| 1 | [[quoteright:330:[[Film/StarTrek2009 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spock_quinto-thumb-500x375_7066.jpg]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:330:Fascinating.]] |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | ->''Space... where people have pointy ears.'' |
| 5 | |
| 6 | What is it about pointy ears? |
| 7 | |
| 8 | For some reason, the fastest, most reliable way to establish someone (or thing) as not human is to give them {{unusual|Ears}}ly pointy ears. Whether it be [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]], [[RubberForeheadAliens aliens]], or [[OurMonstersAreDifferent stranger fare]], having those ears point skyward is all it takes to [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman knock them down]] ([[CantArgueWithElves or up]]) a peg. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | The size, shape and length of the ears can vary, and this affects the nature of the species they're on. Normal ears with a slightly pointy tip? Probably an alien or an elf, but might be a demon or even a vampire, so be on your guard. Long and tubular pointy ears that are a bit ratty? Then it's a filthy monster/mutant that is AlwaysChaoticEvil and must be [[KillItWithFire purged with flame]]. Dog or cat-like ears that move, with tufts of fur? Probably a BeastMan or WolfMan, back away slowly without making eye contact. Or perhaps long, gracefully arching ears? Then they're ''obviously'' [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]] or something ''far'' above mere human, and must be treated with respect and humility because they have all kinds of kickass magic and martial prowess. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Here's a short list of these pointy-eared inhuman hobgoblins: |
| 13 | * [[RubberForeheadAlien Aliens]], most prominently ''Franchise/StarTrek'' Vulcans. |
| 14 | * [[BeastMan Beast Men]] or part animal {{Half Human Hybrid}}s, most prominently the WolfMan and FaunsAndSatyrs. |
| 15 | * [[OurElvesAreDifferent Elves]] and [[OurFairiesAreDifferent Fairies]], most commonly any of the Creator/JRRTolkien variety and its derivatives. |
| 16 | ** ChristmasElves |
| 17 | ** If they're also aliens, then you have SpaceElves. |
| 18 | * [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demons]] and [[OurMonstersAreDifferent Monsters]], usually {{O|urOrcsAreDifferent}}rcs and Goblins. |
| 19 | * [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]], especially those that [[LooksLikeOrlok Look Like Orlok]]. |
| 20 | * {{Mutants}}, as is the case of several ComicBook/XMen like Nightcrawler. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Note that pointed ears does occur in humans and is usually a symptom of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome Williams syndrome]], a rare genetic disorder, which makes a person appear 'elfine', makes them a little too overly social and friendly, and may have been the inspiration for elves. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | The origins of this trope in Western culture are rooted in depictions of faeries and demons across centuries, making monsters look horrific and unappealing, pointing out a connection with animals, and/or conveying that a character is uncanny and otherwordly. Perhaps the oldest use of pointy ears in supernatural creatures are the FaunsAndSatyrs from Myth/ClassicalMythology, debauched beings of the wild with animalistic features such as donkey or goat-like ears, and this trait influenced other imageries. Like many other fantasy tropes, however, [[TropeCodifier it was only in the artwork of the Victorian Era in the 19th century that this motif became widespread]], when elves and fairies were frequently seen with such a feature — possibly inspired by popular portrayals of beings like the folkloric figure Puck Goodfellow and the aforementioned satyrs, as in folklore, elves were actually not usually described to have unusual ears in specific, with their difference from humans often being more abstract and subtle —, especially in the arts of Richard Dadd and John Anster Fitzgerald. This trait carried on and became a convention in fantasy media, and later, other genres. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | A SubTrope of UnusualEars. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | ---- |
| 29 | !!Examples: |
| 30 | %% |
| 31 | %% |
| 32 | %% All of the examples below have been alphabetized. Please consult Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings to help keep this page, and other pages, sorted. Thank you. |
| 33 | %% |
| 34 | %% |
| 35 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 36 | |
| 37 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 38 | * Elves in ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWar'', ''Anime/ThoseWhoHuntElves'', ''Anime/RuneSoldierLouie'' and many other imitators of ''Lodoss''. Dwarves, such as Ghim, have smaller, less pointy ears that look a bit more humanoid. |
| 39 | ** ''Lodoss War'' was the TropeCodifier for "jigokumimi" on elves; that specific style of long, tapered ear bled into ''every'' following depiction of elves in Japanese media and even into a large number of Western productions, most notably ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''. |
| 40 | * ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': |
| 41 | ** Elves are traditional depictions of fairies that have pointy ears. |
| 42 | ** Oddly, the main character and roughly half the cast (including extras) early on have ears that are pointy to a lesser degree, despite being entirely human. There is no explanation for this in-story; it may just be [[StylizedForTheViewer artistic]] or some weird way some [[OurHumansAreDifferent people from Midland are different from people in real life]], but that doesn't explain the lack of new characters with pointy ears. It may simply be because [[ArtEvolution the author's style has shifted]], and he decided to keep Guts' ears as [[SuperPoweredEvilSide symbolic]]. |
| 43 | * Inverted in ''Anime/TheBigO'', where all of the humans in Paradigm City have pointed ears. It's probably just the art style, but the show is so full of MindScrew (it's the {{Trope Namer|s}} for TomatoInTheMirror) that you can't be sure of anything. |
| 44 | * In ''Manga/BlueExorcist'' demons have long, pointed ears. Rin, being a half-demon, has only slightly pointed ears when his sword, which seals his demon powers, is sheathed. |
| 45 | * The demons of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade''. |
| 46 | * ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'': Some Claymores have pointy ears, and seeing that they are [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demon]], the amount of yoki an individual has might have something to do with it. |
| 47 | * The Abliarsec royal family in ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars''. |
| 48 | * Wei Zhijun, a Contractor from ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', has pointy ears for no apparent reason. |
| 49 | * ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'': In the main adventuring party, Marcille the elf has long, narrow ears with rounded tips. The elves who show up later have even pointier ears because [[spoiler:Marcille is secretly [[HalfHumanHybrid a half-elf]] and has suffered HalfBreedDiscrimination over it.]] |
| 50 | * A lot of the aliens and gods in ''Manga/DragonBall'' have pointed ears. |
| 51 | ** This has actually been a minor plot point, as they helped Piccolo long-distance eavesdrop on Goku's conversation with Trunks near the beginning of the Android arc. |
| 52 | * Merry from ''Manga/DreamEaterMerry'' has these. |
| 53 | * Oddly, the completely human Kaseki from ''Manga/DrStone'' has slightly pointed ears. None of the other humans do, at least the ones whose ears aren't covered by their hair. |
| 54 | * Hiruma from ''Manga/Eyeshield21'' has pointy ears that make him look downright demonic, but he's human. |
| 55 | * The half-elf Tiffania Westwood from ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero''. She has to cover them [[FantasticRacism to avoid the prejudices against her people]]. |
| 56 | * The Count in ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}''. |
| 57 | * In ''Manga/HekikaiNoAion'', Shizuki and Yuzuki, who are both demons and twins, have pointed ears. |
| 58 | * Most of the human-looking demons in ''Manga/InuYasha'' have pointed ears to establish their inhuman status, most notably Shippo, Kagura, Kōga and Lord Sesshomaru. |
| 59 | ** The sequel ''Anime/YashahimePrincessHalfDemon'' reveals that most half-demons tend to have round ears like humans. But some of them also have pointy ears. Setsuna and Towa also have round ears, but when they [[SuperpoweredEvilSide transform into pure demons]], they also get pointed ears. |
| 60 | * The Raalgon from ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'' surely count. |
| 61 | * Many of the gods and demons in ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' have elven looking ears. |
| 62 | * All vampires in ''Manga/{{Karin}}''. |
| 63 | * Guild members in ''Anime/LastExile'' have pointed ears, along with many nobles. |
| 64 | * Agito of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'', who also has bat wings and a pointed tail, giving her a demon-like look (given that her character design is based on Etna from ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}''). |
