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Answerman - Why Is It Such A Big Deal When Anime Characters Cut Their Hair?


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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5296
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:14 am Reply with quote
My favourite use of this was in Tales of the Abyss
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MarthKoopa



Joined: 08 Apr 2012
Posts: 271
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:16 am Reply with quote
Worst trope ever. Long live long hair
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Compelled to Reply



Joined: 14 Jan 2017
Posts: 358
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:21 am Reply with quote
MarthKoopa wrote:
Worst trope ever. Long live long hair

Amen, brother. Part of me died when Hitagi cut her hair. I'm so happy it grew back in the end.
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15279
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:26 am Reply with quote
Interesting. I was told it could also means you’re no longer in the world of the living.
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Lactobacillus yogurti



Joined: 17 Aug 2011
Posts: 839
Location: Latin America
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:40 am Reply with quote
To be fair, people can do with their hair whatever they want, but people can and will freak out of you have a big change in it, regardless of the reason. I prefer to keep it just past my shoulders because if it's too short, it gets in my face, and if it's too long, I spend too much money on shampoo.
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residentgrigo



Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 2404
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:51 am Reply with quote
This isn´t an anime trope though, like at all. How many action films have hair and beard cut montages? I literally saw twice today when i binged the brilliant Cobra Kai. Overall a short hand for lazy writing by handing out an easy to spot characterization change in most cases. Eh.

I myself cut my long hair and beard when i joined the army and immediately regrew both when i got out. Can´t say that any of that changed anything with me as a person.
Long hair also isn´t hard to take care off, like at all. Mine is about 70 cm long. I need about 5 minutes with a hair dryer if i get it wet to get it all back in shape. Hardy a time investment and combing take 2 minutes at the most. That´s about the time most short haired men take to apply gel and such crap.
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EricJ2



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 4016
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:52 am Reply with quote
Not counting Akane Tendo from Ranma 1/2, who, in the first season, had been growing her hair long to try and appear "cute" like her big sister's--
But when it gets chopped short from collateral damage in one of Ranma & Ryouga's fights, it leads to that girls' traumatic losing-first-crush moment for two entire episodes, and leaves her with the more familiar short "tomboy" cut she had for the next six seasons.
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Chiibi



Joined: 19 Dec 2011
Posts: 4828
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 11:55 am Reply with quote
MarthKoopa wrote:
Worst trope ever. Long live long hair


QUOTED FOR TRUTH.

Ashitaka's was okay.....I guess. Haruhi Suzumiya also pulled it off.

BUT IT NORMALLY LOOKS TERRIBLE in every other example.
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catbot158



Joined: 04 Mar 2017
Posts: 232
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:07 pm Reply with quote
First time I saw this trope used was in Avatar: The Last Airbender, when Zuko and his uncle both cut their buns off after betraying the Fire Nation. It was a cool moment, and it's interesting that it's a tradition that came from Japan, since I believe the Fire Nation was based on Japan during their imperial days.

MarthKoopa wrote:
Worst trope ever. Long live long hair

I do admit liking long hair more myself, but short hair can be cute too. In terms of the trope, Zuko and Ashitaka pulled it off. Worst one was Akane from Ranma 1/2. Not that her new look was bad, but her long hair was so damn nice to look at.
Sayonara, long hair Akane. You will be missed.
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Chiibi



Joined: 19 Dec 2011
Posts: 4828
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:12 pm Reply with quote
catbot158 wrote:
Worst one was Akane from Ranma 1/2. Not that her new look was bad,


More like God-awful. Anime hyper She looked more like a boy that way than Ranma in his boy form. Hers in particular was not necessary at all because she didn't even do it herself!

But yes. Seeing the show very early into my anime fandom awakened my feelings of "Wow, I hate this" every time long hair gets cut. Sad
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ultimatehaki



Joined: 27 Oct 2012
Posts: 1090
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:16 pm Reply with quote
MarthKoopa wrote:
Worst trope ever. Long live long hair


A man of culture as well I see. I immediately thought of Sakura cutting her hair in the chuunin exams when I read the question. It was my first experience of the troupe 15 years ago.
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4884
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:21 pm Reply with quote
Usually I'm relatively indifferent to the hair cutting trope (though I'd usually take the longer hair over the short one if I had to choose), but I really didn't like how short Chinami cut her hair in Golden Time. Not only did she cut her hair, spoiler[but she also had a relatively bad ending (I was really shipping Mitsuo x Chinami)]. Feelsbadman.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:28 pm Reply with quote
I'm reminded of the beautiful scene in Now and Then, Here and There where spoiler[Sara cuts her long hair with a knife, after escaping Hellywood], and the hair is picked up by the wind in the moonlight.
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:29 pm Reply with quote
I shall admit to my envy of those who are able to cut their own hair. Being averse to the bête noire of a barber's small talk, the benefits of doing so are more than just financial.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5296
PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:30 pm Reply with quote
residentgrigo wrote:
This isn´t an anime trope though, like at all. How many action films have hair and beard cut montages? I literally saw twice today when i binged the brilliant Cobra Kai.
In western fiction the usage is completely different, it is either someone joining the army or a girl disguising herself has a boy. In Anime it is more of cultural thing, something about how it represents a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. Which is probably why it is such a clever storytelling motif.
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