Line #45 Main/EyesAreMental


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6	->'''Giles:''' How did you know it was me?\
7	'''Buffy:''' Your eyes. You're the only person in the world that can look that annoyed with me.
8	-->-- ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', "A New Man"
9
10	It seems that by some law of Shapeshifting, {{shapeshift\|ing}}ers are unable to change their eyes, no matter how skilled they are at changing form. [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody Showing the eye changing or corrupting into that of a different species is an effective way of showing mental takeover or transformation-induced humanity loss thanks to this.]] See GlamourFailure for a similar trope and VoicesAreMental for the vocal version of this trope.
11
12	A specific type of MorphicResonance. Much like VoicesAreMental, some examples may be visible to other characters, others are merely StylizedForTheViewer. Heavy overlap with EyeDentityGiveaway, with the major difference being in that a person's eye color or design is what indicates whether or not a person is an imposter.
13
14	----
15	!!Examples:
16	[[foldercontrol]]
17
18	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
19	* You can tell when someone is possessed in ''Manga/DreamEaterMerry'' by their eyes. Since people out of the loop react more to their friends' [[DemonicPossession bizarre behaviour]] than anything else, it's probably for the audience's benefit.
20	* ''Anime/DoraemonGreatAdventureInTheAntarcticKachiKochi'' has the gang being tricked by a shapeshifting robot, Yamitem, who captured and imprisoned Doraemon and attempts to lead the gang into a deathtrap, until the ''real'' Doraemon breaks free of his bonds and tries warning the others. While Yamitem tries manipulating the gang into attacking Doraemon, Nobita however managed to identify the Doraemon leading them is an imposter by looking into their eyes.
21	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
22	** When Trafalgar Law switches people's minds around, their eyes change as well. Except for Nami (in the manga). In the anime, Nami's eye color changes from orange to blue, despite the fact that Sanji doesn't have blue eyes (but it ''is'' his ColorMotif).
23	** Den Den Mushi get not only the voices but also the eyes of the person on the other side. When Doflamingo is the speaker, the snail imitates ''his sunglasses''.
24	* The dragons in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' all keep their reptilian pupils when they take on human form, though the distribution of colour on the iris changes (instead of a darker colour outlining the pupil it becomes a gradient from top to bottom). Lucoa is an exception to the rule, though that's probably because she was originally a goddess.
25	* ''Anime/DigimonFusion'': Shoutmon normally [[AvertedTrope averts]] this, as the CombiningMecha-esque nature of [[FusionDance DigiXros]] means that most of his advanced forms have entirely new heads. It's played straight in the GrandFinale as a demonstration of just how strong Shoutmon's HeroicSpirit has become (and [[TheGoodKing how much his people believe in him to lead them]]), with [[InnocentBlueEyes his normal blue eyes]] staying unchanged and continuing to stare down the BigBad even as the rest of his body morphs into his ultimate combined form.
26	* ''Manga/KaijuGirlCaramelise'': Whenever Kuroe Akaishi transforms into [[{{Kaiju}} Harugon]], her eyes retain the same pink colour and heart-shaped pupils she has as a human.
27	* ''Anime/QueensBlade'': [[SlimeGirl Melona]] can shapeshift and mimic other almost perfectly except for the fact she retains her trademark plus-shaped pupils.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Comic Books]]
31	* ''ComicBook/TheGirlFromTheSea'': In human form Keltie has enormous pupils matching those of her other form, a seal. People note that Keltie's eyes are very weird so it seems that selkies can't change the seal eyes they're born with. [[spoiler: Earl, Keltie's predecessor as the Bay's Selkie has the same issue, and [[InhumanEyeConcealers his own solution.]]]]
32	* Issue 21 of the ''ComicBook/InvaderZimOni'' comic books features a double bodyswap, featuring Zim switching with Gaz, and GIR switching with Dib. All of them kept their own eyes, except Gaz, who kept a tuft of her hair (though her eyes stay shut as is normally the case for her, so it's unclear if Zim's body now has her eyes or not).
33	* PlayedForHorror in ''ComicBook/RiseOfTheThirdArmy'' when converted over into a member of the eponymous Third Army their eyes remain unchanged . The '''Heart''' is ejected in the transformation but the eyes remain the same. However any life or recognition is robbed from those eyes, showing nothing is left inside.
