Go Out With A Smile / Anime & Manga

Go Out with a Smile in Anime & Manga.

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• 7 Seeds:
  • In the Team Winter flashback, it turns out that Fuyuhi died while last smiling at Aramaki. The Fuyuhi that had been following Aramaki since Mitsuru's death was a grieving delusion of his, where he projected his lost friend onto a dog that he had rescued earlier. Nonetheless, the dog-Fuyuhi-illusion smiles before Aramaki realizes what was going on.
  • During the Hail of Corn arc, Mayu and Hyo manage to have a dying-with-a-smile moment. Despite being trapped under rocks from a cave-in and slowly dying from their sustained injuries, they both smile when realizing that, while they aren't going to make it to the future, Koruri will make it just as they hoped she would.
  • The Ryugu Shelter arc reveals that Hana's mother, Miho, died while smiling. A bout of attempted sabotage in the food storage results in the area beginning to be flooded and Miho notices that one of the doors is not shutting properly, so she chooses to push the door closed, to save the rest of the shelter inhabitants. She is last seen smiling at her husband on the other side, while drowning in the flooded storage.

• In Banana Fish, Ash Lynx was apparently smiling as he lay dying in the library, reading a letter from his soulmate and best friend Eiji.
• Bleach:
  • In Rukia's flashback, Kaien smiles in her arms after being run through by her sword, saying that he's glad that he can leave his heart there with her.
  • Despite hating her, Loly turns to Orihime and gives her a warm smile right before Yammy smashes her.
  • In his last moments, Ulquiorra, who didn't so much as crack an expression during the whole arc he appeared in, gives a tiny smile to Orihime when she tries to reach his hand as he disintegrates.
  • Unohana smiles as she dies, having fought the greatest battle in her life and pleased that Kenpachi is finally worthy of his title.

• Brave Raideen: In the Grand Finale, Princess Lemuria manages to activate the La Mu's Star device at the cost of her own life. Akira breaks into tears as he holds her, but she dies happy, surrounded by the Hibiki family, knowing her son defeated Barao and put an end to the Demon Empire that terrorized the world and massacred her people.
• Chrono Crusade:
  • In the manga Rosette gives Chrono a smile as she tries to reattach his horns with her last breath. But later she comes back to life through sheer force of will. The scene is particularly haunting because Mary Magdalene smiled at the same character before her death, as well.
  • Although it's not shown, Rosette's later death is implied to have happened with a smile: one of the characters say she looked "peaceful" when they found her.
  • In the anime, they use this for their sad ending: Chrono and Rosette are found dead, sitting together on a bench swing with their hands clasped, smiling peacefully.
• In Code Geass, both Euphemia li Britannia, Lelouch's loving, sweet half-sister, and Shirley Fenette, his head-over-heels in love friend from school (and one of his primary love interests), die with smiles on their faces.
  • Also mentioned (but not actually performed) when C.C. tells Lelouch that her wish is to die. Charles is about to steal her "code", making her mortal again, but when Lelouch sees the worried look on her face he yells at her that she should at least die with a smile if this was really what she wanted. In the end, it wasn't.
  • Slightly subverted in the Grand Finale: Right before Lelouch is stabbed by the new Zero (Suzaku), he smiles, and keeps it even after he collapses next to Nunnally. But after he says his last words and finally expires in Nunnally's arms, he abandons the smile for a more melancholic, neutral expression in death (he probably didn't want to look like he planned anything).
• Keisei in Corpse Princess; if he didn't, he'd have turned into an undead monster.
• Cross Ange: Alektra, or rather, "Jill", dies with a smile on her face after having made up with Salia, who had just returned to the side of good. This is despite the fact that her earlier attempt to kill Embryo was All for Nothing, instead choosing to be glad that Salia didn't remain Embryo's pawn.
• Misty Honey from Cutey Honey dies after delivering a cheering speech to the main heroine.
• In Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, David smiles in his last moments before Adam Smasher reduces his head to bits of chrome. The only thing he had left to live for by that point was Lucy, and his Hopeless Boss Fight against Smasher gave her the time she needed to escape Arasaka Tower. He thus goes out without regrets, knowing that Lucy was safe and finally free from Arasaka’s clutches.
• In Digimon Adventure, Wizardmon may always have his mouth covered, but while he's dying after taking a fatal attack for Gatomon, it's very obvious he's smiling up at her behind his cloak as he thanks her for her friendship.
