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  • Astro Boy:
    • In the 1980 series, Astro and Atlas are built from similar blueprints. Hence, their eyes will blink red when Atlas is first activated, and whenever Atlas meets Astro.
    • Also happens to Atlas and Uran when Dr. Pavlos mind-controls them in the 2003 series episode "Atlas Strikes Back".
  • Briefly in episode 22 of Attack on Titan Levi's eyes become red when attacking the Female Titan for killing his squad. Take warning, indeed.
  • Claire Stanfield from Baccano! has reddish-brown eyes, rather than straight-up red, but they sure as hell look blood red when he's revealed to be the Rail Tracer, and he's prone to combining these with Glowing Eyes of Doom and Slasher Smiles. The Light Novels also bring in Christopher Shouldered, whose defining features are his permanently and severely bloodshot eyes that appear to be almost entirely red, save the iris.
  • Baki the Grappler: exclusive to the anime (particularly the 2018-2022 series), characters may have a red glare in their iris, representing them having a violent intent behind their attacks. Other times, they will straight up have Glowing Eyes of Doom to show how evil they are. This is mostly seen on Yujiro Hanma, who usually combines this with a Slasher Smile.
  • Berserk: pretty much all Apostles except Rosine, Irvine and Locus have red eyes.
    • Zodd has blood red eyes, which is the first thing to distinguish his demony-nish apart from his size and the fact he is surrounded by bodies. He still retains his red eyes in his beast form, the movies however changed to Zodd having yellow eyes which combined with CGI of his monster form really sucks the terror out of the character. Especially compared to the 90s anime and manga.
    • Griffith is known for his blue piercing eyes which are almost hawk-like, living up to the name of his army. In the 90s anime he keeps his baby blues even when he becomes Femto, though the movies change this and give him blood red eyes which are pretty damn terrifying.
    • Normally subverted with Guts who’s given Blank White Eyes when on a rampage, but Guts' subconscious the Beast of Darkness has jagged lightning-shaped glowing red eyes. The Beast's eyes are implemented when Guts dons the Berserker Armor but disappear when Guts has control.
  • The Big O:
    • The giant construction robot that goes berserk has a single glowing red eye that moves back and forth in its head like a 1970's Battlestar Galactica Cylon.
    • "Hydra". The giant three-headed electrical monster has many red eyes in lines along its head and body.
  • Black Butler's Sebastian Michaelis has red eyes that are sometimes paired with glowing Hellish Pupils. Despite being a loyal butler to his young master Ciel, he's basically just tenderizing his soul until he's ready to devour it. Sebastian is very much a demon. Literally.
  • Bleach. Hollows are extremely dangerous spirit creatures.
    • Anime episodes 2 and 3. The Hollow form of Orihime's brother has red eyes.
    • Anime episode 9. The hollow Grand Fisher has glowing red eyes.
    • Anime episode 210. After Captain Kensei Muguruma undergoes hollowfication, he has glowing red eyes under his mask.
    • Anime episode 214. The hollow that attacks Don Kanonji and Kisuke Urahara and the giant hollow fortress have red eyes.
    • Anime episode 220. Captain Komamura's bankai, a giant samurai warrior, has glowing red eyes.
    • Anime episode 260. A "sword beast" (rogue zanpakuto spirit) has red eyes.
  • In Brave10, Hanzo's evil red eyes match his evil red hair. Saizo also gets a moment where his eyes flash red when he's about to kill Kamanosuke after their fight.
  • Cowboy Bebop:
  • Crest of the Stars and its sequels have Admiral Spoor, a particularly volatile Blood Knight, who's marked as dangerous by her blood-red eyes. (Her personal flagship is of the same color.)
  • Daltanious: When Kloppen is introduced, we see him wear a Cool Mask with red eyes as he orders his panther to maul one of his generals for "cowardice". He only takes off the mask in front of his superior, Emperor Dolmen.
  • Mina Tepes from Dance in the Vampire Bund has the blood-red eyes and Undeathly Pallor appropriate to a centuries old Vampire Monarch that slaughters assassins with her own hands and plays chess with the lives of hundreds. However, she is at heart a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire who privately tortures herself whenever she is forced to endanger or sacrifice innocents for the greater good.
  • In Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, anyone who falls victim to Junko Enoshima's brainwashing videos has these, as does Izuru Kamukura, a Broken Ace with Lack of Empathy artificially given the talent of every student at Hope's Peak Academy.
  • Contractors in Darker than Black are usually completely indistinguishable from normal people, but when they use their powers, their eyes glow red.
  • Deadman Wonderland:
    • Shiro, though it's semi-justified because she's an albino. She's not evil, but she's definitely dangerous. Or so it seems. She's actually Wretched Egg.
