From Taiwan to Canada: How Anime Hair Shaped My Sense of Character Design

(Disclaimer: anime geeks, don’t crucify me—do your thing, I’m just speaking personal preference 😘)

Before we even get into this, let’s set the scene: the reason we’re having this conversation about hair, anime, and crazy head shapes is because I’m in the process of relocating my modest collection of Dragon Ball action figures. Why do I even have a Dragon Ball collection when it’s not really my cup of tea? That’s another story for another day. But for now, just know these motherfuckers are laying and standing all over my desk, glaring at me, so we are having this talk about hair.

Image: A group of action figures posed upright on a cluttered surface.

In the center foreground is a very muscular green-haired figure standing (spiky bright-green hair). He has a bare chest with a red X-shaped scar on the left pectoral, purple pants, white-and-green boots, and a shaggy green pelt around his waist. His fists are clenched, arms slightly bent as if ready to fight.

Above and slightly behind him is a smaller blond spiky-haired figure posed in a jumping/flying kick position, angled toward the right. It’s wearing a blue bodysuit with light-colored armor pieces and has pink straps/ribbons trailing behind.

Behind them on the left is a large reddish-brown dinosaur toy head with its mouth open and teeth showing, facing toward the figures.

At the bottom edge, partly cut off, there’s another character with a green face/hand and white hair in a dark outfit with red accents, reaching upward.

The background includes a computer monitor, wires, and more toys/figures, making the scene look like a busy display area.

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Spiky Hair Everywhere

When I was a kid growing up in Taiwan, anime wasn’t just entertainment—it was the default visual language. Toys, action figures, school notebooks, stickers, all of it—every hero came with hair that defied gravity, logic, and sometimes physics itself. Big, blocky, spiky, triangular hair. Every spike a proclamation of identity.

I didn’t think about it at the time. This was normal. This was the way characters looked. You could recognize Goku, Naruto, or Yugi instantly from the hair alone. The hair didn’t just sit on the head—it was the character.

Even so… if you asked me as a kid which Dragon Ball characters had the best head or hair, I wouldn’t have picked any of the crazy spikes. My favorites were the bald guys like Nappa and Tien Shinhan, or the ones with relatively realistic hair like Android 16, 17, and 18. Zarbon was pretty cool to me too—sure, his hair was long, but at least it mostly stayed in the realm of possibility. Even as a child, I was secretly more grounded in realism than the wild, make-believe spikes that dominated the series.

Image: A close-up of a muscular anime-style action figure standing with arms spread wide like a T-pose.

The figure has large spiky dark gray/black hair, pale skin, and red eyes. Its chest is bare and very muscular. The arms are bright red and textured, with purple wrist cuffs. It’s wearing dark blue pants with a purple belt and a small square yellow buckle, and purple boots with yellow toe/sole details.

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Anime Hair Steals the Character

Then I moved to Canada. First exposure to X-Men, Superman, Batman. I thought… these guys are boring. All their hair looked the same. It didn’t announce who they were. They weren’t immediately readable. No spikes, no gravity-defying drama, no instant iconography screaming this is the hero!

It took growing up a bit—and learning how to look at art critically—to really see what was happening:

• Anime hair steals the character. Literally. Take Goku’s hair, stick it on a coat hanger, and suddenly the hanger is Goku.
• Remove it? Most Dragon Ball characters become generic anime dudes, and only a few, like Piccolo, survive on unique facial features or color cues.
• Exaggerated hair works for instant recognition, merchandising, and visual drama—but it comes at a cost: the rest of the character design sometimes doesn’t matter, because the hair carries the weight.

Image: Superman is upright in the foreground, posed like he’s bracing or mid-action. He’s in a purple suit with the red-and-yellow “S” shield on his chest, a yellow belt, red trunks, and a red cape hanging behind him.

Superman’s head and hair are the main focus: he has short, jet-black hair sculpted as smooth, slicked-back layers with carved grooves that read like combed strands. The hair creates a rounded, tidy silhouette with a defined hairline, and there’s a small curl detail at the front/forehead area. His facial expression looks strained and battered, with heavy dark bruising/shadowing around the eyes.

Batman is positioned above/behind Superman as if looming over him. Batman wears a gray suit with a black cape and yellow accents and is holding a large axe-like weapon. Batman’s head is mostly cropped, but the black cowl is visible: a smooth, rounded head shape defined by two long, sharp, upright ears, giving a strong, graphic silhouette compared with Superman’s textured hair sculpt.

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The Lazy Transformation Trap

And don’t even get me started on transformations. You know the ones—Goku going from Super Saiyan 1 all the way to… whatever the latest one is now. You’d think with all that power, his body would get jacked, veins popping, muscles swelling like Broly, right? Nope.

What changes?

• Hair color.
• Hair shape.
• Some glowing energy aura.

And that’s it. His face and body stay the same. Like, bro, are we really calling this “leveling up”? Half the time it looks like the illustrator just threw a new wig on him and said, “Congratulations, you’re stronger!”

Compare that to Freeza or Cell: when they transform, their whole body changes—height, muscle mass, even facial features. You can actually see the threat, the new power, the evolution. That feels earned. That feels like a story.