• Dragon Ball:
  • Dragon Ball Z has a lot of those:
    • Goku faces death with a smile every time for the people he loves.
    • Goku's father, Bardock, who tried to kill Frieza to save the Saiyan race. He failed, and just as he was about to die, he saw a vision of his son fighting Frieza and avenging the deaths of their race.
    • Piccolo smiles after his Heroic Sacrifice to save Gohan from Nappa.
    • Vegeta smiles just before his Senseless Sacrifice against Majin Buu.
    • Android 16's death. His last words were to encourage one of his creator's nemeses to protect the planet, something which he had grown to love of his own volition. Of all the deaths in the series, his stands alone, as he was purely mechanical and thus had no afterlife to go to/return from. Poignantly, in a series where Death Is Cheap, Android 16's is one of the few which stuck. Still he died smiling.
  • In Dragon Ball Super, everyone from Universe 2 not only accepts their death with dignity but they do so with a great smile on their faces while preaching about love at the same time.
• In Fairy Tail, Future Lucy Heartfillia gets shot by Future Rouge after taking the hit for Present Lucy. She asks Lucy to show her Fairy Tail mark (as Future Lucy had lost hers along with the hand it belonged to) as she comforts her past friends, telling them that their adventure is still going and to save the future before smiling at them and passing away.
• Fullmetal Alchemist:
  • This happens near the end with Buccaneer.
  • King Bradley/Wrath plays this trope very well in the manga, admitting aloud that he's lead a long, pleasant life as he is dying. This is almost ironic, as this man is singlehandedly responsible for the genocide of a race of people, as well as the death of 3 main characters, the slaughter of a slew of supporting characters, and the horrific crippling of another. With all this blood on his hands, and without sounding the slightest bit evil or sadistic, he goes out genuinely happy for the fulfilling life he's had.
    Greedling: That's Wrath! ...I see, so we finally got him... [sigh] Bastard dies with that peaceful look on his face... pisses me off.
    • Later played again by the second Greed when Father destroys him. As he dissolves into air and sees that all of his comrades truly were his friends, he realizes his desires are finally complete. His last expression before dying is a small, content smile.
  • Then we have shadow Kimblee, who fades into nothingness after helping Edward, laying the verbal smackdown on Pride, smiling, and doffing his cap one final time.
  • Also, Hohenheim returns to Resembool after the final battle with Father and dies kneeling in front of Trisha's grave.
    • Pinako outright says so.
      Pinako: (spotting him at Trisha's grave) ...Silly old fool. Well, at least you died with a smile on your face, my friend.
  • Lust also goes out with this way, taking her defeat very well after having her Philosopher's Stone depleted by Roy Mustang.
  • Played with in Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) with Greed. After committing Suicide by Cop, he smiles with a peaceful expression. However, his body then contorts in agony before dissolving.
• In Full Metal Panic!... well, it's not so much touching, but Gauron did die with a very happy smile on his face. It was actually genuine, though, and not very pretty. Apparently his happiness came from causing as much pain as he could to the one he loves.
• In flashbacks, Shoyou-sensei in Gintama smiles his calm, warm smile at Gintoki right before Gintoki is forced to behead his beloved teacher in exchange for his friends' lives.
  • She did technically smile before, but that was because she covered her face in glue, fixing the expression in place.
• Even for a trope noted for being sad, Grave of the Fireflies manages to put out a particularly gut-wrenching example with Setsuko's death. She died with a smile on her face... because by that point she was suffering from such horrible malnutrition that she was delirious and reduced to eating dirt, thinking it was food.
• From Gundam:
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team has Ginias Sakhalin, who goes out with a particularly creepy and detached Psychotic Smirk.
  • In Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Daguza Mackle enacts a plan that traps the Sinanju and gives Banagher an opportunity to activate the NT-D. After successfully trapping it in with Banagher (if only for a short while) and damaging its Search Eye, Full Frontal retaliates with a his shield-mounted beam saber, and Daguza uses what time he has left to turn to Banagher with a salute and a smile.
