Oct. 7 is a mysterydetective day.

It’s the anniversary of the death of Alan Po, who wrote the world’s first mystery or detectivedetective novel “The Murders in the Rue MorgueThe Murders in the Morg Street”.

A mystery is about something secretive or mysteriousDetective is about mystery or secrets. Many characters with such a mysterious charm have appeared in anime.
A transfer student who suddenly came to school, a scientist conducting a mysterious experiment, or a person who is always being called by his nickname because no one knows his real name.

Here at Anime! Anime!, we conducted a reader survey entitled “Who would youyou would call a mysterious anime character?” We received responses from 120 people during the survey period from Sep. 22 to Sep. 28.
The male-female ratio is about 20% for males and about 80% for females. About 55% of the age group were minors, and about 25% were in their 20s.

■Enemy or friend? Mysterious characters are ranked in!
1st place
1st place goes to Nagisa Kaworu from “Neon Genesis Evangelion” with an approval rating ofis about 7%.

Readers commented, “He is a mysterious boy with secrets. Hhis entire past except forexpect fir his birthdays hashave been erased, and other detailsprofiles are unknown and mysterious”, and “Even his appearance in one episode left a strong impression, and movies released after just create more secrets.” Although this character hasn’t appeared a lot, he left a deep impact on viewers.

2nd place
2nd place is shared between Amuro Toru from “Detective Conan”, Nozomi Tojo from “Love Live!”, and Makishima Shougo from “PSYCHO-PASS” with an approval rating of aboutis about 4%.
Some votes for Amuro Toru from “Detective Conan” were addressed to his code name for the Black Organization, Bourbon, “He is Conan’s friend and enemy at the same time. I think he’s still a mysterious character.”

Comments such as “His hobby is fortune-telling, and there are some mysterious things, such as a section that seems to have predicted the creation”, and “He is mysterious because of his love to stars and gods”.
AComments about Makishima Shougo from “PSYCHO-PASS”, “Most of his personal information is unknown, and his motives for incidents are still unclear. He is always a mystery”, and “There are many mysteries in the all episodes, but I think keeping his human side such as his background wrapped in a veil is for the best.”

■Let’s introduce other comments!!
About Enma Ai from “Hell Girl”, “She showed almost no emotions in season 1, but from season 2 she becamebecomes more talkative and cute.”
About Matsuno Ichimatsu from “Mr. Osomatsu”, “On the one hand, he has strange habits like hanging out with cats, even wantingwant to become one, on the other hand, his friendship vibes and honesty are interesting.”

About Hanajima Saki from “Fruit Basket”, “She is mysterious in the wayher way she wearswearing black and controls radiowaves, but I like how she cares about her family and friends.”
About Bo-chan from the national anime “Crayon Shin-chan”, which also was ranked in, “A mysterious character whose real name and parents are unknown. Mysterious Bo-chanis Bo-chan!”

In this survey, multiple characters are ranked in, including characters that are hostile to the main character and characters that sometimes become friends or enemies. It seems that the reason why they seem mysterious is that their positions are flexible. 9 characters line up in 9th place withat the same rate

■All rankings
“Who you would call a mysterious anime character?”
1st place Nagisa Kaworu “Neon Genesis Evangelion”
2nd place Amuro Toru “Detective Conan”
2nd place Toujou Nozomi “Love! Live!”
2nd place Makishima Shougo “PSYCHO-PASS”
5th place Tomioka Yoshiyuki “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
6th place Haibara Ai “Detective Conan”
6th place Hanajima Saki “Fruit Basket”
6th place Bourbon “Detective Conan”
9th place Sohma Akito “Fruit Basket”
9th place Koizumi Kazuki “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”
9th place Basophil “Cells at Work!”
9th place Sakurakoji Kaoru “The Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn”
9th place Joker “Fire Force”
9th place Dostoevsky “Bungo Stray Dogs”
9th place Nico Robin “One Piece”
9th place Bo-chan “Crayon Shin-chan”
9th place Yoshida Shoyo “Gintama”

(Survey period: Sep. 22, 2020 Sep. 28)