Oct. 1 is “Glasses Day”.
It is an anniversary established in 1997 by the Japan Association of Optical Stores because if you write Oct. 1 in kanji it will look like glasses “一〇〇一”.
Glasses can be an important part of the character’s personality. In recent years, in collaboration with optical makers, glasses that various anime characters have been wearing, have started to appear on-sale.
Many anime fans love characters who wear glasses. So here, at Anime! Anime! we decided to check which anime characters with glasses are most popular with readers.
Here, at Anime! Anime! like last year, we conducted a reader survey entitled, “Who is your favorite meganeko anime character?” We received responses from 327 people during the survey period from Sep. 16 to Sep. 23.
The male-female ratio is about 20% for males and about 80% for females. About 45% of the age group were minors, and about 25% were in their 20s.
■Sportsmen also get high ranks!
1st place
Like last year, 1st place goes to Ginoza Nobuchika from “PSYCHO-PASS” with an approval rating of about 18%.
Episodes with meganeko are popular, “Ginoza is not only good looking in glasses but I also like how the different ways he wears glasses have different meanings.” Also, many fans seem to appreciate the value of glasses, “Ginoza’s appearances change between episodes, but my favorite is when he wears glasses.”
2nd place
2nd place goes to Shinpachi Shimara from “Gintama” with an approval rating of about 13%.
Shinpachi steadily takes his stand among meganeko characters, “If we talk about meganeko characters in this work, then Shinpachi is a sure choice”, and “There is even a scene, where he appears only in his glasses!” Many readers commented, “I don’t know if he is a guy with glasses, or it’s glasses with a guy.”
3rd place
3rd place goes to Tsukushima Key from “Haikyuu!” with an approval rating of about 6%, which is a big jump from last year’s 9th place.
Many fans pointed out the various glasses, “A character who looks better than anyone in glasses with black earpieces! A present from this older brother, the sports glasses, are also cool!”, and “his everyday glasses are nice, but his sports glasses to play volleyball are deadly cool!”
The new series of “Haikyuu” is coming this Oct., which is probably one of the reasons for its rise in the rankings.
■Let’s introduce other comments!
About Nikaidou Yamado from “Idolish7”, “He looks cool in glasses, and even his sign includes a glasses image.”
About Mari Makinami Illustrious from “Rebuild of Evangelion”, “Beautifull girl in glasses that suits her! Even Asuka calls her, ‘Favored Four-eyes’.”
About Kogure Kiminobu from “Slam Dunk”, “I’m deeply moved how the main character Sakuragi calls him ‘Megane-kun'”, and “Even though he has no special talents, he has been working hard in the basketball club for three years.”
About Shinomia Natsuki from “Uta no ☆ Prince-Sama ♪”, whose personality changes when he takes off his glasses, “He seems to be cute when he is wearing glasses, but when he takes them off he immediately becomes another person with a sharp personality. This is why he is so attractive.”
In the survey’s 2020 edition, the 1st place did not change, but all ratings below have changed significantly. In the top-10 4 sports anime titles have ranked in: “Haikyu!!”, “Kuroko’s Basketball”, “Yowamushi Pedal”, “Ace of Diamond”. Seems that characters who wear glasses during competitions attract a lot of attention.
■Ranking top-20
“Who is your favorite meganekko anime character?”
1st place Ginoza Nobuchika from “PSYCHO-PASS”
2nd place Shinpachi Shimara from “Gintama”
3rd place Tsukushima Key from “Haikyuu!!”
4rt place Edogawa Konan “Detective Conan”
5th place Nikaidou Yamado from “Idolish7
6th place Iida Tenya from “My Hero Academia”
7th place Midorima Shintaro “Kuroko’s Basketball”
8th place Edogawa Ranpo “Bungo Stray Dogs”
9th place Onoda Sakamichi “Yowamushi Pedal”
9th place Kuriyama Mirai from “Beyond the Boundary”
9th place Miyuki Kazuya from “Ace of Diamond”
12th place Kunimitsu Tezuka “The Prince of Tennis”
13th place Shinobi Yuushi from “Prince of Tennis”
13th place Yayoi Haru from “Tsukiuta. THE ANIMATION ”
15th place Iruma Juuto from “Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle: Rhyme Anima”
15th place Usami Haruhiko from “Junjo Romantica”
15th place Okiya Subaru from “Detective Conan”
15th place Saiki Kusuo from “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.”
15th place Schubert from “Classicaloid”
15th place Haneda Hideyoshi from “Detective Conan”
15th place Futaba Rio from “Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai”
15th place Ryugazaki Rei from “Free!”
(Survey period: Sep. 16, 2020 – Sep. 23)