  • In Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Schwarz Brudder and Domon's brother Kyouji, who he is robot replica of, smile as Domon destroys the core of the Devil Gundam.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED:
    • In Phase 40, King Izumi Nara Athha detonated his Country's Military Silo to preserve his country's neutrality in a genocidal race war and to buy his daughter, Princess Cagalli, time to escape to space. The trouble is, he has to be there to throw the switch himself. Even after he reveals to her that she is in fact adopted, he tells her with a warm and loving smile "I'm so glad to have been your father" before closing the airlock and spiriting her off to freedom. There was not one dry eye, man or woman, at that Anime Screening in 2003.
    • Immediately following him, Natarle Badgiruel smiles serenely as the Archangel destroys the Dominion, content in the knowledge that she's taking Muruta Azrael out with her. Azrael, in sharp comparison, goes out screaming in terror before he eats a Lohengrin Cannon blast.
    • In an example similar to Ginias, Rau Le Creuset dies with a smile after Kira Yamato and the Freedom Gundam impale his Providence Gundam, due to his belief that the entire world will be following him. It's both chilling, and kind of sad at the same time, as you realize what a wreck the man's life truly was.
  • In Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny , Stella Loussier smiles sweetly and tells Shinn she loves him right before she dies.
  • In Gundam SEED C.E 73 Stargazer, after ignoring orders to return and exhausting all his Gundam's energy, Shams Couza smiles before he get shot to death by a bunch of DSSD Astrays.
  • In Mobile Suit Gundam Age, Yurin bears a heartbreaking smile as she died.

• In the Gungrave anime Brandon/Grave and Harry McDowell both die with a smile. Mika doesn't get to Grave in time to see him die, but she realizes that although Grave is gone from her life, her memory of him and the thought that they'll always be "family" no matter what allows her to smile because she realized that Grave finally found his peace.
  Grave: [to Harry] Let's go home.
  Mika: [smiling through her tears] I know now...that we're a family...and always will be, forever, and ever.
• A chilling version in Gunslinger Girl. Brainwashed cyborg Henrietta has a smile on her face as she's lying dead after carrying out her Suicide Pact with her beloved handler Jose.
• Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics: In this version of Godfather Death, the protagonist is portrayed more sympathetically than the original tale, as he wants to be a doctor to genuinely save lives. After he cheats Death by saving someone who was fated to die, he's warned that his life will be taken the next time he tries to pull that stunt. In the end, he decides to do so to save the life of the King's daughter, and before being taken he smiles, happy that he could be a doctor for the first time and accepting his fate, much to Death's shock and remorse.
• Ryoko Asakura of Haruhi Suzumiya, who despite her evil intentions of slicing Kyon to bits with a knife maintains a smile throughout most of her battle with Yuki and keeps a smiling face as she is being dissolved by Yuki. That just makes her more frightening. She doesn't really see the importance of death. In her Image Song, she even states that heartbeats are nothing more than trivial, wave-like patterns.
• At the end of Heaven's Lost Property Ikaros dies due to a self-destruct sequence. Moments before her body completely disintegrates, she realises that she loves Tomoki and shows him her true smile for the first time in the series.
• Most of the characters in Hellsing die smiling; this is explained by the fact that all vampires (and a werewolf), as immortal beings, held only one desire: to die.
  • Alucard gives his sanest, most sincere smile in the entire series as he fades away after absorbing Schrodinger.
  • The Major dies this way as well, believing that, even though he ultimately lost in the end, he had made his dream of the ultimate war a reality.
  • Human Pip Bernadotte, who is teasing Seras as he's dying in her arms. Which promptly turns into a moment of awesome, as Pip freely offers his blood and soul, thus enabling Seras to Take a Level in Badass. Also, he gets to live on as Seras' familiar.
• In Higurashi: When They Cry, this is both played straight and subverted:
  • Shion smiles (a sad one albeit) in Meakashi-hen when she is falling to her death and mentally promising to not repeat her mistakes; however, it quickly turned into shock when she neared the ground.
  • Played straight with Rena in Onikakushi-hen. She tries to give a delusional and paranoid Keiichi a hug, but is beaten to death.
• THE iDOLM@STER — Parodied by Ami when she has to leave for an interview and left her sister to take care of finding out who stole the pudding from the freezer.
• In Inuyasha, a fatally wounded Kagura smiles at Sesshomaru as she dissolves into wind. Same goes to Kikyou, dying in Inuyasha's arms as he kisses her for the last time.
• The head of an orphanage in Itsuwaribito dies smiling after hearing all the orphans had survived the attack by bandits. This is sadly a Let Them Die Happy invoked by the main character, who couldn't stand telling the man all the orphans had in fact been killed in the attack, because doing so would have made the head die experiencing soul-crushing regret.
