The Twelve Kingdoms Forum

Her hair is naturally red in both the anime and the novel.
In Japan her hair is what we would call auburn I guess. She never dies it because it is against her school policy. More on the strict school policies coming soon ^_~

<~~~n00b ^_^

Hi all, I just got into this anime 3 days ago, and pretty much haven't slept since, downloading and watching all the eps and whatnot. Erm...I also didn't know if I should make a proper introduction, since it seems no one else on these boards have. So i'll just jump in on this topic

Anyways, to return to the topic; everything in the anime indicates the red hair was natural. In the first episode even, if i remember correctly, her mother tells her that her sensei thinks her hair is unnatural and thought she had dyed it, so her mother *asks* her to dye it so it'll look more natural and she w on't get in trouble. Then as she leaves for school, her father quarrels with her mother about how it will be obvious she dyed her hair to look normal and how she'll be humiliated since everyone will know (paraphrasing)

I think there were also flashbacks in some episode about how the girls in school were making fun of her abnormally red hair. But my brain could have just spontaneously made that up, so don't quote me on it -_-;;

Also, she tried to be a good girl. If dyeing her hair was against the norm and looked down upon, why would she have done it? I think that would be completely out of character, especially for Youko at that time.

I think also i can clear up the dye/bath color confusion too. 12k seems to be like Japan's feudal era in the middle ages, so I'm guessing they didn't have products like L'oreal or Clairol available . They most likely used henna, or some other plant derived dye. If anyone's ever used henna, they'd know that basically all it does is sort of 'coat' the hair, and doesn't give the dramatic transformation today's dyes are capable of (henna is *just* a pigment, like paint, whereas today's dyes strip the pigment from the hair shaft using ammonia or like chemicals, and replace it with the new pigment). Also, all henna dyes are red based pigments, even the black and blonde colours, so when you wash it out it looks reddish in hue. This would explain why it looked the way it did in the bathwater. It would also explain why it didn't quite hide Youko's red hair completely and just made it look darker. Traditionally, hennas are meant to be used according to your original hair color, either to cover gray or give your natural color a boost. They're not really intended for changing one's color completely and are incapable of doing so.

PS> very glad I found this anime, and forum. I'm so shocked I haven't heard more about it! (stumbled onto it cuz I'm a huge Kappei Yamaguchi fan ^_^)

That was a translation error in episode 1.

The father is merely saying that it's emberassing to have people doubt his daughter's natural hair color. Like the teacher did.

This is what the father is pointing out, that everyone would know that she dyed her hair, and it would humiliate her. Because one day she has red hair, and the next she has black.

:: confused ::

isn't that along the same lines of what I wrote? 0_o

Also, she tried to be a good girl. If dyeing her hair was against the norm and looked down upon, why would she have done it? I think that would be completely out of character, especially for Youko at that time.


Next, I believe Youko KNOWS that her natural hair color is red. I think she is like... "This is my natural hair color. What's wrong with it? What have I done wrong?" But then again, this itself goes against her "I want to please everyone" attitude. But perhaps her feelings that this red hair is her hair and that there isn't anything wrong with it is stronger than the "I want to please everyone" attitude. But then again I could be wrong. Who knows... maybe she just likes red hair?

i think i was misunderstood, my bad for not making it clear as to what i meant. I meant, if dyeing your hair *red* is looked down upon, why would she have done it since to do so would be frowned upon and against her character trait of wanting to please everyone and be a good girl? I was countering the theory that maybe Youko had dyed her hair red and was being asked to change it back, not the other way around ^_^

Hello! Newbie here. *waves at everybody*

Anyway, one question about Yoko's hair which has always been bugging me - if a Taika's appearance in Japan is supposed to be different from when they're in the world of JK, why is it that Yoko's hair still remains red? I mean, when Enki's in JK, his hair is yellow, but when he's in Japan, his hair is black, right? A 'normal' colour. So why isn't Yoko's black either? (Actually, come to think of it, Enou's and Taiki's hair are also black, but since they have black hair in BOTH worlds, I guess it doesn't really count) I would have thought that the reason why a Taika's appearance in Japan is different from when they're in JK would be in order to hide the fact that they're NOT originally from Japan. But it kind of defeats the purpose if Yoko's hair remains red since then she's obviously not a 'normal' Japanese.

Hope what I'm saying makes sense. ^_^;;

Oh yeah, that's a good argument. "BECAUSE SHE'S SPESHUL." *runs out of the room*

Ah, thanks for the reminder. I forgot Enki's kirin form has yellow hair. It still doesn't explain how he manages to have black hair when he's in Japan, though. I don't think it could be a conscious use of his kirin powers, since he has black hair even when he's young, if I'm not wrong.

And actually, I've always thought of Keiki and Kourin as having white hair. Kind of like how Taiki's the only black kirin, and then there are two other types of kirin - those with very pale skin and white hair (majority of the kirin we've seen so far), and those with tanned skin and yellow hair (Enki and Kyouki)

And this might be going kind of off topic, but it still doesn't help to explain why a Taika's appearance is different in both worlds. Like I said before, I thought it was because it's to help the Taika look more 'normal' so he/she can fit in with the rest of the 'ordinary' people, but judging from Yoko's example, it appears this is not the case. So then is there any point in altering a Taika's appearance when they're in our world? Or does it just happen because the author says so?

A kirin doesn't necessarily have yellow hair. They just have light colored hair.

