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A hairstyle of many names – pigtails, twin tails, double ponytails (is that a real one?)
In anime where characters look good in any hairstyle no matter what age, it’s not surprising how many pigtails there are.
And they’re not just childish, on no. These twin tails are worn by smart, sassy, feisty (and sometimes downright violent) girls!
Let’s dig into the world of anime and rank the best girls rocking pigtails.
15. Megumi Nishitori
Anime: Komori-san Can’t Decline!
Small but energetic, Megumi is the bright one of her trio of friends.
Trying to be cool, she wears her hair in pigtails but also covers one eye with her blonde locks.
Though the smart one, she never quite does her homework on time.
Good thing Shuri Komori can’t even say no to helping (Hey, that’s the name of the show!)
14. Maka Albarn
Anime: Soul Eater
Daughter of the most powerful Death Scythe ever to be born, Maka Albarn is a Scythe-Meister. A specialist in wielding scythes.
Her dad, though well respected, was a womanizer who drove Maka’s mother away with his antics implanting in her head that all men are pigs.
When training she meets Soul Evans, another death scythe who needs a meister to fully unlock his powers.
Not a love story, but certainly a partnership made in hell. Maka and Soul would become one of the power powerful pairs the Death Weapon Meister Academy has ever known!
13. Yami
Anime: To Love Ru
Full name Konjiki no Yami – the Golden Darkness – Yami is a living weapon created by esteemed professor Tearju Lunatique for the galactic organization Eden.
Tearju had never wanted Yami to be used as a weapon. But when she tried to escape, she was unable to take Yami with her.
Yami has since been an assassin working for various alien bosses, including Lascopo, who sends her to Earth.
Once on earth she rediscovers her humanity, gets crushes on humans, and grows to love taiyaki. Seems fun.
Nonetheless, she is still a weapon with the ability to transform into the godlike ‘Darkness’.
12. Hatsune Miku
Anime: Vocaloid
From an illustration for a humble vocoder program to internationally sensation, Hatsune Miku (whose name literally means ‘Sound Of The Future’) has starred in manga, video games, and even live holographic shows.
Her recognizable turquoise locks are reference in League of Legend skins, Lucky Star cosplay, real life cosplay – it seems the only thing this worldwide sensation doesn’t have is her own anime…
But there’s no lack of non-canon anim(ations) of her all across YouTube and her original stomping grounds on Nico Nico Douga!
11. Nico Yazawa
Anime: Love Live!
Though normally abrasive, when Nico is on stage her burning passion for becoming the world’s greatest idol turns her into the cutest performer there ever was!
Her catchphrase ‘Nico! Nico! Ni!’ accompanied by devil’s horns on both hands is not only famous within her circle, but has even spewed over into the real world, becoming an Internet sensation.
This weeb dog whistle has become so well-known, that Marcellius Black, a WWE wrestler known for being an otaku, smashes his knee into his opponents yelling “Nico! Nico! KNEE!”
10. Chiyo Mihami
Anime: Azumanga Daioh
If you’re wondering why Chiyo-chan is shorter than everyone else in her class, it’s because she’s a child prodigy.
Five years younger than her friends, she enters high school at only 10 years old!
Seen by all those around her as just the cutest little thing ever, Chiyo-chan does indeed have the look of a kid (even if she’s already doing calculus). I mean, have you seen those pig tails?
9. Yutaka
Anime: Lucky Star
Peacefully humming the days away, you wouldn’t think that this redhead had anything to do with the chaotic family of Konata and Yui – but think again, because Yutaka is Konata’s cousin.
Naturally weak, Yutaka spends a lot of time in the nurse’s office. In fact, it’s because of that reason that her family decided it was better for her to live with her cousin and uncle instead of commuting to school.
That is, if she gets into the high school.
Konata’s high school, of course (can’t cut the chaotic family line there)
8. Aoba Suzukaze
Anime: New Game
From a young age, Aoba knew she wanted to design games.
Once she came of age (by that I mean 18, or 16? She sure looks like a 14-year-old but she’s old enough to work so…) she immediately joined the ranks of video game powerhouse Eagle Corp, following in the footsteps of her idol Kou Yagami, lead character designer.
Trying her best to look professional, she arrives in a suit with her hair neatly tied up into two long thin tails.
Arriving at the office, though, most people are in t-shirts, cardigans, and least one co-worker is in a Lolita costume!
Did she try too hard to look professional? It’s so embarrassing! Well she still looks great to us.
7. Usagi Tsukino
Anime: Sailor Moon
Around the Heinan period (794-1185AD), Japanese women were wearing their hair ridiculously long. To the point of it trailing behind them, probably taking jobs away from street cleaners.