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  • Jonathan Joestar from Phantom Blood goes out with triple sadness; his serene smile is intended for his wife, the audience, and the villain, his adopted brother Dio Brando.
  • Wamuu from Battle Tendency dies with a smile knowing Joseph was a Worthy Opponent.
  • Iggy from Stardust Crusaders gives a small smile after rescuing Polnareff, right before succumbing to his injuries.
  • Jolyne Cujoh from Stone Ocean smiles at Emporio before she faces off against Pucci one last time so Emporio can escape. Then a split-second later, you see her getting ripped apart like tissue paper by Pucci's Stand. All that remains is her Stand's sunglasses, which quickly disintegrate under accelerated time.
  • Steel Ball Run: Gyro, fully aware that Valentine has already delivered a fatal wound onto him, tells Johnny of his fifth and final lesson with a smile before taking one last shot at Valentine.
• K:
  • Totsuka smiles while dying in Misaki's arms.
  Totsuka: Don't... sweat it... It'll all... work out in the end.
  • Later the Red King Mikoto holds out his arms and smiles as Munakata is forced to run him through to prevent his powers from destroying everything around them.
• In Kekkaishi, Gen dies like this after realizing Kaguro's swords suppressed his regeneration. It was the only time Yoshimori and Tokine saw him smile.
• Key/Visual Arts loves this stuff.
  • Misuzu Kamio of AIR. Her final smile for her true mother Haruko is so full of love and so darned adorable.
  • Nagisa's farewell to Tomoya in the CLANNAD movie and the Bad Ending route of the original visual novel, dying after giving birth, was a heartwarming smile of how glad she was to meet her daughter and to have met the love of her life.

• In the final episode of Last Exile, Alex Rowe dies with a smile after finally carrying out his long-sought vengeance against Maestro Delphine.
• In Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Walter von Schönkopf passed away with a smile after being fatally wounded during the boarding operation against the Imperial supreme flagship Brünhild in episode 108.
• There are two examples in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2016).
  • After completing his Heel–Face Turn and dying in battle against the monsters attacking Hyrule Castle Town, King Bulblin is still smiling.
  • Ganondorf gives Princess Zelda a final grin before pulling off his Spiteful Suicide.
• Izumi Kanata, Konata's mother in Lucky Star, is shown in the manga to bear an angelic smile when she passed on to the next world.
• Lupin III: Island of Assassins: Done by both Bomber and Ellen:
  • After being fatally wounded by Gordeau, Bomber manages to flash a grin at Jigen and gives him a thumbs up, before activating the bomb he had hidden under his vest in an attempt to take Gordeau with him.
  • Ellen's comes near the end, after taking a bullet to save Lupin, who cradles her during her Last Words. She thanks him for the brief moment they shared off the island and said she'd never forget it... then goes limp in his arms, with a faint smile.
• Macross Delta: Freyja dies this way in Absolute Live; after using the last of her lifespan to help her allies defeat Heimdall and save the Siren System-created child, she spends her last moments in Hayate's arms and dies with a faint smile on her face.
• Princess Emeraude in the finale of the first season of Magic Knight Rayearth. She even gets to thank the Knights for killing her, which means she's free from the curse that her life as the Pillar was.
• The first Reinforce in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's, who smiles at the crying Hayate and tries to comfort her before finishing her Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Zest also does this for Agito in StrikerS, smiling and telling her that their time together was enjoyable before passing away.
• Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro's Sasazuka, is fatally shot in the face by the series's latest Big Bad. Before he goes, he catches sight of the heroine, Yako, and smiles peacefully to her before the gun goes off.
• Gai Daigouji from Martian Successor Nadesico is shot just as he's about to put stickers from his favorite cartoon on his Humongous Mecha to celebrate his victory from earlier in the episode... which in hindsight is really, heartbreakingly sad.
• Medaka Box: Though he doesn't actually die, Zenkichi manages to meet each near death instance with a smile. Naturally, this ends up setting off Medaka.
• In My Hero Academia, the very serious and moody-looking Sir Nighteye suffers fatal wounds beyond anyone's ability to heal. As he's dying in his hospital bed, he encourages everyone present to inspire laughter and positive energy in the people they're sworn to protect. He then gives the first real smile he's been seen to make as he passes away.
