August 1 is “Water Day”.

August is a national anniversary to deepen our understanding of water, as it uses a lot of water throughout the year.

Many characters related to water appear in anime and games. They can have water-based special moves, or be good at swimming than anyone else, or maybe always come with rain. Among all those characters, who is the most popular one?

Here at Anime!Anime!, we conducted a reader survey entitled “Speaking of “water characters”, who comes to your mind first?” We received responses from 167 people during the survey period from July 16 to July 23.
The male-female ratio is about 35% for males and about 65% for females. About 55% of the age group were teens, and about 15% were in their 20s.

■ Tomioka Giyuu from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” is topping the list! Tanjirou is also ranked in

1st place

1st place goes to Tomioka Giyuu from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” with an approval rating of about 17%.

Readers commented, “He is the strongest Hashira who uses the water breathing. When I first saw ‘Water Breathing Eleventh Form’, his special killing skills bought me.”, and “There is a watery vibe with cool beauty, which makes the character elusive. The main character, Tanjirou, also uses water breathing, but Giyuu seems to be more sophisticated in this.”

In addition, Kamado Tanjiro is also ranked in and gets 6th place. His difference with Giyuu was pointed on but he still ranked high, “The graphic of water when he shows off his technique is beautiful, and it makes me overwhelmed by his power. I love him because he is a character that lets you feel the flexibility and strength that are the characteristics of water.”

2nd place

2nd place goes to Aqua from “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!” with an approval rating of about 14%.

The goddess with a goofy personality is popular, “The goddess who controls water. She shows off Kacho Fugetsu (the beauty of nature), held by company parties and her name also relates to water, so I think she is exactly a water character.”, and “She is often called the Goddess of company parties or the Goddess of debt, but she is actually the Goddess of water. The power of her technique is so powerful that she ends up increasing her debts.” The scene, where she is utilized as a water purifier, was also popular as this comment shows, “Is there any character who has a water-purifying skill beyond hers?”.

3rd place

3rd place goes to Noel Silva from “Black Clover” with an approval rating of about 6%.

Noel, who is from the royal family, is a water magician. Readers commented, “The mysterious scene of fighting like a mermaid wearing a water dress! Noel, who has a strong and gentle heart, suits the magic of water.”, and “At first he was not good at controlling magic, but he gave me the courage to grow steadily like him.”

■ Let’s introduce other comments!

For Nanase Haruka from “Free!”, “He can’t live without water, and his first love was a waterfall! And above all, Haru-chan himself swims very beautifully and fast. I think he is a character who loves water and is loved by water.”
About Cure Aqua from “Yes! PreCure 5”, “The first Pretty Cure of the ‘Pretty Cure’ series who is related to water. Her transformation line ‘Pretty Cure of Intelligence’ is beautiful, and she appears in the movie released this year.”

For Shinkai Kanata from “Ensemble Stars!”, “He is always in the fountain and loves the ocean. His looks and remarks related to the sea and water are so often, and his habit of saying ‘Pukapuka’ makes him an ideal ‘water’ character.”
For Seiren Uruu “Fairy Ranmaru”, the character from the fresh title of 2021, “His nickname ‘Ai! Juntaku! Suijun no Seiren Uruu’ feels like water is gushing out, and the title of the character song is ‘My heart is raining.’ This year I remember him on every rainy day.”

In this survey, characters who can use water-related techniques are ranked high. It turned out that the depiction of a particularly flashy special move has captured the hearts of fans.

■ Ranking Top-10

“Speaking of “water characters”, who comes to your mind first?”
1st place Tomioka Giyuu “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
2nd place Aqua “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!”
3rd place Noel Silva “Black Clover”
4th place Juvia Lockser “FAIRY TAIL”
5th place Nanase Haruka “Free!”
6th place Kamado Tanjirou “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
7th place Shinkai Kanata “Ensemble Stars!”
7th place Seiren Uryuu “Fairy Ranmaru”
9th place Minazuki Karen / Cure Aqua “Yes! PreCure 5 ”
10th place Mizuno Ami / Sailor Mercury “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon”

(Response period: July 16 to July 23, 2021)

■ Overall ranking

“Speaking of “water characters”, who comes to your mind first?”
1st place Tomioka Giyuu “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
2nd place Aqua “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!”
3rd place Noel Silva “Black Clover”
4th place Juvia Lockser “FAIRY TAIL”
5th place Nanase Haruka “Free!”
6th place Kamado Tanjirou “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
7th place Shinkai Kanata “Ensemble Stars!”
7th place Seiren Uruu “Fairy Ranmaru”
9th place Minazuki Karen / Cure Aqua “Yes! PreCure 5 ”
10th place Mizuno Ami / Sailor Mercury “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon”
11th place Kurumi Erika / Cure Marine “Heart Catch Pretty Cure”
11th place Yamuraiha “Magi”
13th place Chiyu Sawaizumi / Cure Fontaine “Healin’Good Precure”
13th place Showers “Pokemon”
13th place Messon “Pokemon”
13th place Russell “Combatants Will Be Dispatched!”
13th Leviathan “Leviathan: The Last Defense”
13th place Ndur “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders”

(Response period: July 16 to July 23, 2021)