History ImportantHaircut / AnimeAndManga

* After [[spoiler:accidentally causing the ribbon to run out of time and getting Hime-chan [[ShapeshifterModeLock stuck as Hibino Hikaru]]]], Erika from ''[[Manga/HimechanNoRibon Hime-chan no Ribbon]]'' cuts off her gorgeous, extremely long blonde hair so that she can [[TwinSwitch impersonate Hime-chan]] at home and school until they can find some way to [[spoiler:reverse the transformation]]. The next time we see her after she goes back home, her hair has grown out to shoulder-length.

* In volume 11.5 of light novel series ''Literature/ClassroomOfTheElite'', this trope is used in a way that is of surprisingly high importance to the character development of Suzune Horikita. [[spoiler:It is explained that the reason she kept her hair long was for the sake of her brother, who told her that he liked how it looked. She preferred it short, but because [[BigBrotherWorship she has always idolized him]] she went along with his request. Throughout the series she constantly attempts to gain his attention and approval to no avail; he is cold to her and expresses his disappointment in her on multiple occasions. It is explained to us but not her that he disapproves of her idolizing him and wishes for her to become her own person. He thinks that by chasing his shadow she will never meet her potential. So he told her he liked her hair long, so that when she cuts it he will know she has become her own person. In the present, she meets up with him one last time before his graduation, hoping to reconcile. She arrives [[CharacterDevelopment with her hair cut]], and finally receives his acceptance in the form of a heartwarming conversation before he leaves the story indefinitely.]]

* In ''Literature/{{Corsair}}'', Ayace cuts off [[LongHairedPrettyBoy Canale's]] hair instead of killing him as requested, leaving the severed hair at Canale's family mansion (now on fire) as symbol of his old life and encouraging him to move on and live.

* In ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', [[TheStoic Sousuke]] allows [[{{Tsundere}} Kaname]] to cut his hair. Although his look doesn't change appreciably as a result, the scene serves as an indication of just how much he trusts her: Sousuke is a [[ChildSoldiers Child Soldier]] with NoSocialSkills conditioned to assume that anyone is a potential enemy and to never leave himself vulnerable, and the fact that he can allow Kaname to handle a pair of scissors around his head and behind his back with no more than a calm "Please don't cut off my ears," -- and in fact not only allows her to cut his hair but actually ''falls asleep'' while she's doing it -- is [[CharacterDevelopment very important]]. This is probably the closest and most intimate they ever got to each other; when she was cutting near his forehead, Sousuke was blushing like hell and breathed suspiciously quickly for obvious reasons -- he was either embarrassed, aroused or both. Looks like no amount of conditioning can defeat pheromones from a similarly aged girl when you are 16...

* Yozora of ''Literature/{{Haganai}}'' shears her long locks after an incident with a firework, and getting a bucket of dirty water dumped on her to put it out. The important part of this is [[spoiler: her short hair finally brings Kodaka around to realizing, she's his ForgottenChildhoodFriend, Sora.]]

* ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'':
** Haruhi cuts her waist-length hair to a long-ish bob in the first episode. Before cutting her hair, she was indifferent to all classmates, changing her hairstyle every day or the week, increasing the number of ribbons each day. When Kyon questions this, the usually aloof Haruhi has a short debate with him, ending with Kyon implying that he finds it unnecessary. The next day Haruhi shows up with her hair shortened to a shoulder-length bob cut (to everyone's, especially Kyon's, surprise). This event marks the beginning of her opening up to Kyon and creating the SOS Brigade, which is crucial to the series.
** In the ''Disappearance'' arc, [[spoiler: the alternate-timeline Haruhi still has long hair and is still snarky and antisocial. This shows how much of an impact Kyon had on Haruhi in the old timeline.]]

* Zigzagged in ''Literature/HumanityHasDeclined''. "[[NoNameGiven Watashi]]" screwed [[NoodleIncident something]] up before the story began and cut her hair... but things really begin after she grows it all back (and then some) with [[AcmeProducts Fairy Co]] hair tonic.

* In ''Literature/KokoroConnect'', when Aoki goes to see his old girlfriend Nana and sort his feelings out, right as he leaves she tells him she cut her hair the last New Year, and his expression suggests that he understands the message that she's let go.

* In ''Literature/LordMarksmanAndVanadis'', Rurick mocked Tigre and gave him a shoddy bow to sabotage his archery display. Despite this, Tigre manages to shoot an assassin from a great distance. Afterwards, everyone found out what Rurick did and was about to execute him until Tigre asked them not to. Extremely grateful and awed by Tigre's skills, Rurick shaved his head as a sign of humility and loyalty.
* In ''Literature/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'', Makoto Isshiki shaves his head bald as gesture of apology to his class when his girl-ranking book was discovered. This is later PlayedForLaughs as, when he grows his hair back and styles it in a punk-rock style, he's immediately forced to shave it again because of a school policy against dyed hair.

* ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'':
** Sei (the original ''Rosa Gigantea'') has not just one but ''two'' Important Haircuts. She cut her long hair to medium length after [[spoiler:her girlfriend ran off to become a nun]]. She later cropped it short after beginning college.
** In the same series, [[ShaggyDogStory a whole episode is dedicated to minor character Mifuyu]], who cuts her hair after realizing that she will never gain Sachiko's favor.

* In ''Literature/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit'', [[HeartwarmingOrphan Saya]] cuts [[ShelteredAristocrat Chagum]]'s hair to help him blend in and hide from [[OffingTheOffspring his father's men]]. Before this he had an elaborate (and extremely conspicuous) royal hairstyle.
-->"Well, I don't look at all like a prince now." ''(SingleTear)''

* In ''Literature/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'', main character Karen cuts her waist-length hair short after winning a tournament and feeling she'd managed to overcome her complex about her height. She'd only worn her hair long to make herself seem more feminine, since it was hard to maintain. In the light novels, it's mentioned that the rest of her family thought she'd gone through a breakup after seeing her hair cut short.

* In the final episode of ''Anime/APlaceFurtherThanTheUniverse'', [[spoiler:Shirase cuts her hair after getting closure about her mother. With her new hair, she is told she looks just like her mother when she smiles]].

* In the sixtieth episode of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'', [[spoiler:Serena]] cuts her hair short and begins to wear a different outfit to signal CharacterDevelopment after [[spoiler:losing in her first Showcase]].

* In ''Manga/OtakuNoMusumeSan'', Haruka cuts off her PeekABangs to emphasise to her elder sister how serious she is about following her own path.

** Haruhi cuts her hair short in the first episode. Before cutting her hair, she was indifferent to all classmates, changing her hairstyle every day of the week, increasing the number of ribbons each day. When Kyon questions this, the usually aloof Haruhi has a short debate with him, ending with Kyon implying that he finds it unnecessary. The next day Haruhi shows up with her hair cut (to everyone's, especially Kyon's surprise). This event marks the beginning of her opening up to Kyon and creating the SOS Brigade, which is crucial to the series.

** At the start of the story [[{{Tsundere}} Nino]] is the only quintuplet who had refused to cut her hair at all, which was a symbolic way for her to cling to the past. During the Seven Goodbyes arc, she has Miku cut it to shoulder length once she accepts that she can't cling to the past forever [[spoiler:as well as [[LoveEpiphany her own feelings for Fuutarou]]]].

* Zigzagged in ''LightNovel/HumanityHasDeclined''. "[[NoNameGiven Watashi]]" screwed [[NoodleIncident something]] up before the story began and cut her hair... but things really begin after she grows it all back (and then some) with [[AcmeProducts Fairy Co]] hair tonic.

* In ''LightNovel/KokoroConnect'', when Aoki goes to see his old girlfriend Nana and sort his feelings out, right as he leaves she tells him she cut her hair the last New Year, and his expression suggests that he understands the message that she's let go.

* In ''LightNovel/LordMarksmanAndVanadis'', Rurick mocked Tigre and gave him a shoddy bow to sabotage his archery display. Despite this, Tigre manages to shoot an assassin from a great distance. Afterwards, everyone found out what Rurick did and was about to execute him until Tigre asked them not to. Extremely grateful and awed by Tigre's skills, Rurick shaved his head as a sign of humility and loyalty.

* In volume 11.5 of light novel series ''LightNovel/ClassroomOfTheElite'', this trope is used in a way that is of surprisingly high importance to the character development of Suzune Horikita. [[spoiler:It is explained that the reason she kept her hair long was for the sake of her brother, who told her that he liked how it looked. She preferred it short, but because [[BigBrotherWorship she has always idolized him]] she went along with his request. Throughout the series she constantly attempts to gain his attention and approval to no avail; he is cold to her and expresses his disappointment in her on multiple occasions. It is explained to us but not her that he disapproves of her idolizing him and wishes for her to become her own person. He thinks that by chasing his shadow she will never meet her potential. So he told her he liked her hair long, so that when she cuts it he will know she has become her own person. In the present, she meets up with him one last time before his graduation, hoping to reconcile. She arrives [[CharacterDevelopment with her hair cut]], and finally receives his acceptance in the form of a heartwarming conversation before he leaves the story indefinitely.]]

