Hair color for anime and manga protagonists has always run the gamut. From vibrant red hair to cool blue hair, or moody black hair and mysterious white hair, you can, at times, tell a character’s vibe based on their hair color. That said, if there’s any color that makes a major character completely obvious in a classroom, it would be pink! It’s bright, flamboyant, poppy, impossible to miss in a crowd, and looks good on just about anybody. Arguably, some of the best anime characters have pink hair. Once upon a time, it was my favorite color purely because I was assigned male at birth, but liking pink made me feel more girly. These days, I simply love the way pink makes me stand out as I’ve embraced my gender identity. Is it any surprise that it helps anime protagonists similarly become more noticeable? As far as anime hair goes, pink hair has always been a nice big spotlight on a character. From spunky shojo vibes to unhinged characters you may want to stay away from, let’s take a moment to celebrate some of the greatest, pinkest heads in anime! Aira Shiratori Series: DAN DA DAN RELATED: Best 2024 Anime Openings by Fans! Kicking things off is a newer entry for pink-haired anime girls. Though her pink hair may lead you to believe that she’s ditzy and friendly, Aira Shiratori can be quite manipulative in reality. In DAN DA DAN , Aira is incredibly vain and egomaniacal, going to great lengths to maintain her popularity at school and secretly harboring a superiority complex over her peers. Her ego is only further boosted after inadvertently unlocking her ability to see the supernatural. By the time Aira butts heads with Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura (aka Okarun), she already places herself far above them. She eventually sees the error of her ways and becomes more socially aware, even becoming friends with Momo and Okarun after taking down a powerful ghost together. However, that hasn’t stopped her from getting into fights with Momo, all while cultivating a crush on Okarun. Amu Hinamori Series: Shugo Chara RELATED: 17 Essential Magical Girl Anime on Crunchyroll She may have the hair of a shojo protagonist, but Amu Hinamori feels like anything but in Shugo Chara . She has a reputation at Seiyo Elementary of being “cool and spicy,” coming off as charismatic to other kids. But that’s only because she’s incredibly shy, socially anxious, and has trouble expressing herself to others. As Amu wishes to be true to herself, she gets more than she bargained for when her Shugo Charas manifest. Embodying aspects of her real feelings, these troublesome fairies cause her to take on more vibrant and stark personality changes, often without her realizing it. Though she has trouble accepting them at first, she soon comes to learn that growing into her true self is a lot easier with her Shugo Charas around. Sailor Chibi Moon Series: Sailor Moon / Sailor Moon Crystal Image via Netflix RELATED: How to Watch Sailor Moon in Order She’s tiny, she’s spunky, and her personality is as loud as her hair, making her quite the noticeable addition to the Sailor Guardians. As the daughter of Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion and princess of the Silver Millennium, Chibi-Usa travels back in time to seek the help of her parents’ past selves. Namely, that of Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon and Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask. Chibi-Usa's sudden arrival in Sailor Moon (and Sailor Moon Crystal ) upends their lives entirely, especially as Usagi is made to take her in as an adoptive little sister. What’s more, she isn’t afraid to butt heads with Usagi, leading to plenty of conflict and petty arguments. But once she becomes Sailor Chibi Moon, she takes her duties as a Sailor Guardian trainee seriously. Hoping to one day become a true lady worthy of her mother’s legacy, Chibi-Usa becomes an invaluable asset to the team. Madoka Kaname Series: Puella Magi Madoka Magica RELATED: Writer and Podcaster Victoria L. Johnson on the Influence of Magical Girls Despite her lack of self-confidence, Madoka is a bright and cheery girl who’s quick to support her friends. Upon learning about the world of magical girls from Kyubey, she’s almost eager to join the cause and help people with her powers. Unfortunately, that action has proven to be more costly than she ever could have anticipated. By the time we meet Madoka for the first time in Puella Magi Madoka Magica , she and her friends have been stuck in a time loop perpetuated by Homura Akemi, another magical girl with whom Madoka became close friends in many timelines. Homura had tried endlessly to prevent Madoka from becoming a magical girl, knowing that the decision would invariably result in tragedy. However, perhaps it was Madoka’s cheerful protagonist energy that always led her to that fate. She almost always became a magical girl for the sake of helping others, attaining more and more power as the timelines accumulated. This eventually led her to become the most powerful magical girl in history, for better or for worse. Sakura Haruno Series: Naruto / Naruto Shippuden RELATED: Anime to Watch if You Like Naruto On the surface, Sakura’s a precocious schoolgirl with an innocent crush on