Maybe it's just my imagination, but I thought Kagome's eyes were Brown. How come in so many fanfics her eyes are written as Blue????

In the tv show they are brown. In the manga they are blue gray.

I believe i read somewhere they changed her eyes to brown because they didnt think people would believe she was Japanesse. or somthing like that.

They're written as blue because in the manga, there were some color panels where the colorist gave her blue eyes. I believe it was an attempt to distinguish her from Kikyou, because in the manga, they really look more alike.

But if we want to get technical. Kagome is Japanese, and no matter what Arthur Golden might say -- most people of Japanese descent have brown eyes and it irritates me somewhat when people don't give her brown eyes as I feel it to be culturally insensitive. That's just my opinion, though. And opinions are like bung holes. We all have them. The only time I saw the blue eyed thing done well was in the story Cultural Differences because the Kagome in that story wasn't really Japanese, she was a German who was raised by her adopted Japanese parents.

It probably doesn't matter which colour people say her eyes are to me, even though i normally colour them blue due to my obsession with the manga, because it's all down to what people want in their fics. Once upon a time i read a really good fic where Kagome had green eyes

It really doesn't matter, in my opinion. There was so much inconsistency in the manga that I make them any color I want - somewhere between blue, gray, and brown. And though I would follow the anime, I like how her eyes set her apart from Kikyou.

I figure since she was character designed by Takahashi, I would follow the model set by the manga-ka. It's respectful - even in her stories tend to drag on forever. lol

- CA

Thanks for clarifying. It just really, really bugs me. Japanese people don't have blue eyes and it does seem culturally insensitive and very false to write things like "Her eyes blue as the sea". I find it very distracting in a story I would otherwise enjoy and every time I come across yet another description of Kagome's "cerulean eyes" I have to stop and shake my head in annoyance.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Sugabelly wrote:
Thanks for clarifying. It just really, really bugs me. Japanese people don't have blue eyes and it does seem culturally insensitive and very false to write things like "Her eyes blue as the sea". I find it very distracting in a story I would otherwise enjoy and every time I come across yet another description of Kagome's "cerulean eyes" I have to stop and shake my head in annoyance.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Yes, I do. I feel as if it's anglicizing the character and I don't like it one bit. I mean, to each their own, but I can't help but feel like it's wrong to deny the character her cultural identity. I don't think that people who use the blue eyes are consciously being insensitive. They probably just read the manga and saw the colored panels with her eyes painted blue and went with it. Japanese anime and manga have a history of using odd colors (eyes, hair, etc.) to differentiate characters as character designs are a bit homogeneous (American comics do it to a certain extent as well). So it does irritate me some, but I can get why they do it and I'm not gonna give anyone a hard time about it. It's just, as a writer, I chose to use brown eyes because I firmly believe in keeping Kagome Japanese. So rather than using the arbitrary choice a manga colorist decided on, I chose on my own to go with my gut feeling on her eye color. It's all about choice in the end, and every author has a right to their own... even if I disagree strongly.

I have never understood why people say her eyes are blue. It is just so stupid. They are quite obviously brown . It is just strange.

I think it's Anglicizing as well. I don't think most writers do it consciously, but there was one particular fic I read ( on a diff website) that annoyed my so much I just stopped reading it.

Not only did the author give Kagome blue eyes, she then went on about Inu no Taisho going to the Greek oracle at Delphi and then proceeded to portray the Greek Oracle and Christianity as superior to Shinto (Japanese religion). Basically she had the Oracle pooh-pooh all of the Inu-clan's beliefs and then impose a number of Christian dictates on them including all this stuff about the Jesus and she made it seem like the Japanese were misguided fools for believing in the Kami. It was so irritating.

I hate it when writers do that. I felt like she was painting her own personal Christian beliefs thickly over the story. Why can't people just respect the fact that in that time period (the Sengoku Jidai) probably 95% of all Japanese people practiced Shinto?? And nobody's religion is better than the other. omg it was so annoying.

