Study | The Mystery of the Manga Big Eyes Unravelled.

The Mystery of the manga eyes

For decades now, there’s been an argument about the reason for the manga Big Eyes. People who study the case have been divided:

a) One party says that notable looks stem from Osamu Tezuka’s adoption of large, expressive eyes from Disney cartoons, such as Bambi.

b) Others say it derives from “a national psychological identity crisis that makes Japan project a Western, Caucasian image on itself”.

c)It may have begun on the days Japan opened up to the West in the 19^th century.

d)Or the people’s fetishization of cuteness (see kawaii).

While these attempts are not entirely historically incorrect, they are incomplete and on an unstable foundation. Such as the first party that wants to impose on Tezuka sensei a color of Disney supremacy, overall American. This notion places the great creator not as mature, but as an empty slate; with no originality. Let’s keep in mind the man who pioneered as he explored themes and situations that the American mentality can’t comprehend.

They overlook a deeper, older idea — one that predates modern Japan, modern art, and even modern psychology. The roots of this visual language can be traced back to ancient ethical philosophy, particularly traditions that linked physical appearance with inner virtue.

One striking articulation of this idea appears in the Anthology of Stobaeus, Volume 10, in a passage attributed to Nikostratos, titled “About Marriage.” In it, Nikostratos describes the customs of Indian sages — “the bare and the wise” — who do not choose women for wealth, lineage, or social glory. Instead, they observe a woman’s appearance, especially her eyes, not out of lust, but through a disciplined, philosophical gaze.

“Because it’s not convenient for the newlywed man to see what will be the manners of women, the Indian men, and their wisemen proceed with the following method, and they’ve never been tricked. Those, the Indian men, the bare and the wise, they never get married on purpose for the wealth, and the glory of any wealthy Indian man, but they study the woman, her appearance, and her beauty thoroughly. And as they do this by some profound mentality, not by lecher, nor by the criteria we apply. Because the benevolent eyes reflect the beauty of the soul. And it’s not easy to be on a face joyful and clean when you get indignant, enraged, and embittered.”
As he continues, he provides us with examples

This statement reframes appearance as ethical expression, not decoration.

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Eyes as Moral Mirrors

In this ancient worldview, eyes are not eroticized objects nor mere facial features. They are moral indicators — outward signs of inward harmony. The “beauty” being assessed is not sensual allure but psychic clarity: kindness, intelligence, sincerity, and emotional openness.

This idea appears across multiple ancient traditions:

• In Greek thought, the eyes are the “windows of the psyche.”
• In Indian philosophy, perception (darśana) is inseparable from ethical insight
• In East Asian aesthetics, the face reveals qi (inner vitality)

What unites these traditions is the belief that a pure soul cannot hide itself completely.

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Big Eyes in Manga: Not Infantilization, but Transparency

When viewed through this lens, manga’s large, expressive eyes take on a very different meaning.

Big eyes:

• Signal openness rather than seduction
• Convey sincerity rather than dominance
• Emphasize emotional readability rather than physical realism

They make inner states visible.

This aligns closely with the ancient criterion Nikostratos describes: the evaluation of character through benevolent perception, not desire. Manga characters with large eyes are often:

• Morally centered
• Emotionally honest
• Capable of empathy
• Resistant to cynicism

Villains, by contrast, often have narrowed, obscured, or shadowed eyes.

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Eastern Philosophy, Not Modern Fetish

To interpret “big eyes” purely as a modern aesthetic trend or a product of market forces is to miss the philosophical continuity. Japanese visual storytelling did not invent this symbolism; it inherited and transformed it. Through Buddhism, Confucian ethics, and earlier cultural exchanges with India and Greece, the idea that inner virtue should be legible on the face persisted.

In this sense, manga’s visual language is closer to ancient moral philosophy than to modern realism.

It asks the same question Nikostratos did:

What does a face reveal about a soul — if we learn how to look properly?

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Conclusion: Seeing Is an Ethical Act

The “big eyes” of manga are not merely a stylistic exaggeration. They are an ethical invitation. They ask the reader to engage not as a voyeur, but as a moral observer — to read emotion, intention, and humanity directly.

In a world increasingly dominated by irony and emotional concealment, this ancient idea feels unexpectedly radical:
that goodness should be visible,
that sincerity should be readable,
And that beauty is inseparable from the soul behind the gaze.

Seen this way, “big eyes” are not modern at all.
They are ancient philosophy, drawn in ink.

Footnotes

1. Stobaeus, Anthologium, Vol. X, “Περὶ γάμου” (“About Marriage”), attributed to Nikostratos. Translation paraphrased from Greek.
2. Plato, Phaedrus; Aristotle, De Anima, on perception and the visibility of psychic states.
3. Upanishadic and Buddhist traditions on darśana as ethical-spiritual seeing (see Radhakrishnan, Indian Philosophy, Vol. I).
4. Confucian physiognomy and Buddhist iconography traditions; see Ebrey, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China.
5. McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics, on visual shorthand for moral alignment (applied comparatively).
6. Burkert, Walter. The Orientalizing Revolution: connections between Greek, Persian, and Indian ethical aesthetics.

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