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* In ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', the protagonist Kenzo Tenma goes from an immaculately groomed woobie to a scruffy, stubbled, long-haired badass. Pictured in the main page.
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* In ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', ''Manga/Monster1994'', the protagonist Kenzo Tenma goes from an immaculately groomed woobie to a scruffy, stubbled, long-haired badass. Pictured in the main page.
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%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=pcq1pif4
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[[quoteright:350:[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/serena_hairstyle.png]]]]
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* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart''; For the earlier parts of the story Ichikawa keeps his [[HidingBehindYourBangs bangs over his left eye]] and keeps his hair tucked-in at his right. To prepare for delivering his schools' congratulatory address speech ([[PerformanceAnxiety reluctantly]]), he has his hair cut into a bowl cut. After delivering the speech he lets his hair grow back out and... well, he still keeps bangs over his eye, but he left the hair at his right side un-tucked. The speech in question marked to the point in the story where he fully starts to love and believe in himself more, [[spoiler: and when he fully realizes/accepts that Yamada is in love with him]].
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* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart''; For the earlier parts of the story Ichikawa keeps his [[HidingBehindYourBangs bangs over his left eye]] and keeps his a bit of hair tucked-in at his right. right side tucked-in. To prepare for delivering his schools' congratulatory address speech ([[PerformanceAnxiety reluctantly]]), he has his hair cut into a bowl cut.cut (Which still ends up covering his right eye later on without wax). After delivering the speech he lets his hair grow back out and... well, ''well'', he still keeps his bangs over his eye, but he left the hair at his right side un-tucked. The speech in question marked to marks the point in the story where he fully starts to love and believe in himself more, [[spoiler: and when he fully realizes/accepts that Yamada is in love with him]].
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* ''Manga/RainsHead'': The titular character starts off with a short hair in the first chapter, which slowly grows chapter by chapter by the passage of time.[[note]]If the manga's chapter titles are not obvious enough.[[/note]] By the end of the manga, which takes place three years and six months later (like the chapter title), her hair grows past her shoulders [[spoiler:but she tragically dies from her terminal illness]].
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It's been decided
that Manhua and Manhwa examples shall be placed into their own folders. Moving examples to the correct section.
that Manhua and Manhwa examples shall be placed into their own folders. Moving examples to the correct section.Deleted line(s) 89 (click to see context) :
* In ''Manhwa/IWish'', K starts off the series with his hair tied back with several hairties. He slowly starts wearing them less and simply letting his hair down and remain open as he begins to warm up to Lyu-Jin. [[spoiler: He reverts back to the hairties when Seven removes his love for Lyu-Jin in the final few chapters.]]
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* In the Manhwa ''Manhwa/TheTarotCafe'', the protagonist Pamela has very curly hair in the present and wavy hair in flashbacks. This is not due to modern hairstyle technology but because [[spoiler: after she became immortal four hundred-odd years ago she tried to find a way to die -- one of them being getting struck by lightning, which permanently frazzled her hair. It's a little after that that she decides to live.]]
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** When Kyouko was a BrokenBird delinquent, she had long hair. She keeps it long after marrying Kazuma, but by the time of her death she had cut it into a bob.
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** When Kyouko was a BrokenBird delinquent, she had long hair. She keeps it long after marrying Kazuma, Katsuya, but by the time of her death she had cut it into a bob.
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* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'', Ichikawa's keeps his [[HidingBehindYourBangs bangs over his left eye]] and keeps his hair tucked-in at his right. To prepare for delivering his schools' congratulatory address speech ([[PerformanceAnxiety reluctantly]]), he has his hair styled into a bowl cut. After delivering the speech he lets his hair grow back out and... well, still hides behind his bangs, but he left the hair at his right side un-tucked. The speech in question marked to the point in the story where he fully starts to love and believe in himself more, [[spoiler: and when he fully realizes/accepts that Yamada is in love with him]].
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* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'', Ichikawa's ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart''; For the earlier parts of the story Ichikawa keeps his [[HidingBehindYourBangs bangs over his left eye]] and keeps his hair tucked-in at his right. To prepare for delivering his schools' congratulatory address speech ([[PerformanceAnxiety reluctantly]]), he has his hair styled cut into a bowl cut. After delivering the speech he lets his hair grow back out and... well, he still hides behind keeps bangs over his bangs, eye, but he left the hair at his right side un-tucked. The speech in question marked to the point in the story where he fully starts to love and believe in himself more, [[spoiler: and when he fully realizes/accepts that Yamada is in love with him]].
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* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'', Ichikawa's keeps his [[HidingBehindYourBangs bangs over his left eye]] and keeps his hair tucked-in at his right. To prepare for delivering his schools' congratulatory address speech ([[PerformanceAnxiety reluctantly]]), he has his hair styled into a bowl cut. After delivering the speech he lets his hair grow back out and... well, still hides behind his bangs, but he left the hair at his right side un-tucked. The speech in question marked to the point in the story where he fully starts to love and believe in himself more, [[spoiler: and when he fully realizes/accepts that Yamada is in love with him]].
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* Shizuku Hoshikawa, the main character of ''Manga/TheSummerYouWereThere'', [[HidingBehindYourBangs has bangs that cover her eyes]], representing how she isolates herself from others. In the flashbacks to her in elementary school, when she was more outgoing and confident to the point of arrogance, her bangs did not cover her eyes. In the final scene, her bangs are shorter, showing that she is no longer isolating herself.
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** Joe lets his hair grow between ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and ''02'' to show that he's mellowed out a bit. Notably, by the time of ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'', his hair is short again and he once again is more stressed out.
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* There are several examples in ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', but the one that fits best is Ken from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. As the Digimon Kaiser, his digital avatar has his hair two-toned and spiked, not too dissimilar to his dead older brother Osamu, whose reputation Ken has spent the last couple of years trying to live up to. During his MyGodWhatHaveIDone scene, his digital avatar breaks apart and he returns to his real appearance, with his hair returning to its natural state of being chin-length, straight, and solid blue. On the long run, it ends up symbolizing not just his HeelFaceTurn, but that he's accepted that he can't replace his brother and will now be himself.
** Between the first part of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' and the second, Kiriha grows his hair out and parts it in the middle into something of a messy mullet, to highlight [[spoiler:how much time passed in the Digital World while Taiki was away and how much Kiriha had to rough it out in the meantime.]]
** Between the first part of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' and the second, Kiriha grows his hair out and parts it in the middle into something of a messy mullet, to highlight [[spoiler:how much time passed in the Digital World while Taiki was away and how much Kiriha had to rough it out in the meantime.]]
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* There are several examples in ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', but the one that fits best is ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'':
** Ken from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. As the DigimonKaiser, Emperor, his digital avatar has his hair two-toned and spiked, not too dissimilar to his dead older brother Osamu, Sam, whose reputation Ken has spent the last couple of years trying to live up to. During his MyGodWhatHaveIDone scene, his digital avatar breaks apart and he returns to his real appearance, with his hair returning to its natural state of being chin-length, straight, and solid blue. On the long run, it ends up symbolizing not just his HeelFaceTurn, but that he's accepted that he can't replace his brother and will now be himself.
** Between the first part of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' and the second,Kiriha Christopher grows his hair out and parts it in the middle into something of a messy mullet, to highlight [[spoiler:how much time passed in the Digital World while Taiki Mikey was away and how much Kiriha Christopher had to rough it out in the meantime.]]meantime]].
** In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02TheBeginning'', Lui undergoes multiple style changes throughout his life, starting at 4 years old his messy, unkempt hair shows his parental neglect. After Ukkomon enters his life his hairstyle changes to a neatly combed short cut, and after [[spoiler:Ukkomon replaces his eye]] he changes to the HidingBehindYourBangs style he's known most for.
** Ken from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. As the Digimon
** Between the first part of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' and the second,
** In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02TheBeginning'', Lui undergoes multiple style changes throughout his life, starting at 4 years old his messy, unkempt hair shows his parental neglect. After Ukkomon enters his life his hairstyle changes to a neatly combed short cut, and after [[spoiler:Ukkomon replaces his eye]] he changes to the HidingBehindYourBangs style he's known most for.
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* ''Manga/AstraLostInSpace'': To indicate her new resolution to embrace a more self-confident outlook at the encouragement of her teammates, Yun-hua has her previously face-blocking long hair trimmed shorter, while also [[TheGlassesGottaGo ditching her non-prescription glasses]] that served the same purpose.
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Peek A Bangs has been disambiguated
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** Ishigami's hair used to be a lot shorter in middle school. He grew out PeekABangs in order to shut himself off from the world.
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** Ishigami's hair used to be a lot shorter in middle school. He grew out PeekABangs bangs in order to shut himself off from the world.
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Has Two Mommies is now a disambig. Dewicking
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** Nanoha and Fate don't sport GirlishPigtails in their MagicalGirl forms anymore, since the end of the ''[=StrikerS=]'' manga, demonstrating that they are not girls anymore, but women ([[HasTwoMommies with a daughter]]).
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** Nanoha and Fate don't sport GirlishPigtails in their MagicalGirl forms anymore, since the end of the ''[=StrikerS=]'' manga, demonstrating that they are not girls anymore, but women ([[HasTwoMommies with (with a daughter]]).daughter).
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* Waver Velvet from ''LightNovel/FateZero'' had bobbed dark hair as a teen. Then, after the Fourth Holy Grail War, as years passed, he has been growing his hair out until it reaches hip-length as an adult, where he becomes Lord El-Melloi II, reflecting his maturity and experience.
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* Waver Velvet from ''LightNovel/FateZero'' ''Literature/FateZero'' had bobbed dark hair as a teen. Then, after the Fourth Holy Grail War, as years passed, he has been growing his hair out until it reaches hip-length as an adult, where he becomes Lord El-Melloi II, reflecting his maturity and experience.
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* In ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', the protagonist Kenzo Tenma goes from an immaculately groomed woobie to a scruffy, stubbled, long-haired badass. Pictured above.
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* In ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', the protagonist Kenzo Tenma goes from an immaculately groomed woobie to a scruffy, stubbled, long-haired badass. Pictured above.in the main page.
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* In the ''XY'' series of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Serena cuts her hair [[spoiler: after losing her first Pokémon showcase and realizing she needs to better herself as a trainer. Combined with more casual clothes; this signifies her desire to have more confidence in herself and her abilities]].
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* In the ''XY'' series of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'', Serena cuts her hair [[spoiler: after losing her first Pokémon showcase and realizing she needs to better herself as a trainer. Combined with more casual clothes; this signifies her desire to have more confidence in herself and her abilities]].
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Disambiguating Fullmetal Alchemist
Changed line(s) 58 (click to see context) from:
** Ed grows his hair out into a short braid after getting his automail — before it had been shorter and messy. [[spoiler:His Earth counterpart in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime]] kept that hairstyle]].
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** Ed grows his hair out into a short braid after getting his automail — before it had been shorter and messy. [[spoiler:His Earth counterpart in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime]] ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' kept that hairstyle]].
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* In the first episode of ''Anime/PumpkinScissors'' Alice is shown with braids at her military academy graduation just as war is ended. FlashForward a few years and the braids are gone and she's in the War Relief squadron still cleaning up from the battles.
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* In the first episode of ''Anime/PumpkinScissors'' ''Manga/PumpkinScissors'', Alice is shown with braids at her military academy graduation just as war is ended. FlashForward a few years and the braids are gone gone, and she's in the War Relief squadron still cleaning up from the battles.
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* Halfway through ''Anime/AquarionLogos'', Subete slicks back his hair to mark the moment when he stops being an incompetent HarmlessVillain and becomes the new BigBad.
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** Most of the Vaizards had different hair back when they were [[spoiler:Captains and Lieutenants in Soul Society.]] For example, Hirako Shinji [[spoiler:as Aizen's former captain]] used to have a long hair; now he possesses a much shorter bob cut.
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** Most of the Vaizards Visored had different hair back when they were [[spoiler:Captains and Lieutenants in Soul Society.]] For example, Hirako Shinji [[spoiler:as Aizen's former captain]] used to have a long hair; now he possesses a much shorter bob cut.
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** In ''Conqueror of Shamballa'' Alphonse grew out his hair into a ponytail in order to replicate his brother. [[spoiler:He cut it after being reunited with Edward]].
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** In ''Conqueror of Shamballa'' Shamballa'', Alphonse grew out his hair into a ponytail in order to replicate his brother. [[spoiler:He cut it after being reunited with Edward]].
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** Sakura's ImportantHaircut happened early in the manga and signified her no longer wanting to be TheLoad. She keeps the short hair into adulthood, though it's slightly longer (however not as long as her original style). Prior to the manga, Sakura had short hair, however, she grew it out before becoming a ninja because she heard that Sasuke liked girls with long hair.
** Averted with Ino. She cut her hair in the chunin exams as a part of a trap. While afterwards, she rekindled her relationship with Sakura, she doesn't actually keep the short hair for long, If anything she grew out her ponytail even longer.
** Hanabi is shown to have had this occur. As a toddler her hair was short but she grew it out. After she puts her [[BigBrotherWorship beloved sister]] on a BrokenPedestal it's shown she cut her hair. In between ''Shippuden'' and ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'' movie she [[LongHairIsFeminine grew out her hair]] and became [[TheFashionista fashion savvy]] after she TookALevelInCheerfulness.
** Averted with Ino. She cut her hair in the chunin exams as a part of a trap. While afterwards, she rekindled her relationship with Sakura, she doesn't actually keep the short hair for long, If anything she grew out her ponytail even longer.
** Hanabi is shown to have had this occur. As a toddler her hair was short but she grew it out. After she puts her [[BigBrotherWorship beloved sister]] on a BrokenPedestal it's shown she cut her hair. In between ''Shippuden'' and ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'' movie she [[LongHairIsFeminine grew out her hair]] and became [[TheFashionista fashion savvy]] after she TookALevelInCheerfulness.
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** Sakura's ImportantHaircut happened early in the manga and signified her no longer wanting to be TheLoad. She keeps the short hair into adulthood, though it's slightly longer (however not as long as her original style). Prior to the manga, Sakura had short hair, hair; however, she grew it out before becoming a ninja because she heard that Sasuke liked girls with long hair.
** Averted with Ino. She cut her hair in the chunin exams as a part of a trap. While afterwards, she rekindled her relationship with Sakura, she doesn't actually keep the short hair forlong, If anything long; if anything, she grew out her ponytail even longer.
** Hanabi is shown to have had this occur. As atoddler toddler, her hair was short but she grew it out. After she puts her [[BigBrotherWorship beloved sister]] on a BrokenPedestal BrokenPedestal, it's shown she cut her hair. In between ''Shippuden'' and ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'' ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', movie she [[LongHairIsFeminine grew out her hair]] and became [[TheFashionista fashion savvy]] after she TookALevelInCheerfulness.
** Averted with Ino. She cut her hair in the chunin exams as a part of a trap. While afterwards, she rekindled her relationship with Sakura, she doesn't actually keep the short hair for
** Hanabi is shown to have had this occur. As a
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** Kallen Stadfeldt/Kozuki has two different hairstyles: a spiky wild look (which is apparently her natural one) when she's being her ActionGirl self, and a combed-down hairstyle she uses at school to as part of the fake IllGirl persona she hides behind. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, she is shown going to school with her spiky hair, signifying that she has thrown away her frail cover, and can now be herself in school.]]
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** Kallen Stadfeldt/Kozuki has two different hairstyles: a spiky wild look (which is apparently her natural one) when she's being her ActionGirl self, and a combed-down hairstyle she uses at school to as part of the fake IllGirl DelicateAndSickly persona she hides behind. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, she is shown going to school with her spiky hair, signifying that she has thrown away her frail cover, and can now be herself in school.]]
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Blinding Bangs is no longer a trope
Changed line(s) 137 (click to see context) from:
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': [[WideEyedIdealist Bam]] goes from his adorably messy hair to BlindingBangs concealing his shiny gold eyes and growing long hair, indicating his loss of trust and idealism and his gain of awesome ass-kicking powers.
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* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': [[WideEyedIdealist Bam]] goes from his adorably messy hair to BlindingBangs bangs concealing his shiny gold eyes and growing long hair, indicating his loss of trust and idealism and his gain of awesome ass-kicking powers.
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** Keima's childhood friend Tenri originally has BlindingBangs, but has them cut to represent her slowly developing confidence.
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** Keima's childhood friend Tenri originally has BlindingBangs, eye-obscuring bangs, but has them cut to represent her slowly developing confidence.
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%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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{{Expository Hairstyle Change}}s in {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}.
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* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' has Botan, who is originally introduced as an intimidating woman and her hair put up in multiple braids. As her team members warm up to her, Botan lets her hair down and removes the braids, ending up with a high ponytail kind of hairdo.
* Tiffa Addil from ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'' is a ShyBlueHairedGirl BarrierMaiden who keeps her hair in a ponytail. She [[LettingHerHairDown temporarily lets it loose]] in the Ocean Arc, [[spoiler: as a sign that she's now [[GrandTheftMe possessed]] by the spirit of Lucille Lilliant, the other BarrierMaiden of the story.]]
* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Anime/ArakawaUnderTheBridge'' in the case of the Mayor, whose Kappa suit has a wound mechanism in the head which can change his hair from short and spiky to long with a simple twist, and which he reserves for switching from his usual carefree [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything mayorliness]] to the [[BlatantLies badass youkai within]].
* Each of the four recurring prima characters in ''Manga/{{ARIA}}'' has a FlashBack hairstyle. Alicia, currently in a single braid, wore two braids. Akira, her hair now long, once had it cut short. Athena, now cut short, once wore it at shoulder length. Then we have Grandma, who during her Undine days wore her hair long and wavy and now wears it up in a bun. Unlike the other three, who usually appear in flashbacks dating to four years before the series proper, Grandma's flashbacks date to around thirty years. Four years ago, she wore the same hairstyle but was taller. Finally, we have [[spoiler: Akari, who some years after becoming a prima began wearing her hair in a long ponytail,]] and Aika, who got an ImportantHaircut midway through the series from twin braids to a shorter cut. Alice is a different example, as she wears her hair differently to signify when she attends school.
* In ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'', Ao's personality change from a talkative tomboy to a quiet GirlyGirl is accompanied by her changing her hairstyle from BoyishShortHair to GirlishPigtails.
* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'':
** In flashbacks, Nagisa is shown with much [[LongHairedPrettyBoy longer hair]] due to [[spoiler:his ControlFreak mother wanting to raise a girl instead]]. By the time Kayano [[NewTransferStudent transfers]] into the class (just before the events of the series), he's tried to shorten it into a ponytail, but in their first interaction Kayano convinces him to style into the HairWings he has for the rest of the series, a slightly less effeminate hairstyle. [[spoiler: The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows he eventually ditched the HairWings for a more traditional boyish hairstyle, as his mother is no longer there to control him]].
** Speaking of Kayano, [[spoiler: in her true identity as Akari Yukimura she has long dark hair. She adopts a shorter bright green hairstyle with HairIntakes for most of the series as part of her act so that Koro-sensei (who she believes [[MistakenForMurderer murdered her sister]]) would not recognize her. Following [[WhamEpisode Chapter 128]], in which she reveals herself (as well as the fact she has tentacles), she sports to her original hairstyle but still colored green as part of her EvilCostumeSwitch. After her tentacles are removed and she rejoins the class, she reverts back to the hairstyle she had as Kayano. The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows she eventually went back to her hairstyle as Akari]].
** After being welcomed back following her brief FaceHeelTurn in which she [[spoiler: [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal betrayed the class]] to the Reaper, [[FemmeFatale Irina]] [[SensualSlavs Jelavic]] changes her long flowing hairstyle to a ponytail as part of her GoodCostumeSwitch]].
* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'':
** Parodied. It's a new school year for Chiyo-chan, so to show how much she's matured as a person... she starts wearing her pigtails lower.
** As well as Tomo -- she grows her hair out during her second year, intending to be somewhat like [[Franchise/LupinIII Fujiko]]. When that doesn't pan out too well, she cuts it to even shorter than it was when she was a freshman. Yomi gets in a good laugh when Chiyo-chan thinks that Tomo did it because she got dumped. The length of Tomo's hair is a good indicator as to when one of the series' spin-off works takes place.
* [[GoMadFromTheRevelation After the immense trauma she suffered during the Eclipse]], Casca from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' grows long, disheveled hair signature to TheOphelia that she turned into, in lieu of the short, cropped hair of the badass ActionGirl she once was.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** [[spoiler:Aizen's removal of his glasses]] and slicking back of his hair demonstrated to the audience that yes, he was now the BigBad.
** Most of the Vaizards had different hair back when they were [[spoiler:Captains and Lieutenants in Soul Society.]] For example, Hirako Shinji [[spoiler:as Aizen's former captain]] used to have a long hair; now he possesses a much shorter bob cut.
** Ichigo briefly had a great deal of hair, in both is most extreme OneWingedAngel form and his final awesome form, in which it [[PowerMakesYourHairGrow was one of the few things that changed]]. Aizen had also grown a lot of hair with his power-up to almost-unimaginable, so apparently the Samson look is in.
** Post-timeskip, for whatever reason (it was only just over a year) just about ''everyone'' has changed their hairstyle, including some odd ones like Shinji's diagonally cut bangs, for example. Almost the only one who hasn't is [[BaldHeadOfToughness Ikkaku]].
** Squad 4 Captain Retsu Unohana has her hair braided so that it hangs down in front of her neck and chest. During this time she is essentially a benevolent TeamMom. [[spoiler:[[AxCrazy When she]] [[BloodKnight lets her]] [[LetsGetDangerous hair down]], [[CurbStompBattle it is time to run]].]]
** Ever since Tatsuki ran out the bullies that cut her hair by force, Orihime has kept her hair long and with hairpins (which are also [[EmpathicWeapon the source of]] [[BarrierWarrior her powers]]). After the first TimeSkip she stops wearing the pins (using them as lapel accessories instead) and switches to a HimeCut. Midway through the last arc, she begins using the clips again [[spoiler: and in the last chapter, when she and Ichigo are HappilyMarried, she ditches the pins for good and uses a MotherlySidePlait.]]
** Rukia began the series with a spiky, somewhat messy haircut reaching to her shoulders. She kept it that way until the first TimeSkip, where she decided to cut it into a more "orderly" pageboy style. At the very end, [[spoiler: when she's both married Renji ''and'' has become a captain]], her hair is much longer.
* [[JerkAss Tsukasa]] from ''Manga/BoysOverFlowers'' gets his hair straightened (either or purpose or accidentally) when he's being [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold genuinely nice]] to [[{{Tsundere}} Tsukushi]].
* In the manga adaptation of ''[[Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan Cirque du Freak]]'', Kurda's ponytail snaps open at exactly the moment when he [[spoiler: stabs and kills Gavner Purl, making Darren aware that he's betrayed the vampire clan]]. In his next two appearances, [[spoiler: around people who don't know about his conspiracy]], it is tied back again, but [[spoiler: at his trial, when his actions are exposed]], it is not.
** Much later in volume 10, [[spoiler: before Kurda returns to the Lake of Souls, Harkat rips off a piece of his robes and uses it to tie Kurda's hair back, showing that he is forgiven]].
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
** Kallen Stadfeldt/Kozuki has two different hairstyles: a spiky wild look (which is apparently her natural one) when she's being her ActionGirl self, and a combed-down hairstyle she uses at school to as part of the fake IllGirl persona she hides behind. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, she is shown going to school with her spiky hair, signifying that she has thrown away her frail cover, and can now be herself in school.]]
** It's subtle, but in ''Anime/CodeGeassAkitoTheExiled'', when Lelouch is brainwashed into being the Britannian strategist Julius Kingsley, he has parts of his bangs spiked out to the sides that, as Lelouch, he had tucked under the side parts. It gives him an edgier look and goes with how Julius isn't bothered by ruthlessly [[spoiler: causing riots and endangering masses of civilians to help Britannian invade Europia]].
* Between the two seasons of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', Hei goes from clean-cut and capable of passing for a university student to "Hobo Hei", with PermaStubble and WildHair. Since he was extremely badass to begin with, this is a sign that all has not gone well for him during the year or two of TimeSkip.
* In ''Manga/TheDaughterOfTwentyFaces'' the passing of a year is marked by Chiko's bangs growing out of their straight-cut style into a more natural shape, which also serves to mark her evolution from TheOjou into an ActionGirl.
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** Aizawa's transition from clean-shaven to PermaStubble is used to show his emerging inner badass.
** Another example is Mello, who gets slightly shorter and messier hair after the [[spoiler:explosion at his Mafia hideout]], from which point not only he becomes more badass but also more reckless.
** Misa is the most pronounced example, combined with some wardrobe changes. Early on, she defaults to GirlishPigtails and similar, with elaborate goth clothes, emphasizing her childishness and cuteness as a model and actress. After the timeskip, she's done her best to become Light's perfect girlfriend and minion, and her acting career has taken a more serious turn, so she wears her hair loose and has a conservative, preppy wardrobe. Eventually, however, suspicion of her builds again and Light decides first that she should quit her job and stop attracting attention to herself, and then that having the active Kira living with him is too dangerous, and he instructs Misa to surrender the Death Note to a new minion, losing all of her memories of it in the process (not to mention Ryuk's companionship). Misa is left as the live-in girlfriend of someone who has absolutely no use for her, plainly can't stand her, and leaves her alone as much as possible, leaving her bored out of her mind. She eventually starts dressing and acting the same as she did in the beginning, five years earlier, as if all of her character development never happened... because she doesn't remember it did!
* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', initially Tanjiro's hair was long enough to tie it in a high ponytail. Then, when he faces Giyu following the slaughter of his family and Nezuko's transformation into a demon, the ponytail is cut off, leaving him with a messy mop. During his training with Urokodaki, his hair grows out to shoulder-length, only to cut it short after completing his training in two years. The haircuts signify the changes that happened in his life and his ascension as a Demon Slayer.
* There are several examples in ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', but the one that fits best is Ken from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. As the Digimon Kaiser, his digital avatar has his hair two-toned and spiked, not too dissimilar to his dead older brother Osamu, whose reputation Ken has spent the last couple of years trying to live up to. During his MyGodWhatHaveIDone scene, his digital avatar breaks apart and he returns to his real appearance, with his hair returning to its natural state of being chin-length, straight, and solid blue. On the long run, it ends up symbolizing not just his HeelFaceTurn, but that he's accepted that he can't replace his brother and will now be himself.
** Between the first part of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' and the second, Kiriha grows his hair out and parts it in the middle into something of a messy mullet, to highlight [[spoiler:how much time passed in the Digital World while Taiki was away and how much Kiriha had to rough it out in the meantime.]]
* Averted with Bulma from the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' franhcise. While she changes her hairstyle quite often, none of the changes are really expository. It's played straight with Krillin, however, when he displays a full head of hair in the Buu saga to signify that he's left his WarriorMonk lifestyle behind to raise a family.
* ''Manga/EdensZero'': Initially, Weisz Steiner wore his hair in a rockabilly style. Later after trying out the Arsenal Suit, when it dissolves, it rendered him naked and undid his hair. He has since kept it that way. This show him he is independencing himself from the lifepath his future was destined to have.
* In ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', Renton's hairstyle starts to be different from episode 42 onwards, which probably signifies his ComingOfAge.
* ''Manga/Eyeshield21'':
** Sakuraba goes from having a pop-idol-type hairstyle to a shaved head (to the dismay of his fangirls), to show that he's serious about becoming a better athlete. It grows back slowly over the course of the series (with the little bit in the middle inexplicably growing faster than the rest).
** Mamori also gets a haircut after Sena reveals that he's Eyeshield 21, possibly to signify that Mamori no longer has to protect Sena, but can trust him to stand on his own. [[spoiler:After the timeskip, her hair is even longer, which denotes the passage of time.]]
** Just before his debut game against the Shinryujii Naga's, Yukimitsu changes his hairstyle from a combed back one showing off his rather large forehead, to a looser downed style, to represent him no longer being just the geeky benchwarmer.
* Waver Velvet from ''LightNovel/FateZero'' had bobbed dark hair as a teen. Then, after the Fourth Holy Grail War, as years passed, he has been growing his hair out until it reaches hip-length as an adult, where he becomes Lord El-Melloi II, reflecting his maturity and experience.
* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'':
** After [[spoiler:Akito]]'s HeelFaceTurn, she is shown at the end with shoulder-length hair.
** When Kyouko was a BrokenBird delinquent, she had long hair. She keeps it long after marrying Kazuma, but by the time of her death she had cut it into a bob.
** Isuzu (a.k.a. Rin) Sohma had extremely long dark hair when she was introduced. Later, Akito [[TraumaticHaircut chopped it off in a fit of rage]]. This coincides with [[BrokenBird her]] becoming more agreeable and starting to place more trust and faith on others, specially [[AllLovingHero on Tohru]].
* ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Ed grows his hair out into a short braid after getting his automail — before it had been shorter and messy. [[spoiler:His Earth counterpart in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime]] kept that hairstyle]].
** Late in [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist the story]], Ed spends several months in hiding recuperating from a serious injury, and afterward he switches to a ponytail. The only reason he does that is that he was being hunted down by the military, and their description of him mentions that his hair is in a braid.
** [[http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/451809 The ponytail also makes him look]] more like his [[DisappearedDad father]] when ''he'' [[http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/424299 was young,]] though when his father tells him that, Ed immediately braids the hair back up and scowls at him.
** In the last chapter, it's shown that Ed [[spoiler: keeps the ponytail for good. His father's death might've had something to do with it.]]
** Let's not forget Hawkeye. She is shown to have short hair in her backstory, grew her hair out because she met Winry, and thought it might look good on her, and finally on the photo epilogue page, is shown to have gone back to her original short cut.
** Ed once again has a ponytail in TheMovie based off of the 2003 anime series, ''[[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa Conqueror of Shamballa]]''.
** In the manga, once Ling [[spoiler:becomes Greed]], his front cowlick changes from right to left [[spoiler:to show who is currently in control]].
** In ''Conqueror of Shamballa'' Alphonse grew out his hair into a ponytail in order to replicate his brother. [[spoiler:He cut it after being reunited with Edward]].
* Asuka from ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'' cuts her long hair short in EP 5 of ''ZERO'' to signifying that she wanted to change to become a stronger person and later in ''SAGA'' and ''SIN'', she grows her hair to shoulder-length, which symbolizes that she's now a full-grown woman.
* ''Manga/GoldenKamuy'': Sofia wore a tight bun in the back before she left behind the life of a noblewoman. As a revolutionary leader, however, she replaced her bun with a long {{braid|sOfAction}}.
* Eikichi Onizuka changes his hairstyle in the first volume of ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'' right after he decided to be a teacher.
* ''Manga/GTOTheEarlyYears'':
** When Eikichi is actively trying to charm girls, he changes his hairstyle and wears glasses.
** In Chapter 34, Saejima's changed his hairstyle so much that the author has to point out that it's him in several panels.
** [[SadistTeacher Minamino]] forces the students in his class to change their DelinquentHair to more conservative hairstyles.
* ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'':
** Itsuki starts growing out her hair during the DistantFinale, now accepting the fact that [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak she can like girlish things and still be a martial artist.]]
** WAY before Itsuki, there's also Tsubomi, who is shanghai'd by Erika in the very first episode for a makeover, changing her ponytail into twintails.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** As a little girl and young teenager, Ukraine had long hair and kept it in a [[GirlishPigtails braided]] PrimAndProperBun. As an adult, she has it in a bob ([[ImportantHairAccessory plus a hairband and hairpins]]), probably for practical reasons since she's implied to work as a farmer.
** This is a little harder to spot, but around the same time, Ukraine had her hair long, child!Belarus used to have shoulder-level MessyHair tied with a white headband. As an older nation, her hair is waist-level and noticeably straighter but still kept with a band (a black one in her case).
** When Hungary was young and thought she was a boy, she had a very short ponytail. In the infamous InnocentFanserviceGirl scene with ChivalrousPervert Prussia, she still dresses as a boy but her 'tail is ''much'' longer. When she grows up into a NinjaMaid, she keeps it loose - and in modern days, she still wears it like that.
** Liechtenstein, when was little, had her hair in a long braid or in twin braids. She cut it off some time after meeting Switzerland, [[WellDoneSonGuy as part of her desire to prove herself to him]].
** Parodied when England tries to pull one in his childhood by growing his hair long. SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occurs when it turns out extremely messy since he only grew it out, without actually putting any care in it. He then asks [[TheDandy France]] to give him one instead... and France proceeds to cut it back to its original style, claiming it's what fits England the best.
** Czech Republic/Czechia had hair in GirlishPigtails as a young nation under Austria and Hungary's care/thumb, but by the time she and Slovakia managed to be independent she switched to a long-ish bob.
* In ''Manga/HoshiWaUtau'' Sakuya's hair grows longer and longer in each volume [[spoiler:until she cuts it short again.]]
* In ''Manhwa/IWish'', K starts off the series with his hair tied back with several hairties. He slowly starts wearing them less and simply letting his hair down and remain open as he begins to warm up to Lyu-Jin. [[spoiler: He reverts back to the hairties when Seven removes his love for Lyu-Jin in the final few chapters.]]
* ''Anime/{{K}}'':
** The AllPowerfulBystander Silver King, Adolf K. Weismann, has let his hair grow to past his knees in the 70 years he's been living in his airship as an immortal hermit after the trauma of [[AngstySurvivingTwin losing his sister]] in the bombing of Dresden during World War II. [[spoiler: In the end of the second season, when he returns to his body, he cuts it back to the length it was before he became immortal.]]
** In the movie that takes place between seasons 1 and 2, Kuroh wears his hair down from his usual SamuraiPonytail, while he's searching for his lost master.
* Most characters in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' are shown with different hairstyles in the past, but only a few have any real significance.
** Kaguya has her hair tied up in the present, but flashbacks ([[GhostInTheMachine and the mental representation of her cold side]]) have it down. She presumably switched around the time she fell in love with Shirogane.
** Shirogane's hair is significantly messier in the present compared to flashbacks. It's bedhead that he doesn't have the time to fix in the morning since he gets so little sleep due to his increased workload.
** Ishigami's hair used to be a lot shorter in middle school. He grew out PeekABangs in order to shut himself off from the world.
** Inverted with Iino. The fact that she has HairstyleInertia helps reflect the fact that she still has the exact same mindset that she did as a child.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** Teana Lanster sports GirlishPigtails in the third season. Later, she starts wearing her hair loose, indicating that she has outgrown the [[YoungGun reckless tendencies]] she exhibited earlier in the story.
** Nanoha and Fate don't sport GirlishPigtails in their MagicalGirl forms anymore, since the end of the ''[=StrikerS=]'' manga, demonstrating that they are not girls anymore, but women ([[HasTwoMommies with a daughter]]).
* In ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'', [[TheOjou Meiko Akizuki]] has long straight hair, but once she starts dating Namura-sensei, she starts perming it and keeps it that way.
* Flashbacks in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' show that Elma's hair used to be a lot longer. While it's never specified why she changed it, it's worth pointing out that she was last seen with long hair [[WeUsedToBeFriends during her falling out with Tohru]].
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'':
** In the second season, [[spoiler:Feldt Grace starts wearing her hair in a style similar to her dead best friend Christina Sierra.]]
** In the trailers for TheMovie, ''several'' people have gone through hairstyle changes. [[spoiler:Louise grows her hair back to its old length, Saji keeps his slightly longer, Soma/Marie braids hers now, Mileina replaced the GirlishPigtails with a simple headband, Allelujah sports a ''really'' long ponytail... and Feldt ''cut'' her hair and looks like [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Lunamaria Hawke]].]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0WNe6BrTbc See it here!]] (Warning, aside of the already mentioned style changes, there are ''many'' spoilers)
* In ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', the protagonist Kenzo Tenma goes from an immaculately groomed woobie to a scruffy, stubbled, long-haired badass. Pictured above.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Sakura's ImportantHaircut happened early in the manga and signified her no longer wanting to be TheLoad. She keeps the short hair into adulthood, though it's slightly longer (however not as long as her original style). Prior to the manga, Sakura had short hair, however, she grew it out before becoming a ninja because she heard that Sasuke liked girls with long hair.
** Averted with Ino. She cut her hair in the chunin exams as a part of a trap. While afterwards, she rekindled her relationship with Sakura, she doesn't actually keep the short hair for long, If anything she grew out her ponytail even longer.
** Hanabi is shown to have had this occur. As a toddler her hair was short but she grew it out. After she puts her [[BigBrotherWorship beloved sister]] on a BrokenPedestal it's shown she cut her hair. In between ''Shippuden'' and ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'' movie she [[LongHairIsFeminine grew out her hair]] and became [[TheFashionista fashion savvy]] after she TookALevelInCheerfulness.
** Hinata sported chin-length hair at first but following the timeskip, she grew out her hair to mid-length and since ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'', she now sports a shoulder-length bob.
** Naruto himself cuts his hair short [[spoiler:after he becomes Hokage, capping off his journey from the lowest of the low to the highest authority figure in Konoha.]]
* ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'':
** Nausicaä doesn't do this in the movie, but in the manga she has her hair cut from shoulder length to just below her ears as she prepares to go to war, symbolizing the end of her innocent life.
** Later on in the manga, Princess Kushana, who originally sported a waist-length blonde braid wrapped around her head, chopped it off after she failed to rescue some of her soldiers — who had been assigned a task at odds with their training[[labelnote:†]] (Kushana trained them as elite cavalry specializing in quick attacks, but they were put on point defense; that's the equivalent of forcing Navy SEAL Team Six into a WWI trench)[[/labelnote]] and placed in an indefensible position by her brothers — as a show of solidarity as well as a promise to everyone that she would redouble her efforts to hunt down and kill the Princes of Torumekia.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'':
** Identical twins Hikaru and Kaoru parody this by dyeing their hair pink and blue wanting to be seen as different people. They really did it because they were bored, and even faked a fight to make it convincing. Played straight by Hikaru later in the manga when he dyes his hair darker after him and Kaoru really ''do'' have a fight [[spoiler:over their feelings for Haruhi]]. This is a huge step in character development for them, as they permanently want to be seen as separate people (although still Host together) – they even move into their own bedrooms. Near the end of the manga, Kaoru also starts growing his hair long, which differentiates the twins even more.
** Haruhi used to have long hair, but she accidentally glued her hair and ended up having to cut it short, hence why [[{{Bifauxnen}} the Host Club mistake her for a pretty boy at first]]. She keeps the hairstyle for most of the series to maintain her facade as a Host Club member, but after she transfers out of Ouran High, she begins to regrow her hair again.
* Shinichi Izumi from ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}''. The Maxim changes his hair partway through, to having his bangs pushed further back, generally making the character look more action-ready. The glasses are also ditched.
* In the ''XY'' series of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Serena cuts her hair [[spoiler: after losing her first Pokémon showcase and realizing she needs to better herself as a trainer. Combined with more casual clothes; this signifies her desire to have more confidence in herself and her abilities]].
* ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'':
** Hikaru Amane, a.k.a. Dabide from Rokkaku is a natural redhead who's quite proud of his hair and takes care of it quite well, applying hair wax to it every day. When Amane gets serious in his games, he takes a rubber band and ties his hair up; you can expect him to play [[LetsGetDangerous at his very full strength]] from then on.
** Kippei Tachibana used to dye his long hair blonde until a traumatic incident [[spoiler: where he almost [[EyeScream blinded]] his best friend.]] In penance, he shaved his hair and went back to his natural black hair color. He starts dyeing his hair again after [[spoiler: Fudomine Middle School makes it to the Nationals under his leadership.]]
* The 10th episode of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' reveals that Homura used to be [[spoiler:a nerdy, shy girl with glasses and huge braids. After sticking herself in a GroundhogDayLoop to save her friend, and seeing the situation get worse when its full horror is revealed, she wakes up at the start of a new loop with a speech affirming her determination to fight alone and win at the end, while untying her hair and fixing her eyes with magic]], becoming the [[ZenSurvivor stern badass]] we'd known up to that point.
