<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-26T09:25:23.423Z
2015-05-26T09:25:23.423Z
Denslat
<p>This is a stylized squint.  It is not specific to <em>World Trigger</em> or Yuma's personality.</p>

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

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/QD0bJ.jpg" alt="Candy Candy">
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/oN5vG.jpg" alt="Oniisama he・・・"></p>

<p>Over time, eyelashes have generally become thinner.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/dN8Bx.jpg" alt="Chihayafuru"></p>

<p>And <strong>over time, increasingly abstract versions</strong>, such as a sketch of horizontal lines, have emerged.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4WjMa.png" alt="Ore Monogatari!!">
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/uJVa0.png" alt="enter image description here">
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/BUh5G.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p><strong>Yuma's 3 horizontal lines is an abstraction of the standard horizontal-line eyelashes</strong>, which in this case conveys acting like one is trying to understand or agree: squinting indicates <strong>thinking so hard</strong> 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」 (<em>naruhodo</em> = "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 <em>Ore Monogatari!!</em> doing the same thing with an abstraction of 1 horizontal line.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Q121L.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>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 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty7RmPCP7OI&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=2m50s" rel="nofollow noreferrer">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).</a> The <a href="https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21862/what-is-the-history-behind-lip-eyes-on-characters-with-glasses">3-shaped abstraction</a> 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).</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/S0JDv.gif" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>Sometimes it is used to indicate sleeping with closed eyes.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/gBKwl.jpg" alt="Doraemon"></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-02T00:43:42.593Z
2015-06-02T00:43:42.593Z
2017-04-13T12:54:48.953Z
seijitsu
<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/VUQ5l.gif" alt="Weird Face"></p>

<p>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?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-21T11:38:36.073Z
I think its a "Ohh, I get it now." face for expressing the characters's psychological state of understanding an explanation, especially Yuma's understanding of the situation.
Astral Sea
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-16T04:24:05.653Z
I think I must agree with "r zark" that the 3-face i.e. 口が3 (frequently seen on Yūma Kuga) may indicate a lack of expression or an intentionally inscrutable face, not puckered lips! See his comment at http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/23328/is-there-a-name-for-this-manga-anime-mouth-expression-3
patellar-myotatic
<culture><world-trigger>
Why in World Trigger do the characters have times when their faces get blank during dialog?
# Why in World Trigger do the characters have times when their faces get blank during dialog?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-05-21
![Weird Face](https://i.sstatic.net/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?
**Tags:** culture world-trigger
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think its a "Ohh, I get it now." face for expressing the characters's psychological state of understanding an explanation, especially Yuma's understanding of the situation.  
> **username_2**: I think I must agree with "r zark" that the 3-face i.e. 口が3 (frequently seen on Yūma Kuga) may indicate a lack of expression or an intentionally inscrutable face, not puckered lips! See his comment at http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/23328/is-there-a-name-for-this-manga-anime-mouth-expression-3  
---
## 2 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2015-05-26. Score: 2 | Accepted answer
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.
---
### Answer by username_4 on 2015-06-02. Score: 5
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.sstatic.net/QD0bJ.jpg)
![Oniisama he・・・](https://i.sstatic.net/oN5vG.jpg)

Over time, eyelashes have generally become thinner.

![Chihayafuru](https://i.sstatic.net/dN8Bx.jpg)

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

![Ore Monogatari!!](https://i.sstatic.net/4WjMa.png)
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/uJVa0.png)
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/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.sstatic.net/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.sstatic.net/S0JDv.gif)

Sometimes it is used to indicate sleeping with closed eyes.

![Doraemon](https://i.sstatic.net/gBKwl.jpg)
---
