tsuno 角

In anime, sometimes characters have "horns," tsuno 角, protruding out of their heads. Typically, this happens when the character is a "demon," akuma, or part of the "demonic clan," mazoku 魔族.

Jin 陣, example of anime fang.
Character: Jin
Anime: Yū☆Yū☆Hakusho 幽☆遊☆白書 (Episode 39)
Tuesday, April 28, 2020

deppa 出っ歯 (Buckteeth)

In Japanese, deppa 出っ歯 means having upper teeth that protrude forward, ending up outside the mouth.

Literally, deppa 出っ歯 means "leaving teeth." A "tooth" or "teeth, ha 歯, that "leaves," deru 出る, the mouth. The ha は becomes ppa っぱ due to handakuonka 半濁音化.

Ishino Arashi 石野あらし, example of buckteeth, deppa 出っ歯.
Character: Ishino Arashi 石野あらし
Anime: Game Center Arashi, ゲームセンターあらし (Episode 1)
Saturday, April 25, 2020

Lip Fang (Skin-Colored Tooth)

In manga and anime, a lip fang is a cute anime fang drawn as an skin-colored indentation of the upper lip rather than as an actual tooth. It's also called skin fang, flesh fang, flesh tooth, or skin tooth.

In Japanese, the term for anime fang is yaeba 八重歯, so a way to describe the lip fang in Japanese would be hada-iro no yaeba 肌色の八重歯, "skin-colored yaeba."

Astolfo アストルフォ, blinking, example of skin-colored anime fang, hadairo no yaeba 肌色の八重歯.
Character: Astolfo アストルフォ
Anime: Fate/Apocrypha (Episode 16)

yaeba 八重歯 (Overlapped Teeth)

In Japanese, yaeba 八重歯 means "overlapped teeth," that is: it's when a person grows up and their teeth become misaligned due to lack of space (overcrowding), and then one tooth gets pushed forwards or upwards, ending up in front of another tooth, rather than staying in line side by side.

Often, yaeba means having fang-like, protruding canine teeth, due to it often being the canine teeth that end up protruding when a person's teeth become misaligned. In Japan, this sort of yaeba is considered cute, and there are countless characters with yaeba in anime and manga.

A diagram of yaeba 八重歯, illustrating how canine teeth become misaligned
Friday, April 24, 2020

kiba 牙 (Fang)

In Japanese, kiba means "fang" or "tusk," and a fang is a long sharp tooth, typically the canine teeth. In real life, humans don't have fangs—since their canine teeth are relatively short—but various carnivorous animals do, including even domestic cats.

Amanojaku 天の邪鬼, example of cat with heterochromia, one blue eye one yellow eye, kin-me-gin-me 金目銀目.
Character: Amanojaku 天の邪鬼
Anime: Ghost Stories, Gakkou no Kaidan 学校の怪談 (Episode 1)

In manga and anime, some human and human-like characters do have fangs.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Anime Fang - Examples, Types, Term in Japanese

In manga and anime, some characters have a single triangular fang-like tooth normally visibly drawn sticking out of their mouths. This "anime fang" is part of the character's design, and is considered to be cute by some people.

Sakura Hibiki 紗倉ひびき, example of anime fang, yaeba 八重歯.
Character: Sakura Hibiki 紗倉ひびき
Anime: Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? ダンベル何キロ持てる? (Episode 1)
Saturday, April 18, 2020

Jagged Teeth

In manga and anime, sometimes characters have "jagged teeth," giza-ba ギザ歯, also called "shark teeth," same-ba サメ歯, which are teeth drawn like two rows of sharp triangles.

Typically, characters that have triangular teeth may appear comically devious and monstrous. Some of them are indeed monsters, though most are not. Triangular teeth are also used symbolically when a character is angry.

A character with a single triangular tooth normally sticking out is said to have an "anime fang" instead.

Valac Clara ウァラク・クララ, example of "jagged teeth," gizaba ギザ歯.
Character: Valac Clara ウァラク・クララ
Anime: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 魔入りました!入間くん (Episode 3)
Thursday, April 16, 2020

Money Eyes

In manga and anime, sometimes a character's "eyes become money," me ga okane ni naru 目がお金になる. This happens when they've set their eyes on money, thinking about money, trying to get a huge sum of money, dreaming of becoming rich, and so on.

