They say that the eyes are the windows of the soul. Eyes are also an incredibly important thing in fiction. The eye color of a character can be an indicator of what his character looks like. Whether they keep their eyes closed or open can demonstrate a level of mystery, and things like eye makeup can act as an indicator of power or capacity. Eyes tend to be a focal point for the conception of the character because they can really affect the energy of a character’s behavior. No medium is also known for its use of eyes in the design of the characters that the anime is, the “Enigues d’Andre” always famous being something that has become more popular in Western animation.
But eyes and eyeballs are more than a simple character trait. They can also be incredibly annoying and overwhelming. Often seen in darkness or as an extremely large part of the face, this kind of eyes has a way of making the scenes more intense and frightening. It may look like a coincidence, something that artists have found at random. But is there a deeper meaning? It is difficult to imagine something as it appears in so many different series without there being something more. It turns out that symbolism behind the eyes and the way they are used in horror are much deeper than you think.
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The eyes naturally make us uncomfortable
One of the main objectives of horror is to disturb the spectator. It is really not a big statement to make, but it is an important thing to keep in mind. Horror, in particular Japanese horror, focuses less on jump fears and shock killings and more accent on the atmosphere and discomfort. Famous series as Higurashi: When they cry and the silent Hill The franchises are great examples of this horror style. An easy way to create this level of discomfort is through something known as the strange valley. The human brain has a fairly good idea of what a human being should look like; There is a basic card. Take the human body and change it in a way that always makes it so slightly extinguished, most people feel deep distress and discomfort while looking at it. The strange valley, when used properly, manages to be an incredibly useful tool with regard to horror.
Although giant eyes in the umbral shadow are not strictly relegated to horror, they seek to reach the same idea in other genres. When you see an eye in the dark or too large on the face of a character, you know that something bad will happen. The human face, in particular, is an easy -to -deform target for the use of horror. Much of this comes down to the fact that faces are the ultimate expression of identity – the eyes being important enough for this process. When an artist changes the proportions of the face of a character, they distort the identity of the character and make the public question everything they know about this character. There are so many times in an anime where an assembly of a second everywhere will show a character with a crazy expression or a half face in the shade, which means that the spectator begins to feel discomfort about the character.
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Japan, in particular, has a concept called “Sanpaku”, this refers to a person with a visible sclera (the white parts of the eyes) on three sides of their iris: the normal left and right, more above or below. This concept stems from a traditional practice called “reading of the face” and the eyes are broken in two parts: the yin being the white of the eyes, and the yang being the iris. The visibility of the upper or lower sclera could indicate an imbalance in the body or the person. Being able to see the Upper SClère in particular was considered a sign of psychopathy. Initially presented to the West in the 1960s by George Ohsawa, it was said that people with Sanpaku were more prone to attract accidents and violence. George Ohsawa created great concern when he predicted several high -level deaths in the 1960s on the basis of Sanpaku, including the death of the American president John F. Kennedy.
Today, a similar balancing principle is used in the anime to make the characters more threatening and dangerous. This is even more effective when the eyes are disembodied. Having a myriad of eyes, or one by the way, implies a supernatural origin or a kind of Astherworldandiss. Many myths in several cultures focus on them, angels from Judeo-Christian representations, the cyclops of the Greco-Roman myth and the many spirits of oriental folklore, pointing a universal recognition of the eyes as a very important facial anatomy. The anime likes to create dark creatures to show their disturbing peepers, but their efficiency and what they can evoke in the spectator is really what matters most.
Does Uncanny Valley explain all the shadow eyes in the anime?
There is actually a biological reason The shadow eyes are so disturbing
Humans, by nature, are predatory animals built to be hunters, but it makes even more overwhelming to feel like you were chased. Being looked at can evoke a lot of discomfort at an instinctive level for people, even triggering the response of combat or flight. When an anime reproduces the feeling of being looked at for the public, it comes with the expectation of ensuring that the spectator feels like a prey, often to reproduce a feeling that another character can feel at the same time. Being tracked in the dark by something of which you cannot understand the form, only the eyes, is a good way to do it, because many other species of predators such as wolves and large cats have “tapetum lucidum”, a thin piece of fabric in their eyes which reflects the light to make it easier to see in darkness. Human brains immediately recognize such things like a threat.
When characters from the anime, often bad guys, look with a large part of their sclenerat and brilliant practically in the dark, this actually triggers a biological response in the spectator. This mixture of strange valley and understanding the natural instinct bring out these moments. There is also the very simple fact that the eye is a very, very vulnerable part of the body. Being as close to something so delicate on another person is intrinsically, off -putting for the intensity of the involved contact. The best type of horror seems intimate, and there is nothing more intimate than being so close to a person that you only see one of their eyes. It should also be noted that the symbolism of the eyes is not always intrinsically negative, but even a positive meaning can be twisted in order to develop the discomfort of things that are hidden in the dark.
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When a character is almost entirely represented by the eyes, this also implies a level of snowning. The eyes imply a consciousness, so the characters like Alucard of Hellsing Ultimate or proud of Fullmetal alchemist: Brotherhood Are not only full -fledged monsters – they literally look at their victims. The eyes do not only make the spectator feels chased; They can make sure that a person feels more than a little exposed in the large scheme of what they are looking at. The use of this symbolism is a way of ensuring that the public feels more part of the action, attracted by the experience through the strength of what is happening around the characters behind the screen.
Eyes are a great way to better understand a character, but can also be a way to make them even more mysterious. If a character probably has far too many eyes, he is one of the best ways for the public to know that he is not a character with whom to be spoiled. Overall, there is a broader tradition of using the eyes in the anime, but there will always be room for shadow monsters that haunt the very edges of darkness.