Friday, January 31, 2020

Anime Cat Eyes, Eye-Shape, Irises, Pupils (nekome 猫目) - Examples, Manga Symbol

In Japanese, nekome 猫目 means "cat eyes," and can refer to multiple things: an actual cat's eyes; a person's eyes, whose shape is large, round and upturned, like a cat's; and, in manga and anime, when a character's expression changes into a cat face, drawn with cat-like eyes.

Not to be confused with neko-moku ネコ目, the "order Carnivora" (biology term), which includes cats, who are carnivores. Nor to be confused with kono neko me! この猫め!, which means "this damn cat!" or "you damn cat!"

Kurapika クラピカ, example of nekome ネコ目, "cat eyes," eye shape.
Character: Kurapika クラピカ
Anime: Hunter x Hunter (2011) (Episode 40)
Wednesday, January 29, 2020

tsurime ツリ目

In Japanese, tsurime ツリ目 means "upturned eyes," literally "fished up eyes." Broadly speaking, it's an eye shape in which the outer corner of the eye is much higher than the inner corner.

The opposite term, downturned eyes, is tareme タレ目.

Shirakiin Ririchiyo 白鬼院凜々蝶, example of tsurime ツリ目.
Character: Shirakiin Ririchiyo 白鬼院凜々蝶
Anime: Inu x Boku SS, 妖狐×僕SS (Episode 2)
Tuesday, January 28, 2020

tareme タレ目

In Japanese, tareme タレ目 means "downturned eyes," literally "drooping eyes." Broadly speaking, they're eyes whose shape is slanted and points downward away from the forehead. Strictly speaking, they're eyes whose outer corner is lower than the inner corner.

The opposite term, upturned eyes, is tsurime ツリ目,

Furukawa Nagisa 古河渚, example of downturned eyes, tareme タレ目.
Character: Furukawa Nagisa 古河渚
Anime: CLANNAD (Episode 1)
Friday, January 24, 2020

sanpakugan 三白眼

In Japanese, sanpakugan 三白眼, meaning "three-white eyes,"known in English as "sanpaku eyes," refers to eyes that have small irises, such that the white part of the eye, the sclera, is visible between the iris the lower eyelid, shita-sanpakugan 下三白眼, or between the iris and the upper eyelid, ue-sanpakugan 上三白眼.

When the sclera is visible both above and under the iris, the term is shihakugan 四白眼.

Yasuoka 安岡, Akagi Shigeru 赤木しげる, Nangou 南郷, example of small irises, sanpakugan 三白眼.
Left: Yasuoka 安岡
Middle: Akagi Shigeru 赤木しげる
Right: Nangou 南郷
Anime: Touhai Densetsu Akagi: Yami ni Maiorita Tensai 闘牌伝説アカギ〜闇に舞い降りた天才〜 (Episode 2, Stitch)
Friday, January 17, 2020

ito-me 糸目

In manga and anime, when a character's eyes are drawn as a single horizontal line, the term for that in Japanese is ito-me 糸目, "string eyes," as in a string of yarn. A synonym is hoso-me 細目, "thin eyes."

Takeshi タケシ, also known as Brock, example of ito-me 糸目, "string eyes."
Character: Brock, Takeshi タケシ
Anime: Pokémon, ポケットモンスター (Episode 5)
Thursday, January 16, 2020

Shining Eyes

In manga and anime, when a character's eyes shine light—as in: they glow—turning into four-pointed sparkles, it's typically because they've set their eyes on something, like a predator ready to pounce the prey, or because they've just seen or heard something that piqued their interest extremely.

It's usually accompanied by a grin. In some cases, it's just an exaggerated way to draw sparkling eyes.

Shidare Hotaru 枝垂ほたる, example of shining eyes.
Left: Shidare Hotaru 枝垂ほたる
Right: Shikada Kokonotsu 鹿田ココノツ
Anime: Dagashikashi だがしかし (Episode 1)

Sparkling Eyes

In manga and anime, sometimes eyes are drawn sparkling, typically with four-pointed stars drawn in the iris, or the pupil being replaced by four-pointed star that spans the whole iris.

When this happens, it's generally because the character is captivated by something. They saw something they want, something wonderful that they like, or something amazing. They have become filled with excitement, desire, ambition, and so on.

Enshuu Ritsu 円修律, Akutagawa Taketo 芥川丈途, example of sparkling eyes.
Left: Enshuu Ritsu 円修律
Right: Akutagawa Taketo 芥川丈途
Anime: R-15, Aaru Juugo あーるじゅうご (Episode 1)

shiitake-me しいたけ目 (Sparkling Eyes)

In anime and manga, when a character's eyes become four-pointed stars, sparkling with excitement, desire or ambition, the most common term for that in Japanese is shiitake-me しいたけ目, literally "shiitake eyes," as in the shiitake mushroom.

Another way to describe them is me ga shiitake 目がしいたけ, "the eyes are shiitake." Since they also resemble stars, a less common term is hoshi-me 星目, "star eyes, "me ga hoshi 目が星, "the eyes are stars," or me ni hoshi 目に星, "stars in eyes." Alternatively, me ga juuji 目が十字, "the eyes are crosses."

Sakuranomiya Aika 桜ノ宮愛香 and Kouichi 香一, example of me ga shiitake 目がしいたけ, "the eyes are shiitake mushrooms."
Anime: Blend S, ブレンド・S (Episode 5)
Monday, January 13, 2020

gomi wo miru you na me ゴミを見るような目

In Japanese, gomi wo miru you na me ゴミを見るような目, "eyes like [they] are seeing trash," refers to the disgusted face of a character in manga and anime when they're looking down at another character in such way it's like they're looking at garbage.

Such eyes are also called gomi wo miru me ゴミを見る目, "eyes [that] see trash," or "eyes for looking at trash."

Kotegawa Chisa 古手川千紗, example of disgusted face, gomi wo miru you na me ゴミを見るような目.
Anime: Grand Blue, ぐらんぶる (Episode 2)
Sunday, January 12, 2020

>_< - kazari-me かざり目

In anime and manga, when a character's closed eyes are drawn like this (>__<), that is, as a greater than and less than symbol together, the term for that in Japanese would be kazari-me かざり目 or, less commonly, but more literally, futougou-me 不等号目.

Izumi Konata 泉こなた, example of kazari-me かざり目.
Character: Izumi Konata 泉こなた
Anime: Lucky☆Star, らき☆すた (Episode 1, OP)
Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Heart Eyes

In anime, sometimes a character's eyes change into hearts. The term for this in Japanese would be haato me ハート目, "heart eyes," but other phrases can be used to describe it, like me ga haato 目がハート, "the eyes are hearts," or me ni haato 目にハート, "hearts in eyes."

This includes heart-shaped pupils and irises, too. Some related words are haato maaku ハートマーク, "heart mark," i.e. ❤, and haato-gata ハート型, "heart-shaped."

Souryuuin Akemi 奏流院朱美, example of heart-shaped pupils.
Character: Souryuuin Akemi 奏流院朱美
Anime: Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? ダンベル何キロ持てる? (Episode 1)

Usage

Love

As one would expect, this sort of eye normally shows up when a character is in love with another character.

Kukuri ククリ, heart eyes. Background: suki スキ (好き), "[I] love [him]," repeated a bunch of times.
Character: Kukuri ククリ
Anime: Mahoujin Guruguru 魔法陣グルグル (2017) (Episode 5)
  • Background: suki スキ (好き), "[I] love [him]," a bunch of times.
Tsuchida Kanae 土田香苗, example of "heart eyes," haato-me ハート目.
Character: Tsuchida Kanae 土田香苗
Anime: Amagi Brilliant Park, 甘城ブリリアントパーク (Episode 8)
Selen Hemein セレン・ヘムアエン, example of heart-shaped pupils.
Character: Selen Hemein セレン・ヘムアエン
Anime: Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shounen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu You na Monogatari, たとえばラストダンジョン前の村の少年が序盤の街で暮らすような物語 (Episode 1)
Katarina Claes カタリナ・クラエス, example of heart shape at the bottom of the iris.
Character: Katarina Claes カタリナ・クラエス
Anime: Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shiteshimatta…, 乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… (Episode 8)

Love At First Sight

This also happens with love at first sight, which is pretty much how heart eyes are normally used in western animation.

Tsukino Usagi 月野うさぎ, example of heart eyes.
Character: Tsukino Usagi 月野うさぎ
Anime: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, 美少女戦士セーラームーン (Episode 1)
  • hito-me-bore
    一目惚れ
    Love at first sight.
    Single-eye falling-in-love. (literally.)
    • horeru
      惚れる
      To fall in love with. (becomes boreru due to rendaku 連濁.)
Katsuragi Kamui 葛木カムイ, example of heart eyes.
Character: Katsuragi Kamui 葛木カムイ
Anime: Cardfight!! Vanguard (Episode 5)
Shibata Genzou 柴田源蔵, example of heart eye.
Left: Shigure シグレ
Right: Shibata Genzou 柴田源蔵
Anime: Hataage! Kemono Michi 旗揚!!けものみち (Episode 2)

Lust

The heart eyes aren't used only with pure love. It's also used with impure love, when perverted characters be lewding on other characters. This, too, happens sometimes in western animation.

Ristarte リスタルテ, example of heart eyes.
Character: Ristarte リスタルテ
Anime: Shinchou Yuusha 慎重勇者 (Episode 11)
Uzume うずめ (female), versus Veronica Vasilyevna Vonitsky ヴェロニカ・ワシーリエヴナ・ヴォイニーツカヤ (male), in a reference to the reaction guys meme, known in Japan as gaijin yonkoma 外人四コマ.
Top: Uzume うずめ (female)
Bottom: Veronica Vasilyevna Vonitsky ヴェロニカ・ワシーリエヴナ・ヴォイニーツカヤ (male)
Anime: Onigiri 鬼斬 (Episode 4)

So far, the way heart eyes are used in Japanese anime is pretty much identical to how it's used in western animation. There is, however, one way which heart eyes are used in Japan that isn't shared with the west.