  • When the upgraded Shigaraki attacks with his decay wave, Aizawa is being held in place by a Nomu and thus can't get away. Crust, the Shield Hero, stops and throws a shield to cut the Nomu's arm off to let Aizawa escape, but this delay means he gets caught in the decay wave himself. Even in the midst of what's a presumably painful death, Crust gives a big smile and thumbs-up to Aizawa as he escapes.
• In My-HiME, Takumi Tokiha, Haruka Suzushiro and Yuuichi Tate smile as they die as results of the HiME Carnival.
  • Shizuru is also smiling as she and Natsuki vanish together. Given that her most precious person had just kissed her and said she truly loved her, even if not romantically, it wasn't a bad way to go.
• From Naruto:
  • Done by Kakashi before being sliced up, only to reveal that it was just a log he substituted in place of himself.
  • The same thing happened when Naruto took out Itachi with a giant Rasengan, but he smiled because that wasn't Itachi, just a duplicate with a fraction of his power.
  • Played straight then with Itachi's actual death. As he smiles at Sasuke following their fight he says that there won't be a next time and collapses. When it happened, viewers didn't have the context to understand it, and had to join Sasuke in feeling that something, somewhere had Gone Horribly Wrong.
  • The Third Hokage dies with a smile on his face, because he believes despite his death, Konoha will be fine as long as the villagers have the 'Will of Fire'.
  • Jiraiya and Nagato died smiling. Kishimoto likes to have the good guys deaths softened in the knowledge they died at peace, most bad guys don't get such a luxury.
  • Kisame is also an exception, as he appeared to die then he really died sporting a psychopathic grin both times (especially the second).
  • In the anime, Hinata, after being beaten up and thrown around by Pain, gives one last smile to Naruto before the fatal blow is dealt. Sakura heals her after Pain and the now-Kyuubified Naruto leave the village though. Naruto also gets better.
  • The Fourth Hokage Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, die smiling. It's more bittersweet than usual in that they know they've basically doomed their son to a life of pain and woe, but are comforted in the fact that they'll be able to help him when the time comes, and have given him the means to overcome the trials that lie ahead.
  • In Chapter 614, Neji smiles as he takes a fatal attack meant for Naruto, in order to save Naruto and his cousin Hinata (who had the same idea as Neji) and thinks that he finally understands why his father willingly sacrificed himself in the past.

• In Chapter 278 of Negima! Magister Negi Magi, Jack Rakan, after delivering a powerful blow to Fate, begins to dissolve into sakura petals just like everyone else hit by Fate's attacks, and he, of all people, combines this with a rather calm, relaxed attitude as he passes on his last words.
  Rakan: [to Negi] So... yeah. I wanted to take responsibility for my generation and clean up these last bits of shit for you...but I guess you're gonna have to deal with it after all.
  Negi: Ra...kan...san?
  Rakan: Sorry. [a few panels later] Ah, well. I'm sure you'll be able to handle it.
  • And then he revives for a moment and does it again.
    Rakan: [to Negi] Heh... See ya around, kid. Don't get consumed by the darkness.
    Negi: Rakan-san!
    Rakan: Don't look back. Keep on moving forward. When a guy keeps his gaze fixed right in front of him...
    Negi: RAKAN-SAN!
    Rakan: The world smiles on him...
    Negi: Raka...n...san...
  • Tosaka did it too, after taking a hit meant for Ako Izumi.
    Tosaka: ...Hah... Are you kidding me? Am I dying to protect some useless little former slave of a girl? I guess I really goddamn well am just... a side character... to the end...
• Neon Genesis Evangelion:
  • Misato does this. Whilst she actually dies alone, bleeding out on the floor until someone blows up the level she's on, she sends off the last person to see her alive by pushing him into an elevator, with her giving him a genuinely loving smile before the doors shut between them and she collapses to the floor.
  • Done with a different yet slightly more badass approach in the manga. After sending Shinji off, two soldiers find Misato waiting with a smile and live grenade.
  • Kaji went out much the same, but with an added "You're a little late, aren't you?".
  • Rei 2 in the series. Just as her Eva is about to detonate, she hallucinates a smiling Gendo and tearfully smiles back before the kaboom.
  • Ritsuko, whose plan to commit a murder-suicide with Gendo goes up in smoke when Casper disobeys her. Gendo pulls a gun on her and tells her something we don't get to hear. Her response is a bitter smile and calling him a liar before he pulls the trigger.
