The Price of Smiles

The Price of Smiles (Japanese: エガオノダイカ, Hepburn: Egao no Daika) is a Japanese anime series produced by Tatsunoko Production. The series was created as part of the studio's 55th anniversary celebration.

The Price of Smiles
Key visual
エガオノダイカ
(Egao no Daika)
GenreMecha[1]
Anime television series
Directed byToshimasa Suzuki
Written byShinichi Inotsume
Music byTsubasa Itō
StudioTatsunoko Production
Licensed bySentai Filmworks
Original networkWowow, Tokyo MX, YTV
Original run January 4, 2019 – March 22, 2019
Episodes12
Manga
Egao no Daika Emotional side
Written byAkira Iwaya
Published byBeaglee
MagazineManga Ōkoku
DemographicShōnen
Original runApril 24, 2019 – present
Volumes3

Characters
Yūki Soleil (ユウキ・ソレイユ, Yūki Soreiyu)
Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori[2]

The young princess and nation symbol of the Kingdom of Soleil who orphaned when she was just an infant. She is oblivious to the fact that Soleil and Grandiga are at war, as her close aides told they were in negotiation with each other.

Stella Shining (ステラ・シャイニング, Sutera Shainingu)
Voiced by: Saori Hayami[2]

A member of the Imperial Army of Grandiga fighting under the command of Gale Owens. She also lost her parents in the war they are fighting in. She carries along a holographic aquarium, and, oddly, smiles even in unexpected circumstances, causing others to worry about her mental health. Little does she know that her mother is still alive.

Joshua Ingram (ヨシュア・イングラム, Joshua Inguramu)
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka[3]

The bodyguard of Yūki who has lived with her since his father died when he was a child. He is the one who chose to keep Yūki in the dark about the war between Soleil and Grandiga, as he wishes to protect her smile.

Layla Etoile (レイラ・エトワール, Reira Etowāru)
Voiced by: Rina Satō[3]

She has been Yuki's guardian ever since the incident that sparked the war between Soleil and Grandiga. In that incident, she lost her daughter in the resulting chaos.

Harold Miller (ハロルド・ミラー, Harorudo Mirā)
Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna[3]
Izana Langford (イザナ・ラングフォード, Izana Rangufōdo)
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu[3]
Yuni Vanquish (ユニ・ヴァンキッシュ, Yuni Vankisshu)
Voiced by: Makoto Koichi[3]
Lune Vanquish (ルネ・ヴァンキッシュ, Rune Vankisshu)
Voiced by: Junya Enoki[3]

Knights of the Kingdom of Soleil who belong to the squad that protects Yūki.

Gale Owens (ゲイル・オーウェンズ, Geiru Ōwenzu)
Voiced by: Takashi Matsuyama[4]
Lily Earhart (リリィ・エアハート, Rirī Eahāto)
Voiced by: Yuki Nagaku[4]
Huey Malthus (ヒューイ・マルサス, Hyūi Marusasu)
Voiced by: Toshiki Masuda[4]
Pearce Thorn (ピアース・ソーン, Piāsu Sōn)
Voiced by: Haruki Ishiya[4]
Blake Boyer (ブレイク・ボイヤー, Bureiku Boiyā)
Voiced by: Minoru Shiraishi[4]

They, along with Stella, are members of the squad commanded by Gale Owens fighting under the Imperial Army of Grandiga.

Production and release

Anime

A new original anime from Tatsunoko Production was announced in commemoration for its 55th anniversary.[2] It aired from January 4 to March 22, 2019 on Wowow, Tokyo MX, and YTV.[5] The series is directed by Toshimasa Suzuki, with scripts written by Shinichi Inotsume, character designs by NOB-C and Naoto Nakamura, sound design by Kazuya Tanaka, and music by Tsubasa Itō. The opening theme is "Egao no Kanata" by Chiho feat. Majiko, and the ending theme is "Kono Sekai ni Hanataba" by Kimi no Orphée. The series aired for 12 episodes.[6] The series is simulcast on Crunchyroll outside of Asia.[7] Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime in North America, the British Isles, and other select territories,[8] and simulcasts the series within these regions on HIDIVE.[9] In Australia and New Zealand, the series streamed on AnimeLab.[10]

