Suspended Animation Dreams

It can’t be avoided. It can’t also be helped. Sometime, someday, you’ll eventually have to categorize your anime, manga, and game characters. Sure, we can do that. But aside from the usual and generic black, can we do it – WITH HAIR? We’ll see.

This is the only time you’ll see a king being officially moe. Trust me.

Yellow

Shance: Yellow-haired characters are personifications of power. They have money, the looks, the attitude that fits their already extravagant status, and power levels that can go OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAND. They almost always get what they want, be it more riches, more power (in whatever form, be it political, or the real destructive thing you shoot out of your very own hands), or people (regardless of gender, which, of course, works if you’re a lesbian or a trap).

Prominent Examples: Sanzenin Nagi of Hayate no Gotoku, Marisa Kirisame of Touhou, Saber and Gilgamesh from Fate/Stay Night, Onizuka from Great Teacher Onizuka, Char Aznable from Gundam, Aeru from Simoun

Digiboy: At least, that’s true for some of them. On the other side of the coin, some see yellow as the calming color of placidity. Yellow can be your energetic best friend who actually manages to put effort into relaxation, and is always a blast to be around just for being so awesome.

Prominent Examples: Kirino Chiba of Bamboo Blade, Miyako of Hidamari Sketch, Triela from Gunslinger Girl, Kamikishiro Naoko from Boogiepop

Blue

Shance: Blue is usually associated with peacefulness and that amazing, silent air of maturity, which you can find on a character wearing said color on his/her hair. Blue-haired characters have that mature and sophisticated feel that even the most mundane activities become very worthwhile and enjoyable if they are the ones doing them. Of course, this means they are mostly regarded as your ideal waifus, if not your ideal parents, or elder siblings.

Prominent Examples: Sakuraba Aoi from Aoi Yori Aoshi, Mahoro from Mahoromatic, Izumi Konata from Lucky Star, Sae from Hidamari Sketch, Shinobu Maehara from Love Hina, Edmond Dantes from Gankutsuou

Digiboy: However, that calm blue can also be a symbol of insecurity. Sometimes, a character who looks blue may also spend most of their time feeling blue, or at least criminally shy. If you aren’t the most up-beat fellow yourself, stay away from some blue-haired angst-balls or you could find yourself being dragged even further down.

Prominent Examples: Ayanami Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tabitha from Zero no Tsukaima, Inamori Mikan from Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight

Asuka, Asuka, why are you so red? Are you Player 1 like they said?

Red

Shance: Ah, yes, that fiery color of the spectrum. Most of the characters that associate their hair with the color red are mostly hot-blooded, adrenaline-driven people. They don’t listen to what others say, and do what they will without any regard to what the outside world has to say to him/her. Of course, that being said, they throw the most violent of tantrums or the most devious of pranks if they get flatly rejected, belittled or humiliated.

Prominent Examples: Lina Inverse of Slayers, Shana from Shakugan no Shana,  Hanamichi Sakuragi from Slam Dunk, Asuka Langley Sohryu from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Vita from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s, Amamiya Manami from Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight

Digiboy: Yeah, most red-haired characters are quite fiery, and always violent, but some of them are plum fucking crazy. We’re talking about super-powered god-modding badasses who will fuck you up before you even know what you’ve done to deserve it. These characters don’t just have red hair – their hair is STAINED red, with the blood of all the poor fools in their way.

Prominent Examples: Etna from Disgaea, Claire Stanfield from Baccano!, Revy from Black Lagoon, early Himura Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen

OG

Green

Shance: Green-haired people are mostly the bubbly types. They’re adventurous, they’re curious, they’re lively (but not in a fiery kind of way like in the case of red-haired characters), and they get the most out of any situation that involves anything of interest. However, don’t be fooled. Some of them only have these personalities as a facade, and some of them are hurt or broken so bad, they don’t even understand themselves anymore.

Prominent Examples: Asa Shigure from SHUFFLE!, Litte Ratius from Prism Ark, Karakuri Chachamaru from Negima!, Yotsuba from Yotsuba&!, Sonozaki Shion and Sonozaki Mion from Higurashi, Lum from Urusei Yatsura

Digiboy: Some green-haired characters, though, are far from lively, and are, if anything, distant. Green hair my symbolize that the character hasn’t quite found their place in life, limboing between the platonic blue state and wishing that they could be as lively and fun as the yellows. Some green-haired characters need just a little more time to decide where they are, but in the end will come into their own as great people.

Prominent Examples: Alice Carroll from Aria, Rimone from Simoun, C.C. from Code Geass, Kochiya Sanae from Touhou, Kino from Kino no Tabi

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Izanami.

White/Silver

Shance: This type of hair color is an enigma to me, simply because the characters with this kind of hair color seem like helpless, emotionless puppets. Despite having the power to do anything for themselves, they get passed around by their overwhelming instincts or cruel masters and benefactors, as if they were pieces of a chess board serving a more higher purpose. Hence, white or silver-haired characters sport a blank, emotionless face, a sly, hard-as-stone demeanor, and possibly even cold-blooded murderous intent, all for the task at hand.