  • The last shot of Kaworu in the anime is of him smiling and thanking the boy who both gave his life meaning and must kill him.

• Kagero of Ninja Scroll smiled with warm happiness as Jubei let her experience True Love at last... before expiring from the treacherous wounds inflicted by Genma.
• One Piece: Dying happy with a tearful smile can almost be considered as a trademark of the manga.
  • It seems that the main reason for this concerning those with the 'Will of D.', is that they live their lives with absolutely no regrets, and most times die for what they lived for. When you lived your entire life as you wanted, at the end, what is there left to do but smile? The fact that Marshal D. Teach/Blackbeard averts this by pleading and blubbering when he thinks he's going to be killed is stated to indicate that he's not a true carrier of this will, despite bearing the initial.
  • The Pirate King himself, Gol D. Roger, constantly seen in the series wearing a wide grin, smiles for the last time in his life (moments before he is executed) when announcing to the world that his greatest treasure, the One Piece, is awarded to whoever finds it.
    • It is implied that he was smiling at the fact that he reignited the age of pirates because of his announcement and knowing his legacy will live on because of it. Plus the fact that the Marines' intentions for his public execution (which was to deter piratism across the world) ended up backfiring in the worst way possible for them.
    • Only a couple chapters/episodes later, when Buggy is about to lop off Monkey D. Luffy's head, he calls out to his crew with a gigantic smile on his face:^note This was stopped by a lightning bolt amidst the storm, drawn to Buggy's metal sword he was using to execute Luffy.
      Luffy: Sorry! I'm dead!
  • Ace's mother, Portgas D. Rouge, died giving birth while smiling like his father and entrusting her child to Garp.
  • Jaguar D. Saul tells a young, terrified Nico Robin to smile and laugh no matter how grim things get, just before Aokiji freezes him solid; the last thing we see before the ice statue of him is shattered is his still-beaming face. Then it was revealed in Egghead Arc, he's still alive after being thawed out and residing in Elbaf.
  • During Ace's fight with Blackbeard, he gets close to death, but on his last attempt at overcoming Blackbeard, he smirks and calmly states his intents to make Whitebeard the Pirate King. While he didn't actually die, he showed the D.'s willingness to smile at death.
  • Ace fit in naturally during his actual death, when he dies from his injuries from Taking the Bullet to protect Luffy, and after his Final Speech to those around him, he collapses with a smile knowing that despite having the blood of a "demon" in his veins, despite being a "good-for-nothing," he was truly loved.
  • The newly revealed addition to the 'Will of D', Trafalgar D. Water Law, gets a non-fatal one when Doflamingo, rather than killing him outright, graciously offers to make his death worth something and offers to fulfill one last wish in exchange for having the ultimate ability of Law's Op-Op Fruit performed on him: immortality. He agrees, but only if Doflamingo brings Corazon back to life and licks the ass of every Dressrosan citizen he's wronged. He flips him off with a huge grin on his face, taunting him even further, before finally being shot.
  • Aside from the D. family, there is also the death of Belle-mere, and especially her last words to Nojiko and Nami.
  • Dr. Hiriluk toasted to his wonderful life before drinking a concoction that blew himself up. He also got a great speech about how he would never truly die as long as his dream was seen through.
  • Averted with Montblanc Noland. History depicts Noland as giving a big goofy grin at his execution, as portrayed in the book "Noland the Liar". The reality is that he was sobbing hard, not knowing what happened to his new friends on the land of Shandora.
  • Later on, in Brook's flashback, we see the final on-screen moments of Captain Yorki of the Rumbar Pirates. It was only briefly implied in the manga, but the anime version of that scene went for the gold. His crew soon follows suit, when they play their favorite song as they die from poison, so that a recording of it could reach their beloved Team Pet.
  • Fisher Tiger died with a smile after being reassured that after he had freed the slaves from Mariejois and the legends of his adventures, he was a hero of the Fishman Island.
  • Also Queen Otohime after her oldest son Fukaboshi promises her that they will protect Shirahoshi and collect all the signatures that she had long fought for to get from her people so that her dream of co-existing peacefully with humans can be fulfilled.
  • Until the very end, the smile doesn't burn off the face of the Going Merry. Her last words are thanking the crew for taking care of her, and that no matter what, she was happy during her time with them.
