Tareme Eyes



A style in Anime and Manga of drawing eyes where they droop or sag. It is the usual way you'll see eyes on a Moe character. It generally represents a kind, quiet or otherwise soft person. Only really notable if there are more than a handful of characters that are drawn without them.

This does not, however, mean that Tareme Eyes are Always Lawful Good Eyes. In real life, eyes visually take a downward droop when someone is looking down on you, and looking calm in a tense situation is an affirmatively Badass trait.

Note that the "me" in "tareme" actually means "eyes" in Japanese. We just enjoy being redundant.

Its opposite is Tsurime Eyes. This trope originated in Japan (thus the name), the trope has made its way into western works due to cultural diffusion and Animesque drawing.

Anime and Manga

 * (Shown above) Tsukasa Hiiragi, from Lucky Star. Interestingly, her diametrically different twin sister, Kagami, is a good example of Tsurime Eyes. Miyuki, Hiyori, and almost every other character in the Lucky Star cast are also Tareme.
 * In the earlier manga episodes, Konata was Tareme.
 * Mikuru Asahina, the Moe Blob of Suzumiya Haruhi.
 * Alt!Yuki from The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, unlike the regular Yuki Nagato.
 * No small number of characters from CLAMP works, due to the overwhelming amount of kind-hearted, gentle characters.
 * Haruka Nogizaka, (who looks suspiciously similar to Mikuru) the main (and very moe) character of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu.
 * Hinata Hyuga of Naruto is this compared to almost everyone else. Note that her more aggressive alternate universe persona in the Filler movie Naruto the Movie: Road to Ninja has Tsurime Eyes.
 * Orihime Inoue, the healer from Bleach. Also, Ururu, Retsu, Momo, and Hanataro. Possibly subverted by Yachiru.
 * And don't forget sweet, lovable Captain Aizen
 * Subverted with Sayoko of Ah! My Goddess: she sports Tareme, but she's not all that nice.
 * Less "subversion" and more "the character was designed before this trope was codified."
 * Tsubaki, the Yamato Nadeshiko of Soul Eater.
 * Also Chrona, the Woobie.
 * Team Mom Marie has one of these. And an anti-madness wavelength.
 * Saya from Blood+.
 * Mikan Sakura, the Cloudcuckoolander of Gakuen Alice.
 * In Fairy Tail, Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster make a point of insulting each other with names derived by the others' eye shape. Gray is Tareme while Natsu is Tsurime. "Droopy-eyed bastard!!"
 * Osaka, the Cloudcuckoolander from Azumanga Daioh. She also has the same seiyuu as fellow cuckoolander Orihime above.
 * Tsumugi Kotobuki and the Hirasawa sisters of K-On!
 * Sawako defaults to these, but changes to Tsurime Eyes when she's in Catherine mode.
 * Yugi Muto of Yu-Gi-Oh!. (Unlike the pharaoh who has Tsurime Eyes)
 * Kanako Oora and Shouko Maruuchi from Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei has these kinda eyes.
 * Himeko Kurusegawa of Kannazuki no Miko, who is countered by Chikane's Tsurime Eyes. Both are used more liberally in the mangas).
 * Male Example: Jianliang/Henry from Digimon Tamers.
 * Rena, Hanyuu, Rika and Satoshi from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.
 * Miyo has the adult (i.e. smaller) variety, which gives her a somewhat spaced out expression. Hence the name "Droopy-tan."
 * Most of these are massive subversions: However, they truly are very nice, and cute..
 * In-universe, characters refer to Sanzo from Saiyuki as being droopy-eyed. This is important his character development, it belies his genuinely caring nature.
 * Classic Moe character Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury from Sailor Moon has a noticeable case, especially when compared to Rei, who has Tsurime Eyes and Tsundere tendencies.
 * Katekyo Hitman Reborn - Male examples: Tsuna, Basil, Ginger Bread, and Fuuta. Female examples: Kyoko, Haru, Chrome, Nana (Tsuna's mother), and Uni.
 * Fullmetal Alchemist's Alphonse Elric. Well, when he was human at least.
 * Used for the effect of Good Eyes, Evil Eyes in the case of . He has these eyes originally, but gains Tsurime Eyes when, is revealed.
 * A lot of characters in Mahou Sensei Negima, especially Konoka and Sayo.
 * Also
 * Negi's eyes are this normally....but when he gets pissed or enters Dark Mode?
 * In Fairy Tail, one of the insults Natsu throws at his guild rival Gray is "tareme," translated as "droopy eyed." Even when he is angry (which he often is around Natsu) his eyes never cross the "straight" threshold.
 * Lucy's more innocent "Nyu" personality and Nana have these in Elfen Lied. Subverted with Creepy Child Mariko though.
 * Yui from Angel Beats! is the only female character that you see regularly with tareme eyes.
 * The bassist and drummer of GDM have them also, but they get very little screen time comparatively.
 * Ryoko from Aoi Hana has them, likely to underline her well-natured, motherly persona.
 * The eponymous character of Hikaru no Go has this kind of eyes, in contrast to his rival Akira's Tsurime Eyes. It serves to underscore his easygoing nature as opposed to Akira's seriousness, at least early on.