| 65 | * The Zentraedi of ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' have these, with Zentraedi/Human hybrids sometimes expressing these in later series. A {{Retcon}} as Zentraedi from the original ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' series had normal ears, but after ''[[Anime/MacrossDoYouRememberLove Do You Remember Love?]]'' depicted its Zentreadi with pointed ears, the convention was picked up by later ''Macross'' productions. |
| 66 | ** The Zolans in ''[[Anime/Macross7 Macross 7 Dynamite]]'' have even more extreme pointed ears. |
| 67 | * In ''Manga/MadeInAbyss,'' Reg has pointed ears, though they're not prominent enough to keep him from passing as human. He's some kind of robot [[AmnesiacHero of unknown origin]]. |
| 68 | * While he's not yet been seen in the games, the ''Manga/{{Metroid|Manga}}'' manga featured a pointed eared alien named Kreatz who was on Samus's squad back in her federation days. Kreatz and his partner Mauk (a hairy pig alien) were clearly designed to be shout-outs to the two founding extraterrestrial members of ''Franchise/StarTrek'''s Federation, the Vulcans and the Tellarites. Interesting because the races' personalities were inverted for Kreatz and Mauk (Kreatz's species being the insulting violent one and Mauk's being proud intellectuals but assumed to be [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warriors]] due to their appearances). |
| 69 | * Ilulu from ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid''. This can probably be chalked up to her lack of skill with transforming since all the other dragons have normal ears in their human forms. |
| 70 | * The Medicine Seller from ''Anime/{{Mononoke}}''. |
| 71 | * In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', [[ShrinkingViolet Tamaki]] [[YouAreWhoYouEat Amajiki]] sports a pair of these, presumably inherited from a parent with a mutation quirk. |
| 72 | * Princess Theodora of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. In fact, quite a few [[BeastMan Beast Men]], [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demons]], and other non-human humanoids in the Magic World have these. |
| 73 | * The [[BeastMan catlike]] race of Ctarl-Ctarl in ''Manga/OutlawStar''. |
| 74 | * In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', the [[TerribleTrio Musk Dynasty warriors]], Herb, Lime and Mint, have slightly pointed ears, hinting of their partially animalistic descent. |
| 75 | * Ashura in his clan in ''Manga/RGVeda''. |
| 76 | * Kurumu from ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' has these in her [[SuccubiAndIncubi succubus]] form. |
| 77 | * The demons (youkai) in ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}''. |
| 78 | * In ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', Elves, such as [[GenkiGirl Memphis]], have the classic small, pointed ears, although Mellyroon, an Elf from a NonSerialMovie, inexplicably has bigger ears. On the flip side, Brau Demons have large, grotesque pointed ears. Zelgadis, a chimera, has decent-sized elfish ears because a Brau Demon was implanted into his genetic makeup via magic. |
| 79 | ** Filia Ul Copt (a gold dragon who is usually in human form) is also revealed to have these in some [[http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9478/slayerstry.jpg official art]], although most of the time you can't see them because of her hood with large green orbs on the sides. Other members of her race, while in human form, also have them. However, Milgazia of the Golden Dragon clan that serves the Water Dragon King in Dragon Valley and keeper of the Claire Bible however, has rounded ears in human form. His draconic true form is hinted at instead in the shape of his eyes and pupils in anime, manga and novel art. |
| 80 | * Members of the strongly telepathic Jirel species in ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato2199'', including [[Characters/SpaceBattleshipYamato2199 Miezela Celestella and Mirenel Linke]]. |
| 81 | * Ryoko in ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' has long, pointy ears... without the points. |
| 82 | ** Along with Mihoshi, though hers are more subtle. This being the only time the word "subtle" can be applied to Mihoshi. |
| 83 | ** Long and kinda squared-off ears are a common visual shorthand for HumanAliens in ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' world. Most off-world characters have them, unless they're from Jurai or Seniwa (Juraians have normal ears, since they're basically just a different race of humanity with some artificial enhancements; Seniwans like Mihoshi have much smaller traditional pointy ears and CuteLittleFangs). And [[CatGirl Wau]], of course, have nekomimi. |
| 84 | * The HalfHumanHybrid [[TheFairFolk Fairy]] people of ''Manga/UbelBlatt'' Have particularly prominent angular ears. The more fairy blood they have, the longer the ears. |
| 85 | [[/folder]] |
| 86 | |
| 87 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 88 | * ''Franchise/TheDCU'': |
| 89 | ** ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': The shape-shifting Durlans, like Reep Daggle, have large pointed ears in their orange default form. Those who've been made unstable by the fallout from the Six Minute War have lost this form, and instead have an unsteady default that looks more like a bunch of writhing tentacles of variable coloration. |
| 90 | ** ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': Captain Marvel's greatest enemy and EvilCounterpart, Black Adam, has pointy ears for no adequately explained reason. |
| 91 | ** ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': In the story ''ComicBook/TheJungleLine'', Clark Kent has pointed ears in one panel because of one mistake on the artist's part. |
| 92 | ** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': |
| 93 | *** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Older Saturnians have pointed ears, and little horns for the males, while young adult Saturnians are [[HumanAliens indistinguishable from humans]]. |
| 94 | *** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': The kreel have Pointy Ears with large convex incised helixes. |
| 95 | * Naturally, a majority of the characters in ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'' have pointy ears. |
| 96 | * Many characters in the comic ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'', including the main character Cheetah when she goes to human form. |
| 97 | * ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': |
| 98 | ** The shape-shifting Skrulls have pointed ears as part of their default appearance. Depending on the individual (and/or [[DependingOnTheArtist the artist]]), they can be anything from just slightly pointy to huge and bat-like. |
| 99 | ** ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'': Northstar and Aurora have slightly pointy ears (though [[DependingOnTheArtist sometimes artists forget]]). One story claims that it's because their mother was a Norse elf, but that story was unceremoniously disposed of later on; apparently, their ears are just like that. |
| 100 | ** ''ComicBook/MarvelNoir'': In ''Iron Man Noir'', this is the mark of Captain Namor's pirate crew; they slice their ears to resemble shark fins. |
| 101 | ** ''ComicBook/{{Morbius}}'': Initially, Morbius [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness did not have these]], but later artists started adding them after which they quickly became a standard part of his appearance. |
| 102 | ** ''ComicBook/SubMariner'': Namor, a HalfHumanHybrid of man and mermaid, has these. |
| 103 | ** ''ComicBook/XMen'': Nightcrawler has pointy ears. Given his [[BigRedDevil overall demonic appearance]], it's something of a surprise that he doesn't have horns. |
| 104 | * The elves in ''ComicBook/PoisonElves'' have exceptionally long, and very pointy, ears. |
| 105 | * ''ComicBook/TheSecretsOfWillowmyst'': Alex and Tavin, being fairies, have pointy ears. |
| 106 | * Several ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' comic books feature characters of [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sephi the Sephi,]] who very humanlike but with pointy ears. Fae, Aleco Stusea, and that one girl who was inspired by [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Princess Zelda]]. We don't hear that much about the latter two, but Fae was said to be a thousand years old, and was believed (at least by Obi-Wan Kenobi) to be immortal. |
| 107 | * There's Moloch in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', but it went totally unacknowledged there as well as in [[Film/{{Watchmen}} the film]] (and was much more subtle). |
| 108 | [[/folder]] |
| 109 | |
| 110 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 111 | * ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfics ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11989539/1/Hakkōna Hakkōna]]'' and ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12023508/1/Kaitō-Kokoro Kaitō Kokoro]]'': When Kiku is in his true [[spoiler:[[VoluntaryShapeShifter nekomataneko form]], in addition to having human ears, he also has pointy cat ears.]] |