    • Played straight with Chan and En, as well as Wretched Egg, who are also albinos.
  • In Death Note:
    • Misa gets these after she receives the Shinigami eyes. The red eyes also show up for other characters who make this "trade", like Kyosuke Higuchi, Teru Mikami, and Soichiro Yagami. In these cases, the red eyes are a stylistic representation of the power for the audience, and it's confirmed in the full rules of the notebook that there's no visual change in-universe. The Live-Action Adaptation instead uses Supernatural Gold Eyes.
    • Red eyes are also used metaphorically for Light when his Kira persona shines through (i.e. when he's acting particularly diabolical).
    • Ryuk also gets these in his more menacing moments, overlapping with Glowing Eyes of Doom. It happens most prominently when he kills Light at the end.
  • Death Parade and its precursor Death Billiards has the dark-haired woman, who works alongside Arbiters in the afterlife. This trope is played straight in Billiards and in the first few episodes of Death Parade, where her existence is shrouded in mystery and she is complicit in a flawed system that antagonizes humans. Subverted later on when it turns out that she’s a human being herself, and she becomes far more empathetic as she regains her memories.
  • Demon City Shinjuku. In the 1988 OVA based on the novel:
    • The Young Man has a two-headed mutant Doberman named Kuro with shining red eyes. Kuro is incredibly vicious and threatens Kyouya Izayoi and Sayaka Ram.
    • When Kyouya Izayoi first meets the Big Bad Levih Rah, he slices him in half with his sword and Levih Rah changes into a flock of bats with glowing red eyes.
  • An inversion in D.Gray-Man: If Allen's cursed left eye turns black with red concentric rings, you should probably start running. However, it's not a matter of running from him - it's because he just spotted an Akuma and you really don't want to be around when there's bullets flying through the air that can make you dissolve.
  • Digimon:
    • In Digimon Adventure 02, any Digimon that comes under the influence of a Dark Ring will have glowing red eyes.
    • Digimon Tamers also has green-eyed trickster Impmon, who is upgraded into red-eyed killer Beelzemon. After he finally leaves The Dark Side, his eyes become green as Beelzemon as well.
  • Dogs: Bullets & Carnage gives us Heine. He's not exactly evil, just extremely Ax-Crazy.
  • Dragon Ball:
    • Frieza and his family all have red eyes, with the older brother, Cooler, combining this with Glowing Eyes of Doom for his Ultimate Form.
    • Very early colorations of the Super Saiyan transformation had red eyes, as seen in the manga and concept art for Cooler's Revenge. However, the eye color was soon changed to green, which has stuck since.
    • The Oozaru transformation of the Saiyans, wherein they also get red Glowing Eyes of Doom and go completely berserk.
    • Majin Buu has reddish-orange irises in his second and third forms (in this case, combined with Black Eyes of Crazy).
    • In Dragon Ball Online and Dragon Ball Xenoverse, characters under the influence of the Time Breakers' dark magic have glowing red eyes, as well as a shadowy purple aura.
    • Characters possessed by Baby in GT also have flashing red eyes.
    • In Dragon Ball Super
      • Downplayed — The Super Saiyan God transformation includes red eyes with the power upgrade, but doesn't make the Saiyan in question more vicious.
      • Subverted with Frost. He has the same eye color as Frieza, but he is a Nice Guy who fights against evildoers. It's actually Played Straight. Frost is very evil, just like Frieza. He's even a planet broker like his counterpart.
      • Hit has red eyes and is a feared Professional Killer who easily takes apart Vegeta even after he transform into a Super Saiyan Blue.
      • Goku Black appears as a black shadow-like creature with red eyes and has the appearance of a large demon when he confronts Future Trunks. Rather this is an actual form or an artistic choice to hide who Goku Black is not known.
      • Episode #74. Watagashi is an evil alien parasite that takes over evil beings and gives them superpowers. The more evil the creature it takes over, the more power Watagashi gives it. Not only does Watagashi have red Glowing Eyes, but any creature it possesses gains red Glowing Eyes as well.
      • In Dragon Ball Super: Broly for a brief moment the titular berserker's eye glow red as he's going One-Winged Angel, invoking a This Is Gonna Suck reaction in Goku. Fans assumed (hoped) Broly would have the red peepers throughout the climax as part of his transformation, but it's just a artistic decision for the moment and he has the normal Blank White Eyes instead.
      • In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, when Gohan awakens his new "Beast" form, the transformation includes distinct Red Eyes. A No-Holds-Barred Beatdown against the previously menacing Cell Max ensues not long after.