34	* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' we occasionally view Dream of the Endless through the eyes of other creatures, who see him as a member of their own race or species, (whether their perception differs or he shapeshifts based on their expectations is never made clear). One way the reader always knows it's him is his eyes, which are black and seem to contain stars no matter what the rest of him looks like.
35	* {{Downplayed\|Trope}} in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW''. Whenever Mimic the Octopus transforms into someone, he always retains a pair of brown eyes, even though he normally has white eyes with black sclera.
36	* In ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'', Johnny Storm cheers up Ben Grimm by commenting that his eyes never changed. This is something that's always been a part of the Thing, it's why Ben is "the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing." The dialogue goes something like this:
37	-->'''Johnny:''' Your eyes never changed, you know.\
38	'''Ben:''' Huh?\
39	'''Johnny:''' Your eyes never changed. I mean, yeah, the rest of you is a freak, but your eyes are still the same. \
40	'''Ben:''' You noticed my eyes?\
41	'''Johnny:''' I notice stuff. I'm not smart like Reed or Sue, but I notice stuff.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Fan Works]]
45	* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this Franchise/MonsterVerse fanfiction, across all of [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonMonsterX Monster X]]'s forms from when the TwoBeingsOneBody Titan is originally formed, one thing that remains consistent is that both halves' respective eye colours (San's red eyes and Vivienne Graham's hazel eyes) are retained.
46	* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' plays with this in the sequel - Harry's picked out by Coulson when he changes almost all of his appearance by his eye colour alone because he couldn't change it (though the fact that he changed his hair colour to the striking deep red of his mother and Grey cousins was also a hint). However, this is suggested to be more due to limits on his skills at self-transfiguration, as he didn't want to risk blinding himself.
47	* ''Webcomic/CutieMarkCrusaders10k'': No matter what form Applejack assumes, her eyes always remain their usual bright green.
48	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11989539/1/Hakkōna Hakkōna]]'': [[spoiler:Feliciano was able to tell that the leopard who nearly attacked him was Kiku because of familiar black eyes.]]
49	-->[[spoiler:Forcing open one brown eye, he saw the reason why; the beast had frozen over, piercing ebon orbs wide. Wait—piercing ebon orbs?! Those orbs belonged to only one person and one person only...]]
50	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12023508/1/Kaitō-Kokoro Kaitō Kokoro]]'': Feliciano noticed a ''strong'' resemblance between Kiku's and Nihon's eyes. [[spoiler:It's because they are the same.]]
51	-->A jovial laugh rang out. "Well, I highly doubt there are any other Clouded Leopards that are black all over and have bodies five feet long." Piercing ebon orbs widened as his cheeks were cupped, brought close to hazel. "But his most memorable feature is his black eyes...which look so much like yours." Realization dawned on him. "They look exactly like yours! I wonder why?"
52	-->"M-Maybe it's just a coincidence?!" This is not good! Not good at all!
53	* From the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/6226924 Happily Ever After]]'': After [[spoiler: Pyrrha and Amber]] destroy [[spoiler: Cinder's]] soul and [[spoiler: Pyrrha]] takes over her body permanently, the eyes on the body change from [[spoiler: Cinder's yellow]] to [[spoiler: Pyrrha's green]]. It's left unclear if the eyes changed earlier when [[spoiler: Pyrrha]] temporarily took over, since the scene was from [[spoiler: Cinder's]] point-of-view, and she (obviously) cannot see her own eyes.
54	* ''Fanfic/TheSacredAndTheProfane'': Caphriel wears sunglasses because anyone who sees his eyes immediately realizes he's an angel incarnate -- they look [[TimeAbyss thousands of years older]] than the rest of their body and make viewers devastatingly aware that he can see into their souls, down to the darkest and most intimate parts of them, and loves them anyway.
55	* In the same vein, Teatime's eyes in ''Fanfic/ResurrectionMen'' are a fanfic example of eyes showing true nature.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
59	* ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'': Combines this with ''nose'' resonance when Shrek takes the Happily Ever After potion; his nose shape and eye colour, if not the size, resonate in his new [[HumanityEnsues human]] form.
60	* In ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast,'' the Beast has very human blue eyes even in his monstrous form. When he turns back into a prince at the end, Belle seems confused if he really is the same person, until she looks into said eyes and sees that they're the same.
