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![Weird Face](https://i.stack.imgur.com/VUQ5l.gif)

Why is it that the characters' faces do this at various points in the dialog
and what is it meant to convey? I wonder if perhaps this is a Japanese culture
or anime culture expression that I have not seen before?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-21T03:41:26.640
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question
culture world-trigger
Why in World Trigger do the characters have times when their faces get blank during dialog?


Based on the actions of the characters and Yuma's unique personality, I
believe it's more of a "I get the reason, but not the logic" like
understanding that the kettle is hot without understanding why, or rather not
caring why.

The little kid in Tamakoma does the same face, as Yuma when it come's to our
world may as well be a child. he also frequently say's "naru hodo" which
roughly translate to "now I get it" but in reality he doesn't.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-26T09:25:23.423
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answer


This is a stylized squint. It is not specific to _World Trigger_ or Yuma's
personality.

**This stylized squint is a variation on using horizontal lines to indicate
eyelashes.** This was popularized in shoujo manga, where the eyelashes were
originally very thick.

![Candy Candy](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QD0bJ.jpg) ![Oniisama
he・・・](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oN5vG.jpg)

Over time, eyelashes have generally become thinner.

![Chihayafuru](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dN8Bx.jpg)

And **over time, increasingly abstract versions** , such as a sketch of
horizontal lines, have emerged.

![Ore Monogatari!!](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4WjMa.png) ![enter image
description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uJVa0.png) ![enter image
description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BUh5G.png)

**Yuma's 3 horizontal lines is an abstraction of the standard horizontal-line
eyelashes** , which in this case conveys acting like one is trying to
understand or agree: squinting indicates **thinking so hard** that you end up
squinting from the strain on brain power and/or on account of focusing by
shutting out your surroundings. Sometimes it is used when a character is
thinking 「なるほど」 ( _naruhodo_ = "Oh, I see..." or "Oh, so that's what that
means") whether or not he or she actually understands what happened/what was
said. Here you can see Teruo from _Ore Monogatari!!_ doing the same thing with
an abstraction of 1 horizontal line.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Q121L.png)

Sometimes it is used for squinting for vision purposes, such as when a
character takes his/her glasses off and cannot see clearly. This is based on
[real Japanese people imagining that squinting improves long-distance vision
when they do not feel like wearing their glasses or if their glasses
prescription is too low (a very frequent occurrence in the Japanese school
classroom).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty7RmPCP7OI&feature=youtu.be&t=2m50s)
The [3-shaped
abstraction](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21862/what-is-the-
history-behind-lip-eyes-on-characters-with-glasses) is a development in which
the horizontal lines become a very stylized scribble (the artist does not pick
up the pen between each horizontal line, so the squint is connected into a
single line).

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/S0JDv.gif)

Sometimes it is used to indicate sleeping with closed eyes.

![Doraemon](https://i.stack.imgur.com/gBKwl.jpg)


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2015-06-02T00:43:42.593
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2015-06-02T00:43:42.593
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answer