Line #95 Main/StylizedForTheViewer


1	%% Image chosen per Image Suggestion crowner: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions131
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3	[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2020_10_27_120423_8.png]]]]
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5	->''"So are they, in reality, on all fours, just roaring, and they just think they are standing upright? Or do the humans notice that they are standi -- you know what!? Animated movie with ambiguously defined rules!"''
6	-->-- '''WebVideo/CinemaSins'''
7
8	Usually we're meant to take character designs at face value [[WellThisIsNotThatTrope but this is not the case]]. In-series characters see each other in a different way from how we see them, even ignoring art styles.
9
10	!!!'''Subtropes:'''
11	* CharlieBrownBaldness often occurs when a character appears to have almost no hair but canonically has hair, anything ranging from a buzzcut to a full head of hair.
12	* Characters with BlackBeadEyes are often shown to have actual eye colors at one time or another.
13	* Characters with FourFingeredHands are often assumed to have five fingers like normal humans.
14	* HairColorDissonance is when a character's hair looks a different color than it actually is.
15	* SuddenlyBlonde is for when a video game character's canon hair color doesn't match their sprite or model.
16	* VisibleInvisibility is where the audience is able to see a character who is supposed to be invisible to others.
17	* Characters who are TheNoseless or characters who have NoMouth usually do actually have them, but they're simply drawn without them.
18	* Characters who suffer from AnimalsLackAttributes or BarbieDollAnatomy usually are meant to actually have the parts that are missing.
19	* AllegedLookalikes occurs when characters are meant to be similar looking in-series but aren't for the viewer
20	* YourSizeMayVary and NotDrawnToScale occur when things are depicted as a different size than intended in canon.
21	* FurryLens occurs when the characters who are actually humans look like animals to the audience.
22	* FullyClothedNudity may involve character treated as naked plot-wise, even though they're at least partially-clothed from an audience perspective.
23	* AnimatedWorldHypotheses questions whether animated (or illustrated) characters perceive their own world as an animation.
24	* MusicalWorldHypotheses: Characters in a musical number may not necessarily be singing in-universe.
25	* SuddenlyObviousFakery is when a disguise or something similar looks totally convincing to both the audience and the in-story characters but suddenly looks very fake when the deception is revealed.
26	* SproutingEars is when a character suddenly sprouts animal ears and/or a tail to emphasize a certain personality trait, i.e. a mischievous character sprouts a fox's ears and tail (as opposed to LittleBitBeastly or UnusualEars, when a character really ''does'' have animal parts).
27	* EveryPizzaIsPepperoni: Every pizza in animated works will have red spots on it even if the toppings are specifically called out and do not mention pepperoni.
28	* EyeDentityGiveaway: Sometimes characters might not see a change in eye color when an imposter or shapeshifter is in front of them, but the audience may.
29	* DeepImmersionGaming: Characters playing a video game or tabletop game through normal means appear to the viewer to be acting as their characters.
30	* WingdingEyes: A character’s eyes take on a cartoon drawing shape (such as hearts or skulls or dollar signs) to reveal their inner thoughts.
31
32	Contrast to AppearanceIsInTheEyeOfTheBeholder and RuleOfPerception. Using a FourthWallPortrait is a way to draw a more accurate version of the character. May be a sign of a LazyArtist or StylisticSuck.
33
34	On the other hand, if any of the characters happen to have MediumAwareness, all bets are off, and they'll probably engage in some StylisticSelfParody.
35
36	----
37	!!Examples
38
39	[[foldercontrol]]
40
41	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
42	* Shinigami eyes in ''Franchise/DeathNote'' are [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] characters receive when they take a DeadlyUpgrade. WordOfGod is that it's stylistic, and that their eyes don't change color InUniverse.
43	* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the various Breathing styles of swordfighting used to fight demons are [[ElementalMotifs named and themed after various elements]], and their techniques are visually depicted as though the characters are manipulating those elements (i.e., Water Breathing techniques are often shown with [[MakingASplash water swirling around the sword's blade]]). However, it's been confirmed that none of the demon slayers actually have any ElementalPowers, and the elemental effects are purely for visual flair.
