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{{trope}}
[[File:monster.jpg|link=Monster (
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== Anime and Manga ==
* Hiroya Oku's ''[[
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (
** Even more impressive considering the artist seems to have only one type of facial structure: rounded. Every single character has the same ''skull'', yet no one looks alike.
** To add more to that, nearly all of the characters (with the exception of, what, four or five out of how many dozen?) have either black or blonde hair.
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** Plus many of the characters are in uniform, as for every civilian there's about one character in the military. So the characters are easy to distinguish down to the redshirts not only drawn realistically, usually surrounded by their own race, and with the same facial structure, but all in the ''same outfit''. You gotta hand it to her, Arakawa is a genius.
** Maybe her ability to distinguish similarly built characters is why {{spoiler|Father looks completely different from first Hohenheim and then Ed (''especially'' Ed, there seems to be barely a passing resemblance between the alchemist and his counterpart due to mannerisms and attitude alone) even though he is [[Doppelganger|identical to them in physical features]].}} The same tactics are used to differ {{spoiler|Ling from Greed after they end up sharing a body and amazingly can still be fairly easily told apart from one another when they switch dominance in control.}}
* Similarly to ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', Natsuki Takaya's works, particularly ''[[
** Also, ''all'' characters have unique eye shapes and eye colors, as well as hairstyles. The artist also gives small differences here and there like the size of ''eyelids'' and the length of eyelashes, etc. that help a little bit. Overall, each character, including the minor ones, has a relatively unique design, which is necessary with a cast full of [[Loads and Loads of Characters]].
** At the amount of designs is actually rather small but as [[Art Evolution]] marches on each of the characters gain their respective appearances.
* ''[[
** But it must also be said, that ''One Piece'' kinda has it easy in creating distinct characters, as it often just features extremely bizarre character designs, unrealistic proportions and a large number of [[Gonk
** However, the biggest improvement in the art of ''One Piece'' has been the elimination of Nami clones, [[Eiichiro Oda]] has gotten much better at drawing women, giving them small details that separate their appearance, rather than just unique hair styles that most mangaka seem to use as a crutch
*** Just take a look at [http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110515071145/onepiece/images/thumb/e/e0/Kujatribewomen.png/759px-Kujatribewomen.png this]{{Dead link}} as an example.
* ''[[
* ''[[Monster (
** Same goes for just about everything else [[Naoki Urasawa]] has done. In ''[[
* Taken to a [[Up to Eleven|logical extreme]] in ''[[Oretachi
* ''[[
** There ARE some contradictions though, such as Sebastian and Vincent, Bardroy and Phipps, and William and Diedrich.
** A lot of recent characters especially are beginning to look like other recurring characters.
* ''[[Hikaru no Go]]''? All the characters wear normal, everyday clothes. But all of them are ''very'' distinct and unique - including the old people, fat people, young people, etc.
* ''[[
* ''[[
** Not so much, since Patty and Kim look like twins, Gopher and Kidd also look pretty alike.
** Also a subversion in the anime perhaps, in that background characters and, in some cases, characters that aren't instrumental to a particular scene are greyed out and indistinct, not given features at all. It therefore differs from proper
* ''[[Baccano
** ''[[Durarara
* ''[[
* Common with classic manga artists, such as [[Osamu Tezuka]], [[Shotaro Ishinomori]], [[Go Nagai]] and [[Ken Ishikawa]]. Impressive when you consider that these artists generally drew most of their characters with black hair and conservative hair styles.
* Masanori Morita, author of ''[[Rokudenashi Blues]]'' and ''[[Rookies]]'', is very good at this. Despite none of the characters wearing particularly distinctive outfits and only a few having [[Anime Hair]] of any kind, each of them has a very distinctive face. It helps that he draws in a very realistic style.
* The ''[[
** On the other hand, as the artist himself acknowledges, the female characters tend to look very similar, save for their hairstyles.
** The one time a character (one of the Yotsuba Group executives) looks similar (yet distinct) to the main character, Light, it's fixed by Misa [[Lampshade Hanging]].
* Many (if not all) of [[Satoshi Kon]]'s works feature this, most noticeably in ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
** And of course, that's not even mentioning the HUGE cast of main and secondary characters who are in football uniform 75% of the time, who are still instantly recognizable due to very distinctive body types and faces.
