Blue hair in anime is not always a style choice. Unlike other more normal hair colors, blue hair is usually very symbolic because it is not in the norm. Unlike a fiery redhead or “foreign” blonde hair, blue hair tends to have a more melancholic undertone.
Anime characters sporting blue hair are not always tragic characters, but even more so they are the calm and soft-spoken characters of a series.
While these blue-haired characters are often introverted, sometimes it can also be to signify their status as an intellectual character, sometimes it means that they are smart and calm.
So what are the anime characters that best personify the meaning of blue hair?
1. Nagisa from Assassination Classroom
Nagisa may apparently be the main character in Assassination Classroom, but as her blue hair suggests, she doesn’t have the same endless playfulness and energy as your usual main characters. In fact, there is a darkness in Nagisa fostered by her abusive mother that makes him an excellent potential assassin.
He will also notice that while he is one of the calmest, he is calm and highly analytical, his most brutal companions take advantage of that by using him as a pawn or using his critical thinking skills to formulate a plan.
2. Bulma from Dragonball Z
While “quiet” wouldn’t be exactly the way to describe Bulma, she is, to her credit, very smart. Running the capsule corporation and creating those inventions comes not just by luck, but rather by his mind that he inherited from his father. Blue hair doesn’t always mean quiet, but when characters are loud, they are often smart like Bulma.
3. Magi’s Aladdin
Aladdin is cheerful and not what you would call soft-spoken. Furthermore, because he was locked up for so long, he looks at the world with the true ignorant eyes of a child. However, his intelligence of worldly things belittles his wisdom. Throughout the series, you see Aladdin give wisdom and knowledge that should be beyond his years.
4. Rem from Re: Zero
Rem and his red-haired twin Ram largely reflect the history of the Red Oni and the Blue Oni. Ram, the red one, is more assertive, while Rem, the blue one, although impulsive, is more calm and submissive. While both twins are quiet, Rem and her overwhelming guilt towards her sister often make her shy and easy to walk on one.
5. Shin-Ah from Yona of the Dawn
Shin-Ah is the current possessor of the blue dragon deity, so it is quite expected that his hair is blue, but he comes with the personality to match it. After being rejected and kept isolated, his social skills are severely limited, so even when he’s around his friends, Yona’s group, he doesn’t use many, if any, words to respond.
6. Noriko from Kiznaiver
Kiznaiver is a show about emotion and pain. As such, the hair colors on the show reflect that a lot. Noriko is the person who brings the Kiznaiverestan together. Throughout the show, he shows very little emotion and only speaks when there is something to convey. Of course, her emotionless nature didn’t just happen on its own.
7. Jellal from Fairy Tail
Jellal’s life was always one of constantly changing personality. Sometimes the change was due to a change in ideals, other times it was caused by death, revival, and amnesia. However, when that fluctuation is finally balanced, what we are left with is a calm, mature, and intelligent blue-haired character.
8. Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion
Rei is like the quintessential blue-haired character. Not only is she quite wise, but she speaks very, very softly. Everything about her invites an air of distinctive sadness, and throughout Evangelion, you find out why. She is perfectly juxtaposed with the other more emotional characters in the series.
9. Kuroko from Kuroko’s Basketball
Despite being the main character in Kuroko’s Basketball, Kuroko is actually more of a deadpan character who conveys his thoughts in a simple and calm manner. It makes him great for moving around the court without being seen and for supporting his team. However, there are times when he drifts away from the blue-haired predisposition toward silence and calm, like when his teammates get injured from playing dirty.
10. Mio from Nichijou
Though energetic and downright bubbly, as one would expect from the comedy series that is Nichijou, Mio’s blue hair is justified as being the smart character of the group. While he is doing very well academically, just because he’s smart doesn’t mean he likes academic activities. In fact, he prefers to draw manga.
11. Nana’s Shin
Shin is an example of the typical romantic destiny of waiting for blue-haired characters. Because they are often soft-spoken, this means that it can be difficult for them to convey their feelings. Such is the case with Shin, he is shy and although he is friendly and boisterous like a rock star, his romantic destiny does not end well for him. Blue-haired characters are usually second choices.
12. Sankarea grouper
Despite being one of the youngest characters in Sankarea, Mero shows a certain maturity and a muted personality. She is quiet and often watches before speaking. While she has some cheekiness, she is as calm and intelligent as her hair color suggests.
13. Hayate from Hayate the Combat Butler
Hayate has the typical traits of your main character. He’s lighthearted, despite his brooding past, and he also possesses the superior strength, speed, and abilities of his typical main character who’s good at almost everything they do. While this may put his blue hair out of place, he is surprisingly smart in worldly matters due to his past. He knows many things and that is why he is an excellent butler.
14. Sayaka from Madoka Magica
Sayaka’s blue hair is quite strange at first glance. She is tomboyish and outgoing, but not particularly good at academics. However, he is shown to have a softer side to his friends, particularly Kyousuke. Unfortunately, that soft side makes her blue hair quite appropriate in a way, Sayaka’s story is sad and tragic.
15. Hinata from Angel Beats
Hinata’s role in Angel Beats is often one of comedy, but it remains that she is also one of the more down-to-earth characters. He’s kind of a pretty perfect companion character, but it’s discovered that, like everyone else, his backstory is one of grief. In addition, it is shown that throughout the series, he is observant and sensitive towards the other members of his group.
16. Sinon from Sword Art Online
While she may be a standard brown-haired schoolgirl outside of the game world, Shino, or her in-game name Sinon, is much better reflected through her in-game avatar. In battle, Sinon is able to keep a cool head even under stressful circumstances, although there is a violent temper deep down that arises when pushed too far.
17. Shiki’s Tatsumi
After looking at Shiki enough, you soon see that Tatsumi’s blue hair is probably a front for the audience. When first introduced, he appears to be a calm and distracted man but is later shown to be actually a minor antagonist to the series. As a special vampire who can walk in the light and eat human food, his job is often to take care of his Shiki siblings, requiring him to be calm and unnoticed.
18. Kurumu Kurono Rosario + Vampire
Kurumu is a succubus with a twist, she’s actually quite innocent inside. While her external personality ranges from cold to extremely flirtatious, she is quite new to what is called love. It is likely that her blue hair was a decision based on the fact that they wanted to reflect that innocence that she hides inside of her.
19. Ikki from Amnesia
When Ikki was little, he asked a star to be popular with the girls. However, as his popularity increased, he began to distance him from his true friends. From then on, he felt invaded by a clear loneliness. Although not always withdrawn, Ikki and his blue hair display a different pensive nature.
20. Nymph of Heaven’s Lost Property
Although for the most part, she acts like your typical manic tsundere girl, Nymph shows a distinctive softer side that develops as the series progresses. She was originally sent to search for Ikaros, but she slowly switched sides and even fell in love with Tomoki. While she’s as smart as any beta, her blue hair reflects inner vulnerability.
Did we miss your favorite blue-haired anime character? Let us know in the comment section.
