More specific than it sounds: Nerd Glasses

The title suggests that this is the trope about Smart People Wearing Glasses or something similar. Actually, though, it's a trope about a specific style of glasses found in anime and other forms of animation. I propose a rename to something like Anime Nerd Glasses to convey that this is not Exactly What It Says on the Tin.

I've also never seen this used as anything but "nerds wear glasses" so a wick check for misuse is probably needed as well.

Support.

The big round Coke Bottle Nerd Glasses arent anime specific though they are just mainly used there.

I would like to see a wick check.

edited 7th Jul '11 2:01:44 PM by Raso

They need a better name though. Coke Bottle Glasses is the term that I tend to see off the wiki.

Just looking at the page though, most of the Western examples are not this trope at all. They're Smart People Wear Glasses. I know they exist in Western media, but they aren't as common.

edited 7th Jul '11 2:02:23 PM by shimaspawn

It doesn't really matter whether they are or aren't - the problem is that this sounds like a trope about nerds wearing glasses (a trope that apparently doesn't exist on this site) where it's actually about a style of glasses.

Either rename (and create a new trope for the common western variant) or broaden the existing trope to cover both variants (with an explanation of each). No real preference between those options, except that the latter would probably involve a whole lot less wick repair.

A description of the western variant (either for the new trope or to be added to this one) might be: "Thick, dark frames, usually rectangular or semi-rectangular, and often held together with tape in the middle or at one hinge."

Edit: Nerd Glasses found in: 484 articles, excluding discussions.

This title has brought 549 people to the wiki from non-search engine links since 20th FEB '09.

edited 7th Jul '11 2:07:40 PM by Xtifr

That's not a variant. That's a completely different trope and it shows up in anime too.

Coke Bottle name is fine. I didn't want to make this anime specific when it's clearly not. (why do they link the barely there glasses like Negi's [1]◊ to Cool Mask?)

edited 7th Jul '11 2:37:10 PM by Raso

I'm cool with Coke Bottle Glasses. Or Coke Bottle Nerd Glasses if you wnat.

It does have a lot of wicks, though - while I propose using Nerd Glasses as the name for the new supertrope, is "the name is confusing" sufficient reason to rename here? We should probably check for misuse.

"The name is confusing" is Always grounds for considering a rename. And if that confusion leads to misuse, it's grounds for renaming. If the trope is "Nerds wear large, round, thick-lensed glasses", and it's being used for "Nerds wear glasses", that's misuse.

I think it'd be a good idea to make this Coke Bottle Glasses to cover both the anime swirly glasses and the thick-framed nerd glasses that applies across all media. We need a "smart people wear glasses" trope, too, for sure. (THAT could be Nerd Glasses. Or Geniuses Wear Glasses or something.)

The question is whether it's actually being misused or not. Logically, it should be, but some trope names manage to succeed despite being confusing or impenetrable.

Half the examples on the trope page are misuse and that's without a wik check.

Coke Bottle Glasses works I guess although they are actually called "Nerd Glasses" in at least 5 of series I have seen.

It's not the thickness that's the key to this it's the shape. although some the thickness is usually shown as opaque with a spiral pattern in it, not all of them do this. As well as some go back and forth between clear and opaque depending on the scene and how nerdy or cute they need to be. (and some don't go opaque at all.)

edited 7th Jul '11 2:55:39 PM by Raso

I don't think that picture there is an example. That's just "a smart person wears glasses".

Yeah, I agree that this is specifically about the opaque glasses style.

Anyone else favor a Trope Transplant here? Nerd Glasses seems like a good name for the "smart people wear glasses" supertrope.

So does Brainy Specs. There's a reason that we don't have the trope Smart People Wear Glasses. Because we have at least three tropes that sound like they should be that trope.

edited 7th Jul '11 3:01:11 PM by shimaspawn

Y'know It would be extreme, but I'm really beginning to believe that the cleanest solution to this mess is to gather all of the examples from Nerd Glasses, Brainy Specs and whatever other overlapping "Glasses" tropes we have, put them all in a sandbox page so that they don't get lost, clear all the wicks, cutlist all of the overlapping tropes and start fresh pages for the tropes:

• Smart people wear glasses
• Nerd Glasses/Cokebottle glasses — the specific style(s) that indicate nerd/loser/geek (this may be two different pages — one for the heavy black plastic frames fixed with tape and one for the big round think lenses.
• Someone getting glasses to "look smarter". (Prop Glasses)

Then sort the examples into the correct trope.

{ETA: Prop Glasses as the name for the last type.}

edited 7th Jul '11 4:15:26 PM by Madrugada

We've actually decided on the other thread that that last category is Prop Glasses. And that we really need an index of glasses tropes first to figure out how bad the issue is.

Most of the time for girls though the opaque thing floats in and out depending on the scene as more Rule of Sexy or Rule of Cute.

Anyway the page says there are 4 types

• The barely there glasses that don't get in the way like Negi's [1]◊ as well that the page says should go to Cool Mask which I really don't get why it would be there (unless I am completely misunderstanding the thing).
• Super clear no lenses glasses worn by Meganekko and Megane,
• Scary Shiny Glasses
• Nerd Glasses.

edited 7th Jul '11 3:50:14 PM by Raso

I don't get the Cool Mask thing either. That one makes no sense.

Remember not to jump to decisions too fast, though... We might have Prop Glasses on that one eventually, but the decision hasn't been made. There needs to be more time. We've just got some common agreement, for now.

So as for this, I say maybe keep the title for the whole "Glasses look brainy" thing, and make a specific trope for the style of shades anime and manga seem to use a lot. I know that's been suggested already, somewhere.

Edit: . . . That needs edited, that thing about Cool Mask. That's just silly. Negi's glasses are pince-nez.

edited 7th Jul '11 3:51:45 PM by GoggleFox

Okay, let's see. These are the glasses-related tropes I know/can find:

• Brainy Specs: someone that doesn't need glasses to see wears them to look smart/cute/etc.
• Cool Shades: Badass sunglasses.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul
• The Glasses Come Off: Taking off glasses to prepare for a fight.
• The Glasses Gotta Go: Taking off glasses makes you more attractive.
• Megannekko / Glasses Girl: "Cute girls with cute glasses."
• Nerd Glasses: A specific style of nerdy glasses. (Black thick frames, opaque lenses...?)
• Scary Shiny Glasses: Lenses that reflect the light to hide the wearer's eyes for creepy/suspicious, etc characters.
• The Short Guy with Glasses
• Sinister Shades: Scary sunglasses.
• Spectacled Sadist: Bastard Boyfriend with glasses. (according to Laconic Wiki)
• Stoic Spectacles

..There's more but I'm starting to worry that I've been working on this so long this won't be relevant. XD; so I'll post this and maybe try to edit more in...

edited 7th Jul '11 3:53:08 PM by BrightBlueInk

Well Opaque Glasses sounds good (Nvm we have Opaque Lenses and that is NOT this trope) as well as Coke Bottle Glasses too.

The thing needs a minor rewrite though on the whole Glasses accessory part/ Cool Mask (I think its talking about how some glasses dont actually cover the eye) and put in that girls can float between this trope and Meganekko at the will of the author fitting the mood of the scene.

edited 7th Jul '11 3:59:15 PM by Raso