Tomboyish Sidetails
Short hair and two tails on either side of the head that are at least shoulder-length, used to characterize girls who are Tomboys, Ladettes, or at least don't act in a "proper" girlish manner. Has similar effect as Short Hair with Tail, because short hair is boyish but the tails makes the hair just girly enough. Sometimes the sidetails are the only visual clue that the character is in fact a girl. Also known as "forelocks" or "payot."
Compare Tomboyish Ponytail, Boyish Short Hair, Braids of Action.
Contrast Regal Ringlets, Princess Curls, Girlish Pigtails.
Examples of characters with Tomboyish Sidetails include:
Anime and Manga
- Minamo Kurosawa from Azumanga Daioh is a phys-ed teacher and swim team coach with these.
- Misaki Suzuhara from Angelic Layer, at least in the manga where she is more overreactive and easily excited.
- Misao Kusakabe from Lucky Star.
- Tamaki Kawazoe from Bamboo Blade, who is a kendo prodigy.
- Souseiseki from Rozen Maiden is sometimes drawn with these.
- Sara Werec from Soukou no Strain, a taciturn mecha pilot.
- Lind from Ah! My Goddess has one of these and is a Valkyrie, a member of the battle division of Heaven.
- Agnes from The Familiar of Zero, who is captain of Tristain's Royal Musketeers.
- Forte Stollen from Galaxy Angel has one of these and has a very masculine personality.
- Rico from Gunslinger Girl though her sidetails are on the short side.
- Melissa Mao from Full Metal Panic!.
- Kung Fu Kid Rio Wesley from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid, though only in her normal form as her Older Alter Ego invokes Power Makes Your Hair Grow.
- Seine, the stoic Action Girl from Hekikai no AiON
Literature
- Ozonne from the Disgaea Novels is a tomboy with Tomboyish Sidetails.
Video Games
- Juno from the Soul Nomad, the commander of all the Nereid land forces.
- Most of the female playable characters from Pokémon.
- Kasuga from Sengoku Basara goes to the logical extreme, with cropped hair at the back and waist-length tails. While still pretty feminine in personality, she is a Ninja, so her job requires short hair (not that the tails are at all practical).
- Mayumi Thyme from SHUFFLE!, who is much more Hot-Blooded than most of the other girls.
- Lakche from Fire Emblem Jugdral, also very hotblooded.
- From Katawa Shoujo we have Lilly's sister, Akira, who is a Bifauxnen Ladette.
- Savyna from Baten Kaitos has this along with a ponytail, similar to Korra's example below. She's a bit more stoic than usual for this trope.
Western Animation
- Korra from The Legend of Korra has a variation. Although her hair is not short, she wears it pulled back in a Tomboyish Ponytail, leaving only her shorter bangs and two long sidetails to evoke this trope. This double whammy of tomboyish Expository Hairstyles is extremely appropriate given her personality.