Here's some hatless Noodles from a little while ago. I've been thinking of throwing away their hats because they're really an unneeded sort of thing, I think- at least for the direction the story is going in now. For a while I tried to salvage the hats with a vague idea that in some beliefs [the soul is considered to enter and leave through the crown of the head (these being stuffed animals brought to life).

I think they look a little less top-heavy (and anime) now, anyway.