Anime Anime Global

Sep. 16 is Horse Race Day.

It was set in commemoration of the establishment of the Japan Racing Association (JRA) on this day in 1954.

In various horse races, racehorses called thoroughbreds compete in races. There are eight different coat colors for thoroughbreds. Among them, completely white horses are especially rare, and they always go viral just by entering a race.

As the saying goes, “A prince on a white horse,” a white horse is an animal that is linked to the image of the ideal man. There are many anime characters’ that would look great on a white horse, but the question is, who is the most popular among them?

To answer this question, Anime!Anime! has conducted a readers’ survey asking, “Which Anime Character Looks Good on a White Horse?” There were 151 votes during the voting period from Aug. 31 to Sep. 7.
The voters were mainly female with a gender ratio of 25% male to 75% female, and the age range was on the younger side with 50% under 19 and 25% in their 20s.

■Atobe from “Prince of Tennis” topped the list. Characters from old-time classics and female characters also made the list.
1st Place
1st place was taken by Atobe Keigo from “Prince of Tennis” with roughly 18% of the votes.

The captain of the Hyoutei Academy tennis club received comments pointing out how well a white horse matches his gorgeousness such as, “He is the character who looks the best on a white horse of all Prince of Tennis characters. The scene where he gallantly rides a white horse in the game was impressive”, and “He actually keeps a horse named Silver Meteor, and Atobe-sama himself is handsome, rich, tall, and friendly. He perfectly matches the image of a ‘prince on a white horse’!”
By the way, Fuji Shuusuke from Seishun Academy ranked in 5th place. There were many fans who couldn’t forget his brilliant scenes from the show, “The scene where he rode in on a white horse in the film ‘The Prince of Tennis – The Battle of the British city’ was the first thing that came to my mind”, “When he appeared on a white horse, the whole theater was filled with cheers”.

2nd Place
Coming in 2nd was Cavendish from “One Piece” with only a few votes short from the top.
The captain of the Beautiful Pirates received comments for being one of the most handsome characters in “One Piece” with comments such as, “Because he rides his beloved horse Farul since he was a child”, and “He’s handsome and his narcissistic attitude fits him well.”

3rd Place
3rd place went to Todoroki Shouto from “My Hero Academia” with roughly 12% of the votes.

The student of U.A. High was well received in the ending animation, “He was so beautiful in that fantasy style prince riding a white horse in the ending of the 2nd cour of season 2. It was nice to see rare scenes of him smiling as he sets off on his journey with Deku and his friends and his expression when the horse ran away from him.”

■Here are some comments for other characters.
For Erwin Smith from “Attack on Titan”, “The anime exclusive setting of him riding a white horse gives off a gentlemanly image. It’s a nice contrast to the black horse that Levi rides.”

For Lelouche Lamperouge from “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion”, “The scene where he rode a white horse in the opening of the 2nd season ‘R2’ was so impressive.”

For Hakuba Saguru from “Magic Kaito”, “His surname says it all, haha. He has the looks, the voice, and how he is cheesy and nice to the ladies is just like a prince.”

There were even votes for a female character, Oscar from “The Rose of Versailles”, “She is just like a rose in the battle field on her white horse! Noble, beautiful, and strong. Oscar-sama is the woman of my dreams.”

Characters who have actually ridden a white horse in the anime, opening/ending, or games stood out in this survey. Various characters made it on the list. Some are prince characters and others have “白馬” (white horse) in their names or even are actual princes.

■Top 20
[Which Anime Character Looks Good on a White Horse?]
1. Atobe Keigo “Prince of Tennis”
2. Cavendish “One Piece”
3. Todoroki Shouto “My Hero Academia”
4. Oscar “The Rose of Versailles”
5. Arthur Boyle “Fire Force”
5. Akashi Seijuurou “Kuroko’s Basketball”
5. Hakuba Saguru “Magic Kaito” “Detective Conan”
5. Fuji Shuusuke “Prince of Tennis”
9. Camus “Uta no Prince-sama”
9. Rokuya Nagi “Idolish7”
11. Erwin Smith “Attack on Titan”
11. Sapphire “Princess Knight”
11. Manami Sangaku “Yowamushi Pedal”
14. Creamy Mami “Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel”
14. Seta Kaoru “BanG Dream!”
14. Zen “Snow White with the Red Hair”
14. Dino “Reborn!”
14. Yukina Kou “The World’s Greatest First Love”
14. Lelouche Lamperouge “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion”
20. Geordo Stuart “My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!”
20. Kakyouin Hibiki “PriPara”
20. Suoh Tamaki “Ouran High School Host Club”
20. Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask “Sailor Moon”
20. Rider “Fate/stay night”

(Voting Period: Aug. 31 to Sep. 7, 2020)