No. Title[lower-alpha 1] Original air date
1"The Girl from Soleil"
Transcription: "Soreiyu no Shōjo" (Japanese: ソレイユの少女)		January 4, 2019 (2019-01-04)
Yūki Soleil is the young orphaned princess of the Kingdom of Soleil. While she struggles with the responsibility, she is able to endure it thanks to encouragement from her bodyguard, Joshua Ingram, a member of the Soleil's Royal Order. During a meeting with the Harlant's government, Yūki is informed that they will be able to extend their non-aggression pact with the neighboring Empire of Grandiga. However, when Yuki proposes granting a token of friendship to Grandiga, another member of the Royal Order, Yuni Vanquish, criticizes her, arguing she is merely a symbol and should not get involved. This angers Joshua and causes him to challenge Yuni and her brother, Lune Vanquish, to a mock battle while piloting giant robots called Tseurgear. In the end, Joshua defeats Yuni and Lune, causing him to gain their respect. The next day Joshua and the rest of the Royal Order travel to the border where war has broken out with Grandiga, which they hid from Yūki.
2"The Truth of the War"
Transcription: "Senran no Shinjitsu" (Japanese: 戦乱の真実)		January 11, 2019 (2019-01-11)
As the war with Grandiga rages on, Joshua still refuses to inform Yūki about it. In order to give themselves an advantage against Grandiga, Harlant invents a new type of Tseurgear energy source called Chrars and Joshua is chosen as the test pilot. With it Harlant initially had the advantage against Grandiga during their next battle, until they turned the tides using their superior tactics. Grandiga corners Yuni, but Joshua manages to save, though he gets heavily injured in the process. After the battle ends in Hallant's defeat, the Royal Order decides to take Yūki to see Joshua and tell her about the war. After she arrives, however, Joshua is revealed to have died from his injuries. Meanwhile, Grandiga soldier Stella Shining meets up with the rest of her squad in the aftermath of the battle.
3"The Soldier of Smiles"
Transcription: "Hohoemi no Senshi" (Japanese: 微笑みの戦士)		January 18, 2019 (2019-01-18)
Stella and her squad are sent to do recon in a city called Azaria to check if Soleil's army left any supplies. While infiltrating a storage facility, they run into a group of war orphans, who also broke in looking for food. Stella's squad befriends them and gain information from them that leads them to discover that the facility houses a chrars used to grow food. Their commanders order them to take the chrars and destroy the facility. However, during the operation, the squad's leader, Gale Owens, goes back to rescue the orphans, but they refuse of cooperate upon learning who they are. In the end, the operation is a success and Stella gets the orphans to comply by threatening them, but they receive no gratitude for saving them. Afterwards, despite everything that has happened, Stella expresses excitement towards their next mission, causing Gale to worry about her mental health.
4"Choice of Hope"
Transcription: "Kibō no Sentaku" (Japanese: 希望の選択)		January 25, 2019 (2019-01-25)
5"The Night of the Squad"
Transcription: "Buntai no Ichiya" (Japanese: 分隊の一夜)		February 1, 2019 (2019-02-01)
6"The Crossroads of Fate"
Transcription: "Unmei no Kirō" (Japanese: 運命の岐路)		February 8, 2019 (2019-02-08)
7"The Sunflowers of the Palace"
Transcription: "Ōkyū no Himawari" (Japanese: 王宮のひまわり)		February 15, 2019 (2019-02-15)
8"The Final Message"
Transcription: "Saigō no Dengon" (Japanese: 最後の伝言)		February 22, 2019 (2019-02-22)
9"The Elegy of Dawn"
Transcription: "Akatsuki no Banka" (Japanese: 暁の挽歌)		March 1, 2019 (2019-03-01)
10"The Ignition of Souls"
Transcription: "Tamashī no Hakka" (Japanese: 魂の挽歌)		March 8, 2019 (2019-03-08)
11"The Resolve of Two"
Transcription: "Futari no Ketsui" (Japanese: 二人の決意)		March 15, 2019 (2019-03-15)
Princess Yuki announced to the Empire of Grandiga that they have developed a cannon that could wipe out an enemy post in the blink of an eye. Grandiga responds to the threat and confronts the new device. However, this is all a ruse, a means of buying time so that Yuki and Layla, along with some Soleil Knights, could sneak past the enemy into the territory of the old Verde Empire to reach a facility which, according to information Lord Izana sent before he died, contains a device that could stop all chrars from functioning at will. Grandiga later finds out the ruse, not to mention Lily from the Buerger Squad capturing a snapshot of a vehicle with apparently Princess Yuki leaning by its window. A dragnet is ordered and the Buerger Squad is given the order to pursue.
12"The Price of Smiles"
Transcription: "Egao no Daika" (Japanese: 笑顔の代価)		March 22, 2019 (2019-03-22)
Princess Yuki and Layla manage to sneak past the heavy Grandiga dragnet and reach the old Empire of Verde research facility and proceeds to start the facility up. As a precaution, Layla asks Yuki to go on ahead to the upper level to activate the chrars-disabling device when it is warmed up. Just outside, the Buerger Battalion advances toward the facility, meeting some resistance. Stella manages to penetrate the interior of the facility, and drops her holographic aquarium into a nearby pool in her rush. She reaches the control room where Layla is and fires a warning shot at the control panel, but she is too late as the machine is now unstoppable. Here, through Layla, Stella finds out the purpose of activating the machine--to finally put an end to this war, just as Yuki wants. Stella wavers when Layla sees a glimpse of the person pointing a gun at her, and realizes the mole on her cheek. Just then, a part of the concrete ceiling is about to fall over Stella (due to the heavy bombardment outside), but Layla saves her, but gets crushed under the rubble in the process. Dying, Layla pleaded with Stella--actually, her long-lost daughter--to help Yuki. Despite the doubts about activating the device in her mind, Stella helps Yuki activate the device, and, in a matter of seconds, all chrars-powered machinery simply stopped working, putting an end to the conflict. Days later, an armistice is reached between the Kingdom of Soleil and the Empire of Grandiga, two countries now very wary of using chrars as a source of energy. As residents of Harlant slowly trickle back into the city, The Buerger battalion went their own ways, with Yuki able to ask a reduction on Stella's punishment (helping her with the device, after all, constitutes a court martial-punishable offense), and was sentenced to doing community work, while working alongside Lily in an orphanage. The episode (and the series) ends with Yuki and Stella--two girls born in a distant planet--sharing a nice laugh.

