In manga and anime, a small sweat drop, typically drawn dripping on the cheek between the eye and the ear, is a symbol used when a character is apprehensive, flustered, tense, weary, or excited about something. It's also used in situations where characters are actually physically sweating.
Often, it's shaped like the shi し hiragana.
See large sweat drop for the teardrop-shaped anime sweat drop.
Anime: Hinamatsuri ヒナまつり (Episode 1)
Usage
Most of the usage of the small sweat drop is symbolic: characters aren't actually, physically sweating, perspiring to cool off their internal temperatures. Instead, the small sweat drop is used as visual cue for the character's emotions.
The most common use is a single sweat drop drawn on the cheek of the character, between the eye and the ear.
This is used when their expression is supposed to appear tense, like when they're dealing with a weird situation, or thinking about something complicated; in timid characters when they feel shy; and in character who are done dealing with something and feel tired, weary.
Multiple sweat drops means the character is more anxious, but it may also mean the character feels excited or eager rather than tense.
Rendering
In general, the small sweat drop is drawn in manga as a shi し shape using the black color. In color, where the skin isn't pure white, the sweat drop is drawn instead with a white outline and a black shadow under the liquid.
In many cases, it looks very subtle and almost imperceptible at lower resolutions.
Anime: Kuma Miko くまみこ (Episode 1)
- This frame has focus lines, horizontal blue lines, tear drops, an anger mark, diagonal blushing lines, and two small sweat drops.
Normally, the small sweat drop doesn't drip on the character's face, it just appears and stays there. When a dripping sweat is drawn on a character, it's typically because they're in a sudden state of panic, or because they're sweating due to physical activity.
In Balloon
The small sweat drop may appear inside a speech balloon. An example:
- Context: characters discuss the importance of an useless character.
- {{hito ni {yaru} ki wo dasaseru} tte no mo sainou da} to omou ze
人にやる気を出させるってのも才能だと思うぜ
[I] think that {{making people [feel motivated]} is a talent, too}.- dasaseru - "to make [someone] put out [something]," causative form of dasu 出す, "to put out."
- {yaru} ki wo dasu - to feel motivated, "to let out a {yaru} ki."
- X + ki - to feel eager to do X.
- yaru - "to do [a task]," "to fight [with someone]."
- iyashi-kei desu ka
癒し系ですか
A healing-type, huh. - wanko mitai na...
わんこみたいな･･･
[She] is like a doggy, huh... - soko made ittenai kedo na
そこまで言ってないけどな
[I] haven't said that far, though. (literally.)
- In the sense of "I wouldn't have called her a doggy, that what you're saying, not what I said."
- ittenai - contraction of itte-inai, negative form of itte-iru 言っている.
- The し symbol in this balloon is a small seat drop.
Examples
For reference, some examples:
Anxiety
- kinchou suru
緊張する
To feel nervous. To feel tense. - hiya-ase
冷や汗
Cold sweat.
- Context: a girl is conflicted about her feelings.
- n? nanda.. kono kimochi wa..
ん？なんだ･･この気持ちは･･
Hm? What is it.. this feeling..- In my chest..??!!
- This sentence features dislocation.
Embarrassment
Anime: Ouran High School Host Club, Ouran Koukou Hosuto-Bu 桜蘭高校ホスト部 (Episode 1)
- sekimen
赤面
Red face.
Fear
- Context: Mob encounters a foe so powerful that his attacks don't work at all.
- odoro
おどろ
(the term for this background effect.)
- Context: Aurora Suya Rhys Kaymin, オーロラ・栖夜・リース・カイミーン, who loves to sleep, stares at the feathers of Harpy, ハーピィ, and says something abominable.
- sore...... sono tsubasa......
それ･･････その翼･･････
That...... those wings / your wings...... - toreru?
取れる？
Can [one] take them [off]?
Are they removable?- Potential verb derived from toru 取る, "to take."
- e...... toremasen...
え･･････取れません･･････
Eh...... [no], [they] aren't.- toremasen - negative form of toremasu 取れます, polite form of toreru.
Panic
Right: Tsuyuri Kumin 五月七日くみん
Anime: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! 中二病でも恋がしたい！ (Episode 2)
- Context: Yuuta's face turns blue as he realizes he accidentally let show a side of his dark past to Kumin.
Bewilderment
Manga: Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu. 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 (Chapter 2, 平穏です)
- e!?
え！？
Eh!?
- Context: Mechazawa Shin'ichi メカ沢新一, who is a robot, says he doesn't like machines and that humanity will end up being dominated by machines if we don't stop relying on them, prompting Kamiyama Takashi 神山高志 and Hayashida Shinjirou 林田慎二郎 to think:
- sore wa hyottoshite gyagu de itteru no ka!?
それはひょっとしてギャグで言ってるのか！？
Could it be that [he] is saying that as a joke?
Anime: Animegataris, アニメガタリズ (Episode 1)
- Context: Minoa thought something serious was going to happen. Instead, something completely different happened.
- maru-me
○目
"Circle eyes." A symbol sometimes used when a character has no idea what's going on.
- Context: ¬_¬ are jito-me ジト目.
Right: Masaki Tenchi 柾木天地
Anime: Tenchi Muyou! Ryououki 天地無用！魎皇鬼 (OVA, Episode 1)
- Context: Ryouko is speechless at Tenchi's panicking.
- Small sweat drops are rarely drawn on hair, and when they are, it's often a lot of them.
- The flickering circles around Tenchi's head are another type of sweat drop symbol.
Aversion
Anime: Slayers, スレイヤーズ (Episode 2)
- Context: Gabriev is in disbelief of the carelessness of another character.
Fluster
Right: Edward Elric エドワード・エルリック
Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi 鋼の錬金術師 (Episode 21)
- Context: Edward's soul comes out of his mouth, and then Alphonse, a bit lost on what to do, hurriedly puts it back in.
Anime: Nichijou 日常 (Episode 7)
- Context: Nano is obviously totally not hiding anything no, sir.
- "no" no me
「の」の目
An eye shaped like the no の character.
Anime: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun 月刊少女野崎くん (Episode 1)
- Context: Chiyo is in love.
- tereru
照れる
To feel shy. To feel embarrassed. - tere-sen
照れ線
"Embarrassed lines." The term for the red, diagonal lines used to draw blushes in embarrassed characters.
Anime: Iwa Kakeru! いわかける！ (Episode 8)
- Context: a kabedon 壁ドン combined with agokui 顎クイ.
Weariness
- Context: Vignette ヴィネット is done trying to deal with other characters.
- maa ii wa...
まぁいいわ･･･
Whatever... (never mind that.) - hajimemashou
始めましょう
Let's start. (already.)
Manga: Naruto ナルト (Chapter 2, 木ノ葉丸)
- Context: Sarutobi is tired of dealing with Naruto's shenanigans.
Astonishment
Anime: Dr. Stone, ドクターストーン (Episode 20)
- Context: Chrome has an idea.
- An Edison's light bulb was used as an idea light bulb.
Excitement
Middle: Uehara Tasuku 上原祐
Right: Hoshinomori Chiaki 星ノ守千秋
Anime: Gamers!, ゲーマーズ！ (Episode 6)
- Context: three characters play 4D backgammon.
- Horizontal blue lines are sometimes used when a character scowls.
Anime: Dagashikashi だがしかし (Episode 1)
- Context: Hotaru imagines something tasty.
- yodare
ヨダレ
Drool. - koufun suru
興奮する
To feel excited.
No comments: