History Main / HiddenEyes

See also TheFaceless, FaceFramedInShadow, and KubrickStare. Sometimes, the eyes are hidden behind a pair of ScaryShinyGlasses. It's possible to hide them just enough to appear to have BlackEyesOfEvil or a GhostlyGape. For characters that literally and permanently lack eyes, see EyelessFace. See also HidingBehindYourBangs and ComicalAngryFace.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', All Might is consistently drawn in such a way that his eyes are obscured by shadows. Unlike in most cases of this trope, however, it is not to show him in distress or to make him more menacing (unless you're a villain he's set on defeating), as All Might is one of the most virtuous heroes in the setting. Downplayed in his true form, where his eyes are still shadowed, but his blue irises are visible. Averted in ''Anime/MyHeroAcademiaTwoHeroes'', when All Might is restored to his physical prime and his striking blue eyes are unobscured.

* In ''Manga/OtoXMaho'', Kanata's eyes vanish when you hit one of his {{Berserk Button}}s. It generally leads to a laughably one-sided beatdown.

* A common way ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom'' is depicted, whenever he's not wearing his mask or some kind of sunglasses. Expect some rather bizarre shadows whenever he lies in bed talking with his wife.
* This is standard form for ComicBook/ThePunisher, especially when drawn by [[http://i.imgur.com/jllN7.jpg Tim Bradstreet.]]
* This happens to ComicBook/{{Raven}} quite a bit in ''ComicBook/TeenTitans''.

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* Boober on ''Series/FraggleRock'' has eyes which are ostensibly hidden by his shock of red hair, though in actuality the puppet used for the character didn't even have eyes. The character ''must'' have them though, since he's never been implied to be blind. (Though how he can see if his eyes are completely covered by his hair is still confusing).
[[/folder]]

* In ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'', Mahiro has to play TheBeard for someone, all while Nyarko watches and has typical ClingyJealousGirl reactions (like mentally wishing for [[Manga/DeathNote a notebook that kills people]]). When they go to a restaurant, Nyarko pulls Mahiro aside and begs him to end the charade; rather thoughtlessly, he tells her [[WhamLine "If it bugs you that much, just go home."]] At that point, Nyarko develops Hidden Eyes and doesn't say another word for the rest of the day, making it painfully obvious that we're not supposed to be laughing anymore.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' -- Pretty much every member of Night Raid does this at least once every other episode, [[spoiler:usually right after they head back to their HQ after someone else has inevitably died]].
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' [[spoiler:Ymir]] appears with her eyes constantly hidden in the Paths. A flashback to her life has every individuals eyes hidden in shadows as well. [[spoiler:When Eren sympathizes with Ymir and tells her she can choose what to do, her eyes are revealed as she [[NotSoStoic breaks down crying]]]].

* Ururu Tsumugiya from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' (pictured above) does this when she enters Hollow-killing mode, much to the horror of some of the people she hunts.
** Ichigo does this in Chapter 397.

* Pretty much every episode of ''Manga/CaseClosed'', wherein Kogoro/Richard is rendered unconscious so that Conan can imitate his voice to solve the crime without revealing his secret identity. Apparently, no one minds that Kogoro/Richard stares at his feet and doesn't move during his flashes of insight...
** ...instead, they decide it's his signature crime-solving pose and dub him "Sleeping Kogoro."
* ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' has this crop up occasionally, in particular with Aion in Chrono's nightmares and flashbacks.
** In the manga, Chrono himself has this happen for a few panels in the Marionette Train arc.
* Among many characters in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. Most notably with Rolo, Suzaku, Shirley, and Lelouch.
** One example of this occurs when Lelouch attends the funeral of [[spoiler:his friend Shirley's father]] -- whose death he inadvertently caused.

* Happens to Light Yagami from ''Manga/DeathNote'' whenever he's feeling particularly evil. Coupled with his EvilLaugh Perhaps it's to hide those GlowingEyesOfDoom.
** Not just evil by any means -- most of his genuine emotional responses get hidden behind his hair. After all, when Light actually ''reveals'' his emotions, it's the stuff that the titles of pivotal chapters are made of.

* In an episode of ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', Juri falls suspect to this during an emotional MindRape period. The funny part is that the English dub ended up ''drawing eyes for her'', not only ruining the effect of the scene but also causing the animation to clash horribly.
* ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'' uses this effect a few times, usually as a sign someone is falling into a trap laid by Taichi or Neo and they're trying not to give it away.

* Nyuu of ''Manga/ElfenLied'' exhibits Hidden Eyes when she switches to her Lucy persona.
** And Lucy has [[GoodEyesEvilEyes different eye shapes]] even. It's a mark of the berserk state, as Nana does this the few times she loses control.

