Circle Eyes

In manga and anime, "circle eyes," maru-me ○目, are eyes drawn as white circles with black outlines, typically used when a character is overwhelmed, shocked, startled, or scared, but sometimes just a simple way to draw eyes when they're being silly.^{(tonbi.jp:〇目)}

Effectively, they're a simplified type of "white eyes," shirome 白目.

It's also spelled maru-me 丸目, and also called zero-me ○目, because they look like zeroes.

Anime: Yuru Yuri ゆるゆり (Episode 1)

• Hair strands sticking out also symbolize being overwhelmed.

• Examples
• Similar Types
• References

Examples

Anime: Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! 私、能力は平均値でって言ったよね！ (Episode 6)

• See realization mark for the ∑-shaped icons.

Character: Asagaya Minoa 阿佐ヶ谷未乃愛
Anime: Animegataris, アニメガタリズ (Episode 1)

Left: Ichii Tooru 一井透
Right: Momoki Run 百木るん
Anime: A-Channel, Ａチャンネル (Episode 4)

• Context: Tooru practices protected hand-holding by wearing overly long sleeves.

Character: Dino, ディーノ
Anime: Blend S, ブレンド・S (Episode 5)

• Context: Dino's soul comes out of his mouth after receiving a huge shock.

Manga: K-On!, Keion! けいおん！ (Volume 1, Page 30)

• Context: Hirasawa Yui 平沢唯, who started learning to play the guitar, tells her impressions about the guitar strings to Tainaka Ritsu 田井中律.
• {hosokute katai kara} yubi φ kichaisou
  細くて硬いから指切っちゃいそう
  {Because [they] are thin and hard}, [it feels like] [it] will cut [my] fingers.
  • Symbol: plewds, a type of sweat drop drawn on air.
  • kichaisou - contraction of kitte-shimai-sou.
• piin
  ピーン
  *sound effect of the idea light bulb turning on*

Similar Types

Eyes drawn as fully black circles, that is, as dots, are called "dot eyes," ten-me 点目, instead.

Anime: Kimetsu no Yaiba 鬼滅の刃 (Episode 25)

For circle eyes with swirling spirals inside them, see guriguri-me ぐりぐり目.

Anime: Hidamari Sketch, ひだまりスケッチ (Episode 1)

References

• 〇目 - tonbi.jp, accessed 2020-04-05.