61	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': [[spoiler:[[Characters/{{Brave}} Queen Elinor]]]] retains her original eyes in her bear form -- except when she's going feral and her human mind is subsumed due to the curse's effects, at which point her eyes turn all-black and animal-like.
62	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'', if you pay close attention, this is a tell for the title character's shapeshifting watch, as he still has his green eyes whenever he uses it to disguise himself as someone else, despite that someone else never having green eyes. [[spoiler:It is used to shapeshift into someone who already has green eyes once, but in this case, it's the brown-eyed Minion disguised as Megamind while Megamind himself uses another watch with the same tell to disguise himself as Metro Man.]]
63	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', when Mei and her female relatives turn into giant red pandas, their eyes look the same instead of having large irises and small sclera like real red pandas.
64	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolfwalkers}}'', a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Wolfwalker's]] eyes will always look the same regardless of whether they're a human or a wolf. This is especially notable with Robyn, since unlike Mebh and Moll she doesn't [[MorphicResonance keep any of her other physical traits]] as a wolf aside from her blue eyes.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
68	* In Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'' it's not revealed to the audience that the Cheshire cat has [[spoiler: transformed into the Mad Hatter]] until he looks up and we see his cat eyes.
69	* One of the ways the audience can tell who the prawn shown at the end of ''Film/District9'' is, is by its eyes. It has one blue eye and one yellow one, [[spoiler:just as Wikus did around the 72nd hour of his transformation into a prawn.]]
70	* A non-monster example in ''Film/HeavenCanWait1978''. At the end of the movie, when Betty looks into Jarrett's eyes she recognizes that he's actually Joe in Jarrett's body.
71	* Borderline example in ''Film/{{Hook}}''. In this case, the "monster" is just a grown-up, but a Lost Boy recognizes him as The Pan after looking into his eyes.
72	* ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'': The Ditto can't change its BlackBeadEyes when it [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifts]] into other Pokemon or {{humans\|hifting}}. Overlaps with RedRightHand when it [[spoiler:impersonates Roger Clifford, necessitating some SinisterShades to hide them]]. Tim is [[LampshadeHanging extremely creeped out]] by the effect when the Ditto turns into [[spoiler:his love interest]].
73	* ''Film/{{Scanners}}'': After their psychic WizardDuel, [[spoiler:[[BigBad Darryl Revok]]]]'s eyes change colour to match [[spoiler:Cameron Vale]]'s, signifying that the latter has survived his apparent death by pulling a GrandTheftMe on the former. Doubles with VoicesAreMental.
74	* Mystique from the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' movies usually has a perfect disguise, but her reptilian-like eyes will occasionally flash while in another form. That's mostly just to show the audience that it's her, but it is an in-story flaw, since the X-Men notice it on a video freeze-frame in the first film and deduce that the person in question is actually her.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Literature]]
78	* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': Inverted in #6 The Capture. [[spoiler: After the group has realized that Jake is being controlled by a Yeerk, one of them looks in his eyes and comments that "all {they} can see is Jake".]] However, it was the brief look of intense hatred in his eyes that tipped off Ax in the first place.
79	* ''Literature/BeautyARetellingOfBeautyAndTheBeast'': In the first book of this series, Creator/RobinMcKinley writes that the [[UncannyValley most unsettling thing about the Beast's appearance]] is that while the rest of him is completely monstrous, his eyes are human.
80	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': This trope became a major rule in this series by Creator/TerryPratchett.
81	** ''Literature/InterestingTimes'': "Gods can take any form, but the one aspect of themselves they cannot change is their eyes, which show their nature." The Lady and Fate are mentioned as specific examples.
82	** This applies to everyone in the Discworld universe. Nothing magical can change the appearance of a creature's eyes, even though you can potentially change every other part of their body.
83	** The Cunning Man in ''Literature/IShallWearMidnight'' has no eyes, just tunnels that let you see through his head. [[HumanoidAbomination This is a very, very bad sign.]]
84	* ''Literature/TheFirstLaw'': Although never explicitly stated, the mage Yoru Sulfur is a shapechanger with one blue eye and one green eye. No matter what he looks like, his mismatched eye colours always stay the same. This is invariably the way the reader is alerted to the fact that a particular character is actually Yoru in disguise.
85	* In ''Literature/GoodOmens'' by Creator/TerryPratchett and Creator/NeilGaiman, angels and demons can more or less choose their size and shape, but [[HellishPupils there's a reason Crowley the serpent-demon doesn't like to take his sunglasses off]].
