View source for Shonen Hair

{{trope}}
[[File:yusei.jpg|link=Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's|frame|Don't get too close; you'll poke an eye out!]]


{{quote|''"Oh no! My hair's in a mess. Ah -- [[Lampshade Hanging|but it always looks like this.]]"''
|'''Gold'''|''[[Pokémon Special]]''}}

Specific case of [[Anime Hair]], that happens often in [[Shonen]] series. One or more of the characters, usually a protagonist, have a specific hairstyle—their hair is [[Messy Hair|always in a mess]], bulges out on all sides, and often looks kind of [[Spiky Hair|spiky]]. This hairstyle often comes with [[Hot-Blooded]]ness and/or a nature somewhere between rebel, free spirit and [[Chaotic Good]]. Somebody could assume it's supposed to symbolize the hero's disrespect for existing rules. Or his dislike for hairdressers. Generally, it looks like our hero doesn't put any effort in his hairstyle and just goes as they are.

This is the kind of hairstyle that people suffering from [[Public Medium Ignorance]] think all male anime characters have. The [[Distaff Counterpart]] stereotype for female anime characters is [[Rapunzel Hair]], or [[Twin Tails]].

{{examples}}
==  [[Anime]] and [[Manga]]  ==
* ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' has the Saiyans, especially Goku in his "base" (non Super Saiyan) form. [[Never Live It Down|Everyone else is mostly normal]]. There's some guys in mohawks, but that's it.
* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' - while Kamina's hair is this trope played straight, Simon is an interesting example - his hairstyle becomes more and more like this each time he [[Took a Level in Badass|Takes A level In Badass]].
* ''[[Naruto]]'', and a few his friends, like Kiba.
* ''[[Bleach]]''.
** Ichigo Kurosaki, the Espada Grimmjow Jaggerjack, Captain Kenpachi Zaraki of Squad 11.
** Averted with other characters. Nnoitora Giruga is just as confrontational, but has neat, straight hair - closer in style to Ishida than Ichigo. In addition, when Grimmjow releases, his hair actually gets straighter (probably due to becoming longer.) Conversely, Hitsugaya's hair is a lot like this, but he's a [[Perpetual Frowner|rather serious]] character who usually isn't quick to fight.
* Monkey D. Luffy from ''[[One Piece]]'', who can hide it when he wears his [[Nice Hat|straw hat]].
** Aside from never having hat hair, Luffy's hair is actually pretty normal looking.
* Jotaro Kujo from ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'' was revealed to have this when he lost his cap.
** An even better example is Joseph Joestar, his grandfather. When he was young, that is.
* Both Tetsuya Tsurugi and Kouji Kabuto from ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' and ''[[Great Mazinger]]''.
** And both Ken and Ryo from ''[[Mazinkaiser SKL]]''.
* At least one kid from each ''[[Digimon]]'' series. Typically the one with the goggles (but not always!)
* Loads of characters in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]''.
** There's even a popular icon that has a picture of Ash Ketchum, stating that "His hair can poke people's eyes out".
* Iki from ''[[Air Gear]]''.
* Shobu Kirifuda from ''[[Duel Masters]]''.
* Practically a ''staple'' of the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!|Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' universe:
** Yugi/Yami from first ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' - yes, his hair just looks like an eccentric hairstyle... until it's hinted it's natural.
*** To the point where flashbacks show baby Yami as having the same hairstyle. In Ancient Egypt. Meanwhile, his dad has straight, black hair like a normal Egyptian. Makes you wonder what his mom looks like.
*** Oh she had perfectly normal, long black hair, for the single panel of the manga that she appears in.
** ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (anime)|GX]]'' has many of them - Manjoume, Sho, Amon and Jim to name a few. Protagonist Judai actually averts this with a hairstyle that's plausible in real life.
** ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's|5D's]]'' - Yusei (pictured above), possibly one man with weirder hairstyle than Yugi. There's a reason he's called [[Fan Nickname|'Crabhead']] among the fandom. Jack keeps boasting that he's a King and then take into account his hair looks like a crown.
*** Take a long look at a group pic of Team Satisfaction and see if you can match up these names: [[Fan Nickname|Crabhead]], Sea Urchin, Broomstick, and (after his second appearance)  {{spoiler|Sephiroth}}.
* Battler Ushiromiya from ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'', despite the fact that it's not a shonen.
* Main character from ''[[Yaiba]]''.
* Most of protagonists and villains in ''[[Saint Seiya]]''.
