Headbutt of Love



When you find a friend in a state of great emotional distress, the appropriate response is a three-step process: Hug her, kiss her forehead, then press your forehead against hers. Murmuring soothing words or wiping away her tears is optional. Both males and females are welcome to take part in this trope, but it's rare for a male character to be a recipient from a female, probably because he's usually taller. This pose is also handy so two can be close to each other without obscuring faces from the camera.

See Headbutt Thermometer for when foreheads touch to check temperature.

Anime And Manga

 * In Spirited Away, Chihiro and perform a Headbutt of Love during freefall. EXTREEEME!!!
 * A male-to-male version appears in Ouran High School Host Club, between the twins. Sometimes this is acting to play up their Twincest appeal; other times it's genuine.
 * Medabots has one. When Ikki's about to head out to face Big Bad of Season 1, Erika closes in... Everyone is shocked and wondering if she'll kiss him, but instead she delivers a Headbutt Of Luck. Given that she's a Tsundere (albeit type B) this may or may not express the kiss itself.
 * Shown in a more violent way in Soul Eater. Justin gives a headbutt to Giriko, while yelling, "Headbutt of love!"
 * Done literally in Mahou Sensei Negima
 * Also, this.
 * A somewhat violent version of this trope is a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming in Toradora!. It also happens to be
 * Eureka and Renton of Eureka Seven do this quite often, since their First Kiss is saved for the final episode.

Comic Books

 * Used frequently in Elf Quest, mostly since elves don't kiss.
 * Daken does this twice in the #8 issue of his comic, thought it's not romantic. The power of using his pheromones to control people's emotions works best when he's in close contact, and that's as close as he can get without kissing.

Film - Animated

 * Megara and Hercules share one.
 * In Tangled, the Queen does this with Rapunzel.
 * Simba and Nala during ther reunion in The Lion King.

Film - Live Action
"Elijah Wood: I don't know where that comes from. It's... I think it's like... it's spontaneous, violent love."
 * Aragorn and Arwen did this in a sweet flashback.
 * And Theoden and Eowyn in The Return of the King.
 * And, according to the Making Of, at least a few of the cast and crew of the Lord of the Rings.

"Crow: [as Kimar, to Momar] Hey, what, no headbutt this morning? Honeymoon over?"
 * How Sidd and Hasini meet in Bommarillu!
 * Two Army Rangers do this after they have safely gotten back to base at the end of Black Hawk Down, presumably being both too manly and too freaking tired to hug. If done while wearing helmets in Real Life, this is known as "Turtle Fucking".
 * The most recent film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice ends with one of these between Lizzie and Darcy as an alternative to a kiss.
 * Shaun and Ed from Shaun of the Dead
 * Santa Claus Conquers the Martians: This is apparently how Martians greet each other. Poked fun at in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 presentation:

Literature

 * Combined with a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming in Jim Butcher's Turn Coat.

Live Action TV

 * The X-Files was a repeat offender, usually between Mulder and Scully. When one of them got out of the hospital (which was often), when one of them had to deal with Skinner/Krycek/CSM/any government representative, when they affirmed their trust in only each other, when one of them almost died (which was practically every episode)... this trope occurred. And it was awesome.
 * Taken further, as seen in some deleted scenes that can be found on YouTube, by the actors ad-libbing a kiss in one hospital scene. According to Chris Carter, they ad libbed a lot of stuff like that that he wished he could have left in without taking the 'unrequited' out of their UST.
 * Buffy the Vampire Slayer: (S4:E6) When Willow tearfully asks, "Don't you love me?" Oz vows "My whole life, I've never loved anything else," and gives her a textbook Headbutt of Love, complete with hug and kiss.
 * Willow and Tara made use of this comforting technique often, mostly because of the WB's policy of no kissing between the same sex.
 * Rather endearingly, the Seventh Doctor does this with Mel on Doctor Who.
 * The Tenth Doctor has one with his archnemesis, the Master, in "The End Of Time". Then the Master goes back to trying to kill him. It's very deliberately done to show that they could love each other if the Master wasn't stark raving mad.
 * In "Flesh and Stone", the Eleventh Doctor and Amy have a sweet moment in the woods, as he asks her to trust him one more time and tells her to remember what he told her when she was seven..
 * Farscape had John and Aeryn engage in this, not just when either of them was in distress but when they showed affection in general. It was described by one reviewer as "more intimate than when they kiss".
 * Subverted when Scorpius-possessed John does this -- then slams Aeryn's head into the wall, fracturing her skull.
 * The titular characters of Mork and Mindy at the end of the episode "Mork's Mixed Emotions."
 * Happens a couple of times between Wash and Zoe in Firefly and Serenity.
 * Annie and Mitchell on Being Human as a bit of Ship Tease. He also did a desperate, passionate variation with Lauren at some point.
 * On Stargate Atlantis, this was the standard gesture of affection or business dealings, somewhere between a handshake and a kiss, for natives of the Pegasus galaxy, particularly the Athosians. Sheppard picked it up, usually doing it with Teyla.
 * Logan from Veronica Mars loves this one.
 * Silent Witness had one recently between Harry and Nikki when
 * Degrassi, the Torres brothers do this after

Professional Wrestling

 * WWE's Triple H and Shawn Michaels are Heterosexual Life Partners and Vitriolic Best Buds. Naturally, they had to do one of these when they reformed D-Generation X.
 * And another one on the 3.30 Raw, the night of Shawn's retirement.

Real Life

 * The real Wesley Willis was fond of this, with both male and female fans. Rock over London; rock on, Chicago.
 * Try dating somebody with glandular fever, or another disease spread by saliva. This becomes a hell of a tool.
 * Cats do this partially because they have scent glands in various places on their heads. Thus, the cat is marking its territory (because he likes you, bear in mind).
 * Emperor penguins. Awww.
 * The platonic and routine headbutting between victorious hockey teams and their goaltenders.

Theater

 * Often seen between close male friends in performances of Shakespeare plays, for some reason. Mercutio and Benvolio often seem to need to get a room.

Video Games
"Mordin Solus: So don't... *ahem* ingest."
 * In Mass Effect 2, because Turian biology is so different from human's and could be potentially harmful to humans who come into too much contact, this is how a Female Shepard and Garrus show their affection for one another.


 * Then averted in Mass Effect 3, where they have at least two big damn kisses, as well as three shorter kisses if you so desire.
 * And if you didn't romance Garrus, then you can eventually walk in on him and Tali doing this as well.
 * The Gamecube game Beach Spikers had this where when your relationship with your partner is high they might do this after scoring a point.

Web Comics

 * Variation in Questionable Content: After Martin and Dora hook up, Faye decides to go home for a bit. Instead of hugging him goodbye, she gives him a "Wesley Willis style headbutt".
 * Norway and Denmark do this in Scandinavia and The World as a substitute for hugging, because hugs look awkward with their giant heads and tiny bodies.

Western Animation

 * Zuko and Mai, in their reunion scene during the Grand Finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
 * Hakoda and Bato appear to be doing this right here...
 * Danny and Sam in the Grand Finale of Danny Phantom.