Why do many characters tend to have crazy hair colors and styles?


It's fairly common that anime characters tend to have "wilder" hair than most
people we see in real life. This can be seen as far back as [_Neon Genesis
Evangelion_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion_\(anime\))
(though somewhat mild) from the 90s (though some older anime, like
[_Akira_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_\(film\)), do not have this
characteristic).

The "wilder" hairstyles tend to have [interesting
colors](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xkTubO9nehY/T_29QvnXstI/AAAAAAAAATQ/cWs2zw7eVdg/s1600/Sailor+Moon+characters.jpg)
from throughout the rainbow (pink, blue, green, etc.) that are only seen in
real life with dyes or highlights. They also tend to be
[spikier](http://images.wikia.com/gurennlagann/images/1/17/Kamina_with_sword.jpg),
another trait not seen in real life (probably because gelling one's hair that
way _every day_ is quite tedious).

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/k6pF9.jpg)

Why do anime and manga characters tend to have this spiky, colorful hairstyle?
What is the cultural origin of such a style? (And did the growing trend of
[Japanese teenagers spiking their hair in a similar
style](http://www.hairstyles123.com/hairstylepics/japanese/japanese_hairstyle_36.jpg)
originate from this?)




Most likely it happens because it looks cool and unique. Here's what TvTropes
says, or at least said, about [anime
hair](https://tvtropes.org/Main/AnimeHair):

> Usually, the most important characters of the story will have wild spikes or
> a cool-looking hairdo in order to stand out among the crowd. It may be one
> or more different colors that don't appear naturally in real humans (blue is
> a popular choice). Sometimes the hair appears semi-transparent, with the
> character's eyes visible through it, although this presumably represents
> hair fine enough that it isn't completely obscuring, rather than anything
> outré. Anime Hair is very common among protagonists of anime/manga for the
> Shonen (Demographic), although the trend seems to be headed to more
> plausible styles: compare Son Goku's hair to Ichigo's. If there's a White-
> Haired Pretty Boy in the cast, there's a good chance that white hair will
> also be Anime Hair.

Now, compare this Vash picture:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6zfIs.jpg)

with this one:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/qSLMh.jpg)

and ask yourself, which hairstyle is more bad-ass?

Some of the characters need to stand out among the crowd, and weird
hairstyle/hair-color is a very easy way to achieve that (weird clothes are
popular too). Also, it's not uncommon for the hairstyle to somehow reflect the
character's personality, e.g. spiky hair for characters that need to look
wild/cool, adding ahoge for some more naive/funny characters, and so on.

Hair colors can also be somehow used in the plot, e.g. Ichigo being bullied
because of his uncommon hair color. Sometimes, the color is also used to
indicate some of the character's personality,
[here's](http://annesanimeblog.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/anime-hair-colors-
what-do-they-mean-an-all-in-one-personality-guide/) an interesting link.

Finally, as @Tacroy mentioned in his comment, the same face may be used for
different characters, and changing the hair is the easiest way to make them
look different.