| 112 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'' prequel fanfic ''Fanfic/JustALittleBitOfPixieDust'', Peter starts out with normal ears, which become pointy when he starts making too much contact with the fairies from Pixie Hollow. |
| 113 | * ''Fanfic/Plan7Of9FromOuterSpace''. Lampshaded for ArsonMurderAndJaywalking in the MotiveRant of [=TuMok=] of Mars. |
| 114 | -->"You have no idea how much I despise you Earthlings -- your [[MarsNeedsWomen hot women]], your hedonistic culture, your slavish dependence on machines, and worst of all your constant quips about my ears! Soon no human will dare mistake me for an elf again!" |
| 115 | * Fanworks set in [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Middle-earth]] mention the pointy ears of elves far more often than Creator/JRRTolkien's original books. In some fan stories, characters identify elves by their ears. An elf might disguise itself as a mortal man by covering its ear tips. (Tolkien does not use the ears. In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', characters can identify elves by hearing their voices.) |
| 116 | ** In ''Fanfic/AFarGreenCountry'', Nellas covers her ears. Some other characters [[PaperThinDisguise see through the disguise]] and know that Nellas must be an elf. |
| 117 | ** In ''Fanfic/TheGamesOfTheGods'', Rachel covers her elf ears and passes as a mortal woman. Most people suspect nothing, and accept Rachel as an uncommonly beautiful human. Rachel's elven voice raises no suspicion unless she sings too much. |
| 118 | ** ''Fanfic/HomeWithTheFairies'' has Maddie finding creatures that might be elves, fairies or nymphs. Maddie needs a glimpse of pointed ears (hidden under hair) to decide that they are elves. |
| 119 | * In ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', one of the many subtle (as opposed to screamingly blatant) touches that makes C'hou different from Earth is that there are elves with the requisite pointy ears. However, WordOfGod asserts that they're merely a pointy-eared race of humans. |
| 120 | * In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' fanfic ''Fanfic/YoullGetNoAnswersFromTheBlueSeaStar'', the fact that [[spoiler:Sothis]] has these becomes something of a plot point, since [[spoiler:Rhea and Seteth]] possess them as well, but deliberately hide them. It also becomes part of a running joke about [[spoiler:human]] ears being inferior. |
| 121 | [[/folder]] |
| 122 | |
| 123 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 124 | * ''WesternAnimation/CatwomanHunted'': Barbara Minerva has noticeable pointy ears, the only hint to her nature as the Cheetah in her human form. |
| 125 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheKingsBeard'', fairies naturally have them (and Sophie briefly loses hers, which become [[HumanityEnsues rounded and human-like]], when Jasper drains her wand). After the power of the wand starts corrupting Jasper, ''his'' ears mutate into even more distinctly inhuman ones that look almost like fins or bat-wings. |
| 126 | --> '''Jasper:''' "I have the wand… I have the power… Woo-hoo! ''I even have the ears!''" |
| 127 | * ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'': Peter has pointy ears, to give some more emphasis on the "pan" part of his name (as, of course, does Tinker Bell the fairy). |
| 128 | [[/folder]] |
| 129 | |
| 130 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 131 | * The Na'vi of ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' have fairly long pointed ears set high on their heads. |
| 132 | * The vampires of the ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' movie sport very bat-like ears. |
| 133 | * ''Film/HawkTheSlayer'': Crow, the elf archer, has pointed ears that he reveals when he first takes off his [[InTheHood hood]]. This along with his constantly stoic expression leads to inevitable Vulcan jokes from MSTing viewers. |
| 134 | * ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'' reveals the title character to be hiding these under her skin-tight black cap, appropriately for a [[TheFairFolk fairy]]. |
| 135 | * Count Orlok, from ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'', and his [[LooksLikeOrlok myriad impersonators]]. |
| 136 | * [[OldMaster Yoda]] from ''Franchise/StarWars''. Very long and pointy, they are. |
| 137 | * Blink from ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''. Although why the ability to create portals would also give her pointy ears isn't known. It could be just a peculiar side-effect of having teleportation abilities since Nightcrawler and Azazel also have them. |
| 138 | %% * ''Film/TheWolfman2010''. |
| 139 | [[/folder]] |
| 140 | |
| 141 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 142 | * In ''Literature/{{Artemis Fowl}},'' fairies have this; some races, like elves and pixies, are pretty much indistinguishable from humans aside from this and their height. In the fourth book, [[spoiler:[[BigBad Opal Koboi]] has her ears surgically altered so that she can assume a new life as a human child]]. |
| 143 | * Lampshaded in the ''Literature/CalLeandros'' series, where the pointy ears are pretty much the ''only'' thing the stories got right when they turned the hideous, murderous Auphe into elves. |
| 144 | * ''Literature/CarnivalInAFix'': [[TheProtagonist Emily]] has pointed ears to help show that, despite her very humanoid appearance, she is not a human. |
| 145 | * ''Literature/TheDaevabadTrilogy'': The [[OurGeniesAreDifferent daeva]] are all immediately distinguishable from humans by their pointed ears, although some individual tribes have additional distinguishing features. Since they were {{Curse}}d into humanoid forms by Suleiman himself, this may have been intentional. |
| 146 | * In the ''Literature/{{Deverry}}'' novels, humans living near the Westfolk view them as barbarians for a number of reasons, including the claim that they crop their children's ears at birth. Jill takes one look at the long, delicately scalloped ears of the Westfolk and realises this is nonsense. |
| 147 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' [[TheFairFolk elves]] have pointy ears, as do [[HalfHumanHybrid humans with elf-blood]]. It's implied that they ''seem'' to have the "long, graceful" version, but this is {{Glamour}}, and they're really closer to the "ratty and inhuman" type. |
| 148 | * In ''Literature/DoraWilkSeries'' artwork, were-cat Szelma has mildly pointed ears. |
| 149 | * In ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', the count himself is described as having ears that are "pale, and at the tops extremely pointed", one feature among several that collectively present a rather unsettling appearance. |
| 150 | * [[Literature/{{Eldraeverse}} Eldrae]] have pointed ears, along with other Fae traits. |
| 151 | * In an otherwise mundane Verse, ''Literature/EmilyOfNewMoon'' has slightly pointed ears. |
| 152 | * Elves in the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' have these, as do human {{Dragon Rider}}s after a while (though Eragon's transformation was sped up due to the Agaeti Blodhren). They can use magic to transform them into human-looking ears when they need to go incognito, or just [[StatingTheSimpleSolution wear a headband]]. |
| 153 | * ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Elves and tricksters have the "basically human" type of point. For the former, it's because they are classified as [[{{transhuman}} humanoid mana breeds]]. For the later, it's AFormYouAreComfortableWith. |
| 154 | * Creator/PiersAnthony and Robert E. Margroff's ''Kelvin of Rud'' series has two races of humans, one with round ears and the other with pointed ears. Ultimately this turns out not to have any great significance beyond a lame pun. |
| 155 | * ''Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin'': This is the feature that distinguishes Fincayran humans from those in our world. While living in Gwynned (Wales), some people commented that Emrys/Merlin looked like a demon. Fincayrans also used to have [[WingedHumanoid wings]], leading Merlin to quip that they had the ears of demons and the wings of angels. |
| 156 | * The fairies in ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' often have pointed ears. The two half fairies Mark and Helen Blackthorn also have some. |
| 157 | * Though their ears are never described in the novels themselves, [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the Yuuzhan Vong]] from the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' are often illustrated with prominent pointed ears. Otherwise, they're fairly humanlike (or would be if not for their cultural fixation on ritualized tattooing, scars, and general BodyHorror). |
| 158 | * The titular character of ''Olive Kennedy, Fairy World M.D.'' has these, due to being half-elf on her father's side. |
| 159 | * ''Literature/APoisonDarkAndDrowning'': When describing [[EldritchAbomination Callax The Child Eater]], [[TheProtagonist Henrietta]] says his ears are large and pointy. |
| 160 | * ''Literature/PrincessesOfThePizzaParlor'': Elves are marked by them, even half-elves, as Gwenevrael has "lightly pointed ears", as said in the first book. |