* In ''LightNovel/{{Corsair}}'', Ayace cuts off [[LongHairedPrettyBoy Canale's]] hair instead of killing him as requested, leaving the severed hair at Canale's family mansion (now on fire) as symbol of his old life and encouraging him to move on and live.

* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', [[TheStoic Sousuke]] allows [[{{Tsundere}} Kaname]] to cut his hair. Although his look doesn't change appreciably as a result, the scene serves as an indication of just how much he trusts her: Sousuke is a [[ChildSoldiers Child Soldier]] with NoSocialSkills conditioned to assume that anyone is a potential enemy and to never leave himself vulnerable, and the fact that he can allow Kaname to handle a pair of scissors around his head and behind his back with no more than a calm "Please don't cut off my ears," -- and in fact not only allows her to cut his hair but actually ''falls asleep'' while she's doing it -- is [[CharacterDevelopment very important]]. This is probably the closest and most intimate they ever got to each other; when she was cutting near his forehead, Sousuke was blushing like hell and breathed suspiciously quickly for obvious reasons -- he was either embarrassed, aroused or both. Looks like no amount of conditioning can defeat pheromones from a similarly aged girl when you are 16...

* In the same vein as the previous two examples, Shiki's hair in ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'' grew long in the gap between the [[AnachronicOrder second and fourth movies]], and she cuts it herself during her first post-coma fight. In the original novel, TheDragon of Chapter 6, [[spoiler:Misaya Ouji]], also cuts her hair in a similar fashion after discovering that she has been emotionally manipulated by the VillainOfTheWeek all along and resolving to kill him in revenge.

* Yozora of ''LightNovel/{{Haganai}}'' shears her long locks after an incident with a firework, and getting a bucket of dirty water dumped on her to put it out. The important part of this is [[spoiler: her short hair finally brings Kodaka around to realizing, she's his ForgottenChildhoodFriend, Sora.]]

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':

* In the ''LightNovel/KinosJourney'' prequel movie/episode "life goes on", Kino has their long hair cut into the shorter style seen throughout the series as the result of it being stained with blood from the first person they killed.

* In ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'', Makoto Isshiki shaves his head bald as gesture of apology to his class when his girl-ranking book was discovered. This is later PlayedForLaughs as, when he grows his hair back and styles it in a punk-rock style, he's immediately forced to shave it again because of a school policy against dyed hair.

* ''LightNovel/MariaWatchesOverUs'':

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'', main character Karen cuts her waist-length hair short after winning a tournament and feeling she'd managed to overcome her complex about her height. She'd only worn her hair long to make herself seem more feminine, since it was hard to maintain. In the light novels, it's mentioned that the rest of her family thought she'd gone through a breakup after seeing her hair cut short.

* In ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'', Makoto Isshiki shaves his head bald as gesture of apology to his class when his girl-ranking book was discovered.

* ''Anime/LastExile'' [[spoiler:Slightly twisted for Sophia's hair-down-to-there upon taking the Imperial Throne. Dio's braid is unwrapped, and his bangs re-brushed to show off his Mark of the Covenant, after being brainwashed for the Rite and turned into a remorseless killing machine.]]

---> "What's up with the 'do? You look like a jock. But seriously... It suits you fine."

* In ''StellaJogakuinKoutokaC3Bu'', after briefly experimenting with various hairstyles in episode three to stop her hair getting in the way during airsoft battles, Yura just cuts her hair shorter at the end of the episode to signify her increasing determination to take airsoft seriously.

* In LightNovel/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline, main character Karen cuts her waist-length hair short after winning a tournament and feeling she'd managed to overcome her complex about her height. She'd only worn her hair long to make herself seem more feminine, since it was hard to maintain. In the light novels, it's mentioned that the rest of her family thought she'd gone through a breakup after seeing her hair cut short.

** Also, the Vizard changed their hairstyles after leaving Soul Society. [[spoiler: And have kept said styles whether they have returned [[note]](Rose, Shinji, Mashiro, Kensei, and at the very end Lisa)[[/note]] or not [[note]](Love, Hachi, Hiyori)[[/note]] to it, after their exoneration.]]

* Ange does this in ''Anime/CrossAnge'' once she has accepted her fate.