44	* ''Manga/{{Gokicha}}'': The eponymous protagonist is depicted as a cute human(oid) girl with only the antennae and outer wings of a cockroach. The in-story human characters, however, see her as a a regular CreepyCockroach and react accordingly.
45	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Although Koichi Hirose is canonically 157cm (roughly 5'2"), he is always presented to the audience as being comically short, sometimes barely taller than the protagonist's knees. This same effect also happens to villains who have been beaten and are no longer a threat; they start out as normal-sized, but after their defeat, they shrink to be even slightly shorter than Koichi.
46	* ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' uses so many different styles that it's an impossibility to decide which one is the "true" one.
47	* The characters of ''Manga/FreeCollarsKingdom'' are regular stray cats, and they're viewed and treated as such by the humans they interact with, but the cats see each other as [[CatGirl catboys/catgirls]].
48	* ''Manga/SkullFaceBooksellerHondaSan'' is a semi-autobiographical manga about employees at a bookstore. To protect their anonymity, the author not only [[RomanAClef changes all names]], but draws herself as ''a [[DemBones living skeleton]]'' and the others as always wearing bizarre masks. No one ever reacts to any of this, and the series is otherwise entirely mundane.
49	* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': One of Kaguya's "personalities" is Kaguya-chan, a version of her that acts very cutely and childishly thanks to feeling a strong sense of happiness and escapism (plus sleep deprivation). She's drawn in a SuperDeformed art style, making her look much smaller and child-like; the narrator however [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] that this trope is in effect and to everyone else she just looks like an absent-minded Kaguya. Taken to a hilarious degree when Shirogane copies her in an attempt to communicate with her -- at first the audience sees two adorable SuperDeformed characters repeating each other's names, but then CuttingBackToReality shows Iino bewildered by two young adults waving their arms around like goons.
50	* The Nakano sisters of ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'' have their whole gimmick based on the fact that no one can tell them apart, [[AllegedLookalikes even though they have different hair colors, hairstyles and voices]]. As such, their having different hair colors is only for the reader's convenience; in-universe their hair is meant to all be the same reddish shade.
51	* Chibi-Neko from ''Manga/TheStarOfCottonland'' is a regular kitten, and the human characters treat her as one, but she's only ever depicted to the audience as a CatGirl due to her strong desire to [[BecomeARealBoy become human]].
52	* ''Manga/ThighHighReiwaHanamaruAcademy'': The manga is a typical moe GagSeries, but all the cute girls the show would focus on are now boys ranging from {{Hunk}}s to {{Bishonen}}, though they still wear things like bras, panties, and skirts. It's unclear whether the characters are actually women being drawn as men for the benefit of the audience, or if the story is set in a world with very different gender roles (despite the characters' feminine clothing and mannerisms, they still have traditionally masculine given names).
53	* ''Manga/OshiNoKo'' uses [[ExoticEyeDesigns pupils drawn like six-pointed stars]] to represent a form of eerie beauty and charisma that borders on the supernatural. Ai always had both eyes drawn that way, while her two children Aqua and Ruby start out [[AllGenesAreCodominant have one eye each]] the same, but it's shown to vary depending on how someone present themselves. Akane gains the same eyes by imitating Ai for her public persona, [[spoiler:Aqua loses his when he believes his revenge quest has been completed, and Ruby gains a second when she becomes far more manipulative after seeking revenge herself]]. In-series, such eyes are mentioned as having '''a''' distinct look, but nothing that obviously links people together, nor are they limited to one family.
54	-->''You'll find people with those eyes once in a while. Deceptive eyes that have the power to [[ConsummateLiar make lies look like truths]]. [[MasterActor It's the best quality for an actor.]]''
55	* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'': It's a very good thing that [[Characters/JujutsuKaisenRyomenSukuna Sukuna]] has [[AxCrazy no interest in subtlety]], because while his FacialMarkings and extra eyes are an [[SplitPersonalityMakeover obvious sign to the audience]] that [[SuperpoweredEvilSide he's taken over Yuji]], the other characters can't see them or hear the change in his voice. As far as they're concerned, he still looks and sounds just like Yuji.