* In the [[Word of God|author's notes]] on ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'', [[Nobuhiro Watsuki]] explicitly mentions that [[Kid Samurai|Yahiko's]] character design is that of the archetypical wild-haired Shonen Protagonist, and [[The Lancer|Sano's]] hair is so crazy he gets called "Rooster-head" [[In-Universe]]. (Interestingly enough, as the series progresses, Kenshin's hair grows progressively ''less'' wild. [[Art Shift]] that doubles as a sign of [[Character Development]]!)
* Several characters from ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' have hair like this, including Sena, Monta and Hiruma. The series lampshades the trope: Sena's hair is a cross between Goku's and Astro Boy's. Sena looks exactly like Astro Boy with his hair gelled down and his dad has the same hairdo. Hiruma actually has normal hair but styles his hair this way to add to his rebellious image. As for Monta, he's simply copying the hairstyle of his hero, who has a less cartoony version of the haircut.
* Joshua Christopher from ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'', although it's much more toned down than some of the other examples on this page. (He pretty much fits the personality for this trope to a T.) [[Our Demons Are Different|Chrono]] might count, too, although he's got a long braid at the base of his neck in addition to the spiky hair on his head.
* Almost ''all'' of the male cast of ''[[D.N.Angel]]''. Particularly notable because this is a ''[[Shojo]]'' manga, not shounen (although it certainly mixes in tropes from that genre).
* Chris in ''[[Superbook]]''.
* Spike Spiegel in ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' has hair that sticks out all over the place, but it's more curly than spiky. (Faye at one point describes it as "fluffy".)
** As does his ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' counterpart, Mugen.
* The Hitachiin twins in ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]''. Seems to be intentionally [[Invoked]] by the twins—flashbacks show that before they joined the Host Club they had identical bowl cuts instead of the wild, spiky haircuts they have in present day, and they're considered the "Devil" type in the host club and are ''supposed'' to be a little wild.
** This fits better for the anime. Their hair looks much more natural and isn't quite as poofed out in the manga, although it's obvious they usually style it with hair gel.
* In [[Blade of the Immortal]], which is fairly realistic and features normal haircuts for almost all of the main and supporting characters, [[Anti-Villain]] Magatsu Taito looks like he's carrying a porcupine on his head. We're talking foot-long spikes. It doesn't go unnoticed. At one point, somebody mentions [[In-Universe]] that hair like that will be [[Genre Savvy|popular in a couple hundred years]].
* [[Hot-Blooded|Goh]] and [[Bratty Half-Pint|Mannen]] in ''[[Prétear]]''.
* Tamahome and Tasuki from ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'', as opposed to just about everyone else. Bonus points because Tamahome keeps his hair in a ponytail anyway. Of course, that was before the [[Moral Event Horizon|you]][[Important Haircut|-know-]][[Heroic BSOD|what]] involving Suboshi in the middle of the series.
* ''[[Yo-Jin-Bo]]'' has Jin, whose hair is extremely messy. He's a [[Hot-Blooded]] [[Redheaded Hero]], though, so we can forgive him for forgetting to brush it occasionally.
* Soul and Black☆Star from ''[[Soul Eater]]''.
* Another [[Kid Hero|Jin]], this time from ''[[Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh]]'', has this. Apart from his two other classmates Akira and [[The Slacker|Yoppa]], the rest of the main cast sport more or less normal hairstyles.
* Hayato Kazami, Naoki Shinjyo and Johji Ohtomo in ''[[Future GPX Cyber Formula]]'' have these.
* Touma Kamijou from ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]''. In a bit of a subversion, Touma actually deliberately styles it that way with hair gel.
* ''[[Fairy Tail]]'': [[The Hero|Natsu]], [[The Lancer|Gray]], and [[The Rival|Gajeel]] all have this hairstyle.
* A lot of characters in ''[[GetBackers]]''; most notably the two protagonists, and ''especially'' Ban (though being drenched leads to his hair becoming completely tamed...for a while).
* [[Anti-Hero|Hiei]] of [[Yu Yu Hakusho]] has this to a T. He looks like an emo [[Dragonball Z|Super-Saiyan]].
* ''[[Suite Pretty Cure]]'' has a rare female example with the side character Waon Nishijima.
* Hamlet from [[Manga Shakespeare]] has this.
* In ''[[Saint Beast]]'', unlike most of his counterparts who have [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair|unnatural hair colours]], Goh just gets a very spiky haircut.

==  Comic Books  ==
* Possibly{{verify}} Wolverine from the ''X-Men'' — he is generally portrayed with particularly feral hair and sideburns that look a bit like horns, especially in earlier renderings.
* Beast was portrayed with something similar until he turned into a beast.

==  [[Film]]  ==
* The title character in ''[[Cecil B. Demented]]'' has total Shonen Hair.

==  [[Live-Action TV]]  ==
* Sosuke of ''[[Engine Sentai Go-onger]]''. [[Lampshade]]d in a behind-the-scenes blog pic when someone holds up a [[Dragon Ball|Saiyan Goku]] figure beside him.
** Also comes up in several other series. Typically, [[Hot-Blooded]] reds have the official hairstyle of hotblood.

==  [[Newspaper Comics]]  ==
* ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'': Eternally scruffy and hyperactive Calvin.

==  [[Video Games]]  ==
* The ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series is rife with them:
** ''[[Final Fantasy I]]'''s Fighter class;
** Cloud Strife of ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'';
** ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'''s Zidane;
** ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'''s Tidus.
* Roxas and Sora of ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', among others.
** And, conversely, Ventus and  {{spoiler|Vanitas}}.
* Crono, the hot-headed hero of ''[[Chrono Trigger]]''.
{{quote|"Where's the punk with the spiky-hair?"}}
* The preview male sprite from the Japanese ''[[Square Enix]] Members'' would have this when he dresses up as [[Final Fantasy XII|Sorbet]] from ''Dive II Hunt'', which means Sorbet might have Shonen Hair himself.
* A number of characters from ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'', particularly Sanada Yukimura. Date Masamune is an odd case in that, while his hair is [http://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/characters/10/82869.jpg normally rather tame]{{Dead link}}, it seems to [http://www.kitazeinbou.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/vlcsnap-255946.jpg magically spike out under his helmet]{{Dead link}}. Static cling, maybe?
* Neku Sakuraba from ''[[The World Ends With You]]''
* Every [[Golden Sun]] character either has this or [[Idiot Hair]].
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_K6hwRJpXs Tracer] from the upcoming [[Blizzard Entertainment]] team shooter, ''[[Overwatch]]''.

==  Web Animation ==
* Hal, in the [[Easter Egg]] of ''[[Bowser's Kingdom]]'' episode 8, gains this when he ate the [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Chaos Emerald]] and fights [[Super Mario Bros Z|Turbo Mecha Sonic]] on an even level.

==  [[Web Comics]] ==
* [http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/File:CGnobackg.png Karkat]{{Dead link}} (and [http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/File:John_Egbert.png John]{{Dead link}} to a degree) of ''[[Homestuck]]'' both sport this style.

==  [[Western Animation]]  ==
* Danny from ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', at least to some people.
* The ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' version of Robin. Some episodes [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshade]] and [[Parodied Trope|parody]] this trope.
** In "Mother Mae-Eye", Robin is shown styling his hair. In "Divide and Conquer", during an argument with Cyborg, the latter points out that he stinks of hair gel.
** In "Date with Destiny", after being yelled at by Starfire, his hair turns into what seems to be its natural state - [[media:robin00013 4782.jpg|a "good boy" style.]] Also a [[Mythology Gag]]- it looks exactly like how Robin's hair was drawn in the Golden/Silver Age comics.
** On another occasion, he gets drenched, and swipes his hand over his hair in a blur, and it is [[Hair Reboot|promptly restored to its standard form:]] bing!
* [[Lovable Sex Maniac|Kenny]] from ''[[South Park]]'' has blond Shonen Hair, although we [[In the Hood|rarely get to se it]].
* [[The Powerpuff Girls|The Rowdyruff Boys]] sport this after Him brings them back to life, which the Girls immediately mock them for (calling it "mean hair").

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Japanese Visual Arts Tropes]]
[[Category:Anime Hair]]
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