In Japanese society, a method for identifying the leader of a group - be it the leader of an
Ouendan or a club or group president - is to look for the red armband on the left or right arm. The armband has the name of the group printed on it.
For westerners, associations might come out wrong.
Very wrong.
Examples:
- Haruhi Suzumiya, leader of the "S.O.S" Brigade in the anime The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya. She wears several of these, declaring her as Chief, Ultra Detective, or whatever her current role is. She also makes an orange one for her deputy cheif.
- A videogame example: The lead character in the game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (depending on the difficulty level) will wear an armband, with the name of the group on it.
- Mikan wears a red armband to take the stage to run the student council meeting in the first episode of Manabi Straight.
- Spoofed in Jubei-chan 2, when the former rival now comic relief Shiro Ryujoji has a red armband that states he's not the leader; he recently got into High School so isn't in charge anymore. He assures everyone including the audience that the armband will be real next year, really.
- Mendo in Urusei Yatsura leads the "Shadow Scholastic Life Leaders", a group of teachers' pets that use red armbands when trying to apprehend students trying to sneak out to buy lunch during school.
- In Persona 3 (at least the US version), everyone in SEES wears one when participating in "club activities."
- The teacher penguin in Super Mario Galaxy wears one.
- In Phoenix Wright 3, Larry wears one of these while working as a security guard. In the localized versions, it's removed.
- The creepy old teacher in Pani Poni Dash always wears one. What it says changes every time it's seen.
- Seen on the leader of the Tokyo University Oendan Naru joins briefly in Love Hina.
- Hibari and the rest of the Disciplinary Committee on Katekyo Hitman Reborn wear them.
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann's Simon wears a red armband which used to be part of Kamina's cloak. He didn't become a leader until rebooting from his Heroic BSOD, but after that point, it was incredibly appropriate.
- I also saw it as symbolizing his bond with Kamina, and after Kamina's death, as something to remember him by.
- Something of a subversion in that Simon just grabs a stray piece of cloth and ties it to his arm on a whim early in the series, long before he's the leader of anything. Only later does the band become a symbol of his office, as well as an item of great personal significance.
- In The Wheel Of Time, Mat Cauthon appoints some members of his personal army (on a rotating schedule, so that everyone gets a turn) to wear red bands on their arms and act as police within the army. If a soldier gets in trouble, the redarm has to pay part of his recompense.
- During the summer festival, Evangeline wears an armband as "Honorary Advisor" to the Ala Alba.
- Tetsu Ushio in the Yu Gi Oh manga and Toei anime, as leader of the Morals Group, sports one of these.
- Life Imitates Art: At Anime Punch
, an Ohio anime convention, all members of convention staff wear red armbands. (Mostly to make them easily spotted by attendees.)
- Medaka Kurokami, at the start of Medaka Box, wears one as the Student Council president. She also wears all the other armbands (at the same time) because she's the only member of the Student Council. Later she gives the General Affairs Manager armband to Zenkichi, which still leaves her with four.
- One of the best accessories in Persona 4 is a "Paper Armband".
- Michael Jackson, yeah really, Michael Jackson went through that period of having pseudo-militaristic costumes with double breasted jackets and the ilk. Some elements he would carry through everything he wore including an armband of leadership. You can see this especially in Moonwalker where he'll be in '30s gangster pimp clothes and preppy jumpers but still have that armband. Cause he's the King of Pop?
- For The Next Karate Kid they needed to make the opposing karate student character that each film got fit into a high school Jerk Jock mold. Since there is possibly no high school in the Western hemisphere where the top karate student ends up at the top of the pecking order they made up some weird paramilitary hall monitor discplinary team who gained automatic power over all other students by running around wearing scary black armbands.
