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Hair Cutting — The Story
Cutting hair has always been an important visual story telling tool
When it comes to any form of media that is not live action (toons, video games, anime, etc.), visual storytelling in every single frame is critical for a story to do well. These forms of media that are painfully hand drawn frame by frame, are especially important. Right now Japanese anime TV series and films, are produced at an average of 24 frames (one drawing for every two frames) per second. As an artist, this can take an incredibly long time, with episodes often having thousands of frames per episode. Cutting one’s hair is a fantastic visual storytelling device because of how impactful it can be to the viewer.
When it comes to dramatically change one’s hair, this is often used to show a significant change in the character. It could be that they suddenly have a new life goal or want to make a serious change to their personality or ambitions. In Japan, specifically (when looking at the dramatic hair cuts for Japanese animated shows), it originates from when samurai would cut their hair short to symbolize an end to one way of life and the beginning of a new one.
Some popular, recognizable characters in mass media who have used a significant hair change to show marked character development and/or change would be:
