This is something that’s been bugging me for a while.
If you’ve watched practically any lighter anime from the last decade or so, you’ll know what I’m talking about. That single little fang that a lot of girls seem to feature. Does this thing have an actual name? What purpose does it actually serve? Is it a reference to something? Some kind of untranslatable Japanese cultural thing? Or is it just there to look cute? Also, why does it work so well? What is it about the Monofang that it seems to impart a huge cuteness bonus? Am I just overanalysing things?
I know back when the fang first started appearing, it was used to denote aggressiveness or a generally feisty personality in a comedic character. Characters like Ryoko in Tenchi Muyo! and I think Lina in Slayers (or one of the Slayers characters, anyway) bore the fang at some point for this reason.
No clue if it has the same meaning these days that it used to, though. I wouldn’t really call Tsuruya-san “aggressive” (though an argument for “feisty” could be made, I suppose).
Pretty much. Girls with fang teeth showing nowadays somehow exhibit some sort of ubercheerfulness.
Or maybe, it’s because they’re always smiling/have their mouths wide open/laughing wildly (last reason’s example: Tsuruya)…
@Nagi: well technically you can go back further with it, since Lum has fangs. That’s a bit different though. The monofang has evolved.
@meganeshounen: I think you’re right as far as the similarities in personality go, for the most part. As Nagi pointed out though, I don’t know if it was always the case.
Also, they have to have their mouth open for us to see their teeth. Or tooth in this case. So yes, it’s visible because of their big smile, but that’s sort of beside the point.
Or maybe I’m overanalysing. I don’t know.
EDIT: Either way, it doesn’t answer the question about why it has the effect it does.
It’s the new moe!
Join the Moe-Fang Train!
OH GOD TSURUYA IS HOT
For whatever reason that single fang seems to give the character a sort of wolfish look, which in the past was used for mischievous or feisty characters, like Ryoga from Ranma 1/2 or Ryoko from Tenchi.
I think over the years it’s evolved and as the whole moe movement has really taken off, it’s become a moe charm point for those uber-genki girls. I think it still serves to denote a somewhat wild side to a character, although I’m sure different people perceive it in different ways.
The double fang is a bit different, since that’s generally reserved for characters who are in some way vampiric or monstrous, whereas with the single fang characters it corresponds specifically to a personality type.
My personal experience is that the mono-fang has only appeared in younger, or younger appearing characters (as said before, often of a feisty or rambunctious nature.)
I always thought it was to signify the forward, unhindered, child-like nature of the characters. As some children at a young playful age seem to be missing some teeth, the mono-fang is perhaps a reference to that childish nature.
Sorry for rambling, just my thoughts via my nature!
The reason, I believe, is because people aren’t normally supposed to show thier teeth in public in Japan, I think. In anime, having a tooth shown tells the viewer that the character isn’t afraid to show his/her teeth in public, and by extention isn’t afraid to show more of themselves than people usually do. This results in characters who are more likely to speak their mind and not be ashamed of what they do, no matter what they do.
I believe I had read once before that the fang was to denote a similarity to that of a cat or kitten and how they behave, very rambunctious and mischevious
I’d also add that after looking at tens of thousands of cosplay/gravure images that most of the female population of Japan seems to be afraid of the dentist (ala Miwiki) and suffer from snaggletooth syndrome :V