A couple of empirical questions: When did hair antennae become part of anime character design? Was Pani Poni Dash! the first anime to actually use the term "ahoge"? In the context of PPD, the term was used as a nickname for Himeko Katagiri by Becky but is also used to refer specifically to the hair antennae itself. How far has this term achieved adoption in anime and in anime fandom?
Definitional points. “Ahoge” combines two characteristics accruing from the two components that make up this invented compound word. One is physical; the single lock of hair on top of Himeko’s head which gives the “ge” part of the term. Another is mental; the character is a moron or has done something so incredibly stupid that it changes the way we see her and thus "aho". Continue reading ‘Girls of the Ahoge’