| 161 | * The [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]] of the ''Strands'' series by Gael Baudino seem to have pointy ears, although it is never actually mentioned directly in the books. Still, it is implied several times when people who have recently been transformed into Elves because of their [[MagicGenetics Elven heritage]] are encouraged by other Elves to cover their ears with their hair, so that they may move around in public without being recognized. |
| 162 | * Downplayed in Creator/JRRTolkien's [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium legendarium]]. He described hobbits as having "only slightly pointed and 'elvish'" ears in a letter to an illustrator, but never in the stories themselves, and thus some have taken the fact of him putting "elvish" in quotes (and not capitalizing it) to mean that he was possibly referring to stereotypical elves, not necessarily his Elves. He similarly only ever wrote about the ear shape of his Elves once. They're referred to as "more pointed and leaf-shaped" than presumably human ears in a posthumously published glossary of Noldorin, so that words for "leaf", "ear" and "listen" are related. But as with hobbit ears, this is nowhere said in the books themselves, where ears never come up as a way to identify Elves from Men. Instead, the ''eyes'' are sometimes brought up, since regardless of their color Elven eyes have a certain light or spark that's absent in human eyes. |
| 163 | * Mrs. Gorf from ''Literature/WaysideSchool'' has pointy ears. She can also wiggle them and stick out her tongue, turning kids into apples. |
| 164 | * ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Sidhe (Elves), and Isokist (Aliens) have them, among others. |
| 165 | * ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Ogier are distinguished from humans by their long tufted ears, their eight-foot height, and other features. They don't discuss their ears in polite company, as they double as [[FantasticArousal erogenous zones]]. |
| 166 | [[/folder]] |
| 167 | |
| 168 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 169 | * In the comics to the series ''Series/{{Angel}}'' there are two [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demons]] named Nash and Pearl. Both have also pointed ears. Both of them look also more elvish anyway. |
| 170 | * ''Series/GlowUp'': Series 4 provides a rare example from the world of RealityTV in Sophie, who sports them with the aid of prosthetics. |
| 171 | * ''Series/GroundlingMarsh'': Galileo has some noticeably pointy ears. |
| 172 | * The Elves from ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'' are portrayed with pointy ears same as in the ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', but with a little twist. Having pointy years makes you a sure target for FantasticRacism. elves are often called FantasticSlurs such as "knife-ears" and "pointies" by Men. |
| 173 | * Eddie Munster (a werewolf) from ''Series/TheMunsters'' and ''Series/TheMunstersToday''. |
| 174 | * Gnomes from ''Series/SpecialUnit2''. |
| 175 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 176 | ** The Vulcans and their kin, the Romulans. Also, the Romulans' {{slave race}} the Remans (who [[LooksLikeOrlok resemble Orlok]] strongly). |
| 177 | ** Several other ''Franchise/StarTrek'' races. Halanans and Ramurans both have ''two'' points on each ear (and otherwise look human), while Arkenites have long ears that sweep backward into points along the skull (as well as lumpy, bulbous bald heads and amber/green eyes). |
| 178 | ** From ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', we also have the Ocampa. |
| 179 | * ''Series/TheOrville'' has Xeleyans whose ears are pointy and vaguely fin-like (despite them not being an aquatic race). |
| 180 | * The Elves in ''Series/TheWitcher2019'' have pointy ears. |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:Religion & Mythology]] |
| 184 | * The villain of the ''Literature/BookOfEsther'', Haman, is never described as having pointy ears, but will often be drawn that way in modern times. This is because a traditional treat for Purim (the Jewish holiday based on these events) are triangular cookies, called ''oznei Haman'' ("Haman's ears") in Hebrew. Their Yiddish name is ''hamantashen,'' "Haman's hat," which is why he's often depicted with a tricorne. |
| 185 | * The idea of supernatural non-beast-like creatures like elves, dwarfs, gnomes, imps, goblins, brownies, leprechauns, fairies etc. having pointy ears is thought to have originated during the Victorian period [[OlderThanTheyThink long before J.R.R. Tolkien was born]] (though his elf-heavy fiction basically codified the "fantasy elf", [[CommonKnowledge it never mentions them having pointy ears explicitly]] and thus it's been often visualized and illustrated with this stereotype of elves in mind instead of anything in the texts themselves) and if not originated by the Victorians then certainly codified by their art and literature. Pointy ears were directly and/or indirectly borrowed from FaunsAndSatyrs of Myth/ClassicalMythology, who were BeastMen and thus part goat, deer, donkey etc. often including their ears. Fauns and satyrs also influenced the visualization of Christian demons who were given beastly attributes, and it was thus not a big leap to link "demonic" pointy ears to any humanoid supernatural creature. But it should be noted that [[NewerThanTheyThink before the Victorians,]] these kinds of creatures like TheFairFolk were not thought to have any concrete distinguishing features to set them apart from humans (and mostly weren't miniaturized). Instead, it was abstract stuff like unearthly beauty. Some tales depict them as needing to say they're non-human, implying there were no telltale features to indicate otherwise. |
| 186 | [[/folder]] |
| 187 | |
| 188 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 189 | * Pretty much every version of elves in just about every RPG setting, with ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' being the Trope Codifer for the genre. |
| 190 | * In ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' pointy ears are a distinctive trait of both the Martian royal and priest castes, as well as possibly the Ancient Martians they are descended from. |
| 191 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' nearly every metahuman race (elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls, etc) has pointed ears, as such the anti-metahuman hate group Humanis Policlub uses a rounded human ear as their logo. |
| 192 | * Pointed ears are so prevalant among the many races in ''TabletopGame/{{Talislanta}}'' that it's almost easier to list the races that don't have this trait. |
| 193 | * In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', the Eldar are a race of elf-like aliens with pointed ears, and are the [[SpaceElves futuristic equivalents]] of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'''s elf factions: Craftworld Eldar to High Elves, Exodites to Wood Elves, and Dark Eldar to Dark Elves. |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 197 | * Draculaura in ''Toys/MonsterHigh'' has fairly subtly pointed ears. |
| 198 | [[/folder]] |
| 199 | |
| 200 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 201 | %%* ''VideoGame/AdibooMagicalPlayland'': Adiboo has pointy ears. |
| 202 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Aion}}'', "Humans" or Daevas from both Asmodian and Elyos races can have either human ears or pointed ears. In character creation, the one slider "Ear Shape" allows various ears shapes: large human ears to short human ears, then short pointy ears to long pointy ears. |
| 203 | %%* The demon Lilica of ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart''. |
| 204 | %%* Vampire Vivi has them in ''VideoGame/BrainDead13''. |
| 205 | %%* In ''VideoGame/BunnyMustDie'', Bobomboi and Chelsea have these. |
| 206 | * Magus from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' has them (as does the GoldfishPoopGang that serves under him), but it's unclear whether or not this is due to his lineage, AWizardDidIt, or a ShoutOut to ''Manga/DragonBall''. |
| 207 | * ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' features several lengths of pointy ears in its character creator. |
| 208 | * ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'', starring [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]] InSpace, uses [[ElvesVersusDwarves "pointy-eared leaf-lover"]] as a dire insult. Now, the dwarves themselves have slightly-pointed ears, but it's probably unwise to point this out. |
| 209 | %%* ''VideoGame/DeptHeaven'': |
| 210 | %%** Serene in ''VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand''. |
| 211 | %%** [[spoiler:Gulcasa]] in ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion''. |
| 212 | * The shopkeepers in ''VideoGame/DiceyDungeons'' are elflike beings with pointed ears. |
| 213 | * Demons in the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series look almost exactly like humans in varying degrees, but the one common distinctive trait they all have pointed ears. [[spoiler:Except for Adell, who had a birth defect that led him to have rounded ears, which combined with his birth parents leaving him in the care of a human couple at a young age caused him to forget that he actually was a demon.]] |