* ''[[
* The 33 background students in Class 3-2 from the second season of ''[[K-On
* ''[[Darker
** This uniqueness even extends to characters who only show up for a few minutes at best. [[Fan Nickname|Burger-Kun]] for example. The character designs often add strange or unusual aspects to a characters appearance with no real reasoning behind it, such as Wei's elf ears, Amagiri's one eye always half closed, and Maki's [[Mismatched Eyes]].
* ''[[Hellsing]]'' definitely applies. While it's not a manga with [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] per se, the main and secondary characters in it are all extremely stylized with completely unique outfits, hairstyles, facial features, weapons and poses.
* ''[[Rosario
* ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' has an insane amount of characters but each of them are distinct from each other (and if there is a resemblance, expect there to be a reason).
* Inariya Fusanosuke manages to pull this off in ''[[Maiden Rose]]'' despite the fact that 90% of the cast are wearing the same military uniform, of the same ethnicity and with no [[Anime Hair]] to speak of.
* Anything made by [[Yoshihiro Togashi]].{{context}}
* ''[[Tweeny Witches]]'' is very good about this. Even though most of the characters are young girls.{{context}}
* ''[[
* ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' is this to a T. No two characters ({{spoiler|except for when faced with their Edolas counterparts}}) have the same face.
* ''[[Battle Angel Alita]]'' and its sequel series ''Last Order'' both have extremely varied character designs, even for the most minor background cyborgs. If two character resemble each other, it's likely related to plot or thematic reasons, and not the artist being lazy.
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** Alan Davis blows Hitch away in this regard, though it can be ironic, in that he often works with previously existing characters & gives them distinctive faces they didn't have before.
* R. Crumb's recent rendition of the Book of Genesis includes a unique and detailed depiction of every single "Begat" in the entire book.
* [[George Perez]] ''([[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]], [[Crisis
* Comic book painter [[Alex Ross]] ''([[Marvels]], [[Kingdom Come]])'' is very good about this as well. He is notable for using live models for most of his work.
* Gil Kane ''([[Green Lantern]])'' was always pretty good about this.
** So are Doug Mahnke and [[Blackest Night|Ivan Reis]]. Seems to be a requirement for GL artists. Comes [[Loads and Loads of Characters|with the territory]], probably.
* ''[[Elf Quest]]'' by Wendy and Richard Pini.
* A random crowd in ''[[Sillage]]'' will usually be made up of lots of different ''species''. If there is a pair of one species in such a scene, this might not apply, but as soon as a group made up of individuals of one species is featured, and there are no plot/worldbuilding reasons, they will get the
* ''[[Asterix]]'', which is impressive considering that almost everyone has the same bulbous nose.
** Even more impressive if you notice that this is combined with distinguishing the ethnic groups by giving the members of the same ethnic group some subtle common facial or body traits.
* ''[[Tintin
* ''[[Bone]]'' is great with this.
* [[Sergio Aragones]] sways back and forth, much for the same reason as the Japanese mangaka examples above. When you really look at a crowd scene, he makes every effort (which is VERY hard with his art style) to give everyone a unique appearance, while in his shorts you see characters reused very often. In fact some shorts are all one person, ala Disney's pre-suckage days' Goofy sports and safety shorts.
* Crowd scenes in [[DC Comics]]' yearly mega-crossovers. Hey, look, there's the last living Bloodlines guy! Bonus; when they include made-up heroes nobody has ever seen before as crowd-filler.
* Done nicely in ''[[Watchmen]]''. Dave Gibbons went to great lengths to give each character a distinctive look both in and out of costume, often using actor's faces for inspiration. The Comedian was based off of Groucho Marx, while Rorschach was based off Bruce Weitz (as Belker in Hill Street Blues).
{{quote|
* [[The Dark Knight Returns]] involves not only a decent sized cast of main characters, but many different media pundits and man on the street interviews with the random denizens of Gotham and they all look different, except the Mutants who are trying to look alike.
* Kyle Baker is quite skilled at caricature so the casts for his comics tend to all be visually distinct.
* [[Strangers in Paradise]], by Terry Moore.
* ''[[Persepolis]]'' doesn't make every crowd look different from page to page, but in any given panel every non-fundamentalist portrayed will differ in some way from the others, even if they're all dressed identically. (Fundamentalists, however, can usually only be told apart by gender.)
* Chris Claremont's first [[X
== Film ==
* The non-human characters in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' movies, regardless of whether they were puppets or CG, as with Ewoks and Wookiees. A marked exception is the crowd of dancing Gungans at the end of the Phantom Menace: not only are they [[Ditto Aliens|identical,]] their movements are in [[Conspicuous CG|perfect unison.]]
