December 10 is day of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

It is the anniversary of the enforcement of a law that partially amended the Aviation Law on the same day in 2015, and defined unmanned aerial vehicles for the first time.

There are no pilots on drones, but there are many pilot characters in anime and games on vehicles. An ace pilot who shot down many enemies, racing through the galaxy on a spaceship, and brilliant jet-fighters… Among all those pilot characters, who is the most popular one?

Here at Anime!Anime, we conducted a reader survey “Who is your favorite ‘pilot’ character?” We received responses from 65 people during the survey period from November 24 to December 1. The male-female ratio is about equal. About 40% of the age group were minors, and about 35% were in their 20s.

■ Various pilot characters are ranked in!
Pilots from the “Gundam” series are topping the list in this survey.
About Char Aznable from “Mobile Suit Gundam”, “He is a famous character that everyone knows. Not only is he good at operating vehicles, but he is also charismatic and says memorable lines!”
About Athrun Zala from “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED”, the rival character who received more attention than the main protagonist, “One of the strongest pilots in the series. Hand-to-hand combat such as knife battles, shooting, and bullet battles is also his strongpoint, and I think that he is excellent not only as a pilot but also as a soldier.”

Similarly, the robot anime masterpiece “Macross” series is also popular.
About Ichijo Hikarufrom “The Super Dimension Fortress Macross”, “A civilian who got involved in the battle with Zentradi and became a pilot of Valkyrie, a Valkyrie fighter of the Earth Joint Force. A legendary figure who grew up in battle and became the captain of the famous Skull squadron.”

About Michael Blanc from “Macross F”, “The duo with Alto is really cool! The confession scene was very touching.”
There were votes for a different type of pilot, Messer Ihlefeld from “Macross Delta”, “A pilot who fought a deadly battle with Keith, an ace pilot of the Knights of the Air while being invaded by the Var Syndrome. There is also a friendship aspect, he is good to work with ace.”

Other robot animations are also popular.
There are many comments about old and new titles, like about Kabuto from “Mazinger Z”, “Because it is the gold standard of all robot animations and is a big senior among robot pilots.”, about Haysuki Hayato from “Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion”, “Hayato who loves the Shinkansen and became the driver of Robo Shinkalion, which transforms the Shinkansen. He respects the feelings of the rivals and willingly fights together, which is really nice.”

■ Various characters other than robot pilots are lined up ♪

There were also votes for ordinary jet-fighter and airplane pilots, other than robots.
About Porco Rosso from “Porco Rosso”, “Porco is the only pig that looks so cool! Personally, I think he’s the most handsome Ghibli character.”
About Zorond Ron from “Kaiketsu Zorori”, “He’s so cool that I can’t think of him as Zorori’s father. When he helped his son appearing on a mysterious plane was a real father move.”
About Kobayashi from “Fate / Zero”, popular in culture character, “There are only a few appearances but all very memorable.”

Also, there were comments about Tsubasa Kashiwagi from “Idol Master SideM”, “Ne is an idol and a member of DRAMATIC STARS now, but he used to be a pilot.”
About a character who once was a pilot, Sugo Teppei from “Psycho-Pass”, “‘Case.2 of “Sinners of the System”‘ reveals his past as an ace pilot of the Defense Ministry. The appearance of operating the aircraft was also refreshing, and his coolness increased on 30% increase.”

It was a result confirmed for are various types of pilots.

■ Highest ranks (part)
“Who is your favorite “pilot” character?”
Zala Athrun “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED”
Sugo Teppei “Psycho-Pass”
Ichijo Hikaru “The Super Dimension Fortress Macross”
Kobayashi “Fate / Zero”
Kashiwagi Tsubasa “The Idolmaster: SideM”
Amuro Ray “Mobile Suit Gundam”
Char Aznable “Mobile Suit Gundam”
Kudou Riga “Tomica Kizuna Mode Earth Grunner”
Ikari Shinji “Neon Genesis Evangelion”
Porco Rosso “Porco Rosso”
Tenkawa Akito “Martian Successor Nadesico”
Oliver Poplan “Legend of the Galactic Heroes”
Fuuro “Pocemon Best Wish”

(Survey period: November 24 to December 1, 2020)

* This survey is part of a survey of readers’ awareness of “current interest in and attention to anime works and characters.” Regarding the results, we do not intend to decide the superiority or inferiority of any character or work. We hope that this article will help you to get to know new works and characters, and to deepen your understanding and interest.