There are some big questions that fans love to ponder. Why do male characters get nosebleeds when they see a girl’s panties? Or why does the hero start to get really strong once the theme song starts playing? Why are there so many characters named Sakura? And why does it seem that blue-haired anime girls never win at love, always getting rejected when they confess their feelings? Let’s look at this last topic in this blog post!
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Anime Is Filled with Tropes within Tropes
Some fans might protest that anime tropes like a character being sent to another world by Truck-kun or having a sworn enemy turn into an ally by episode 3 are used too much. But the truth is that anime is partially popular because it’s constructed with comfortable story elements that fans can identify immediately. Thanks to reliance on existing story and character conventions, we can generally tell right away what category any new show falls into, and if it’s for us.
Anime Hair Colors Follow Rules, Too
Anime hair color is another area where the character tropes of the past are generally respected by new creators. Let’s look at some of the personality types tied to each color.
- Red hair. Anime girls with this hair color possess a fiery spirit and are often tomboys. They’re more likely to break social norms.
- Blonde Hair. You can’t get farther away from a straight-laced Japanese identity than blonde hair, and this color represents foreignness. It usually represents a noble birth.
- Brown or black hair is the closest to ordinary Japanese coloring, so these characters will usually be the ones the creators intend Japanese viewers to identify with.
- Blue hair represents a character with a quiet calmness or shyness. This is the most common color for childhood friend characters.
- Pink hair. This color can signal moe cuteness that anime studios hope fans will respond to. But it can often indicate a murderous yandere personality defect.
- White or silver hair. These characters often possess some supernatural ability or secret. By tradition, Russian characters are nearly always portrayed with this hair color.
Why Do Blue-Haired Anime Girls Never Win Romantically?
Around the decade of the 2000s, fans started to notice that blue-haired anime girls didn’t seem to get chosen in romance or harem anime series. This trope closely resembles the “Redshirt” meme from Star Trek TOS. As with that meme, it’s not totally accurate: only 10% of Redshits in the original Star Trek die on-screen, and there are examples of blue-haired girls who do end up in relationships. But it does seem to be the case that many anime creators love denying love to characters with blue hair.
Let’s look at the most famous examples!
Kanna Tanigawa from Waiting In The Summer
One sad blue-haired anime girl was Kanna, who loved her childhood friend Kaito. But humans are hard-wired to prefer something fresh and new to what we’re already familiar with. And what could be fresher than an alien? (This is a sequel to Onegai Teacher that’s highly recommended if you haven’t seen it.)
Ichigo from Darling in the Franxx
Poor Ichigo suffered from the dual curses of blue hair and being a childhood friend. She never had a chance!
Ruka Sarashina from Rental Girlfriend
Although she’s a fan favorite, poor Ruka just can’t get ahead in love. Due to a heart condition, she’s looking for a love that can make her heart soar. Too bad Kazuya is such a darned baka.
Sayaka Miki from Madoka Magica
Another incredibly tragic anime girl with blue hair is Sayaka from Madoka Magica. Not only has Kyubey tricked her into becoming a magical girl, but using her one wish to heal the hand of her crush doesn’t result in her finding love. In fact, she ends up erased from his memory entirely.
Rem from Re:Zero
Another iconic character who helped create the impression that no blue-haired anime girl will ever find love. Maybe someday!
Rui from Domestic Girlfriend
Although it was trash, I really loved Domestic Girlfriend for telling a bold story that defined why we all continue to choose anime over more sanitized mainstream media. It was sad when poor Rui lost romantically to her older sister. That must make family dinners together rather awkward.
Kuroneko from Oreimo
Finally, the one that hurts the worst is Ruri from Oreimo. She was the best girl in the series and, to many fans, the best anime waifu ever. But Kyosuke chose his sister instead, breaking Kuroneko’s heart forever. And fans still haven’t forgiven him to this day.
Thanks for reading this blog post about the mysterious phenomenon of blue-haired anime girls who don’t get chosen romantically. What do you think about this trope? Tell us in the comments below!
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Great news! J-List’s inventory counting is at the end of the month, and since we’d rather sell our stock to you than count it, we’re having a huge sale! You can get 15% off all in-stock products shipping from Japan during the J-List Fiscal Year-End Sale. Through May 31st! There’s no coupon to enter and no minimum to buy, so start browsing here!
