Strike Up the Band

Crono is a seemingly ordinary teenage kid who stumbles into an epic journey through time. He wasn’t planning on going on an adventure, but he just so happened to be dressed for pretty much any occasion. It seriously looks like he opened his closet and decided to wear every article of clothing he had. He has brown boots, olive pants, a green shirt, a blue tunic, a black belt, a purple satchel, and an orange ascot. His white headband is arguably the most practical part of his ensemble. He has an impressive mane of spiky hair, and it’s obviously important to keep it out of his eyes. The headband also makes him look like a samurai, and it’s the perfect compliment to his katana blade. Crono’s headband gives him a speed boost, and it can be worn by other members of his party. Even if it’s removed, Crono always appears to be wearing it.

Jade is an investigative reporter, a martial artist, and a resistance fighter. When she stumbles upon a sinister alien conspiracy, she risks her life to obtain photographic evidence. She travels to the far reaches the the galaxy to expose the truth, and she’s willing to take on an intergalactic mercenary group. The girl obviously has a busy schedule, so she doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about her appearance. Her clothes are work-appropriate and she makes no effort to accentuate her feminine traits. This doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have an eye for fashion. Her iconic green headband keeps her messy hair out of her eyes, and it’s surprisingly stylish. The headband matches her jacket, her pants, her lipstick, and her eyes! Heck, it even matches her name! I’m not sure if it was intentional, but Jade is a master of color coordination.

Apollo Justice is a passionate defense attorney with an advanced ability to read body language, nervous ticks, and other nonverbal cues. He can always tell when someone is lying, but his abilities occasionally interfere with his interpersonal relationships. When he starts to view one of his friends in a suspicious light, he takes it upon himself to limit his innate powers by wearing an eye patch. To that end, he wraps a cloth bandage over his right eye and ties it behind his head like a proper headband. Even though his battles take place within a court room, his eyepatch makes him look like a shinobi warrior. He wouldn’t look out of place in a fighting game or an episode of Naruto. The headband is a self-imposed way for him to suppress his natural abilities, but it somehow makes him seem more powerful.

When you think of iconic headbands in popular culture, John Rambo is probably one of the first characters that would spring to mind. Lance Bean is gaming’s closest facsimile to Rambo, so he seemed like a good candidate for this list. Many gaming characters fit the “commando with the headband” stereotype – including Marco from Metal Slug and the dudes from Ikari Warriors – but Lance had a higher degree of visibility since Contra was such a big hit back in the day. There’s nothing unique about Lance’s headband and he certainly isn’t going to win any points for creativity, but it was one of the few things that distinguished him from his partner. Even though Bill Rizer and Lance Bean had the same abilities, I always preferred playing as the Sylvester Stallone knockoff. To give credit where credit is due, Lance kills way more aliens than Rambo ever did.

Most Fire Emblem protagonists have royal blood coursing through their veins, but Ike is a common man from humble beginnings. He leads a benevolent group of mercenaries instead of a proper army, and he has disdain for those who flaunt their status. Although he acts modest and unassuming, his tattered headband looks majestic when he steps onto the battle field. The headband has got to be eight feet long, and it accentuates his every motion as it billows behind him. The headband is even longer than his ridiculous sword, and there’s clearly a running theme. There are many Fire Emblem characters that are deserving of a mention on this list, and I could have easily made a case for Roy or Mia. Ike isn’t the most interesting or surprising choice, but it’s better to be predictable than contrarian.

Joe Higashi is a Muay Thai champion who devotes his life to fighting. Some of his rivals write him off as a source of comic relief, but he loves being in the spotlight. Although he spends most of his adult life training in Thailand, he never forgets where he came from. He basically has a Japanese flag wrapped around his forehead, and he proudly represents his homeland in fighting tournaments around the globe. Incidentally, the headband was a personal gift from his grandmother, and it was given to him before he left home. His grandmother had hoped that Joe would always remember his Japanese spirit, and it’s safe to say that her wish was granted. Joe fights for personal glory, but he also brings honor to his entire country. Even though the Japanese flag is confined to his headband, he fights like the weight of the entire country is on his shoulders.

Bonus-kun is a determined fighter who roams the galaxy to find strong opponents. He eventually meets a martial arts master named Rouwe, who agrees to train him on the condition that he’ll serve as his personal punching bag. Bonus-kun takes obvious inspiration from gaming’s most famous martial artist. His red headband was apparently given to him by a tribe of warriors, but it makes him look like Ryu from Street Fighter. The similarities are even more apparent when you look at Bonus-kun’s moveset. Even though he has no limbs, he still has fireballs, dragon punches, and hurricane kicks in his repertoire. Bonus-kun’s entire life could be described as a journey of self improvement, and this is yet another quality that he shares with Ryu. Despite the fact that he’s an overt parody, Bonus-kun puts in the work.

Richter Belmont is considerably more agile than most Castlevania protagonists, and some of his special moves wouldn’t look out of place in a fighting game. The dude can perform backflips, air dashes, and jumping uppercuts. His white headband is a perfect fit for his active lifestyle. If he’s going to act like a martial artist, he might as well look like one too! The opening cutscene in Rondo of Blood briefly shows Richter without his headband, but he puts in on as soon as he starts fighting vampires. Although Richter occasionally lets his hair down, his “Ryu Belmont” getup is easily his most recognizable look. The headband is visible in most of his Castlevania outings, and it’s prominent in all of his crossover appearances as well. Smash Bros., Dead Cells, and the Netflix animated series all depict Richter with his headband.

Sol Badguy is a bounty hunter dedicated to the destruction of a race of magical bioweapons called Gears. He’s a man of few words, and his asocial tendencies are the result of his mysterious past. Before the Gears plunged the world into a hundred-year war, Sol was a physicist who helped develop them. In addition to being the main scientist on the Gears Project, he was also the prototype Gear. His red headband is actually a Gear-suppression device that prevents him from losing his rationality. (It also covers a marking that would allow others to identify him as a Gear.) The headband severely limits his power, and he can get a boost of energy by removing it. His mind is at risk whenever this happens, so he rarely takes the headband off. His increasing power can’t be restrained forever, so the headband should be viewed as a temporary solution.

Ryu is a wandering warrior who devotes most of his time to training. He’s the face of Street Fighter and the first person I envision when I picture a martial artist. There’s nothing unusual about his white gi or his simple headband, and millions of karate students around the world have likely dressed in a similar fashion. I immediately think of Ryu when I see someone wearing a headband, however, and this applies to many of the characters on this list. Ryu wears a white headband in the original Street Fighter and in the Street Fighter Alpha series, but his long red headband is more iconic. Incidentally, the red headband was originally worn by his best friend, Ken, and it reminds Ryu to stay focused. The fluttering headband helps accentuate Ryu’s movements in battle, and it’s an integral part of his identity.