This trope has been popularized by classic film actress Veronica Lake, who showcased this hairstyle (at the time, it was called the "peek-a-boo") and created an image of sexiness and allure. These bangs are often associated with Femme Fatale, The Vamp, and other character archetypes that are known for using their sexuality and guile to get what they want.
See also Hiding Behind Your Bangs, which is when bangs are used to symbolize a character being asocial in some way or that they are hiding a part of themselves from the outside world.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Ayakashi Triangle: Matoi's hair covers her right eye, along with most of that side of her face, alluding to her sensuous nature. She's a Hot Teacher who attracts a lot of attention from her male students because of her physical appearance.
- Berserk: The bangs that cover one eye in the female apostle's human form make her look sultry and sexy, but also hint that she is deceitful. She's a Literal Maneater who uses her sex appeal to reel men in so that she can kill and eat them.
- Call of the Night: Niko Hirata's hair covers her left eye, emphasizing her sexiness.
- Chained Soldier: Chief Fubuki almost always has her long bangs covering the left side of her face, which aligns with her coy and sultry personality.
- Daimos: Melvi
◊ has long, messy, black hair that covers his left eye, the rest of his hair being restrained by a band. He also has shapely legs and prominent muscles, and enjoys flirting with the female lead of Daimos, Erika, though he's a Shipper on Deck for her and Kazuya.
- EDENS ZERO: Holy's long hair is often covering her left eye, giving her a sultry appearance that complements her seductive and flirtatious nature.
- Fairy Tail: Karen Lilica's right eye is always covered by her long green bangs, which aligns with her being a vain and sophisticated Proud Beauty.
- Food Wars!: Rindo Kobayashi's hair consistently drapes over her left eye, giving her an alluring appearance befitting her being The Tease. In fact, seeing her left eye exposed is a visual cue that she's dropping her flirtatious persona and is getting serious.
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Lust is one of the seven homunculi who was created by Father, the main antagonist of the series. She is a fairly tall, curvy woman with black hair, whose bangs partially cover her left eye. While Lust doesn't exhibit any personality traits based after her namesake, she does talk seductively to other people and has attempted to use her feminine charms to turn people against one another, trick them, or for the purposes of gathering information. Lust prefers wearing a form-fitting black dress that prominently displays her cleavage with high-heeled boots and elegant gloves.
- Gundam Build Divers: Magee is a flamboyant and alluring Agent Peacock and Pretty Boy whose bangs are swept to the side, often covering his right eye.
- Infinite Ryvius: The coy and seductive Criff Cay has her hair styled in a way that one side of her face is always covered by her long hair, enhancing her sultry looks.
- Jujutsu Kaisen: Mei Mei is a graceful and beautiful sorceress with a coy demeanor who often has her left eye concealed by her single braid.
- My Dress-Up Darling: Prisoner Veronica (one of the in-universe fictional characters that Kitagawa wants to cosplay as) has her right eye always covered by her bangs, which is only a small part of Veronica's sex appeal, given she's a scantily clad Nubile Savage.
- Naruto:
- Ino Yamanaka's post-Time Skip hairstyle has her bangs swept to the left side of her face and often covering her right eye to give her a more alluring appearance, aligning with her new Hotter and Sexier design and complementing her flirtatious attitude.
- Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi's right eye is always covered by her short bangs, fitting with her being an elegant beauty that has a playfully coy side.
- One Piece: Madame Shyarly has her left eye always covered by her bangs, which befits her sultry and sophisticated demeanor.
- Queen's Blade: Nyx's right eye is usually covered by her long hair, giving her a sultry aura that fits with the Hotter and Sexier appearance that she got once she acquired Funikura.
- Rave Master: Femme Fatale villainess Reina combs her hair to the side, leaving one of her eyes sexily covered at all times.
- Rokudou's Bad Girls: Ms. Fanservice Yui Yashiya almost always has one of her eyes covered by her red hair, as a sign of her passionate and erotic personality.
- Smile Pre Cure: In Majorina's younger form, she has green hair that covers one eye, and she's a flirtatious Hot Witch with an equally seductive voice to match.
- Yona of the Dawn: Jae-ha is the flirt of the team. He has green bangs that cover one eye, adding to his womanizing appeal.
- Yuri!!! on Ice: To hammer home Victor Nikiforov's extreme good looks and sex appeal, his silver bangs fall lazily over one eye.
Comic Books
- Batman: Having one bang covering an eye is a common hairstyle for villainous Femme Fatale Talia Al Ghul, symbolic of her seductive and duplicitous nature.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dyanna is a vampire madame who has bangs that often completely obscure her left eye. She is very flirtatious, runs a vampire brothel that specializes in bloodplay, and has no problem doing some sex work herself.
- Wonder Woman (1942): Priscilla Rich purposely wears her long wavy blond hair in a sultry loose style swept mostly over her left eye and cheek, as it not only fits with her vain Proud Beauty persona but also happens to cover the mole that's visible when she's dressed as Cheetah, thus hiding the fact she's the supervillain.
