So are eye patches considered cool or something?

[greg]

I've been seeing commercials for some show on Animax, starring a girl with an eye patch. I think it started with Rei from Eva, and of course there's that slut from Ikki Tousen, etc... Eye patches seem to pop up a lot. Is it some sort of weird fetish created by Rei? This show in question also commits another anime trope in that the eye patch girl has two different colored eyes. I guess it happens in real life from time to time. I think David Bowie has one different colored eye from when he was hit in the face as a kid. That seems to be a bit overdone in anime, too.

So what gives? Can I expect some sort of insightful analysis? Or is it just that it's exemplary of the anime industry becoming more and more inbred?

[Kame-Sen'nin]

I can't say that I've noticed this becoming a trend, but eye patches do add a certain mystique to characters. This isn't necessarily an idea that has been limited to anime; Solid Snake (and Snake Plissken) both have eye patches.

And, of course, who can argue that Captain Harlock isn't cool?

[greg]

No, I'm not talking about the Captain Harlock/Snake Pliskin type of eye patch. I'm talking about the medical eye patch you'd wear if you have some sort of infection or injury. This seems to be a new thing, and only noticeable if you pay attention to modern anime. I don't care for much modern anime, but since I live in Japan, I see these characters on TV, anime stores, my students' pencil boards, etc. It's just weird.

[Boite Diabolique]

The show you mentioned being advertised on Animax sounds a lot like "Another" or "Chu-2 Byo demo Koi ga Shitai (Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!), most likely the latter. The girls in both shows have David Bowie eyes as far as I'm aware. Kind of an odd coincidence that two shows made around the same time have very similar concepts. If I see the infamous medical eye patch on a character in an anime, I usually take it as a warning sign not to watch the show (probably the association with "Ikki Tousen" did it).

As for why this trend exists, to be honest I'm not sure. Studios nick ideas off each (we get a clump of horror anime set schools, then a clump of idol shows etc.) and other and at times are more concerned with sticking fetishes into shows rather than concentrating on telling a good story or even just making a enjoyable show. As to the origin, Rei was the probably the first but possibly not the one who popularised it. I think "Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two" manga/visual novel/anime mega franchise is your culprit

[llj]

There are various fetish trends that cycle in and out of anime periodically. I think there was a glasses fetish a few years back where 50% of all anime in one season featured a girl with glasses as the main character.

"Another" was a pretty decent horror show, by the by. There was an actual plot-important reason for why the girl had to hide her eye.

[greg]

Studios nick ideas off each (we get a clump of horror anime set schools, then a clump of idol shows etc.) and other and at times are more concerned with sticking fetishes into shows rather than concentrating on telling a good story or even just making a enjoyable show.

QFT. This is so extremely true these days. It's as boring as those computer-generated Harlequin romance novel plots: just throw in typical stereotypes and let the story evolve from there as those stereotypes interact with each other.

There are various fetish trends that cycle in and out of anime periodically. I think there was a glasses fetish a few years back where 50% of all anime in one season featured a girl with glasses as the main character.

Well, okay.. I will come right out and say that I have a HUGE glasses fetish. Girls with glasses drive me crazy. Unfortunately, my wife always wears contacts and refuses to wear contacts, even though the optometrist in America told her that she has to stop before she gets to the point where she can no longer wear contacts. Here in Japan, when you go to an eyeglasses place, they just check your perscription and you buy glasses or contacts. They are not optometrists; they are merely technicians. No insurance is involved. In America, you are required to be seen by an optometrist who can check your eye health, look for cateracts, do glaucoma tests, etc. Here, that is totally optional. So sadly, people like my stubborn wife can just ignore their eyes.

...But I digress. You have to admit, though, that people wearing glasses are not unusual at all, and with the trend to make anime more slice-of-life-ier, it makes sense to include more characters with glasses. TBH, though, as much as I dig girls with glasses, anime girls with glasses usually don't do much for me.

As for eye patches, if there is an actual plot reason to have someone with an eye patch, that makes sense. But just having an eye patch for the sake of an eye patch, unless it adds to the character, it just seems odd.

Also, David Bowie is badass.

[llj]

I think it's a reasonable assumption to think that anime girls with glasses are more than just a representational design choice, because it's really, REALLY annoying to animate someone with glasses in scene after scene, which is why in animation they tend to be relegated to minor characters with less screen time, or the lens and frame of the glasses are simplified to the point where it's part of the character design rather than an accessory. If the animators clearly spent a lot of time on drawing the frames, there's a pretty good bet there's a marketable reason for having a girl with glasses as the main character rather than them being open to diversity.

You will notice that guys with glasses in anime tend to be drawn more like it's a part of their face and design, rather than an accessory. And even those characters are usually secondary characters. There has to be a marketable reason to spend so much time delineating a pair of glasses in frame after frame (no pun intended).

[Animusubi]

It's a fashion trend in Harajuku and Akihabara. It's known as "kegadoru", or injured idol. There's the fetish version, which scantily clad girls are wrapped in bandages with an eyepatch, or just bandages. There's also lolita fashion that also mixes kegadoru. Even in games like Animal Crossing, you can get an eyepatch like the white ones that are more commonly worn.

White bandages represent virginity and chastity while black bandages represent wickedness.

[usamimi]

Yeah, the medical eyepatch (aka "gantai") thing has been seen in popular Japanese fashion (punk, lolita, street, what have you) as well as yet another thing that's been kinda fetishized in anime, manga, PC games, etc etc. A lot of people seem to trace it back to Ayanami Rei's beaten-up/bandaged look back in the 90s--she didn't have that specific medical eyepatch, but after her popularity sky-rocketed, the whole "cute girls in bandages" started to become "a thing" with some otaku, which eventually lead up to the medical eyepatch as an accessory or fetish item (similar to some otaku's love for glasses, stockings, or striped panties, etc etc).

I think on some art/characters it can be an interesting look, but other times it's obvious that it's just something someone threw on a character in an attempt to draw those fans with the fetish out, so...I dunno? Some otaku find the weirdest things to dote on sometimes, imo.

[greg]

Some otaku find the weirdest things to dote on sometimes, imo.

I'll say.

Thanks, you two. I actually have a 3rd grade JHS student who wears such an eye patch. I asked her if she had some sort of infection. I couldn't understand exactly what she said. It's possible that she's just doing it for attention.