86	* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'': Harry is disguised through a Polyjuice Potion and looks nothing like himself. [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Luna Lovegood]] promptly greets him by his actual name, not realising that he is disguised for a good reason. When Harry wonders how she could tell, Luna just shrugs and says it was something about his eyes.
87	* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': At the end of the first book [[spoiler:the monsters have the same eyes as the dead tributes, and their fur is the same colour as the corresponding tribute's hair]].
88	* The master in ''Literature/{{Krabat}}'' has the magic to take on a different appearance, but he'll always be missing the one eye he lacks in real life. Also applies to animals he creates. (When Krabat tries to run away, he repeatedly meets black animals with one eye -- it's ambiguous whether they're the shapeshifted master or created by him.)
89	* ''Literature/{{Patternist}}'': Anyanwu is a skilled, ancient {{Bioman\|ipulation}}cer, but her eyes betray a hint of her true nature no matter what form she takes:
90	-->People said her eyes were like babies' eyes -- the whites too white, the browns too deep and clear. No adult, and certainly no old woman should have such eyes, they said.
91	* In ''Literature/SummerInOrcus'', Summer meets a dragon trapped in a human body, who has reptilian eyes. [[spoiler:Later, Summer meets the human trapped in the dragon's body and realizes who she is because she has human eyes.]]
92	* In the ''Literature/WolvesOfMercyFallsSeries'', several characters mention that the wolves around town have eyes that are indescribably human-looking, and some claim to be able to recognize them as certain humans from regular life.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
96	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
97	** In the episode "A New Man" Giles is transformed into a Fyarl demon. None of the Scoobies realize this and instead want to know what the demon has done with Giles. Buffy recognizes Giles when she looks into his eyes (while she has him pinned down and is beating the shit out of him) because apparently there is no-one else in the world who can look that annoyed with her.
98	** This gets a CallBack in "Who Are You?" When rogue slayer Faith does a GrandTheftMe with Buffy, Buffy-in-Faith's-body asks Giles why he can't just look into her eyes and instinctively realize it's her. Later when Tara says she worked out what happened [[AuraVision just by looking at her]], Buffy casts a snippy look at Giles, who looks embarrassed.
99	* In ''Series/StargateSG1,'' Kawalsky is revealed to be possessed by a Goa'uld when he looks at the screen (but not the rest of the cast) with the GlowingEyesOfDoom that the Goa'uld usually flashes for dramatic effect.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
103	* This is OlderThanFeudalism. Slavic oral tradition dictates that werewolves have human-y eyes while in wolf form.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Video Games]]
107	* At the start of the second act of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'', the mermaids of Nautica make the Luminary undergo an EmergencyTransformation into a fish. One of the main indicators that said fish is him (besides wearing the same bag around his waist) is that his blue eyes are the same.
108	* In ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVI'', the genie is a shapeshifter who always has golden glinting eyes, even in nonhuman form. Noticing this allows you to avoid getting tricked or killed by him.
109	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'':
110	** Link retains his blue eyes and a similar-looking gaze while in wolf form.
111	** The Hero's Shade has glowing red eyes as a wolf and a skeleton.
112	* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', anything Mario captures will have his blue eyes along with his hat and moustache (assuming the captured thing ''has'' eyes, of course).
113	* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' franchise, Ditto can transform into any Pokémon or human they see. Unfortunately, many ditto struggle with changing their beady eyes, making it easy to identify a Ditto imposter amongst a large group of Pokémon.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Webcomics]]
117	* In ''Webcomic/LastRes0rt'', most Dead Inside, even shapeshifting ones like Alice Quinn, cannot change their dead eyes. Only vampires can hide their eyes, [[spoiler: like Jigsaw, who later [[PowerCopying absorbs]] Alice's shapeshifting.]]
118	* In ''Webcomic/{{SSDD}}'', when a copy of the Oracle possesses Central his avatar has the Old Man's [[http://www.poisonedminds.com/d/20070201.html blue triangle eyes.]]
119	* In ''Webcomic/WildeLife,'' Cliff has SupernaturalGoldEyes that look wolfish even in his human form. Eliza says that "wild eyes" are fairly common among [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent animal people]].
