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Anime characters' facial expressions.


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An1fr3ak



Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 235
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 1:57 am Reply with quote
Hi guys. I've been sitting on a few ideas for new threads for a while now but wasn't too sure whether to post them up or not. After seeing a relatively fresh idea from a recent thread (So what did you learn from your anime) posted up by HaruhiToy, I thought to myself why not.
So, to get to the point, I'm not sure if it's to do with everything becoming more Moe, or because it was more popular with older animation styles, or it's just being phased out of anime in general (or a combination of everything), but those hilarious facial expressions or 'red crosses'/ beads of sweat that display a characters emotions and/or reactions to something is becoming quite rare if I'm not mistaken (or at least that appears to be the case to me).
So I would like for all of you to share the character(s) you believe had the most memorable reactions and/or the best facial expressions. Please note it is probably a good idea to post an image of your favourite expression(s) from the character(s) you nominate.



Here are my picks:
Probably the most prominent among my choices is the man himself Onizuka Eikichi a.k.a. GTO from GTO.

This guy has a facial expression for anything under the moon and despite the situation, would pull off some classic facial expressions.

For instance, spoiler[the scene where he is about to lose his job (when isn't he in danger of that Razz) for spanking the daughter of the president of the PTA and rocks up with a monkey suit on.] I was in tears the whole time the scene lasted.







This character probably isn't anywhere near as well known as GTO, but Hitotose Chitose from Happy Lesson is another stand out anime character who can pull off facial expressions to rival the greats.

Hell, from my favourite episode of the anime (episode three), I have something like 25-30 snapshots of this guy in action. Absolute kingpin Anime hyper







To change things up a little, a female character that I found has epic facial expressions is non other then Tanizaki Yukari or Yukari-sensei from Azumanga Daioh!.

In the introductory scene, spoiler[she is seen riding her bike to school when the chain suddenly unattaches itself from the gear. A passing by student then proceeds to restrain her as she viciously attacks her bike in fury. To top it off she steals the students bike when he tries to repair hers ]Anime hyper

She got some major skill. If in doubt, please refer to my avatar Laughing (NB - all characters in Azumanga Daioh! have awesome expressions, but Yukari-sensei is my favourite Anime hyper)






The duo in the form of Koizumi Risa and Ootani Atsushi a.k.a. All Hanshin-Kyojin Very Happy from Lovely Complex have all the comedy stunts needed to go down in history as one of the most comical couples ever Razz. Who would have thought that an Amazon would be so well matched to a midget Anime hyper







Most of the characters from Kimi ni Todoke have great facial expressions but the crown goes to Kuronuma Sawako and Sanada Ryu.

These two pull off a range of different expressions, with Sawako specialising in expressions that scare you to death while Ryu specialises in the confusion factor.







Most characters that nosebleed don't have the skill required to make a great facial expression to take the gag to the next level, but Tōhōin Ikuto from Nagasarete Airantou is no mere mortal.

Seriously, this guy spoiler[loses that much blood, gets K.O.'d by that many things on the island and has to survive continuous kidnappings, sexual confrontations and marriage proposals ]that the average teenager would fold in half. A real 'Soldier of Fortune' Razz







Last, but certainly not least, is Amano Ginji, a.k.a. Ginji, the Lightening Emperor from The GetBackers, who is a little unorthodox but most entertaining.

This guy has what I like to call ‘chibi mode,’ where in any given situation of joy or fear, he transforms to one third of his original size and starts acting up. He’ll jump on you when he’s happy, he sweats and cries when he’s scared and celebrates when he has successfully completed a task.







I would like to make some honourary mentions now. Harima Kenji from School Rumble has some great facial expressions from time to time, but probably isn’t consistent or unique enough to earn a top spot. Zetsubou-sensei from Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei also holds his own, but suffers from the same alignment as Harima. The character I want to mention last is Kōsaka Junpei from Nyan Koi!. He has great ‘reactions,’ but they don’t always equate to great facial expressions. For those who have watched the anime, you know exactly what I am referring to if you have keen sense like me Razz

I have a few others others in mind, but I don’t want to take all the best options away before anyone else gets started. If anyone also loves characters from my top picks but prefer different facial expressions, feel free to post those up as well, as it would interesting to see what one person would find more comical compared to another.
I also apologise for having such a large post (in terms of images), but I couldn’t help myself.
On a final note, I’m sure I’ve missed some obvious choices, but these were what came to me first off the top of my head, so forgive for that Razz
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:31 am Reply with quote
The best expressions I've seen in Anime come from two series; RahXephon and Occult Academy.

RahXephon uses unusual shapes for the eyes to show shock, sadness, grief, that sort of thing. It conveys a lot of emotion.

