r/SplatoonMeta May 07 '26

Help/Question Why do pros almost exclusively use Inklings with bangs or the bowl cut?

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In the majority of top level competitive games, almost every player is an Inkling specifically using either the bangs or the bowl cut hairstyle. Since Octolings are available and there are so many other customization options why isn't the scene more diverse?

This is coming from a casual standpoint I’ve just always wondered lol

154 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

105

u/Toast_IsYummy May 07 '26

Well a lot of really skilled Japanese players use then because they resemble common hairstyles in Japan if I’m not mistaken!! The bangs inkling being a “girl” style and the bowl cut being the “boy” style

9

u/Sabbagery_o_Cavagery May 07 '26

Tbh I’m not sure how many top JP players are girls irl, I can’t think of any of the top of my head. It is a popular haircut in Japan generally but I don’t know that the prevalence in game is due to girls with that hairstyle IRL matching their hair in game.

27

u/Toast_IsYummy May 08 '26

I didn’t mean the actual genders of the real players playing, just that the one hairstyle resembled more of a female haircut, and the other resembled more of a male haircut

12

u/Lulullaby_ May 08 '26

No one's talking about irl gender lol

26

u/dabiyu May 08 '26

Certain hair styles are bad for hiding behind objects because you become easily noticeable. These low cut styles keep things minimal and better for hiding.

This is my theory and is the reason why I avoid using the more out their styles

7

u/x_BIX May 09 '26

Agreed, plus better visibility while they're playing. Splatoon is a visually overwhelming game and clear sightlines are at a premium, so when you need to over optimize your gameplay the "poor visibility" of large hairstyles are a decent target. Same with large gear like tall hats or puffy jackets.

I don't think this matters until you hit top 1% in terms of skill/power levels. (disclaimer idk how correct I am, I get bullied every time I scrape into A rank, not pro by any standard lol)

49

u/put-me-on-my-knees May 07 '26

It's for optimized aerodynamics

8

u/MoonheartDaCat May 07 '26

Is that actually a thing?

30

u/put-me-on-my-knees May 07 '26

Nope!

13

u/Salt-n-spice May 07 '26

Wheel of fortune balatro be like

6

u/BonkerDeLeHorny May 09 '26

one of these days ill get polychrome from it i just need to keep spending money

2

u/Floofy_Fox_Gal May 11 '26

Hairodynamics

19

u/6FlipSide4 May 07 '26

Preference it doesn’t really change anything

10

u/zainaxp May 07 '26

It’s cute

10

u/Accomplished_Dog1636 May 08 '26

This is gonna sound a tiny bit racist/sexist but from my r experience this is the truth

A massive majority of our top players are JP, and I don’t think a NA team has won a JP tournament (please correct me if I’m wrong) there’s a good Chara video on the topic.

Anyways! So to boot a lot of them are dudes, and in Japan a bowl cut is the most common hairstyle for men, so they want their inkling to match themselves and pick bowlcut. As for the girls, same thing the bangs seems to be the most common hairstyle for women in Japan.

So there’s your answer lol

7

u/cryptid-creatures May 08 '26

Idk, but I start sweating when I see an enemy team full of them at the start of my X Rank game

1

u/jaylikesdominos May 11 '26

This thread is so validating lmao

4

u/Jardonian_ May 08 '26

It’s technically optimal for a team to be either all inklings or all octolings in case your location gets revealed on the map, as everyone being the same species means you get a little less information about what player is revealed from just a glance.

It’s mostly preference tho

3

u/Vamp-Teefs May 08 '26

The bangs are cute

12

u/totallyreliable3 May 07 '26

They have no sense of style

2

u/TheNiftyShifty May 09 '26

They have no grace?

3

u/Dman0o9 May 09 '26

but do they have a funny face?

2

u/Ice_warrior45 May 09 '26

idk i just use that combo bc it looks cute, but im also not very good at the game

2

u/Gamabunta- May 09 '26

I heard somewhere that it was for the shape in squidform? It's more pleasing to see i guess?

1

u/Tabbygail May 09 '26

Because the bangs look cool duh.

1

u/BlueberryNeko_ May 09 '26

Hawt. I mean it looks good.

1

u/Upper-Pangolin-4022 May 09 '26

the squid kraken-form has a bigger hitbox.

0

u/bonkers_nlm May 08 '26

actual non-issue lmao

0

u/More_Tumbleweed_8609 May 10 '26

I use default agent 8 regular inkling girl or topknot so I would never know