Sep. 24 is “Cleaning Day”.

It was set to commemorate the day that the “Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act”, a.k.a. “Waste Management Act”, was established in 1971. The Ministry of the Environment has designated the week from Sep. 24 to Oct. 1 as Environmental Sanitation Week to raise awareness of garbage issues.

There are characters in anime, who love cleaning. They never miss a single piece of dust and keep their surroundings tidy. Some of them go too far to the point that their lives become difficult.

We at Anime!Anime! conducted a readers’ poll asking, “Which Anime Character Loves Cleaning?” There were 145 votes during the voting period from Sep. 8 to Sep. 15.
The voters were mainly female with a gender ratio of 70% female to 30% male, and the age range was on the younger side with 55% under 19 and 20% in their 20s.

■”AoT” Levi received almost half the votes!
1st Place
Topping the list was Levi from “Attack on Titan”. With roughly 45% of the votes, he was by far the most popular character.

“Captain Levi, the best soldier of the human race, is strict not only during battles but also when cleaning up!”, and “The first thing he does at a new base is clean, and he wipes off the blood of the titans even during battles. He’s such a clean-freak!” are comments that show how he left a strong impression not only with his strength but also his love for cleanliness.

There was also a comment pointing out his sensitive nature makes his caring side stand out even more, “Levi being such a clean-freak makes the scene where he holds the bloody hand of a dying soldier even more emotional.”

2nd Place
Coming in 2nd was Rerere no Ojisan from “Tensai Bakabon” with roughly 7% of the vote.

Rerere no Ojisan is always cleaning with a bamboo broom. He received comments such as, “He’s cleaning in almost all scenes he is in. It’s harder to relate him to anything other than cleaning,” and “I’ve never seen him doing anything other than cleaning.”
His unique greeting, “Odekake Desuka? Rerere no Re?” (Are you going out?), and appearance in many Akatsuka Fujio works, gained him fame in all generations.

3rd Place
3rd place went to Takasu Ryuuji from “Toradora!” with roughly 5% of the votes.

In contrast with the heroine, Aisaka Taiga, the hero, Takasu Ryuuji, is really good at household chores. He received comments such as, “His skill to clean that room of Taiga’s is amazing”, “He never misses one piece of dust”, and “I love how he loves household chores from the bottom of his heart!”

■Here are some comments for other characters!!

For Ousaka Sougo from “Idolish7”, “Tidying up is his hobby. He’s always cleaning and will start the washing machine even if he doesn’t have time.”
For Ninomiya Kiko from “Kiko-chan’s Smile”, “She’s a 4-year-old girl who is good at not only cleaning but also all kinds of household chores. I looked up to her as a child, and that’s how I got into household chores, haha.”

There were also votes for non-human characters.
For Hawk from “The Seven Deadly Sins”, “He eats everything on the floor and keeps it squeaky clean! The only character that can finish off Meliodas’s nasty dishes!!”
For Keroro from “Sgt. Frog”, “He’s so cute cleaning in his apron!” and “He slacks off a lot, but when he’s in the mood, he becomes the clean-up captain!”

■Top 10
[Which Anime Character Loves Cleaning? ]
1. Levi “Attack on Titan”
2. Rerere no Ojisan “Tensai Bakabon”
3. Takasu Ryuuji “Toradora!”
4. Aoyama-kun “Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun”
5. Ousaka Sougo “Idolish7”
5. Sergeant Keroro “Sgt. Frog”
5. Ninokuruwa Isuke “Nintama Rantarou”
5. Fushimi Yuzuru “Ensemble Stars!”
9. Otonashi Kyouko “Maison Ikkoku”
9. Kita Shinsuke “Haikyuu!!”
9. Setagawa Masahiro “Hitorijime My Hero”
9. Mr. Mime “Pokémon”
9. Mouri Ran “Detective Conan”
9. Rem “Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World”

(Voting Period: Sep. 8 to Sep. 15, 2020)