| 214 | * ''Franchise/DragonAge'' elves obviously have them; many characters refer to them as "[[FantasticSlurs knife ears]]" for it. Kossith have slightly pointed ears as well, but as the majority of them are also [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Qunari]] and tend to be seven or eight feet tall with horns, most people either avoid them entirely or find other things to comment on besides their ears. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': |
| 216 | ** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', the Queen of Faeries has large, pointed ears. |
| 217 | ** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': [[BigBad Psaro]] has long, pointy ears, as a clue that he's not really human but a demon. |
| 218 | ** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'', faeries like Honey or Treacle have long and narrow leafy ears. |
| 219 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': |
| 220 | ** The [[OurElvesAreDifferent Races of Mer (Elves)]] possess the standard fantasy "Elf" version. The royal families of the Bretons (a race of UnevenHybrid offspring of Man/Mer relations thousands of years ago) are said to still have slight points to their ears, showing their Mer ancestry. |
| 221 | ** Some other non-Mer (at least, as far as we know) beings also possess pointed ears, including [[OurGiantsAreBigger Giants]], [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Goblins]], [[OurOgresAreHungrier Ogres]], and Rieklings. |
| 222 | ** Scamps are the [[TheGoomba weakest]] and [[FunSize smallest]] known form of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]], and possess very long, triangular pointed ears in the LooksLikeOrlok vein. |
| 223 | * ''VideoGame/EternalSenia'': Little Fairy has them in both games, and evey [[OurFairiesAreDifferent fairy]] in ''VideoGame/EternalSeniaHydrangeaAfterTheRain''. |
| 224 | * ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'': March and Salsa's ''actual'' ears arch out to the side. (They also wear things in their hair that seem intended to evoke bunnies.) They're not explicitly called elves, but the idea is the same. Although you're also nice to March because, in addition to being able to mop up the floor with enemies like her sister Salsa, she's just so ''sweet'' that you'd come off as a jerk to treat her otherwise. |
| 225 | * In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', Medea, Circe and Semiramis all have pointy ears. No explanation is given, but it's presumed that this is a trait of magi from the Age of Gods. Though why this would be the case only for female magi and not, for example, the Caster version of Gilgamesh is unclear. Elizabeth Bathory also has pointy ears most likely due to her alleged DragonAncestry. Her grown-up self, Carmilla, does not have these due to having more emphasis on her vampire-like image. |
| 226 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': |
| 227 | ** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' the Elvaan and Tarutaru races have similar looking pointed ears that are long and stick out quite a bit, not unlike Hylians circa ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' |
| 228 | ** The similar Elezen race in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' have pointed ears, with the option to customize just how long and pointy they are. |
| 229 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has the [[CuteMonsterGirl Gria]] and the Rev. |
| 230 | * ''Franchise/FireEmblem'': |
| 231 | ** The [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Manaketes]] generally have these in their humanoid forms. Half-breeds sometimes inherit them, but not always. |
| 232 | ** Bird and dragon Laguz in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' have pointed ears in their humanoid forms. |
| 233 | ** The Avatar of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has pointy ears thanks to [[spoiler:being the child of a dragon god]]. Their canon child, Kana also has them. |
| 234 | ** Certain routes in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' reveals the archbishop Rhea has pointy ears she keeps hidden behind her hair. [[spoiler:Right before the time-skip she transforms into a white dragon.]] Fittingly, two other character's closest to her, Seteth and Flayn are also revealed to have them in concept art, likewise hidden behind her hair. Sothis also sports pointy ears [[spoiler:being the progenitor of Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn's people]], unlike the former three, Sothis's ears are always visible. [[spoiler:It's even implied [[PlayerCharacter Byleth's]] mother may have had pointy ears, being a homunculus close of Sothis, had them too. Each CGI still has her ears covered by her hair, and the only time they're visible her hair still keeps the full shape hidden.]] |
| 235 | %%* ''VideoGame/GiraffeAndAnnika'': [[CuteWitch Lily]] has pointy ears. |
| 236 | * The [[PlayingWithFire Fire Clan]] from ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' have ears with two points (the usual pointed tips, and elongated, pointed lobes). It's not the [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation first thing]] you notice [[RedEyesTakeWarning about them]], though. |
| 237 | ** In ''Dark Dawn'', the beastmen tend to have animal-like ears. Sveta in particular has the "pointy ears with tufted ends" variety. |
| 238 | ** Most of the humanlike summons also have these kind of ears. |
| 239 | * In ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'', Tammy and Kom have pointed ears, the former because of her BioAugmentation that grants her SuperHearing. |
| 240 | * The elf-like inhabitants of whatever world the ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series takes place on have exceptionally long ears, with a total "ear-span" that is usually three to four times the width of their faces. Subverted in that the ears are not used to indicate anything supernatural about them - they seem to just be quirky-looking humans, and have been referred to as humans on more than one occasion. |
| 241 | * A few [[OriginalGeneration original]] characters in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series have pointed ears, like Master Xehanort, Xigbar and Saïx. The reason that they have pointed ears is unclear, but seeing as the three men all have SupernaturalGoldEyes and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' shows that Braig (Xigbar's original persona) gains the gold eyes and pointy ears at the same time, they could be another sign of giving into Darkness. |
| 242 | ** It turns out it's because [[spoiler:they're actually ''becoming'' Xehanort, according to ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'']]. |
| 243 | %%* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfPenAndPaper2'': Elves have these. |
| 244 | * In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', WordOfGod states that being "ascended" by magic gives you these, as can be seen on champions like [[FallenAngel Morgana]], [[BlowYouAway Janna]] and [[TheMedic Soraka]]. Oddly, it only seems to affect women as male champions like Ryze don't display them. |
| 245 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': |
| 246 | ** Hylians are distinguishable from regular non-Hylian humans (such as the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Holodrumians, Labrynnans]], and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Ordonians]]) by their pointy ears. They don't exactly fall towards the [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman lower measures]], though; not only are the franchise's two main heroes, Link and Zelda, always Hylians, but the Kingdom of Hyrule itself is Hylian-dominated. However, in most games, where Hyrule is an [[HegemonicEmpire empire]] controlling several regions, Hylians tend to be a minority. According to [[http://www.gamekult.com/actu/miyamoto-la-wii-u-et-le-secret-de-la-triforce-A105550.html this interview]] with Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto, this was inspired by [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan Disney's Peter Pan]]. |
| 247 | ** It's mentioned in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' that the big ears are so Hylians can "hear the voices of the gods." Notably, in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', Ganondorf's ears go from normal to pointed after obtaining the Triforce of Power, despite him being Gerudo, not Hylian. |
| 248 | ** Early in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', Ganondorf orchestrates the kidnappings of several pointy-eared girls. Because Hylians are rare in this game, and Zelda is a Hylian and likely in disguise, by sending his minions to look for elf-eared females he stands a decent chance of nabbing her. Unfortunately for him, Link and his sister are also Hylians, and [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive the latter's kidnapping kicks off the adventure]]. |
| 249 | ** The bird-like Rito in ''The Wind Waker'' have noticeably pointy ears. |
| 250 | ** The Kokiri also have pointed ears, as do the Sheikah. Both of these are required from a storyline perspective, as in ''Ocarina of Time'' Link thought himself a Kokiri and Zelda [[spoiler:pretends to be a Sheikah]]. They have other traits, however, that set them apart, such as eternal childhood for the Kokiri and red eyes for the Sheikah. |
| 251 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', even the ''monkeys'' have similarly long ears. |
