<p>Urusei Yatsura had characters with weird hair colors as far back as 1981 and is generally the originator of a lot of things that make anime anime.</p>
<p>But then three years earlier <strong>Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Harlock (1978)</strong> already featured someone with a blue hair color.</p>
<p>That character was an alien, though.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/xemNem.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/xemNem.jpg" alt="Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Harlock" /></a></p>
<p>Truth be told,... the characters with weird hair colors in Urusei Yatsura were also all aliens.</p>
<p>Similarly, <strong>Kidou Senshi Gundam 0079 (1979)</strong> had characters with blue hair:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/4eD0G.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4eD0G.png" alt="M'Quve" /></a> <a href="https://files.catbox.moe/mx6pd0.webp" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://files.catbox.moe/mx6pd0.webp" alt="Lalah Sune" /></a></p>
<p>Even earlier, <strong>Majokko Meg-chan (1974)</strong>:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/o5UQb.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/o5UQb.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mScfl.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mScfl.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>And I guess the following could also be interesting in general:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1gPfi.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1gPfi.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/kQrKm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/kQrKm.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-09T19:15:09.563Z
2022-06-09T19:15:09.563Z
Ocean
<p>I specifically want to know which manga or anime started the trend, so I can reason from there to the how question, in order to not make general assumptions.</p>

<p>There was a time in manga/anime where blue hair was abnormal.
For example, from the short clips I've seen of the anime "アタックNo.1", it contains mostly black-haired girls, a couple of brunettes and a sparse blonde. No one there is pink/red/blue-haired. Same with Princess Knight.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-18T22:06:41.810Z
I don't think it's that unusual that you'd want to see colorful hair styles in a country where most people have black hair. Also, manga is monochrome, so only cover page, a rare colored page, or textual description can be used to convey color. Also [this post](http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/2872/why-do-many-characters-tend-to-have-crazy-hair-colors-and-styles?rq=1).
Hakase
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-18T22:44:20.543Z
I like a more "This or that anime/manga was the first one to draw anime characters blonde/blue, so drawing a path from here we can start eliminating these assumptions" answer.
Folaht
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T04:37:55.950Z
@Hakase All the answers on the question you linked are trying to explain *why* the characters have unnatural hair colors. This question seems to be asking "Can we identify *when* this became part of the anime art style?"
Torisuda
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-12T15:09:56.097Z
Just a guess. Maybe from Wild Arms (PSX game). The main hero of WA 1 and WA 2 was blue haired.
絢瀬絵里
<anime-history><manga-history>
When & where did the unnatural hair color aka "You gotta have blue hair trope" originate?
# When & where did the unnatural hair color aka "You gotta have blue hair trope" originate?
Posted by: username_0 on 2016-01-18
I specifically want to know which manga or anime started the trend, so I can reason from there to the how question, in order to not make general assumptions.

There was a time in manga/anime where blue hair was abnormal.
For example, from the short clips I've seen of the anime "アタックNo.1", it contains mostly black-haired girls, a couple of brunettes and a sparse blonde. No one there is pink/red/blue-haired. Same with Princess Knight.
**Tags:** anime-history manga-history
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I don't think it's that unusual that you'd want to see colorful hair styles in a country where most people have black hair. Also, manga is monochrome, so only cover page, a rare colored page, or textual description can be used to convey color. Also [this post](http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/2872/why-do-many-characters-tend-to-have-crazy-hair-colors-and-styles?rq=1).  
> **username_0**: I like a more "This or that anime/manga was the first one to draw anime characters blonde/blue, so drawing a path from here we can start eliminating these assumptions" answer.  
> **username_2**: @Hakase All the answers on the question you linked are trying to explain *why* the characters have unnatural hair colors. This question seems to be asking "Can we identify *when* this became part of the anime art style?"  
> **username_3**: Just a guess. Maybe from Wild Arms (PSX game). The main hero of WA 1 and WA 2 was blue haired.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_4 on 2022-06-09. Score: 1
Urusei Yatsura had characters with weird hair colors as far back as 1981 and is generally the originator of a lot of things that make anime anime.

But then three years earlier **Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Harlock (1978)** already featured someone with a blue hair color.

That character was an alien, though.

[![Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Harlock](https://i.sstatic.net/xemNem.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/xemNem.jpg)

Truth be told,... the characters with weird hair colors in Urusei Yatsura were also all aliens.

Similarly, **Kidou Senshi Gundam 0079 (1979)** had characters with blue hair:

[![M'Quve](https://i.sstatic.net/4eD0G.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/4eD0G.png) [![Lalah Sune](https://files.catbox.moe/mx6pd0.webp)](https://files.catbox.moe/mx6pd0.webp)

Even earlier, **Majokko Meg-chan (1974)**:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/o5UQb.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/o5UQb.jpg)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/mScfl.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/mScfl.jpg)

And I guess the following could also be interesting in general:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/1gPfi.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/1gPfi.jpg)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/kQrKm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/kQrKm.jpg)
---