* In ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', both Rin and Akito get important haircuts. [[spoiler:Rin has her long hair hacked off by Akito when she's locked up. In this case, the TraumaticHaircut is symbolic for both of them. Akito is enraged and hates long, black hair because it reminds her of her mother, Ren (A SmugSnake who abuses her daughter constantly, and in fact is the one who manipulated Rin to act against Akito which is what got her caught in the first place); Rin, meanwhile, wears her hair short for the rest of the series and it symbolizes how [[CharacterDevelopment she is calmer and eases up on her determination to break the curse]] (which was pretty much driving her to an early grave, due to her being an IllGirl). Akito gets an inverse at the end, when she grows her hair out to symbolize how she's free to live her life as a woman, rather than forced to hide her identity and pretend to be a man.]]

** When young, [[IllGirl Anju Kitahara]] had long hair, but when she returns to Yuu's life she's already cut it real short.

* ''Manga/PandoraHearts'': [[spoiler: Leo]] gets one in Retrace 61. For a while, [[spoiler:he had been using his hair as BlindingBangs so he wouldn't have to see or hear things anymore. By that point, he was "tired of hiding".]]

* Perhaps in an inverted example, in Book Two of the manga ''Manga/{{Ooku}}'', Abbott Arikoto [[spoiler: grows his hair out when he breaks his vow of chastity]].

* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Suzu's [[SplitPersonality original personality]] had long hair when she met Matsuri, which she considered a sign of her spiritual power. Matsuri told her it looked like it would get in the way, which inspired Suzu to [[SplitPersonality split off a new personality]] without PastLifeMemories--the Suzu the series follows--right as her mother cuts hair hair to the bob-style she's kept for the rest of her life. When the original personality appears in the new Suzu's mind, [[ResidualSelfImage she still looks younger and has long hair]].

* When we first meet Casca from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' she has close-cropped short hair symbolic of her LadyOfWar persona. In a flashback to her earlier days before joining Griffith's Band of the Hawks, she had long hair, meaning that she probably cut it off soon afterward. After the events of the Eclipse where she [[spoiler: gets raped by Femto and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation Goes Mad From The Revelation]]]], Casca has let her hair grow long again. When she regains her sanity, she has Danna cut it short again.

* In the manga ''Manga/GetBackers'', [[spoiler:Kazuki]] chopped off his RapunzelHair [[spoiler: to express his determination to rescue Fuuga and 'get back his lost time'. The scene took up one full page, so that ought to classify it an important haircut.]]

* After [[spoiler:accidentally causing the ribbon to run out of time and getting Hime-chan [[ShapeshifterModeLock stuck as Hibino Hikaru]]]], Erika from ''[[Manga/HimechanNoRibon Hime-chan no Ribbon]]'' cuts off her gorgeous, [[RapunzelHair extremely long]] blonde hair so that she can [[TwinSwitch impersonate Hime-chan]] at home and school until they can find some way to [[spoiler:reverse the transformation]]. The next time we see her after she goes back home, her hair has grown out to shoulder-length.

* In the finale of ''Anime/KillLaKill'', Satsuki is shown to have traded in her RapunzelHair for a stylish chin-length bob. Along with her [[DefrostingIceQueen warmer]] attitude and more relaxed clothing, it fully illustrates how much she's changed now that [[spoiler: she's completed her goal of saving humanity and free from her family's dark past]].

** At the start of the story [[{{Tsundere}} Nino]] is the only quintuplet [[RapunzelHair who had refused to cut her hair at all]], which was a symbolic way for her to cling to the past. During the Seven Goodbyes arc, she has Miku cut it to shoulder length once she accepts that she can't cling to the past forever [[spoiler:as well as [[LoveEpiphany her own feelings for Fuutarou]]]].

* Ayumu from ''Manga/{{Life}}'' cut her hair when she began middle school, around the same time she became depressed and started to SelfHarm herself. She cut it shorter later in the story, when she became more happy with herself.

* In ''Anime/AkudamaDrive'', [[spoiler:Ordinary Person (Swindler) cuts her hair short while on the run with Sister in order to better mask her identity. However, the haircut also serves to represent her coming into her own, perhaps no longer minding her classifiction as akudama]].

** Kazuma Sohma, A.K.A. Shishou, is no excempt neither. He originally grew his hair long to gather Kyo good luck, but after he succeed on getting him get accepted for his true zodiac form by [[LoveInterest Tohru]], who refused to turn her back on him for it, he eventually cut his hair short afterwards.

* During the class trip arc in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', [[spoiler:Hayasaka cuts off her ponytail with a knife in order to prevent one of Unyo's servants from holding onto it. This keeps her from being able to wear the scrunchie Kaguya gave her anymore, marking the metaphorical end to their master-servant relationship (she ends up keeping it as a wristband instead). After the arc is over, she styles the remaining hair into a bobcut, [[HereditaryHairstyle similar to her mother's]].]]