- X-Men (2013): Madelyne Pryor's design in this book had her bangs always keeping one of her eyes hidden, alluding to her seductive nature.
Films — Live-Action
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Jessica Rabbit is the film's Femme Fatale and Ms. Fanservice. She is introduced putting on a sexually-charged performance at the Ink and Paint Club where she works as a lounge singer, and the film makes no bones about how she has every man there enthralled. Her design perfectly reflects her sultry nature, including a red dress and side-bangs that usually cover her right eye.
Literature
- A Certain Magical Index: Femme Fatale Oriana Thomson's bangs often covers her right eye, giving her a sultry appearance. She uses her sex appeal with men to her advantage.
- The Eminence in Shadow: Sultry Hot Witch Aurora frequently has her left eye concealed by her long, dark hair.
- The Familiar of Zero: The flirtatious Kirche's bangs hang over her right eye. She is considered incredibly attractive by most male characters and she has no qualms with using her sex appeal to get what she wants.
- High School D×D: Yubelluna of Riser Phenex's Peerage is a sultry and elegant devil queen whose hairstyle has her right eyes covered up by her long bangs, making her look even more alluring.
- How Not to Summon a Demon Lord: Medios' bangs are always covering the right side of her face, which denotes her seductive, elegant, and sultry demeanor.
- Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Aisha Belka's long black hair is always covering the right side of her face, giving her a sultry appearance that compliments her being a skilled seductress and an Ethical Slut.
- So I'm a Spider, So What?: Succubi Demon commander Sanatoria is a voluptuous and sultry beauty who has the left half of her face covered by her long bangs, which only further enhances her sexual allure.
- Sword Art Online: Rosalia's bangs are frequently covering her right eye, giving her a sultry aura that fits with her being a villainous, lecherous, and seductive woman.
- The Witcher: Essi Daven, Geralt's Girl of the Week during "A Little Sacrifice", is nicknamed "Little Eye" for the sultry appearance that she has by having one of her beautiful eyes always covered up by her long tresses of hair.
Live-Action TV
- Star Trek: Enterprise: The episode "In A Mirror Darkly" has the Mirror Universe version Hoshi Sato who wears her hair over one eye, as befits her being a Femme Fatale with a Hotter and Sexier attitude compared to Hoshi Sato we known. Downplayed in that her hair doesn't completely cover the eye.
Manhua
- Tales of Demons and Gods: Yang Xin's hairstyle always hides half of her face, as appropriate for her status as a flirtatious, mature, and refined beauty.
Video Games
- Action Taimanin: Sexy Secretary-turned-Cyborg Saika Fuuma has her left eye always covered by her long tresses, giving her a sultry appearance.
- Dead Estate: Cordelia's eyes are perpetually out of sight due to her large bangs casting a shadow over them. She's also an extremely flirtatious Hot Witch whom the game frequently puts in sexy situations.
- Fate/Grand Order: This is actually played with. While there are many female characters with bangs, not everyone fulfills this trope. Bartholomew Roberts, however, is obsessed with males and females with bangs and casually asks anyone he encounters to grow their bangs so they look more attractive. In other words, he wants to invoke the trope on others for his personal fetish (though he never forces it).
- Fire Emblem:
- Fire Emblem Fates:
- Camilla, the elder Nohrian royal, is The Tease and Ms. Fanservice among the Nohrian cast and wears her lilac hair over her left eye. Which eye that's covered depends on the direction her in-game portrait is facing, although official artwork and her Private Quarters model show that it's supposed to be covering her left eye. Her left eye is only ever seen in Heroes in her Brave variation's special portrait, where it appears to be a perfectly ordinary eye.
- Shigure has his right eye always covered by his light blue hair, accentuating his sophisticated Pretty Boy looks. In his support with Sophie, she actually wonders if he can actually see with a hairstyle like that.
- Fire Emblem Engage: Both Zephia and her Alternate Self Zelestia are sensual Ms. Fanservice characters whose right eye is always covered by their bangs, which only strengthens their allure.
- Fire Emblem Fates:
- God Eater: Each of the Amamiya siblings have one of their eyes covered by their bangs (with Lindow getting his left eye covered while Tsubaki has her right eye covered), which befits the sophisticated allure and Tall, Dark, and Handsome appeal that makes them a Chick and Dude Magnet.
- Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1: Plutia's Sexier Alter Ego Iris Heart often has one of her eyes covered up by her hair, to give her a sultry look and complete her image as a sadistic Dominatrix.
- The King of Fighters: Shermie has bangs that cover her eyes. She is also very flirtatious, often strikes suggestive poses and has the largest bust in the games rivaled only by Ángel.
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: Mistral's left eye is usually covered by a long lock of her hair and she is the most sensual of the Winds of Destruction. She blows a kiss to Raiden when she catches him spying on her and the camera often focuses on her body.