  • Durarara!!: Anyone involved with Saika will gain glowing red eyes whenever Saika is in use. Wielders' eyes turn red upon activation of the blade, and Saika zombies will get red eyes when they're being controlled.
    • In the original light novel, Izaya's eyes are coloured bright red, which suits him well as the guy who finds entertainment in causing strife for everyone in the series. Subverted in the anime where they are coloured dark brown.
  • Elfen Lied:
    • Lucy has red eyes, is cute, and extremely deadly. Thinks almost all Humans Are Bastards.
    • All the other Diclonii, too, at least in the anime. Well, definitely Mariko. Nana is more debatable — she's certainly dangerous, being a Diclonius and all, but doesn't seem particularly fond of killing people unless she thinks it's right.
  • TheEnd from Eureka Seven has red pupils - though its eyes are more disturbing because of the way they roll around in their sockets. But, of course, its eyes turn green after it makes a Heel–Face Turn.
  • Zeref from Fairy Tail usually has black eyes, but once he's sufficiently pissed off his irises will turn red. Since he's just about the only character in Fairy Tail who can successfully kill people, intentionally of otherwise, this is a sign that you should run.
  • Gajeel Redfox and Rogue Cheney from Fairy Tail both fit this trope: both are dragon slayers (Gajeel is the Iron Dragon slayer from the Fairy Tail Guild and Rogue the Shadow Dragon slayer from Sabretooth) and learned their magic from their adoptive dragon parents. They also both entered the series as bad guys but have had heel-face turns since.
  • The demonic nobleman in The Fantastic Adventures of Unico has reddish eyes in human form. The eyes of any creature that he corrupts or manipulates seem to turn red as well.
  • Whilst far from evil, Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star is a very dangerous man who will sometimes gain Glowing Red Eyes of Doom when his sense of moral outrage is particularly provoked, such as when he confronted Amiba. Usually, those whose actions cause him to manifest said eyes tend to die very messily afterwards.
  • FLCL:
    • Ninamori has glowing red eyes while possessed by an alien monster in episode 3 "Marquis de Carabas".
    • The giant hand monster in episode 5 "Brittle Bullet" has red "eyes" in its head.
    • Mamimi has glowing red eyes twice while feeding the robot electronic parts and vehicles in episode 6 "FLCLimax".
  • Fullmetal Alchemist:
    • Played straight with Scar, then later subverted with other Ishvalans who are, for the most part, victims and refugees of the Ishvalan War. Also subverted when Scar becomes a good guy later on.
    • Inverted when Al uses a Philosopher's Stone to fight, and his eyes take on a noticeably darker (and incredibly awesome) tone.
    • Whenever the homunculi are feeling particularly murderous, part of their face becomes shadowed enough we see glowing red eyes. This is particularly creepy for Pride and Wrath since their identities were unknown until their reveal and we had plenty of time to get used to them being Selim and King Bradley.
  • Future Diary: Yuno sports red eyes, and she's a Yandere.
  • Natsume from Gakuen Alice has red eyes in the manga, almost as a warning to the fact that he's a flame-caster (and will most likely try to burn you when he's angry at you). Though, in the anime, his eyes are brown.
  • Motoko Kusanagi of Ghost in the Shell not only has bright red eyes, but chose the color herself. She's a very scary lady, to the point of remarking casually she's familiar with how to perform dental torture. Later on, it's revealed that she chose the red eyes when she was cyberized at a very early age, and chose them along with her purple hair for no real reason other than the fact that kids like bright colors, then stuck with them because the hair and eye colors had become a part of her identity. But the "dangerous red eyes" trope still very much applies to her present day self.
  • When Goblin Slayer starts getting particularly violent or hateful, one of his eyes glows red under his helmet as a visual cue of the upcoming carnage.
  • The Gundam franchise is full with these:
    • Shinn Asuka, the (initial) protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, has red eyes. He's not evil, per se, but has definite anger issues.
    • A mecha example in this one, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 features this in the Gundams. The primary celestial being units feature green particles, eyes, and clear pieces. The units that are not using the true GN drives feature the same pieces in red. Guess which ones are evil? However, this gets subverted later on in the movie, which features the Gundam Raphael, which also has red eyes and particles, but is most definitely a good guy! And the same can be said of the Sol Braves team, and in fact all of humanity.
    • A number of Zeonic mobile suits are shown as red-eyed Cyber Cyclops, and due to the franchise's love for referencing itself, a large number of suits in non-Universal Century timelines which are inspired by Zeonic ones (mostly the Zaku) have red optics. As a result, more than a few villainous suits have the glowing red 'eye' to warn viewers that they're not good guys. A few Gundam-like units have more human eye arrangements but are also red; this is most noticeable on the Delta Plus from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, which is otherwise mostly shades of blue. This suggests Riddhe's place in the story and his intents, or the type of danger he might pose and that later he'll actually act on his crazed jealousy, enough to try and hunt down Banagher and the Unicorn.
    • In Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Gundam Barbatos' usually green eyes start glowing red when its limiters are released. This doesn't end well for anyone on the receiving end. Its pilot, Mikazuki, also tends to get deeply bloodshot eyes when he does this, due to his neural link to Barbatos the feedback from which causes horrific neurological damage whenever he does release the limiters.
  • Hajime no Ippo: Whenever Bryan Hawk lapses into the deepest pits of his Ax-Crazy, his eyes, excluding the pupils, become completely, bloody red. They even border on glowing. It definitely helps making his batshit insane personality much more terrifying. In the manga (probably due to a lack of colors, duh), the eyes are black.
  • Hakuouki: glowing red eyes are one of the easiest ways to identify the Rasetsu. Aside from them, there's also Kazama Chikage, who has naturally red eyes and is the most dangerous villain of the series.
  • In an odd twist, Guu from Haré+Guu has red eyes in her "normal" form, but considering that she's that world's rough equivalent of Cthulhu, it makes sense.
  • In Heaven's Lost Property, Ikaros' eyes turning red means she has entered battle mode.
  • Hellsing:
    • In the OAV, when Seras Victoria's eyes shift from blue to red (often glowing), expect bodies to hit the floor in numerous pieces. The first Hellsing anime had Victoria's eyes change from blue to red permanently when she first became a vampire, but in the OAV, this happens when she drinks Pip's blood and becomes a full vampire.
    • But the character who really takes the cake with this trope is Alucard himself. Especially when he makes his Nightmare Faces. Oh, and if two red eyes aren't scary enough, how about a thousand of them?
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers: Prussia once had solid red eyes (more recently they've become Technicolor Eyesnote ), and early in the series was a distinctly villainous and dangerous character: A loud, violent and dangerous Blood Knight, who took great pleasure in defeating and humiliating Austria, and was arrogant to the point that he proclaimed that the other characters should serve and worship him. In the present, however, it's more likely to be subverted: He's become much more comedic and pitiful, a change that the author himself lampshaded.
    • Subverted with Romania, who despite having red eyes, is a cheerful and friendly Nice Guy. Well, as long as you're not Hungary, that is.
  • Satoko and her older brother Satoshi, from Higurashi: When They Cry, have red eyes. They subvert this, most of the time, by being very friendly. However, Satoshi did kill his aunt and Satoko killed her parents due to the Hate Plague.
  • Kurapika from Hunter × Hunter falls into the "dangerous" (though not evil) category...normally polite and reserved, but if his eyes turn red, you'd better hope he's not looking at you.
  • Silky from I'm Gonna Be an Angel! has red eyes. In the first season, it is a subversion, but in the second one, it is played straight because she is a villain - of a raging psycho bitch variety. At the end, it is subverted yet again, because it turned out she really is a Woobie.
  • Inuyasha:
    • Subverted with Kirara who was first introduced as a snarling beast with glowing red eyes. Then it's revealed she's a friend of Myouga's and was just trying to protect the bodies of the villagers who had cared for her. She becomes a friend and ally after that.
    • Naraku's eyes are naturally red. As the Big Bad, this is not good from the outset. When they begin to glow, however, true nastiness is about to happen.
    • Subverted with Kagura. Her eyes are a solid red without pupils. Although introduced as a villain, Character Development makes her an Anti-Villain who tries to help Inuyasha's group, supports Sesshomaru, and who ends up having an Heroic Sacrifice to save Kohaku's life.
    • Inuyasha and Sesshomaru both have gold eyes, but when their sclera turn solid red, very bad things are about to happen to someone.
  • Izetta from Izetta: The Last Witch is normally a very nice, peaceful person. But threaten Princess Fine in her presence and she'll remind you why witches are considered to be Persons of Mass Destruction.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  • Kaguya from Kaguya-sama: Love Is War has bright red eyes (they're compared to rubies in-universe) that hint at her cold, scheming nature, though this applies less and less as she defrosts.
  • Kakegurui: When Yumeko Jabami switches into "Gambling Addict mode", her normally brown eyes are suddenly stylized as bright red, to reflect her insanity.
  • Lyrical Nanoha:
    • Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha:
      • In the first episode, Nanoha is attacked by a large evil cloud-like monster with red eyes.
      • Subverted with Fate. The red-eyed Fate Testarossa is introduced as an adversary and an apparent villain, but it quickly becomes apparent that she's the enemy more by circumstance than choice, and she does a Heel–Face Turn near the end.
    • Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's has another subversion with the will of the Book of Darkness, who possesses red eyes with Hellish Pupils. She's introduced as the embodiment of an indestructible Artifact of Doom that destroys worlds, but is eventually revealed to be a tragic individual bound to her corrupted programming. She also does a Heel–Face Turn near the end. Hayate's eyes also turn red right before she's possessed by the Book of Darkness.
    • StrikerS Sound Stage X eventually reveals that the person directly responsible for the Mariage Incident is a another red-eyed character, Runessa Magnus.
    • In Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force, this is played straight (so far?) with Arnage of Huckebein, although it's not very clear if hers are red-red or more pinkish. She combines this with being an Evil Redhead to get Curtains Match the Window. Though ironically enough, she's (probably) the least evil of the Huckebein clan.
    • Iris from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection is yet another subversion, being an Anti-Villain trying to save the life of her best friend's father and her home planet. In reality, she's playing this trope completely straight, being perfectly willing to brainwash someone into wiping out all life on Earth for the sole purpose of making them suffer from the guilt.
  • Played straight with Ardi from Magical × Miracle, but partially subverted with Yue, whose one red eye doesn't seem to mark him as any more evil or dangerous than any other high-caliber wizard/politician/scientist (although his Sleazy Politician enemies may beg to differ).
  • Punie's mother, Esmerelda, from Magical Witch Punie-chan has red eyes. She's as evil as her daughter.
  • In Marvel Anime: Iron Man, Dio's eyes briefly turn red when it goes berserk.
  • In Mekakucity Actors (the anime adaption of the Kagerou Project), all of the members of the Mekakushi Dan's eyes glow red when they use their powers.
  • Both Fafnir and Ilulu from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid have red eyes, and they're both Ax-Crazy (though they both mellow out as the series progresses).
  • Mob Psycho 100. In anime episode 8 "The Older Brother Bows", an organization of evil espers called Claw sends an operative named Koyama to kidnap Shigeo. While Koyama is fighting, he has red Glowing Eyes to show that he's an evil and powerful esper.
    • Shigeo's own eyes are shown to be dark red whenever an art shift gives him a Sudden Eye Color, which is usually during a one of his "explosions".
  • Moriarty the Patriot has Louis and William Moriarty, two of the most terrifying serial killers in the series, both with red eyes. The first chapter is even titled "The Scarlet Eyes."
  • Silas Edwards in Mother Keeper has red eyes and he spends his time buying slaves, drugging them and then forcing them into an arena to fight to the death for entertainment and betting.
  • Double subverted in Murder Princess. Alita and the rest of her family have red eyes, which no one comments on and are presumably normal. When Falis and Alita switch bodies, however, red eyes are the only warning you'll get.
My Hero Academia:
  • Bakugo Katsuki and he's one of the good guys... albeit more of a Anti-Hero.
    • Shota Aizawa gets red eyes in the anime when he’s using his quirk, but despite his black outfit and in-battle Death Glare, he’s also a good guy. It does actually signal to villains that he’s using his Quirk, and is dangerous to them,though, so he wears a visor to make it harder to know who he’s focusing on. He’s a fierce fighter and will kick the ass or anyone who threatens his friends or students so you know he’s pissed when his eyes glow.
    • Shigaraki is a villainous example. His red eyes fit with his white hair, pale skin and creepy voice. He's one of the main villains of the series.
  • My-HiME: trickster villain Nagi, who's an Enigmatic Minion and one of the Big Bad's sidekicks in My-HiME, and the Big Bad himself in My-Otome.
  • Naruto:
    • The Uchiha clan might as well be built around this trope. Every Uchiha's eyes turn red when using the Sharingan, and Itachi and Obito pretty much always have them on.
    • Used to some degree whenever Naruto used Kurama's chakra and his eyes turn red (with the added bonus of Hellish Pupils), though he is still aware of whose side he's on. When he reaches four tails and above, his eyes turn into glowing holes, and that's when everyone knows they're screwed. Naruto's eyes turn orange red with his human pupil when he uses Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Kurama Mode.
    • Filler character Ranmaru has red eyes when he's using his unnamed eye jutsu. He's technically not evil, just willing to assist Raiga even if it involves helping him kill people, until he sees the error of his ways.
  • In Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the gargantuan, pillbug-like Ohmus' rows and rows and rows of blue eyes shine bright red when they're enraged. Everything in their path is devastated afterwards, and the spores that collect on their bodies expand the Sea of Corruption a little bit more with each stampede.
  • Evangeline occasionally do this in Negima!? (second season). In the actual manga, the author prefers Black Eyes for scary characters; black and white isn't quite up to portraying eye colour.