* Ditto with ''Manga/FruitsBasket''.

* Rakka from ''Anime/HaibaneRenmei'', on at least two occasions.

* A somewhat less serious instance of this happens in ''[[VideoGame/HarukanaruTokiNoNakaDe Harukanaru Toki no Naka de -- Hachiyou Shou]]'' Episode 5, when Tenma tells Akane how much he cares for her, wants to protect her, doesn't want her to cry... and Akane replies that she won't cry anymore and will do her best... together with everybody -- [[ObliviousToLove completely failing to realize that Tenma likes her]]. Cut to the speechless Tenma with Hidden Eyes.
* Both in manga and anime, ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'' mastered this. It happens many many times in each chapter/episode. All characters do this, especially Hayate. Though usually there are some vertical lines instead of shadow on their faces.
** A notable example is [[spoiler:Hayate's big brother, whose eyes remain hidden up until little Athena finally reveals the dream she's been refusing to let herself believe -- meeting Hayate again]].
* The ''Anime/{{Hellsing}}'' OVA uses a variant on the trope for dramatic embellishment. Seras arrives to the aid of Sir Integra (and revealing to Father Anderson that she is now a true vampire). Anderson warns Iscariot not to engage her since she's now vastly more powerful. He then comments on her change, noting how her eyes look like windows into the abyss. At this time, only one of her glowing red eyes is visible behind her bangs but covered in shadow. He then notes how human she still appears. She lifts her head out of the shadow, and her bangs shift to cover her other eye and emphasize Anderson's words about her dual nature.
* Happened a few times in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', along with just about every other way to convey insanity.

** Also happens pretty often in its SpiritualSuccessor, ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' (at least, the anime adaptation).

* ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'': Albert does this a lot in the latter half of the series.

* ''Manga/InuYasha'' could have an entire subpage of this:
** Sesshomaru goes through one of these [[spoiler:when Rin dies a second time, and he can't just revive her again with his sword]].
** During ''The Final Act'', [[spoiler:Midoriko]]'s eyes are never actually shown.
* Hazumu of ''Manga/KashimashiGirlMeetsGirl'' has these for almost all of Episode 1. We don't see them until he [[ItMakesSenseInContext gets whacked by a spaceship and becomes a girl]].
** Anytime the show flashes back to her previous gender, his eyes are always hidden.

* Hino of ''VideoGame/LaCordaDOro'' gets these during her BreakTheCutie process.

* Happens quite often to Minami in ''Manga/LuckyStar''.
** PlayedForLaughs with Tsukasa in Episode 6 after she saw a bug crawl out of the shell she'd just listened to the sound of the ocean in.
* Anime/{{Madlax}} gets these when she falls victim to Enfant's MindRape "Elda Taluta" attack.
* Used on the Wolkenritters in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' during their final battle against Nanoha and Fate, after the identity of their master had been discovered by the two and [[HeKnowsTooMuch they're forced to kill them to prevent the TSAB from finding out]].
** Also Nanoha in ''[=StrikerS=]'' when releasing Raising Heart, just before her BarehandedBladeBlock on Subaru and Teana. This coupled with some OffModel animation in the TV version, caused some viewers to doubt whether she was emotionally sound at the time.

* Heero and Zechs have both done this in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing''. Usually, this means some poor mook(s)' about to die...

* Used on just about [[ThereAreNoTherapists everyone]] in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' at least once.

* Hayate from ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'' has these in the first episode when told that the Knights will have to find the [[MagicalGirl Pretear]] (which he objects to), and later in the series when he is about to reveal the {{backstory}} to Himeno.
** Sasame also gets this as he questions his motives [[spoiler:right before his HeelFaceTurn]].

* Sekai and Kotonoha repeatedly in ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays''.

* There are various times in ''Anime/YuGiOh'' where eyes are obscured by hair or by shadow. For example, in the Orichalcos arc, Yami's eyes are first obscured after losing Yugi's soul to Rafael, as well as the darkness inside him. The second time reverses that, where he conquers his darkness and saves Yugi.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'''s protagonist frequently uses a subversion -- he briefly does this and appears to be [[SeriousBusiness metaphorically or literally hurt by a particularly strong attack]], and often seems to be sobbing or trembling, but then is revealed to be laughing in joy from his passion for the game, and enjoying the close match.
** And then played fully straight during his {{Deconstruction}} in the third season, likely to highlight the change in his character as he crosses the DespairEventHorizon.

* A common way ''[[ComicStrip/ThePhantom The Phantom]]'' is depicted, whenever he's not wearing his mask or some kind of sunglasses. Expect some rather bizarre shadows whenever he lies in bed talking with his wife.