56	* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': The ringed eyes that mark the [[spoiler:HorsemenOfTheApocalypse]] are not visible or noteworthy to other characters—not even to each other, [[spoiler:since Yoru (the War Devil) does not recognize Fami (the Famine Devil) despite seeing her face drawn with the same eyes.]]
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
60	* In the animated adaptation of ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi'', when the deceased protagonist Wei Wuxian is summoned back to earth, his new body (which belonged to the man who summoned him, Mo Xuanyu) looks nearly identical to his old body in his first life (the only differences being the shorter hair and the smaller, less muscular build). This is solely for the audience's convenience -- InUniverse, the two men do not resemble each other and everyone who previously knew Wei Wuxian do not recognise him in his new body.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
64	* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': Hobbes looks like a FunnyAnimal tiger to Calvin, but a plush toy to everyone else. Whether Hobbes only comes to life when he's alone with Calvin or is InvisibleToNormals is [[RiddleForTheAges left for the reader to decide]], and is one of the reasons given by Bill Watterson for not allowing merchandising or adaptations.
65	* ''ComicStrip/AngusOg'': Played with in the "Flatter-matic" camera plotline, where the camera prints out pictures that look more realistic than the usual caricature art-style. The characters get confused, and the reader is supposed to think it is [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall because of the style]] switch -- [[BaitAndSwitch but then]], it turns out that these pictures are just incredibly flattering.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
69	* At points in ''Film/BladeRunner'', the eyes of Replicants (and other artificial life-forms, like the owl) are seen to glow unnaturally. The director has said that this is a stylistic effect and is not visible to the other characters in-universe.
70	* In ''Film/WonderWoman1984'', Diana wishes for [[TheLostLenore her lost love]], Steve Trevor, to come back to life, and he does so by possessing another man's (played by Kristoffer Polaha) body. While Diana and the audience see him as, well, [[Creator/ChrisPine Steve]], everyone else in-universe see the man in his original appearance.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Literature]]
74	* ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'': The embalmers explain to the apprentice that their clients' representations are always touched up to remove imperfections.
75	-->'''Embalmer:''' Certainly they'll notice. But they won't say anything. They expect us to, er, ''improve'' matters.\
76	After all, you don't think they're going to step up and say, "It's all wrong, he had a face like a short-sighted chicken", do you?
77	* ''Literature/RebornAsAVendingMachineINowWanderTheDungeon'': Despite being a vending machine, Boxxo is depicted in illustrations as having large human-like eyes -- but only when seen from his perspective.His face just looks like the transparent glass you'd see on any real-life vending machine to everyone else InUniverse.
78	* ''Literature/SoImASpiderSoWhat'': The protagonist is reborn in the body of a GiantSpider, but she is presented in illustrations and in the manga and anime adaptations with big, cute eyes, a humanoid mouth, and anthropomorphized movement using her frontal legs as arms. The viewers are led to believe this is her true appearance, or at least never encouraged to think about it. However, whenever the story is shown from someone else's perspective, it's revealed that she is actually as monstrous as the other spiders, and her cute traits are just there to make her more endearing to the viewer.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
82	* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': Whenever a character has the power of invisibility, the show goes back and forth between showing them as if they were visible, and showing what everyone InUniverse sees. In season 3, when Peter is trapped inside the body of a Primatech prisoner, the audience sees Peter, while everyone InUniverse sees Jesse. In the DVD audio commentary, the creators said it was an intentional ShoutOut to ''Series/QuantumLeap''.
83	* Often on ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' Older Ted confesses that things look different in his flashbacks because that's how it seemed to him at the time, or to reflect the BlatantLies Future-Ted is telling his children.
84	** When Robin dated an older man, he is first introduced as being in his late forties, but then Older Ted says that to him and his friends he looked much older, and the boyfriend appears as a senior for the rest of the episode.
85	** When Robin and Barney were at the end stage of their relationship, Older Ted admits that they only let themselves go a little, but to the gang (and by extension the audience) Robin appears haggard and Barney is morbidly obese.
86	** Whenever Ted and his friends are smoking marijuana, he tells his kids they were eating sandwiches. The audience sees them eating sandwiches.
87	** When Ted’s neighbors are [[RightThroughTheWall having loud sex]], he tells his kids they were playing the bagpipes. The audience hears bagpipe music.
