Anime glasses are a trope I knew I must share. In fact, the topic has been on my list since the beginning. When it comes to the beautiful anime out there, I have previously mentioned that water and fingers are where I find my attention drawn. Eyes are equally important.
While glasses are not eyes (obviously), they have their own particular magic in the world of anime. They switch between opaque and translucent, seemingly at will. However, occasionally glasses will reflect the inner truth of a character’s nature. Whether that nature is smart, sadistic, scary…well that is for us to find out.
Warning: My desire is to limit these spoilers to as few as possible. Luckily whether a character wears glasses isn’t as heavy as a character’s death or a WOW moment. So, these spoilers should be on the easy to digest side. They shouldn’t ruin your enjoyment if you want to find out more about these glasses wearing characters.
Anime Glasses – Hange Zoe
FYI – Hange would have fit in perfectly with my enthusiastic weirdos. Yet I wanted to save her for this article. Hange is unique in that she has two sets of glasses – a set of goggles and a thin rimmed pair. She rarely uses the techniques I’ll mention later. Rather, Hange will lift her goggles off her eyes to communicate her anger or seriousness.
Anime Glasses – Vash the Stampede
Vash seems to use his glasses to create a barrier between two personalities. The glasses-less Vash is more of a carefree goofball. But he goes stone cold killer with those little round glasses on. Vash has a pretty good grasp on the glasses game because he can use the shiny glare and manipulates his frames with skill.
Anime Glasses – Saruhiko Fushimi
You’d think a dude with a nickname like “Bad Glasses” wouldn’t make my list. However, Fushimi is here to subvert your expectations. One of my cosplay friends does about a million different versions of Fushimi so I’ve gotten to see much of Fushimi’s glasses game. An excellent glasses push up by the middle finger is his number one tool.
Anime Glasses – Dr. Stein
Franken Stein has nearly all of the glasses game skills in his arsenal. It is normal to see these anime glasses both go opaque, but Dr. Stein can keep one lens clear! And what kind of pro player in the glasses game would Dr. Stein be if he didn’t master the dramatic take off/put on? Equally important, he can do that too.
Anime Glasses – Shiroe
The villain behind glasses is an absolute must for this list. Shiroe’s glasses game is at the master tier. He expertly manipulates his glasses. Shiroe has the smart look and villain-esque mannerisms down. Shiroe’s ultimate glasses technique shrouds him in a dark overlay that only leaves his glasses and smile visible. Moreover, it is so influential that characters without glasses will imitate his patented glasses push.
I hope you enjoyed this fun little list of glasses wearing anime characters! I had fun writing it and just like the assistants it is a special one to me. I’ve worn glasses for as long as I can remember (no kidding – I sat here for a minute to try to figure out when I started wearing them). Let me know what you think. Feel free to use the comment section down below or let’s communicate on my social media (Facebook – Instagram – Twitter).
Featured image: Aniplex
