Eyes Never Lie: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"Then one day Strangefolk arrived in the town.
''They came in camouflage, hidden behind dark glasses, but no one noticed them: they only saw shadows.
''You see, without the Truth of the Eyes, the Happyfolk were blind."''|'''[[Gorillaz]]''', "Fire Coming Out of The Monkey's Head"}}
The suggestion that if you stare into someone's eyes deep enough, you can glimpse their true nature.
It's well known that the eyes are the "[[Windows of the Soul|windows to the soul]]"
Well, in effect, it generally means that looking into one's eyes can give one insight into what the person is thinking. At the very least, it can betray some level of emotion, and some even believe one can tell truth from lies, and determine the true nature of one's personality, simply by employing this method.
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But, in the world of fiction, matters go beyond merely distinguishing lies and feelings. Some tales, especially fantasy, associate special traits to the eyes which tell other characters and, more importantly, the reader more about the character who bears them. Most [[Eye Tropes]], ranging from [[Technicolor Eyes]] to the likes of [[Blinding Bangs]], serve in this capacity, if primarily on a metaphorical level.
Some very common subtypes:
* You can read your opponent's intent in combat, giving you time to prepare for their next move and revealing feints.
* You can detect lies this way. Lovers will know that the others' feelings are true ''after'' their eyes have met.
* If a character is transformed, [[Eyes Are Mental|looking them in the eye will still let you know that it is them]]. (Can be a form of [[Red Right Hand]] for the audience.) Some characters will intentionally hide these behind [[Opaque Lenses]], [[Scary Shiny Glasses]], and [[Sinister Shades]].
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
▲== [[Anime and Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Angelic Layer]]'', one of Misaki's opponents was able to anticipate all of Misaki's Angel's attacks by watching her. Once Misaki figured this out she was easily defeated.
* In ''[[Ace Attorney|Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]]'', Apollo uses his bracelet to see through Machi's eyeglasses during a trial to determine that he's lying.
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== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Blade Runner]]'': Replicants don't have human-normal eye reactions to emotion
* In ''[[The Negotiator]]''
* In the 2005 film [[The Island]], after the duo escape from the cloning organ facility they once believed to be their sanctuary and home, while watching TV the heroine is somehow able to tell that the news reporter is lying about the events they just experienced due to the expression of her eyes.
== [[Literature]] ==
* In ''[[The Anubis Gates]]'', Beth Tichy recognizes a monster as her fiancé, transformed, by the expression in his eyes -- {{spoiler|just ''after'' she shoots it}}.
* ''[[Discworld]]''
** In ''[[
** A similar rule applies to the various transformed creatures in ''[[
** Experienced conman Moist Von Lipwig of ''[[
** ''[[
** Slightly more inexplicably, [[
* ''[[The Dresden Files]]'': Wizards can read the intimate details of any person's soul just by looking into their eyes, which is called a soulgaze. It has its limitations, though-- [[It Only Works Once]], and the target gets to see the exact same things about the wizard. Also it's stressful at best, and can cause a person to [[Go Mad
* In ''[[Good Omens]]'', the demon-in-human form Crowley adopts a stylish persona, including [[Cool Shades]] that he wears all the time (and gets mocked for by another character). Near the climax, he loses the shades, and it's revealed that at least part of the reason he wore them was that even in human form he still has his real eyes.
* All over the place in the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' series, where stoic naval officers with otherwise perfect poker faces give away their inner worries or kindness (e.g. Honor Harrington herself), and sociopathic villains give away the hollowness inside.
* ''[[The Man Who Was Thursday]]'' plays with the "wearing [[Sinister Shades]] to disguise his true nature" version of the trope, with a sinister character whose dark glasses prompt speculation about what horrors his eyes would reveal if they were visible. Ultimately, it's revealed that {{spoiler|not only are his eyes entirely normal, they proclaim his true -- kind and friendly -- disposition, so he had to hide them in order to appear sinister}}.
* ''[[The Moomins]]'': In one [[Nightmare Fuel]]-worthy scene, the characters find a magic hat that transforms things. Moomintroll tries it out of curiosity and is turned into a hideous monster. None of his family members recognize him, but in the end Moominmamma can still tell that it is him by staring into his eyes.
* ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (
** Throughout the series, Harry is said to "Look a lot like your dad, but you have your
== [[Live
* An episode of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' invokes this when Giles is turned into a demon; Buffy recognises him by looking him in the eyes and noting that no one else could look as annoyed with her. Lampshaded when Buffy suffers a [[Grand Theft Me]] later on.
{{quote|"Giles, you turned into a demon and I knew it was you! I mean, can't you just look in my eyes and be all intuitive?"}}
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* Stephen Foster's song "In The Eye Abides The Heart".
* "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" by [[Gorillaz]] takes it to an extreme: the Happyfolk are so dependent on the "Truth of the Eyes" that they are unable to even see people with covered eyes. It's probably a metaphor for dangerous innocence.
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
* While not foolproof by any means, eye movements and how someone looks at you can often be an indicator if they are lying to you or not. However, skillful liars can control this to an extent.▼
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Subverted in ''[[Legend of the Five Rings]]''
== [[Video Games]] ==
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Disney's ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]''
* In ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'' the characters can distinguish between their friends and their friend's evil counterparts from the [[Mirror Universe]] by looking into their eyes.
{{quote|'''Eizzil''': How did you know I wasn't really your stupid girlfriend?
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''Throttles Bart''
'''Homer''': How dare you look me in the eye and lie like that! }}
▲== [[Real Life]] ==
▲* While not foolproof by any means, eye movements and how someone looks at you can often be an indicator if they are lying to you or not. However, skillful liars can control this to an extent.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Eye Tropes]]
[[Category:Truth and Lies]]
▲[[Category:Eyes Never Lie]]
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