BIG EYES & BISHONEN || A visual history of anime character design & the trends that defined the decades

From the saucer-like eyes of Astro Boy to the impossibly spiky hair of Goku and the elegant silhouettes of the Sailor Scouts, anime character designs are instantly recognizable. But have you ever stopped to wonder why these specific styles exist? These iconic looks are not random; they are the product of a rich, evolving history shaped by technological limitations, cultural shifts, and the boundless creativity of visionary artists. This journey through time reveals how a post-war fascination with Western cartoons morphed into the diverse and influential art form we know today. We will trace the visual DNA of anime, exploring the key trends that defined each decade and created the characters that captured the hearts of millions worldwide.

The Osamu Tezuka effect: The birth of an aesthetic

Any discussion of anime design must begin with one name: Osamu Tezuka. Often called the “Godfather of Manga” and “the Walt Disney of Japan,” Tezuka’s influence in the 1960s and 70s is impossible to overstate. He didn’t invent the large eyes common in anime, but he codified them into a powerful storytelling tool. Heavily inspired by the expressive character work of American animators like Walt Disney and Max Fleischer, particularly characters like Bambi and Betty Boop, Tezuka saw large eyes as a “window to the soul.” They allowed for a greater range of emotion on the page and screen, a crucial feature when working with the cost-saving measures of limited animation.

This era was defined by:

• Rounded and simple shapes: Characters like Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion were built from soft, appealing circles. This made them easier to animate and gave them a friendly, non-threatening appearance that resonated with a broad audience.
• Expressive, not realistic, features: The focus was on conveying feeling over anatomical accuracy. Small mouths, simple noses, and of course, those large, emotive eyes became the foundational language of anime character art.
• Function over fashion: Costumes and hairstyles were often simple and iconic, designed to be easily identifiable and reproducible by a team of animators working on tight deadlines and budgets.

This “Tezuka style” laid the groundwork for everything that followed, establishing a visual shorthand that future generations of artists would build upon, react to, and sometimes, rebel against.

The age of excess: Mecha, muscles, and moe precursors

The 1980s were a period of economic boom in Japan, and the anime industry exploded along with it. The rise of the Original Video Animation (OVA) market meant more creative freedom and bigger budgets, leading to an incredible diversification of art styles. The soft, rounded look of the 70s gave way to a grittier, more detailed aesthetic. This decade was a study in contrasts, pushing designs to new extremes.

On one end of the spectrum was the rise of realistic mecha and science fiction. Series like Mobile Suit Gundam (technically late 70s, but its influence dominated the 80s) and Super Dimension Fortress Macross featured characters designed by artists like Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Haruhiko Mikimoto. Their designs were more anatomically grounded, with sharper, more angular faces, detailed hair, and intricate military-inspired outfits. On the other extreme, hyper-masculinity reigned in action series like Fist of the North Star, with impossibly muscular heroes defining a powerful, gritty look. At the same time, the seeds of a different trend were being sown. Characters like Lum from Urusei Yatsura introduced a new, stylized form of cuteness, a precursor to the moe aesthetic that would dominate decades later.

The digital dawn: Sharper lines and the shonen boom

The 1990s marked a pivotal transition as animation production began shifting from physical cels to digital processes. This technological leap had a profound impact on character design. Colors became brighter and more consistent, lines became crisper, and the “cel dust” and imperfections of the past vanished. This new, clean look perfectly complemented the decade’s defining genre: shonen action. Series like Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Slam Dunk took over the world, and their character designs became legendary.

This era is famous for its angularity. Faces were often constructed with sharp chins and jawlines, and the hair became a character in itself. Gravity-defying, spiky hairstyles were a way to create a unique and instantly recognizable silhouette for a massive cast of characters. While the masculine heroes were all sharp muscles and intense glares, the 90s also perfected a new kind of male ideal: the bishonen, or “beautiful boy.” Popularized in shojo anime like Sailor Moon and Fushigi Yuugi, and even crossing into shonen with series like Gundam Wing, the bishonen was slender, elegant, and possessed a captivating, almost androgynous beauty. The big eyes of the Tezuka era remained, but now they were filled with intricate gradients, detailed irises, and sharp, reflective highlights.

The moe millennium and beyond: Homogenization and diversification

As anime entered the 21st century, digital animation became the standard, and a new aesthetic rose to prominence: moe. Moe refers to a feeling of strong affection for cute, often innocent, female characters. This design philosophy, heavily influenced by the art of visual novels, swept through the industry. Moe character design is characterized by incredibly large, expressive eyes, tiny “dot” noses and mouths, round faces (often called “moon faces”), and an overall soft and youthful appearance. Studios like Kyoto Animation became masters of this style with hits like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and K-On!.

This trend led to debates about “same face syndrome,” where characters from different series began to look strikingly similar, distinguished only by their hair color and accessories. However, to claim the modern era is only about moe would be a mistake. The accessibility of digital tools has also led to an explosion of stylistic diversity. We see studios like TRIGGER pushing dynamic, highly stylized, and western-influenced animation in Kill la Kill and Promare. We see a return to grittier, more manga-faithful designs in shows like Jujutsu Kaisen. And we see unique, experimental aesthetics in series like Mob Psycho 100 and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! The modern era is a fascinating tug-of-war between dominant commercial trends and bold artistic individuality.

Conclusion

The history of anime character design is a captivating story of evolution. It began with Osamu Tezuka’s foundational, Disney-inspired aesthetic of simple shapes and big eyes designed to convey maximum emotion. This gave way to the detailed, angular, and often excessive styles of the 80s, which then sharpened into the iconic shonen and bishonen looks of the 90s digital boom. The new millennium saw the rise of the soft, round moe aesthetic, which continues to be popular today. Yet, alongside these dominant trends, unique and experimental styles have always flourished. Anime design is not a straight line but a vibrant, branching tree. It’s a constant dialogue between technology, artistic vision, and audience tastes, ensuring that the faces of tomorrow’s anime will be just as innovative and unforgettable as those of the past.

Image by: Markus Winkler
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