History Main / ShonenHair

* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': Spike Spiegel has hair that sticks out all over the place, but it's more curly than spiky. (Faye at one point describes it as "fluffy".)

* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'': At least one kid from each series, usually the protagonist, who'll be hot-headed and immature, and also wear useless goggles.

* The ''Music/{{Vocaloid}} character Kagamine Len has this kind of hairstyle, although fanart tends to tone it down.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Touma Kamijou. In a bit of a subversion, Touma actually deliberately styles it that way with hair gel.

* The title character in ''CecilBDemented'' has total ShonenHair.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'''s Paladin!Cecil in sprite form, he's a LongHairedPrettyBoy otherwise, Edge in all forms.

* Jeff, in the EasterEgg of ''WebAnimation/BowsersKingdom'' episode 8, gains this when he ate the [[SonicTheHedgehog Chaos Emerald]] and fights [[SuperMarioBrosZ Turbo Mecha Sonic]] on an even level.

* ''{{Pretear}}'': [[HotBlooded Goh]] and [[BrattyHalfPint Mannen]].

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'': The Saiyans have Shonen Hair as a genetic trait to the point that a pure-blooded Saiyan's hair literally never changes from the day they're born. All too fitting for a barbaric race of space-faring cavemen.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' - while Kamina's hair is this trope played straight, Simon is an interesting example - his hairstyle becomes more and more like this each time he [[TookALevelInBadass Takes a Level in Badass]].
* Manga/{{Naruto}}, and a few of his friends, like Kiba.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''.

* Jotaro Kujo from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' was revealed to have this when he lost his cap.

* And both Ken and Ryo from ''Anime/MazinkaiserSKL''.
* At least one kid from each ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' series. Typically the one with the goggles (but not always!)
* Loads of characters in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''.

* Iki from ''Manga/AirGear''.
* Shobu Kirifuda from ''Anime/DuelMasters''.
* Practically a ''staple'' of the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' universe:

*** Take a long look at a group pic of The Enforcers and see if you can match up these names: [[FanNickname Crabhead]], Sea Urchin, Broomstick, and (after his second appearance) [[spoiler: Sephiroth]].
** And then ''[[Anime/YuGiOhZexal Zexal]]'''s Yuma manages to completely [[UpToEleven out-crazy pretty much every hairstyle in the series]] [[spoiler: - and that's [[PowerMakesYourHairGrow before he enters]] SuperMode!]]
* Darren has this in the manga adaptation of ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'', at least when he's not bald.
* Battler Ushiromiya from ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', despite the fact that it's not a shonen.
* Main character from ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}''.
* Most of protagonists and villains in ''Manga/SaintSeiya''.
* In the [[WordOfGod author's notes]] on ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Creator/NobuhiroWatsuki explicitly mentions that [[KidSamurai Yahiko's]] character design is that of the archetypical wild-haired Shonen Protagonist, and [[TheLancer Sano's]] hair is so crazy he gets called "Rooster-head" InUniverse. (Interestingly enough, as the series progresses, Kenshin's hair grows progressively ''less'' wild. ArtShift that doubles as a sign of CharacterDevelopment!)
* Several characters from ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' have hair like this, including Sena, Monta and Hiruma. The series lampshades the trope: Sena's hair is a cross between Goku's and Astro Boy's. Sena looks exactly like Astro Boy with his hair gelled down and his dad has the same hairdo. Hiruma actually has normal hair but styles his hair this way to add to his rebellious image. As for Monta, he's simply copying the hairstyle of his hero, who has a less cartoony version of the haircut.
* Joshua Christopher from ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', although it's much more toned down than some of the other examples on this page. (He pretty much fits the personality for this trope to a T.) [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Chrono]] might count, too, although he's got a long braid at the base of his neck in addition to the spiky hair on his head.
* Almost ''all'' of the male cast of ''Manga/DNAngel''. Particularly notable because this is a ''{{shojo}}'' manga, not shounen (although it certainly mixes in tropes from that genre).
* Chris in ''Anime/{{Superbook}}''.
* Spike Spiegel in ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' has hair that sticks out all over the place, but it's more curly than spiky. (Faye at one point describes it as "fluffy".)
** As does his ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' counterpart, Mugen.
* The Hitachiin twins in ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub''. Seems to be intentionally {{invoked}} by the twins -- flashbacks show that before they joined the Host Club they had identical bowl cuts instead of the wild, spiky haircuts they have in present day, and they're considered the "Devil" type in the host club and are ''supposed'' to be a little wild.
** This fits better for the anime. Their hair looks much more natural and isn't quite as poofed out in the manga, although it's obvious they usually style it with hair gel.
* In ''Manga/BladeOfTheImmortal'', which is fairly realistic and features normal haircuts for almost all of the main and supporting characters, AntiVillain Magatsu Taito looks like he's carrying a porcupine on his head. We're talking foot-long spikes. It doesn't go unnoticed. At one point, somebody mentions InUniverse that hair like that will be [[GenreSavvy popular in a couple hundred years]].
* [[HotBlooded Goh]] and [[BrattyHalfPint Mannen]] in ''{{Pretear}}''.
* Tamahome and Tasuki from ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'', as opposed to just about everyone else. Bonus points because Tamahome keeps his hair in a ponytail anyway. Of course, that was before the [[MoralEventHorizon you]][[ImportantHaircut -know-]][[HeroicBSOD what]] involving Suboshi in the middle of the series.
* Soul and Black☆Star from ''Manga/SoulEater''.

