Aug. 24 is “Aishu no Hi” (Drinker's Day).

This is the anniversary of the birthday of Wakayama Bokusui, a Japanese poet who loved to drink. He passed away at 43, and the cause of death is said to be cirrhosis due to excessive alcohol consumption.

Many anime characters love to drink too. Some never get drunk and others' personalities change. There are even characters that can't help drinking though they are light-weighted. The question is, who's the most popular character among them?

To answer this question, Anime!Anime! conducted the same survey as 2 years ago asking, “Who Is Your Favorite Anime 'Drinker'?”. We received 263 votes during the voting period from Aug. 10 to Aug. 17.
The respondents were mainly female with the gender ratio at 80% female to 20% male, and the age range was on the younger side with 50% being under 19 and 25% being in their 20s.

■Drunk but still cute, Nyanko-sensei tops the list!
1st Place
1st place was taken by Nyanko-sensei from “Natsume's Book of Friends” with roughly 8% of the votes. He moved up from 2nd place in the last survey.

“When Nyanko-sensei is getting drunk with a bottle of sake, bigger than himself, he is so cute and playful”, “Because he always demands more sake in such a lovely and cute way”, and “It's fun to watch him being a bad drunk,” are comments showing how his cuteness fascinates fans.
“It was funny to see him drinking a sake called 'Neko Goroshi'. I have goods like phone straps too,” points out the fact that having merchandise designed with him being drunk adds to the image of him loving to drink.

2nd Place
Coming in 2nd was Roronoa Zoro from “One Piece”. He stepped down from the top spot from the previous survey.

“Zoro is the drinker of the Straw Hat Pirates. He chugged down drinks in Wano Country Arc as usual”, “His love for drinks is incomparable and he's always drinking, but he almost never gets drunk”, “His sword skills are amazing, but the way he drinks is also insane”, shows how fans look up to his capacity of alcohol. He's also popular for being a great drinking buddy, “He doesn't look friendly, but it's impressive how he gets along with random characters and enjoys drinking with them.”

3rd Place
3rd place went to Mouri Kogorou from “Detective Conan”. He moved up from 6th place from the last survey.
“It's uncle Mouri when it comes to drinking! He seems to be a good-for-nothing father that always drinks and smokes, but I love how cool he is when he comes to rescue his wife Eri-san and daughter Ran when needed”, and “I have the impression that he's always drinking. He gets drunk and starts hitting on the ladies, saying things that make no sense, but I love how he comes back to his usual self when incidents happen!”, show how fans praise him being a dependable private detective, though usually being lazy.

■Here are some comments for other characters!
For Aqua from “KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World!”, “She loves her alcohol and even sleeps with a bottle of it! Also, the voice acting of Amamiya Sora-san was amazing. It's so satisfying to watch Aqua drinking!!”

For Katsuragi Misato from “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, “That 'aaahhh!!' after drinking a can of beer is stuck in my head”, and “Her fridge is packed with beer!”

For Nakahara Chuuya from “Bungou Stray Dogs”, “The poet that inspired the character is known to be a bad drunk. In 'Bunsuto' he elegantly drinks expensive alcohol.”

A light-weighted character also made the list. For Sakata Gintoki from “Gintama”, “He has a bad routine of drinking and throwing up”, and “I have an impression that he throws up right after he drinks, haha.”

Many supporting characters, such as Nyanko-sensei from “Natsume's Book of Friends” and Zoro from “One Piece”, made the list. They may be drunk, but they always get their job done when they're needed.

■Top 20
1. Nyanko-sensei “Natsume's Book of Friends”
2. Roronoa Zoro “One Piece”
3. Mouri Kogorou “Detective Conan”
4. Sakata Gintoki “Gintama”
5. Nikaidou Yamato “Idolish7”
6. Ginji “Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits”
7. Jiroutachi “Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru”
8. Cana Alberona “Fairy Tail”
8. Matsuno Osomatsu “Mr. Osomatsu”
10. Katsuragi Misato “Neon Genesis Evangelion”
11. Aqua “KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World!”
11. Onodera Ritsu “The World's Greatest First Love”
11. Nakahara Chuuya “Bungou Stray Dogs”
11. Vanessa Enoteca “Black Clover”
11. Ban “The Seven Deadly Sins”
16. Okiya Subaru (Akai Shuuichi) “Detective Conan”
16. Takanashi Kozue “Working!!”
16. Toba Minami “Laid-Back Camp”
19. Oryou “Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits”
19. Nihongou “Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru”

(Voting Period: Aug. 10 to Aug. 17, 2020)