88	* In an episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' the VictimOfTheWeek, when we finally see her headshot objectively, is superficially similar looking to Brennan. However, Brennan sees her as her exact double and therefore so do we, until the end of the episode. When other characters look at the headshot they don't see any similarity, which confounds Brennan and confuses the viewer -- since we see the headshot the way Brennan does.
89	* ''Series/QuantumLeap'': Possibly the TropeCodifier. In both the original and the revival whenever the protagonist inhabits a new body, the audience sees the protagonist, while everyone else sees the body they are inhabiting. The audience only gets to see the host body in reflections.
90	* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Discussed when an anomaly traps Sisko, Dax, Garak, and Odo in a SharedDream in which they are playing the role of people Odo wrongfully arrested. Garak shoots down one of Dax's theories by pointing out that this trope can't work InUniverse.
91	--> '''Dax''': Our conscious minds could have been taken across time and space and placed in the bodies of these Bajorans.
92	--> '''Garak''': If that’s the case, then why are we still seeing each other as our true selves?
93	--> '''Dax''': It was just a theory.
94	* Spoofed on ''Series/ThirtyRock'' when new high-definition cameras are put in that show the characters in greater detail. Liz and Lutz look old and wrinkly, Kenneth is a Muppet, and Jack looks like a younger Creator/AlecBaldwin.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Video Games]]
98	* Some dialogue in ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' implies that female villagers wear skirts, despite the fact they are all [[HalfDressedCartoonAnimal bottomless]] and only have long shirts on. On the other hand, dialogue also has villagers acknowledging that they are HalfDressedCartoonAnimals.
99	* All blood in ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' is [[BlackBlood colored hot pink,]] but it's still described as red in dialogue (This was explicitly done to avoid a restricted CERO Z rating when the game released in Japan, considering just how gore-splattered the games can get.) It's also fair to assume that the adult citizens of Towa City in ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls'' aren't actually [[FacelessMasses blue and pink silhouettes]], and that minor characters in ''Anime/Danganronpa3: Despair Arc'' don't have translucent blue heads.
100	* ''VideoGame/MasterDetectiveArchivesRainCode'' uses this trope as an important plot point. [[spoiler: The pink blood is not just an artistic choice like in ''Danganonpa'' -- it's just as weird in universe as in real life.]]
101	* WordOfGod has stated in that in ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', almost everyone is a dark-haired Asian in the "real" world, and [[{{Mukokuseki}} their appearances in their sprites don't necessarily reflect that]].
102	* Subverted in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' when it comes to Rika's voice. Despite being under thirteen, she can sound like an adult when she becomes serious or solemn. It turns out the voice changes happen in-series, but her friends ignore them.
103	* In the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series, Sam Fisher is usually depicted with his signature glowing green NightVisionGoggles, sometime combined with other green lights. Clearly this is purely for the player's benefit, as constantly emitting bright lights would be counterproductive to Sam's line of work.
104	* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': The comic book-inspired Greek Saga has its protagonist Kratos as a 7'6" behemoth with a cinderblock jawline, chalk-white skin, and blades as long and thick as his arms. The Norse Saga, however, shifts to a much more realistic art style. Kratos now stands at 6'4" (taller than average, but not an outright giant like before), his features are less exaggerated, his skin is a ''little'' pinker, and his blades are now smaller with a more grounded design.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Web Comics]]
108	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Creator/AndrewHussie has stated that the comic's artwork is merely stylistic representations of the characters that don't accurately portray their actual size, shape, or race. This makes sense regarding the sprites, which are obviously stylised GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed-style depictions, but this trope apparently holds true even for the 'hero mode' images where the characters are drawn with still cartoony but more realistic proportions. As a result, it's very easy to find wildly differing character designs for the characters in fan works that share only the most basic identifying details.
109	* In ''Webcomic/{{Nebula}}'', the characters (who are the AnthropomorphicPersonifications of various planets) are all depicted to the viewer as having {{Non Human Head}}s of what they personify, though they apparently all have regular faces and can read each other's expressions just fine.
110	* InUniverse for ''Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld''. We see the Nordic countries as themselves, but America sees four Swedens. This is, of course, a reference to how Americans tend to see Nordic countries as interchangeable.