  • The aforementioned Corazon aka Donquixote Rocinate died smiling knowing that Law would be free of Doflamingo.
  • All the G5 Marines who are trapped inside a hallway filled with deadly gas are seen by their comrades striking various thumbs-up poses, content that they managed to save Tashigi. Though it's ultimately subverted since they're all saved at the end of the arc.
  • Kozuki Oden, the shogun of Wano Country, went out smiling after enduring an hour of boiling oil while carrying his 9 vassals, followed by Kaido putting him out of his misery with a bullet to the head, knowing full well that his dream of an open Wano will come to pass.
  • Yasu dies with a smile on his face, content that his sacrifice will protect the rebellion. An interesting example, since he can't not smile and laugh after having been fed failed SMILE Fruits, yet it's clear that he would have done so anyway.
  • After Garp helps Koby escape along with the prisoners from Fullalead and knowing the future of the Marines will live on, he goes out laughing his butt off with a smile on his face while he's frozen by Kuzan along with the rest of the Blackbeard pirates capturing him and resulting status being "missing" according to the narrator.

• Oshi no Ko: After getting stabbed in the abdomen, Ai Hoshino fondly remembers her time with her twin children, and tells them how much she loves them. The last we see of her is her lifeless body, smiling, but with the stars she usually has in her eyes absent.
• In Princess Tutu's first season finale, a ghostly form of Edel smiles and requests a couple to dance together for her one last time, even as her body is burning as a fire to warm someone back to life. Ouch.
• Ranma ½: Before Akane's eyes close completely, signifying her death, she smiles at Ranma, then lets herself go. It's followed shortly by an Anguished Declaration of Love from Ranma. She wakes up 5 minutes later, but...
• Sailor Moon: At the end of Season 1 of the anime, Sailor Jupiter gives Moon a comforting smile as she dies, telling her not to be sad.
• Saiyuki: Kanan smiles as she kills herself in front of Gonou (Hakkai), she was trying to smile for his benefit presumably. Yaone would have done exactly the same thing if she'd gone through with it. Hakkai himself when he thinks he's going to be killed smiles, very creepily, as he pulls out his own eye.
• Mamiina in Simoun.
• In Someday's Dreamers II: Sora, Sora dies smiling in the arms of her mother, after finally fulfilling her late father's request.
• Sonic X:
  • The revolutionary Molly does this, smiling at Shadow through her windshield before piloting her ship directly into the Metarex fleet.
  • Cosmo also smiles throughout her death scene in the Metarex arc, performing a Heroic Sacrifice by turning herself into a gigantic tree to immobilize the arc's Big Bad so Tails could shoot him, knowing that she'll be taken as well.
  • Maria Robotnik in X's adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2 is shown smiling after being shot by G.U.N.
• Soul Eater:
  • Near the end of the anime, Crona, after Taking the Bullet for Maka, dies smiling in her arms, glad that they were finally able to help her. They came back later, but it's the thought that counts.
  • At the end of the manga, Crona seals away Asura on the moon, but Asura keeps a tremendous Slasher Smile the whole time, as he remained confident he'll get out again.
  • Subverted/played with in the very next scene: Spirit, who seems doomed to be killed by the sealing because he was also on the moon, just looks up at Maka and grins while giving her a thumbs-up. He was actually saved at the last second and, more to the point, it's made clear that once Maka couldn't see him but he still thought he was going to die, he stopped smiling and started recoiling in fear and regret.
• Sword Art Online:
  • Sachi does this right before she's killed. Her death really troubles Kirito, as he was unable to save his four guild members from the obvious trap/ambush room they entered. And even when he found an item to resurrect players, it was useless to him, as it had to be used within ten seconds of a player's death, but by the time he got the item, Sachi had already been dead for six months.
  • Yui smiles sweetly as she gets deleted by Cardinal, telling Asuna to smile too and continue inspiring hope for all the other players. Fortunately, she isn't gone for good thanks to Kirito using his hacking skills save her data as an in-game item.
  • Asuna does this as she pulls a Beyond the Impossible Heroic Sacrifice, jumping in the path of a blade meant for Kirito. She smiles sweetly as she fades away in Kirito's arms and a player's death animation plays. Granted Asuna didn't actually die thanks to Kirito clearing the game before her real-life body was killed by the Nerve Gear, but everyone (herself included) thought she had passed away so the tropes still comes into play.