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion: In episode 18, EVA-01's eyes glow red when the Dummy Plug is activated.
  • One Piece: In TV special Heart of Gold all the warriors who can use Haki (Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp) have their eyes turn red when using Observation Haki... it's pretty dope.
    • Zoro's right eye turned red previously in the anime when slicing down T-Bone and Monet.
    • Luffy's eyes go red when transformed into Gear 4.
    • In the Wano anime Sanji’s eye flashes red when he breaks Kuni’s katana with his foot.
    • Absalom has cold red eyes in contrast to the rest of the baddies In Thriller Bark who despite their creepiness all have normal looking peepers (even Gecko Moria).
    • In the anime Magellan's eyes go red when he activates his poison powers.
    • Hordy Jones's eyes go red when he takes Energy Steroids and go even redder when Luffy puts him on the ropes. Hordy looks so alarming, his picture is used for One Piece's Nightmare Fuel page.
    • Bartolomeo as well as just looking like a threatening punk, has got red eyes but as it turns out Bartolomeo is a huge Fan Boy softie.
    • Franky's face usually very nonthreatening, but when he gets his face damaged and reveals his glowing cyborg eye it's Terminator-levels awesome.
    • Big Mom's eyes go red when on a rampage in Whole Cake Island and Totto Land and only go back to normal when she gets the sweets/cake she wants.
    • Big Mom's second son, Charlotte Katakuri has crimson eyes which glow when he activates uses his Haki, and really do take warning as Katakuri will wipe the floor with your ass if you give him a reason; which Luffy can attest to.
    • Carrot when transforms into her powerful Sulong form gets intimidating red eyes. Subverted somewhat though as personality-wise she’s just as sweet as she normally is.
    • Basil Hawkins has cold red eyes and in Wano he proves to one of the deadliest Supernovas giving Luffy, Zoro and especially Law a hard time.
    • Also in the Wano anime, when Luffy finally succeeds in pissing Kaido off, there’s thunder in the sky and Kaido’s eyes glow red and he one shots Luffy with one swing of his club.
    • Im the Greater-Scope Villain of One Piece, has only shown one eye in the manga. In the anime Im’s eye is red.
  • PandoraHearts:
    • Break also has reddish eye(s) and it turns out that, back when he was the illegal contractor Kevin Regnard, he was also known as the Red Eyed Ghost.
    • Oz gets these when using B-Rabbit's power.
    • This trope is combined with Apocalypse Maiden for the in-universe concept of the Children of Misfortune. It is believed that children born with red eyes are inherently dangerous, causing tragedy simply by existing. Glen Baskerville was responsible for making them Deader than Dead, since their red eyes are a sign of their ability to influence the core of the Abyss. The recent informations reveals that everything about the Childern of misfortune were lies and that it's the Jurors that they were a threat to not the world because they were created by the core and because of this they were able to bypass their control and harm them which is why they wanted them to be destroyed. Oswald knew of this and used Vincent to scare them.
  • Paranoia Agent episode #12. Lil' Slugger is an evil being who kills people who are in despair. During the episode, Maniwa fights a giant version of Lil' Slugger who has red Glowing Eyes.
  • A couple of episodes of Pokémon: The Series have used red-glowing eyes to indicate that a Pokemon is under some form of mind control.
  • Pretty Cure:
  • Princess Tutu:
    • Rue / Princess Kraehe though she's more of a Tragic Villain raised as a Tyke Bomb than a straight villain.
    • Mytho when he's possessed by Raven's blood in the second season, although they're almost more of a pink than a red. Considering the Monster Raven and his servants also have red eyes, it's probably a sign of Raven's blood.
  • Subverted with Psychic Detective Yakumo. The hero has one red eye, which means he can see the dead. However, it's normally hidden with a contact lens. However, the main villain and Yakumo's blood father has two red eyes.
  • Kyubey of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The end of episode 8 combines this with Glowing Eyes of Doom.
  • Rebuild of Evangelion: Rei and Kaworu retain the red eyes. Then in 2.0 Shinji gets them... by sheer force of will no less it seems.
  • Evil Prince Xanxus from Reborn! (2004) has vicious bright red eyes to go with his nasty temper. Seriously, you do not want to piss him off.
  • Inner Moka from Rosario + Vampire is an Action Girl who can Curb-Stomp Battle just about any monster she meets. Sharp contrast to Outer Moka, who has green eyes and is basically harmless.
    • If Tsukune EVER gains these, run. No if and/or buts about it. It either means he's angry or worse...
