Ahoge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Skuld of Oh My Goddess! with ahoge near the front of the head.

Ahoge (あほげ, アホ毛, Ahoge^?), literally foolish hair, is a visual cue common to Japanese anime and manga. Consisting of a single, often large, lock of hair sticking out from the top of the head, it is most often used to identify foolish, bumbling or carefree characters. In the west Alfalfa from The Little Rascals would be the most identifiable character with what could be considered an ahoge. Ahoges have appeared on numerous characters but are usually limited to those appearing in works with comedic content and then mostly on females. Male characters with ahoge are more rare but are not unknown. Ahoge should not to be confused with "hair antennae", which are normally two or more locks of stray hair of similar appearance but representing different character traits. Ahoge are a naturally occurring trait of the hair and are not created with the aid of styling tools. They also appear only near the top of the head, but can be anywhere on top, front or back. While ahoge have been seen on characters for decades the first series to popularize the specific term is Pani Poni Dash!, where the character Himeko Katagiri sported one and had a major story line in one episode dedicated to it; Himeko's also appears to be living.