While the original manga are usually in black and white, they often come in color digital versions that actually reveal more than you might think. One of the aspects that is always revealed is the character’s hair and eye color, which is something that is not usually observed when reading the original manga, unless the author gives us specific information about the character. In this article, we will explain what specific eye colors tell readers about the characters.
What do different eye colors mean in anime?
Believe it or not, like hair color, eye color in manga is also highly symbolic and when a character has a certain eye color, it usually means something important in that aspect. Although this is not necessarily the case, it is often the case and we will explain here how each color tells us a specific characteristic.
White
White eyes as such do not exist, but gray eyes do, and they often have the same meaning as brown eyes (see below). However, white is often used to symbolize a character being shocked, angry, or defeated/dead, but in that situation, their irises disappear completely and their entire eye becomes white absolutely, but these are special situations.
Black
Black eyes are very common in anime and because of that they often have no meaning. A lot of the main characters have black eyes and even many of the supporting characters have black eyes. They usually have no symbolic meaning and are black because it seems natural and doesn’t require too much effort. Characters with black eyes are either completely normal or it’s impossible to tell anything about them based on their eye color.
Red
Red eyes are not common in human characters in anime, but when they appear, they usually mean some kind of trouble. Characters with red eyes are dangerous, no matter what side they are on, and they can often be brave and quite aggressive. Since this color is often associated with non-human characters, especially demons, human characters with red eyes often have supernatural (usually demonic) characteristics.
Blue
Unlike the real world, where the color blue is relatively rare, this color has been quite popular in manga and anime for some time, and it has been commonly associated with main characters, giving them a special characteristic. . However, the meaning can be quite complicated to determine, as the color can symbolize both innocence (usually in young characters) and extreme coldness (usually in adults), depending into personality.
Green
Although blue eyes are seen in real life, they are very rare in anime and are more or less a new phenomenon that has never been seen before. They often indicate a gentle and special personality, although the “special traits” are not necessarily superhuman or supernatural. If you see a blue-eyed character, expect a lot from them in the series.
Yellow
Gold is also a very rare color but interesting from a symbolic perspective. Rarely seen in slice-of-life series, this color often tells us that a character is very intelligent and also cunning; Additionally, neko-type characters also often have yellow eyes. Sometimes, robots or aliens can also have yellow eyes, but this is not the same situation in most cases and you can immediately see that they are not human when you look at them.
Brown
In the world of anime, brown eyes are the most common eye type, and in that respect, they often indicate a very normal and ordinary character. They are mainly given to supporting characters, and if they appear in the main character, they usually symbolize that he comes from a humble background and has no special skills. They are very common in slice-of-life anime, although they also appear in other genres (in fantasy anime, they are often associated with characters with no special powers).
Violet
Purple is one of the rarest colors in the world of anime and manga, and although we can see many different colors in such series, purple is however quite rare. The color purple is almost never associated with supporting characters and is most often seen in main characters, regardless of whether they are protagonists or antagonists. They often symbolize a mysterious and often very powerful character.
Are the eye colors in Anime and Manga the same?
Eye colors in anime and manga are similar. Although there are other cases where manga and anime eye colors are not similar at all. Mostly, that happens due to technical errors by anime artists. Sometimes, creators and managers decide to change a character’s depiction at the last minute while an anime is in production.
But in popular anime series like One Piece, Haikyuu!!, and Bleach, the eye color from the coloring page to the animation is similar to make it more original. However, One Piece is also known to have the ability to change the color of a character in the anime version not only with their eyes but also with their overall color theme.