Anime hair has a distinctive aesthetic. It can be big, shiny, dramatic, any color under the rainbow, and beyond unrealistic to style. Since the 80s era of anime, many distinct styles have cropped up over the years that tend to be copied or built upon by modern-day artists.
Because of this, many character stereotypes based on hair color or style have become a thing in the anime world resulting in fans creating memes about the patterns they've noticed.
10 The 4 Horsemen of Anime Hair Color Change
In anime, hair color can be very symbolic. It can represent character changes both inside and out. Anime hair color has been known to spontaneously change due to stress, possession, rejection, or a power-up. Sometimes, the character may not even be aware of the dramatic change. The hair color change can be temporary or permanent and indicates a character's development over time.
9 The Breaking Point Brings Hair Changes
Anime hair can be big and colorful or subtle and neutral. But when an anime character reaches a breaking point, their hair is likely to change, too. There's plenty of examples of this, from One Punch Man to Dragon Ball Z, which has one of the best anime openings of all time.
8 The Dead Anime Mom Hairstyle
According to anime fans, the archetypal anime mother is young-looking, with brown hair and a side ponytail or braid. Sometimes, she also has bangs or stray strands of hair falling into her face. These mothers often come across as wholesome and nurturing.
But there's a catch: Anime moms with this hairstyle typically die in the shows they appear in. This strange, coincidental link between hairstyle and sudden death has the anime community generating countless memes about the "Dead Mom" anime hairstyle.
7 The Blue Hair Stereotype
Blue hair in anime is typically associated with being rejected or depressed. Sadly, anime characters with blue hair are not aware of this curse, unless they're in a meme. While blue hair feels like a very literal way to symbolize a character's internal sadness about being rejected or lonely, it's effective and appears in countless shows.
6 The Pink Hair Stereotype
In anime, girls with pink hair are consistently well-dressed and adorable. But don't mess with them. They have a dark side just waiting to come out. Like Monica in Doki Doki Literature Club, who fans love but also love to delete, pink-haired anime girls seem sweet but turn into homicidal maniacs with the flip of a switch. Consistently cute and crazy, pink-haired anime girls are here to stay.
5 The Life-Saving Hair Change
Sometimes, other anime characters who aren't moms themselves wear their hair in the "Dead Mom" hairstyle. This has spawned the meme of the life-saving hair change, where the cursed hairstyle is modified, thus "saving" the character in question.
Unfortunately, the "Hair of Death Club" has many members, but some anime characters change up their hair and unknowingly spare themselves from this truly horrible, eternal curse.
4 The Rejected Girl Hairstyle
Anime girls with short, jaw-length bobs and long bangs have a high chance of being rejected by others, according to anime stereotypes. This has happened enough that this is similar to the "Sad Blue Hair" anime girl as well. So if an anime girl happens to have both this short hairstyle and blue hair, well, it's a recipe for isolation and sadness.
3 The Tying Hair Pose
A common pose among anime girls is the "Tying Hair" pose. Apparently, anime girls always have their hair down and need to tie it up. Perhaps they are all about to go the gym or sing their heart out at karaoke. Either way, the anime community has decided that anime girls do indeed look prettier when tying their hair.
2 The Blonde Hair Anime Girls
Blonde-haired anime girls are certainly a viewer favorite. They can be sweet, smart and secretly powerful. But in this meme, He-Man of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a beautiful blonde anime girl too. Well, sort of.
While He-Man is actually a male-identifying character from Western animation, his long bob haircut is often seen on other characters in anime shows. As a result, He-Man, who's getting a reboot in the form of a Netflix series, gets an honorary mention. He's a much-memed character, so it makes sense that his infamous wink has found its way into an anime hair meme.
1 The Shaggy-Haired Anime Boy
According to the anime community, this haircut on a young man indicates that he receives a lot of attention from females. For some reason, anime girls seem drawn to anime guys with this haircut. The guys are pretty clueless as to why and are often intimidated or surprised by said female attention. Woefully unprepared given their long bangs that inhibit their vision, these anime guys may find solace from the endless barrage of inquiring girls if only they just got a haircut.