Sometimes this symbol is animated as eyes spinning vertically like a slot machine and stopping on a money symbol as if they hit a jackpot.

Kaminashi Nozomi 神無のぞみ, example of dollar sign eyes.
Character: Kaminashi Nozomi 神無のぞみ
Anime: Keijo!!!!!!!! 競女!!!!!!!! (Episode 3)
Monday, April 13, 2020

Fire Eyes

In manga and anime, sometimes a flame is drawn burning inside a character's eye, even though their eyes aren't actually on fire. This can happen for various reasons:

  • The character is burning with excitement or interest.
  • They're burning with rage, they're hot-headed.
  • They're about to use a skill and the fire eyes just look pretty awesome.
  • They have fire-based abilities. Their eyes are actually on fire.
Ikeda Kana 池田華菜, example of fire eyes.
Character: Ikeda Kana 池田華菜
Anime: Saki 咲 (Episode 19)
Saturday, April 11, 2020

Single X Eye

In manga and anime, sometimes a character's eyes are drawn simplified as a single large X. This happens when the character's eyes are closed.

That is, this is a variation of >__<.

And it has nothing to do with X__X, which is when both eyes are drawn as x's.

Olivia オリヴィア, Honda Hanako 本田華子, example of eyes drawn as an X.
Left: Olivia オリヴィア
Right: Honda Hanako 本田華子
Anime: Asobi Asobase あそびあそばせ (Episode 5)

X Eyes

In manga and anime, sometimes a character's "eyes turn into X's," me ga batsu ni naru 目がバツになる. Typically, this means they're dead. Well, not dead dead, just dead in the comical sense. Knocked out. Unconscious.

  • kizetsu
    気絶
    Faint. (in the sense of becoming unconscious)
    • kasuka
      微か
      Faint. (in the sense of not strong, e.g. a faint light, a faint smell.)
    • kizetsu saseru
      気絶させる
      To make [someone] faint. (causative sentence.)
  • shisshin
    失神
    Losing consciousness.
Asuka Ruu 明日香ルゥ, Fudou Devi 歩堂デヴィ, example of "X eyes," batsu-me バツ目.
Left: Asuka Ruu 明日香ルゥ
Right: Fudou Devi 歩堂デヴィ
Anime: Kiratto Pri☆chan, キラッとプリ☆チャン (Season 2) (Episode 20)
Friday, April 10, 2020

Wink Star

In anime, sometimes when a character winks a star is drawn coming out of their eye. Why does this happen? I have absolutely no idea. What does it mean? It means it's a wink strong enough to make stars come out. Most likely, it's done just because it looks cute.
  • winku de hoshi ga deru
    ウィンク星が出る
    A star leaves due to a wink.
    A star comes out with a wink.

This has basically nothing to do with star eyes.

Kogami Akira 小神あきら, example of wink star.
Character: Kogami Akira 小神あきら
Anime: Lucky☆Star, らき☆すた (Episode 2)

Star in One Eye

In manga and anime, a star in a single eye is an old symbol used when a character is hurt or shocked.

It's somewhat similar to the phrase "seeing stars," which in western cartoons is depicted as stars orbiting the character's head. Similarly, in anime, when they're seeing everything spinning, their eyes are drawn as spirals.

Note that having stars in both eyes typically means the character is dreaming of or yearning for something instead.

Hoshizora Miyuki 星空みゆき, example of single eye turning into a star.
Character: Hoshizora Miyuki 星空みゆき
Anime: Smile Precure!, スマイルプリキュア! (Episode 39)
Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Star Eyes

In manga and anime, sometimes characters are drawn with "stars in eyes," me ni hoshi 目に星, or their "eyes become stars," me ga hoshi ni naru 目が星になる.

This can happen for various reasons: the character is thinking of something dreamy, yearning for something; that's just part of the design of the character; or, in rare cases, they just took damage somehow and the stars symbolize getting hurt.