prodigal ninja Sasuke Uchiha, but her self-appointed “Inner Sakura” betrays how passionate and hot-tempered she can be in reality. Like most of the young Naruto cast, Sakura strives to be a great ninja alongside her Team 7 companions. Her intelligence comes in handy in battle, and she will always fight her hardest, whether it's against enemies or close friends in situations like the Chunin Exams. Sakura eventually channels her passion into becoming a medical ninja with enhanced physical strength, following in the footsteps of the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. When Naruto Shippuden rolls around, it's very clear that the last thing you want is for Sakura to throw a punch your way, but at least she can heal your wounds afterwards. Yuji Itadori Series: JUJUTSU KAISEN RELATED: Which JUJUTSU KAISEN Character Are You? I hope you didn’t think that we’d only talk about female anime characters. Plenty of male characters step into their anime series with bright, pink hair. Both cursed energy prowess and main character aura are off the charts with someone like JUJUTSU KAISEN ’s protagonist. A physically and athletically gifted student, Yuji finds himself thrust into the world of Curses and sorcerers after becoming the host of an ancient evil named Ryomen Sukuna. In true, kind-hearted, pink-haired good boy fashion, it was all because he was trying to help. After somehow managing to keep Sukuna's spirit at bay, Yuji is made to attend the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School to hone his newfound power and assist with exorcising curses. As expected, Yuji has a lot of learning to do and a lot of threats to face, but his tenacious attitude and ability to improvise let him face all sorts of hardships, both in physical combat and emotional turmoil. Natsu Dragneel Series: Fairy Tail / FAIRY TAIL 100 YEARS QUEST RELATED: The Best Fairy Tail Quotes That’ll Get You Fired Up! As far as hot-headed anime heroes go, Fairy Tail ’s Natsu Dragneel is literally one of the hottest there is (bonus: you can see more of him in FAIRY TAIL 100 YEARS QUEST ). Of course, that attitude comes with the territory when you’re raised and trained by a fire dragon. As a part of the infamous Fairy Tail guild, Natsu uses his power over fire to dominate his opponents, all while searching for his missing dragon daddy. Despite this, he’s still prone to humorously banal weaknesses like motion sickness. That said, the mighty Salamander hardly lets this stop him from achieving his goals. Anya Forger Series: SPY x FAMILY RELATED: How Well Do You Know SPY x FAMILY’s Anya Forger? A cute bob of pink hair hardly lends itself to subtlety when it comes to spy missions. But a true secret agent doesn’t always follow the rules, and a true secret agent is exactly what Anya thinks she is in SPY x FAMILY . This precocious and imaginative child is adopted by renowned Westalis spy Twilight (alias Loid Forger) as part of his nuclear family disguise for Operation Strix. Unbeknownst to him, Anya has the ability to read minds and immediately discovers her adoptive father’s nature as a spy. Fascinated by his ongoing operations, Anya happily takes her role as his daughter in order to help him carry out his mission. That doesn’t mean she’s any good at it. Anya is still a kid who has a lot to learn about the world around her, let alone playing secret agent. She would much rather watch spy thrillers and get herself into trouble during Loid’s missions than do well in school. But this innocent and loveable little girl finds plenty of happiness with her new parents, who do their best to raise her despite their many secrets. Did I mention her new mom, Yor Forger, is an assassin? Mina Ashido (Pinky) Series: My Hero Academia RELATED: How Well Do You Know My Hero Academia? Pink hair doesn’t even begin to describe this aspiring hero. As part of her bodily acid-producing Quirk, Mina’s body is completely pink from head to toe with black scleras and horns to boot. In a world where nearly everyone has a superpower (or Quirk) and may be subject to natural body alterations, she still stands out in both appearance and attitude. Mina, her name Pinky, is arguably the most fashionable of her fellow My Hero Academia classmates and is always eager to spend time with them (despite the toll it takes on her grades). Even so, she always works hard as a UA student and shares the same passion to be a professional hero as any of them. There's a reason why classmates like Kirishima are inspired by her. Hitori Gotoh (Bocchi) Series: BOCCHI THE ROCK! RELATED: Your Top 10 Comfort Anime Characters Revealed Please don’t ask Hitori Gotoh (aka Bocchi) to fulfill her bright protagonist main character vibes. No, seriously, please don’t. She may just collapse from the responsibility. Bocchi is an especially talented young guitarist, but you wouldn’t know how well she could rock because of how introverted she is. She lives with severe social anxiety and typically struggles to hold real-life interactions with others despite her desire to do so. But after joining up with the members of Kessoku Band, Bocchi slowly but surely comes out of her shell as she expands her love of playing guitar. As the main protagonist of BOCCHI THE ROCK! , she’s incredibly