Why do anime characters bleed from the nose?

Ever wondered why most anime characters bleed from their nose? In today's article we are going to talk about one of the biggest clichés of all time, the nosebleed or nosebleed called hanaji [鼻血].

In most anime this happens to represent when an anime character feels excited and has perverted thoughts, but how does this happen? Why does it happen? Who created this cliché? Let's try to find out in this article.

In most works this happens more with male characters, but it can also happen to females. And it doesn't always mean that the person is excited or thinking nonsense, simply because something may have caused an impact in their eyes or embarrassment, it's easy to see that the person doesn't even have time to think and the nose starts to bleed.

Of course, this visual cliché is just a way of demonstrating what the character is feeling and thinking, but there are also some origins and curiosities behind this story.

What is the origin of the bleeding nose cliché?

Nosebleeds are like a Japanese superstition, like if you sneeze 1 time someone is saying something good about you, 2 something bad, 3 you have a cold.

Authors often use this cliché because they find it funny, no other reason in particular, just as all Japanese traits are similar, so are the customs in the stories.

Some claim that the idea is that sexual arousal causes a rise in blood pressure, which in turn triggers a nosebleed. It is even true that blood pressure rises, but this has nothing to do with the nose.

Some believe this custom arose because in the past professional wrestlers made small cuts on their foreheads in order to build tension and atmosphere during a match.

Probably the authors had the same idea of creating this exaggeration and representing this feeling. That is, there is no story behind this custom of bleeding the nose because of excitement in anime.

Why do anime characters bleed from their noses?

Anime characters bleeding from the nose

Making a list of anime that have scenes with nosebleeds is very difficult. Almost all anime have these scenes, even if it's just once. One of the anime with the most nasal scenes is Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts.

Other famous anime like Naruto, One Piece, Punchiline, Dragon Ball, Gurren Laggan, Charlotte and several others have famous scenes of nosebleeds. Almost every anime has at least one scene like this.

Here are some videos showing these absurd nosebleeds:

What Really Causes Nosebleeds

Nosebleeds can be caused by:

  • Irritation due to allergies, colds, sneezing or sinus problems
  • Very cold or dry air;
  • Blow your nose very hard;
  • hurt the nose;
  • Deviated septum;
  • chemical irritants;
  • Excessive use of decongestant nasal sprays;

Is that you? What do you think of this cliché?

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