Welcome to Anime Rants. I haven’t done a random writing prompt in a while, but this week I’ve had a little more focus and motivation. The trouble was finding a decent topic or question to address. My best friend doesn’t watch a lot of anime, so I asked him to help me think of a prompt that would be interesting for others like him. He told me he has always wondered about the eyes in Japanese animation. Why are they are so big and often so detailed? What a perfect topic, I thought. And here we are.

So, why do anime eyes stand out so much? This is probably worthy of a long discussion, but I think it boils down to three simple points. First, eyes are extremely important in creating expressions – both in animation and reality. It makes sense to enlarge and put extra detail on something so critical. People say, “Eyes are the windows to the soul,” and even as someone who can barely hold eye contact in reality, I still comprehend its salience. You need to see another’s eyes to best read their expression.

Secondly, the hefty size of anime eyes is partly due to Japan’s exuberant “Moe Culture.” To put it simply, “Moe” is that which is cute. Big eyes look cute to us mammals, since we associate them with young children and pets like cats and dogs. Anime eyes look cutest when they’re big. Even in more realistic styles, they are usually oversized to some degree. There are endless possible styles of art with large eyes, some of which don’t strive to be cute. However, the tradition of sizeable eyes is , in general, connected to cuteness.

There are multiple reasons for the distinct nature of anime eyes, and some of it comes down to history. If you’re not an anime buff, you might not know the name Osamu Tezuka. He is called the father of anime and the god of manga. Some say he was the Japanese Walt Disney. The legendary artist lived from 1928 to 1989 and created many works, including what many consider to be the first real anime series, Astro Boy.

The art-style of Tezuka was largely inspired by old Walt Disney cartoons. In other words, Astro Boy‘s design drew from such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. That’s probably where the tradition of huge, cartoonish eyes came from. Then, since Tezuka was so hugely influential in creating anime, many other artists took inspiration from his style in turn. Before long, it was most common for manga artists to draw exaggerated eyes. That’s your art history lesson for today.

Before closing, I will provide a few examples of breathtaking anime eyes. The first show that comes to mind for me is Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. The character designs were made by the artist group CLAMP, with the anime produced by Sunrise studio. Not everyone likes CLAMP’s art style with its tall, lanky characters and weird proportions – but people generally agree that the eyes in Code Geass have significant aesthetic merit.

Even if nobody agreed, I would still praise the beauty of the eyes in the Code Geass franchise. They are powerfully expressive and have highlights and pupil arrangements that are essentially one-of-a-kind. The colors for the characters’ eyes are also rich and bright. I will always be moved by the expressions offered in this series.

There are two characters to mention next: Kurapika from Hunter x Hunter and Yona from Yona of the Dawn. Both shows have engaging, colorful animation overall. However, these two characters in particular have the most stunning eyes of the entire cast of their respective animes. Kurapika’s eyes turn scarlet when he’s enraged. Yona has a deadly serious expression in her eyes when she’s rebelling for the first time. (The first image in this post was Yona. Kurapika is shown below.)

It almost goes without saying, but virtually every modern anime by Kyoto Animation features beautiful animation – and my favorite part of this studio’s style is the gorgeous, expressive eyes. Examples include Beyond the Boundary, Clannad, Chunibyo, Hyouka, and my personal favorite, Violet Evergarden. Kyoto Animation puts a lot of detail into the lighting of the eyes and uses them to create the most heart-wrenching expressions.

There are so many good examples of beautiful anime eyes that writing about all of them would take ages. So, I’ll just go through a few more of my favorites rapid-fire. The adorable characters from A Lull in the Sea all have enthralling and cute eyes. Eren Yeager and others from Attack on Titan have stunning depth and expression in their eyes, too. I love the rich dark green of Eren’s eyes in particular. Bungo Stray Dogs features an art style with multicolored eyes on a gradient. I especially like the eyes of Atsushi the tiger boy. Last but not least is Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen. His eyes are so amazing it’s confounding.

That wraps up everything for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed my thoughts on this anime writing prompt. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. As always, your readership is much appreciated.

~Thank You for Reading~

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