What’s your favorite anime girl hairstyle? There are so many to choose from. The “ojosama rich girl pinned behind her head” style? The “hime cut” that pure girls like Kuroneko wear? Cute hair buns, or perhaps a basic no-nonsense ponytail? Or how about the best anime hair style of all, twintails? Because tomorrow, February 2, is the special day set aside to celebrate cute girls with twintail hair. Happy twintail day from J-List!
Hair sends a lot of messages in the 2D medium of anime, communicating a character’s personality to fans instantly. Want to show a character who’s shy and socially awkward? Give her black hair with hair braids. How about a girl who breaks social rules? Give her hair that’s been dyed blonde, like a “gal” type. How about a girl who’s aggressive and sometimes violent? She might have the recent hair style known as “drill hair.” And if you want to indicate a pure and innocent character who worthy of fans’ love and respect, often the answer will be to give her cute “twintail” hair. It’s like a secret algorithm built into our brains that creators can access.
Twintail hair has been around for decades. The first twintail character was the first magical girl, Himitsu no Akko-chan back in 1964. It built up popularity with the release of a fashion doll in Takara’s Jenny doll line with the hairstyle in 1988, then positively exploded in the 1990s, when Sailor Moon arrived on the scene. She was so tall and stylish, just like a fashion model, and the hairstyle quickly became a national phenomenon. Music groups like Puffy Amy Yumi and AKB48 also made the hairstyle part of their kawaii identity, helping cement it as a standard way to show cute innocence. Originally called 二つ結び futatsu-musubi, the term was updated to “twintail” around this time, a name that came from a monster in one of the early Ultraman special effects series.
Who’s your favorite twintail anime girl? Tell us on Twitter! And have a Happy Twintail Day from J-List!
Great news! We’ve got all the new awesome anime magazines in stock from Japan, and they’re epic, filled with free posters and new visuals and other great gifts for fans. They’re all up on the site, Megami Magazine and Dengeki G’s plus all the other great anime and manga offerings, so browse them all now!
