Speaking about characters who are related to the “sea”, who comes to mind? 2nd place is shared between Nanase Haruka from “Free!” and Tsunami Jousuke from “Inazuma Eleven”… Characters related to the sea and water are ranked in!

July 22 is “Marine Day”.

Marine Day is a national holiday that was established in 1996. Due to the influence of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, this year it was moved to July 22, the day before the scheduled opening ceremony.

Many anime titles and episodes are set in the sea, and various characters have shown impressive performances. There are characters who are good at swimming, some boasting physical beauty enough to monopolize the topic related to the beach, characters that enjoy sea fishing, or sea creatures, and many others. Among all of them who are connected with the sea the most?

Here at Anime!Anime!, we conducted an annual reader survey entitled “Speaking about characters who are related to the “sea”, who comes to mind?”. We received responses from 151 people during the survey period from July 3 to July 10.
The male-female ratio is about 30% for males and about 70% for females. About 55% of the age group were teens, and about 30% were in their 20s.

■ Many characters from works with the theme of sea and water are ranked in the same place!

1st place

1st place goes to Monkey D. Luffy from “One Piece” with an approval rating of about 15 percent, up from 5th place last year.

Luffy is the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Readers commented on the highly popular character, “Speaking about pirates, he is the one who comes to my mind!. The future pirate king!”, and “When it is about the sea, it is definitely about pirates! Luffy came to mind first.”
Jinbei from the same title is also ranked in. For a new companion, “He just joined the Straw Hat Pirates, and it’s a character inspired by the sea.”

2nd place

2nd place is shared between Tsunami Jousuke from “Inazuma Eleven” and Nanase Haruka from “Free!” with an approval rating of about 5 %.

Tsunami Jousuke is a third-year student at Oumihara Junior High School of Okinawa Prefecture and his position is a defender. Readers liked his friendly personality, “His heart is wide as the sea. I like his cool lines like, ‘It’s a small story compared to how big the sea is!'”, and “He is a soccer player but also good at surfing.”

Nanase Haruka is a member of the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club. Readers commented, “Swimsuit is something related to the sea. I was amazed by how thorough he is when cooking in a swimsuit apron and always wearing a swimsuit under the uniform.”, and “It is impressive how he takes off his clothes and enters the sea or the pool”. Some fans pointed on the background visual of the work, “Since it was set in a town facing the sea, the sea was always used as the background for the important scenes in the story.”

The new movie of the series “Free!: The Final Stroke” will be released in two parts: part 1 on September 17, 2021, and the second part on April 22, 2022.

■ Let’s introduce other comments!

For Nadia from “Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water”, “The refreshing opening and the depiction of the sea that appears many times during the work are very beautiful. I love the sea character and this work!”
For Rio Mason Busujima from “Hypnosismic: Division Rap Battle”, “He is former Navy. As a member of the Yokohama Division’s MAD TRIGGER CREW, his team is reminiscent of the ocean.”

About Tsunashi Ryuunosuke from “Idolish 7”, “A member of TRIGGER from Okinawa. Some of the solo songs have the theme of the sea.”
About Laura from “Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure”, “The first mermaid in the Pretty Cure series. I’m impressed by how she grows up as a girl from Grand Ocean, the land of mermaids.”

In the 2021 survey, characters from “One Piece”, “Free!”, And “Tropical-Rouge!” and other related to the sea and water titles, such as “Pretty Cure” and “Nagi no Asukara”, are ranked in.

■ Top 10

“Speaking about characters who are related to the “sea”, who comes to your mind?”
1st place Monkey D. Luffy “One Piece”
2nd place Tsunami Jousuke “Inazuma Eleven”
2nd place Nanase Haruka “Free!”
4th place Sonoda Umi “Love Live!”
5th place Mouri Ran “Detective Conan”
5th place Laura / Cure La Mer “Tropical-Ju! Precure ”
7th place Shinkai Kanana “Ensemble Stars!”
7th place Sera Masumi “Detective Conan”
7th place Sakishima Hikari “Nagi no Asukara”
7th place Watanabe You “Love Live! Sunshine !!”

(Response period: July 3, 2021 to July 10, 2021)

■ Ranking Top 20

“Speaking about characters who are related to the “sea”, who comes to your mind?”
1st place Monkey D. Luffy “One Piece”
2nd place Tsunami Jousuke “Inazuma Eleven”
2nd place Nanase Haruka “Free!”
4th place Sonoda Umi “Love Live!”
5th place Mouri Ran “Detective Conan”
5th place Laura / Cure La Mer “Tropical-Ju! Precure ”
7th place Shinkai Kanana “Ensemble Stars!”
7th place Sera Masumi “Detective Conan”
7th place Sakishima Hikari “Nagi no Asukara”
7th place Watanabe You “Love Live! Sunshine !!”
11th place Armin Arlert “Attack on Titan”
11th place Kaido Minami / Cure Mermaid “Go! Princess PreCure ”
11th place Rio Mason Busujima “Hypnosismic: Division Rap Battle”
11th place Matsuura Kanan “Love Live! Sunshine !! ”
15th place Akai Shuichi “Detective Conan”
15th place Squid Girl “Invasion! Squid Girl”
15th place Ikeda Saburoji “Nintama Rantaro”
15th place Sakata Gintoki “Gintama”
15th place Summer Kamen “Mr. Osomatsu”
15th place Sinbad “Magi”
15th place Tsunashi Ryuunosuke “Idolish7”
15th place Nadia “Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water”
15th place Hakaze Kaoru “Ensemble Stars!”
15th place Fuduki Kai “Tsukiuta.”
15th place Makinohara Shoko “Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai”

(Response period: July 3, 2021 to July 10, 2021)