* Tart in ''Manga/PuellaMagiTartMagica'' does this [[spoiler: following the massacre of her village and her decision to make a contract and become a magical girl]].
* In the first episode of ''Anime/PumpkinScissors'' Alice is shown with braids at her military academy graduation just as war is ended. FlashForward a few years and the braids are gone and she's in the War Relief squadron still cleaning up from the battles.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
** Akane starts the series with hair at about mid-back length, but it gets sliced off to about neck-level during Ranma's initial battle with Ryoga, resulting in a new hairstyle. Almost immediately afterwards, she gets over her long-standing crush on Dr. Tofu (which she knew would always be unrequited, considering his own feelings for her sister, Kasumi) and decides not to grow her hair back. Therefore, it could be argued that, in addition to a TraumaticHaircut, the new hairdo doubles as an Expository Hairstyle Change that signifies her decision to accept that nothing would come of it and move on.
** Ranma's pre-story switch from a ponytail (in the flashbacks) to a pigtail. The Dragon Whisker story arc explains the very good reason behind it.
* In the third ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' movie, nearly everyone aside from [[spoiler:Gendo and the pilots]] gets a new hairstyle and outfit, to mark the [[spoiler:14-year-TimeSkip.]] Also, [[spoiler:the newly-introduced fresh]] Rei [[spoiler:clone]] has the bangs in the middle of her forehead intersecting or in two distinct points, especially after TheReveal.
* ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' has another example that requires knowledge of Japanese customs: Jin's very long bangs/sideburns plus long ponytail are a strange hairstyle for a samurai. Most other samurai in the series either have the short bangs plus ponytail style suitable for teenagers and apprentices or the tonsured style favored by older men, especially bureaucrats. When we start seeing Jin's backstory flashbacks, it becomes clear that he used to have the apprentice style, but stopped cutting it after he became a ronin. His bangs have gone from above his eyebrows to his jawline, suggesting that the time between the flashbacks and the main series timeline is about 3-6 months.
* Kenji Harima from ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' explains his present appearance sporting a moustache and goatee because of the fact that [[spoiler:he wishes to hide his original appearance so Tenma won't recognize him as the boy who rescued her from an incident long ago. She doesn't remember this said event anyway, though.]]
* ''Manga/SkipBeat''
** Kyoko Mogami pulls one on at the end of the first chapter. She's introduced with black hair that reaches past her shoulder blades and appears to be kind to a fault and utterly devoted to her childhood friend, Shou Fuwa, meekly waiting for him to return her romantic feelings. When he admits that he never saw her as more than a maid, Kyoko vows revenge by entering the show business and gets her hair cut to chin-length and dyed chestnut-brown, showing her true colors as a determined, [[WomanScorned scorned woman]] that will stop at nothing to get Shou to kneel before her.
** Done in-universe for the ''[[ShowWithinAShow Dark Moon]]'' character of Mio, the role that Kyoko plays. Mio is the unfavorite daughter from a rich family, with a large facial scar, and torments her cousin. The original hairstyle was a simple HimeCut that mostly hid the scar, but when Kyoko created her own version of Mio, who is much more in-your-face with Mio's hatred for Mizuki, she got her bleached hair dyed back to black and openly displayed the facial scar.
* ''Manga/SlamDunk'':
** Hanamichi Sakuragi starts out with a red-dyed DelinquentHair. Halfway through the story, he shaves his hair almost bald after losing the match against Kainan. This signals that he gets more serious about his role in the team.
** Hisashi Mitsui had mid-length hair when he was in junior high and during his first year in Shohoku. He grew his hair past shoulder length in the two years he spent as a delinquent, and upon returning to the basketball club he cuts his hair short.
* Kumiko from ''Literature/SoundEuphonium'' tries to invoke this in the first episode. As she begins high school, she pulls her wavy hair into a ponytail in order to symbolize a new, more mature her. Subverted when she almost instantly does away with the ponytail afterwards. She's pretty much never shown with that hairstyle outside of the first episode.
* In the Manhwa ''Manhwa/TheTarotCafe'', the protagonist Pamela has very curly hair in the present and wavy hair in flashbacks. This is not due to modern hairstyle technology but because [[spoiler: after she became immortal four hundred-odd years ago she tried to find a way to die -- one of them being getting struck by lightning, which permanently frazzled her hair. It's a little after that that she decides to live.]]
* In one of the ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' manga, Ayeka ends up changing her hair from the usual purple and straight style she's usually seen in to the light blue and curled similar to what Sasami has, though only temporary, as Sasami was homesick. As it turned out, the blue hair and curled hair was ''Ayeka's real style'', inherited from her ActionMom Misaki; she had it modified like that in her belief that Yosho would fall in love with her more if she resembled the person ''he'' thought was the perfect woman - his mother, Queen Funaho. She later states that, despite falling for Tenchi now, she'd rather keep it as that purple style due to the fact that she ''actually'' enjoys it now.
* Every single character in ''Manga/TokyoRevengers'' has different hairstyles in the past and present, with the exception of Naoto, whose change is noted by his mature looks and height.
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': [[WideEyedIdealist Bam]] goes from his adorably messy hair to BlindingBangs concealing his shiny gold eyes and growing long hair, indicating his loss of trust and idealism and his gain of awesome ass-kicking powers.
* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'':
** After Vash [[spoiler: shoots the goddamned moon and does serious damage to a city]], Wolfwood finds him living under the name Ericks with long hair and the beginnings of a beard. After Vash comes out of his TenMinuteRetirement he gets his hair cut, returning it to the upright "broom" style the audience is familiar with.
** Also, Plants like Vash and Knives all have blonde hair at birth, which [[spoiler:slowly turns black the more they use that {{BFG}} within their arm.]] So at the start of the ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' manga, Vash is a happy-go-lucky blondie, but at the beginning of ''Trigun Maximum'', once his hair is cut and he returns to action we see he sports a shock of black at the very back of his scalp below his ears. By the end of the manga, his hair is almost completely black.
* In ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' the growth of Fay's hair coincides with the GrowingTheBeard segment and shows that he's taken a darker turn, while the rest of the cast apparently went to a barber off-panel during the same period. This also happened when [[spoiler:he was younger and imprisoned with his twin, and we know it's been a long time since they go from short hair to waist-length within a few pages]].
* In ''Manga/{{Uzumaki}}'', Kirie cuts her long hair to ear length when it gets infected with spirals. This is the same time that she finally comes to accept that the events in the town aren't normal.
* ''Manga/VampireKnight'':
** This happens to Yuuki Cross when [[spoiler:her [[BrotherSisterIncest brother/boyfriend]] Kaname reverts her to her true pureblood vampire form. As a human, she had normal shoulder-length hair, and as a vampire, grows long hair very quickly]].
** Once he starts acting more like his former [[spoiler:badass vampire hunter]] self, Kaien Cross takes his hair out of its customary ponytail to return it to the way he used to wear it before.
* ''Manga/WanderingSon'':
** Nitori grows her hair into a bob after she starts getting bullied for [[spoiler:wearing the girl's uniform to school]]. She cuts it short, not because of a dramatic change like her friends think, but because she thought it was getting a bit long for a boy and wanted to emulate a female celebrity with a pixie cut.
** Kanako has worn pigtails her entire life. She takes them out in high school as a sign of her maturing.
** Takatsuki has always worn his hair in varying lengths ranging from pixie length to bob length. In high school, he grows it out [[spoiler:which correlates with his confusion and doubts about his gender identity]].
* ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'':
** Whenever Keima's mom gets angry, she lets her hair fall out of its bun and goes from sweet, kind, and relaxed mother to hot and hotblooded ex-biker gang lady.
** Keima's childhood friend Tenri originally has BlindingBangs, but has them cut to represent her slowly developing confidence.
* In ''Anime/XamdLostMemories,'' Akiyuki's hair grows out from a short cut to a more shaggy look as he matures throughout the series and learns to cope with being a Xam'd.
* ''Manga/YourLieInApril'':
** Hiroko had longer hair in the past but divorced her husband and cut it because, according to her, women change hairstyles when they change men.
** Kaori [[spoiler:wore GirlishPigtails and [[{{meganekko}} had glasses]]]] once but she let her hair down and [[spoiler:[[TheGlassesGottaGo started wearing contacts]]]] when she [[spoiler:decided to befriend Kousei, the boy she had been admiring for years]].
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{{Expository Hairstyle Change}}s in {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}.
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* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' has Botan, who is originally introduced as an intimidating woman and her hair put up in multiple braids. As her team members warm up to her, Botan lets her hair down and removes the braids, ending up with a high ponytail kind of hairdo.
* Tiffa Addil from ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'' is a ShyBlueHairedGirl BarrierMaiden who keeps her hair in a ponytail. She [[LettingHerHairDown temporarily lets it loose]] in the Ocean Arc, [[spoiler: as a sign that she's now [[GrandTheftMe possessed]] by the spirit of Lucille Lilliant, the other BarrierMaiden of the story.]]
* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Anime/ArakawaUnderTheBridge'' in the case of the Mayor, whose Kappa suit has a wound mechanism in the head which can change his hair from short and spiky to long with a simple twist, and which he reserves for switching from his usual carefree [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything mayorliness]] to the [[BlatantLies badass youkai within]].
* Each of the four recurring prima characters in ''Manga/{{ARIA}}'' has a FlashBack hairstyle. Alicia, currently in a single braid, wore two braids. Akira, her hair now long, once had it cut short. Athena, now cut short, once wore it at shoulder length. Then we have Grandma, who during her Undine days wore her hair long and wavy and now wears it up in a bun. Unlike the other three, who usually appear in flashbacks dating to four years before the series proper, Grandma's flashbacks date to around thirty years. Four years ago, she wore the same hairstyle but was taller. Finally, we have [[spoiler: Akari, who some years after becoming a prima began wearing her hair in a long ponytail,]] and Aika, who got an ImportantHaircut midway through the series from twin braids to a shorter cut. Alice is a different example, as she wears her hair differently to signify when she attends school.
* In ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'', Ao's personality change from a talkative tomboy to a quiet GirlyGirl is accompanied by her changing her hairstyle from BoyishShortHair to GirlishPigtails.
* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'':
** In flashbacks, Nagisa is shown with much [[LongHairedPrettyBoy longer hair]] due to [[spoiler:his ControlFreak mother wanting to raise a girl instead]]. By the time Kayano [[NewTransferStudent transfers]] into the class (just before the events of the series), he's tried to shorten it into a ponytail, but in their first interaction Kayano convinces him to style into the HairWings he has for the rest of the series, a slightly less effeminate hairstyle. [[spoiler: The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows he eventually ditched the HairWings for a more traditional boyish hairstyle, as his mother is no longer there to control him]].
** Speaking of Kayano, [[spoiler: in her true identity as Akari Yukimura she has long dark hair. She adopts a shorter bright green hairstyle with HairIntakes for most of the series as part of her act so that Koro-sensei (who she believes [[MistakenForMurderer murdered her sister]]) would not recognize her. Following [[WhamEpisode Chapter 128]], in which she reveals herself (as well as the fact she has tentacles), she sports to her original hairstyle but still colored green as part of her EvilCostumeSwitch. After her tentacles are removed and she rejoins the class, she reverts back to the hairstyle she had as Kayano. The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows she eventually went back to her hairstyle as Akari]].
** After being welcomed back following her brief FaceHeelTurn in which she [[spoiler: [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal betrayed the class]] to the Reaper, [[FemmeFatale Irina]] [[SensualSlavs Jelavic]] changes her long flowing hairstyle to a ponytail as part of her GoodCostumeSwitch]].
* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'':
** Parodied. It's a new school year for Chiyo-chan, so to show how much she's matured as a person... she starts wearing her pigtails lower.
** As well as Tomo -- she grows her hair out during her second year, intending to be somewhat like [[Franchise/LupinIII Fujiko]]. When that doesn't pan out too well, she cuts it to even shorter than it was when she was a freshman. Yomi gets in a good laugh when Chiyo-chan thinks that Tomo did it because she got dumped. The length of Tomo's hair is a good indicator as to when one of the series' spin-off works takes place.
* [[GoMadFromTheRevelation After the immense trauma she suffered during the Eclipse]], Casca from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' grows long, disheveled hair signature to TheOphelia that she turned into, in lieu of the short, cropped hair of the badass ActionGirl she once was.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** [[spoiler:Aizen's removal of his glasses]] and slicking back of his hair demonstrated to the audience that yes, he was now the BigBad.
** Most of the Vaizards had different hair back when they were [[spoiler:Captains and Lieutenants in Soul Society.]] For example, Hirako Shinji [[spoiler:as Aizen's former captain]] used to have a long hair; now he possesses a much shorter bob cut.
** Ichigo briefly had a great deal of hair, in both is most extreme OneWingedAngel form and his final awesome form, in which it [[PowerMakesYourHairGrow was one of the few things that changed]]. Aizen had also grown a lot of hair with his power-up to almost-unimaginable, so apparently the Samson look is in.
** Post-timeskip, for whatever reason (it was only just over a year) just about ''everyone'' has changed their hairstyle, including some odd ones like Shinji's diagonally cut bangs, for example. Almost the only one who hasn't is [[BaldHeadOfToughness Ikkaku]].
** Squad 4 Captain Retsu Unohana has her hair braided so that it hangs down in front of her neck and chest. During this time she is essentially a benevolent TeamMom. [[spoiler:[[AxCrazy When she]] [[BloodKnight lets her]] [[LetsGetDangerous hair down]], [[CurbStompBattle it is time to run]].]]
** Ever since Tatsuki ran out the bullies that cut her hair by force, Orihime has kept her hair long and with hairpins (which are also [[EmpathicWeapon the source of]] [[BarrierWarrior her powers]]). After the first TimeSkip she stops wearing the pins (using them as lapel accessories instead) and switches to a HimeCut. Midway through the last arc, she begins using the clips again [[spoiler: and in the last chapter, when she and Ichigo are HappilyMarried, she ditches the pins for good and uses a MotherlySidePlait.]]
** Rukia began the series with a spiky, somewhat messy haircut reaching to her shoulders. She kept it that way until the first TimeSkip, where she decided to cut it into a more "orderly" pageboy style. At the very end, [[spoiler: when she's both married Renji ''and'' has become a captain]], her hair is much longer.
* [[JerkAss Tsukasa]] from ''Manga/BoysOverFlowers'' gets his hair straightened (either or purpose or accidentally) when he's being [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold genuinely nice]] to [[{{Tsundere}} Tsukushi]].
* In the manga adaptation of ''[[Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan Cirque du Freak]]'', Kurda's ponytail snaps open at exactly the moment when he [[spoiler: stabs and kills Gavner Purl, making Darren aware that he's betrayed the vampire clan]]. In his next two appearances, [[spoiler: around people who don't know about his conspiracy]], it is tied back again, but [[spoiler: at his trial, when his actions are exposed]], it is not.
** Much later in volume 10, [[spoiler: before Kurda returns to the Lake of Souls, Harkat rips off a piece of his robes and uses it to tie Kurda's hair back, showing that he is forgiven]].
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
** Kallen Stadfeldt/Kozuki has two different hairstyles: a spiky wild look (which is apparently her natural one) when she's being her ActionGirl self, and a combed-down hairstyle she uses at school to as part of the fake IllGirl persona she hides behind. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, she is shown going to school with her spiky hair, signifying that she has thrown away her frail cover, and can now be herself in school.]]
** It's subtle, but in ''Anime/CodeGeassAkitoTheExiled'', when Lelouch is brainwashed into being the Britannian strategist Julius Kingsley, he has parts of his bangs spiked out to the sides that, as Lelouch, he had tucked under the side parts. It gives him an edgier look and goes with how Julius isn't bothered by ruthlessly [[spoiler: causing riots and endangering masses of civilians to help Britannian invade Europia]].
* Between the two seasons of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', Hei goes from clean-cut and capable of passing for a university student to "Hobo Hei", with PermaStubble and WildHair. Since he was extremely badass to begin with, this is a sign that all has not gone well for him during the year or two of TimeSkip.
* In ''Manga/TheDaughterOfTwentyFaces'' the passing of a year is marked by Chiko's bangs growing out of their straight-cut style into a more natural shape, which also serves to mark her evolution from TheOjou into an ActionGirl.
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** Aizawa's transition from clean-shaven to PermaStubble is used to show his emerging inner badass.
** Another example is Mello, who gets slightly shorter and messier hair after the [[spoiler:explosion at his Mafia hideout]], from which point not only he becomes more badass but also more reckless.
** Misa is the most pronounced example, combined with some wardrobe changes. Early on, she defaults to GirlishPigtails and similar, with elaborate goth clothes, emphasizing her childishness and cuteness as a model and actress. After the timeskip, she's done her best to become Light's perfect girlfriend and minion, and her acting career has taken a more serious turn, so she wears her hair loose and has a conservative, preppy wardrobe. Eventually, however, suspicion of her builds again and Light decides first that she should quit her job and stop attracting attention to herself, and then that having the active Kira living with him is too dangerous, and he instructs Misa to surrender the Death Note to a new minion, losing all of her memories of it in the process (not to mention Ryuk's companionship). Misa is left as the live-in girlfriend of someone who has absolutely no use for her, plainly can't stand her, and leaves her alone as much as possible, leaving her bored out of her mind. She eventually starts dressing and acting the same as she did in the beginning, five years earlier, as if all of her character development never happened... because she doesn't remember it did!
* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', initially Tanjiro's hair was long enough to tie it in a high ponytail. Then, when he faces Giyu following the slaughter of his family and Nezuko's transformation into a demon, the ponytail is cut off, leaving him with a messy mop. During his training with Urokodaki, his hair grows out to shoulder-length, only to cut it short after completing his training in two years. The haircuts signify the changes that happened in his life and his ascension as a Demon Slayer.
* There are several examples in ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', but the one that fits best is Ken from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. As the Digimon Kaiser, his digital avatar has his hair two-toned and spiked, not too dissimilar to his dead older brother Osamu, whose reputation Ken has spent the last couple of years trying to live up to. During his MyGodWhatHaveIDone scene, his digital avatar breaks apart and he returns to his real appearance, with his hair returning to its natural state of being chin-length, straight, and solid blue. On the long run, it ends up symbolizing not just his HeelFaceTurn, but that he's accepted that he can't replace his brother and will now be himself.
** Between the first part of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'' and the second, Kiriha grows his hair out and parts it in the middle into something of a messy mullet, to highlight [[spoiler:how much time passed in the Digital World while Taiki was away and how much Kiriha had to rough it out in the meantime.]]
* Averted with Bulma from the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' franhcise. While she changes her hairstyle quite often, none of the changes are really expository. It's played straight with Krillin, however, when he displays a full head of hair in the Buu saga to signify that he's left his WarriorMonk lifestyle behind to raise a family.
* ''Manga/EdensZero'': Initially, Weisz Steiner wore his hair in a rockabilly style. Later after trying out the Arsenal Suit, when it dissolves, it rendered him naked and undid his hair. He has since kept it that way. This show him he is independencing himself from the lifepath his future was destined to have.
* In ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', Renton's hairstyle starts to be different from episode 42 onwards, which probably signifies his ComingOfAge.
* ''Manga/Eyeshield21'':
** Sakuraba goes from having a pop-idol-type hairstyle to a shaved head (to the dismay of his fangirls), to show that he's serious about becoming a better athlete. It grows back slowly over the course of the series (with the little bit in the middle inexplicably growing faster than the rest).
** Mamori also gets a haircut after Sena reveals that he's Eyeshield 21, possibly to signify that Mamori no longer has to protect Sena, but can trust him to stand on his own. [[spoiler:After the timeskip, her hair is even longer, which denotes the passage of time.]]
** Just before his debut game against the Shinryujii Naga's, Yukimitsu changes his hairstyle from a combed back one showing off his rather large forehead, to a looser downed style, to represent him no longer being just the geeky benchwarmer.
* Waver Velvet from ''LightNovel/FateZero'' had bobbed dark hair as a teen. Then, after the Fourth Holy Grail War, as years passed, he has been growing his hair out until it reaches hip-length as an adult, where he becomes Lord El-Melloi II, reflecting his maturity and experience.
* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'':
** After [[spoiler:Akito]]'s HeelFaceTurn, she is shown at the end with shoulder-length hair.
** When Kyouko was a BrokenBird delinquent, she had long hair. She keeps it long after marrying Kazuma, but by the time of her death she had cut it into a bob.
** Isuzu (a.k.a. Rin) Sohma had extremely long dark hair when she was introduced. Later, Akito [[TraumaticHaircut chopped it off in a fit of rage]]. This coincides with [[BrokenBird her]] becoming more agreeable and starting to place more trust and faith on others, specially [[AllLovingHero on Tohru]].
* ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Ed grows his hair out into a short braid after getting his automail — before it had been shorter and messy. [[spoiler:His Earth counterpart in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime]] kept that hairstyle]].
** Late in [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist the story]], Ed spends several months in hiding recuperating from a serious injury, and afterward he switches to a ponytail. The only reason he does that is that he was being hunted down by the military, and their description of him mentions that his hair is in a braid.
** [[http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/451809 The ponytail also makes him look]] more like his [[DisappearedDad father]] when ''he'' [[http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/424299 was young,]] though when his father tells him that, Ed immediately braids the hair back up and scowls at him.
** In the last chapter, it's shown that Ed [[spoiler: keeps the ponytail for good. His father's death might've had something to do with it.]]
** Let's not forget Hawkeye. She is shown to have short hair in her backstory, grew her hair out because she met Winry, and thought it might look good on her, and finally on the photo epilogue page, is shown to have gone back to her original short cut.
** Ed once again has a ponytail in TheMovie based off of the 2003 anime series, ''[[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa Conqueror of Shamballa]]''.
** In the manga, once Ling [[spoiler:becomes Greed]], his front cowlick changes from right to left [[spoiler:to show who is currently in control]].
** In ''Conqueror of Shamballa'' Alphonse grew out his hair into a ponytail in order to replicate his brother. [[spoiler:He cut it after being reunited with Edward]].
* Asuka from ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'' cuts her long hair short in EP 5 of ''ZERO'' to signifying that she wanted to change to become a stronger person and later in ''SAGA'' and ''SIN'', she grows her hair to shoulder-length, which symbolizes that she's now a full-grown woman.
* ''Manga/GoldenKamuy'': Sofia wore a tight bun in the back before she left behind the life of a noblewoman. As a revolutionary leader, however, she replaced her bun with a long {{braid|sOfAction}}.
* Eikichi Onizuka changes his hairstyle in the first volume of ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'' right after he decided to be a teacher.
* ''Manga/GTOTheEarlyYears'':
** When Eikichi is actively trying to charm girls, he changes his hairstyle and wears glasses.
** In Chapter 34, Saejima's changed his hairstyle so much that the author has to point out that it's him in several panels.
** [[SadistTeacher Minamino]] forces the students in his class to change their DelinquentHair to more conservative hairstyles.
* ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'':
** Itsuki starts growing out her hair during the DistantFinale, now accepting the fact that [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak she can like girlish things and still be a martial artist.]]
** WAY before Itsuki, there's also Tsubomi, who is shanghai'd by Erika in the very first episode for a makeover, changing her ponytail into twintails.
* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** As a little girl and young teenager, Ukraine had long hair and kept it in a [[GirlishPigtails braided]] PrimAndProperBun. As an adult, she has it in a bob ([[ImportantHairAccessory plus a hairband and hairpins]]), probably for practical reasons since she's implied to work as a farmer.
** This is a little harder to spot, but around the same time, Ukraine had her hair long, child!Belarus used to have shoulder-level MessyHair tied with a white headband. As an older nation, her hair is waist-level and noticeably straighter but still kept with a band (a black one in her case).
** When Hungary was young and thought she was a boy, she had a very short ponytail. In the infamous InnocentFanserviceGirl scene with ChivalrousPervert Prussia, she still dresses as a boy but her 'tail is ''much'' longer. When she grows up into a NinjaMaid, she keeps it loose - and in modern days, she still wears it like that.
** Liechtenstein, when was little, had her hair in a long braid or in twin braids. She cut it off some time after meeting Switzerland, [[WellDoneSonGuy as part of her desire to prove herself to him]].
** Parodied when England tries to pull one in his childhood by growing his hair long. SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occurs when it turns out extremely messy since he only grew it out, without actually putting any care in it. He then asks [[TheDandy France]] to give him one instead... and France proceeds to cut it back to its original style, claiming it's what fits England the best.
** Czech Republic/Czechia had hair in GirlishPigtails as a young nation under Austria and Hungary's care/thumb, but by the time she and Slovakia managed to be independent she switched to a long-ish bob.
* In ''Manga/HoshiWaUtau'' Sakuya's hair grows longer and longer in each volume [[spoiler:until she cuts it short again.]]
* In ''Manhwa/IWish'', K starts off the series with his hair tied back with several hairties. He slowly starts wearing them less and simply letting his hair down and remain open as he begins to warm up to Lyu-Jin. [[spoiler: He reverts back to the hairties when Seven removes his love for Lyu-Jin in the final few chapters.]]
* ''Anime/{{K}}'':
** The AllPowerfulBystander Silver King, Adolf K. Weismann, has let his hair grow to past his knees in the 70 years he's been living in his airship as an immortal hermit after the trauma of [[AngstySurvivingTwin losing his sister]] in the bombing of Dresden during World War II. [[spoiler: In the end of the second season, when he returns to his body, he cuts it back to the length it was before he became immortal.]]
** In the movie that takes place between seasons 1 and 2, Kuroh wears his hair down from his usual SamuraiPonytail, while he's searching for his lost master.
* Most characters in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' are shown with different hairstyles in the past, but only a few have any real significance.
** Kaguya has her hair tied up in the present, but flashbacks ([[GhostInTheMachine and the mental representation of her cold side]]) have it down. She presumably switched around the time she fell in love with Shirogane.
** Shirogane's hair is significantly messier in the present compared to flashbacks. It's bedhead that he doesn't have the time to fix in the morning since he gets so little sleep due to his increased workload.
** Ishigami's hair used to be a lot shorter in middle school. He grew out PeekABangs in order to shut himself off from the world.
** Inverted with Iino. The fact that she has HairstyleInertia helps reflect the fact that she still has the exact same mindset that she did as a child.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** Teana Lanster sports GirlishPigtails in the third season. Later, she starts wearing her hair loose, indicating that she has outgrown the [[YoungGun reckless tendencies]] she exhibited earlier in the story.
** Nanoha and Fate don't sport GirlishPigtails in their MagicalGirl forms anymore, since the end of the ''[=StrikerS=]'' manga, demonstrating that they are not girls anymore, but women ([[HasTwoMommies with a daughter]]).
* In ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'', [[TheOjou Meiko Akizuki]] has long straight hair, but once she starts dating Namura-sensei, she starts perming it and keeps it that way.
* Flashbacks in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' show that Elma's hair used to be a lot longer. While it's never specified why she changed it, it's worth pointing out that she was last seen with long hair [[WeUsedToBeFriends during her falling out with Tohru]].
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'':
** In the second season, [[spoiler:Feldt Grace starts wearing her hair in a style similar to her dead best friend Christina Sierra.]]
** In the trailers for TheMovie, ''several'' people have gone through hairstyle changes. [[spoiler:Louise grows her hair back to its old length, Saji keeps his slightly longer, Soma/Marie braids hers now, Mileina replaced the GirlishPigtails with a simple headband, Allelujah sports a ''really'' long ponytail... and Feldt ''cut'' her hair and looks like [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Lunamaria Hawke]].]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0WNe6BrTbc See it here!]] (Warning, aside of the already mentioned style changes, there are ''many'' spoilers)
* In ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', the protagonist Kenzo Tenma goes from an immaculately groomed woobie to a scruffy, stubbled, long-haired badass. Pictured above.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Sakura's ImportantHaircut happened early in the manga and signified her no longer wanting to be TheLoad. She keeps the short hair into adulthood, though it's slightly longer (however not as long as her original style). Prior to the manga, Sakura had short hair, however, she grew it out before becoming a ninja because she heard that Sasuke liked girls with long hair.
** Averted with Ino. She cut her hair in the chunin exams as a part of a trap. While afterwards, she rekindled her relationship with Sakura, she doesn't actually keep the short hair for long, If anything she grew out her ponytail even longer.
** Hanabi is shown to have had this occur. As a toddler her hair was short but she grew it out. After she puts her [[BigBrotherWorship beloved sister]] on a BrokenPedestal it's shown she cut her hair. In between ''Shippuden'' and ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'' movie she [[LongHairIsFeminine grew out her hair]] and became [[TheFashionista fashion savvy]] after she TookALevelInCheerfulness.
** Hinata sported chin-length hair at first but following the timeskip, she grew out her hair to mid-length and since ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'', she now sports a shoulder-length bob.
** Naruto himself cuts his hair short [[spoiler:after he becomes Hokage, capping off his journey from the lowest of the low to the highest authority figure in Konoha.]]
* ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'':
** Nausicaä doesn't do this in the movie, but in the manga she has her hair cut from shoulder length to just below her ears as she prepares to go to war, symbolizing the end of her innocent life.
** Later on in the manga, Princess Kushana, who originally sported a waist-length blonde braid wrapped around her head, chopped it off after she failed to rescue some of her soldiers — who had been assigned a task at odds with their training[[labelnote:†]] (Kushana trained them as elite cavalry specializing in quick attacks, but they were put on point defense; that's the equivalent of forcing Navy SEAL Team Six into a WWI trench)[[/labelnote]] and placed in an indefensible position by her brothers — as a show of solidarity as well as a promise to everyone that she would redouble her efforts to hunt down and kill the Princes of Torumekia.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'':
** Identical twins Hikaru and Kaoru parody this by dyeing their hair pink and blue wanting to be seen as different people. They really did it because they were bored, and even faked a fight to make it convincing. Played straight by Hikaru later in the manga when he dyes his hair darker after him and Kaoru really ''do'' have a fight [[spoiler:over their feelings for Haruhi]]. This is a huge step in character development for them, as they permanently want to be seen as separate people (although still Host together) – they even move into their own bedrooms. Near the end of the manga, Kaoru also starts growing his hair long, which differentiates the twins even more.
