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Finally understanding "Big Eyes, Small Mouth" designs
Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 12:19 pm
by mbanu
Watched a show that had the same cutesy designs, only with larger mouths, and the lack of teeth is really unsettling.
Re: Finally understanding "Big Eyes, Small Mouth" designs
Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 12:26 pm
by mbanu
Looking back, this isn't the first toothless-big-mouth show I've watched, so I'm not sure what made me realize with this one... I think it might be the mouth design, which sort of suggests turned-in lips.
Was this always a thing, and I'm just now realizing it?
Re: Finally understanding "Big Eyes, Small Mouth" designs
Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:40 pm
by Drew_Sutton
mbanu wrote:Was this always a thing, and I'm just now realizing it?
Yes, this design ascetic has been around anime for quite some time. The phrase "big eye small mouth" comes from a table top roleplaying game that acted as a proxy for anime fans, the way that say Shadowrun was a proxy for cyberpunk fans.
Re: Finally understanding "Big Eyes, Small Mouth" designs
Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:42 pm
by Drew_Sutton
Sorry to double-post - I meant to add that the game Big Eye Small Mouth (BESM) noticed this trend in a lot of anime around that time (the 80s), thus coining the phrase to title their anime roleplaying game.