* Hayato Kazami, Naoki Shinjyo and Johji Ohtomo in ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'' have these. Hayato's is more noticeable, and it gets bigger in the last 2 [=OVAs=].
* Touma Kamijou from ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex''. In a bit of a subversion, Touma actually deliberately styles it that way with hair gel.
* ''Manga/FairyTail'': [[TheHero Natsu]], [[TheLancer Gray]], and [[TheRival Gajeel]] all have this hairstyle.
** Whenever Natsu is in the middle of a hard battle, his bangs go down because of the damage he takes. During the Tenro Island arc, he even uses his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic to heat up his hands to style his hair to its usual style.
* A lot of characters in ''Manga/GetBackers''; most notably the two protagonists, and ''especially'' Ban (though being drenched leads to his hair becoming completely tamed...for a while).
* [[AntiHero Hiei]] of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' has this to a T. He looks like an emo [[Anime/DragonBallZ Super-Saiyan]].
* ''Anime/SuitePrettyCure'' has a rare female example with the side character Waon Nishijima.
* Manga/{{Hamlet}} has this.
* In ''AudioPlay/SaintBeast'', unlike most of his counterparts who have [[YouGottaHaveblueHair unnatural hair colours]], Goh just gets a very spiky haircut.
* In ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'', Tsukune has shonen hair, but thanks to ArtEvolution, his hair looks more normal and straighter in later chapters of ''Season II''.
* In ''Anime/KillLaKill'', Sanageyama's hair seems to get more spiky with every new iteration of his uniform. By the time he gets to wearing Blade Regalia: Secret Unsealed, he's practically a Saiyan.
* ''Franchise/KagerouProject'': Shintaro, Hibiya, Seto and (to a lesser extent) Haruka all have this. In Shintaro and Haruka's cases, it's [[LampshadedTrope Lampshaded]] [[spoiler:by the same person, no less]].
* ''Anime/PanzerWorldGalient'': [[TheHero Jordy Volder]] has messy, spiky, blonde hair.

* Jeff, in the EasterEgg of ''BowsersKingdom'' episode 8, gains this when he ate the [[SonicTheHedgehog Chaos Emerald]] and fights [[SuperMarioBrosZ Turbo Mecha Sonic]] on an even level.

* ''VisualNovel/YoJinBo'' has Jin, whose hair is extremely messy. He's a HotBlooded RedHeadedHero, though, so we can forgive him for forgetting to brush it occasionally.

** Same goes for male ''Franchise/{{Fossil Fighters}}'' protagonists, except there are no exceptions yet. [[MindScrew Chew on that one.]]

* Battler Ushiromiya from ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'', despite the fact that it's not a shonen.

* ''SuitePrettyCure'' has a rare female example with the side character Waon Nishijima.

* The preview male sprite from the Japanese ''SquareEnix Members'' would have this when he dresses up as [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII Sorbet]] from ''Dive II Hunt'', which means Sorbet might have ShonenHair himself.

* Crono, the hot-headed hero of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''.

* In ''SaintBeast'', unlike most of his counterparts who have [[YouGottaHaveblueHair unnatural hair colours]], Goh just gets a very spiky haircut.

Specific case of AnimeHair, that happens often in {{Shonen}} series. One or more of the characters, usually a protagonist, have a specific hairstyle -- their hair is [[MessyHair always a mess]], sticks out on all sides, and often looks kind of [[SpikyHair spiky]]. This hairstyle often comes with {{Hot Blooded}}ness and/or a nature somewhere between rebel, free spirit and ChaoticGood. Somebody could assume it's supposed to symbolize the hero's disrespect for existing rules. Or his dislike for hairdressers. Generally, it looks like our hero doesn't put any effort in his hairstyle and just goes as they are.

* In BladeOfTheImmortal, which is fairly realistic and features normal haircuts for almost all of the main and supporting characters, AntiVillain Magatsu Taito looks like he's carrying a porcupine on his head. We're talking foot-long spikes. It doesn't go unnoticed. At one point, somebody mentions InUniverse that hair like that will be [[GenreSavvy popular in a couple hundred years]].

* [[ThePowerpuffGirls The Rowdyruff Boys]] sport this after Him brings them back to life, which the Girls immediately mock them for (calling it "mean hair").

* In the [[WordOfGod author's notes]] on ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', NobuhiroWatsuki explicitly mentions that [[KidSamurai Yahiko's]] character design is that of the archetypical wild-haired Shonen Protagonist, and [[TheLancer Sano's]] hair is so crazy he gets called "Rooster-head" InUniverse. (Interestingly enough, as the series progresses, Kenshin's hair grows progressively ''less'' wild. ArtShift that doubles as a sign of CharacterDevelopment!)

* Another [[KidHero Jin]], this time from ''ZettaiMutekiRaijinOh'', has this. Apart from his two other classmates Akira and [[TheSlacker Yoppa]], the rest of the main cast sport more or less normal hairstyles.

* Chris in ''{{Superbook}}''.

* ''KingdomOfLoathing'', parodying ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', gives us a Protagonist with spiky hair. As a justifying drop, his super-spiky hair gel gives this effect to the player: "Your hair is seriously spiky. It looks good, and it could put an eye out -- the eye of your foe." A specific Protagonist appears as a Quest NPC: [[{{Wangst}} Mist Angst]].