What a better way to start talking about hairstyles than by referring to those who don’t have any hair. Baldies are always nice, although not as handsome or cool as the average anime guy. In general, baldies tend to be left aside and regarded secondary or minor roles because, even though they usually have a lot of character, they’re never as appealing as the main characters. However, we can recall quite a few bald characters that are totally cool and epic.

I bet you’re already thinking of Saitama from One Punch Man, but he’s not the only bald guy that’s worth of mention. There’s also Krillin (at least until the Boo Arc) from the Dragon Ball series, Alex Louis Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist (who’s bald except for a hair antenna on his head) and Dot Pyxis from Attack on Titan, both of whom have very strong personalities and helped their people significantly.

In general, bald heads reflect a strong character and an unbreakable will (also reflects wisdom and experience in older people). This contradicts the story of Samson, who lost his supernatural strength together with his hair. Still, what these baldies lack on the top of their heads, they make up with strength and conviction.

Afros will never be old-fashioned, especially in anime. They are what’s hip and they say a lot about the people who wear them. Characters like Afro Samurai, Brook from One Piece and Mr. Satan from the Dragon Ball series are some examples of cool guys with afros. Everyone loves to see a character with an afro because, let’s face it, afros makes people who wear them look really badass.

This hairstyle just gives them so much personality. It really makes them stand out from the rest of the characters. You can tell in advance that a character with an afro has loads of swag. They are, in general, also quite funny and they always manage to win our hearts.

Some people think that mohawks are dead, but many still think that they’re pretty cool, and I bet that probably applies to mohawks in anime too. It is rather hard to find characters with mohawks in the world of anime these days, especially outside the Dragon Ball franchise. Seriously, there are actually more characters with this odd hairstyle in DBZ than you’d expect.

Among the most popular of these hard-looking characters are Android 16, Uub, East Supreme Kai, Tapion (see? All from DBZ) and Gou Koga from Bleach. All of these characters share a personality trait; despite being considerably strong and intimidating (except maybe for Kai, yet his looks do demand for respect) they all have kind hearts. They’re definitely much more sensitive than they look, so I guess we could say they’re just big phony posers. I’m kidding, they’re awesome!

Dreadlocks are also quite the odd hairstyle, although they probably appear in anime much more frequently than you’d think. Some of the most popular characters who wear dreadlocks are Don Kanonji from Bleach, Jerso from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Kaname Tousen also from Bleach, Kyosuke Takakura from Nana and Yuuto Kidou from Inazuma Eleven.

This hairstyle often reflects a calmed and careless personality. This may be related to the fact that they are ok with the idea of not washing their hair in order to keep their dreadlocks. Anyway, personal hygiene aside, dreadlocks look really cool and add a lot of depth to the character who wears them.

You may think that hair buns (or topknots) are a ladies hairstyle, but the samurai used to tie their hair in this way, and they were totally cool, so you’re argument is invalid. Also, many notable anime characters wear hair buns, such as Haku from Naruto (perhaps he’s not the best example of manliness but he’s cool), Asahi Azumane from Haikyuu, and Bacchus Groh from Fairy Tail.

In the world of anime, this hairstyle is usually intimately related to the ancient Japanese warriors who wore it. In general, characters with hair buns are fighters in one way or another (even inside a volleyball court) and have a strong determination. They can be quite competitive and they are definitely not to be messed with.

Super long haired characters are not as common as we’d expect and hope. Anime male characters just look so good with long hair that it’s shocking to realize they’re not as many as one would think. Take for example Inuyasha, Ushio from Ushio to Tora, Alucard from Hellsing, Gajeel Redfox from Fairy Tail and Kotarou Katsura from Gintama. Do they look great or what?

In general, this hairstyle reflects raw power, which is present in most of the characters just mentioned. It’s also strongly related to what’s primitive and wild, to the very nature of the character’s primal instincts. Inuyasha as well as Ushio and Gajeel definitely have a lot of that, so I guess it’s safe to say that you can’t expect characters with super long hair to be very civilized.

Ponytails are pretty much the other side of the coin as regards characters with really long hair. Take for example Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, Yu Kanda from D Gray-man, Koga from Inuyasha and Kenshin Himura from Rurouni Kenshin. These are all characters that are really powerful and have the sharpest instincts, yet they have also become quite civilized. You can see how this pattern applies in different ways to most of the characters just mentioned, especially in the case of Kenshin.

Another case which can help exemplify this idea would be Murasakibara’s drastic transformation when playing against Seirin in Kuroko no Basket. In the final minutes of the match he ties his long hair in a ponytail and his attitude changes significantly from someone who’s only guided by his instincts (hunger, boredom) to someone who behaves like a real basketball player with tons of passion and determination.

Characters with blinding bangs are probably among the best looking males in anime. This hairstyle just gives them so much appeal and it makes them look both sophisticated and mysterious at the same time. It can also make them look a bit androgynous or metrosexual, but hey, that’s the price you have to pay when you’re too damn good looking.

Among the most popular characters we can find wearing blinding bangs we have Sanji from One Piece, Deidara from Naruto, Decim from Death Parade, Ginko from Mushishi, and Freed Justine from Fairy Tail. These characters illustrate quite clearly the relationship between their hairstyle and their personalities, since most of them are either highly elegant and sophisticated or rather mysterious. Decim in particular could fit in both descriptions, which is why he’s so ridiculously hot.

Blinding bangs can be sexy as hell, but when it comes to looking as cool as it can possibly get, nothing works better than a big loud hairstyle that defies gravity. Characters with anti-gravity hair tend to have some kind of mysticism or divine features. They can even make us believe there’s a superior force, entity or coiffeur god that’s keeping their hair from falling into ordinariness.

Among the most relevant anime characters with anti-gravity hair, we can find Kakashi Hatake from Naruto, Ryuk from Death Note, Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach, Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, Gon Freecss from Hunter x Hunter and Yami Yugi from Yu-Gi-Oh!. If we pay attention to the awesomeness of their hairstyles, it’s really no surprise that they’re all such cool, memorable and beloved characters.

Finally, the #1 spot on our list of boy hairstyles goes to the ultimate style of hair; that which combines sexy looks with cool carelessness. Of course, I’m talking about scruffy or messy hair. Characters with this type of hair look they just got out of bed but they don’t really care because they already know they look amazing all the same.

That’s what so cool and sexy about them, that they have an “I don’t give a rat’s tail” attitude. Some of the most popular anime boys with scruffy hair are L Lawliet from Death Note, Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach and Hinata Shoyo from Haikyuu. In general, main characters are the ones with scruffy hair since such a cool and sexy look is inevitably bound to put them in the spotlight.