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A particular hairstyle common to anime and manga heroines (particularly Chinese ones, although in China the style is called "ox horn") that involves styling one's hair into two spherical buns worn at about 45 degree angles on the side of the head. This can make them look similar to Mickey mouse ears depending on how simplified they're drawn. The buns themselves are often given cloth covers tied with ribbons. The traditional definition of Odango as used by The Other Wiki only counts them if they have twin tails coming down from the buns, but we have broadened the definition to allow the style without the tails.
There is also a less common variation of this style where the buns themselves have a triangular (or conical) shape, which can make someone look like a Cat Girl at first sight.
The style has spread into the real world among fans of the aforementioned heroines. Naoko Takeuchi, creator of Sailor Moon, famously wore odango.
If the Character isn't Chinese, expect them to be the really innocent, polite type, while the style with Twin Tails are mostly worn by Tsundere.
The style is named after the odango, a sweet dumpling eaten on a skewer as a Japanese snack, traditionally served at hanami (cherry blossom and flower viewing festivals.) Compare Horned Hairdo and Prim and Proper Bun.
Examples
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Anime & Manga
- Sailor Moon
- Sailor Moon herself, who earned the nickname "odango atama" ("dumpling-head"; the dub version refers to her as "meatball-head") for her odango (and Expressive Hair), which she wears in the Girlish Pigtails variation. Her counterpart in the live-action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon demonstrates both realistic and unrealistic odango hairstyles.
- Various other characters also have them in their hairstyle: Queen Serenity, Human Luna (Both Manga/Anime version and Live-action), Human Diana, Chibi-Usa, Chibi Chibi, Sailor Cosmos, and Queen Nehellenia and the Non-canon Kousagi.
- The creator, Naoko Takeuchi, used to wear her hair like Sailor Moon's before important exams during college, so she incorporated it into her heroine.
- Shampoo from Ranma ˝, as well as her tribe sisters Linlin and Ranran in the anime.
- Maruko from Chibi Maruko Chan had her hair like this, with no tails and without its being covered up, when she went to the Momoe-chan concert.
- Linn Minmei from Super Dimension Fortress Macross.
- Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi.
- Aeru from Simoun.
- Alvis Hamilton from Last Exile.
- Mei, Naru's little stepsister in Love Hina.
- Katase Shima from Stellvia of the Universe.
- Li Mei-ling from the anime adaptation of Card Captor Sakura.
- Aizawa Minto/Mew Mint from Tokyo Mew Mew.
- Anita King from ROD The TV. Though Anita doesn't actually have hair buns, she just wears empty covers on her hair sometimes.
- Tenten from Naruto. Otherwise known as the only female character in Naruto with a practical hair style.
- Ojamajo Doremi
- The title character has a very unrealistic odango set. The enormous size of Doremi's Odango was toned down a little starting with "Motto!" They are still rather large, but it's kind of justified, since her hair actually reaches down to her waist and has a lot of volume.
- And when she gets her fairy Dodo, Dodo has odango to match, which made for problems when she was learning how to make herself invisible.
- Meow from Kazemakase: Tsukikage Ran, being Chinese and all.
- Hiro from Hidamari Sketch. She was annoyed that she couldn't braid her hair into these when it's humid, and Miyako once say Hiro's odango as cream puffs in one episode, when Hiro's class was making cream puffs in the home economics class.
- Fumika Narutaki and Chao of Mahou Sensei Negima!.
- Suzume from Hyakko
- Haruhi Suzumiya started with Odango as one of her hairstyles. They vanished as soon as she founded the SOS Brigade, however.
- Background character Manami from Shugo Chara! wears her hair in a similar style as Mint and Doremi.
- Gundam
- Miki "Nodamiki" Noda from GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class.
- Miyako from Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z has an Edo-style counterpart, Omiya, a member from the Oedo Chaki Chaki Girls. She has this hairstyle plus a flower.
- In Full Metal Panic, the Chinese Girl Xia Yu Lan wears her hair in this hairstyle during a mission.
- A bird girl with odango feathers appeared in one episode of Fushigiboshi no Futagohime.
- In episode 9 of Darker Than Black, Misaki's Chinese friend Alice Wang dresses her up in a qípáo and odango for a party.