Prominent Examples: Cenes Crawford from Thunderforce V, Yin from Darker Than Black, Nero Chaos from Tsukihime, Archer and Ilyasviel Von Einsbern from Fate/Stay Night, Canaan from Canaan

Digiboy: Unless they are male. There has been a long pervading theme in anime fandom that ‘long white hair’ = bishounen. This most likely began with a combination of Rumiko Takahashi creations and a certain video game about long swords, but it has become an essential staple of bishiehood.

Prominent Examples: Inu-yasha and Sesshoumaru from Inu-Yasha, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, Griffith from Berserk

Brown

Shance: This should be easy. Brown-haired people are straightforward, brimming with determination. Once they set their minds to a goal, they never stop until they achieve it. Of course, if they can’t, they’ll just find another way to, easy as that. Details are for later, and actions speak louder than words. Ain’t that so human a trait, you’ll feel for them?

Oh, and some, if not most of them, are voiced by Rina Satou (at least that’s what I know).

Prominent Examples: Negi Springfield from Negima!, Misaka Mikoto from To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, Yoshika Miyafuji from Strike Witches, Saki from Saki, Uehara Mutsuki from Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight, Ryuuguu Rena from Higurashi, Horo from Spice and Wolf, Kazuma from S-Cry-Ed, Suzumiya Haruhi from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, Aisaka Taiga from Toradora, Emiya Shirou of Fate/Stay Night, Amuro Ray of Gundam

Digiboy: Brown hair can also be a symbol of, well, normalcy. Maybe the character is meant to be an average Joe thrown into crazy circumstances. The brown hair, one of the few colors actually attainable by human beings, pulls the character down to relatable levels, as if you can feel the person enjoying all the excitement!

Prominent Examples: Renton Thurston from Eureka Seven, Hitotsubashi Yurie from Kamichu!, Rakka from Haibane Ranmei, Suema Kazuko from Boogiepop, Yunocchi from Hidamari Sketch, Maebara Keiichi from Higurashi, Iwakura Lain from Serial Experiments Lain

No amount of proper comprehension can describe the epicness of this picture.

Pink

Shance: Surprisingly, I think a character’s a foreigner or gaijin when he/she wears the color pink. Stranger than that, it strikes a more foreign feeling to me than blond or yellow. They have the weirdest accents,  they live in the most absurd of places (how about Hell?), they’re with the most strangest of companions, they’re way too polite (probably because Japanese think most foreigners are British), they have strange orientations with their sexuality (lesbos and traps, I’m looking at you), and they sound too serious even when joking. Of course, that tends to confuse people, especially if they’re either joking or pissed off.

Prominent Examples: Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena, Wilhelmina Carmel of Shakugan No Shana, Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere of Zero No Tsukaima, Satori Komeiji of Touhou, Rider from Fate/Stay Night

Digiboy: Of course, by the old stand-by, pink can just represent quintessential girlishness. Pink is most often associated with little girls and their dolls and their ponies and their fruity candies, and aw, you know what I’m talkin’ ’bout. These girls could be described by any number of phrases, that can more easily be summarized as ‘so she’s a girl, right?’

Prominent Examples: Hinamori Amu from Shugo Chara!, Sakura from Naruto, Ahiru from Princess Tutu, Takara Miyuki from Lucky Star, Euphemia vi Britannia from Code Geass, Naeguino Sora from Kaleido Star

Mukyuu~

Purple/Violet

Shance: I like this color. No, seriously. It’s not a matter of personal preference, but I like it simply because. People who sport this kind of hair color are the in-between of bookworms and carefree people. They have the knowledge, but lives the take-it-easy, yukkuri life. These kind of characters have the capacity to take center stage, but prefers the supporting role. It isn’t self-flagellation on their part. I repeat, it isn’t. They’re just too busy with their own matters to bother with the main story, and that’s that.

Prominent Examples: Ayase Yue from Negima!, Nagato Yuki from Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu, Matou Sakura from Fate/Stay Night, Patchouli Knowledge from Touhou, Hiiragi Kagami from Lucky Star, Daidouji Tomoyo from Card Captor Sakura

Digiboy: But sometimes, purple-haired characters can be quite headstrong. They don’t overdo it and get violent like the red-haired ones, but they have sort of a cool, collected, and yet powerfully imposing nature. These are characters who don’t just think that they won’t lose – they KNOW it.

Prominent Examples: Cornelie vi Britannia from Code Geass, Remilia Scarlet from Touhou, Misato Katsuragi from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shihouin Yoruichi from Bleach, Akito Sohma from Fruits Basket

Orange

Shance: This is a confusing color for me. Seriously, do we have to do this?

Anyways, orange is the color that lies between the sayings “thrust forward without looking back” and “look before you leap”. Orange-haired people are brash, simple-minded, or just utter annoying. They may need guidance from outside forces in order to set things straight, and eventually, they do. Most of them characters tend to go for either philosophy first, then sit in between them after enough character development.

… and they think people die when they are killed.

Prominent Examples: Kyo Sohma of Fruits Basket, Emiya Shiro of Fate/Stay Night, Kurosaki Ichigo from Bleach, Nami from One Piece, Tokiha Mai from Mai-HiME, Kuwabara Kazuma from Yu Yu Hakusho

Digiboy: I… I’m at a loss. I don’t know any more orange-haired characters. I think they are pretty much all the same o.o