February 9 is Manga Day (漫画の日 Manga no Hi).
It is the anniversary of the god of manga, Tezuka Osamu’s death. By the way, November 3 is also Manga Day (まんがの日 Manga no Hi), which is Tezuka’s birthday and Culture Day.
There are many characters in anime and games, who make a living out of manga. Some are rookies who aim for commercial success, popular creators at Doujinshi (self-published print works) conventions, and some hide their identity as a mangaka (manga artist).
We at Anime!Anime! conducted a readers’ survey asking, “Who’s Your Favorite Mangaka Character?”. There was a total of 153 votes during the voting period from January 23 to January 30.
The voters were mainly female with 70% being female and 30% male, and the age range was on the younger side with 50% under 20 and 25% in their 20s.
■”JoJo” Kishibe Rohan takes 1st Place! His spin-off is also popular!
1st Place
Topping the list was Kishibe Rohan from “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable” with roughly 16% of the votes.
Kishibe Rohan is a popular mangaka that lives in the town of Morioh. Fans praised his attitude towards manga saying, “Rohan-sensei’s overwhelming passion for manga makes him a bit weird and I love him for it,” “He’s arrogant, but it’s hard to hate someone who is so devoted towards manga,” and “I’d love to read his manga, ‘Pink Dark Boy’.”
He also received votes pointing out his famous line, “He’s the father of ‘Daga Kotowaru'”, and fans love his spin-off, “Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan”, and commented, “I really enjoyed the live-action drama with Takahashi Issei-san, and I loved how Sakurai Takahiro-san, who played Kishibe Rohan in the anime, took part in it with his voice.”
2nd Place
Coming in 2nd was Gotou Kakushi from “Kakushigoto” with roughly 13% of the votes.
Gotou Kakushi is a mangaka who dotes on his daughter. The heartful comedy is popular among the fans, and received comments saying, “How he’s determined to hide his profession as an ecchi manga artist warms my heart. I love the contrast between the heartfulness of the past and the tense, seriousness of the present,” and “It’s funny to watch him desperately hide his profession for the sake of Hime-chan. And at the same time, I feel his warm heart as a father.”
3rd Place
Mashiro Moritaka from “Bakuman” takes 3rd place with roughly 10% of the votes.
Mashiro Moritaka teams up with his classmate, Takagi Shuuto, and works as a manga artist under the name of Ashirogi Muto. He received comments such as, “I believe they were the best team to support each other in hardship and become a popular mangaka. I’d love to read their work if it actually existed,” and “‘Bakuman’ taught me how much effort and energy mangaka put into their work. Thank you so much!”
■Here are some comments for other characters!
For Nozaki Umetarou from “Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun”, “The gap between him being a high school boy and a girls’ manga artist is interesting,” and “I’m a fan of Nozaki-kun’s ‘Let’s Fall in Love'”.
For Saotome Roman from “Sket Dance”, “Though her drawing is pretty bad, has a bad taste, and the content is over the top, she is very serious about her work. She often goes wild with her meta remarks, but she’s a character full of fun and cute charm.”
For Masao-kun from “Crayon Shin-chan”, “He’s good at drawing for a kindergartener, he was a mangaka in the dream world in a film, and became an unpopular mangaka in the future.”
For Sorachi Hideaki from “Gintama”, a real mangaka, “I was surprised to see him as a gorilla mangaka in the anime,” and “His line ‘I want to be a steamed cheese bread,’ left a strong impression on me.”
Several works that have a mangaka as the main character, such as “Kakushigoto” and “Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun”, were popular in this survey. The depiction of “common things about mangaka” seems to have satisfied the curiosity of fans.
■Overall Ranking
[Who’s Your Favorite Mangaka Character?]
1. Kishibe Rohan “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable”
2. Gotou Kakushi “Kakushigoto”
3. Mashiro Moritaka (Ashirogi Muto) “Bakuman”
4. Yoshino Chiaki “The World’s Greatest First Love”
5. Nozaki Umetarou “Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun”
6. Sorachi Hideaki (Gorilla Author) “Gintama”
7. Niizuma Eiji “Bakuman”
8. Kaasan (Nohara Rieko) “Mainichi Kaasan”
9. Udai Enma “Haikyuu!”
9. Saotome Roman “Sket Dance”
9. Jaiko “Doraemon”
9. Moeta Kaoruko “Comic Girls”
13. Saotome Mobuyuki “Saotome Shimai wa Manga no Tame nara?!”
13. Shachi “Gintama”
13. Nagaohara Mio “Nichijou”
13. Masao-kun “Crayon Shin-chan”
(Voting Period: January 23 to 30, 2021)