| 252 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'' features the mouse-like [[{{Lilliputians}} Minish]], who have extremely long, pointed ears. |
| 253 | ** The imp Midna in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' has strange long, jagged pointed ears. They seem fairly inflexible, and are longer in combined length than the rest of her head. They even look like they might even be sharp enough to give you a papercut. |
| 254 | ** Demon Lord Ghirahim of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' has [[FashionableAsymmetry only one pointed ear]] in his normal form; the other, rounded, ear is hidden under his hair. His final form does have both ears pointed. |
| 255 | ** While the Gerudo have regular ears in ''Ocarina of Time'' (per the official art), the ones in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' have ears just as pointy as the Hylians' and Sheikah's. The official explanation is that they've grown closer to the gods, though it's suggested that generations of interbreeding with Hylians was another (possibly related) factor. Notably, when the new incarnation of Ganondorf appears in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom Tears of the Kingdom]]'', he does ''not'' have pointy ears -- and when we see flashbacks to the ancient Gerudo when they were ruled by him, they didn't have them yet either. |
| 256 | * In ''VideoGame/Lineage2'' all races except the Humans have pointed ears. This is to show how the Humans were created as [[spoiler:unintentionally inferior and flawed]] in the world's creation myth. The Kamael have pointed ears because [[spoiler:they are genetically altered elves essentially created to be living weapons.]] |
| 257 | ** Interestingly, Elves, Dark Elves and Fairies in the game have the standard anime-style ''jigokumimi'' while Orcs, Dwarves and Kamael ears only taper to more Vulcan-like points. The game's graphics don't render the point on Dwarf ears very well so they look round, even though official art depicts them with Tolkienesque 'leaf shaped' ears. |
| 258 | * The Beastman race in the ''VideoGame/{{Lunar}}'' series (such as Mel, Jessica, Leo, and Mauri) have ears ranging from pointy to {{unusual|ears}}. Ghaleon also has pointy ears but this goes unremarked upon in the games. [[note]]But not in spin-off manga, which elaborates that Ghaleon is the SoleSurvivor of a Vile Tribe sister-race that once ruled Vane.[[/note]] |
| 259 | * Fatima of ''VideoGame/LuminousArc2'' has pointy ears, but she seems to be a normal human/witch and no one in-game comments on them. |
| 260 | * Pointed ears and CuteLittleFangs are the one truly consistent physical trait that all Creator/NipponIchi (''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'', ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'', etc.) "Humanoid" demons share, while the humans (and the angels, such as Flonne [[spoiler:although she gains them both, along with a tail, when she [[{{Unishment}} becomes a fallen angel]]]]) don't have them. |
| 261 | * ''VideoGame/NosferatuLilinor'': [[PlayerCharacter Lilinor]] has pointy ears. It's more apparent in text boxes when you can see her picture. |
| 262 | * The ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'' series has Numans/Newmans, a genetically engineered race that resemble elves. In the original series, the ears were different between the two instances. In ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarII'' Nei and Neifirst have very long pointed ears that go past their heads. Rika in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV'' has smaller pointed ears with bits of black on the ends. ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'''s Newman race have differing ears depending on their class. Hunter Newmans have ears like Nei, while Forces have long pointed ears that stick out from the sides of their heads almost horizontally. In ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarZero'', Newman ears are much smaller, but still pointy. ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' and its portable spinoffs, along with ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'', allow players to determine the shape of their newman's ears thanks to their powerful character creators. |
| 263 | * ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'': The Hocotatians have small pointed ears, while the Yellow Pikmin has ones large enough to catch the air when they're thrown and allow them to be tossed noticeably higher than other types. |
| 264 | * ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'': Grimsley the Dark-type trainer has pointed ears to go with his overall vampire motif. It's not explained in-universe why he's one of the only -- if not the only--human characters to have them. |
| 265 | * ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': The Manna, as seen with Trill in [[https://rpgmaker.net/media/content/games/7969/screenshots/Leading_the_Charge.png this official screenshot.]] |
| 266 | * The ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker'' series: Mainly [[OurFairiesAreDifferent fairies]]: |
| 267 | ** In ''VideoGame/PrincessMakerRefine'': |
| 268 | *** Martial Arts Tournament contestant, Tiny Fairy Spring Wind who has this and is a WingedHumanoid. |
| 269 | *** [[HarpingOnAboutHarpies Harpies]] are one of the enemies that can be fought during Errantry. They're WingedHumanoid FullFrontalAssault-ing women, with blue hair and these. |
| 270 | ** ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker3'': Fairies have this, as seen with the first characters seen in the game. |
| 271 | * ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'': |
| 272 | ** Panotty the elf has pointy ears. |
| 273 | ** Lidelle, a {{demihuman}}, has ears like this as one of several of her quirky features. |
| 274 | * Half of the races in ''VideoGame/{{Rift}}''. Interestingly enough, this applies whether or not you split {{humans|ByAnyOtherName}} and [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]] by faction. (The Defiant, however, have the edge on pointy ears.) |
| 275 | * ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': ''VideoGame/Shantae2002'', ''VideoGame/ShantaeRiskysRevenge'': |
| 276 | ** The title character has these, because she's half-genie. |
| 277 | ** The half-genies seen in ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'' show that all half-genies seem to have pointy ears. |
| 278 | * ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' has the Inklings, a race capable of shapeshifting between squid and humanoid forms. While on their humanoid forms, they sport pointy ears [[MorphicResonance meant to look like squid fins]]. |
| 279 | * ''VideoGame/StarOcean'': |
| 280 | ** Rena, uniquely among the Expelians in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory''. (and its [[AnimatedAdaptation anime]], ''Star Ocean EX''), [[spoiler:because she's actually Nedian; the other Nedians have the same UnusualEars]]. The Vanguardians who play a minor role in ''Star Ocean: Till the End of Time'' seem to have a similar appearance. It's also mentioned in the in-game dictionary that some Expellians started to develop pointed ears within the last four hundred years. |
| 281 | ** Members of the Fellpool and Highlander races in ''[[VideoGame/StarOcean1 First Departure]]'' have ears like this. Featherfolk, which are native to the same planet, do not (though they are {{Winged Humanoid}}s). |
| 282 | ** Myuria Tionysus, and the entire race of Morphus in the game ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'' exhibit extremely long ears, sticking out at an impossible angle. [[spoiler:This is implied to be because they are an offshoot of the Nedians.]] The Eldarians also have very Vulcan-like points. |
| 283 | * ''VideoGame/SunsetOverdrive'': The devil mask on the front of the Feel the Burn flamethrower has pointed ears. |
| 284 | * ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'': |
| 285 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', all elves and some half-elves have pointy ears. the ears of the elves are pointier however, [[FantasticRacism much to the disfavor of the half-elves.]] It seems to vary by the individual: although none of them have ears as pointed as the elves, Botta's are quite tall, Kvar's rather shorter, and Yuan's are perfectly rounded, just to name a few examples. [[spoiler:Raine and Genis deliberately style their hair to cover their ears to hide the lack of points.]] |
| 286 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': Magilou is an AmbiguouslyHuman witch with sharply-pointed ears. A set of larger pointy ears that stick outward are a cosmetic item, and the description species Magilou is not an elf (which don't appear to exist in this setting). [[spoiler:Her backstory, where she was exhibited as a child in a freak show, suggests Magilou's ears are less a racial trait than an individual mutation along her high affinity for magic.]] |