But with Goku? It’s basically:

“Color change! Spikes! Aura! Congrats, you’re stronger! Don’t ask questions!”

It’s the ultimate hair crutch—not just for identity, but for plot and power signaling. Lazy? Absolutely. Iconic? Also absolutely.

Image: Goku is in his orange gi with a dark blue undershirt, blue wristbands, and blue boots with orange/yellow trim. His legs are spread wide like he’s landing or bracing, and both arms are raised forward with open hands, palms facing outward as if about to fire an energy blast. His mouth is open in a shout.

Head and hair focus: his hair is bright golden yellow and sculpted into large, thick, sharply pointed spikes that fan backward and outward from the crown. The spikes are arranged in layered clumps, with a few prominent points framing the forehead and temples, creating a starburst silhouette. The sculpt is smooth and chunky rather than strand-by-strand, emphasizing bold shape language. His eyebrows are also light/golden, matching the Super Saiyan look, and his eyes are turquoise/greenish with a sharp, intense expression.

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Western Superheroes Have Their Crutches Too

Meanwhile, Western superheroes—which I thought were boring at first—actually rely on silhouette, posture, costume, and anatomy for identity. A heroic stance, a cape flowing, a distinctive emblem—these things say “hero” without shouting it through hair spikes. But they have their own crutches:

• Masks that cover half the face. Wolverine literally wears a mask but you’d know it’s him just from that posture and silhouette.
• Letters on the cape or belt to remind us who they are (“S” for Superman, “B” for Batman).
• Spandex… yes, spandex. Why? Honestly, I have no idea. A battle-ready mutant climbing walls in leather would make more sense—but brand consistency.

Image: Three superhero action figures standing on a wooden surface in front of a printed, sketchy-looking backdrop (like comic-style line art). Warm indoor lighting casts shadows behind them.

Left figure (female in green):
She’s in a deep-green bodysuit with long sleeves and a plunging neckline. Her pose is dynamic, one leg bent up as if stepping or lunging, and one arm raised behind her head.
Head/hair: she has very large, voluminous blonde hair that cascades in thick waves down past her shoulders. The sculpt emphasizes big, rounded curls and flowing strands, with a lot of mass around the sides of the head, giving a dramatic “windblown” or glamorous look. Her face is smiling, with red lipstick.

Center figure (male in red/white/blue):
He’s muscular and stands with legs apart. His arms are raised overhead, hands together as if holding something (or mid-swing). Costume is a red, white, and blue pattern across the chest/torso, with white pants and dark blue boots.
Head/hair: his head is partially cropped by the top of the photo, but you can see a tight red mask/cowl covering the head. There’s no visible hair sculpt; the design reads as a smooth, fitted headpiece with painted details.

Right figure (female in blue, holding a weapon):
She wears a blue bodysuit with a belt or sash tied at the waist, and she’s holding a purple weapon (looks like a sci-fi gun or blaster) up near her shoulder.
Head/hair: she has long brown hair, sculpted in thick, smooth waves that sweep back from a side part and fall over the shoulders. She also wears a blue domino-style eye mask, which frames the eyes and makes the hair silhouette stand out more. Her expression is confident, with a slight smile.

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Bottom Line

So yes, spiky anime hair is insane. Sometimes it looks like metal spikes or jacket shoulders stuck on your head. Sometimes it defies gravity in ways that make physics weep. But it works… in context. It’s iconic, readable, and energetic. The problem is, when you rely on hair too much, you risk stripping the character of any identity outside of those spikes.

Personally? Now I appreciate the Western approach more. I see the elegance in a character whose identity doesn’t rest entirely on their hair. But do I still love anime? Hell yes. I just can’t stop rolling my eyes when I realize that half of Dragon Ball, Naruto, and a dozen other series are basically “hair first, everything else maybe later.”

Image: Foreground left: a very muscular, bare-chested man with a thick dark beard and a tall, squared-off mohawk haircut. The mohawk is sculpted like a solid block rising from the scalp, with shaved/short sides. His mouth is open wide in a yell, and he has a large, dark, spiky chest-hair shape sculpted across his upper chest. One arm is raised; his left hand/forearm looks green and shiny, like it’s coated or painted.

Foreground center-right: a smaller female figure posed in front of him, wearing a light gray/white outfit (top and shorts) with matching boots. Head/hair: she has short dark hair with a choppy, slightly spiky bob shape, held back by a light-colored headband. Her face is calm/neutral compared to the yelling figures.

Upper left: a large bare-chested man with short dark hair and dramatic red face paint/markings around the eyes and cheeks. His mouth is open as if shouting. He’s being grabbed or held by an older-looking figure in a purple coat.
Head/hair: the older figure has bright white hair and beard. The hair is swept upward into a high, pointed, stylized shape (almost like a tall wave or flame), and the beard/mustache are thick and sharply sculpted, giving him a very distinctive “villain/mentor” look.

Right side: a pair of red-laced boots and part of a leg are visible, plus what looks like a gray brick-textured base or prop near the right edge.

Background: many more figures and accessories are packed in behind them, but they’re partially obscured by the flash haze and the crowding.

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Websites:

👉 https://johnnytiger.com

👉 https://tigertactile.com

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