Tsukino Usagi 月野うさぎ, example of star 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)

kotesen コテ線

In manga and anime, kotesen コテ線 are lines drawn on the cheeks of characters as part of their design. They're very similar to blushing lines, except that they don't symbolize any emotion—they're just there to give a feeling of tridimensionality to the cheeks, or make them look rosy.

Another difference is that in colored media blushing lines are always drawn red, while kote-sen is often drawn as black lines. Such black lines drawn on cheeks feel old style-wise, as they are typical of older anime and aren't used as much in modern times.

Minashiro Soushi 皆城総士, example of lines drawn on a character's cheeks, kote-sen コテ線.
Character: Minashiro Soushi 皆城総士
Anime: Soukyuu no Fafner, 蒼穹のファフナー (Episode 1)
Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Devil and Angel

In manga and anime, sometimes two small spirits, a devil and an angel, appear on a character's shoulder, over their head, and so on, to give them advice and tell them what to do.

Ayasaki Hayate 綾崎ハヤテ, example of angel and devil over a character's head.
Anime: Hayate no Gotoku! ハヤテのごとく! (Episode 1)
  • sasayaku
    囁く
    To whisper.

Typically, this is a comedic way to depict the conflict of good and evil inside the character when dealing with a situation.

Finger Spiral

In anime, sometimes a spiral is drawn on a character's finger tip, typically on their index finger, when they point the finger toward the camera. This doesn't mean anything. It's just a simple way to draw the "fingerprint," shimon 指紋, of the finger.

Excel's shoulder angel, example of fingerprint drawn as spiral.
Character: Excel's shoulder angel
Anime: Excel♥Saga, エクセル♥サーガ (Episode 1)
Monday, April 6, 2020

namida-me 涙目

In Japanese, namida-me 涙目 means "tearful eyes," or "teary eyes." In manga and anime, eyes are sometimes drawn with tear drops on the corners, but those drops don't fall on the cheek, they simply hang in there.

In particular, although crying characters are typically actually sad and depressed, characters that just have a tear hanging from their eyes can have other emotions too, like being embarrassed, displeased, or angry.

Maki Natsuo 真木夏緒, example of "tearful eyes," namida-me 涙目.
Character: Maki Natsuo 真木夏緒
Anime: Love Lab, Ren'ai Rabo 恋愛ラボ (Episode 1)

uru-uru-me うるうる目

In manga and anime, sometimes characters are drawn with "watery eyes," uru-uru-me うるうる目, in which case the eyes may be drawn simplified as large and with multiple highlight spots.

Honey-senpai ハニー先輩, example of "teary eyes," uru-uru-me うるうる目.
Character: Honey-senpai ハニー先輩
Anime: Ouran High School Host Club, Ouran Koukou Hosuto-Bu 桜蘭高校ホスト部 (Episode 12)

Often, characters drawn with this sort of eye will be begging for something, so they're like "puppy dog eyes."

The word uru-uru うるうる is a reduplication of urumu 潤む, which means just "to be wet." See namida-me 涙目 for eyes that have tears on them, and nakigao 泣き顔 for characters actually crying.

guriguri-me ぐりぐり目

In manga and anime, sometimes a character's eyes are drawn simplified like a mess of concentric circles and swirling spirals when they're flustered.

Yuno ゆの, example of guriguri-me グリグリ目, "swirling eyes."
Character: Yuno ゆの
Anime: Hidamari Sketch, ひだまりスケッチ (Episode 1)

A term for this is guri-guri-me グリグリ目, "spinning eyes." The mimetic word guriguri グリグリ can mean "to press against and make turning movements," for example, to press a crayon against the paper and make turn movements to draw this sort of eye.

For the larger, more distinct version of this eye, see guru-guru-me グルグル目, "spiral eyes."

sudare-me すだれ目

In manga and anime, sometimes a character's eyes are drawn simplified like horizontal parallel lines when they're relaxing, enjoying something or having fun. They're also drawn as parallel vertical lines sometimes.

