You might think Yugi would walk away with this one, but fans in Japan felt differently.
When they have to make the choice, anime character designers have long opted for flare over realism in their aesthetic choices. Anime eyes aren’t the only distinctive visual calling card for the medium either, as anime is also famous for its stylized hairstyles.
But as cool as they may look in the 2-D world of animation, even fans in Japan can’t help but think that anime hairstyles would look pretty strange in real life. Internet portal Goo Ranking recently asked its users to vote for the anime character with the most ridiculous hairstyle, and gathered 1,767 votes, so let’s take a look at the top 10.
10. Wakame Isono (Sazae-san)
日本国民アニメ。サザエさんの磯野ワカメちゃんの誕生日😆おめでとう㊗️
— シンシア(走る18禁) (@U11G4) June 14, 2020
日本人にワカメちゃんを知らない人はいないだろう。 pic.twitter.com/8pQBHdwgLh
9. Kazuhiko Hanawa (Chibi Maruko-chan)
本日8月7日はちびまる子ちゃんより花輪くんこと花輪和彦の誕生日です。
— 日向(ひゅうが)ねぎポン&勇魏🍮𓊝🦈👠💚🔥⚓☠︎🍺🐬🍊🦋🌸🐰 (@yuginegi0422) August 6, 2020
声優さんは菊池正美さんです。
花輪くん誕生日おめでとうございます🎉🎊#ちびまる子ちゃん#花輪和彦生誕祭#花輪和彦生誕祭2020#花輪くん生誕祭#花輪くん生誕祭2020 pic.twitter.com/3hEt1Uvjcs
Starting things off are pair of side characters from two of Japan’s best-loved family-oriented anime, Sazae-san’s little sister Wakame and Chibi Maruko-chan’s pal Hanawa-kun. Wakame’s hairdo doesn’t look that odd until you see it in profile, revealing a strange negative-space tidal wave at her temples, whereas Hanawa’s breaks the brain when you see it from the front, revealing that his hair is parted a full 90 degrees perpendicular form his face.
8. Yugi Muto (Yu-Gi-Oh)
It was really only a matter of time until duelist extraordinaire Yugi showed up, and it’s actually a little surprising that he’s not ranked higher. That might be because he doesn’t have the same mainstream recognition as some of the other characters on the list, though, while at the same time being Yu-Gi-Oh!s main character means he gets enough screen time that fans of the series eventually become desensitized to all that’s going on with his hair, like how it’s actually three different colors.
7. Suneo Honekawa (Doraemon)
ナレーターの声も関智一www
— クロス (@shoot_drive) December 26, 2020
スネ夫を演じる時と違うイケメン役のトーンwww#ドラえもん#doraemon pic.twitter.com/H34we3EHUT
Honestly, Suneo seems like an odd choice. Sure, it looks like you could use his bangs to chop down a tree, but he’s far from the only anime character with a hairstyle that looks like a bladed or piercing weapon.
6. Mother (Atashin’chi)
#おうち時間 🏠にYouTubeで #あたしンち 一気見はいかが?
— あたしンち【公式】YouTube配信中! (@atashinchimovie) January 8, 2021
あるはずの焼き鳥が行方不明に...
母の犯人探しが始まる🔍
「やきとりミステリー」
👉🏻https://t.co/OP3iJP26k0
初めての方にもおすすめの人気回です🌹#緊急事態宣言でも楽しもう pic.twitter.com/5a1RGvUrWS
On the other hand, everymom Mother from gag series Atashin’chi definitely earns her position here, considering that the outline of her head/hair could pass for a silhouette of Godzilla.
5. Kimio Nagasawa (Chibi Maruko-chan)
@tweet_maruko
— 🌙四ノ宮那月🌙 (@LOVES0215yuuki) June 26, 2020
永沢君男
Happybirthday!!!🎂 pic.twitter.com/8sJOgDBT3l
Chibi Maruko-chan’s second spot on the list goes to Kimio, whose hairstyle makes him resembles either an onion or steamed pork bun, depending on which you happen to feeling stronger cravings for at that particular moment. Things get even freakier when he puts on a hat, revealing the miniscule patch of hair on his head to be not much larger than his nose.
4. Sazae Fuguta (Sazae-san)
フグ田サザエ 24歳
— ソーンK (@soonkkkk) September 9, 2018
フグ田マスオ 28歳
村上信五 36歳
サザエとマスオは敬語使えよ pic.twitter.com/ZikPld2DXx
Like little sister Wakame, the titular Sazae-san’s hairstyle isn’t that shocking from the front. In profile, though, she appears to have a fluffy mohawk that’s growing separately from a different sector of hair on the back of her skull. It’s an unusually busy look, which is probably why it got reworked for her gorgeously animated Cup Noodle ad a while back.
3. Ran Mori (Detective Conan/Case Closed)
Honestly, with all the mental power it takes to figure out what’s going on with Ran’s crazy cone ‘do, we expected her to be at the top of the list.
2. Grevil de Blois (Gosick)
https://twitter.com/YOICHnoAI/status/748079433655820288All these characters from Sazae-san, Doraemon, and Chibi Maruko-chan show how important broad pop culture recognition was for getting on the list. Grevil, on the other hand, hails from decidedly otaku-oriented series Gosick, but with that luxurious drill of hair coiled atop his head, no was he going to be denied a place of honor.
1. Beatrice (Re:Zero−Starting Life in Another World)
おはツイっす!
— シオン (@shion_anime) July 22, 2020
みなさんおはようございます!
今日仕事や学校の人頑張ってっす!
休みの方は何するんですか?
自分はカラオケでストレス発散っす!
今日のGIFはRe:ゼロから始まる異世界生活からベアトリスさんです! pic.twitter.com/pmIJjPbKuL
And last, we come to Beatrice. While she’s far from the only dignified young lady with drill curls in the world of anime, few can match hers in length or number of revolutions, earning her the very to spot on the list.
Obviously, these ten are still just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the complete set of anime/manga characters with wild hairstyles, and if you’re looking for more, you’ll find plenty in the collected volumes of Japan’s top 100 manga of all time.
Source: Goo Ranking via Livedoor News/Peachy via Otakomu
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