Anime loves to endow its characters with a rainbow of hair colors. Character appearance tropes are alive and well, especially when it comes to anime hair. Japanese net users recently noticed one particular trend: silver-haired Russians.

Russian anime characters are often depicted with whitish, grayish, or golden hair. Here is a sample of such characters:

Victor Nikiforov

Yuri!!! on Ice





He is a 27-year-old Russian figure skater and five-time world champion.

Yuri Plisetsky

Yuri!!! on Ice





He is a 15-year-old Russian figure skater with a still boyish physique. His friends and acquaintances sometimes call him Yurio.

Haikyu!!

Lev Haiba



He is a half-Russian, half-Japanese first-year student at Nekoma High School. He stands tall at 194 centimeters (about 6'4").

Eli Ayase

Love Live!



This smart idol is a one-fourth Russian third-year high school student.

Russia

Hetalia



He is literally an anthropomorphic reimagining of the country Russia.

Anastasia

The [email protected] Cinderella Girls



She is a 15-year-old idol at 346 Pro. She is half-Russian and half Japanese, and her pet name is "Anya."

Meiko "Menma" Honma

anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day



This ghostly character's mother is half Russian.

Semyon "Simon" Brezhnev

Durarara!!



He is one of the owners of the Russia Sushi shop. His Japanese speaking skills may falter, but he is always strong.

Why do so many Russian anime characters sport silver locks? Is it because cold temperatures and snowy weather in their homeland turn their hair white? Are they plagued by premature aging? Whatever the case, these characters seem content to show off their trademark tresses.

[Via Nijimen]