  • Rurouni Kenshin: Makoto Shishio has narrow red eyes. His intro episode is appropriately titled "Devil of Vengeance". Earlier on, though, protagonist Kenshin Himura himself was exhibiting the trope as Hitokiri Battousai until his battle with Saitou Hajime gave him gold eyes, probably to match the prescribed manga coloring.
  • Sailor Moon:
    • Played straight by Black Lady and Galaxia before Sailor Moon 'befriended' her. Beryl's eyes were also red. (Of course, Black Lady is the corrupted version of Chibi-Usa, whose eyes were red to begin with despite not being an example of this trope.)
    • The Seven Shadows in the series have them to the extremes. The ENTIRE eye is red. Sclera, iris, AND pupil.
    • Fiore gets these when merges with the Kisenian flower. After his defeat, he gets these when he tries to pull an If I Can't Have You… situation on the Senshi by crashing the asteroid they're all on into the Earth. Love Makes You Evil indeed.
  • In Act 1 of Sailor Moon Crystal, Monster of the Week Morga has light red sclera, and her Brainwashed and Crazy human minions have red glowing Mind-Control Eyes until knocked unconscious by Sailor Moon. Ditto for Brainwashed and Crazy Mamoru, though Usagi ran him through with a sword.
  • Saint Seiya.:
    • Gemini Saga's eyes turn from a pleasant blue/green to bright red and glowing whenever his evil side takes over. When this happens, it's a good idea to run away very, very fast...unless the person he's talking to has death wish, is The Hero, or both. His hair changes colour too, going from blue to gray.
    • Leo Aiolia's natural Innocent Blue Eyes become Icy Blue Eyes and then turn into this, once his Brainwashed and Crazy / Manchurian Agent mode kicks in full force after taking a hit to the face from Seiya. This is when Seiya, who didn't understand at first why his ally was attacking him, realizes something is VERY wrong and that he is in for some serious pain. Aioria's eyes only return to their natural blue color after the brainwashing is lifted... by Cassios' Heroic Sacrifice.
    • Played with also. There is an instance in the Abel Non-Serial Movie where after Abel killed Athena and Shura and Camus got killed (again), Saga seems to stand by meekly, but there is this one instant where his meek expression hardens, and his eyes flare up red in barely concealed anger, hinting that he is NOT okay at ALL with what just happened.
    • Any character pulsing with enough power to open a can of whoopass will have these. Phoenix Ikki before unleashing a world of pain on Cerberus Dante, Scorpio Milo before activating his Restriction technique.
  • In Saint Seiya Omega, Eden sports these a few instants, along with Hidden Eyes (more specifically his face is framed in shadows and only red slits are visible) as he throbs with unrestrained rage, about to unleash punishment on Kouga in episode 24.
  • Inverted, discussed, and ultimately deconstructed for Gojyo in Saiyuki: his red eyes are considered a bad omen because they mark him as a half-breed when paired with his identically-red hair, but this really only turns out to be unlucky for Gojyo himself, as he keeps getting treated as an outcast because of them.
  • Demon Eyes Kyo from Samurai Deeper Kyo is the living incarnation of this trope. Even more impressively, he manages to do this and Glowing Eyes of Doom simultaneously. In an interesting subversion, the nature of Kyo's eyes and his connection to the enigmatic Mibu clan become central points to the plot.
  • Sgt. Frog: Several cases. Assassin Captain Jirara has three. Dark Keroro's red eyes turn black when he is rid of Kiruru's influence.
  • Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo, the supreme demon lord and Sealed Evil in a Can from the first season of Slayers. Lina herself has them too, but while she's not a villain, her record with property destruction certainly makes her dangerous. Lina's trademark spell "Dragon Slave" in fact invokes the power of Shabranigdo himself.
  • In SPY×FAMILY, the mother of the family in the title, Yor Forger (née Briar), has red eyes in the manga's colored artwork. Her day job is that of a mild-mannered, somewhat spacey office worker, but she's actually a Professional Killer.
  • Squid Girl. Ika Musume does this in the anime when she gets angry and unleashes her full power. Watch a brief example here.
  • Steel Angel Kurumi: If Kurumi's usual blue eyes turn red, it's a sign that the demon part of her heart is coming out.
  • Ralph Werec from Str.A.In.: Strategic Armored Infantry takes a different approach: he may not have red pupils, but the whites of his eyes turn pink when he goes crazier than he usually is. The result is very creepy.
  • Sword Art Online
    • One of the high-ranking members of Laughing Coffin, the murder guild in SAO, is a man named XaXa who wears a skull mask with red eyes; he's consequently referred to as "Red-Eyed XaXa".
