Today I want to talk about Kotama's hair. I would like to preface with me finding her being shy and using honorifics with first-years to be very cute, and I wonder what she talks about on the Internet. Kotama has long, platinum-blonde (or at least a slightly darker shade of it) hair that goes down to her ass. It's tricky to tell that this is the case with her base outfit, but event CGs come in to help prove that this is, in fact, how long her hair is. Her hair is straight, but she seems to not run a brush through it too often, leading to a lot of stray hairs, but the weird part is that she wears a braid as well on her right side? This is strange, but perhaps it was either put there by another Veritas member, or it's a clever way for her to have a little antenna that isn't her ahoge. Kotama seems to show an interesting case of ambidexterity, as well- she holds her gun in her left hand while holding her equipment in her right hand. I wouldn't be surprised if Kotama learned this because her right hand is her dominant hand, so she learned how to shoot with her left due to her having already learned her hacking work with her right hand. Going back to her hair, she has a very interesting hair accessory that ties her bangs together, likely to prevent it from getting in her way while she does her tasks- perhaps she also doesn't go to the barber as often as she should or is able to, leading to her picking up this hair accessory. The configuration of it could be perceived as a face with closed eyes and sealed lips, but it could also be seen like two arrows pointing into her, being a symbolic representation of sound. I don't think there's any Veritas symbolism with the three wise monkeys in this case (Kotama being "hear no evil", but what would Hare and Maki be?), but it's likely both practical and unintentionally thoughtful of her. Unintentionally because of how she carries herself- her tie is sticking out!
Her camp outfit is very cozy, and she still has her ahoge from having shaggy hair- this time it's more understandable due to her not being acclimated at all to being outside in the elements. She tied her hair up into a ponytail, but if it were undone, her hair would go down to her calves, indicating that indeed, she doesn't visit a barber very often- it could also be an attempt to keep warm in the cold, being thwarted somewhat by Chihiro's desire to go camping. Either way, her ponytail is a cute additoin to her attire, as is her earmuffs. Said earmuffs are a good touch because they show who Kotama is without being able to give her the normal things to show who she is. I also wouldn't be surprised if Chihiro thoroughly inspected her earmuffs, knowing how Veritas is. Interestingly, her braid is absent, and she's also put her hair accessory upside down and on her left side. I don't think she means it like that, but it would be funny if she put it upside down like a flag to indicate distress- however, only fellow Veritas members or a Sensei who knows his student's hairs very well would be able to see this, so it falls on deaf ears.
Finally, her sleepwear shows her ponytail tied lower, which leads to a tough discussion about time in Kivotos- it's much easier to assume pajamas happen after Vericamp for this reason, because the alternative would be Kotama having an incredible growth factor in her hair (the story guide in how2playba agrees with this assessment). Anyways, her ponytail goes down to her knees... When she's slouching! If her hair was undone and she wasn't slouching, then her hair would likely go to her upper calves, but is still definitely shorter than her camping hair. Perhaps she's grown to learn the value of having hair that's at least cut to a managable length? Her shagginess hasn't changed one bit, though- if anything, it's actually gotten bigger than ever. Her ahoge is huge, almost completing a circle! The same could be said about her braid- it's longer, but somewhat looser. It's a very surprising thing to see given the assumed timeless nature of Kivotos, but Kotama does look like she's grown. It's actually very touching. While she may occasionally be wayward in her desires, I believe she's maturing somewhat, and maybe the pajama party helped her and the rest of Veritas break out of their shell somewhat and see common ground with Seminar. Koyuki likely also helped teach Veritas a valuable lesson as well. But this is a tangent at this point. Her hair accessory is present, but it's in her breastpocket, which is very intereseting- why does Kotama always carry it around? Perhaps it has some sentimental meaning? I hope that this is her bond item and we can see more about this accessory- I'm convinced it means a lot to her.
Kotama is likely a common sight within Millennium- a girl who doesn't take as much care of her hair as she should. This is made more ironic by them likely having advanced barbers to make such a process quick and easy, but considering it's a school of scientists, it's stunningly accurate. Her hair would likely not smell like anything because of this- not a bad smell, but she should take more care of herself! However, when she's on SCHALE duty, her hair likely happens to be close to what Sensei likes to smell, almost suspiciously so...