Anime Anime Global

October 30 is “First Love Day”.

It was established by Nakadana-sou in Komoro City, Nagano, the hotel related to Touson, as a commemoration of the day when the literary master of the Meiji period, Shimazaki Touson, released a poem about first love in 1896. The poem about first love that begins with “Mada Agesomeshi Maegami no” (With your hair combed up for the first time) is still beloved after over 100 years.

There are many charming anime characters that will make you fall in love with them. Some of you probably had your heart stolen for the first time by anime characters. We have a special place in our hearts for those characters we adored as a child, and seeing them again as an adult gives us a special emotion.

Here at Anime!Anime!, we conducted the same readers’ survey as last year asking, “Who’s Your First Love in Anime?” We received 190 votes during the voting period from October 19 to October 26.
Many of the voters were female, with a gender ratio of 70% female to 30% male, and the age range was on the younger side with 50% under 19, and 30% in their 20s.

These are the results for the female characters.

■Characters, who are also strong in battle, swept the top of the list!
1st Place
Topping the list was Hyuuga Hinata from “Naruto” and Mouri Ran from “Detective Conan”, with roughly 5% of the votes.
Hinata kept her top place from last year, and received comments pointing out how the fans were fascinated by the strength she hides within, “She’s graceful and kind, but she can be infinitely strong for those she loves. She’s my dream girl,” and “She’s cute and modest, but has a strong will. I think mental wise, she’s stronger than her husband, Naruto.”

Mouri Ran received comments such as, “She’s well trained in karate, is a great cook, and a kind high school girl! I also love how she’s devoted to Shinichi and waits for him,” and “She’s kind to Conan and his friends, and also is the captain of the karate team!” She’s admirable as she helps solve crimes by taking down the criminals or using her keen instincts.

3rd Place
Coming in 3rd was Kagura from “Gintama” and Shampoo from “Ranma ½”, both with roughly 4% of the votes.
Kagura received comments saying, “She vomits and makes dirty jokes, but she’s truly a strong, cool, kind heroine!”, and “Kugimiya Rie-san’s voice is so cute.”

And for Shampoo, “I couldn’t resist the gap between being so cute, yet super talented in martial arts,” and “Her looks and how she talks were so cute! I loved her!”
Two characters who wear a mandarin dress tied at 3rd place.

■Here are some comments for other characters!
For Kochou Shinobu from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”, “I was stunned by her beauty when she appeared in the anime, and since then, she’s always been my fav!”
For Sinon from “Sword Art Online”, “She was so amazing in Alicization! I loved how she looked good not only with a gun but also with a bow and arrow.”

For Otonashi Kyouko from “Maison Ikkoku”, “I had a crush on her for being a beauty with a bit of darkness within! I love you Kyouko-san!!”
For Kisaragi Honey from “Cutie Honey”, “I was very young when I watched the show, and I remember the transformation scene was impactful and exciting. I think I was awakened in a way, haha.”
There were votes for titles from various ages.

The results for the female characters show that characters who are also strong in battles were popular. The votes were split more than the male characters, with 13 characters tied at 11th place.

■Top 20
[Who’s Your First Love in Anime? 【Female Characters】 2020 Edition]
1. Hyuuga Hinata “Naruto”
1. Mouri Ran “Detective Conan”
3. Kagura “Gintama”
3. Shampoo “Ranma½”
5. Ayase Eri “Love Live!”
5. Sango “Inuyasha”
5. Chino (Kafuu Chino) “Is the Order a Rabbit?”
5. Haibara Ai “Detective Conan”
5. Misaka Mikoto “A Certain Scientific Railgun”
5. Rum “Urusei Yatsura”
11. Kisaragi Honey “Cutie Honey”
11. Kinomoto Sakura “Cardcaptor Sakura”
11. Kuchiki Rukia “Bleach”
11. Kochou Shinobu “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
11. Sinon “Sword Art Online”
11. Tsukino Usagi “Sailor Moon”
11. Tennou Haruka “Sailor Moon”
11. Nagato Yuki “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”
11. Hoshimiya Ichigo “Aikatsu!”
11. Mori Yuki “Space Battleship Yamato”
11. Yuuki “Sword Art Online”
11. Yumehara Nozomi “Yes! PreCure 5”
11. Lala Satalin Deviluke “To Love Ru”

(Voting Period: October 19 to October 26, 2020)