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There are very few things you can grow on your face that are telling of your character immediately.
But mustaches are almost an introduction in themselves.
Whether it’s a wild bushy one, or a sleek, well-trimmed one – either way it feels like you already know the person just by seeing the facial hair they adorn.
In this list, we’re going to take a look at some iconic anime characters with equally recognizable mustaches.
In some cases, the mustaches will be the more iconic of the duo!
1. Gol D. Roger
Anime: One Piece
Not the last character you’ll see from One Piece on this list (who knew pirates were such fanatics for mustaches?) but certainly one of the most iconic.
And the pirate who started the Golden Age, also sports some fantastically curved facial hair.
It’s almost gravity-defying, considering where it must actually be attached to his lip.
Good thing he’s got plenty of riches, because he must spend a fortune on pomade.
There’s no doubting that he looks the part completely – and the ‘stache only adds to his qualities as a feared pirate leader.
2. Vegeta
Anime: Dragon Ball GT
“I SHAVED MY MOOOSTACHE, YOU IDIOT!”
Not only do Vegeta’s attempts to blend in on Earth by growing a mustache make him look like the world’s buffest cop/dad at times, but it gave us an absolutely iconic line in the Dragon Ball series, let alone just GT.
I’ll be honest, I preferred the look.
It’s a shame he didn’t go Super Saiyan while he still had it.
It would have probably become a cult legend by this point with fans of the show.
3. Isaac Netero
Anime: Hunter X Hunter
Being one of the most powerful characters in your universe almost demands some sort of recognizable feature, doesn’t it?
For some it’s a huge sword. For others, it’s outlandish clothes.
For Isaac Netero, it’s a mustache you could cut a loaf of bread with.
Granted, every section of his hair has something going for it – there’s no way his barber is struggling to make ends meet.
But somehow the beard that forms a hook and the insanely long eyebrows come second and third to the mighty mustache.
Thanks to the two adaptations of the show, he even got two goes at it.
The earlier version was an all gray affair, but the more recent reboot gave him brilliant white hair, which for my money, is the much better version.
4. Major Alex Louis Armstrong
Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist
If you’ve got more hair on your face than on the top of your head, you have to make it count.
Fortunately for us, Major Armstrong comes out all guns blazing with his sleek blonde effort.
Seriously, the man has a handlebar that would put a Harley Davidson to shame.
If being ridiculously tall, muscular, and strong wasn’t enough, he had to go all out and try and win the looks stake too?
And while his appearance might not match his soft demeanor, his stylish facial hair clearly tells of a man who’s working what he’s got.
5. Celestial Spirit King
Anime: Fairy Tail
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn’t admit that this is a thing of beauty.
The enormous Spirit King has an equally enormous mustache to match.
It’s so big, in fact, that it basically reaches past his entire chest.
And that’s not to mention the unique shape.
The thing looks like he’s breathing huge billowing clouds of steam from his nostrils.
Remember bulls in cartoons when they get mad?
Like that, but in a much more majestic and magisterial way.
It seems strange then, that the rest of his facial hair is such a light stubble, given he could complement the mustache with a godly beard too.
But hey, who am I to argue with the ruler of the Celestial Spirit World?
6. Ken-Goh
Anime: Eureka Seven
You want to make sure this featured character doesn’t turn his head too quickly while you’re around, or you might find yourself perforated somewhere you weren’t planning on having a hole.
But that’s Ken-Goh for you.
Being a master marksman, you might find yourself perforated from a much greater distance anyway…
The mustache screams military in conjunction with that fact, but he remains tight lipped on that part of his life.
So while his past is a mystery, it’s no mystery that he’s rocking a mustache that could double as a deadly weapon.
Stylish and dangerous, the ultimate combo!
7. Spring Mustachio
Anime: One Punch Man
As one of the lower ranked A-Class heroes in the world of One Punch Man (though seemingly by choice), Spring Mustachio certainly looks the part of the dashing swordsman.
Tall, jet black hair, sideburns, and suited top to bottom.
Oh, and of course, the gentleman’s handlebar mustache to complete the picture.
He even twirls it from time to time – just to make sure we all know exactly what he’s about!
He’s deadly with his short sword, and his speed is legendary.
But call us (me) superficial because we’re (I’m) only in it for that fantastic facial fuzz.
8. Alaindelon
Anime: Beelzebub
For someone with the Strongman Special when it comes to facial hair, you’d expect Alaindelon to be lifting weights with those big spheres on the end – or to be wearing a stripy pajama-style unitard.