easy to cheer for, even if she’d rather you didn’t. Kaoru Sakurayashiki (Cherry Blossom) Series: SK8 the Infinity RELATED: What Kind of Sports Anime Athlete Would You Be? Kaoru Sakurayashiki lives up to both his real name and his skating moniker as his long, luscious pink locks flow effortlessly in the downhill breeze of skateboarding. He applies the same tech skills and intellect to his skating that he does to his public work as an AI calligrapher, granting him S-rank status in the underground beefs of SK8 the Infinity . Even if he applies himself in both worlds, don’t you dare use his real name if you see him in the skating world of S unless you want to face his wrath. Decked out with a smart board named Carla and clad in ninja-like garb, Cherry Blossom counts on speed and precision as he races to the bottom and stays on top, though some would argue (namely Joe) that you can't appreciate skateboarding if you approach it so analytically. Whatever the case, there's no denying how talented Cherry is both on and off his skateboard. Crona Series: Soul Eater RELATED: A Beginner's Guide to Soul Eater Pink hair doesn’t always signify a bright demeanor or a happy life, and this infamously tragic Soul Eater character knows that all too well. As part of a cruel experiment conducted by the witch Medusa, Crona had their very blood replaced by black blood, a substance that allowed them to wield the Demon Sword Ragnarok at the cost of their deteriorating sanity. The two of them make a formidable team as Meister and Weapon. Unfortunately, Crona grew to be reclusive and anxious over the years because of Medusa’s abuse. Upon meeting Maka Albarn and her friends at the DWMA, they begin to regain some confidence and find happiness. However, they constantly find themselves caught between their new friendships and forced servitude to Medusa. Saiki Kusuo Series: The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Image via Netflix RELATED: 10 Supernatural Anime That Highlight How Unique the Genre Is The titular character of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. just wants to lead a normal life. But with neon pink hair like that (and matching antenna to boot), he must inevitably step into the shoes of a comedy anime protagonist. Though his biological parents are completely ordinary, Saiki is inexplicably born with psychic abilities. This includes, yet is somehow not limited to: telepathy, telekinesis, levitation, clairvoyance, invisibility, teleportation, and mind control, just to name a few. If it were up to him, Saiki would simply spend his days eating coffee jelly and attending high school. Unfortunately, he often stumbles into all sorts of wacky antics because of his special abilities. What’s more, his psychic arsenal only grows more powerful as time goes on, filling his life with even more absurdity. Such is the life of an oddly-haired anime protagonist. Mitsuri Kanroji Series: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba RELATED: A Guide to the Hashira in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Pink and green seem to go well together, as the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Love Hashira so often proves. This cheerful Demon Slayer may be a hopeless romantic with marriage on the brain and a large appetite, but she easily proves herself to be one of the strongest of the Hashira thanks to her dense musculature. Mitsuri wields a Nichirin that’s as flexible as she is (stretch with her if you dare) and presents a formidable threat against demonkind. But even with her violent duties, she’s determined to settle down with a hubby. Mitsuri's happiness may seem like an odd fit, especially when compared to the attitudes of some of the other Hashira, but her joy adds to her appeal and is what makes her stand out. Utena Tenjou Series: Revolutionary Girl Utena RELATED: Revolutionary Girl Utena Is Surreal, That's Why It Works Not only does Utena's long and gorgeous pink hair stand out among the student body of Ohtori Academy, but she quickly becomes the center of attention by wearing a boy’s uniform, showing off her feats of athleticism, and becoming the object of affection of nearly everyone at school. But Utena's experience with gender stereotypes is put to the test when she inadvertently becomes part of the fight of the Rose Bride. Utena contends with the Student Council, participating in duels wherein the champion is betrothed to the mysterious and powerful Anthy Himemiya. As she advances in the duels of Revolutionary Girl Utena , her binary understanding of gender roles gets called into question and her journey toward self-discovery becomes much more complicated. Can't get enough pink-haired anime characters? The list could easily go on. Ram from Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World . Lucy from Elfen Lied . How about Koby from ONE PIECE , Yuno Gasai from The Future Diary or, for the Hunter x Hunter fans, Hisoka? Well, here are a few more honorable mentions! Shuichi Shindo Series: Gravitation Yachiyo Series: Apocalypse Hotel Ichigo Momomiya Series: Tokyo Mew Mew Kazuho Haneyama/Pop☆Step Series: My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Yuki Itose Series: A Sign of Affection Zero Two Series: DARLING in the FRANXX