Sugabelly wrote:
I think it's Anglicizing as well. I don't think most writers do it consciously, but there was one particular fic I read ( on a diff website) that annoyed my so much I just stopped reading it.

Not only did the author give Kagome blue eyes, she then went on about Inu no Taisho going to the Greek oracle at Delphi and then proceeded to portray the Greek Oracle and Christianity as superior to Shinto (Japanese religion). Basically she had the Oracle pooh-pooh all of the Inu-clan's beliefs and then impose a number of Christian dictates on them including all this stuff about the Jesus and she made it seem like the Japanese were misguided fools for believing in the Kami. It was so irritating.

I hate it when writers do that. I felt like she was painting her own personal Christian beliefs thickly over the story. Why can't people just respect the fact that in that time period (the Sengoku Jidai) probably 95% of all Japanese people practiced Shinto?? And nobody's religion is better than the other. omg it was so annoying.

Word.

The ironic thing is the Greek Oracle isn't a Christian concept at all. The Oracle was used in the old pantheistic Greek religion -- when they still worshiped Zeus and a host of other gods. Silly author. Being an instigator, I'd have probably mention that in a review.

I really dont care what color her eyes are. If i like a story im gonna read it. I think the blue eyes set her appart because she really is just a plain girl. Of course normally all Japanesse have brown eyes, but its fiction they can make the purple for all i care as long as its an interesting story. Or compromise and make them hazel.


ps. When u read these stories do u picture them as American, Japanesse, or a Cartoon. I think as them as a cartoon i really dont think about there nationality unless somthings traditional like a kimono or somthing like that.

I've never been too concerned about Kagome's eye color in fanfics, since I figured a lot of authors were trying to stay true to the manga. Although I do like it when they provide an explanation for it.

Some have attributed it as a physical manifestation of her exceptionally strong spiritual powers. In some stories, especially AU, Kagome may only be part Japanese, and it makes her having blue eyes a little more possible.

And just because I am the kind of nerd that likes to look up information about this stuff, there is an article on wiki that gives some explanation to the genetics behind eye color.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_color

I found it very interesting that scientists believe that everyone with blue eyes has a common ancestor due to a genetic mutation that occurred somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, somewhere near the Black Sea region.

That is very different from what I was taught in AP Biology, only 9 years ago, when we were told that blue eyes were simply a recessive trait, while brown was dominant.

Couldntbekeener3 wrote:
I really dont care what color her eyes are. If i like a story im gonna read it. I think the blue eyes set her appart because she really is just a plain girl. Of course normally all Japanesse have brown eyes, but its fiction they can make the purple for all i care as long as its an interesting story. Or compromise and make them hazel.


ps. When u read these stories do u picture them as American, Japanesse, or a Cartoon. I think as them as a cartoon i really dont think about there nationality unless somthings traditional like a kimono or somthing like that.

I can agree with this statement. ^^

Couldntbekeener3 wrote:
I really dont care what color her eyes are. If i like a story im gonna read it. I think the blue eyes set her appart because she really is just a plain girl. Of course normally all Japanesse have brown eyes, but its fiction they can make the purple for all i care as long as its an interesting story. Or compromise and make them hazel.


ps. When u read these stories do u picture them as American, Japanesse, or a Cartoon. I think as them as a cartoon i really dont think about there nationality unless somthings traditional like a kimono or somthing like that.

lol! What a great answer! And an even more interesting question.

It depends on the story. There are some stories that are just fun and I kind of picture the anime version of Kagome. Other stories I see her more realistically as a real person. But I never forget she's of Japanese descent. I mean, she was created by a Japanese woman. Lives in Japan's capital city. She's Japanese. Downgrade my karma all you want for it, but it's just the way I feel and if you disagree. That's cool.

