Ahoge (“Foolish Hair”) refers is to a single large lock of hair naturally sticking out from the head of a character who may possess an otherwise neat hair style. The visual trait often acts as a typical visual cue to mark a lovable loser, klutzy, mischievous or otherwise carefree character in Anime or Manga.
The term was originally a hairdresser term for the hairs or cowlicks that would not comb down, and later mutated into a literal reflection of a person's intelligence in media parodies.
The appearance of an Ahoge can vary from being long, thick and straight to being short, thin and curled, in some stories the lock will even act to reflect the character's mood (much like animal ears), or even possess an awareness of its own (be it magical or otherwise) and can be used by the character as a directional device. Although exceptions have occurred, an Ahoge usually appears on characters in works with comedic content and then mostly on the female characters, although some male characters do also possess them.
Hair Antenna[]
The Hair Antenna is a variation of the Ahoge where a character possess two Ahoge locks that resemble insect or television antennae. Popularized by Ah! My Goddess and Ken Akamatsu's works Love Hina, Negima! Magister Negi Magi and A.I. Love You, the Hair Antenna acts in a similar manner to a typical Ahoge, often placing emphasis on the character being a ditz, but also represents conflicting character traits.
Gallery[]
Other Appearances[]
Love Hina[]
- Main Article: Ahoge
- Kanako Urashima Ema Maeda Kentaro Sakata and Mitsune Konno all have Ahoge hairstyles.
- Mutsumi Otohime the Otohime Family Naru Narusegawa and Mizuho Fujisawa all have Hair Antennae hairstyles.
- While using the Mr Virtual on Naru, Tama uses her hair antennae to adjust the picture on the television screen.
Negima! Magister Negi Magi[]
- Main Article: Ahoge
- Haruna Saotome from Negima! Magister Negi Magi claims that her Hair Antenna double as "Love Detectors".
- Asuna Kagurazaka has a typical Ahoge, which reflects how she's a member of Class 3-A's "Baka Rangers" clique for the students who consistently get the lowest grades.
- Yue Ayase has an Ahoge, and is also a member of Class 3-A's "Baka Rangers". However, she's actually very smart, just really lazy.
- Nodoka Miyakai also has one, but she's ranked something like 23rd in her grade of over 700 students. However, her shyness and lack of physical prowess makes her a type of lovable loser and klutz.
- Chisame Hasegawa also has one, and she's the only class member who is not blind to how abnormal her fellow classmates are.
- A male example is Nagi Springfield, Negi's missing father. Not to mention Negi Springfield himself, who is "an idiot in reverse" due to overthinking, and his obliviousness about girls.
Trivia[]
- While Ahoge have been seen on characters as far back as 1953, the first series to popularize the specific use of the term is Pani Poni Dash!.
- Yayoi Kobe and Ma-kun's human form both possess Ahoge.
- MaiMai possesses an Ahoge.
- Mai from Itsudatte My Santa! uses her hair antennae to detect unhappy people to bestow happiness upon.