Howl’s Moving Castle: Self & Love. This video explains the role of Howl’s changing hair color in the development of his romance with Sophie. Howl dyes his hair blonde at the beginning of the movie, as part of an effort to conceal to the darkness that lives in his heart, which is symbolized by the natural color of his hair, which is midnight black. But Sophie teaches him to show this darkness to the world by accepting and loving him for who he is, and that acceptance is in turn symbolized by the way that Howl chooses to adopt his natural black hair color for all the world to see. #howlsmovingcastle #studioghibli #hayaomiyazaki #anime