But there have been stories where she's come from other places. I mentioned Cultural Differences where her heritage was a German adopted by a Japanese couple. There's been other stories where she's lived in America and that's cool too. Honestly, there's a lot you can do in fiction and you have to be flexible, but you also have to remember the roots of the story as well. It's a hard thing to juggle and there's no one right answer. Just opinions.

I like how this thread is progressing and that it has stayed civil for the most part. Let's keep that up, but let's also not refer to any specific fics and condemn them. We don't want to hurt any feelings

Not talking to you Noa

A canon fic is supposed to follow the MANGA. I feel kind of guilty, because in my story "Double Vision", which is supposedly canon, I use the character Ayame (not in the manga), and give Sesshomaru the power of his light whips (also not in the manga). I give Kagome blue eyes, because they are blue in the manga, and while I like the idea of a purely human Kagome, her father is totally absent from the manga. He could be anyone, from anywhere. So in addition to my attempt to stay canon (except when I absolutely cannot resist using elements from the anime), the blue eyes add to the air of mystery about her father. Also, those long, long legs are not representative of unmixed racial origin.

oh yeah no ones brought up her father! Wow, yeah her father could be nebody. That would be good in a fiction.

knifethrower wrote:
A canon fic is supposed to follow the MANGA. I feel kind of guilty, because in my story "Double Vision", which is supposedly canon, I use the character Ayame (not in the manga), and give Sesshomaru the power of his light whips (also not in the manga). I give Kagome blue eyes, because they are blue in the manga, and while I like the idea of a purely human Kagome, her father is totally absent from the manga. He could be anyone, from anywhere. So in addition to my attempt to stay canon (except when I absolutely cannot resist using elements from the anime), the blue eyes add to the air of mystery about her father. Also, those long, long legs are not representative of unmixed racial origin.

Knifethrower, I love you, but you kind of compromised your argument there.

I believe in the end, this discussion has been done to death. There are at least two other threads on her eye color. There is an infinite array of colors people choose to describe her eyes as just as there are an infinite number of "opinions" people tell to justify their preferences.

Truthfully, I could use a little change. How about... What color do you believe her nipples should be? Any takers?

ladybattousai wrote:
Truthfully, I could use a little change. How about... What color do you believe her nipples should be? Any takers?

Hmmm... I'm leaning toward neon green myself.

Mistress Sianna wrote:
Hmmm... I'm leaning toward neon green myself.

Radioactive nipples... I like it

ladybattousai wrote:
Radioactive nipples... I like it

LOL!! I suspected you might!

Edit: On another note, I just hit 600 posts!!

Erm... WOOT!!! I guess.

]'reminds me of that song Toxic Love from Ferngully!!

Mistress Sianna wrote:

Hmmm... I'm leaning toward neon green myself.

How about glow in the dark?.. That would surely be a wtf moment... lol

I generally like the use of blue eyes, and I stick to the manga. For this reason, it what I saw/read first. *shrugs* Brown is fine too, since that's what they went for in the anime. Though I'll admit green, red, or any other would make me raise a brow before continuing to read. And only because it wasn't used in either.

A little off topic but along the lines of it.... there was a study done...basically they say that we all started out with brown eyes, then a mutation came about that switched of the brown trait and created blue...there a more scientific explanation of a site. And while Asians have brown eyes normally, I believe there are rare rare cases where blue pops up. Anyhow... this all reminded me of something I heard.

A fun bit of info. I remember 'hearing'... there is a past superstition that people born with blue eyes were believed to have to much water in them, and were considered to bring of bad luck. Thus were cast out or maybe killed. Will put up a link if I ever find one to back this. (if anyone knows what I'm talking about or can go into more depth let me know)I just swear I heard it in Japanese class...but I could be wrong. *If I am, sorry my bad.* Just thought it was a interesting bit of info.

But back to the topic. I also prefer the blue because...I like blue. But if blue were never shown in the manga then eyed probably be a stickler for the brown; though it wouldn't stop me from reading. Some stories even have reason behind their eye choice, like Kagome is actually half American(European, or German, or something).