| 287 | * ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has an... interesting history with this trope. Basically, ZUN can't draw ears, and usually hides them behind hair or hats. When he does draw them they turn out pointy regardless of whether they probably should. The first character to get ears, [[GreenEyedMonster Parsee]], is widely accepted as having Pointy Ears in fanon, and has had them semi-canonized by ''Manga/TouhouIbarakasenWildAndHornedHermit''... The next, Orin, is a CatGirl, so the fandom mostly pretends that she only has cat ears.[[note]]Her portrait had two sets of ears.[[/note]] Then ''VideoGame/DoubleSpoilerTouhouBunkachou'' gave ears to its Tengu protagonists, leading to something of an uproar in the fandom. Now some fans have decided that all {{youkai}} have Pointy Ears, others stick with them for Parsee and the tengu, and the rest just stopped caring. |
| 288 | ** Even more strange for Parsee since the ''hashihime'' youkai is the vengeful spirit of a cheated ''human'' housewife... |
| 289 | * ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': Full-blooded fairies, like Malleus and Lilia, have these. Dire Crowley also has them, but his species is unknown. |
| 290 | * ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' and ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': |
| 291 | ** Mainly the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Blood Elves and Night Elves]]. Their ears are so long and pointy that they extend ''past their head'', making them the best example for this trope in Western video games. The same applies for the ears of the later Nightborne of Suramar (which use a body model close to the Night Elves) and the Void Elves (originally High Elves like the Blood Elves, they ended up imbued with Void energy). |
| 292 | ** Elven rangers in ''Warcraft II'' had neat slightly pointed ears of roughly human size... in artwork and character portraits. The actual sprite has those huge flapping sheets. Of course, with such small figures running around the screen, the excessively long ears might been simply a way to say 'elf' at that resolution. ''Warcraft III'', however, has both units and character portraits in 3D, and as a result, the elongated ears have snuck back into portraits and became canon. |
| 293 | ** Troll males have elongated ears, while females have theirs shortened as a part of enhancing the CuteMonsterGirl appeal. |
| 294 | ** Goblins and orcs have a more humanlike ear shape with a slight point. |
| 295 | ** Alien race Draenei have almost human-like ears slightly pointed, though theirs evoke the stern Spock feeling. |
| 296 | ** Worgen have these for a different reason, due to their being [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent lupine]] [[WolfMan in]] [[FunnyAnimal appearance]]. Other {{Beast M|an}}en such as [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent tauren]] and pandaren avert this as their animal counterparts don't have pointed ears either. |
| 297 | * Everyone's favorite greedy AntiHero/[[VideoGame/WarioWare game designer]], [[VideoGame/WarioLand Wario]], has pointy ears. He doesn't seem to be a supernatural being, though, at least not any more than Mario himself. His partner in the ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' spin-offs, Waluigi, also has this trait. |
| 298 | * ''VideoGame/WhiteNoise2'': One of the creatures, Darcy, has pointy ears. |
| 299 | * The High Entia in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' are humanoids with MercurysWings who also have pointy ears. Quite are few of them are part [[HumanAliens Homs]], and are (generally) distinguished by their smaller wings and lack of the aforementioned pointy ears. |
| 300 | [[/folder]] |
| 301 | |
| 302 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 303 | * Caster from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has these, though they're usually concealed by her [[InTheHood sinister-looking hood]]. |
| 304 | * Pointed ears are a racial trait of the Emishi and the Judea peoples from ''VisualNovel/FullMetalDaemonMuramasa''. [[spoiler:And hidden behind her hair it is revealed that Chachamaru Ashikaga has them too, revealing that she is of Emishi decent]]. |
| 305 | * ''VisualNovel/JunipersKnot'': The demoness as seen in [[https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/687590/ss_d7bf0eae75ce7bbba4a73f5b9d60bcda37f9848d.600x338.jpg official screenshots.]] |
| 306 | * In ''VisualNovel/TheSecondReproduction'', the demons have pointy ears, among other characteristics. |
| 307 | * The demons in ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'' have [[UnusualEars jigokumimi]], while the gods have shorter pointed ears. |
| 308 | [[/folder]] |
| 309 | |
| 310 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 311 | * ''Webcomic/OneHundredAndEightyAngel'': Many demons and devils have these, including Lilith and Xavier. |
| 312 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Beanstalked}}'', [[OurFairiesAreDifferent fairies]]' pointed ears (such as those of [[FairyGodmother Azure]] and [[BigBad Nevermore]]) aren't much longer than a human's. |
| 313 | * Many characters in ''Webcomic/BeyondTheEnd'' have pointy ears, with Cain being the most prominent. They're on the shorter end, but are ExpressiveEars. |
| 314 | * Everyone in ''Webcomic/{{Chirault}}'' has really long, pointy ears. In the words of the author, this is "for no adequately explained reason other than that this is not Earth, so why not?" Also, they're a ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter''. |
| 315 | * The fae in ''Webcomic/CityOfTrees'' have traditional pointed elf ears. |
| 316 | * The half-elf Merlow in ''Webcomic/CourtOfRoses'' has pointy elven ears [[http://courtofroses.spiderforest.com/index.php?comic=20181101 that wiggle in his sleep,]] much to everyone's amusement. |
| 317 | * ''Webcomic/{{Darken}}'': Elves have distinctive pointed ears in the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''-based setting. Surface elves have been almost wiped out by their EvilCounterpartRace the dark elves, so the survivors take pains to hide their ears; the dark elves have a distinctive enough appearance that the ears aren't important. |
| 318 | -->'''Human:''' Hey, you with the ears!\ |
| 319 | '''Komiyan:''' ...We all have ears, y'know. |
| 320 | * In ''Webcomic/DaughterOfTheLilies'', elves have extra-long pointed ears that extend past their heads, while orcs' ears are pointed but only elongated by an inch or two. Brent, an UnevenHybrid, has only a slight point to his ears from his orc grandparent. |
| 321 | * In ''Webcomic/{{DDG}}'', Netta and Callista have pointy ears. By implication, so do all the other guides. |
| 322 | * ''Webcomic/DraculaRulerOfTheNight'': Dracula and his brides naturally have them due to being vampires. When Helsing first inspects Lucy after her second bite, her ears being partially mishappen along with the pale skin alerts him to the vampire attacks. When she turns completely, it goes full pointed. [[spoiler:When Minerva, Lucy's mother, reveals she's a vampire during an attempted rescue, her ears are one of the first features to change.]] Mina's likewise start morphing after she gets bitten as well. |
| 323 | * Everyone in ''Webcomic/EarsForElves'' has this, and each different demographic of elf is defined by their ear design. |
| 324 | * The immortals in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', complete with LampshadeHanging by Mr. Verres. Immortals' ears are [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1109 super-long,]] and more so with age. Elves, which are [[HalfHumanHybrid half-immortals]] in EGS, have [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=995 more conventional]] pointy ears. |
| 325 | * The Jägermonsters of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', SuperSoldiers created by the Heterodynes to serve as military personnel. |
| 326 | * ''Webcomic/IngressAdventuringCompany'': The main character Toivo Kissa and his daughter Rosemary have the pointy ears of their elvish heritage. |
| 327 | * The elves of ''Webcomic/{{Inverloch}}'' have six-inch long, tapered ears that stick out from the sides of their heads. (Although they are flexible enough to be comfortably slept on or tucked into hoods.) |
| 328 | * The Man in Grey in ''Webcomic/JennyAndTheMultiverse'' has pointy ears. Alongside his grey skin and peculiar eyes, this clearly marks him out as some kind of metahuman or non-human, but his origins remain shrouded in mystery as of Chapter 2. |
| 329 | * ''Webcomic/KarinDou4koma'': Tamaryu (dragon) and Sara (snake) have pointy elfish ears that are usually hidden by their hair. Elly (demon), however, has longer and pointier ears that sprout perpendicularly from her head. |
| 330 | * People from Sønheim in ''Webcomic/LeifAndThorn''. |
| 331 | * The Cyll of ''Webcomic/{{Linburger}}''. |
| 332 | * ''Webcomic/LotusCobraIsEvil'': From [[https://i.imgur.com/NbfiL1f.jpg "Favorite Zendikar Card,"]] Nissa Revane, Elf Planeswalker has them. |
| 333 | * ''Webcomic/LovelyLovecraft'': Noyes and Azalea both have Pointy Ears, a unique trait among human [[spoiler:or supposedly human]] characters, although no one in-story remarks on them. |
| 334 | * The angels in ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'' have these. Since demons are basically fallen angels, this makes some sense. Angels have some [[InvisibleToNormals obfuscation abilities]], so nobody [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight comments]] on them. |
| 335 | * In ''Webcomic/MyRoommateIsAnElf'', elves and trolls have these. |
| 336 | * ''Webcomic/{{Newman}}'' has pretty much all the characters have these since they're of various fantasy types: gnomes, elves, vampires, dwarves, pixies, etc. |