- Throné from Octopath Traveler II has bangs that cover her right eye. She's a Ms. Fanservice thief who will use her good looks to get ahead in missions, such as in her first chapter, when she pretends to be a brothel girl to sneak into a mansion.
- Persona 3: Mitsuru's left eye is frequently hidden by her long red hair, giving her a sophisticated and alluring appearance befitting her role as The Beautiful Elite and being an In-Universe Head-Turning Beauty that effortlessly catches the attention of most male students at school.
- Pokémon: Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia has long blonde bangs that hide her left eye. While there are trainers who are noted for their exceptional beauty, Cynthia has been praised for her good looks, and the air of confidence and strength that she shows to back up her title as one of the single-most powerful champions in the entire franchise.
- In Potion Permit, Helene's wavy bangs cover her right eye, adding to her allure.
- Resident Evil: Revelations:
- Jessica Sherawat has a fringe that covers the right side of her face and directs the observer's attention to her exposed leg. Her flirtatious personality is blatant from her first appearance, as she hits on Chris while they are in the middle of a mission, and later teases Parker by saying he can reward her assistance by taking her out to dinner. Subverted once she is revealed to be The Mole, as it becomes clear that her hairstyle is meant to be representative of her deceptive nature.
- Zig-zagged with Rachael Foley, whose eyes are covered by her long fringe. The lack of defined facial features leads the viewer to focus on her Stripperiffic outfit, which has an exaggerated Cleavage Window. Once she mutates into an Ooze, her bangs are replaced by grotesque lumps of flesh, which instead serve to accentuate the Body Horror she went through.
- Skullgirls: One of Parasoul's eyes is always covered by her side bang (which eye is covering can vary due to Ambidextrous Sprite being in effect and official artwork also being inconsistent), which gives her an allure that compliments the "mature and elegant beauty" nature of her design.
- Soul Series:
- Ivy Valentine's bangs are often covering her left eye, giving her a sultry appearance that compliments her image as a sophisticated Dominatrix.
- Shura from IV frequently has her left eye covered by the fringe that goes down her face, which helps give her a seductive aura that enhances her suggestive and sexually aggressive nature.
- Suikoden:
- Recurring Character Jeane is a flirtatious Hot Witch who often has her hair falling sexily over one eye.
- Lady Sialeeds Falenas in Suikoden V wears her tousled, honey-blonde hair in a high ponytail that falls (sexily) over one side of her face, complementing her status as an elegant and regal beauty.
- In Triangle Strategy, Milo's hair covers the right side of her face, and she's a dancer who wears a very Stripperiffic outfit. She also loves flirting with Serenoa just to make him uncomfortable.
- Undertale: Mettaton's EX form is that of a Pretty Boy with a sexualized Agent Peacock personality, and to help accentuate the sultry image, that form gains hair whose bangs cover up his right eye. He loses that hairstyle in his NEO form, which reveals that his robotic right eye was actually incomplete.
Visual Novel
- Majikoi! Love Me Seriously!: Ami Itagaki is a sultry Sadist with a BDSM kink whose bangs keep her right eye covered.
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: The flirtatious Angel Starr always has one of her eyes covered by her long hair, giving her a sultry allure that she exploits as much as she can. When she gets pissed, she does a Hair Flip that covers her other eye, and changes her attitude from coy to fierce and gains a Dominatrix demeanor.
- YU-NO: Eriko Takeda's hair covers her left eye, giving her a sultry look that fits with her being both a seductive school nurse and a Hot Teacher.
Webcomics
- A reoccurring character in Tawawa on Monday is Sada-Chan who is an Expy of Sadako Yamamura. Like her inspiration, Sada-Chan is a ghost with long black hair which covers the right side of her face and has very pale skin, Sada-Chan is also very well-endowed. In the majority of her appearances, Sada-Chan attempts to seduce a boy who works at a video rental store. Eventually with his help, Sada-Chan is able to escape from his computer monitor into the real world where they fall in love.
Western Animation
- Avatar: The Last Airbender:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: Bounty Hunter June always has her hair swept to the side concealing her left eye, which gives her a sexy aura that befits her sassy and alluring character.
- The Legend of Korra: Korra's pro-bending rival Tahno has side-swept bangs and his introduction has him show up with A Lady on Each Arm and offering to give Korra "private lessons", which she angrily rebuffs.
- Batman: The Animated Series: Talia's long brown hair covers her eye. She's a Femme Fatale Daddy's Little Villain who seduces and then betrays Bruce.
- The futuristic Animated Adaptation of Fantomette had Vera Virabova, blonde femme fatale and one of the Big Bad's top henchmen.
- Wakfu: When first introduced, Cleo's bangs cover her left eye most of the time, giving her a sultry appearance that fits with her being Eva's "sexier younger sister" and being a Romantic False Lead for Sadlygrove.
