Why Does ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Have Anime Eyes? The Director Explains.
It was always [James Cameron]’s intention to create a photo-realistic version of the manga eyes that we’re so accustomed to seeing. We really wanted to honor that tradition and see that look standing next to any human character. To have the right person to emote behind it was really essential. Her origins are in the film and you understand why she looks that way. If the eyes are the windows to the soul, we have some pretty big windows. You can see a lot going on in there! When it gets to the emotional scenes it’s really uncanny and striking. And captivating!