They must spend a fortune on cleaning solution.
In most installments of this series, we’re dealing with some situation that looks cooler in anime than it does in real life. That discrepancy is pretty logical, since animation gives creators complete control over the visual environment, and being unbound from reality allows anime characters to look impossibly stylish.
However, even if they don’t have to match their real-world counterparts, there are times when the various elements of an anime world still have to mesh with each other. Unfortunately, the complete control animators have over the look of their characters and settings means that things which, in reality, would develop organically in accordance with one another are, in anime, actually crafted separately, which can led to some eye-poppingly unusual results.
For example, as Japanese Twitter user @baccano0126 points out, appropriately sized contact lenses for anime characters would be absolutely huge.
漫画の矛盾から逃げなかった灼熱の卓球娘 pic.twitter.com/VIaGq8JEuQ
— 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗢2024 (@baccano0126) November 23, 2016
In real life, the last segment of your finger is roughly the size of the exposed portion of your eyeball, and a contact lens can sit easily on your fingertip. However, anime’s signature design element, dramatically oversized eyes, aren’t coupled with extra-large hands. For especially doe-eyed character designs, effective contact lenses for them would be closer to the characters’ palms. The alternative, matching the lens’ size to the character’s fingertip (as seen in the bottom right of the image shared by @baccano0126) makes the lens barely big enough to fit over the pupil.
▼ Not as extreme an example as the ones above, but still much larger than a real human’s contact lens.
https://twitter.com/monomomonomo/status/801280076214104064Wearing such large contact lenses has to put an incredible strain on the characters’ eyes, so maybe it’s no wonder that some of them just choose to wear glasses instead.
Source: Hamster Sokuho, Twitter/@baccano0126
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s content to wear glasses so that he can suddenly take them off for dramatic effect.

Anime isn’t like reality: Big-breasted fighting edition
Anime isn’t like reality: Terrifying dentistry edition
Anime Contact lenses will give you the shimmering eyes of a manga heroine 【Photos】
Anime isn’t like reality – Shy girl ponytail edition
Starbucks Japan closing only Shinkansen platform branch for popularity-triggered renovations
You can assemble a well-balanced team of Pokémon, them eat them, thanks to Japanese cake chain
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Japan’s full-facemask Ninja Parka still lets you eat ice cream[Photos]
Two food hacks take Japan’s convenience store fried chicken to amazing new sandwich heights
Can a downtown Tokyo super sento bathhouse beat a hotel for a one-night stay?
Cute hedgehog cup clingers from Japan join you for a drink in seven cute varieties
Top Secret Cookie Recipe Finally Comes to Light
The results are in! One Piece World Top 100 characters chosen in global poll
Old-school titillation: A trip to one of Tokyo’s few surviving “telephone clubs”
Tokyo’s best museum for foreign travelers finally reopens after being closed for four years
Pokémon lacquerware series expands for Year of the Horse with new handcrafted design[Video]
Tokyo subway and almost all Tokyo train lines now accepting credit card tap payments
Totoro Fund line of beautiful artwork and apparel lets you help the real-world Totoro Forest
Fading Tokyo – Searching for signs of the Showa era as local neighborhoods evolve[Photos]
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Tokyo turns its phone booths into free Wi-Fi hotspots, and here’s how to use them
Studio Ghibli adds new My Neighbour Totoro 2026 Corn Gift to its anime store for Mother’s Day
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new My Fruit³ Frappuccino at only 34 stores around the country
Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
Nine great places to see spring flowers in Japan, as chosen by travelers (with almost no sakura)
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Anime isn’t like reality: High school days edition
Anime sword fighting isn’t like reality. Why? Biomechanics (again)
Japan’s new “Cunte” contact lenses aren’t pronounced like you’re probably thinking they are
Japanese college students share four ways anime high school is different from real high school
Manga author isn’t so sure about stereotypical image of the timid girl who loves reading books
Life isn’t like anime — Japanese school to close, students must transfer 200 kilometers away
Anime isn’t like reality: Japanese police arrest man holding three knives, one in his mouth
Real Life Yu-Gi-Oh! augmented reality prototype aims to make your duels as cool as the anime’s
What would the cast of Japan’s longest-running anime look like in real life? Kind of terrifying
Anime isn’t like reality – Wannabe drifter crashes car, says he was trying to copy Initial D【Vid】
Anime girls are waiting for you to tell them about your real-life poo for new game’s microtransactions