:points at Kyouki's orange hair:

on taikas... this is how I've come to understand it anyway, I may well be wrong. (also, I'm thinking as I write, so I'll jump around a lot

the ranka settles into the body of an unborn baby...
the baby gets its DNA from parents as per usual...
so, the ranka gets imprinted with human DNA, becoming quite frankly part of this world.. AND that.

the changing may simply be the ranka DNA and the human DNAs resonating with either world.. and gaining dominance...

or something.

*thinks* like a fox getting a white furcoat during winter and red-brown during summer... except not really =^.^=

beings that are true human or true JK don't have a part of the other world in them to get brought out.. so it doesn't happen.


*tilts head in puzzlement*
sound plausible?

*tilts head more, brains fall out*

- lei.

I think that Reckless Angel may have a reason. The sons are born with the features from both his/her parents, thus a son from JK would have the features from them. In the case of a Taika, when the Ranka settles into the womb of a japanese mom, it's take the features of his/her japanese parents. When he returns to JK, he returns to his JK family features.

In the case of Yoko, her red her is special like everyone said. No one in JK or Japanaese has natural red hair, they have black or brown.

About Yoko's hair dyeing. It's what one would call a "Dilemma". A problem that has two solutions but both lead to more problems or have cons. Yoko has natural red hair. In Japan you're not normal if you don't have black/brown hair or if you dye it.

Solution 1) Yoko can stay with her natural red hair, but everyone will look at her like a freak.
Solution 2) Yoko can dye her hair black, but the teacher and some other people has been told that se has natural red and they'll know she dyed her hair.

So either of them is a bad solution, that's what a Dilemma is.

Well I thought of a third one, She can completely shave her head.

4) she could change her personality so that she has a character type that doesn't care about what other people think. (Youko the delinquent)

5) Move to a different country


She picked the last one, or rather, it was forced on her

I'm going to try and summarize what I know. Some of this has already been pointed out, but I'm trying to consolidate here, so bear with me.

Youko's hair is naturally red in both Tokoyo (JK-land) and Hourai (Japan). It's a darker red in Japan/Hourai presumably due to taking on _some_ characteristics from her Hourai parents.
- Youko's mother wants her to dye her hair from red to black, so that Youko doesn't stand out. Her mother worries that the simple fact of having red hair will make people suspect Youko of being a delinquent and playing around. In the book version, there's a teacher who seems to actively hate Youko for this exact reason.
- Youko says she doesn't want to dye her hair because dyeing is against school rules. I.e. technically there's no difference between dyeing normal hair to red/green/purple vs. dyeing normally red hair to black. Whether this is the whole reason is unclear b/c we don't get any insight into Youko's thoughts during the conversation.
- Youko's dad doesn't make a direct appearance in the book, but it's clear from indirect references that he, possibly even more so than mom, doesn't want his daughter to stand out. The off-screen anime dad echoes this.

Kamui wrote:I think that Reckless Angel may have a reason. The sons are born with the features from both his/her parents, thus a son from JK would have the features from them. In the case of a Taika, when the Ranka settles into the womb of a japanese mom, it's take the features of his/her japanese parents. When he returns to JK, he returns to his JK family features.

(BTW, Kamui, I just _had_ to correct your typo of worm for womb. That was just bugging me way too much. ~_~;; )

This is my understanding, too, with one correction -- see below. Taika children will take on some of the characteristics of their Hourai parents b/c people in Hourai look like their parents. However, a number of the traits originally intended by Tentei may still show through. I'm assuming that Youko's red hair is a strong enough trait that it showed through in Hourai despite the "shell" of changes induced by being born in Hourai.

The novel indicates that in JK-land, unlike in Hourai, children do _not_ necessarily look like their parents. Roughly translated quote from "Tsuki no Kage" book 2, p.150 below. This is when Rakushun shows Youko a _riboku_.

(Youko) "Do children look like the parents?"
(Rakushun) "Children look like the parents? Why?"
Asked this, as if it were truly an strange thing, Youko smiled wryly. If a woman in the shape of a human could have a child in the shape of a rat, there was probably no genetic relationship between parent and child.
"Over there, parents and children resemble each other."
"Really? That's odd. Doesn't that make you feel weird, somehow?"
"Does it? I wonder."
"Doesn't it make you feel uneasy having similar-looking people all in the same house?"
"Come to think of it, you might be right."

Tentei wrote:Very nice analysis.

Thanks.

(And so that this doesn't become a stupid one-liner thing to bump my post count above "lucky" 13...)

As for why Youko has red hair in the first place, only Tentei knows...don't you?

Seriously, though, it's probably just a plot necessity. If Youko had the more common brown or black hair, then she wouldn't stand out in Hourai, would she? And then she wouldn't have the personal conflicts that stem from standing out, right? Red makes sense b/c it's uncommon (in Japan anyway) but not weird (like purple ).

Why don't we just take what tentei says to bet the final word on this matter?

Or is everyone here actually questioning the word of God? -__-

Tokoyo... I can't say I've heard that term before. Is that from the novels? Is there a literal meaning to it?

I question the word of god all the time. I got turned into a duck because of it and now i am working my way back into Tentais good graces.

But i do want to know.. what is Toyoko? Never heard of it in the Anime.

Actually she did more then just move to another country she moved to another whole Universe. Wow when somepeople want to get away from it all they get FAR away.

"In Japan, a legend speaks of a land called Tokoyo. On the other side of the sea, exists a mystic world. Only "the chosen ones" may visit this wonderful land where the earth is blessed with good harvest. It is a place where wealth is abundant and gushes as if it were a natural spring. A place where no one ages, suffers or dies. It is the land of the Twelve Kingdoms."

Tokoyo is what it is called in the Japanese legend in the novels. It is never called this in the anime.

Unless I'm remembering wrong, Hourai was described the same way too.