111	* It's implied in ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' that the glow of [[RedEyesTakeWarning tainted eyes]], and the white spirals seen in the eyes of certain characters who are [[OurDemonsAreDifferent tainted in a specific way]], aren't visible to the other characters are and purely for the reader's benefit. This is most obvious when shapeshifter Ariel [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?sid=10319 pretends to be]] [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?sid=10334 her crazy half-sister Kalki]] and changes her eye color to red, but lacks the glow and spirals; no one except Kiel (who not only has them but [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou has fourth-wall knowledge]]) seems to notice this. For comparison, the red glow seen in the pupils of all drow was originally thought to be this until [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?sid=5332 another character specifically pointed it out]] in the eyes of Liriel, who looks like a dark elf but has a drow's glowing eyes, meaning it's likely [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapetum_lucidum eyeshine]].
112	* In ''Webcomic/AvasDemon'', the Hosts don't have strangely-shaped irises in-universe; they're just drawn like that to indicate to the viewer of their true nature.
113	* ''Webcomic/GenocideMan'': The titular {{Super Soldier}}s are drawn with [[ProphetEyes all-white eyes]]. In-universe, their eyes are normal, just so unfathomably cold and dead from witnessing decades of atrocities that at least one character thought they were cyber-augments because they didn't think human eyes could look like that.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Web Original]]
117	* Website/SCPFoundation: It is supposed to be impossible to photograph Dr. Alto Clef's face. His official profile photo shows him with a spider's head, but he apparently appears human in-universe.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Western Animation]]
121	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' has a brief gag that implies that the show's various FrogMen bear a far greater resemblance to actual frogs than the show's simplified artstyle suggests.
122	* Subverted with ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''. Multiple jokes and references make it clear they really ''don't'' have digits or noses, and have freakishly large, bug-like eyes. In fact, they're ostracized by their classmates for this very reason.
123	* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', which frequently jokes and implies that the characters aren't stylized and really are supposed to look exactly the way they're drawn. The most obvious example comes in "O-Ed Eleven", when Ed picks up the SmartBall to figure out that Eddy's head in profile forms the basis for a treasure map, with the three black dots behind Eddy's temple filling in for a neighborhood landmark and the little indented "x" in his ear denoting the spot where the treasure is buried.
124	* Original Toys/{{LEGO}} animated shows such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' and ''Toys/NexoKnights'' typically retain their stylised minifigure appearance as part of the brand. However, because the art style doesn't impact the aforementioned shows in any way, it's implied that the characters are actually humans in-universe. This doesn't apply to ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', in which the characters are treated as LEGO minifigures in-universe as well.
125	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' often jokes that the choppy, cutout animation is ''only'' perceived by the audience, and the characters see ''themselves'' as real people. The ninth season's ''Free Willzyx'' features a FourthWallPortrait [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/southpark/images/c/cd/The_Group.jpg of the boys]], and the eighteenth season's ''Grounded Vindaloop'' ends in a MediumShiftGag where the live-action boys suggest the ''South Park'' animation style is just crummy graphics in a virtual reality setting. There are exceptions, like the freshly-shaved boys being unable to distinguish one another in ''Super Best Friends'', which are done for RuleOfFunny.
126	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Squidward is typically a HalfDressedCartoonAnimal (except on occasion where he may have a different clothing). His [[AnimalsLackAttributes genitals are never seen]]. A few episodes play with this, such as in "Bossy Boots", where Squidward is so outraged by Pearl's drastic changes to the Krusty Krab that he tears off his uniform, only for a police officer to immediately walk over, write him up for public indecency, and stick the ticket on his crotch.
127	* Gems in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' cannot [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshift]] their gemstones like the rest of the bodies. However, when they fuse together to make much larger individuals, the gemstones appear to grow along with them (for instance, Jasper's gem seems to grow from a few inches to bigger than a watermelon when she forms Malachite). The show's staff have specified they're not literally changing size, it's purely so they stay visible when they size-shift.
128	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' characters have simplistic white eyeballs with a black dot pupil. However, their eye colours have been mentioned occasionally (for example, Lisa's are apparently blue).
129	[[/folder]]

Context Main / StylizedForTheViewer