I want a series you can recommend from the bottom of your heart (not just because it fits the requirement) where the characters have eyeballs of realistic size! Or at least, the male and females have the same kind of eyeballs drawn (ex: males not being slits and the females not being diamonds).

When I first got into anime/manga, I never noticed how the eyes are so huge and differently shaped for girls compared to the male characters (I grew up watching Sailor Moon), but now it is really getting to me.

Any genre, and demographic, I don't care. I'm really aiming for shounen/josei/shoujo just because those are the main series where eyeballs be trippin'. Seinen is usually quite reasonable.

Glorious examples ♥:
Kiseijuu
Monster
Believers
Pieta

Last edited by drolemil at 9:27 pm, Jan 12 2011

Nodame Cantabile (a liiiitttle iffy)
Usagi Drop
Our Happy Hours
These fit quite well.

Ikigami and Bokurano for less josei-y recs.

Oh and most Yoshinaga Fumi I suppose. Mostly shojo and yaoi.

Huh, I never even notice unless it's really immature shoujo... and there are other reasons not to read those works, lol.

Was just reading Noblesse today, and the characters have fairly normal sized eyes...

Others that fit the criteria...
Angel Densetsu
Emma
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou

I really think there are as many as not I'm reading that do not particularly deform the characters' eyes... It seems modern manga art has been moving away from it, outside of shoujo at least.

Actually Emma has a lot of big glassy eyes. Same with YKK. I was going through my list and was going to recommend them until I remembered.

What comes to mind for me are the works of MATSUMOTO Tomo. She writes shoujo that feels like josei. My favorites are Beauty is the Beast and Kiss.

I'd say:
Memories of Emanon
Arakawa Under the Bridge
SAITOU Misaki's works
Also Yumeka Sumomo's works
Maybe Tegami Bachi..

Perhaps Kokou no hito?

Gokusen
Historie
Jiraishin
Real

And I second Yoshinaga Fumi's works.

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They aren't that big, and his criteria required at the least that the men have the same size eyes as the women... which they do. More importantly, I can "recommend them from the bottom of my heart."

I personally want to recommend Momonchi and Brigit's Supper.

Maybe....

Wolf Guy - Ookami no Monshou
Savage Garden
The Other Side of the Mirror


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Samura hiroaki has fairly realistic art in general.

I would recommend anything by IWAAKI Hitoshi but since you mentioned one of his works I suppose you already thought of him.

Anything by Asano Inio or Igarashi Daisuke should fit the bill quite nicely.

Nijigahara Holograph and Majo are the clear standouts.[m]

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To add to the list:

I think ONO Natsume has an endearing art style... though you may want to watch the anime adaptations (such as House of Five Leaves and/or Ristorante Paradiso first to get used to the art if it scares you... you know... ease yourself in

Fullmetal Alchemist? (Technically not realistic... but not super huge eyes)

Natsume Yuujinchou -- sketchy type of art by MIDORIKAWA Yuki... anime was great too...

Spice and Wolf -- the guy and girl's eyes are pretty equal in size (based on the anime... I have no idea about manga though... but it's super slow... anime's "catching up" with the light novel faster)

I'm seconding stuff by UNITA Yumi -- i.e. Usagi Drop <3
and basically all works by Yumeka Sumomo... i.e. Bus Hashiru and Nanairo Sekai