Anyone who’s seen at least a few anime that take place in a modern day high school, or even middle school, have probably noticed something different about the appearance (besides the school uniforms) of the students there compared to those in America and perhaps other Western countries – specifically what I had in mind was a lack of physical beautifying such as make-up, hair dying, jewelry, and tattoos…
We all know that high schoolers in anime are quite numerous, especially girls. But how many of those girls can you think of that regularly wear make-up and earrings or paint their nails? Some of course, but very few compared to how many high school anime girls there are out there. And how many anime high school boys can you think of that have unusual colored hair (whether dyed or natural) and haven’t been called a “delinquent” at some point?
School-aged anime characters don’t typically do anything unnatural to their appearance simply because that’s the norm in Japan. This may seem strange to those of us in America where even little girls nowadays come to school with painted nails and jewelry by age six. But the lack of minors wearing make-up and body accessories in Japan is a cultural thing.
Japanese schools, especially high schools, have a very strict code of conduct for students to follow both at school and outside of school. This covers many things, including hairstyles and accessories deemed inappropriate for the studious, responsible spirit schools try to convey through their students. So in a sense, students aren’t only required to wear a uniform but to keep their overall appearance a certain way as well. Flashy make-up and jewelry, dyed hair, and wild hairstyles are typically considered inappropriate for students in Japan.
Things do change after high school however. Japanese colleges and universities don’t require uniforms and students are given a lot of freedom in how they want to dress, beautify, and conduct themselves. It’s not until they get a job and become a “社会人shakaijin” (person of society) that they’ll have to revert back to the clean-cut appearance depending on their job. There are, however, some physical accessorizing that remains taboo. Tattoos have a very negative connotation in Japan and I’ve heard cases where people with tattoos are not allowed in certain places like public baths. I’m not sure about beards and mustaches, but considering the huge lack of them among Japanese people and anime characters I’ve seen, I’m assuming they’re not typically considered attractive, especially for young guys.
To conclude, the lack of anime school girls wearing make-up and jewelry may seem strange from a Western perspective, but it’s perfectly normal in Japan. There’s a strict divide between student and working adult in Japan, and students having a clean appearance is part that custom.
Very well put, I personally wish our society (American, that is) took more consideration into the way we parade ourselves around. Flashy makeup and excessive styling really don’t convey a mature or responsible attitude about the wearer.
I agree, too much personal expression by way of mass accessorizing your body tends to make people feel like they have “too much” freedom and could make them cocky. A little restraint in appearance and behavior would be good for Americans, especially in the impressionable younger generation.
Look at me! First ever comment on your site after all these years…
Very true—I think school-story anime mostly reflects AND reinforces the typical social norm for Japanese students. The only other “made up and accessorized schoolgirl” series I can think of off the top of my head is “Super Gals!”
It’s funny, and I personally agree with what BeldenOtaku said above. Thinking about the way people present themselves in public gives me no end of opportunity to simply shake my head. I presume it comes back to the whole “rugged individualist”/”freedom of expression” vibe we have in America. You know, so that people can wear the same sagging jeans, or what-have-you in order to show their “individuality”…by looking just like everybody else. Funny thing, life…
“Always remember that you’re unique—just like everyone else…”
Hey, thanks for commenting ^_^
I’ve shaken my head at a lot of the young people’s fashion fads that have come and gone, even when I was the same age myself. Things like wild hairstyles and ripped jeans make the wearer feel unique, but if it’s part of a style that other people wear to convey the same message, it’s not really your individual style anymore. But then if your appearance is too unique, people will make fun of you. It’s tricky.
Really interesting. I always figured that Japan just had a stricter dress code than the States; I didn’t know that it extended to conduct as well, but re-thinking some of my favorite high-school centered series, that makes sense.
Yes, it does extend to how students conduct themselves outside school. That’s why you don’t usually see anime high school girls completely pretty themselves up as soon as school is out. If a student is acting up, uniforms help people know which school they come from right away (when it’s a school day that is). Also, I think that when a student does something bad outside of school, the school is notified.
I would say that the lips in Haganai are more just a design, not lipstick. The anime shares the same character designer (Buriki) as the one from Denpa Onna.
It was interesting reading this since I discussed a similar subject quite a while ago about nail polish–also using Anaru as a poster girl :p
Yeah, I wasn’t sure if it was lipstick or not. It’s just kinda weird seeing school-aged anime girls with colored lips – that’s rare in most series, though adult women usually have lipstick. It’s quite different compared to Western animation where girls’ lips are typically accentuated. Maybe it’s because in Japan, it’s more appropriate to convey a sense of purity and young innocence with girls instead of emphasizing parts of their femininity (such as lips) like it is in America.