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Web Original]]
123	* ''Website/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2750 SCP-2750 ("Navajo Skinwalkers").]] Regardless of what form SCP-2750 changes into, it will always have the eyes of its favourite animal shape.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Western Animation]]
127	* In ''WesternAnimation/AroundTheWorldWithWillyFog'', MasterOfDisguise Transfer looks and sounds exactly like whoever he's impersonating, but he has a characteristic evil glint in his eye to tip the viewer off. (As in the ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' example, the characters never notice this.)
128	* ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}'':
129	** When Ghostfreak became a separate evil entity in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'', people who were possessed by him would have his eyes instead of theirs.
130	** In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'', [[spoiler: Bullfrag]] has to conceal his eyes to not give away he's really [[spoiler:Ben, due to all his alien forms having his green eyes in this series]].
131	* Variation in ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'': when Buzz and Mira get mutated into a [[TwoBeingsOneBody single]] eye-stalked BlobMonster in one episode, the eye on Mira's side of the body is the same yellow-with-a-black-pupil as Buzz's (instead of her usual big blue PuppyDogEyes), but still has her pointy doe-eye lashes.
132	** PlayedStraight in the PilotMovie, where anyone controlled by Zurg's Zurgatronic Mega-Ray not only has Zurg's [[VoicesAreMental voice]], but also his [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes.]]
133	* In ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', when [[BigBad XANA]] possesses someone, the only visual clue is their eyes flickering and switching between normal and XANA's eye-like symbol. The same goes for [[{{Humanshifting}} polymorphic clones]] as well.
134	* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom,'' Danny has glowing green eyes in his ghost form, and anyone whom he overshadows gets them until he leaves.
135	* A one-off villain from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' called Camille the Chameleon can turn into practically anything, but her unusual yellow sclera remains unchanged. Oddly enough, the characters never mention this and are only able to tell who she is by the hiss in her voice.
136	** Earlier on, in the episode "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E13TradingFaces Trading Faces]]", an accident switches minds between Darkwing and Gosalyn and between Launchpad and Honker. They not only [[VoicesAreMental switch their voices]], but also their eyes (Darkwing gets Gosalyn's green eyes, Gosalyn gets Darkwing's BlackDotPupils and Honker's near-sightedness moves to Launchpad).
137	* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
138	** An odd example: when [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Bill Cipher]] [[DemonicPossession possesses someone]], their [[HellishPupils pupils become slits like Bill's]], but their eyes also become yellow, even though Bill's [[{{Cyclops}} eye]] is white. (Though the ''rest'' of Bill is yellow.) [[spoiler:Ford]] is apparently aware of this, since he checked Stan's eyes to make sure he wasn't possessed in [[Recap/GravityFallsS2E12ATaleOfTwoStans one flashback]], and takes off his ScaryShinyGlasses to prove he himself isn't possessed in [[Recap/GravityFallsS2E15TheLastMabelcorn another episode]]. A few episodes after that, [[spoiler:a Bill-possessed Blendin wears goggles to hide them]].
139	** Also, in the episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS1E16CarpetDiem Carpet Diem]]", whenever someone [[FreakyFridayFlip switches bodies]] with Waddles the pig, who has dots for eyes, they keep their regular eyes, but the person whose body is taken over by Waddles doesn't have Waddles' eyes. Also, Dipper still has his ExhaustedEyeBags no matter whose body he is in.
140	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' episode "Get Out of My Head!", whenever one of the characters possesses someone else, the one they're possessing gets their eyes as a result. For example, when Grim possesses Billy's cat Milkshakes as a demonstration, she has Grim's eye sockets, and when Billy possesses Mandy, she gets his BlackBeadEyes.
141	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': In "Once Upon a Swap," Eda, Luz, and King swap bodies with one another, but are still distinguishable by [[VoicesAreMental their voices]] and their eyes -- Eda's body has Luz's big brown eyes, King's body has Eda's yellow eyes with winged eyeliner, and Luz has King's yellow sclera and purple pupils (as well as a single fang tooth).
142	* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' episode Recap/TeenTitansS3E5Haunted: Raven once enters into Robin's head, when the later is having visions of Slade attacking him. Raven hopes that by looking through her eyes, Robin will see that Slade isn't real, something that is conveyed visually by Robin's eyes, normally blank and white due to his mask, being replaced by Raven's eyes.
143	[[/folder]]

Context Main / EyesAreMental