* Also used to great effect in James Cameron's [[Avatar (
* [[The Hobbit (
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*** ''Oblivion'' was quite firmly set in [[Ye Goode Olde Days]]. Perhaps it was some sort of genetic disorder that causes everyone to look like a disheveled pumpkin.
* The 3D ''Zelda'' games tend to do this with the human and Hylian characters. Whether they do it with other races, though, depends on the game and the race.
** Special mention goes to ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
* ''[[Elite Beat Agents]]''. Some of these people seriously look like possible clients for the agents to take on.
* ''[[Okami]]'' is a pro at this. Every villager in every town and city is completely different, everyone actually has a name (if Nameless Man counts as a name). Not to mention the Dragonians, Sparrows, and the Oina tribe could have been easily written off as different examples of a [[Planet of Hats]], but instead are all completely unique. Even the Emperor's [[Redshirt Army]] has a variety of guards that vary in appearance. What's additionally surprising is that about 99% of the characters from this 40-hour long game actually all have official art.
* In ''[[Bully (
* ''[[Metal Gear]]'' manages to give every character in the series a unique model.
* ''[[Shenmue]]'' and its sequel (which are largely set in urban areas with milling crowds) are distinguished for having every single background and NPC character be a unique person with their own in-game home, daily schedule throughout the day and unique voice. The "special features" DVD even includes a brief description of each person. So if you see an NPC character walk by in the street, and later see someone who looks the same in a shop, they don't just look alike, they are the same person.
* ''Timestalkers'' has around 80 unique characters, although being an RPG the enemy creatures aren't afforded such luxuries (four per 'monster family'). Still, being an RPG, it is hugely impressive. Also, nonconsumable items? Yes that's right, ALSO given the same treatment. (almost, most knuckle weapons look alike unless they have a special element/material.) Even if you dislike this sort of game, its worth it to hunt down and try just to take in the attention to detail.
* ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' does that on every Person and even animal. Since the visuals are bare-bones, it is shown in text, but is still an amazing example. Each dwarf has his/her own personality traits that influence how they respond to certain events and how they go about their day. And it does that not only procedural but includes genetics too! DF2010 adds even ''more'' details, now including what each creature looks like. (Here's [http://i53.tinypic.com/29o290p.png a description of a random dwarf].)
* ''[[Princess Waltz]]'' is notable among [[Visual Novel
* ''[[
* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' games love this trope. ''Every'' has a playable cast of at least 20 characters and a huge amount of side characters, all of whom look different. Generic enemies and NPCs don't get this luxury.
* ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'' gives every NPC a unique appearance, populating entire villages with them.
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* The cast of ''[[Morenatsu]]'' almost all look completely different. Exceptions are the [[Uncanny Family Resemblance]] of Kounosuke and Yukiharu, and Nanafuse [[Shapeshifting|assuming the appearance]] of Shun. Even in the latter case, Nanafuse has [[Creepy Child|eerily]] distinct facial expressions that make him impossible to actually confuse with Shun.
* ''[[Harvest Moon]]'' is well-known for this.
* ''[[
** This even extends to their weapons! For example, the Scout's melee weapons range from an aluminum baseball bat, to a roll of wrapping paper, to a wooden baseball bat, to a dead fish!
* Just about every NPC in ''[[Solatorobo]]'' has a unique sprite, and even generic enemies have some personality attached to them or contain two or three permutations of the same enemy class. Lampshaded during one sidequest:
{{quote|
* [[League of Legends]] has a cast of almost a hundred playable characters, all of them looking and playing completely differently from each other.
* The last few of Koei's eleven (soon to be twelve) [[Romance of the Three Kingdoms (
* ''[[
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* Background characters in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]'' tend to have unique faces. Even characters who initially appear as just random people in a crowd will typically return later with distinct names and personalities.
* Characters in ''[[Penny Arcade]]'' tend to look unique [[Art Evolution|except in the first two years or so of the strip.]]
* ''[[Last
** Doesn't stop readers from mixing up Vince and Nate though; yes, they're supposed to be a [[Wrestling Family]] (after a fashion), but Cypress at least has bluer skin (and curly hair), Damien has those headwings, and they both have different hair colors.
* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' is pretty good in this respect, at least with any character that shows up in more than one comic. The comic also deserves a special mention in the sense that it's not only the faces that are distinguishable, but characters' body shapes as well, even between characters who have the same general type of figure. (Well, at least you can see the differences if you know how to look. They can be subtle, just like in real life.) It did take some [[Art Evolution]] since the beginning to achieve this.
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** The demons of the Dimension of Pain are all unique. Then again, the rules for rendering humanoid form are more relaxed among demons. During the Dimension of Lame invasion, some caught on with fans enough to get more exposure.
* ''[[Lackadaisy Cats]]'' manages this quite well.
** Which is even more impressive when you remember that they are, in fact, [[Exactly What It Says
* ''[[How I Killed Your Master]]''
* ''[[
* ''[[Hanna Is Not a
* Mattel's [[Monster High]], amazing since it's a flash cartoon.
* ''[[
** [[Art Evolution|Though Dan's started make differences to their facial features.]]
* ''[[
* ''[[
* [[Bobwhite]]. No two sets of eyes, heads, noses, colors, shapes, and bodies are the same, and all characters who only appear in one or two comics has a distinct face you'd be able to pick out if given a picture of them. Some of them even have stories and backgrounds!
* Ethan Nichole's series (Chumble Spuzz, Axe Cop, and Bearmageddon) are all examples of this, but note should be made of Axe Cop's main sidekick, who changes identity every few pages and always looks completely different: first he's Flute Cop, resembling Sipowitz from NYPD Blue, until he gets some dinosaur blood on him and becomes Dinosaur Soldier, who is an anthropomorphic t-rex built like Schwarzenegger. Later updates include him becoming Viking Cop, Ghost Cop, and Avocado Soldier (who soon gains a unicorn horn and becomes Uni-Avocado Soldier).
* All of the cast in ''[[The Dreamer]]"" look quite distinct from each other, even more so in the art evolution.
* ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' also has a visually distinct cast.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* [[Disney]]'s ''[[Fillmore!]]'' has a distinct love of using distinct background characters. Often one-shot characters from previous (or even future) episodes...
* The various secondary, minor, and background characters in ''[[
* Occurs in ''[[The Simpsons (
** ''[[
** In fact, Matt Groening has a rule of thumb for character design that's become widely known as "The Groening Rule" stating it should be identifiable by silhouette.
*** See ''[[
* ''[[
** [[Word of God]] says this was done intentionally so that (like ''The Simpsons'') each character could easily be recognized in silhouette.
* The characters in ''[[Hey Arnold
* Pretty much any [[Cartoon Network]] show has characters who are distinctive.
** [[Amazing Technicolor Population|They're usually quite colorful, too.]]
* ''[[
** Continued in [[Sequel Series]] ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Turtles Forever]]'', featuring the [[Animation Bump|best animation quality]] in the two series, uses this to great effect during crowd shots. Often done on purpose to feature many cameos from all over the 25-year franchise.
* ''[[Thomas the Tank Engine]]'' - both the sculpted character faces/expressions and the engine models themselves, with a handful of exceptions.
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** Diesel, 'Arry & Bert, and Splatter & Dodge from [[The Movie]] are all based on the same engine type, just different faces and paintwork.
** Stanley, Billy, and Charlie are all practically identical builds of tank engine, again, with different faces and paint.
* ''[[
** The exception seems to be family
** Also true of ''[[
* Everybody in ''[[We Are the Strange]]''.
* In ''[[Roughnecks
* On ''[[
* [[John Kricfalusi]] and Spumco produced shows, such as ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]'' and ''[[The Ripping Friends]]''. Of course, all of it is done with full intention, since this ''is'' [[John Kricfalusi]] we're talkin' about.
* The characters in ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]''.
* ''[[X-Men: Evolution
* ''[[
** An added bonus is that they seem to have individual personalities as well, the students primarily.
* The characters of ''[[Recess]]''
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== [[Real Life]] ==
* The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang contains approximately 8,000 terracotta soldiers. And each one looks different.
* Occurs with any 'mass scale miniature' or otherwise not created for a gaming/collectible purpose. There was a Belgian exhibit with 855 knights and footsoldiers engaged in combat, and every single face was readily distinguishable from another. Quite an amazing feat considering the figurines were something like 1/25-1/30 scale. Feel sorry for the poor bastard's hand.
* Actual people in real life, [[Captain Obvious|of course]].
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Characters and Casting]]
[[Category:Cast
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