    • Death Gun, the antagonist of the Gun Gale Online arc, has a pair of glowing red eyes on a metal mask with Vader Breath. When Kirito realizes he's a member of Laughing Coffin, the eyes clue him in; XaXa effectively recreated his SAO avatar in GGO to serve as Death Gun.
  • Hibiki Tachibana from Symphogear has been known to sport a "rage face" that consists of her face becoming a black void with menacing red eyes and a Slasher Smile.
  • Tekkaman Blade:
    • All of the enemy tekkamen had red eyes and red crystals. When Blade exceeds his time limit and goes crazy, his eyes turn red as well.
    • Present in the sequel too. Dead End had red eyes before his Heel–Face Turn.
  • In Tenchi Muyo! Queen Misaki and her daughters, Ayeka and Sasami, have red eyes, though Sasami's is more pink. All three of them have short fuses, though unlike Misaki (who will put you through walls) and Ayeka (who can be something of a sadist if pushed), Sasami just restricts herself to Tranquil Fury. Tranquil Fury enough to make her father, the Emperor of Jurai, rethink his actions.
  • In Tokyo Ghoul, this is a defining characteristic of the titular creatures' Game Face. As such, seeing a ghoul with active kakugan is a sure sign of impending violence.
  • Kurogane from Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- has red eyes and appears to be a rather dark at the beginning, given his apparent bloodlust and over-enthusiasm for killing people who go after his Princess. Subverted though when it's established that he is indeed a pretty good guy and probably the only one who is completely there amongst the main characters.
  • In Umi Monogatari, this is averted with Kanon and the shrine maiden, but played straight with a corrupted Urin.
  • Mutsumi from Utawarerumono has red eyes (as does Kamyu when she goes into vampire mode).
  • Vampire Hunter D:
    • Most vampires when they're angry, if they don't have it all the time. If D gets Red Eyes, it's time to run. No, wait, too late. You're dead already.
    • The 1985 movie
      • In the first few minutes Doris Lang encounters three opponent with red eyes: the monster she's hunting, a werewolf that tears off her crucifix, and the vampire leader Count Magnus Lee.
      • Later on, at Count Magnus Lee's castle D meets a giant, a mutant who can summon up a ghostly wolf and the three Snake Women of Midwich, all of whom are Lee's evil servants and who have red eyes.
    • The 2000 movie "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust''
      • The horses pulling the vampire's coach near the beginning have glowing red eyes. And if that isn't enough to tell you they're evil, they have fangs as well - apparently they're vampire horses.
      • Some evil vampire bats that appear later also have red eyes.
  • In Vampire Knight, the vampires' eyes turn red when they are suffering from blood lust. And Kaname's eyes are just red in general, and he's not exactly the most benign person...
  • Dilandau in The Vision of Escaflowne has garnet-colored eyes and platinum hair, and he's totally crazy and bloodthirsty. Turns out, his true form is a blond haired and blue eyed girl, so the hair and eyes are a side effect of the experiments performed on him.
  • In the Warrior Cats manga about Graystripe, when he remembers BloodClan in the full-color version, one of the BloodClan cats attacking him has red eyes, demonstrating how evil they are.
  • Sastre, a one-episode (but still formidable) Witch Hunter Robin villain, has red eyes.
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Wicked Witch of the West's eyes glow red every time she uses her magic in the 1986 series.
  • Fuuma's eyes in the X1999 anime series are dark red, in contrast to his manga counterpart, whose eyes can best be described as gold-hazel (giving him something of a cat-like appearance). The change in eye color probably has to do with the taken-for-granted aspect of his true nature in the anime series, while the manga builds up much more subtly towards the Wham Episode and his Face–Heel Turn.
  • Hatsumi/Eve from Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito is a subversion. She has red eyes but is one of the more innocent and benevolent characters in the series.
  • In the Toei-produced "Season Zero" of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yami's eyes were red. And bad guys really should take warning, because not only was Yami completely psychotic originally, but anyone who messed with his friends either ended up dead or even crazier than he was.
  • Zig-Zagged with Red-Eyes Black Dragon in Yu-Gi-Oh!:
    • In the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, it's downplayed as Red-Eyes is the signature card of Joey Wheeler/Katsuya Jounouchi and is most definitely on the heroes' side, but it's still a powerful monster that's not to be trifled with.
    • Played straight in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, where it's the signature card of Atticus Rhodes/Fubuki Tenjouin's Superpowered Evil Side.
    • And from the same franchise, duelists under the influence of the Orichalcos have glowing red eyes to go with the green runic circle on the forehead.
  • YuYu Hakusho: Some of the demons. Though many demons appear to have this trait not as a default eye color, but whenever it appears that they've tapped into their demonic nature overlapping with Glowing Eyes of Doom. Reminding you of their nature.


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