* In ''Fanfic/RemnantsBizarreAdventure'', when the group confronted [[Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable Toshikazu Hazamada]], everyone was furious that he had been planning to [[spoiler:use Surface to paralyze Pyrrha so he could rape her.]] How did [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby Rose]] express that anger?

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. In "The Candidate", Oliver Queen notices his sister Thea has become disturbing violent in taking down criminals [[CameBackWrong after being brought back to life]]. As no-one else in Team Arrow is taking his concerns seriously, Oliver provokes Thea until she attacks him, with the hood of her superhero costume falling across her eyes to show she's literally BlindedByRage.

* In ''VideoGame/TheComaCuttingClass'', this trope is the reason Youngho doesn't initially realize what Ms. Song has become. The shadow hides [[spoiler:eyes that are pupilless and pitch-black]].

* The constantly antagonistic [[spoiler:Pokey/Porky Minch]] from ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'' and ''VideoGame/Mother3'' has his eyes always hidden on his sprites.

* In ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'', Kamila gets these at one point [[spoiler:when she is possessed by Yomiel]].
* [[DependingOnTheArtist It depends on the artist]], but a distinctive trait of [[VideoGame/FinalFight Hu]][[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII go]] is that the shading below his large brow ridge is dark enough that his eyes can only vaguely be seen. Sometimes, it's outright pitch-black. However, this trope is ''quickly'' [[AvertedTrope averted]] whenever he's [[WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises surprised]].
* In a rare Western case, some ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' artwork has 47's eyes unrealistically shrouded in shadow.

* The Hunter from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' (if you look under its hood, it doesn't even have eyes)

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s [[FinalBoss Asgore]] uses a variant of this: during his battle, his head is always faced down, with his eyes in shadow. This achieves the effect of making him look more fearsome, [[spoiler:but also reveals an important facet of his character: he cannot bear to look you in the eye while he tries to kill you]].

* The Player's Character in the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' Tag Force series constantly wears a red baseball cap, which always shields his eyes. Even when the transition from 3 to 4 (and consequently, GX to 5Ds. The trademark red cap is still there, only with a different logo. The original cap (with the Duel Academy logo) is hanging on a coat rack in the character's house.)

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* In ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'', many characters have moments when they have eyes hidden, particularly Tomoya when he's not feeling well.
* [[ShrinkingViolet Yuri]] from ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' tends to have her eyes hidden when she gets particularly embarrassed like when, in Act 2, she accidentally reveals that she took the player character's pen.
* Maya when channeling a spirit [[spoiler:(actually, Mimi Miney)]] in the second case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll''.
** Played with in the fourth game, ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney''. [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/aceattorney/images/d/dc/Winfred_Kitaki_Portrait.png/revision/latest?cb=20170204054056 Winfred Kitaki]]'s eyes appear [[FaceFramedInShadow hidden by shadows]], giving him a grim and emotionally distant look to fit his imposing presence as the {{Yakuza}} father of Apollo's new client, [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster Wocky]]. [[spoiler: However, they're actually [[BigOlEyebrows Big Ol Furry Eyebrows]] that conceal [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/aceattorney/images/3/33/Winfred-Eyebrows_Up-1-HD.gif/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20210523022658 his real small and puppy-like eyes]], a fact only unveiled when he tells his rambunctious son the reason he's [[ReformedCriminal choosing to go straight]] is in order to pay for the kid's operation with clean money that wasn't earned from the life that got him shot.]]
** Also in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', [[TheRival Klavier Gavin]] has his hair cover his eyes [[spoiler: as he's forced to prosecute his own brother and [[ShutUpHannibal dismiss him]]. With [[https://i.redd.it/o4hsojkok9r71.png the angle he's posed at]], it almost looks like he's hiding tears]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', used on [[http://piandao.org/screencaps/ep26/ep26-1510.png Toph]] in her debut episode when her [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent overprotective parents]] refuse to let her go along with the gang. She then proceeds to take matters into her own hands and run away from home.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' gets a terrifying one from [[spoiler:Giffany]] when Soos tells her he's [[spoiler:breaking off their relationship for Melody, a human]].

* Done a few times in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', particularly among both Raven and Terra.

[[caption-width-right:350:You'd freak out too if you saw a creepy-crawlie come out of the shell you'd just held to your ear.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:You'd freak out too if you saw a creepy-crawlie come out of the shell you just heard the beautiful sound of the ocean in...]]

* In ''Webcomic/LightningMadeOfOwls'', Delkin's eyes are always hidden, sometimes by bangs, sometimes by opaque eyewear of some kind.