Summary
The characters in Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night change their hair color to symbolize self-renewal, tied to the show's theme. Hair dye in anime serves as an intentional storytelling tool, adding personality to characters and meeting industry standards. The meaning of hair color relates to the characters' desire to escape past situations and reinvent themselves.
Urban play Jellyfish cannot swim at night may have strange hair colors like other anime, but this detail is cleverly integrated into the character description. Three of the four main characters changed their natural hair color to look like in the movie. This not only lays the groundwork for the often overlooked visual element, but also ties it into the show's overarching theme of self-renewal.
While Kano, Mei, and Kiwi search the world like any other anime character, Jelly fish took care to show them before and after their appearance changes. Hair dye, as absurd as it sounds, provides both the striking character design that any fashion girl desires, and is an intentional and effective storytelling tool.
It was a deliberate and unusual choice to add personality to the show. It's also a not-so-subtle jab at the weird hair colors common to anime characters.
Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night combines character and story with great visuals
Changing appearance represents a desire to escape the past
Although the four members of JELEE look like a regular cast from an anime series, it is quickly revealed that three of them have changed their hair color – which even serves as a punchline. for a joke at the end of Episode 3, with Mahiru shocked when Kiwi dyed her dark. bright pink hair. While it can be read as a sly stab at an industry that is normalizing unrealistic designs for even the most mundane and realistic settings, it's worth noting that these transitions are a recurring element. So rather than being a curious character design, the hair dye is actually an important motif.
What makes hair color important is that it clearly relates to the “before” and “after” of Kano, Mei, and Kiwi. It not only represents a change in their circumstances but also their desire to renew themselves.: Kano's blonde hair and loose coat are a rebellion against her cute idol persona; Mei's lengthy flashback shows how she chose dark hair to admire that character, while Kiwi's bright pink hair seems to be a desperate attempt to attract attention. In other words, it symbolizes their desire to escape their past situations, to achieve different levels of success.
Jellyfish can't swim at night shows the value of character design beyond aesthetics
Strangely enough, Mahiru seems to have escaped this pattern so far, although joining JELEE was her chance to start working as an artist again; perhaps the plot will also plot to dye her hair brown. This just once again illustrates Jellyfish's clever use of a design language so ubiquitous that it becomes invisible to the viewer. Although changing hair color is often the result of magic or science, Jellyfish cannot swim at night shows how simple things like character development can be a force for change, even when anime is filled with a veritable rainbow of colors.