I think a big part of students at schools in Japan having a very clean appearance also has something to do with fitting in as well. Being told they are unique or stand out from the crowd in any way isn’t usually a good thing. When I toured Japan for 3 weeks last year with a taiko group, one of the things I noticed right away at a school we were visiting was that nearly every single girl had exactly the same hairstyle – a high ponytail with some bangs or a fringe to give it a girlier look. When I asked someone if it was a school rule for girls to have their hair tied back, I was told no, that’s just how everyone chose to style themselves. Although you’re certainly right about stricter rules regarding appearance as well – no ear piercings were allowed for example, and no coloured hair, or skirts higher than a certain length, etc.
That’s an excellent point that shows a big difference between American and Japanese ideals. We’re all about individualism in America and making everyone feel special and unique from an early age. It’s quite the opposite in Japan where everyone has to dress the same and is taught to conduct themselves in a certain way so as to become a valuable member of society and not cause trouble and shame for others. I actually wrote a post about this a while ago and I think both ideals have their pros and cons.
I never stopped to think about the clean appearance of students in Japan versus otherwise. I think that the purpose of uniforms is to create that clean look, but the lack of accessorizing is something that seems to be the base rule in the clean look of students.
When I read Learning To Bow by Bruce Feiler, he wrote some interesting things about student uniform codes in Japan and how they regulated everything, right down to whether or not Mickey Mouse socks were acceptable to wear to school, or even how many stripes could be on a student’s shoes. So I guess uniforms being uniform is the rule of thumb.
But interestingly enough, if you look through Japanese fashion magazines like Egg and I think Ranzuki & Popteen, they often have spreads featuring high school girls who modify their uniforms with patterned socks, bright sneakers, colorful scarves, and tons of cutesy charms on their schoolbags, and also wear bleached, curled and dyed hair with dolly makeup. Although, this seems to be true of only a small amount of students. I’m not sure if their schools actually allow this on campus or if it’s an after school look, but it’s interesting to see how these girls find ways to stray from the standard clean looks expected of students, even if it’s not something they’re allowed to wear entirely while attending classes. ^ ^
Thanks for sharing that info! I sort of figured things were regulated all the way down to socks and shoes, but I didn’t know details like that. Pretty strict.
The girls you described from the spreads in those fashion magazines probably dress that way just for the sake of the spread (during non-school time as you suggested) or perhaps they come from a school that’s not so strict. Maybe their school is aware that it’s part of their job to dress like that at certain times and so an exception is made for them. As young people in Japan nowadays are continually adopting Western dress, perhaps schools will start getting more lax about appearance in the future.
Are the males allowed to have long hair? None of my old schools allowed that :( , and it wasn’t until university that i got completely freedom of my looks (as them)
I’m pretty sure hair length and facial hair are regulated for guys. How many school-aged anime guys do you know with girl-length hair and/or a beard or mustache?
Good point
well… on fruit basket whats his face tricked the teacher and got away from cutting his hair well… because he’s a snake
That is quite interesting. So the anime schools looking all nice and clean and everyone well dressed is not just an anime thing. My time in high school was pretty hectic, and had relaxed dress codes, so it was nothing like that. I think that discipline could be good for western schools and even having students clean the classrooms and organize things would be good.
The “blond hair dies = delinquent” always piqued my interest. So just simply being out of the norm is considered being rebellious. Pretty interesting and shows a very strict attitude in school. I wish we had more of that. School kids now a days seem completely out of control :(
I totally agree that have students do things like clean the classrooms and be required to conduct themselves a certain way outside of school would be good for American schools. Freedom is great but we have too much of it in this country and too much of it makes people obnoxious, materialistic, lazy, and oblivious to any inconvenience they could be causing to those around them. Being required to take responsibility on a daily basis (not just with homework) and show restraint in dress would be great for students nowadays.
I think guys having dyed hair in Japan creates a delinquent connotation because it’s something the yakuza tend to do, or I think it’s just something that a lot of gang members do, so any guy who has odd colored hair gets stereotyped.
I will probably not be the first to comment on this but tattoo’s in Japan are generally a taboo because of the connection it has with Yakuza groups. It’s basically, “If you have tattoo’s, you may be in the Yakuza and we don’t want to deal with them” sort of deal.
And that is my two cents for the topic hand.
Yes, now I remember that tattoos in Japan automatically give off a yakuza vibe, which is why they’re rarely seen. As I said in the comment above, I think hair dying is also taboo in school because of links to the yakuza, though I could be wrong about that.
I decided to look into the hair dying. Quick search came up with nothing.
More than likely, the dying of hair is scene as being delinquent like and is simply frowned upon. Although my research was light, I do not personally recall the yakuza enjoying the art of dying your hair (cough).
I actually prefer a “cleaner” look instead of lots of makeup, dyed hair, rings and stuff. Maybe that’s just me.
Another factor to why it is not so common in anime, might be because it would be hard to animate it. Lots of details if that would be the case.
