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In anime, character eyes usually have highlights that are usually white. They
seem like a light reflection or something.

![The Eyes Have It](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Fv5hkl.jpg)

Do the highlights have a name? What are they supposed to be?


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2014-05-02T04:11:20.757
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question
anime-production
What are the highlights in eyes called?


For illustrative purposes, I have taken the first four images off a Google
search for `eyes` (note: you may not want to perform this search yourself, as
there is at least one disturbing image on the front page).

![an eye](https://i.stack.imgur.com/tarcZm.jpg) ![two
eyes](https://i.stack.imgur.com/weiRKm.jpg) ![an
eye](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ftgFEm.jpg) ![yet another
eye](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9Waatm.jpg)

As you can see, all of these images contain a similar "white space" /
highlight. That's because if you're taking a photo, you need a light source -
and the eyes, being reflective, are going to reflect that light source.

These "white spaces" are called
[**catchlights**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_light), and are naturally
found in film and in photography. It is unsurprising that animators and
artists would imitate this for added realism - Disney's been doing it since
forever.

![Ariel - The Little Mermaid](https://i.stack.imgur.com/aWmQKm.jpg) ![Jasmine
- Aladdin](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2TlkDm.jpg)

Of course, catchlights are somewhat more pronounced in anime simply because
characters drawn in an "anime style" tend to have large eyes - and hence,
correspondingly large catchlights.

For more information about catchlights in photography, see the question [In
portrait photography, what is a
“catchlight”?](https://photo.stackexchange.com/q/11657/21775) at
Photography.SE.


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answer


The Japanese term for ["specular
highlight"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specular_highlight) or
["catchlight"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_light) is
[「鏡面ハイライト」](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%8F%A1%E9%9D%A2%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88)
( _kyoumen hairaito_ ), meaning "mirrored surface highlight" or "specular
surface highlight." 「鏡」 can be pronounced " _kagami_ ," " _kyou_ ," or "kei"
and means "mirror,"「面」 is pronounced " _men_ ," " _omote_ ," or " _tsura_ "
and means "mask" (as in the word 「仮面」[ _kamen_ ]), "face," or "surface."

The sort that appear in human eyes are called 「人物のハイライト」 ( _"jinbutsu no
hairaito"_ = person's highlight),
[「眼球のハイライト」](https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E7%9C%BC%E7%90%83%E3%81%AE%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88&rlz=1C5CHFA_enJP509JP509&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=7QBtVZnEJOTKmwXqk4DQCw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1274&bih=740&dpr=0.9)
( _"gankyuu no hairaito"_ = eyeball highlight) or
[「眼球ハイライト」](https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E7%9C%BC%E7%90%83%E3%81%AE%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88&rlz=1C5CHFA_enJP509JP509&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=7QBtVZnEJOTKmwXqk4DQCw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1274&bih=740&dpr=0.9#tbm=isch&q=%E7%9C%BC%E7%90%83%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88)
( _"gankyuu hairaito"_ = eyeball highlight). A specifically manga-style
specular highlight can be referred to as
[「漫画的に描いたハイライト」](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%8F%A1%E9%9D%A2%E3%83%8F%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88#.E4.BA.BA.E7.89.A9.E3.81.AE.E3.83.8F.E3.82.A4.E3.83.A9.E3.82.A4.E3.83.88)
( _"manga-teki ni kaita hairaito"_ = highlight drawn in manga-style).


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