![]() Similar to black, the underlying message is not very strong – still, brown is most popular for longtime childhood friends, or all sorts of “safe/reliable” love-interests. Even today, pink characters still tend to be not very bright, somewhat innocent, naive – and often idealistic to the point of being silly.īrown hair: Amazon / Guilty Crown: Complete Series, Part 1 (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)īrown stands for “warm + friendly normal” and is the most common “day-to-day-life side character” haircolor. ![]() Today pink hair is pretty much everywhere… yet some of the attributes have carried over. ![]() And made this color the industry standard for dozens of “cutesy-moe-female-leads”. Originally, this color was rare, and reserved for a select few childlike characters. The one color that has undergone the strongest shift since the beginning of my anime career. Pink hair: Amazon / Angel Beats! Complete CollectionĪh yes, pink. These almost always come with long, flowing hair and typically signify some sort of detached, noble, cultured, dainty, often even mysterious, “fantasy princess” archetype. What isstill somewhat common, however, is characters with lighter/paler shades of purple. Purple hair: Amazon / Cowboy Bebop: The MovieĪlso near-extinct – at least when it comes to intense shades of purple. Note: darker shades of green typically carry similar connotations as “blue”. However, unlike a redhead, this character is more feminine and less prone to blindly rushing ahead – and usually displays normal or above-average levels of intelligence. Such a character is chipper, upbeat, active, sports-minded and energetic. Mostly extinct these days – but bright green hair is most often the sign of the “genki girl”, another comedy-oriented character archetype. Note: aggressive shades of orange pretty much fall into the same category. In the extreme case, this behavior will go all the way to the point of acting rash or even stupid. This character will often charge ahead and/or speak her mind without holding back. …strongly suggests a tomboyish, inconsiderate, loud, often headstrong, “leader” archetype. Red hair: Amazon / Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth In addition, such characters tend to get portrayed as refined, tradition-oriented and feminine, quite often even as examples of the Yamato Nadeshiko ideal. …typically signifies a quiet, soft-spoken, intellectual, sometimes even introverted character – albeit often one with a surprisingly strong will. Blue hair: Amazon / Neon Genesis Evangelion Occasionally, it can also signify “the rude/inconsiderate foreigner”, for example a non-Japanese character with an abrasive or rude personality – but that’s more of an exception than the rule. This holds especially true for shoujo (for girls) manga/anime titles, where you can pretty safely bet that the most important female lead will be blonde. The most widespread meaning is simply “someone special”. I guess it’s high time for a crash course in anime hair color symbolism…take a seat. Meaning, in most cases, the color of an anime character’s hair does not reflect some natural hair color or a racial stereotype – instead, it is supposed to be a hint towards their personality and their role in the plot. ![]() And hair color is among the first and foremost, especially when dealing with female characters. Keep in mind that anime follows a complex visual language, where seemingly innocuous elements carry deeper meaning. Producer’s note: Someone on Quora asked: Why do Japanese have blue eyes and blond hair in anime? Here is one of the best answers that’s been pulled from the thread. ![]()
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