Extrapolating from lewding, heart-shaped pupils are sometimes used to indicated lust and are generally associated with sex. They're often combined with ahegao アヘ顔 in pornographic (hentai) illustrations, doujinshi 同人誌, etc.

Naturally, these aren't really common in your average anime because scenes depicting sex aren't really common in your average anime, but they do show up from time to time.

Yame Yukana 八女ゆかな, example of heart-shaped pupils.
Character: Yame Yukana 八女ゆかな
Anime: Hajimete no Gyaru はじめてのギャル (Episode 1)
  • Context: the main character imagines himself getting laid with a girl.

Single Heart Eye

In older manga and anime, sometimes eye symbols were applied to a single eye, rather than both. For reference, an example of a character with just a heart shape in just one eye:

きれいだしやさしいし明るいし可愛いし・・・ オレ胸キュン!だぜ
Manga: Glass Mask, Garasu no Gamen ガラスの仮面 (Chapter 10, 冬の星座)
  • Context: the audience watching the theater play Futari no Joou ふたりの女王, "the two queens," is charmed by the adorable queen Ardis.
  • kirei dashi, yasashii shi, akarui shi, kawaii shi...
    きれいだし やさしい 明るいし 可愛いし・・・
    [She] is pretty, is gentle, is cheerful, is cute...
    • akarui
      明るい
      Bright. Well-lit. The opposite of dark.
      Cheerful.
  • ore, mune-kyun! daze
    オレ胸キュン!だぜ
    [I'm in love!]

Permanent

It's possible that there's some character out there with permanent heart eyes as part of their design in anime. I haven't found one yet, though, but I did find one in a game by a Polish developer.

Modeus, the Lustful demon, example of character with permanent heart eyes.
Character: Modeus, the Lustful demon
Game: Helltaker, ヘルテイカー
  • Context: Modeus' permanent heart eyes are part of her lustful demon design.

Non-Japanese

There are examples of heart pupils being used similarly in anime based on non-Japanese sources. I haven't checked if the manga which they're based on also have heart pupils, or they were added only in the anime production. For the sake of reference, I'm including them here.

Shi Miao 時秒, example of heart-shaped pupils.
Character: Shi Miao 時秒
Anime: Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 兄に付ける薬はない! (Episode 4)
  • Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai!
    兄に付ける薬はない!
  • Based on the Chinese web manhua 快把我哥带走.
Yu Mira 유미라, example of heart-shaped pupils.
Character: Yu Mila 유미라
Anime: The God of High School (Episode 1)
  • The God of High School.
  • Based on the South Korean manhwa 갓 오브 하이 스쿨.
Saturday, January 4, 2020

guruguru ぐるぐる

In Japanese, guruguru ぐるぐる means "swirling" or "spinning." It's a mimetic word featuring reduplication, generally used as an adverb to refer to something that's done by swirling around, or looks like it swirls around.

じゃあ不老不死にしてください(わく) はい!(ドン) そんなあっさりできるものなのか 素晴らしい では体の中をマナがぐるぐるぐるぐる循環して老いることのない体にいたしましょう!(ぐるぐる) 他には?
Manga: Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita スライム倒して300年、知らないうちにレベルMAXになってました (Chapter 1, レベルMAXになっていた)
  • Context: an angel is granting any desires to a soul about to be reincarnated.
  • jaa furou-fushi ni shite-kudasai
    じゃあ不老不死にしてください
    Then, please make [me] immortal.
    • furou-fushi
      不老不死
      Non-aging, non-dying. (yojijukugo 四字熟語)
      Perpetually young and immortal.
    • ~ni suru
      ~にする
      To make something somehow. To turn something into something else. (among other meanings.)
  • waku
    わく
    *excited* (psychomime)
  • hai!
    はい!
    Okay!
  • don
    ドン
    *bam*
  • {sonna assari dekiru} mono nanoka
    そんなあっさりできるものなのか
    It's something [that] {can be done so easily}?
  • subarashii
    素晴らしい
    Marvelous.
  • dewa karada no naka wo mana ga guruguru guruguru junkan shite {{oiru} koto no nai} karada ni itashimashou!
    では体の中をマナがぐるぐるぐるぐる循環して老いることのない体にいたしましょう!
    Then, let's make the mana circulate around and around through inside of [your] body, and turn [it] into a body [that] {never {ages}}.
    • wo を particle - marks the medium through which movement happens.
    • mana
      マナ
      Common term for magical energy in role-playing games. Also known as MP, magic points, magic power.
    • oiru
      老いる
      To age. To grow old.
    • ~koto ga nai
      ~ことがない
      To never [do something]. (to never age).
    • ~koto no nai
      ~ことのない
      (same as above, see: no の subject marker.)
    • ~ni itashimasu
      ~にいたします
      (humble variant of ~ni suru.)
  • guruguru
    ぐるぐる
    *swirling motion*
  • hoka niwa?
    他には?
    [Anything else]?