Ever since I dove into the world of anime, I've noticed how often creators use visual impairments to deepen a character's backstory or powers. Darkness blindness, or nyctalopia, isn't as commonly depicted as general blindness, but a few characters come to mind. Tokisaki Kurumi from 'Date A Live' has a unique relationship with shadows—her abilities revolve around darkness, but she’s never explicitly stated to suffer from darkness blindness. Still, her eerie comfort in the dark makes me wonder if she’d even notice. Then there’s Zato=1 from 'Guilty Gear,' whose bond with his shadow creature Eddie blurs the lines between symbiosis and dependency. His blindness is mystical, but the way he navigates darkness feels almost like a twisted adaptation.
On the flip side, Toph from 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (though not anime) redefined how we perceive disability in animation—her earthbending compensates for her blindness in a way that makes darkness irrelevant. Anime tends to romanticize or weaponize disabilities, but I wish more stories explored the mundane struggles, like tripping over furniture in a blackout. Maybe that’s why characters like Kaneki from 'Tokyo Ghoul' resonate—his half-ghoul eyesight fluctuates, leaving him vulnerable in human form. It’s not textbook nyctalopia, but the fear of losing control in the dark hits similarly.