Although there are many styles of anime hairstyles that seem to defy the laws, the ahoge is the most perplexing.
The Japanese words “aho,”, which can mean fool or idiot, and “ge,” which means hair, can be broken down to “ahoge.”
Ahoge is the term for that strand of hair you see sticking out of a character’s head.
The one you know!
Ahoge was born from hairdressers who called cowlicks “stupid hairs”. It is difficult to smoothen the hair back into place with hairsprays or gels. It seems like it is a lost cause.
Sometimes ahoge is not a single hair strand, but a tuft. This was the case with Chiaki, the youngest Minami-ke sister.
The term “ahoge” was originally used to describe someone’s hairstyle. However, it has since evolved to be used to describe someone’s intelligence or personality.
Many characters will immediately be labeled stupid. This is essentially a visual cue to the audience that the character might be a bit dumb or foolish. However, the world isn’t black and white, and characters with ahoge aren’t either.
Ahoge Hair is often seen in Stupid Characters
Ahoge characters tend to be very dense and dimwitted for the most part. It’s difficult for them to understand what is happening and they are unable to read the environment, which can lead to awkward situations.
Characters may display a complete lack of understanding of what is normal in society or a lack of awareness. This could be a sign of an ahoge.
Many characters with ahoge also tend to be naive. Hikari, from Special A, is well-known for her blindness and naivety.
When she’s presented with an unusual situation, a long hair strand will pop out of her head. You can see more of this in the manga.
Sometimes you can find a serious character that isn’t dumb with ahoge, like Douma Taihei of Himouto. Umaru-chan. Taihei is not stupid.
He is also carefree and mischievous. Is it possible to explain why he has one? Perhaps it is because of his ignorance that he takes Umaru so seriously. We won’t know.
Shiroe, an intelligent anime character with an ahoge from Log Horizon, is another example of an intelligent character. She clearly doesn’t fall under the “stupid” category.
To Love-Ru
- Episodes: 26
- Aired: April 2008 – September 2008
Yuuki Rito is too timid to admit to the girl of her dreams. Yuuki was bathing when Lala, a princess of the planet Deviluke, suddenly appeared naked. She is actually running away to find the man she loves and has her sights on Yuuki!
To Love-Ru’s To Love-Ru, Lala has the ahoge. Although this seems to be quite common among alien characters, Lala is a complete idiot.
She is not familiar with Earth’s customs and doesn’t know what other people are going through. Lala, an alien creature, is well aware of Earth’s customs.
However, her lack of common sense and ignorance makes her the perfect “stupid”, ahoge character. Isn’t this what makes Lala so fun? This or her tendency to end up naked.
Carefree
However, ahoge characters don’t always seem stupid. Characters with ahoge also display carefreeness.
Characters with ahoge don’t seem to care about the world and tend to ignore their responsibilities, laying around like there is nothing to do.
Some people seem to have it all.
One peculiar characteristic of an ahoge is its ability to move according to a character’s emotions. This could be a twitch or a movement that looks like it is dancing.
It can also mean moving completely straight even though it is normally curved. This is common for the characters in Carefree. But have you ever seen a male character whose entire ahoge runs straight?
You wonder what he is thinking…
Lucky Star
- Episodes: 24
- Aired: April 2007 – September 2007
This anime is all about the little things in life, such as homework, school, video games, and other fun stuff. But it doesn’t make it boring. Konata and Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki, just enjoy the little things that make life so wonderful.
Konata is the Lucky Star gang’s most carefree member. Technically, Kagami, Akira, and Akira were shown to have ahoge. But you can’t call them carefree. I dare you not to call Akira stupid.
Despite her grades, Konata is not stupid. Konata is actually very carefree. Perhaps a bit too carefree.
Konata is prone to playing video games at night and forgetting about homework. She also likes to spend her time reading manga, watching anime, and playing arcade games.
What is her time for other things? We don’t know. She somehow manages to feed her family and graduate. So Konata must be doing something right.
Mischievous
Ahoge characters might be mischievous if they are not carefree or stupid. There are many mischievous anime characters.
They are the ones who pull pranks on their friends, try to cause trouble, and get them to do things they don’t want. Some anime characters are simply looking to have a good time or cause trouble.
A unique trait of mischievous ahoge characters is their ability to appear out of the blue as if they have an idea. A hair can pop out of a character’s place when they suddenly have an idea that will cause trouble.
This is a common occurrence, but not all characters who display an ahoge can be mischievous. Sawako, Kimi ni Todoke’s Sawako, may not have an ahoge often, but it is clear that Sawako isn’t a troublemaker.
Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist)
- Episodes: 25
- Aired: April 2011 – October 2011
Possession is the only way to travel between the demon and human worlds. But Gehenna, Satan, the ruler of the demon world, is unable to find a suitable host.
Satan instead sends Assiah, his son, to the world of humans to help him grow into a suitable host.
Okumura Rin might be troubled by his nature, but he discovers that he is the child of Satan and is determined to change his ways to defeat Satan.
Or, Rin will be in mortal peril if he doesn’t work with his twin brother Yukio.
Although male ahoge characters tend to be more common than female characters, Ao no Exorcist has a male ahoge character, Mephisto. It may not be obvious, but Mephisto keeps the ahoge under his hat.
He is a tiny devil. Although Mephisto Pheles is known by many different names, he is a mysterious man who seems to enjoy the problems in people’s lives.
However, he will also stop his students from killing one another. Mephisto Pheles is a bit of a troublemaker and enjoys misleading other people.
However, he adds complexity to Ao No Exorcist. Mephisto is a mischievous troublemaker that suits mischievous ahoge characters very well.
Conclusion
Ahoge is a common trope in anime, but not many people know it exists. Ahoge can be used to identify characters, but it is not always the same for every character.
It’s not a common trope, like other characterizations. However, ahoge should not be confused with antennae-styled hair that has two strands sticking out.
Can you recall any Ahoge anime characters that you have seen?
Are there any ahoge characters you love?