** Haruhi used to have long hair, but she accidentally glued her hair and ended up having to cut it short, hence why [[{{Bifauxnen}} the Host Club mistake her for a pretty boy at first]]. She keeps the hairstyle for most of the series to maintain her facade as a Host Club member, but after she transfers out of Ouran High, she begins to regrow her hair again.
* Shinichi Izumi from ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}''. The Maxim changes his hair partway through, to having his bangs pushed further back, generally making the character look more action-ready. The glasses are also ditched.
* In the ''XY'' series of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Serena cuts her hair [[spoiler: after losing her first Pokémon showcase and realizing she needs to better herself as a trainer. Combined with more casual clothes; this signifies her desire to have more confidence in herself and her abilities]].
* ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'':
** Hikaru Amane, a.k.a. Dabide from Rokkaku is a natural redhead who's quite proud of his hair and takes care of it quite well, applying hair wax to it every day. When Amane gets serious in his games, he takes a rubber band and ties his hair up; you can expect him to play [[LetsGetDangerous at his very full strength]] from then on.
** Kippei Tachibana used to dye his long hair blonde until a traumatic incident [[spoiler: where he almost [[EyeScream blinded]] his best friend.]] In penance, he shaved his hair and went back to his natural black hair color. He starts dyeing his hair again after [[spoiler: Fudomine Middle School makes it to the Nationals under his leadership.]]
* The 10th episode of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' reveals that Homura used to be [[spoiler:a nerdy, shy girl with glasses and huge braids. After sticking herself in a GroundhogDayLoop to save her friend, and seeing the situation get worse when its full horror is revealed, she wakes up at the start of a new loop with a speech affirming her determination to fight alone and win at the end, while untying her hair and fixing her eyes with magic]], becoming the [[ZenSurvivor stern badass]] we'd known up to that point.
* Tart in ''Manga/PuellaMagiTartMagica'' does this [[spoiler: following the massacre of her village and her decision to make a contract and become a magical girl]].
* In the first episode of ''Anime/PumpkinScissors'' Alice is shown with braids at her military academy graduation just as war is ended. FlashForward a few years and the braids are gone and she's in the War Relief squadron still cleaning up from the battles.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
** Akane starts the series with hair at about mid-back length, but it gets sliced off to about neck-level during Ranma's initial battle with Ryoga, resulting in a new hairstyle. Almost immediately afterwards, she gets over her long-standing crush on Dr. Tofu (which she knew would always be unrequited, considering his own feelings for her sister, Kasumi) and decides not to grow her hair back. Therefore, it could be argued that, in addition to a TraumaticHaircut, the new hairdo doubles as an Expository Hairstyle Change that signifies her decision to accept that nothing would come of it and move on.
** Ranma's pre-story switch from a ponytail (in the flashbacks) to a pigtail. The Dragon Whisker story arc explains the very good reason behind it.
* In the third ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' movie, nearly everyone aside from [[spoiler:Gendo and the pilots]] gets a new hairstyle and outfit, to mark the [[spoiler:14-year-TimeSkip.]] Also, [[spoiler:the newly-introduced fresh]] Rei [[spoiler:clone]] has the bangs in the middle of her forehead intersecting or in two distinct points, especially after TheReveal.
* ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' has another example that requires knowledge of Japanese customs: Jin's very long bangs/sideburns plus long ponytail are a strange hairstyle for a samurai. Most other samurai in the series either have the short bangs plus ponytail style suitable for teenagers and apprentices or the tonsured style favored by older men, especially bureaucrats. When we start seeing Jin's backstory flashbacks, it becomes clear that he used to have the apprentice style, but stopped cutting it after he became a ronin. His bangs have gone from above his eyebrows to his jawline, suggesting that the time between the flashbacks and the main series timeline is about 3-6 months.
* Kenji Harima from ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' explains his present appearance sporting a moustache and goatee because of the fact that [[spoiler:he wishes to hide his original appearance so Tenma won't recognize him as the boy who rescued her from an incident long ago. She doesn't remember this said event anyway, though.]]
* ''Manga/SkipBeat''
** Kyoko Mogami pulls one on at the end of the first chapter. She's introduced with black hair that reaches past her shoulder blades and appears to be kind to a fault and utterly devoted to her childhood friend, Shou Fuwa, meekly waiting for him to return her romantic feelings. When he admits that he never saw her as more than a maid, Kyoko vows revenge by entering the show business and gets her hair cut to chin-length and dyed chestnut-brown, showing her true colors as a determined, [[WomanScorned scorned woman]] that will stop at nothing to get Shou to kneel before her.
** Done in-universe for the ''[[ShowWithinAShow Dark Moon]]'' character of Mio, the role that Kyoko plays. Mio is the unfavorite daughter from a rich family, with a large facial scar, and torments her cousin. The original hairstyle was a simple HimeCut that mostly hid the scar, but when Kyoko created her own version of Mio, who is much more in-your-face with Mio's hatred for Mizuki, she got her bleached hair dyed back to black and openly displayed the facial scar.
* ''Manga/SlamDunk'':
** Hanamichi Sakuragi starts out with a red-dyed DelinquentHair. Halfway through the story, he shaves his hair almost bald after losing the match against Kainan. This signals that he gets more serious about his role in the team.
** Hisashi Mitsui had mid-length hair when he was in junior high and during his first year in Shohoku. He grew his hair past shoulder length in the two years he spent as a delinquent, and upon returning to the basketball club he cuts his hair short.
* Kumiko from ''Literature/SoundEuphonium'' tries to invoke this in the first episode. As she begins high school, she pulls her wavy hair into a ponytail in order to symbolize a new, more mature her. Subverted when she almost instantly does away with the ponytail afterwards. She's pretty much never shown with that hairstyle outside of the first episode.
* In the Manhwa ''Manhwa/TheTarotCafe'', the protagonist Pamela has very curly hair in the present and wavy hair in flashbacks. This is not due to modern hairstyle technology but because [[spoiler: after she became immortal four hundred-odd years ago she tried to find a way to die -- one of them being getting struck by lightning, which permanently frazzled her hair. It's a little after that that she decides to live.]]
* In one of the ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' manga, Ayeka ends up changing her hair from the usual purple and straight style she's usually seen in to the light blue and curled similar to what Sasami has, though only temporary, as Sasami was homesick. As it turned out, the blue hair and curled hair was ''Ayeka's real style'', inherited from her ActionMom Misaki; she had it modified like that in her belief that Yosho would fall in love with her more if she resembled the person ''he'' thought was the perfect woman - his mother, Queen Funaho. She later states that, despite falling for Tenchi now, she'd rather keep it as that purple style due to the fact that she ''actually'' enjoys it now.
* Every single character in ''Manga/TokyoRevengers'' has different hairstyles in the past and present, with the exception of Naoto, whose change is noted by his mature looks and height.
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': [[WideEyedIdealist Bam]] goes from his adorably messy hair to BlindingBangs concealing his shiny gold eyes and growing long hair, indicating his loss of trust and idealism and his gain of awesome ass-kicking powers.
* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'':
** After Vash [[spoiler: shoots the goddamned moon and does serious damage to a city]], Wolfwood finds him living under the name Ericks with long hair and the beginnings of a beard. After Vash comes out of his TenMinuteRetirement he gets his hair cut, returning it to the upright "broom" style the audience is familiar with.
** Also, Plants like Vash and Knives all have blonde hair at birth, which [[spoiler:slowly turns black the more they use that {{BFG}} within their arm.]] So at the start of the ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' manga, Vash is a happy-go-lucky blondie, but at the beginning of ''Trigun Maximum'', once his hair is cut and he returns to action we see he sports a shock of black at the very back of his scalp below his ears. By the end of the manga, his hair is almost completely black.
* In ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' the growth of Fay's hair coincides with the GrowingTheBeard segment and shows that he's taken a darker turn, while the rest of the cast apparently went to a barber off-panel during the same period. This also happened when [[spoiler:he was younger and imprisoned with his twin, and we know it's been a long time since they go from short hair to waist-length within a few pages]].
* In ''Manga/{{Uzumaki}}'', Kirie cuts her long hair to ear length when it gets infected with spirals. This is the same time that she finally comes to accept that the events in the town aren't normal.
* ''Manga/VampireKnight'':
** This happens to Yuuki Cross when [[spoiler:her [[BrotherSisterIncest brother/boyfriend]] Kaname reverts her to her true pureblood vampire form. As a human, she had normal shoulder-length hair, and as a vampire, grows long hair very quickly]].
** Once he starts acting more like his former [[spoiler:badass vampire hunter]] self, Kaien Cross takes his hair out of its customary ponytail to return it to the way he used to wear it before.
* ''Manga/WanderingSon'':
** Nitori grows her hair into a bob after she starts getting bullied for [[spoiler:wearing the girl's uniform to school]]. She cuts it short, not because of a dramatic change like her friends think, but because she thought it was getting a bit long for a boy and wanted to emulate a female celebrity with a pixie cut.
** Kanako has worn pigtails her entire life. She takes them out in high school as a sign of her maturing.
** Takatsuki has always worn his hair in varying lengths ranging from pixie length to bob length. In high school, he grows it out [[spoiler:which correlates with his confusion and doubts about his gender identity]].
* ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'':
** Whenever Keima's mom gets angry, she lets her hair fall out of its bun and goes from sweet, kind, and relaxed mother to hot and hotblooded ex-biker gang lady.
** Keima's childhood friend Tenri originally has BlindingBangs, but has them cut to represent her slowly developing confidence.
* In ''Anime/XamdLostMemories,'' Akiyuki's hair grows out from a short cut to a more shaggy look as he matures throughout the series and learns to cope with being a Xam'd.
* ''Manga/YourLieInApril'':
** Hiroko had longer hair in the past but divorced her husband and cut it because, according to her, women change hairstyles when they change men.
** Kaori [[spoiler:wore GirlishPigtails and [[{{meganekko}} had glasses]]]] once but she let her hair down and [[spoiler:[[TheGlassesGottaGo started wearing contacts]]]] when she [[spoiler:decided to befriend Kousei, the boy she had been admiring for years]].
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