* Eunhyung from the BoysLove {{manhwa}} ''Manhwa/LetDai'' gets her hair cut boy-like short after being brutally gang raped. She also adopts a more masculine attitude that borders on tomboyish. Somewhat subverted in Naru whose hair style keeps changing all the time since he often uses wigs.

* In ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', Adler [[spoiler:cuts his hair as he declares his new identity as James Bond]].

* Akane Tendo in an early episode of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''. Notable in that [[TraumaticHaircut she didn't actually have a choice]] [[CloseCallHaircut in the matter]], but then decides to ask her bis sister Kasumi to get it more or less cleaned up and, from then on, chose to ''not'' grow it back. That's because she grew it long originally to attract [[PrecociousCrush her first crush]], Dr. Tofu, but by that time she gets over her love for him. In the Anime and Manga Ryoga accidentally chopped Akane's hair when she was caught in the crossfire between a fight with him and Ranma, she blames Ranma too since she got in the mess to try helping him anyway; in the live action special, it was one of the gang members who did it with a sickle.

* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' Keiko starts out with ponytails, then loses them in favor of shorter hair after they get singed in a fire, but has extremely long hair again at the end of the series.

** In regards to [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist original manga]] and the ''Brotherhood'' anime, there is an inversion with Riza Hawkeye. Back in her younger years as a soldier, she kept her hair rather short and tied up. However, after meeting Winry Rockbell (from when she and Roy met the Elric brothers), a discussion between the people that matter to them led them to make a change in appearance as a result. While Winry got earrings like Hawkeye, Hawkeye grew out her hair (though it was still held up in a similar way)as a form of kinship to her and how Winry reminded her of what was important. It remains as such for a majority of the series though its seemingly back to its short cut in the epilogue.

* In volume 11.5 of light novel series ''LightNovel/ClassroomOfTheElite'', this trope is used in a way that is of surprisingly high importance to the character development of Suzune Horikita. [[spoiler:It is explained that the reason she kept her hair long was for the sake of her brother, who told her that he liked how it looked. She preferred it short, but because [[BigBrotherWorship she has always idolized him]] she went along with his request. Throughout the series she constantly attempts to gain his attention and approval to no avail; he is cold to her and expresses his disappointment in her on multiple occasions. It is explained to us but not her that he disapproves of her idolizing him and wishes for her to become her own person. He thinks that by her chasing his shadow she will never reach her proper potential. So he told her he liked her hair long, so that when she cuts it he will know she has become her own person. In the present, she meets up with him one last time before his graduation, hoping to reconcile. She arrives [[CharacterDevelopment with her hair cut]], and finally receives his acceptance in the form of a heartwarming conversation before he leaves the story indefinitely.]]

* In volume 11.5 of light novel series ''LightNovel/ClassroomOfTheElite'', this trope is used in a way that is of surprisingly high importance to the character development of Suzune Horikita. [[spoiler:It is explained that the reason she kept her hair long was for the sake of her brother, who told her that he liked how it looked. She preferred it short, but because she has always idolized him she went along with his request. Throughout the series she constantly attempts to gain his attention and approval to no avail; he is cold to her and expresses his disappointment in her on multiple occasions. It is explained to us but not her that he disapproves of her idolizing him and wishes for her to become her own person. He thinks that by her chasing his shadow she will never reach her proper potential. So he told her he liked her hair long, so that when she cuts it he will know she has become her own person. In the present, she meets up with him one last time before his graduation, hoping to reconcile. She arrives [[CharacterDevelopment with her hair cut]], and finally receives his acceptance in the form of a heartwarming conversation before he leaves the story indefinitely.]]

* In volume 11.5 of light novel series ''LightNovel/ClassroomOfTheElite'', this trope is used in a way that is of surprisingly high importance to the character development of Suzune Horikita. [[spoiler:It is explained that the reason she kept her hair long was for the sake of her brother, who told her that he liked how it looked. She preferred it short, but because she has always idolized him she went along with his request. Throughout the series she constantly attempts to gain his attention and approval to no avail; he is cold to her and expresses his disappointment in her on multiple occasions. It is explained to us but not her that he disapproves of her idolizing him and wishes for her to become her own person. He thinks that by her chasing his shadow she will never reach her proper potential. So he told her he liked her hair long, so that when she cuts it he will know she has become her own person. In the present, she meets up with him one last time before his graduation, hoping to reconcile. She arrives with her hair cut, and finally receives his acceptance in the form of a heartwarming conversation before he leaves the story indefinitely.]]