Hirasawa Yui 平沢唯, Hirasawa Ui 平沢憂, example of closed eyes drawn using parallel horizontal lines.
Left: Hirasawa Yui 平沢唯
Right: Hirasawa Ui 平沢憂
Anime: K-On!!, Keion!! けいおん!! (Season 2) (Episode 2)

Circle Eyes

In manga and anime, "circle eyes," maru-me ○目, are eyes drawn as white circles with black outlines, typically used when a character is overwhelmed, shocked, startled, or scared, but sometimes just a simple way to draw eyes when they're being silly.(tonbi.jp:〇目)

Effectively, they're a simplified type of "white eyes," shirome 白目.

It's also spelled maru-me 丸目, and also called zero-me ○目, because they look like zeroes.

Akaza Akari 赤座あかり, example of hair strands sticking out of an overwhelmed character.
Anime: Yuru Yuri ゆるゆり (Episode 1)

Dot Eyes

In manga and anime, "dot eyes," ten-me 点目, refers to eyes drawn as mere dots, which typically mean a character is surprised. In Japanese, dot eyes is also an expression that means a person (in real life) feels surprised.

The "Three Butterfly Sisters," Kochou San-shimai 胡蝶三姉妹, example of "dot eyes," ten-me 点目.
Characters: "Three Butterfly Sisters," Kochou San-shimai 胡蝶三姉妹
Anime: Kimetsu no Yaiba 鬼滅の刃 (Episode 25)
  • ・ᗜ・

This term applies only to small black dots representing the whole eye. Eyes drawn as vertical bars are called konsento-me コンセント目. Normal eyes with irises drawn as solid circles are called beta-me ベタ目. If the irises are drawn as small dots, that is, if the character has small irises, they may have sanpakugan 三白眼. If there are no irises, and the eyes are white circles with black outlines, they're called zero-me ○目, circle eyes.
Sunday, April 5, 2020

beta-me ベタ目

In manga, beta-me ベタ目 are eyes drawn completely black, without highlight or distinct iris and pupil, or eyes draw in a single color other than black other than black, or eyes drawn without a highlight.

It's also spelled beta-me ベタ眼.

Shinkouhyou 申公豹, example of beta-me ベタ目.
Character: Shinkouhyou 申公豹
Manga: Houshin Engi 封神演義 (Chapter 8, 序章の終わり)

Basically, in manga beta ベタ means an area filled with black ink, but eyes drawn pure black in manga are sometimes drawn with highlights in close-up panels, or in anime adaptations, so the term is kind of vague.
Friday, April 3, 2020

Manga Background Effects

In manga and anime, kouka-haikei 効果背景, "effect backgrounds," are backgrounds which express some sort of effect, like representing the emotion that a character is feeling.

A collection of different sorts of "effect backgrounds," kouka haikei 効果背景.
Anime: Bakuman. バクマン。 (Episode 4)

suname 砂目

In manga, suname 砂目, "sand grain," is a type of "halftone" pattern typically used to render darker gradients on the background or grainy textures on things.

Example of suname 砂目 pattern gradient in the background.
Manga: Houshin Engi 封神演義 (Chapter 1, 封神の書)

It's also known as "noise," noizu ノイズ. Technically, it's known stochastic screening, the word "stochastic" meaning "random," or FM screening, FM meaning frequency-modulated.

The non-random, amplitude-modulated, AM screening halftone is called amiten 網点, by the way.

amiten 網点

In manga, amiten 網点, literally "net of dots," or "web of points," means a type of "halftone," a "dot screen."

Halftone is a technique to change the tone of an area by using a pattern of dots of varying sizes and with varying spacing. For example, it allows you to print various shades of gray using only white and black.

Normally, you won't be able to actually SEE the dots—as in: tell them apart—because they'll be very small.

An example of "halftone," amiten 網点, used in manga.
Manga: Yuru Yuri ゆるゆり (Volume 1)

beta ベタ

In Japanese, beta ベタ can mean various things: plain, normal, uninteresting; clichéd; to fill a space completely, leaving no gaps; to fill an area with a solid color, typically black; a mimetic morpheme meaning "sticky;" and some other things.

やってみた方が早いかもな まず俺が人を描く えーと 佐倉 ベタ 終わりました
Manga: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun 月刊少女野崎くん (Volume 1, Chapter 3, Page 38, 御子柴くんのお仕事)