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For years, one Honda engineer has stood out in a workplace where technical expertise usually gets more attention than appearance. Odate’s stiff, naturally curly hair falls across his face in a style that has prompted comparisons with famous anime characters, yet the look was never designed to attract attention.
He adopted it largely to avoid spending time trying to control his unruly hair. Away from the hairstyle, he has built an impressive career in vehicle safety since joining Honda in 2003.According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), He now leads a team of about 100 engineers and is credited with 253 patents related to safe-driving technology. His unusual appearance has even proved useful at work, when his partly covered eye became an unexpected challenge for a camera system designed to monitor drivers for signs of drowsiness.
Japan engineer’s unusual hairstyle draws anime comparisons for a simple reason
Odate has kept the distinctive hairstyle for at least five years. It was not, by his account, the result of trying to imitate an anime character. His hair is naturally stiff and tends to curl, while irregular sleeping habits leave it in a particularly untidy state by morning. When he was younger, he would spend a considerable amount of time trying to make a more conventional haircut behave. Eventually, he stopped fighting it.
These days, the routine is considerably simpler. He uses gel to control the section of hair that falls towards his left eye and otherwise lets the rest settle as it will. The result is a look that has drawn comparisons with characters from series such as Naruto and Dragon Ball.At Honda, however, the hairstyle has long since ceased to be a novelty for the people who work with him.
The Honda engineer behind 253 patents in safe-driving technology
Odate joined Honda in 2003, beginning his career as a designer working on seat belts.
His work later moved towards driver-assistance technology, and he now heads the company's advanced technology development department.The team under his direction numbers roughly 100 people. His work has also led to an unusually large patent portfolio, with 253 patents attributed to him in the field of safe-driving technology.His stated focus has remained fairly straightforward: developing systems intended to protect people in vehicles.
His description of the goal is equally spare; the best outcome for a safety system is that nothing happens at all.That approach has also shaped some of the less obvious testing carried out by his team.
A hairstyle meant to save time became a test case for safety technology
During the development of a camera designed to monitor a driver's eyes, Odate offered himself as a useful test subject. The system was intended to follow eye movements and identify signs that could point to drowsiness or other problems.
Odate's fringe, which partly covers his left eye, created a rather practical challenge for the camera.If the system could correctly track an eye that was partly hidden by hair, it provided another way to examine how well the technology performed under less-than-ideal conditions.It was an unusual consequence of a hairstyle that had originally been adopted largely to avoid spending too much time arranging it each morning.
Odate’s look has attracted attention from colleagues and rivals alike
Odate's appearance can look particularly striking when set against Honda's standard white workwear. But inside the company, colleagues appear to have become accustomed to it. His professionalism is often mentioned alongside the hairstyle, and his appearance has even become a talking point beyond Honda, with people at other automotive companies reportedly recognising him.He has also appeared at motor shows, where he has presented Honda vehicles and the technology developed by his department.The public-facing appearances have given his unusual look a wider audience, but the attention surrounding him has not been limited to his hair.
Odate’s 170kg bench press adds another layer to his unusual public image
Odate also has an interest in strength training. He has said that he exercises every morning, partly as a way of dealing with the pressures that come with his job. His numbers in the gym are striking by ordinary standards. His reported personal best is a 170kg bench press for five consecutive repetitions.That combination of an unconventional hairstyle, a senior engineering role, a long list of patents and a substantial strength-training routine has proved unusually suited to social media.Some online viewers have compared him with the physically imposing characters common in Japanese anime and manga. Others have focused less on the appearance and more on the career behind it.