- Kagura from Gintama has these, sort of. She has two bun covers on either side of her head, but when her hair is down, it's quite short, so it might not fill up her bun covers.
- May Chang from Fullmetal Alchemist has these. She also has a little panda.
- Karna from Niea_7 has these in line with her "Chinese girl" persona — complete with panda print.
- A rather comical male example: Gourry Gabriev from Slayers gets his hair done up this way whenever he gets put in a dress every 17 episodes or so.
- Chihiro of Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin (a.k.a. Occult Academy) wears an odd/distinctive odango hair style. She immediately falls in love with Fumiaki when he compliments her hair, something no one had ever done before.
- Kasen of Wild and Horned Hermit has these. Or the covers, at least. It's considerably more likely to be (the remains of) horns than hair under them.
- Nozomi gets a pair of donut-like ones as Cure Dream in Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and its sequel, GoGo.
- The title character from Vampire Princess Miyu has one odango (also with a pigtail hanging from it), on her left side.
- Yuru-Yuri: Akari gets these, in Imagine Spots they are detachable, shoot lasers and generally act like two Attack Drones.
- Akira Katou from Team Medical Dragon.
- Momo Hinamori from Bleach.
- The iDOLM@STER
- Miki uses this on the Live for You OVA.
- Kasumi, Yayoi's sister, sports this too.
- Tekkanomakichan from Anpanman has an interesting case of these: hers are tall cylinders...and are actually pieces of rolled tuna sushi!
- Tiger & Bunny has Dragon Kid have this while in her hero costume.
Film
Literature
Live-Action TV
- Kaylee (Jewel Staite) of Firefly and Serenity wears her hair in this fashion on occasion. And of course, it's adorable.
- The Australian comedy series The Late Show didn't miss their opportunity to spoof this style in "The Olden Days" (a Gag Dub of "Rush").
Judge Muttonchops: "Excuse me, has anyone seen those two bread rolls?"
Society Lady (with hairbuns over her ears): "I'm sorry, I can't hear a word you're saying."
- Jen from Power Rangers Time Force has her hair done like this when she is acting out a Wuxia film in one episode.
Toys
Video Games
- Chun-Li from the Street Fighter series is probably the quintessential fighting game example.
- Mei Fang from Arcana Heart.
- Fitz from Atelier Annie.
- The Legend of Zelda
- The oracle Farore. Also the only Oracle to wear her hair in a different style than her corresponding golden goddess. (The goddess Farore is usually depicted with short-cut hair, wearing flowers where the oracle has her Odangos.)
- Tetra's infamous curl could be seen as a form of Odango as well. (Due to the highly stylized nature of the game's art, it's hard to tell.)
- Eudy in Yggdra Union.
- In The King of Fighters 2000, Athena has this hairstyle.
- The Sims 2 has this among its starter hairstyles, which include one or two less Asian-looking ones.
- Kings Quest: Princess Rosella wears this look on her wedding in the Fan Sequel The Silver Lining.
- In Final Fantasy V, Lenna wears her hair in this style while using the Monk class.
- Argilla from Digital Devil Saga wears this hairstyle.
- As does Black Whirlwind
 ◊ from Jade Empire. However, he is rather unlike the others on this list, in several respects.
- The Twin Tail style is a choice for custom characters in Mortal Kombat Armageddon. It's clearly inspired by Sailor Moon; the style is called "Anime" in game.
- Pokémon
- Fantina from Pokemon Diamond And Pearl has four of them.
- Rosa, the female protagonist from Pokémon Black 2 and White 2.
- There's also the rabbit-based pokemon Buneary, whose name is derived from its habit of curling its ear into the shape of a bun on the side of its head. When it has both ears curled, it has the appearance of a girl wearing her hair in this style. Oddly, even the males of the species do this.
- Triss Merigold adopts this hair style in The Witcher 2.
Visual Novels
- Maya Fey and Ema Skye in the Ace Attorney series both wore small Odango when they were teenagers. Once grown up, Ema switched hers for a ponytail.
- Kokoro Fushikawa in Maji De Watashi Ni Koi Shinasai always sports this hairstyle, in the Girlish Pigtails version, fitting her personality.
- Yuuko Shirakawa from Katawa Shoujo wears her hair in this style whenever she's working part time at the Shangai teahouse.
Web Comics
Western Animation
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