The Mirror Shows Your True Self in Anime and Manga.
- In Arata: The Legend, Yataka's Hayagami allows him to use Utsuo no Kagami (Mirror of the Heavens) to show a person's true self in it, and can transform them into what is shown.
- Case Closed: Discussed in one chapter where Ai looks at her own reflection in the mirror and muses about its failure to reflect her (and Conan's) true selves despite usually showing the truth.
- In Codename: Sailor V, among Sailor V's arsenal of weapons is an enchanted compact mirror designed to reflect peoples' true forms that helps her see through the disguises of antagonists and youma.
- In Death Note, as Light Yagami is walking through a hall of mirrors supposedly mourning L, who he was responsible for killing, his reflection shows him smirking evilly with glowing red eyes, indicating his inner glee at L's death. This doesn't actually seem to have anything supernatural behind it, but is a good way of showing Light's inner Kira while he is acting the part of mourner/friend/son whatever.
- Daisuke Niiwa from D.N.Angel can see Dark Mousy in his mirror reflection either standing beside him or in the corner of the reflection. They regularly have conversations this way. In one of the late chapters of the manga, a magical mirror enables Dark's reflection to be seen by other people.
- In the Dragon Half manga, Rufa is given a magic mirror that reveals her true nature. She quickly breaks it accidentally-on-purpose.
- The Jyarei Monsters in Eto Rangers are revealed by Bakumaru's Revealing Mirror. The mirror does not show the monsters' reflections, however; the mirror works by shining a brilliant light forward in a wide area, and if a monster looks at the light, it reveals its true form.
- Fate/Apocrypha: During the OP, when Ruler is in her civilian outfit, her reflection is in her armor. This doesn't happen in the actual anime.
- Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics: "The Man of Iron" features a variant; when Prince William fails to keep his promise to Iron Hans to keep the magic pond clear, Hans shows William that his reflection depicts him as some kind of hideous cat-fish monster. After taking a level in kindness, William finds his reflection has gone back to normal.
- Hybrid × Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia: Aine has a strange dream where she's wearing nothing but a tiara and a completely transparent dress, but her reflection depicts her in her combat suit.
- In Inuyasha, Sesshomaru uses a youkai known as The Nothing Woman (Unmother in the English translation) to trick Inuyasha into thinking he's kidnapped his mother's spirit. It works, but Kagome notices in the nearby lake's reflection that she doesn't have a face.
- Maria no Danzai: In the middle of another panic attack, Maria sees her (pre-surgery) former self as Mari Nagare staring back at her in the reflection of a window, with tears running down her face — a reflection of the once-loving mother whose world was shattered by the death of her only son.
- The cover page for the first chapter of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Kanna's Daily Life has Kanna's dragon form reflected in a puddle. This never happens in the series proper.
- The anime adaptation of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! has a variation when Sophia sees Atsuko (the girl she's a reincarnation of) in her reflection when the latter's memories briefly come to the surface.
- In Perfect Blue, when Mima is brought to Rumi's room and sees Rumi dressed like idol Mima, it is revealed that Mima is looking at Rumi when the camera shows the reflection of the other Mima in a nearby mirror being that of Rumi.
- In Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion, Sayaka Miki's witch form, Oktavia von Seckendorff, briefly replaces her reflection in a puddle.
- Read or Die: The Mirror Man, an agent of the British Library, has the ability to appear as someone else, but a mirror reveals his true form.
- Rosario + Vampire: The Lilith Mirror does this, and even reverts the viewer back into his/her/its monstrous form. Moka has a unique reaction to it because her "human form" isn't done voluntarily, but because of her Rosario; initially, Inner Moka appears at full tilt, but she's gradually weakened as the Rosario's seal returns.
- Invoked in Sword Art Online. After trapping the players in the game at the end of the tutorial, Akihiko Kayaba gives everyone a mirror item. As soon as they check it, the mirror dissipates their avatars and reveals their true appearances in real life.
- Symphogear: The Shénshòujìng is normally a minor, non-unique Chinese Relic with the power to reveal the truth, which wouldn't have much combat potential as a Symphogear core. However, when that Symphogear is operated by a Brainwashed and Crazy Yandere its powers are massively amplified and distorted, becoming beams of scorching light that "eradicate the false" (which includes vaporising other Symphogears and purifying souls of sin).
- Ulysses 31 has the main characters encounter a Sphinx who is in possession of a mirror showing the true personality of people reflected in it. He keeps his Spoiled Brat of a daughter away from it.
- In the prologue of Vamp!, a shape-shifter's reflection in a window is used to deduce his true form.
- Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun: The Pheene clan can cast specific illusions on targets to influence other people, so if she is protecting an ally the clan member can call for an illusion that will stop the attacker from further attacking them. At the level Marianne Pheene can use during the Heartbreaker Competition, the illusion will not be captured by cameras. As a result, when Professor Momonoki, who is being made to see her infatuation injured before her and she takes his photo, it is later shown to be just pictures of the student the illusion was cast upon.
- In The World God Only Knows, having an independent reflection who can talk is the first revealing stage of possession by a goddess.
