HIDING THE EYES: NARRATIVE EFFECTS OF HIDDEN-EYE CLOSE-UPS IN ANIME

“The eyes are the windows to the soul” reflects common belief that the eyes provide a unique gateway into a person’s internal world, offering clues to their emotions, intentions, and perhaps even their very essence. In animation and film, this idea is reinforced through close-up shots that emphasize the eyes, inviting emotional intimacy between the character and viewers. Yet, a common practice found in Japanese animation reverses this expectation by obscuring or omitting the eyes in close-up shots, turning a normally revealing device into one of withholding and ambiguity. Drawing from Julian Hanich’s framework of omission, completion, and suggestion [1] and Japanese culture and the concept of ma, this paper investigates anime’s narrative function of eye omission in close-ups shots. Through formal visual analysis of scenes from anime series Sound! Euphonium (2.10, “After School Obligato) [2] and Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World (3.01, “Theatrical Malice”) [3] it argues that eye omission can heighten emotional uncertainty, shape audience interpretation, and encourage viewers to actively complete meaning.

To effectively analyze visual omission as a narrative device, we must first define narrative. Though often used interchangeably with "story," its meaning varies across scholarly context [4][5]. This paper defines narrative as the chain of causally linked events over time, from Cutting’s [6] definition. Narrative discourse in film is not just told through dialogue but via cinematic techniques—such as lighting, camera movement, editing, sound design, and framing—guiding a viewer’s perception and shaping how we interact with the film’s story [7]. Framing refers to the visual boundaries of a shot, determining what shown or withheld from the audience [8]. As a narrative device, framing not only determines what the audience can see, but how audiences experience the story itself. Therefore, it follows that different framing decisions will have different effects on the audience.

Beaver provides a clear definition of a close-up shot, writing, “a shot which provides a limited, magnified view of a character or object within a scene” [9]. Close-up (CU) shots themselves can be further divided into several varieties, though there is no consensus on a universal definition [10].

CU shots are used to enhance the viewer’s emotional engagement with a character by emphasizing subtle emotional cues, such as facial expressions or details [12][13]. Despite the margin of error in interpreting emotion through nonverbal cues conveyed by the eyes, research shows that people consistently focus on the eyes during emotional processing making them key to social interaction and emotional judgment [14][15]. Bálint’s findings further reveal that close-up shots can increase viewers’ tendency to infer a character’s mental state, called the theory of mind tendency, or induce greater empathy, especially when facial expressions are evident [16][17].

Hanich’s framework of omission, suggestion, and completion posits that emotional engagement is often intensified not by what is shown, but by what is deliberately withheld. He emphasizes that omission is not merely the absence of information, nor a simple oversight—it is a conscious artistic decision. According to Hannich, this purposeful withholding invites the viewer to mentally “complete” what is missing through their imagination:

Where Japanese art is to be appreciated, it must be understood through an appropriate contextual and cultural framework. Otherwise, much of the layered meaning in Japanese works may be lost on Western viewers. In this regard, an important concept for understanding the significance of eye omission in anime is ma (間). The term ma can be translated as “space” or “pause,” but as a concept, it is relational and transcends simple spatio-temporal definitions, yet its essence has come to be associated with ambiguity [18].

According to Nguyen, an appreciation for ma –or ambiguity- appears across diverse areas of Japanese arts, language, and culture since antiquity. Nitschke illustrates ma in art through Japanese calligraphy, where the balance of characters and blank space forms an essential feature of the final composition, as in Figure 1 [19]. Unlike the Western negative space which treats the non-form space as a supporting feature, absence or pause in ma is a positive, active element of the overall composition. When Japanese works are viewed through the cultural lens of ma, meaning is understood to reside not only in what is shown, but also in what is omitted; not only in the focal point, but in its relationship to the background and surrounding details. There is also a notable difference in how Western and Japanese audiences tend to direct attention in visual media such as comics. Western viewers often focus primarily on the focal point of a panel – which can be compared to the frame of a film – whereas Japanese viewers are more likely to scan the entire panel and derive meaning from the relationships among characters, settings, and objects [20].

Table 1 provides an examples character’s eyes have been omitted or hidden from the shot using this framework. At times, shadows are used to indicate where the eyes would be, but eyes are also hidden through framing. This paper will refer to these close-up shots utilizing such omission types collectively as hidden-eye close-ups (hidden-eye CU). This visual omission trope can take several anime-specific forms, as seen in Table 1. Although limited scholarly research has focused specifically on this form of visual language, discussions on platforms such Reddit show that netizens recognize hidden-eye shots as a sort of visual shorthand for complex emotional states or narrative meaning, beyond simply not drawing the eyes [21]. One video essay analyzing the use of hidden-eyes states: “You can tell a lot about a character just by looking at their eyes… when a character’s eyes are blocked out, it’s probably trying to tell you something. Like when a character is trying to hide their emotional state” [22].

This study applies a formal visual analysis approach to selected anime scenes in which hidden-eye shots were employed. Two anime series were selected: Sound! Euphonium (2.10, “After School Obligato), and Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World (3.01, “Theatrical Malice”). These episodes were selected because they prominently featured hidden-eye CU shots. For the purposes of this analysis, “CU” refers broadly to close-up shot types, including medium and extreme close-ups. The aim is to examine how hidden-eye CUs functioned as a narrative device to create emotional ambiguity, signal psychological distance, or foreshadow danger. Each scene was analyzed frame by frame to identify when and how the omission occurred and how the framing choice interacted with the corresponding dialogue. Screenshots were captured to support visual breakdowns and are included as figures in this study.

To distinguish these shots as deliberate acts of visual omission, hidden-eye CUs were compared to other shots within the same scene to determine whether the character’s eyes were hidden as a product of the scene’s framing, lighting, or the character’s default appearance. Only cases in which the same character’s eyes were visible in other shots were the hidden-eyes shots considered to be valid examples of visual omission. Characters whose eyes are consistently obscured by costume elements—such as masks or veils—were excluded, as these were more likely to result from permanent design choices rather than narrative choice.

Original Japanese transcriptions were created using OpenAI Whisper for audio recognition, Adobe Premiere Pro’s auto-transcription feature, and ChatGPT-4o for video upload, extraction, and initial translation. These translations were then cross-referenced against official English-language subtitles available through licensed streaming platforms to ensure accuracy and contextual fidelity. Dialogue analysis complemented the visual examination by revealing how verbal content amplifies the ambiguity created by hidden eyes. For each scene, the following criteria were used to guide analysis:

• Hidden-eye Frames: Timing of hidden-eye CUs (e.g., emotional climax, turning point, or conflict).
• Visual Mechanism: Method of concealment (e.g., cropped frame, shadow or hair obstruction, stylized effect).
• Narrative Context: Story events and what characters communicate or conceal.
• Narrative Effect: Impact on viewer understanding, empathy, or emotional clarity toward the focal character.

A compelling example of hidden-eye shots as a narrative device appears in Sound! Euphonium. Throughout the series, Director Tatsuya Ishihara subverts traditional close-up uses particularly through the character Tanaka Asuka, cropping her eyes or obscuring them with opaque glasses precisely when main protagonist Oumae Kumiko seeks to understand her motives—mirroring the viewer's frustrated desire for emotional insight.

Narrative Context: In “After School Obligato,” Kumiko confronts her upperclassman Asuka about her decision to quit the school band, despite her passion for the euphonium and desire to have her father see her perform at nationals in previous episodes. Kumiko claims to know the desires of all her classmates, insisting that “everyone” wants Asuka to return and play at the long-awaited finals competition. When Kumiko doubles-down on her claim to know the hearts of her classmates, Asuka suddenly counters: “みんなって誰?” [English: “Who’s everyone?”] Asuka counters by berating Kumiko’s inability to truly know her classmates due to her own tendency to watch from a distance. The scene resolves with Kumiko being totally honest with her feelings towards her classmate, her candidness eventually winning her over.

Visual Mechanisms: The two instances of hidden-eye close-up shots in this scene are shown in Table 2. In the first example, the camera briefly cuts to a close-up of Asuka’s face—lasting just 1.22 seconds. Asuka’s eyes are mostly cropped out, with only a sliver of her now-opaque glasses visible. A subtle shadow falls over the left side of her face, while the lighting remains otherwise bright. Her lips curve downward slightly. The second hidden-eye close-up reveals much more about the character’s mindset through supporting details: Asuka’s blushing cheeks and small smile. Her eyes, however, are hidden behind a lock of hair, with only the movement of her eyelashes barely visible.

Narrative Effect: Leading up to the first hidden-eye shot, Asuka displays a variety of emotions and expressions during the approximately 6 minute exchange: at times jovial, other times frowning, neutral, or even smiling, her eyes visible in every CU. The sudden, hidden-eye CU shot disrupts the flow of accessible shots to Asuka’s emotions and signals a shift in the narrative. Kumiko is shown immediately afterwards, flinching response, signaling to the viewer a change in the trajectory of the conversation. Its brevity and visual oddity heighten the discomfort as tension builds between the characters. The scene echoes Kumiko’s struggle to understand Asuka, reflecting the viewer’s own lack of access. In this case, the close-up withholds more than it reveals—turning intimacy into dissonance.

The scene ends with a final hidden-eye close-up, but a tonal shift in the character’s interactions frame this shot in a much more positive light. After reaching a resolution in the confrontation, the tone of the scene shifts to show Asuka once again adopting her aloof state. However, this time, Kumiko notices Asuka’s quivering legs and soft voice as she expresses her happiness at Kumiko’s honesty. It is the first show of vulnerability for the aloof character and is highlighted with a CU of Asuka which only the audience is allowed to see. Still, Asuka’s eye are hidden behind a lock of hair, maintaining her position as a character who is never fully accessible to anyone – not even the viewer.

Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World also uses hidden-eye close-ups but in a markedly different way. The episode introduces a new character, Regulus Corneas, entirely through hidden-eye shots – CU shots as well as wide and medium shots, including close-ups as well as medium and wide shots. In addition, the narrative weight of these shots is reinforced by the surrounding characters’ reactions and by Regulus’s own dialogue delivery and facial expressions.

Visual Mechanisms: Regulus’s eyes are deliberately omitted from every shot in this scene through both shadow and framing obstructions as categorized in Table 1. As a result, viewers are never given a direct view of his eyes or gaze. Another key point is that Regulus’s eyes are always hidden in a shadow, regardless of the ambient/motivated light in the scene and only Regulus is shown this way. The camera also frequently positions him looking toward the lens from a slightly elevated angle. This not only prevents eye contact but also establishes a sense of dominance, a compositional technique commonly used in both animation and live-action film to convey superiority or control [24][25].

Narrative Context: The scene depicts main protagonists, Natsuki Subaru and Emilia, seemingly random first meeting with the character, Regulus. Regulus’s dialogue throughout the exchange consists most pleasantries, revealing little about the character, as seen in Table 3. However, his affable demeanor stand in stark contrast to the frequent use of hidden-eye close-ups. Subaru and Emilia also react with bewilderment to Regulus’s statements, as expressed through startled, wide eyes, and hesitating responses.

Narrative Effect: From the outset, Regulus is framed through repeated hidden-eye close-ups. His importance to the story is established through sustained close-ups and dialogue; however, these hidden-eye shots also withhold emotional access and visual clarity, creating unease and encouraging suspicion. Regulus’s polite dialogue and constant smile introduce a tension between surface civility and visual concealment. This contrast turns the encounter into a subtle warning, suggesting that his presence may conceal threat or instability. It is later confirmed that Regulus is one of the season’s main antagonists.

Understanding the hidden-eye close-up requires familiarity with several visual and cultural frameworks that may come more naturally to Japanese audiences than to Western audiences. Additionally, distinguishing and coding between an extreme close-up (ECU) of the mouth and a hidden-eye close-up can be especially challenging, particularly when framing obstruction is involved. Both shot types often center the frame on the mouth area, making classification difficult, especially when no clear shadow is present. In such cases, it may be unclear whether the director intended to emphasize the hidden-eyes as part of the shot’s overall discourse or simply to focus on the mouth. This raises an important methodological question: does a close-up inherently signal an intention to obscure the eyes, or is the mouth itself the intended focal point? Future studies would benefit greatly from systematic coding protocols for identifying a hidden-eye close-up shots. Subsequent survey-based research could then assess how these shots affect viewers' engagement, emotional comprehension, and perceptions of focal characters.

Sound! Euphonium’s use of hidden-eye CU is sparing but strategically. Ishihara’s technique underscores the emotional complexity of focal characters, transforming the close-up from a window into a wall. This approach demonstrates the visual storyteller’s unique ability to control—and withhold—emotional access through framing alone. In Re:Zero, hidden-eye close-up shots present a character as an threatening, unstable foreign entity without relying on explicit dialogue. Our inability to access him emotionally, despite the intimacy of close-up shots, primes the audience to feel unease before overt violence appears. Through the analysis of hidden-eye close-up shots in both case studies, this study demonstrates that omitted visual elements are as narratively significant as what is revealed. By extending Hanich's framework of cinematic omission and Western interpretations of Japanese ma in media, this research contributes to the ongoing development of narrative devices in visual storytelling.