However, this dimension-hopping demon is much more the funny man than the brawn of the operation.
His durability is almost unmatched, even faking his death in a rushing river at one point.
But he wouldn’t be pumping iron at the circus anytime soon.
He’s eager to be useful to his friends, and can even transport them around in his own body as part of his arsenal of demon powers.
But for this entry in our list, we’re all about the mustache rather than the man beneath it.
9. Tessai Tsukabishi
Anime: Bleach
If I were going to pick a Gigai – a human body that lets a Shinigami spend time in the human world – to hide out in for a long period of time, I couldn’t pick much better than the mustachioed masterpiece that Tessai Tsukabishi picked out.
Banished from the Soul Society and forced to lay low, the former captain’s sideburns and handlebar mustache combo would ordinarily be something that stuck out like two sore thumbs in a row of fingers, rather than create an appearance that no-one would pay any attention to.
But thanks to the untraceable nature of the Gigai, it means that while Tsukabishi can’t exactly relax, he can definitely reap the rewards of a glorious facial hair combo.
Those rewards being presumably the awe and admiration of everyone around him.
10. Herman Melville
Anime: Bungo Stray Dogs
First of all, no, he’s not that Herman Melville of Moby Dick fame – he’s simply named after him.
Secondly, look at that mustache and tell me that anything else about him matters.
I’m serious; he must need to hire a man with a machete to cut it back every time he wants to eat his lunch.
It’s like his mouth has its own set of curtains that reveal his teeth like they’re performers in a stage play.
I’m running out of metaphors to describe it, honestly.
This thing needs its own category outside of mustache.
Lip beard?
Whatever it winds up being called, we need more of them in the world.
11. Zeff
Anime: One Piece
The former captain of the Cook Pirates is the current owner of one of the best mustaches in anime history.
I mean, just look at that thing.
Anyone with facial hair that can be braided is already winning at being cool.
It’s fitting that this entry belongs to a chef, given that his glorious mustache looks like two twisted breadsticks stuck to his top lip – and that’s without even getting into the flair that the ribbons add being tied to the end.
Given his hot-headedness and tendency to be rather hard on the people he works with, perhaps it’s best he can be admired at a distance.
12. Tomio Ookawa
Anime: Shiki
Not satisfied with having one billowing cloud-like mustache, it almost looks like Tomio Ookawa has tried to grow another one in his beard as well.
Don’t let his appearance fool you, though.
He may look scruffy, but this guy is not someone you want to mess with.
Ridiculously tall and powerful, his furious outbursts are scary even by the standards that this horror anime sets – and that is pretty darn scary.
So if you see this beard and mustache combo floating towards you, try your best not to stare.
It might be the last thing you ever see.
13. Lord Yupa
Anime: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Light up the beacons and alert the villagers – we’ve got another lip beard on the horizon!
This Dune-esque post-apocalypse needs few introductions – and the same can be said for the man who’s more mustache than face.
The greatest swordsman who ever lived needs facial hair to match.
And he more than delivers on that account.
While his quest to search for the “Blue Clad One” is a central theme of the story, we unfortunately don’t get to see much of him trying to eat any food through that jungle on his top lip.
I just need to know how it works!
14. Gan Fall
Anime: One Piece
While it might seem unfair to have a literal God to contend with in the facial hair stakes, thankfully Gan Fall doesn’t go hugely overboard with it.
No flaming follicles or hair with a life of its own here.
Just a throwback to a time long past fitting an old man.
Like the knight he is, he wears a fittingly knightly beard and mustache – the long, tapered sort of look you’ll find on most tapestries.
A noble being with a noble look, Gan Fall might have been usurped from his post as the God of Skypiea once upon a time – but he proves that a classic look can never be overthrown.
15. Barragan Luisenbarn
Anime: Bleach
We’ve had one ex-captain from the Soul Society, so it only seems fair to have someone from the opposite team, right?
And as far as mustaches go, you aren’t going to find much better or chunkier than the one Barragan Luisenbarn has on display.
Rocking that classic all-white look we’ve seen a few times on this list, the 2nd Espada and former God-King of Hueco Mundo might look like an old man, but has proven to be one of the strongest opponents any Shinigami could face.
The man (being?) is basically Death himself, manipulating time in a way that only a few could hope to battle through.
The mustache might actually be just the cherry on the cake here!
