Why Did Mikasa Ackerman Cut Her Hair in Season 4?

As far as Attack on Titan goes, Mikasa Ackerman is one of the best and most intriguing characters in the whole series. We have written about Mikasa here on Fiction Horizon before and this article is going to be yet another in the series on the show’s main heroine. Now, in this article, we won’t be talking about Mikasa’s role in the story but rather about a very interesting, albeit a bit trivial detail – why did Mikasa cut her short in Season 4? Keep reading to find out.

Hajime Isayama answered this question in a monthly Q&A in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in February 2019. When asked why Mikasa cut her hair, Isayama replied like this: “She used to keep it long and make a ponytail. Due to some unexpected accident, the knot part was chopped off.” There doesn’t seem to be any particular reason behind this.

The rest of this article will provide you with further information regarding Mikasa Ackerman and her haircuts throughout the series. This isn’t an overly broad topic of discussion, but we’ll be providing you with all the information we have on this topic, aside from Isayama’s own answer, which officially cleared up the dilemma.

Why did Mikasa cut her hair short?

Mikasa Ackerman has gone through a lot of changes over the course of the Attack on Titan manga. Most of them were actually great character development moments but some of them were more trivial and are actually related to her looks. Her hair, in particular, has been the subject of numerous changes throughout the series.

One notable change happened in Season 4 of Attack on Titan, when Mikasa’s signature long(er) hair became completely short. Over the course of her life, Mikasa Ackerman has had long her, or longer hair, at least. At one point, her hair was tied into a ponytail but the ponytail suddenly disappeared in Season 4 and we were introduced to a Mikasa with completely short hair.

Naturally, fans have wondered as to why that happened, since the plot of Attack on Titan never provided us with an explanation. Luckily for us, Hajime Isayama is a really cool guy, and during a monthly Q&A in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazin from February 2019, he provided us with an answer:

Q: Why did Mikasa cut her hair short?

A: She used to keep it long and make a ponytail. Due to some unexpected accident, the knot part was chopped off.

As you can see, the change in Mikasa’s haircut seems to be purely accidental. Some fans thought that Isayama made the accidental mistake of forgetting to draw Mikasa’s ponytail and then just kept it for continuity reasons, but the reason can actually be found in-universe, although no one has ever specified as to what exactly happened. The hair got cut off and Mikasa simply had short hair from that moment onwards.

What is Mikasa’s haircut called?

Now, Mikasa is a pretty popular character and her haircuts were never that complex or extravagant that people wouldn’t want to copy them. It is actually rather simple and it doesn’t require much effort to form and to maintain. In this section, we are going to reveal the names of these haircuts are so you can tell your hairdresser what kind of haircut you want.

In Season 2

In Season 2, Mikasa Ackerman has longer hair, as you can see. This haircut, seen in the image above, is called a straight bob haircut with bangs. So, if you want this haircut – which you can also tie up in a ponytail – just say this to your hairdresser.

In Season 4

In Season 4, Mikasa’s hair is shorter, but with the same length bangs, which basically means that it is the same haircut, only shorter. This one cannot really be tied into a ponytail.

How do you do a Mikasa haircut?

We at Fiction Horizon aren’t hairdressers but some good people around the Internet know their stuff and we have found a great tutorial for you if you want to do a Mikasa-style haircut. It is also a cosplay tutorial so you can have even more fun if you’re into cosplay. Enjoy:

Will Mikasa grow her hair back?

The answer to this question, we have to go into the future of Attack on Titan, years after Eren’s death. So, what happens after Eren’s death in Attack on Titan? What does the epilogue reveal to us?

Three years later, Historia recounts the events in Paradis in a letter to her former comrades en route to join her on Paradis. The day when Eren was defeated is called “the battle between heaven and earth”. The Yeagerists have formed an army and taken control of the island supported by the people and are ready to fight with the people coming from beyond Paradis, thus affirming Eren’s reasoning that one of the two camps must be eliminated so that peace reigns.

At the end of Armin’s reading, Reiner retrieves the letter and smells it before being put in his place by Jean reminding him that Historia has a fiancé. Peak asks Jean why he does his hair and the latter and Reiner throw spades at each other. Annie joins them, informing them that they will be arriving soon. She asks them if it’s a good idea for them to be the emissaries of peace after their betrayal and Eren’s death.

Connie trusts Historia to keep them safe as she did for their families, Jean and him, as her mother has become human again. Armin adds that they shouldn’t argue that people will surely want to know what happened. On the island, Mikasa sits next to Eren’s grave, under the tree where he used to slumber, near Shiganshina.

She tells him that their friends will be there soon and asks him if it makes him happy. The young woman remembers the moments spent with the one she loves, then says that she would have liked to see him again. A bird walks up to her and puts her scarf back around her neck properly and Mikasa thanks him again for putting this scarf around her neck.

As you can see from the panel provided above, Mikasa does grow her hair back; in fact, she has her long hair again, the one she had as a young girl.