  • Yuuki, having finally succumbed to her AIDs, in her final moments passes on her OSS to Asuna, tells Asuna that she loved her, and that in the virtual world she truly lived. She then dies peacefully in Asuna's arms, smiling as she does so.
• Luo Lang from Sword of the Stranger after being fatally wounded by Nanashi following their duel, because he had finally found a worthy opponent who could match his skill in swordsmanship.
• This happens in the anime version of Tales of the Abyss with Arietta the Wild. Whereas in the game, she just dies miserably, saying "it hurts" and asking where Ion is, in the anime the spirits of her family and Ion appear to personally take her to the afterlife with them. She cries Tears of Joy and reaches to take Ion's hand, and then dies with a content smile on her face.
• Nia's death in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
  • Same for Kamina, though true to his values and personality, his dying smile is manly and powerful rather than sweet and cute. And hence, the phrase 'Manly tears were shed.'
  • As a member of Team Dai-Gurren, Kittan grinned at how awesome his final act was.
• Tomorrow's Joe is one of the most famous examples in the anime genre: Joe makes a victory in a finale match against boxing champion Jose Mendoza... but it also ends up as his final match too, as he is last seen in the corner of the ring still and quiet, but with a contented smile on his face. Word of God said he has unsure if he was dead or alive, and improvised that image.
• In Toward the Terra, Jonah Matsuka initially seems to have died with a look of numb, wide-eyed surprise, but actually manages to cling to life long enough to telepathically draw Keith, who he was protecting, back from the brink of death before finally expiring with a Tender Tear and a peaceful smile.
• One of the few instances of actual facial expression in Transformers: Cybertron comes in the form of Vector Prime's final smile as he sacrifices himself to save his friends.
• Trigun:
  • Legato Bluesummers is seen smiling when he dies, both because he caused Vash (his killer) to experience "eternal pain and suffering" by making him break his code of pacifism, and because he died for the sake of his master, Knives (Vash's brother).
  • Both versions of Wolfwood apparently do this, although he has the variation of taking battle damage and then expiring slowly. The anime version goes out kneeling in a church and thinking about his friends. The manga version is sitting on a sofa in a trashed orphanage while the kids he grew up with throw confetti out of an airship to show that they care, and he and Vash share a final drink. The smile doesn't help much with the frustration about his death, since in both cases it could have been avoided.
• Ikuya Asano in The Twelve Kingdoms. His childhood friend Youko visits his bier to confirm this after seeing a vision of it in her sword, having feared the smile was just her own wishful thinking. Youko is calmed by the sight, though Asano's smile is probably ironic — he spent the entire series trying to find a purpose to play in the plot, only to die before completing the one important task he was given.
• Subverted in Vandread, when The Stoic Meia performs her Heroic Sacrifice to save Ezra's baby daughter, she smiles (a very rare event!) as she throws herself out of an airlock into space. It turns out, however, that their escape pod has just been picked up by the ship, but she didn't know that.
• Yu-Gi-Oh!: Following her Heroic Sacrifice, Kisara smiles as she is cradled in Seto's arms and reaches up to tenderly touch his face, just before falling limp.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds:
  • Carly, after her transformation to a Dark Signer, loses the Duel of Darkness against Jack Atlas. She charges him to save the world, smiling as she tells him she'll be cheering for him, and confesses her love as she crumbles into dust. Fortunately, she gets better due to a Deus ex Machina at the end of the seasons.
  • Bruno isn't so lucky. Having declared that the loser of his duel against Yusei will disappear, he pushes his Delta Eagle to its limits just to get Yusei out the Black Hole they're in and back to the Arc Cradle. While Yusei calls out to him and reaches out, Bruno just smiles in the last shot we get of him.
• In Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, the last thing Yusho does before he is carded by Yuri is to smile to Yuya, hoping he'll be able to smile in the face of adversity. This is deconstructed; Yusho's carding results in Yuya going into a blinding rage, breaking free from the Swords of Binding Impact, and angrily confront Yuri in a Duel.
• Lulu dies like this in Yuri Kuma Arashi, smiling happily in Ginko's arms after Taking the Bullet for her.
• Yusuke's second death in YuYu Hakusho. It was more than touching...
• Zombie Land Saga: In Episode 9 of Revenge, both Itou and Yugiri when they each die respectively.

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