Anime Anime Global

May 1 is known as “Fan Day”. Its roots lie in the depiction of The Tale of Genji wherein the affectionate men and women gift each other fans with waka (classic Japanese poems) written upon them. The commemorative day was created from a play on words “51 (Ko-i – also read as the kanji character “love”)”.

The fan is not only a tool used since old times to create wind, it has also come to be loved by many as a beautiful decorative piece. There are countless fan-wielding characters that exist in anime.
The fan has been depicted in the media in a variety of ways; from a dance performance prop to a weapon of war, etc. Which character is the most impressionable among all of the fan wielders?

To find out, Anime!Anime! launched a survey titled “Which character comes to mind on the subject of fans?”. The survey period was from Apr. 20 to Apr. 27 and logged a total of 115 answers. The gender percentage was 35% for males and a slightly higher 65% for females. The age range comprised of 50% for 19 years or younger and 25% for readers in their 20s, centering the survey on the young.

■Haneda Shukichi from “Detective Conan” takes the top spot – with comments of anticipation on the new production
The first place went to Haneda Shukichi from “Detective Conan” with an approval rating of 12%.

The pro shogi player, Haneda Shukichi received comments such as “He really suits and matches the image of a kishi (professional shogi player) with the hakama and fan.” and “He's so cool when he closes his fan with a 'bang!'”. There were also comments from fans anticipating the new movie “Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet” such as, “He was holding a fan in this year's newest movie commercial as well – I'm looking forward to seeing him in action.”

The second place went to Kongou Mitsuko from “A Certain Scientific Railgun” with an approval rating of 8%. Kongou Mitsuko is a second- year student at Tokiwadai Middle School and her ability is to control air; otherwise known as the “Aerohand” ability user. Readers commented “I like how she was so cool during the third season's fight scenes!” and “She gives off the air of a princess with her fan”, along with comments that agreed that the fan matched her abilities.

The third place was a tie between Kagura from “Inuyasha”, Temari from “Naruto” and Hasumi Keito from “Ensemble Stars”.

Comments such as, “I can tell the author's tastes just from the fact that he chose a fan as a weapon for her as a wind-user!” for Kagura, “The image of her using her big fan to cast wind spells was really impressionable.” for Temari, and “I want all of humankind to watch his live performance when he used the fan – he was super, super cool!” for Hasumi Keito.

■Featuring other comments as well!
“Kaguya-sama: Love Is War” – Shirogane Miyuki: “When he received the fan as a present from Kaguya and treasured it and even tried to use it to confess his feelings but failed.. That was cute.”

“KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World!” – Aqua: “I like how even though she's a goddess, she doesn't act like one when she's holding banquets. I especially like that scene when she uses Nature's Beauty.”

“PriPara” – Tsukikawa Chiri: “I thought of the scene where she swung her fan downwards and shouted “I'm tall!”
There were even votes for “Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3″'s Daitarn 3, a gigantic robot, whom a reader commented on: “The scene where he used a steel fan-looking weapon called the “Daitarn” fan left quite an impression”.

The survey this time saw multiple compelling characters that embodied the theme being voted in, such as “Detective Conan”'s Haneda Shukichi and “Hikaru no Go”'s Fujiwara-no-sai.

■Complete Ranking
“Which character comes to mind on the subject of fans?”
1st place Haneda Shukichi “Detective Conan”
2nd place Kongou Mitsuko “A Certain Scientific Railgun”
3rd place Kagura “Inuyasha”
3rd place Temari “Naruto”
3rd place Hasumi Keito “Ensemble Stars”
6th place Shirogane Miyuki “Kaguya-sama: Love Is War”
7th place Daitarn 3 “Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3”
8th place Fujiwara-no-sai “Hikaru no Go”
9th place Douma “Demon Slayer”
9th place Yui Tsuruno “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”
11th place Kalluto Zoldyck “HUNTER X HUNTER”
11th place Souma Shigure “Fruits Basket”
11th place Sora Ginko “The Ryuo's Work is Never Done!”
11th place Priscilla Barielle “Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World”
11th place Mulan “Mulan”
11th place Ren Hakuei “Magi”

(Survey period: Apr. 20 ~ Apr. 27, 2020)