Anime Anime Global

September 28 is “Computer Day”.

PC-8001, a personal computer developed by NEC that touched off the personal computer craze, went on sale on the same day in 1979.

In anime and games, many gifted characters with hacking abilities are featured. They are depicted in various ways; some of them obtain any information in a moment, and others are AI characters appearing in the cyberworld or belong to armed forces or public safety commissions.

Therefore, Anime!Anime! conducted a reader survey titled “Speaking of ‘hacking’, who comes to your mind?”. During the survey period from September 14 – 21, a total of 237 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 70% while the males were about 30%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from the young readers: about 65% were from teens, and 20% were from those in their 20s.

■Aliens and AI characters have been ranked in!

1st Place

1st place went to Yamada Saburo from “Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle”. The support rating was about 18%.

Yamada Saburo is a member of Buster Bros!!! and is good at collecting data. The fans are attracted to his adorable side that he shows to his brother Ichiro, as well as his gifted abilities, saying “Although he is still 14 years old, he is talented enough to hack the government’s website” and “He is the brain of Odd-Jobs Yamada. He uses his intelligence for his brother, which is what only infant prodigy can do”.

2nd Place

2nd place went to Hashida Itaru (Daru) from “Steins;Gate”. The support rating was about 8%.

He is a friend of the protagonist Okabe Rintaro, and is relied on by Rintaro as “Super Hacka”. The received comments include, “He speaks in a little odd way, but he has extraordinary abilities to hack global organizations”, and “When it comes to hacking, Daru is the only one. This is the definition.” His characteristics also include using the Internet terminology in conversations.

3rd Place

3rd place went to Sakura Futaba from “Persona 5”. The support rating was about 5%.

She is a gifted hacker of Phantom Thieves. The big glasses are also one of her features, and the received comments include, “She is a glasses girl and hacker. The setting is too cute and makes me fall for her!” and “Her playing on older people with hacking is very satisfying. She is the center of the Thieves”. She is the only female character within the top 5.

■Let’s introduce other comments!!

Kururu “Sgt. Frog”
“He is good with machines at machine in general and develops some weapons for Keroro. I adore the scenes where he is working on computers.”
The non-human character has won some votes.

Hacker “Akudama Drive”
“As his name suggests, he is good at hacking. I love his cute-looking combined with Horie Shun-san’s innocent voice.”

Matsumoto “Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song”
“He is a high-end AI that came from 100 years into the future in order to stop AIs’ war from breaking out. He is a reliable buddy that assists Vivy in fixing the history by hacking electronic equipment around them.”

Reina Prowler “Macross Delta”
“Her line when she does hacking ‘There’s no door in this world that I can’t open!’ was super cool. I look forward to her role in the film.”
The character from the title with an upcoming film has won some votes.

In this survey, multiple non-human characters including AIs made the top 20.

■Ranking Top 20

－Speaking of “hacking”, who comes to your mind?－
1. Yamada Saburo “Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle”
2. Hashida Itaru (Daru) “Steins;Gate”
3. Sakura Futaba “Persona 5”
4. Sergeant Major Kururu “Sgt. Frog”
4. Tayama Katai “Bungo Stray Dogs”
6. Kagami Junishiro “Ultimate Otaku Teacher”
7. Reina Prowler “Macross Delta”
8. Uihara Kazari “A Certain Scientific Railgun”
8. Enokida “Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens”
8. Suzuki Hiroto “The Day I Became a God”
8. Ritsu (Autonomous Intelligence Fixed Artillery) “Assassination Classroom”
12. Misaka Mikoto “A Certain Scientific Railgun”
12. Haibara Ai “Detective Conan”
14. Yui “Sword Art Online”
15. Amuro Toru “Detective Conan”
15. Hacker “Akudama Drive”
15. Matsumoto “Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song”
15. Yagami Light “Death Note”
15. Love Machine “Summer Wars”
15. La Brava “My Hero Academia”

（Survey Period: September 14 – 21, 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 anime and characters.