 * Yura from Futari Ecchi has Tareme eyes, which she inherited (together with big boobs) from her mother, unlike her younger sister Rika.
 * Asuka from Future GPX Cyber Formula, contrasting Miki's Tsurime Eyes.
 * Pre-Time Skip Simon in Gurren Lagann, which only contribute to his downright adorable smile.
 * Finland in Axis Powers Hetalia fits the cute type, compared to the other Nordics.
 * Denmark fits the more badass type.
 * Liechtenstein as well, contrasting with Switzerland's Tsurime Eyes.
 * North Italy, in the rare times that he actually opens his eyes.
 * America also has this, apparently inherited from Finland.
 * Russia and Ukraine. Also Lithuania, which noticeably contrasts with Poland.
 * Puella Magi Madoka Magica has Messianic Archetype Madoka. Sayaka also shows this, despite being the tomboy to Madoka's Girly Girl.
 * Neon Genesis Evangelion:
 * Shinji has these eyes to signify his meek, shy and fragile nature in the anime. While his manga version has more of an attitude, he's still fundamentally the same damaged child deep inside, so these eyes still work in full effect.
 * Despite being a Fiery Redhead with a harsh and extremely mean attitude, Asuka has blue Tareme Eyes. This is meant to show that despite her outside attitude, inside she's just as hurt, fragile and insecure as Shinji.
 * Essentially every main character in Wandering Son.
 * Fran from Franken Fran. Honestly, you don't expect someone with those kind of distant, sleepy eyes to be capable of the things she's done.
 * Outer Moka from Rosario + Vampire sports these, as opposed to Inner Moka.
 * Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran: Used with the cute Meow and any Yamato Nadeshiko she runs into.
 * An interesting example from GetBackers; cheerful, affectionate Ginji Amano has wide, bright tareme, in contrast to his partner Ban's Tsurime. But when Ginji's Lightning Emperor persona awakens, his eyes become narrow, dark, and markedly Tsurime.
 * Black Butler: A few characters have these, such as Viscount Druitt and Angela the maid. ...
 * A very simplified version appears in Anpanman. Tamagodonman, one of the youngest donburi characters, and Katsudonman's younger brother, evokes this through his eyes (which for the donburi characters are commonly round circles with pupils) being shaped like ovals that droop downwards. He's a very shy and nervous character, commonly looking downward and figeting with his shirt while rocking back and forth. He's pretty insecure about his cooking abilities and the overall quality of his donburi, contrasting with the personality of his older brother.
 * Horrendously played with in Black Lagoon with Hansel and Gretel. Cute, Moe little boy and girl in elegant Gothic Lolita clothes... who will murder the shit out of you if you're lucky, smiling serenely all the way.
 * In The World God Only Knows, Keima mentions these as one of the reasons the heroine from a galge is his soul mate.
 * The Son males (Goku, Gohan and Goten) from Dragonball Z sport this eyes, a show that they're the nicest people around. When they get pissed though (And consequentially transform into Super Saiyans) their eyes change into a pupilless Tsurime.
 * Pokémon Special has Diamond of the DP trio.
 * Several characters in Sora no Otoshimono feature these type of eyes, most notably Chaos. However she does not follow the typical archetype.
 * Fuu of Magic Knight Rayearth has more softly-drawn eyes to fit with her polite and sweet manner, in contrast to her companions' Tsurime Eyes.
 * Sucy, the snarky, sickly-looking heroine of Little Witch Academia, has rather droopy eyes, whose lids are more often that not lowered, giving her a rather unamused look most the time.
 * Kill la Kill:
 * Mako has these, in contrast with Ryuko and Satsuki's Tsurime Eyes.
 * An ironic but male example occurs in Uzu Sanageyama, who, contrary to most portrayals, is rather hot-blooded.
 * On a bit of a villainous note, we have Rei and Nui, however, this is a clue in the former that she isn't as evil as she seems.
 * Armin from Attack on Titan has sparkly, moe tareme eyes.
 * Seras Victoria from Hellsing has Tareme Eyes, unless she's using her vampire powers and then they become Tsurime Eyes.
 * Beatrice in Princess Principal has tareme that emphasize her (relatively) moe nature.
 * Beatrice in Princess Principal has tareme that emphasize her (relatively) moe nature.

New Media

 * McMansion Hell notes the sad anime eyes of a McMansion in South Dakota.

Video Games

 * Many young characters in the Dept. Heaven series have eyes drawn like this, although it's restricted to the very young knights in Knights in The Nightmare (and Pisce).
 * This is rather amusing in Riviera: The Promised Land, where the Tsundere of the cast is drawn with tareme and the good-natured Tomboy with tsurime.
 * Pretty much the entire cast of Star Ocean: First Departure.
 * The title character of Um Jammer Lammy.
 * The Touhou Project has Satori Komeiji, whose eyes are extremely droopy; enough to look at least half-closed. In the games, this actually serves to give her more of a bored look than a cute one (Her illustration in the Grimoire of Marisa plays it for cute, though).
 * Crowe Brust from The 2nd Super Robot Wars Z.