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It is stated that Gaara has his dark circles around his eyes because Shukaku
won't let him sleep because Gaara will lose control if he does.

After the extraction of Shukaku, Gaara still has these circles around his
eyes. Why? Is it only _style_ or does he still suffer from insomnia?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-01-14T14:07:18.033
1950
2023-04-25T23:52:33.003
2013-11-12T03:36:58.293
2491
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question
naruto
Why does Gaara still have dark circles around his eyes?


That doesn't really make sense to me. As we know, one of Gaara's trademark
techniques is Armor of Sand:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LTxI5.png)

His whole body is covered by a layer of sand that protects him. That, of
course, means we can't really see his skin under that sand. So I would
personally think it's doubtful that those marks were because of a lack of
sleep in the first place, but whatever. It's also not only Gaara who has marks
around his eyes, with notable examples being Kankurō:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QYDT9.jpg)

and Baki:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2XNzW.jpg)

So my opinion would be that it's rather an element of style.


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2013-01-14T15:19:46.757
1951
2013-01-14T15:19:46.757
111
1950
answer


It's also very possible that Gaara's circles around his eyes can be remnents
of when he had Shukaku.

He's lived as an insomniac for the vast majority of his life. It's only very
recent that he's been living without Shukaku. Also, Gaara still isn't the most
friendly guy. He's learning how to build bonds. Just because a man is free
doesn't mean he knows _how_ to _be_ free. It takes time to learn and for the
affects to wear off.


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2013-01-14T19:42:41.787
1955
2013-01-14T19:42:41.787
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answer


I'm more inclined to agree with [SingerOfTheFall's
answer](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/1951/49).  
Upon Gaara's birth ( _Shipuuden_ episode 297 and _Naruto_ chapter 547, page
4), he already had his dark rings around the eyes.

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

I know he already had the Shukaku sealed inside him, but I find it a bit odd
that he was born suffering from insomnia.  
Plus, the translation I read of chapter 135 does not refer to the dark rings,
but rather to the 'bags under his eyes' (although this could be a problem with
the translation...):

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6r9mGm.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6r9mG.png)

Furthermore, as SingerOfTheFall said, there are several other Suna shinobi
that have dark rings around their eyes, including [Gaara's father when he uses
his Gold Dust](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Fourth_Kazekage#Appearance):

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

* * *

On a side note, I think it can also be the influence of the tanuki ([the
'inspiration' for the Shukaku](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/795/49)) in
the character conception, since the tanuki too has dark rings around his eyes.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OY51pm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OY51p.jpg)

So this trait could be somewhat similar to the whiskers Naruto has from the
Kyuubi. He had these whiskers even prior to being the Kyuubi's host:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3CVPFm.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3CVPF.png)

This could mean that the dark circles are a character trait (conceived upon
character design) that were a result of the Ichibi being sealed in Gaara even
before his birth, thus being present even after the Bijuu's extraction.


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2013-01-24T14:42:14.203
2147
2023-04-25T23:52:33.003
2023-04-25T23:52:33.003
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49
1950
answer


He has those dark lines around his eyes, not because Shukaku won't let him
sleep, but because Shukaku is like a racoon -- racoons have dark lines around
their eyes, like how Naruto has whiskers.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-03T02:50:59.607
22086
2015-06-03T19:06:39.907
2015-06-03T19:06:39.907
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answer


Naruto has the whiskers because he has the nine tailed fox, Gaara has the dark
circles around his eyes because he has the Shukaku which is like a raccoon,
these are trademark features that a jinchuuriki possesses depending on which
of the tailed beast they have, as to why they are still there is most likely
because it's like a birthmark it doesn't go away.


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2015-06-11T23:28:12.207
22363
2015-06-11T23:28:12.207
15007
1950
answer


There stated in wiki that those who having a kekkei genkai magnet release (if
not mistaken ) will have dark circle. There's proof when Rasa using magnet
release there appear a dark circle around his eye. And in novel, it is stated
that Gaara inherited magnet release from his father which I think Gaara was
born with magnet release that also leading to his dark circle when he was born
and I think it was permanent due to this


CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-16T05:36:11.963
28999
2016-01-16T05:36:11.963
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answer


While the rings were originally intended to be an indicator of insomnia, it is
likely that this was retconned to be a side effect of his use of the Magnet
Release Kekkei Genkai he inherited from his father.

Out-of-Universe example: Gaara is a very popular and iconic character and it
would not be a good merchandising strategy to drastically alter his appearance
in any fundamental ways.

P.S. Naruto's whisker-shaped birthmarks are likely a result of being the son
of Kurama's Jinchuriki, since neither Mito nor Kushina possessed them. Both of
Naruto's children have similar birthmarks and neither of them are Jinchuriki.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-12-20T21:42:58.463
37973
2016-12-20T21:42:58.463
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answer


Those dark circle around Gaara's eyes are not from sleep deprivation. I was
constantly looking at his face to learn about this, but in the translated
anime, he had lines under the dark circle just a little poke of a line beside
his nose where bags pop out the most.

Also, in the anime, Naruto said what's up with him wearing eyeliner. Since he
always had it, it's probably a part of his being, like a trait that was passed
down or it could be like a birthmark or scar-like Naruto's whiskers. It's
something like a scar of being exposed and I can't help but note Naruto has
whiskers close resemblance to the fox.

By the way, fox and dogs do have whiskers as being the shape of an animal, but
Gaara has trouble with sleep. His demon could take over in his sleep. I just
looked at a picture of the one tail to look at his eyes. He has like raccoon
eyes, just a black patch with pupils, so these marks have a close resemblance
to the tail beasts they have.

For the guy that said the black is just the eye shape, eyes aren't shaped like
that. It is way too thick unless you're telling me the edge of his eyeballs is
just that big. I don't think it is shoot. I just noticed he doesn't have any
eyebrows. Someone also said it stayed on his sand armor. Great job on noticing
that. This just might help with the answer that it's a scar-mark of some sort
because if you look at Naruto, his whiskers grow when he starts to form. I'm
positive his eyeliner is a resemblance to the one-tailed eyes.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-28T18:25:37.517
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2017-09-28T19:03:41.760
2017-09-28T19:03:41.760
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answer


The dark circles around gaara eyes are probably because of kohl.

Kohl is basically just eyeliner. The peoples from sunny/desert regions - hence
"sandy" - from around the world used to use this for eye protection.

A quik wikipedia search gave me following info:

Kohl (Arabic: كُحْل‎‎) is an ancient eye cosmetic, traditionally made by
grinding stibnite (Sb2S3) for similar purposes to charcoal used in mascara. It
is widely used in the Middle East, North Africa, the Mediterranean, Eastern
Europe, South Asia, the Horn of Africa, and parts of West Africa as
eyeliner[1] to contour and/or darken the eyelids and as mascara for the
eyelashes. **It is worn mostly by women, but also by some men and children.**

**Also interesting is this:**

In addition, mothers would apply kohl to their infants' eyes soon after birth.
Some did this to "strengthen the child's eyes", **and others believed it could
prevent the child from being cursed by the evil eye.**

I hope this answers your question. I think its just a cosmetic/cultural thing
they gave to gaara. To make him look like the desert tribe peoples.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-29T23:42:53.503
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2017-09-29T23:42:53.503
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1950
answer