Anime Anime Global

Mar. 6 is “Younger brother's day”. This commemoration was started by the mangaka Hatada Kunio, and Jun. 6 is “Older brother's day”, Sep. 6 is “Younger sister's day”, and Dec. 6 is “Older sister's day”.

A “younger brother” plays an important role is anime and there are various types of younger brothers such as the pampered type, the reliable type, and the better than the older brother type. Among all those younger brother character, who is the most popular?

Thus, Anime!Anime! had conducted a reader survey on “Who is your favorite younger brother character that appear in anime?” following the survey conducted last year. Between the period of Feb. 19 until Feb. 26, a total of 262 responses were received.
In term of the gender ratio, the female are the majority with approximately 15% of the votes from male and approximately 85% of the votes from female. For the age distribution, approximately 35% are those under 19, approximately 25% are those in their 20's and approximately 20% are those in their 30's.

■Starting with Shinpachi from “Gintama”, it was a gathering of family loving younger brothers!
1st place goes to Shimura Shinpachi from “Gintama” with the support rating of approximately 12%.

Shinpachi is a character that is thoughtful of his older sister, Otae who he lives together with. The comments from the readers such as “He is everyone's younger brother! He is kind, cute, reliable… If I had such a younger brother, I won't be able to get married forever.”, and “He is a reliable younger brother that is supporting his older sister, I like how he is good at house chores, cooking, etc.” explain how this kind younger brother got it popularity.

2nd place is Kaburagi・T・Kotetsu from “TIGER & BUNNY” with support rating of approximately 8%.

Kotetsu, who is actively working as the salary-man hero, Wild Tiger, has an older brother Muramasa, who runs an Izakaya.
“Despite being an old man hero, his pampered younger brother appearances, such as revealing his trouble to his older brother when he goes back to his parent house, are cute.” and “Despite being a cool and reliable hero, his younger brother element that shows up from time to time make the show more interesting.” are some of the comments received.

3rd place is Alphonse Elric from “Fullmetal Alchemist” with support rating of approximately 7%.

Alphonse's older brother is Edward who is also know as the “Fullmetal Alchemist”. As he is wearing armor, people who meet them for the first time always mistake Al as the Fullmetal Alchemist instead.
“I like how he has full trust toward his older brother while he's questioning his own existence and how he sacrifice himself to help his older brother in the end.” and “I can feel him treasuring his older brother, Edward through his words and actions, that's why I think that he is the ideal younger brother.” explain that his popularity comes from him always being compassionate of his older brother.

■Let's introduce the other comments
Regarding Iida Tenya from “My Hero Academia”: “It's because his daily effort of wanting to become a hero like his older brother is something that usually can't be seen from the second son.”
Regarding Nifuji Naoya from “Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku”: “It's because he is like the 'expected younger brother' character as he possessed the soothing characteristics such as the cute appearance, voice, and his love toward his gamer older brother. His natural airheadedness is also cute.”

Furthermore, regarding Monkey・D・Luffy from “One Piece”: “I love how the three brothers: Ace, Sabo, and Luffy bond with each other. I am jealous that they have a younger brother who is thoughtful of his older brothers!”
Regarding Rolo Lamperouge from “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion”: “It's because I like how he takes action for the sake of Lelouch” show that there is a vote for non-blood related younger brother characters too.

In the overall ranking, characters who have an older brother instead of an older sister stood out. It might be because the fans are attracted to their strong affection toward their family.

■Top 20 Ranking
“Who is your favorite younger brother character that appear in anime? 2020 ver.”
1st Shimura Shinpachi “Gintama”
2nd Kaburagi・T・Kotetsu “TIGER & BUNNY”
3rd Alphonse Elric “Fullmetal Alchemist”
4th Kirill Vrubel “DOUBLE DECKER! Doug & Kirill”
5th Iida Tenya “My Hero Academia”
6th Takahashi Misaki “Junjo Romantica: Pure Romance”
6th Nanase Riku “Idolish 7”
8th Tsukishima Kei “Haikyuu!!”
8th Monkey・D・Luffy “One Piece”
10th Matsuno Todomatsu “Mr. Osomatsu”
11th Okita Sougo “Gintama”
11th Amano Nagi “Weathering with You”
13th Dozle Zabi “Mobile Suits Gundam”
14th Uchiha Sasuke “NARUTO”
14th Shinazugawa Genya “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
16th Tokitou Muichirou “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
16th Fuji Yuuta “Prince of Tennis”
18th Izumi Iori “Idolish 7”
18th Sakuma Ritsu “Ensemble Stars!”
18th Suzuno Yu “KING OF PRISM”
18th Seiba Go “Bakuso Kyodai Let's & Go”

(Survey Period: Feb. 19 ~ Feb. 26, 2020)