Anime Anime Global

August 19 is “Bike Day”.

It was established after the wordplays “8(Ba) 19(Iku)” by Traffic Safety Policy Office of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 1989.

A motorcycles is one of the most popular means of transportation, and often featured in anime and games. The characters own various types of motorcycles from scooters to remodeled large-sized motorcycles. Who is the most impressive character among those who are related to such motorcycles?

Therefore, Anime!Anime! conducted a reader survey titled “Speaking of a ‘motorcycle’, who comes to your mind?”. During the survey period from August 6 -13, a total of 574 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the males were the majority with about 60% while the females were about 40%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from the young readers: about 35% were from teens, and 25% were from those in their 20s.

■Scooter riders occupied the top 3!

1st Place

1st place went to Koguma from “Super Cub”. The support rating was about 21%.

Koguma is a high school girl who lives alone in Yamanashi. The received comments include, “She used to live her life without any purpose, but her life has changed after the encounter with Super Cub. I can feel her euphoria”, “The story depicts her as a motorcycle beginner and then growing up, which is great”, and “I feel her potential as a long distance rider in that she eats ready-to-eat meals without warming them up”. Some reader mentioned her name, saying “The protagonist’s name Koguma(lit. bear cub in Japanese) is suitable for a Cub rider”.
A character from an anime in the spring of 2021 topped the list.

2nd Place

2nd place went to Shima Rin from “Laid-Back Camp△”. The support rating was about 9%.

Shima Rin is a high school girl who loves camping. She owns VINO of YAMAHA. Depictions of road trips were popular among the readers, and the received comments include, “She is always riding on her own motorcycle even when she goes camping with her friend, which left an impression of her as a road trip lover”, and “I love Rin-chan riding on her VINO and enjoying landscapes. I always look forward to her next destination”.
Among the readers, someone commented, “I was inspired by ‘Laid-Back Camp△’, and got a motorcycle license”.

3rd Place

3rd place went to Sakata Gintoki from “Gintama”. The support rating was about 8%.

“The opening often features the scenes, where he is riding double on a motorcycle, with a music that gives a sense of speed. His scooter with 銀(Gin) mark is one of his signature items!”, “He is always riding on his scooter, but I have an image of him always being in an accident…”,
and “I would like him to give me a ride on his scooter with 銀(Gin) mark”.
As Gintama is a long series, a lot of scenes of him riding on his scooter are depicted, which should have left impressions.

■Let’s introduce other comments!!

Sano Manjirou from “Tokyo Revengers”
“While the members of the Tokyo Manji Gang own motorcycles, he sticks to his scooter Hawk Maru. That’s so cute!”
Kaneda Shotaro “AKIRA”
“Speaking of a motorcycle character, Kaneda is the only one! He is the Kenko Yuryo Furyo Shonen (well-being but bad boy) ​that rides around on his red motorcycle!!”

Kawasaki Raimu “Bakuon!!”
“He is a mysterious character that never shows up without his helmet.”
“He is cool as he handles his ZX-12R very well!”
Nakahara Chuya “Bungo Stray Dogs”
“The scene where he rides on a motorcycle is featured in the movie ‘DEAD APPLE’. Also, the illustrations of him published on the official website for Bike Day were fascinating.”
Various characters have won the votes.

In this survey, the top 3 characters were all scooter riders. Scooter are the most familiar types of motorcycles, which will be the reason for them to top the list.

■Ranking Top 20

[Speaking of a “motorcycle”, who comes to your mind?]
1. Koguma “Super Cub”
2. Shima Rin “Laid-Back Camp△”
3. Sakata Gintoki “Gintama”
4. Hattori Heiji “Detective Conan”
5. Sano Manjirou (Mikey) “Tokyo Revengers”
6. Honda Hayato “KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops”
7. Nakahara Chuya “Bungo Stray Dogs”
8. Kaneda Shotaro “AKIRA”
9. Koma Gun “Bari Bari Densetsu”
10. Sera Masumi “Detective Conan”
11. Reiko “Super Cub”
11. Kawasaki Raimu “Bakuon!!”
13. Haibara Ai “Detective Conan”
14. Celty Sturluson “Durarara!!”
15. Mine Fujiko “Lupin III”
16. Eguchi Yousuke “Shonan bakusozoku: Bomber Bikers of Shonan”
16. Suzunoki Rin “Bakuon!!”
16. Amaguni Hitoya “Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle”
19. Onizuka Eikichi “Great Teacher Onizuka”
19. Kino “Kino’s Journey”
19. Kirito (Kirigaya Kazuto) “Sword Art Online”
19. Sawatari Taka “Futari Daka”
19. Bikeman “Kinnikuman”
19. Hishiki Kenji “Aitsu to Lullaby”
19. Yahagi Shogo “Megazone 23”
19. Ryuguji Ken (Draken) “Tokyo Revengers”

（Survey Period: August 6 – 13, 2021）

*This survey is intended to research the readers’ “interest in anime and characters today”. It is not intended to discuss the relative merits of each character nor work. I would be glad if this article can help you develop an understanding and interest in the anime and characters.