Note
  1. All English titles are taken from Crunchyroll.

References
  1. "The Winter 2019 Anime Preview Guide - The Price of Smiles". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  2. "Tatsunoko Marks 55th Anniversary With Egao no Daika TV Anime in January". Anime News Network. October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  3. "Tatsunoko's The Price of Smiles TV Anime Unveils 6 More Cast Members". Anime News Network. November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  4. "Tatsunoko's The Price of Smiles TV Anime Casts Empire's Military". Anime News Network. November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  5. "Tatsunoko's The Price of Smiles TV Anime Reveals Ad, January 4 Premiere". Anime News Network. December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  6. "NTV Lists Tatsunoko's The Price of Smiles Anime with 12 Episodes". Anime News Network. November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  7. Ressler, Karen; Sherman, Jennifer (December 27, 2018). "Crunchyroll to Simulcast Girly Air Force, Price of Smiles Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  8. "Sentai Filmworks Primes The Price of Smiles". Sentai Filmworks. January 27, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  9. "HIDIVE Chronicles the Saga of The Price of Smiles". HIDIVE. January 27, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  10. @AnimeLab (December 28, 2018). "😃😄🌻 In a planet far, far away from Earth, there reigns a kingdom overflowing with smiles... and smiling is essential for living. The Price of Smiles streaming each week on AnimeLab in January 2019 🌻🙂😌" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2018 – via Twitter.
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