<p>Red is known to be a strong/intense color and so when the character power upgrades, the eye color changes to red meaning implying them having a strong characteristic in the form of bravery and not fearing anything. It follows the character going into a berserk-state and display of huge burst of power.</p>
<p>Let's take the example of Sharingan. Sharingan activates when a characters goes through a sense of overpowering hatred or rage on the loss of their dearest person and the most obvious color for indicating it is red (the most fitting display is Obito Uchiha activating Mangekyo Sharingan). It is also noted that fire-wielders or the person who can control fire should have red eyes, matching their destructive ability and Uchiha clan have a natural affinity for the fire nature transformation. Uchiha are not truly considered adults until they can successfully perform the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique strong enough to overcome Water Release.</p>
<p>Not only red indicates a fictional powerbuildup, but a normal human being can sometimes rage and the animators change the eye color to red. E.g. Levi from Attack on Titan was fighting the Female Titan. Canonically his eyes are a dull gray color, but the directors had him change his eye color for that specific scene to highlight his mental and physical state he was in.</p>
<p><strong>Reference</strong>: Anime And Manga Eye Color By Hrvoje Milakovic</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://fictionhorizon.com/anime-and-manga-eye-color/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2021 article</a></li>
<li><a href="https://voicefilm.com/anime-and-manga-eye-color-meaning/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2022 article</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-12T18:21:41.790Z
Your comment is further corroborated when you consider that Akira Toriyama originally drew Super Saiyan's eyes to be red in very early versions in order to reflect the sheer anger and intense emotions that trigger the transformation
冥王 Hades
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-11T05:09:20.327Z
2023-01-11T10:58:15.650Z
2023-01-11T10:58:15.650Z
Fumikage Tokoyami
<p>For eg, consider Ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul, Naruto Sharingan, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-YpzNed148" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Shinji vs Zureal in Eva 2.0</a>, Code Geass when Lelouch activates his power etc etc.</p>
<p>Why in all these shows is it taken that getting red eyes mean one activates power?</p>

<tropes>
Why is power ups associated with red eyes in anime?
# Why is power ups associated with red eyes in anime?
Posted by: username_0 on 2023-01-10
For eg, consider Ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul, Naruto Sharingan, [Shinji vs Zureal in Eva 2.0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-YpzNed148), Code Geass when Lelouch activates his power etc etc.

Why in all these shows is it taken that getting red eyes mean one activates power?
**Tags:** tropes
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2023-01-11. Score: 4
Red is known to be a strong/intense color and so when the character power upgrades, the eye color changes to red meaning implying them having a strong characteristic in the form of bravery and not fearing anything. It follows the character going into a berserk-state and display of huge burst of power.

Let's take the example of Sharingan. Sharingan activates when a characters goes through a sense of overpowering hatred or rage on the loss of their dearest person and the most obvious color for indicating it is red (the most fitting display is Obito Uchiha activating Mangekyo Sharingan). It is also noted that fire-wielders or the person who can control fire should have red eyes, matching their destructive ability and Uchiha clan have a natural affinity for the fire nature transformation. Uchiha are not truly considered adults until they can successfully perform the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique strong enough to overcome Water Release.

Not only red indicates a fictional powerbuildup, but a normal human being can sometimes rage and the animators change the eye color to red. E.g. Levi from Attack on Titan was fighting the Female Titan. Canonically his eyes are a dull gray color, but the directors had him change his eye color for that specific scene to highlight his mental and physical state he was in.

**Reference**: Anime And Manga Eye Color By Hrvoje Milakovic

* [2021 article](https://fictionhorizon.com/anime-and-manga-eye-color/)
* [2022 article](https://voicefilm.com/anime-and-manga-eye-color-meaning/)
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2023-01-12): Your comment is further corroborated when you consider that Akira Toriyama originally drew Super Saiyan's eyes to be red in very early versions in order to reflect the sheer anger and intense emotions that trigger the transformation  
---