It’s no longer the Heinan period, but some habits die hard.
In the Golden Age of anime around the 80s and 90s, writers would draw on these older ideas and culturally embedded ideas for their characters.
Maybe that’s why Sailor Moon’s pigtails are so ridiculously long.
In fact, with every status increase, her hair seems to only get longer!
That said, her Rapunzel locks are pretty thin so there’s only so much dirt they can pick up off the ground.
6. Madoka Kaname
Anime: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
A non-descript 14-year-old schoolgirl, Madoka wears her shoulder length hair in two loose twin tails.
With her ordinary pink lined uniform, Madoka goes to school and goes home. A normal life. Though one with its fair share of misfortunes and bad luck.
One day, the most unfortunate thing would suddenly happen: an attack by witches that drives Madoka and her friend Sayaka into a corner.
Looking up to her, Madoka also becomes a magical girl, but has no idea for what horrors she’s signed up for.
5. Harime Nui
Anime: Kill La Kill
The grand courtier of REVOCS, Harime Nui is a godlike force to be reckoned with.
Synthetically born out of alien life fibres, Harime is able to regenerate herself, clone herself, and even send out the fibres in her body to control the minds of her enemies.
Her pink Lolita outfit and long blond pigtails are deliberate.
She’s so cute, she lowers her enemies’ guard before executing them with her stole scissor blade.
That blade is the only thing that can hurt her, too. Good thing no one else can touch it, right?
4. Souji/Sora
Anime: Gonna be the Twintail!!
Who’s into gender bender anime? Just me? Ok.
If you thought Kampfer was weird, you’ve got another thing coming buddy. Gonna Be The Twin-Tail!! is a magical girl anime where the main character, Souji, is a high school student with a twin tail fetish.
But since he (pronoun correctly used) can’t grow hair that long, he just has to admire from afar.
Until one day a beautiful girl from another dimension called Twoerie arrives.
At the same time, monsters start destroying the city.
Giving Souji the ability to transform and defeat the monsters, but without Souji’s knowledge, the transformation turns him into a girl with long red twin tails!
His alternate personality, Tail Red, quickly becomes famous. And in later parts of the series it fuses with his male self to become an older, more mature lady.
Though he should only be using this form to fight evil, he does sometimes transform just for fun (those twin tails are irresistible!)
Mine is as feminine as she is violent. A member of the righteous assassin group ‘Night Raid’, the XS tsundere wields ‘Roman Artillery: Pumpkin’ a legendary gun that becomes more powerful depending on the user’s emotional state.
Using this weapon, she’s defeated countless enemies triple her size.
Despite their penchant for killing, her reasons for joining ‘Night Raid’ are nonetheless noble.
Born of half foreign blood, Mine suffered from discrimination as a child and had to live on the streets, almost dying from starvation.
Fighting against the corrupt empire, she hopes to build a future where there is no racial discrimination. Good for her.
2. Kagami Hiiragi
Anime: Lucky Star
One of Lucky Star’s four main characters, Kagami is the only one of the girls not to be in a different class (she prays to be put in the same class come next academic year, but god doesn’t appear in Lucky Star).
The much smarter and sassier of the Hiiragi twins, Kagami’s long pointy twin tails are as violent as her personality.
One of the most notable pigtailed ladies in all of anime.
1. Tohru
Anime: Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
Tohru the Chaos Dragon was raised to create disaster, destroying her enemies and any humans that happen to stumble upon the great beasts.
That is, until she picked a fight with a god who pierced her side with a magical sword and left her for dead.
As she lay defeated and delirious, a drunk office lady Kobayashi shows up, gives Tohru sake, and takes the sword out of her back. How nice.
The next day, a hungover Kobayashi finds herself face to face with a cute big breasted maid sporting two horns and blonde pigtails.
She says she’s the dragon from last night, but she’s clearly a human.
Well I’m not looking for a maid but oh my lord would you look at the time, I’m late for work. Let me ride you to work dragon!
Cyril is a freelance writer, drama teacher and singer from Hong Kong. Growing up in East Asia, anime is literally everywhere. It’s on the streets, it’s in the malls, it’s always on TV. You’re sort of expected to know your anime stuff. Studying University in the UK, Cyril realized the rest of the world is not like that, so with his background in tow he volunteered with Animeleague’s Anime and Gaming conventions. Cyril wrote for the shortlived Shonen-World anime review site and also writes for Underground Hong Kong, a local music magazine. You can find him and the stuff he does at https://cyrilmass.wixsite.com/cyrildoesthings. Come say Hi!
