Your favorite eye designs in anime?

[Knossos]

What is your preference for the style of the characters' eyes in anime? Do you prefer the typical big eye designs seen in most anime, or are there some shows that work best with smaller, less irregular-shaped eyes?

And from what shows do your examples come from?

My roommate and I were discussing our preferences for anime eyes the other day. Apparently we both agreed that the original Slayers had some of the most interesting eye designs out of the shows we have watched - the proportions were insanely larger and irregular than most other designs, yet they continue to have an aesthically pleasing feel.

On the flip side, smaller eyes seem to work very well for us in more "serious" anime shows.

[Torriate]

What is your preference for the style of the characters' eyes in anime? Do you prefer the typical big eye designs seen in most anime, or are there some shows that work best with smaller, less irregular-shaped eyes?

And from what shows do your examples come from?

My roommate and I were discussing our preferences for anime eyes the other day. Apparently we both agreed that the original Slayers had some of the most interesting eye designs out of the shows we have watched - the proportions were insanely larger and irregular than most other designs, yet they continue to have an aesthically pleasing feel.

On the flip side, smaller eyes seem to work very well for us in more "serious" anime shows.

Yet the "big eye" approach didn't hurt Elfen Lied at all.

[bored@lazy]

I'm suprised, but the eyes used by Kyoto Animation in shows like Air and Kanon don't annoy me, and I thought they would when I first saw them. I do notice that the male eyes are always more realistically proportioned than the females... I guess they're just going after the cuteness factor though.

[Isuzu Inugami]

I like CLAMP's "they buy eyeliner by the metric ton" eyes. Generally I like big eyes over small, but there are some character designs that pull off the small eyes well. Not that any are coming to mind at the moment.

I'd like to make special mention of Sasami from Sasami Magical Girl Club for having the most amazing eyelashes. They're out to her shoulders!

[StanS]

I like medium to large eyes. Some that add to the character but not over power the character. Boton, Beldandy, Ryoko, some of the characters from Nadesico, VanDread and the like.

From an artistic and film point of view I see larger eyes in anime as a real plus. They can give meaning, expression and emotions to the character in ways traditional animation does not. The eyes can give you what the character is feeling inside while the words in the show may say something else. This gives a great deal of creative ability to the writer, artist and director. If you have to much, the eyes can detract or distract from what is being said or felt. To small and you loose a canvas for these emotions.

In other words, a director of an anime can have all the value of a close-up while having the broader scene on the screen.

[oslapedo]

I love the eyes in Code Geass, they're so pretty and expressive. They're also pretty important to the plot xD

[djanss]

I like the "Eyes too wide for the head" look of vintage Leiji Matsumoto females--

(Granted, this makes it hard to tell Maetel of GE999 apart from "Queen Millenia", but with Matsumoto canon-crossover, any similar characters usually turn out to BE the same character...)

[KK1]

I like how all the Haruhi girls have brown eyes since they are Japanese, not that blue or multi colored eyes bother me in anime it was just nice to see a show use brown and still make them all look good.

[Isuzu Inugami]

I like the "Eyes too wide for the head" look of vintage Leiji Matsumoto females--

Oh yeah, those are nice and exotic. Although then he turns around and does his more comic "eyes somewhere high on the forehead" look....

[Dack Ralter]

I kind of like the minimalist xxxHolic eyes, at least for those designs.

Kyoto Animation eyes took some getting used to. I remember when I watched Air and Kanon wondering just what percentage of mass and volume those eyes were for those character's heads! :sdsmiley: But I love 'em now.

I think realistically proportioned eyes (more or less) like in Planetes help to set the mood better for those kinds of shows.

It may be a bit silly, but the eye designs for Freedom were what scared me away from it (aside from BVUSA pricing, of course).

[populuxe]

I've always like Keiji Gotoh's eye designs, like in Nadesico and Kiddy Grade. Whether they're large and round, or small and sharp, they're always expressive.

[Prede]

I'm a real real fan of Gainax character designs, Manglobe character designs, and Madhouse character designs, and that goes for the eyes as well. I like Medium to small eyes, but I also like bigger eyes as well. I guess my "favorite" type of eyes would be the size of the eyes in Black Lagoon (what I'd call small), but a close second would be the style/size of eyes from say Death Note or something like Ergo Proxy or Samurai Champloo(what I'd call medium). I do like Kare Kano , NGE and Princess Yucie size eyes as well (what I'd call large).

So I guess I like all eye sizes. Probally Small Eyes the best though followed by Medium Eyes and Large Eyes close behind.. They all work though.

[Njr Scrawl]

Best known exemplified by Sailor Mars/Rei, Sailor Pluto/Setsuna & Sailor Uranus/Haruka in Sailor Moon, is the eye design feature of strong-willed/slightly fiery females. The eyes are typically less round & usually have corners on the ear side.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://eternalmoonkingdom1.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/princessraye.gif&imgrefurl=http://eternalmoonkingdom1.tripod.com/&usg=__jB4nWhYaGh0YRRR7uxVF6l5PQk4=&h=960&w=919&sz=377&hl=en&start=10&tbnid=UoFjwX_phGrLwM:&tbnh=148&tbnw=142&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsailor%2Bmars%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26s a%3DG

[JackC]

Red Garden or Darker than Black, I hate the enormous giant bug eyes in some shows. I love minimalism.

[HellKorn]

The eyes can give you what the character is feeling inside while the words in the show may say something else. This gives a great deal of creative ability to the writer, artist and director. If you have to much, the eyes can detract or distract from what is being said or felt. To small and you loose a canvas for these emotions.
So much for body language and subtleties in voice acting, eh?

I'm not partial to "eye designs" -- the exaggerated BESM gives me hives -- but I do find Satoshi Kon's characters usually compliment the rest of the face and never become homogenized.

[martod]

Lucky Star is a study in how eye designs can affect how a character looks, probably because the eyes are so massive. It's very interesting how the severe lines at the top and bottom of Konata's eyes, the way Kagami's eyes angle up at the corners, and Tsukasa's more rounded eyes compliment their personalities.

[Shiroi Hane]

I've always like Keiji Gotoh's eye designs, like in Nadesico and Kiddy Grade. Whether they're large and round, or small and sharp, they're always expressive.
Strictly speaking the Kiddy Grade designs weren't his but Megumi's so Gatekeepers would be a better reference as like the Nadesico characters they have those classic round eyes. It wasn't till a while after I first watched Uta Kata that I realised how freaky-looking the slit pupils in that series were when you started paying attention to them.

[thehadoken]

The eyes in the Slayers are my favorite. They are so unique.

[TomasHA-SK]

Slayers and Lost Universe

[Buckeye]

While I like bigger than usual eyes, I do not like anything extravagant. So with that said, medium-sized eyes are my favorites.

[Mr. Nail Bat]

I'm partial to the eyes from the series/era that were my "gateway drug": The 90's-era AIC eyes (Tenchi Muyo, Battle Athletes, El Hazard).

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

I'm partial to the eyes from the series/era that were my "gateway drug": The 90's-era AIC eyes (Tenchi Muyo, Battle Athletes, El Hazard).

Ahh 90s AIC... that was good stuff. Sounds like my first forays into anime as well. You can add Moldiver and Oh My Goddess (Kosuke Fujishima in particular) to that list too.

I also like the designs of Ikuko Ito (Magic User's Club, Princess Tutu), eyes and all.

It's hard for me to isolate just the eyes when thinking of what I like most, since I always take the entire character into account. So if I like a particular character design, the eyes are always a part of that package. That would open up my most accurate answer to this question with me just listing all of my favorite character designers. :sd: