zxdvas Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 (edited) Heterochromia (particularly, eyes of different colour) has became a daily routine in anime/VN despite its rarity in life. Many find it attractive and charming. I try to locate the reason why people would prefer heterochromia, which is in principle a biological malfunction. I have yet to met a person who prefers a person with AIDS or genetic diseases. I failed to understand the difference that leads one to be prized and all others shunned. Surely artists do not care as long the characters sell but the reason it sells elude me. The only reason I can think of is scarcity but that does not explain its origin. Having run out of arsenal, I have to ask. Edit: Yes the AIDS example is bad and I would gladly take it back but my curiosity is not set back by it. Edited October 20, 2018 by zxdvas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxdvas Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 (edited) This is meant to be an aesthetic question though. I did not make any claim such as heterochromia or malfunction is bad. That said, I should have been aware that giving example and comparison would not help in some cases. It is much easier to refute an example than an argument. But if you are subtly saying that comparing heterochromia and AIDS is offensive I would take notice. Edited October 20, 2018 by zxdvas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namiultedjapanXD Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 2 for the price of 1! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDice Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 *muffled sounds of angry yelling in the distance* mitchhamilton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchhamilton Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 well, unlike aids, heterochromia wont cause you to slowly die. as for its origins, im guessing its derives from real life. people irl can have two different eye colors and someone decided to add that into a vn.... why is this a discussion? i dont really prefer it but i do like it. why have just one color eyes when you can have two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hetzer123 Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 (edited) . Edited October 2, 2019 by Hetzer123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamysyu Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Because it adds a certain unique feel to an otherwise plain face? It looks different, but not different enough to make you feel noticeably uncomfortable. And, no, comparing it to AIDS isn't valid at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuuko Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Why do real life women dye their hair to be 2 different colors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okarin Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 (edited) My 2 cents, heterochromia is just another moe aspect of a character. Just two examples about that: Steins Gate's Daru found the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) pretty sexy, and in Maitetsu you romance trains. Anything and everything can be moe-fied and made sexually appealing. AFAIK David Bowie had this "condition", and it didn't bar him of living a full life... so what's the point of comparing it to actual crippling diseases? At any rate, girls with heterochromia are something like "cute mutants"... In Miagete Goran - A sky full of stars, the eyes of the heroine with heterochromia are compared by the protag to a twin star, effectively kickstarting their relationship, that can end in a couple if you like. Edited October 20, 2018 by Okarin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thyndd Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Because rare = cool, and VNs follow the law of the coolest. This is like asking why diamonds are so valuable. A valid question, but you have to understand that value, or aesthetic value in this case, is arbitrary. UnlimitedMoeWorks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxdvas Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Kiriririri said: Why do real life women dye their hair to be 2 different colors? I honestly don't know. This is not sarcasm. --- I recall some anime tend to use hair colour and eye colour to indicate some personality so having two eye colours could be a "condensation of variety". In some country flags different colours represent different ideology and I extend this notion to eye colours. This would appear to me that heterochromia is a physical metaphor for competing personality. Now this unstable psyche is certainly ideal for a writer or artist as much creativity is allowed without ruining the character. And to audiences, the competition of personality is romantic. Edited October 20, 2018 by zxdvas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamysyu Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 4 minutes ago, zxdvas said: I recall some anime tend to use hair colour and eye colour to indicate some personality It's not really true anymore. Nowadays most creator don't really care about what the colors are supposed to represent at all, maybe with the exceptions of pink or blond hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okarin Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 I really liked when Katawa Shoujo deconstructed that, they had a pink-haired girl, but it turns out it was dyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pik3rob Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 it's cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishounen-P Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 I have central heterochromia myself, I'd like to see some of that in VNs, it could look really pretty imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranzo Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Because like they would have nothing to fill the eyepatch all those girls wear to cover up that one eye. It will just be a empty eye socket which is hard to think of it as moe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testarossa Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 People like rare things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormwolf Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 I don't get it either, but it isn't a dealbreaker either. It does feel weird with some heroines, like saya in a sky full of starts. A bit too pronounced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YomiPlays Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Why not? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamysyu Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 1 hour ago, Bishounen-P said: I have central heterochromia myself, I'd like to see some of that in VNs, it could look really pretty imo. There's a tag for it on vndb, actually. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that central petrochemical is actually pretty common irl. I have it too, and I've met some people who also did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic;Nihlist Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 (edited) It's really a sort of charm factor. As someone else put it: "exotic" maybe? Personally I never really look for it, and if the eye differences are 'out there' or obvious it can kind of over-power the image. I also feel usually these characters are assigned quirky character archetypes, which are fine but usually also not my style. That isn't to say I don't get the appeal though, and sometimes I do notice it positively I guess. I can't say I've seen enough stories regarding characters with that particular personality trait though, so maybe I'm not qualified to speak much more about it. Basically, I think it's a visual metaphor saying "I'm different" or "I'm interesting" in a short-hand sort of way, as well as being a rare physical trait that can catch people's interest. Edited October 21, 2018 by Optimistic;Nihlist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EntireInternet Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Honestly there are probably a host of reasons as people have mentioned here. In some cases it might just be a random trait added to distinguish the character. Others it might be because the author thought it was cool looking. Some it's because it directly relates to some 'power' the character has (the eyes being an important symbol/container of power in lots of anime/visual novel and other media like that). Some because it makes the character 'stand out' just like crazy hair helps characters stand out from the noise in more crowded settings to help signify that "HEY, THIS CHARACTER IS IMPORTANT SO PAY ATTENTION TO THEM." Maybe the author thought it was hot or as the guy above me said it seems exotic/out there. Any number of these reasons could be why it is there, at the author's whim, you just have to sort of look at the context of it to try and decipher why a specific author used it. Is the character cool? Probably added because they thought it was cool. Is the character otherwise pretty plain looking? Maybe it was to help distinguish them from the riff-raff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleshogun Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Because it's quite exotic or fascinating, and it's definitely add the charm for someone who like it. And I think all of those answers above should tell enough in regard of the reason for heterochromia heroines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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