all his time either going to clubs and golf courses or [[TheDandy shopping for clothes]]. He'll let his exuberant way of life get interrupted for one reason only-- if he has to help a pal in distress. As far as that goes, he's willing to survive anything.
* ''{{Literature/Utopia}}'': The general Utopian political philosophy. Everyone works, everyone lives in the same sort of houses and wears the same clothes, eats the same food, etc. because it makes a comparatively high standard of living for everyone.

* This is pretty much what drives Wander from [[WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder Wander Over Yonder]]. His goal in life is to help others and spread joy. This even extends to the villains of the galaxy, and he often tries to help them by converting them over to the side of good.

* ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'': Harry Potter-Evans-Verres follows this. Rather than settling for less than making everyone become happy, he decided to try to [[AGodAmI become God]].

[[quoteright:319:[[VideoGame/YoshiStory https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yoshi_story_motivation.png]]]]

Bob really likes happiness. Not only for [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality himself]] or for his [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy loved ones]], but for everybody. [[UsefulNotes/EthicalHedonism Since it's often impossible to let everyone be happy, he'll settle for as much happiness as possible to as many as possible]]. Hence, an entire system of morality based on the pursuit of happiness.

Let's, for example, say that [[ForTheEvulz Alice is having a great time hurting Charlie]]. Bob disapproves: it's a good thing that she's doing something she enjoys, but it's not cool that she's doing it at Charlie's expense. Bob has no desire to punish her for her misdeeds but might do so if that's the most efficient way to make her stop and to help Charlie get his self-esteem back.

[[quoteright:320:[[VideoGame/YoshiStory https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yoshi_story_motivation.png]]]]

* In ''Manga/AnatoliaStory'', Kail wants to become the next king so he can ensure the welfare and happiness of his subjects. The fact that Yuri always worries about wellbeing of the people she meets, no matter what their social status or situation, leads to him realizing that she might just have the qualities necessary to be the most powerful woman in the entire empire. This inevitably leads to both of them being favored as the new rulers, over the evil queen Nakia.

* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} has this as her motto: "Hope, Compassion and Help for all". She's more liable to use her powers to make people happy than beating criminals up.

* ''Comicbook/TheWickedAndTheDivine'': This is Dionysus's philosophy when it comes to his divinity; he'll be dead in under two years, but everyone at his parties will have lasting memories of experiencing joy and release long after he's gone.

* ''FanFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'': Harry Potter-Evans-Verres follows this. Rather than settling for less than making everyone become happy, he decided to try to [[AGodAmI become God]].

** Before that, Maya Amano from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' is a CoolBigSis that can always infect her cheerfulness toward the party all way through the duology. "Let's think positive!", indeed.
* ''{{VideoGame/Borderlands 2}}'': Claptrap tries to use this to talk some bandits out of beating him up... [[FeelNoPain and ends up convincing himself that the bandits actually have the moral high ground.]]

** Yuusuke Godai, the hero of ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'' fights to protect people's smiles; likewise his AlternateUniverse {{Expy}} Yuusuke Onodera from ''Series/KamenRiderDecade''.

Let's, for example, say that [[ForTheEvulz Alice is having a great time hurting Charlie]]. Bob disapproves: it's a good thing that she's doing something she enjoys, but it's not cool that she's doing it at Charlie's expense. Bob has no desire to punish her for her misdeeds, but might do so if that's the most efficient way to make her stop and to help Charlie get his self-esteem back.

Compare TheNeedsOfTheMany, GoodFeelsGood and ThePollyanna. For more on the philosophy behind For Happiness actions see UsefulNotes/EthicalHedonism. Compare ''and'' contrast TotalitarianUtilitarian and HappinessIsMandatory, as well as GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul, for when this goes horribly, ''horribly wrong''. Contrast also ItAmusedMe for the utterly selfish variant of this, i.e caring only about their ''own'' happiness, often in expense of others.

* Elmer from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' has this as his raison d'etre: he just wants everyone (particularly his more melancholy immortal bretheren) to smile.

* Rentaro from ''LightNovel/BlackBullet'' falls into this. [[spoiler: This is a deconstructed trope, as he wants everyone he loves and cares about to be happy, at the expense of ''his own happiness''. The reason he withhold the crucial information about the sad eventual fate of cursed children becoming Gastrea monsters to Enju Aihara, a cursed child and Initiator who happens to have 500 days to live as a human (or the fact that Enju is slowly ''dying''), is because he wants Enju to live a happy life in her remaining time as a human. It bites him in the ass during volumes 5 and 6 where he was arrested for a crime he didn't commit. Rentaro told Kisara that he is willing to sacrifice his own happiness and freedom [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy for the sake of Kisara being happy]]. Needless to say, Kisara broke down in tears simply because Rentaro isn't happy.]]

* In ''Manga/AnatoliaStory'', Kail wants to become the next king so he can ensure the wellfare and happiness of his subjects. The fact that Yuri always worries about wellbeing of the people she meets, no matter what their social status or situation, leads to him realizing that she might just have the qualities necessary to be the most powerful woman in the entire empire. This inevitably leads to both of them being favored as the new rulers, over the evil queen Nakia.
* In ''Manga/ToLoveRu Darkness'', Momo's Harem Plan is pretty much this. There's definitely some selfishness in there, since she seems to feel this is the best way to receive some of Rito's love, but she's also well aware of just how many girls have fallen for him and wants every last one of them to be happy.

* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' with Joy, a ControlFreak whose goal is to make sure Riley's life is as happy as possible by letting Riley feel only the bare minimum of every other emotion, ''especially'' Sadness, whom she tries to keep contained at all times. This blows up in her face when Joy gets Sadness and herself whisked out of the control room, leaving the rest--Anger, Disgust, and Fear--to try and pick up the slack. [[spoiler:Ultimately, Joy comes to the realization that Sadness has been integral to some of the happiest moments of Riley's life, namely as a way to reach out and connect with the people she loves most, thereby allowing not just Sadness, but also the other emotions their turns.]]

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', the Pemalites fit this trope to a T. Created by [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien The Ellimist]] to spread life, love and freedom, they did exactly that... until [[EldritchAbomination Crayak]]'s pet creation, the Howlers, straight-up [[CurbStompBattle slaughtered their asses.]] It's worth noting that the Howlers [[spoiler:are also like this, Crayak just gave them a warped sense of what people find fun.]]

** In ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', Shotaro Hidari makes it his mission to make sure no one in Futo cries. The fastest way to [[BerserkButton set him off]] is to make sombody cry in his presence.

** Deconstructed in ''Series/KamenRiderGaim''. Mitsuzane Kureshima just wants to make his friends happy. The problem is that he's arrogant enough in his own intelligence to think that he and he alone knows what will bring them happiness, ignoring their own opinions on the matter; and [[IDidntTellYouBecauseYoudBeUnhappy will keep unpleasant information from them even if it's something that's very important for them to know.]] He eventually gets to the point where he wants to kill his (former) best friend Kouta and crush their mutual friends' hopes in order to keep them safe and "happy". By that point it's clear that "for their happiness" is the lie he tells himself to justify the actions he's taking for ''his'' happiness; he's [[HeroicWannabe desperate to be seen as the hero that saves everyone]], and is intensely jealous of Kouta for receiving that admiration instead (which he gets by actually being heroic).

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', the Picori/Minish adore humans and delight in making them happy, for it gives them energy to help make their lives even more happier. Many have moved from their native home-world to Hyrule to be closer to them, and those from the Minish Village also moved to Hyrule Town to help them in their daily-lives due to their love for humans. It's also revealed that all the hearts, rupees, and other things you find upon cutting down grass in other ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' games were put there by the Minish to help people out.

* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'': The game's download page describes [[GenkiGirl Sayori]] as "the youthful bundle of sunshine who values happiness the most." We see this in the game proper, when she encourages the protagonist to join the Literature Club partly because she's concerned he'd end up a {{NEET}} if he didn't join any clubs in high school. Sayori is also TheHeart of the group, and is easily capable of defusing arguments between Yuri and Natsuki. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that this mindset is a major coping mechanism for her depression, as she feels that if she made everyone else happy, she has no reason to be unhappy.]] This is key to getting the GoldenEnding: [[spoiler:You get it by SaveScumming so that you do each of the girls' routes in Act 1. Once Sayori returns in Act 4 she'll be genuinely thankful the player spent as much time with the girls as possible, noting that it's all she wanted.]] Sayori can also show this in one NonstandardGameOver. [[spoiler:If you delete Monika early, Sayori becomes the Club President. After her [[FreakOut freak-out]], she crashes the game. Upon reopening the game, you will be greeted by a black-and-white screen of Sayori hanging herself with ''everyone''—including Sayori herself—deleted. Wait ten minutes, and you will be greeted with a special message.]]

** [[BigGood Princess Celestia]] seems this way, acting like a light-hearted pony who doesn't take herself too seriously and enjoys a good laugh at her own expense. Over time, we've seen her get more serious, until it's apparent that keeping everyone ''safe'' is her main concern, and spreading cheer is what she does in her rare moments of down-time.

** Her introduction did serve as an examination. While Uncle Grandpa offers fantastical adventures, Aunt Grandma offers immediate practical solutions. However, Uncle Grandpa's adventures also lead to the kids learning lessons that will benefit in the long run, which is more valuable than the immediate help Aunt Grandma presented. Furhermore, his whole trip with her was for her to learn how to unwind and not take things so seriously because of how intensely and unhealthily focused she was on winning.

* This ethical position is an important form of utilitarian philosophy, and has been consistently popular among moral philosophers since the Enlightenment. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill were both major developers of the theory, although "happiness" may sometimes be replaced with a more generally defined "good" or "well-being", or something else altogether like "freedom" or "beauty".

** This is OlderThanTheyThink, since it was part of [[{{UsefulNotes/Epicureanism}} Epicurean philosophy]] in UsefulNotes/AncientGreece. Notably, Epicurus believed that happiness came not from simple carnal gratification, but things like friendship and learning. His school, The Garden, was also known as the only place in Athens (or anywhere else in Greece) which [[ValuesResonance welcomed women and slaves in as equals]].

* In ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'', this is the motivation for both main character Akko Kagari and her idol Shiny Chariot. Chariot's desire became a TragicDream, discarding her performace career to become a shy, meek teacher.

[[folder:Film]]

** In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' Pinkie gets another song like this, "One Small Thing" that once again emphasizes how she sees doing even little deeds to brighten others' lives to always be worthwhile since sometimes small things will lead to big things in their own way, and they'll be important to the person you help. [[spoiler: In fact, if Twilight hadn't gone behind everyone's back, Pinkie's song would actually have ''solved the problem they were having''. Not too shabby for one small thing.]]
** [[BigGood Princess Celestia]] seems this way, acting like a light-hearted pony who doesn't take herself too seriously and even enjoys a good laugh at her own expense. Over time, we've seen her get more serious, until it's apparent that keeping everyone ''safe'' is her main concern, and spreading cheer is what she does in her rare moments of down-time.