But Occult Academy is even better. Way better. If you don't believe me, use Google Image Search and search for 'Occult Academy Maya'. She's pretty much the only recipient of the expressions, but what expressions they are. From pouting to exasperation to embarrassment to everything else, her face shows her emotions more clearly than any other series and in a far superior way, technically-speaking. Seriously, the show itself is pretty average to dumb, but just watching her is undoubtedly a major highlight (it helps that she's very attractive, but that's besides the point).

Too often Anime relies on really boring stock expressions, so it is really nice to see a series actually try and go for the realistic and creative routes.
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DerekTheRed



Joined: 19 Dec 2007
Posts: 3544
Location: ::Points to hand::
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:42 am Reply with quote
Ok, ummm...

...

Did you take a photograph of your monitor with your motorola cell phone and then upload the images for the first two pictures you have of Onizuka?
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WhiteHairGirls



Joined: 27 Apr 2011
Posts: 4713
Location: New York City
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 3:19 am Reply with quote
I think of Kamisama dolls after reading your post. Man was the face expressions in that show hilarious, especially Utao. Here are a couple of pictures.





And My favorite expression is this one. I watched this scene so many times. Utao is just so cute.

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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 3:27 am Reply with quote
Utao was pretty epic. Good choice, WhiteHairGirls.
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An1fr3ak



Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 235
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:34 am Reply with quote
DerekTheRed wrote:
Ok, ummm...

...

Did you take a photograph of your monitor with your motorola cell phone and then upload the images for the first two pictures you have of Onizuka?


Actually... yea i did... from a plasma screen though.... from three years ago... and it was a Motorola Razz... could never be bothered taking my DVDs and putting on my computer to snapshot them Razz
And now I can't be bothered upgrading my images folder for more current, better quality stuff Razz
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Rukiia



Joined: 30 Aug 2010
Posts: 1897
Location: British Columbia, Canada
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 8:48 am Reply with quote
For an old school title, my favorite would have to be Rurouni Kenshin. Why?:


Angry Sano faces for one thing. Anime hyper

And of course Kenshin's Oro face (my favorite scene at 1:46 in the video). I burst into giggle fits when I first watched this show as a teenager and seeing it today still makes me laugh.

For a newer show, I have to also go with Kamisama Dolls. Their facial expressions are hysterical and not like most "funny" anime faces you would see in most Anime these days.
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Tris8



Joined: 30 Oct 2009
Posts: 2114
Location: Where the rain is.
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:31 pm Reply with quote
When it come to facial expressions, Onizuka is king. In all the anime I've watched, I've never seen anything else like it =D

In Nasu: Summer in Andulusia there aren't many crazy facial expressions, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality =D

Nearing the end of the race, in desert-like heat.... I can relate to this pic Anime hyper
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18432
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:39 pm Reply with quote
Some of the pics being posted in this thread are big enough that they're causing formatting problems on some browsers. Please limit the size of pics to a max width of 600 pixels. All existing pics above that size need to be resized or they will be converted to links instead.
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7994
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:53 pm Reply with quote
My favorite anime expression is probably "psycho face". Of course there are lots of different variations of it done differently for various anime though. Usually it's the funniest when the character's normal personality is kind and cheerful though.
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:29 pm Reply with quote
I have always been partial to the expressions in His & Her Circumstances because they fit the story so well. Particularly when a character is "two faced" it is both acted and scripted.

I always thought that GTO was just gross. Why not watch Ren & Stimpy or something refined like that.
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TG72



Joined: 28 Jan 2011
Posts: 334
PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:51 pm Reply with quote
Nichijou had a bunch of great expressions. A couple of my favorites:

Yukko's embarrassing trip


Fe gets hit with Pocky to the eyes
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:04 pm Reply with quote
Just remembered one. In Usagi Drop there's a scene where Koki goes to the bathroom (off camera) and starts boasting about what a big turd he is making. Rin's expression in response to that is priceless. Made my day anyway.
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MasterKingJC



Joined: 21 Dec 2010
Posts: 380
PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:11 pm Reply with quote
One Piece has plenty of epic facial expressions.

The infamous Enel face gag.


Keimi is pretty much a walking face fault. Very Happy


One of the funniest WTF group reaction shots.


Oga from Beelzebub makes some of the most hilariously creepy faces.




Gintama. 'Nuff said.


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UnrestrictedMethod



Joined: 26 Apr 2011
Posts: 80
PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:45 pm Reply with quote
I can't find them online but Oh! Edo Rocket has some compelling facial expressions for Sora when spoiler[she's in her alien form]. What's compelling about them is how expressive they are and how deeply they impact emotionally. They communicate her feelings of distress and sadness remarkably well.

Also, I consider Ramen Fighter Miki to be the only show to ever sell me on its facial animations alone (or, at least, to sell me on the kind of show its facial animations made it out to be). Again, I can't find the specific images so I’ll just point you to this video (the specific image I was going is shown before hitting start and there are pleny of good facial animations strewn thoughout).


Last edited by UnrestrictedMethod on Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:02 am; edited 2 times in total
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