It is Buriki’s style. It can also be seen in Denpa Onna. Though, who knows, they might all be wearing lipstick! :p
I too prefer a clean, natural look. I’m probably one of the only girls in America who’s never worn make-up, dyed my hair, or painted my nails.
Thanks for the info about Haganai. Yeah, unless it’s officially stated, it’s hard to say if they’re all wearing lipsticks or they just have colored lips.
Very interesting topic!
Don’t have much to say, but Tsuruko’s hair always looked black to me.
Hmm, it looks blue to me (Jinta’s is black). Well, maybe for the girls in AnoHana, blue is the new black XD
It never seemed strange to me cause back in Canada, I went to a semi-private all-girls high school with the same rules. No make-up, no nail polish, only one bracelet/necklace/ring, no hoop earings larger than a quarter, no “radical” hairstyle (aka, no “unnatural” colours), a thousand more on how to wear a proper regulation uniform, and the list honestly goes on. Of course there were a few students that still tried to get away with it until they got caught, but that never lasted too long because I went to a very strict annoying school. My uniform looked pretty much exactly like Kairi’s from Kingdom Hearts 2 (except without the tie) if you’ve ever played the game….
But of course it still makes sense in you saying that their rules still look strange to the Western world because most people didn’t go to ultra lame schools like mine was.
I went to private elementary and middle schools. However, I don’t recall any dress code in elementary and in middle school we just had to wear certain shirt/pants/skirt colors. I don’t think there was any rules about hair style or jewelry. But yeah, schools, especially private ones, can be like that in the West while in Japan it’s the norm for even the public schools.
at my school all we had on elementary were no short lenghth pants/skirts no spaghetti straps and no sandals in middle school no makeup no unnatural hair color [ yay black blond red brown etc] and most of the same rules elementary rules oh and no turtle necks cause they prob think u hav a tat or hicky or somtin
Hmm, this post reminds me of when Kitamura, from Toradora, dyed his hair after he found out Sumire was leaving them for the US. The teachers and stuff were flipping out and he left the school. I was like “what’s the big deal?!” But as you explain so eloquently, it’s a big no-no to do things like that in Japanese schools.
I also agree with other comments about wishing US school systems were similar. Too many students in American schools care more about looking good going to school than learning the actual curriculum once they get there. For some students, not having the right clothes and such leads you to be shunned and ridiculed. Kids will always find reasons to pick on and tease. But at least a uniform dress code takes some of the divisive elements out of the schools.
lol, I just came back to check your blogs for updates. I feel stupid for not paying attention and realizing you used the Toradora screenshot of Kitamura’s dyed hair. It makes my post seem quite silly. gomen.
Nah, your comment is fine. You were just using Toradora! as an example – didn’t matter if I had the picture of Kitamura there or not.
I agree, some dress restraint would be good for American schools. There will always be people who make fun of you for your looks, but taking students minds away from fashion and standing out, and redirecting it to education, would be good.
Hahaha! The lipstick thing. About dress in highschools in Japan and America… One way isn’t necessarily right, and all systems are flawed. People will find a way to break away from the mold and usually want to. Whether it’s wearing mountain climber socks or showing more leg skin in the dresses, people find a way to rally up into cliques, differentiate who is “better” than others and compete with rivals. That is human nature. The mountain climber sock there is the spaghetti strap here. If it isn’t one thing its another. You can’t take YOU out of the equation, if we could, the world would be a Utopia. It isn’t systems or governments, its people. A scientist here will be a scientist there and a delinquent there is a delinquent here. Put simply if everyone was made of air we would be arguing who was the most clear, thats the way we are. Japan and America at their very cultural foundation are just like everywhere else except superficially and in concept one may appear better. But I am far and away from the point now. Nice topic, good food for thought with anime as a medium ;)
You’re totally right about human nature in this sense. There will always be people trying to stand out, whether for better or worse. From a cultural point of view, Japan and America have their differences, but in individual cases humans are fundamentally the same everywhere.
It’s an Asian thing, not just Japanese. But it does seem that the schools are relaxing the rules, by just a wee bit. Then again, the last time I wore a school uniform was 12 years ago. :P
The adage “Do it, but don’t get caught” holds true pretty much anywhere, and attire violations are a typical breach. That is until the Discipline Master or Prefects catches you and get booked for punishment. For example, “long” hair will be cut by the Discipline Master or a hired barber depending on the spot check timing. (Random vs mass. Usually haphazardly, as long as it’s short) Dyed hair get re-dyed almost immediately. This pretty much kept us in line. The student/teacher fear/respect heirachy was still intact back then.
I don’t remember much about facial hair rules since only a few managed to grow them by Secondary School. Since they were the fine hair variety, no one really kicked a fuss. It was either trimmed or shaved off, since a kid with facial hair looks very akward.