| 337 | * Malène the Succubus in ''Webcomic/NotQuiteDailyComic'' has pointy ears (and HellishPupils). |
| 338 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 339 | ** Given the [[StickFigureComic limited art form]], the only kind of ears at all visible are Pointy Ears (unless you're an animal). True for elves, goblins, hobgoblins, sylphs, and a few others. Mocked with Pompey, a ''half''-elf, who has a pointy ear… [[FashionableAsymmetry on only one side]]. |
| 340 | ** This is also the reason Half-Elves won't ever feature more prominently in the story. The Giant just can't take them seriously. |
| 341 | * ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'': The Loroi are SpaceElves with pointed ears, as well as blue to bluish-gray skin tones. Despite these features, one of the major plot points is that humans and Loroi are shockingly similar in appearance, in a setting where alien species tend to look radically different from each other, leading to questions about if humans and the Loroi species are somehow related. |
| 342 | * In ''Webcomic/QuantumVibe'' many first-generation inhabitants of L-5 habitat were genetically engineered to have pointed ears. Nicole is a descendant and has the ears, though she usually covers them with her hair. |
| 343 | * The Guardians (and any later bearers of Original Augments) in ''Webcomic/{{RetroBlade}}'' all have pointy ears. The longer an Augment is borne, the pointier the ears become. [[http://retrobladecomic.com/webcomic/page07 The Guardians themselves]] (having borne Augments for Millennia), have long pointed ears resembling a goats, but a new bearer's ears would be a bit closer to human. |
| 344 | * Actually a plot point in ''Webcomic/RPGWorld'' as far as the early strips when Hero encounters Cherry. Keen-eyed viewers will note her ear being misshapen though likely to just brush it off as part of the early art of the series and, curiously, she keeps them hidden behind her hair past that point. Later on however when the protagonists are making their way through a forest and get ambushed by elves. The one leading attack exposes her as a elf by pointing out her pointed ears. |
| 345 | * Most of the common vampires in ''Webcomic/SchoolBites''. |
| 346 | * Aisha, who's an elf, from ''Webcomic/SlimyThief'' has pointy ears. She a thief and elves are uncommon where she's living, so she covers her ears with a veil to not bring attention to her. |
| 347 | * ''Webcomic/TalesFromTheInterface'' has a green alien named Babu who has pointy ears. |
| 348 | * ''Webcomic/{{Terinu}}'' and all other Ferin have pointy ears set on the level of their jawline. |
| 349 | * ''Webcomic/WalkingInTheDark'' has this as a features of vampires and they can hide them to blend in with normal people. |
| 350 | * Most of the people appearing in ''Webcomic/TheWeave'' have pointy ears -- hardly surprising, as they are TheFairFolk. [[spoiler:After her first contact with fairy magic, protagonist Tally's ears appear pointier, too.]] |
| 351 | * Yayne and Sparkes Lukanta from ''[[http://thewretchedoneswebcomic.com The Wretched Ones,]]'' along with various minor characters, have these. |
| 352 | * ''Webcomic/YellowBrickRamble'': In this comic-adaptation of ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'' (the second novel of the classic [[Literature/LandOfOz Oz]] series), most of the native-born Ozians have noticeably pointed ears. Most of them are also AmbiguouslyBrown, though their pointed ears make it clear that they aren't meant to be any particular real-world race. |
| 353 | * In ''Webcomic/YokokasQuest'', demons, including the half-demon Yokoka and Mao, have pointy ears. |
| 354 | * Aside from his green skin, ''Webcomic/{{Zukahnaut}}'''s alien protagonist is just a pair of pointy ears removed from looking like a fairly passable (if ugly) human. |
| 355 | [[/folder]] |
| 356 | |
| 357 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 358 | * ''WebVideo/CriticalRoleCampaignThree'': Laudna is a [[MortalityGreyArea semi-undead]] human with unusual pointed ears that she covers with jewellery. Episode 17 reveals that they weren't a result of her transformation but were [[MalevolentMutilation cut into points]] when [[spoiler:she was [[DeadGuyOnDisplay hanged]] as a threat to a half-elf with naturally pointed ears.]] |
| 359 | * Website/TaerelSetting: Both the Zu'aan and the Kin'toni have these in many of the lore pieces if it is mentioned at all. For the zu'aan, their pointed ears are nearly perpendicular to the skull and cheekbones and the kin'toni have varying ears, such as the Meullton kin'toni who have ears that stick outward and are three to three-and-a-half inches in length with a "pointy edge", the Hathdani Kin'toni Clan and the A'voreld Kin'toni Clan who are mentioned as having pointed ears. It would probably be easier to list the examples that avert this trope than play it straight. |
| 360 | * Mortimer Rafflesworth Everton-Smythe from ''WebVideo/AdventureIsNigh'' has such a [[HeinzHybrid mess of a family tree]] that it averages out to an otherwise normal (if dashingly handsome) man with pointy ears. He calls himself a "half-elf" to avoid explaining all the disparate HalfHumanHybrid pairings that made up both sets of grandparents. |
| 361 | [[/folder]] |
| 362 | |
| 363 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 364 | * Charmcaster was redesigned to sport these during the ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]''/''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Ultimate Alien]]'' era of the ''Franchise/Ben10'' franchise. |
| 365 | * Aelita of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' has elf ears in her Lyoko form. |
| 366 | * [[ComedicSpanking Count Spankulot]], a recurring villain in ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', has these, and anyone he transforms into Spank-Happy Vampires will also gain these as part of their EvilCostumeSwitch. |
| 367 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}},'' the titular species have these, though often they look even more unusual, almost like EarFins. Some members of [[TheFairFolk the Third Race]] do as well, including [[PhysicalGod Oberon, Titania]], [[TheTrickster Puck]] and [[OurBansheesAreDifferent Banshee]]. |
| 368 | ** For whatever reason, [[EvilSorcerer the Archmage]] has large but still human-looking ears that become pointed when he's gotten a magical power-up. |
| 369 | * Countless examples on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', including the Heinous family, Saffi, Dorkus, Molotov, Samy, and Peep. This is just one of ''many'' indications that they're all meant to be demons. |
| 370 | * Timber Wolf from ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes2006'', fittingly because he's the WolfMan of the team. |
| 371 | * [[MageSpecies Witches]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', while otherwise being able to pass for human, have large, pointed ears. Luz's small, round ears are in fact what makes her instantly recognizable as a human, and [[spoiler:Emperor Belos/Philip Wittebane [[EarAche cut his ears into points with a knife]] to blend in with the witch population.]] This also works in reverse, as [[spoiler:Luz's witch friends have to hide their ears under their hair or a hat when they get stranded on Earth.]] |
| 372 | * Beast Boy in ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', who also has [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation green skin and hair]]. |
| 373 | * Many races of characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' have Pointy Ears. Among the main protagonists, you have Sadlygrove (Tristepin) and Evangelyne -- probably Yugo too, but it's hard to tell under the hat. |
| 374 | * Knock Out out of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has pointy ears, adding to his cute, impish design. |
| 375 | * Dawn of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama: Revenge of the Island'' has this in her design to go with her MysticalWaif appearance, leading to the ambiguity if she's human or not. |
| 376 | * In the short ''WesternAnimation/TheWizardOfOz1933'', the Wizard of Oz is depicted with pointed ears. This pins him as AmbiguouslyHuman. |
| 377 | [[/folder]] |
| 378 | |
| 379 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 380 | * TruthInTelevision: some congenital conditions, like [[http://www.sajch.org.za/index.php/SAJCH/article/view/509/422 Stahl's ear]] or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome Williams syndrome]] may produce pronouncedly elf-like pointy ears on humans. |
| 381 | * [[http://www.modernplasztika.co.hu/audioful_eng.html Audio ears.]] Devoted cosplayers won't need their fancy latex ears anymore. That particular site has been found to be a hoax, but [[http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Ear_Pointing there is actual ear pointing surgery available.]] |
| 382 | * Some people are actually born with one or both ears pointed. However, it's usually operated on when they're young. Occasionally they straighten out on their own as the baby grows. |
| 383 | * If you sleep so one of your ears is folded when you're young, that ear will grow slightly pointed. |
| 384 | [[/folder]] |
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