I for one am thankful for the uniform system since it helped us to concentrate on studies. I mean, 3 pairs of uniform could last you for 2 years. Try pulling that off with normal clothes. That said, I did have trouble mixing clothes once I started tertiary education. Thankfully, engineering students aren’t known to be fancy dressers. :P
Ah, that’s interesting to know that it’s an Asian thing and not totally a Japan thing.
Long and dyed hair create a certain connotation in America, but the difference is that it’s allowed anyway while it’s not in Japan. We’re all about individual expression in America while Japan is about becoming a part of society. Like everything in life, both outlooks have their pros and cons.
Good point about uniforms. No need to waste time deciding what to wear to school for the first 18 years of your life XD
Interesting piece. I have to say it’s certainly different here in the UK. :)
Nearly all the schools here have a uniform, with varying states of strictness. My school’s pretty lax, so unless your hair’s really weird you’re ok. So girls here often walk around with faces full of make up and short skirts (that they get told to replace but don’t). It’s certainly different to the Japanese way. I think strict rules are good, but not so strict it’s suffocating.
Thanks for the info about the UK. Didn’t know uniforms were the norm there too and that rules about hair and make-up are lax.
@Sam, If what you’re implying is that Japan’s rules are suffocating, in my opinion I don’t think the people of japan feel that way and here’s my relative experience of why I say that. There are some countries in Europe that don’t have any law prohibiting public nudity whereas here In America, you can get fined or sent to prison for being naked in public. Some people in those European countries may see America’s public nudity law to be “suffocating” as we don’t have the legal right to go around in public naked as they do, but here I don’t feel suffocated by the public nudity law (I assume it’s the same for most, if not all others) because I have never been introduced to it enough to use it as a comparison to how I currently live my life. I think the people in Japan feel the same with not being able to wear makeup/nail polish easily since they’ve always grown up not wearing them (as what the post implies) and don’t really have the “American lifestyle” to compare it with (not just America obviously, but I think I made the point)
When I go to visit my family in China during summer, I always go get a hair cut at least once. I like to leave my hair decently long, but that’s actually strictly prohibited for Chinese schools as well. In fact, the only haircut you’ll ever see Chinese high-schoolers and below will have is the default very short haircut for boys and not below the shoulder hairstyle for girls. Obviously dyeing your hair is out of the question. No wonder western people tend to say Chinese all look alike, because they just do…hairstyle wise.
So yeah, Japan is not the only country with strict dress codes at schools. That said, the reason most characters in anime do not wear make up is probably more related to aesthetic preference than its parallel with reality. Nothing stops the authors making weird hair colors and I don’t see why they wouldn’t make their characters wear make-up because the dress codes in schools. Anime characters do not need the subtle make-up many people use daily, because the coloring of the images are incredibly smooth. Sadly, that can’t be said for the skin of real humans beings. Instead, to show that an anime character wears make-up, you need to apply things that are actually noticeable, but it will make him/her look kind of like a clown, since striking colors needs to be used. Because of that, make-up in anime tend to hurt the aesthetic touch too much that instead of showing a character is beautiful, it might actually do the exact opposite.
By the way, apart from Anjou from AnoHana, Kirino from OreImo also dyes her nails, but does not wear earrings.
Oh, I didn’t know you were from China =) I suspected they have similar dress codes as Japan but I wasn’t totally sure. Now that you mentioned it, maybe that’s one of the reasons I have trouble discerning Asians from each other- without the help of the unique hairstyles, make-up, clothing, etc., that I’m used to in America, it’s hard for them to stand out.
You know, that’s a really good point about why most anime characters don’t wear make-up. Unlike real people, anime characters can be made as blemish free as their creators want, so make-up isn’t necessary, and in fact may ruin the pure, cute look that a lot of anime girls convey.
And yes, Kirino is the other example I thought of too =)
Many times I wish this were more common place here in the States. While I have nothing against freedom of expression to such a degree, I think that toning it down can really let somebody’s appearance shine. While I don’t think making it the norm to the point of actively shunning those that don’t meet the criteria is going a bit far, though it does still happen, underplaying physical characteristics or at least not accentuating them can be surprisingly powerful.
On “Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai”, I don’t think that their lips shine because they are wearing lipstick, unless it is lipgloss. I’ve seen the style used on the characters for “Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko” too, so it is likely a new style trend to make the girls more appealing in the harem type Anime without giving in to some of the fanservice that other harem type Anime stoop too.
Really; why does it matter what they look like? As long as they get to class on time and are ready to work. The hair is gonna drop out someday and the body parts are gonna sag- so let them enjoy themselves little while they’ve still got ’em…
sheesh.
@crazyonthefarm Your statement “let them enjoy themselves little while while they’ve still got ’em” and your other statement “why does it matter what they look like?” contradicts each other