November 8 is “Shigaraki Tanuki Day”.

This is a commemorative day established by the tourism association of Shigaraki-cho, Kouka City, Shiga, which is known for its Shigaraki ware.

The tanuki, an animal that has been in Japan from ancient times, has been popular for many years, appearing in fairy tales and sayings. There are many characters related to the tanuki in anime and games, sometimes being a partner of the main character, and other times tricking people by disguising themselves as a human.

We at Anime!Anime! conducted a survey asking, “Which is the First ‘Tanuki’ Character that Comes to Your Mind?” 185 readers voted during the survey period from October 26 to November 2.
There were more female voters with a gender ratio of 65% female to 35% male, and the age range was on the younger side with 50% under 20 and 25% in their 20s.

■Unique Tanuki Characters Gather!

1st Place
Doraemon from “Doraemon” topped the list with roughly 17% of the votes.

Doraemon is a cat-shaped robot but is often mistaken as a tanuki. Readers couldn’t forget the classic interaction and said, “Everyone has heard the line ‘I’m not a tanuki!'” and “His ears were chewed off by a mouse, and his round appearance makes him even more like a tanuki. It always makes me laugh seeing him getting angry from being called ‘blue tanuki’.”

2nd Place

Coming in 2nd was Watanuki Banri from “Inu × Boku SS” with roughly 11% of the votes.

Watanuki Banri is a resident of Maison de Ayakashi room number 1, and can change into a tanuki youkai. “He says he’s a delinquent, but cute, comical, and is a lovable character who is always being teased,” and “He’s full-out Chuuni! I’d love to have a younger brother like him!” are comments from readers that say he’s cute for not being able to become a true delinquent.

3rd Place

Tom Nook from “Animal Crossing” took 3rd place with roughly 9% of the votes.

Tom Nook runs a store in the village and received comments such as, “He’s always been in the series since the beginning, so I’ve been familiar with him since I was a child. How he ends his sentences with ‘danamo’ is so cute,” and “I’m sure all ‘Animal Crossing’ players owe something to him.” A representative character of the series that has appeared not only in the games but also in the animated film “Animal Crossing: The Movie”, made it into the top 3.

■Here are some comments for other characters!

For Shimogamo Yasaburou from “The Eccentric Family”, “The third son of the Shimogamo family, a prominent family in the tanuki world living in the forest of Tadasu no Mori of Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto. He has inherited his great father Souichirou’s talent of witchcraft better than any of his siblings, and I was thrilled to see how he used his shape-shifting abilities to run around the streets of Kyoto causing trouble.”
For the tanukis from “Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun”, “The girl’s manga artist Miyako-san is forced by her editor Maeno to add tanukis in every chapter… They are very interesting characters with their dead eyes.”

For Ponjirou from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”, “Tanjirou as a tanuki in Inosuke’s dream was so cute! I also felt that Inosuke, who had never had anything to do with humans, treating Tanjirou as his henchmen shows his growth.”
For Asakusa Midori from “Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!”, an anime that is currently being re-run, “She was cute when she was turned into a tanuki, and her personality and presence are a bit like a tanuki.”

Characters that are mistaken as tanukis, such as “Doraemon” and Chopper from “One Piece”, also made the list. The results show that the image of tanuki characters varies from cute, mischievous, to even money-grubbing.

■Top 10

Which is the First “Tanuki” Character that Comes to Your Mind?

1. Doraemon “Doraemon”
2. Watanuki Banri “Inu × Boku SS”
3. Tom Nook “Animal Crossing”
4. Inugami Kohachi “Kemono Jihen”
5. Kamado Tanjirou (Ponjirou) “Demon Slayer: Kimetu no Yaiba”
6. Shimogamo Yasaburou “The Eccentric Family”
6. Takechiyo “Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon”
8. Tony Tony Chopper” One Piece”
9. Yamadanuki “Urashimasakatasen”
10. Tanuki “Tanuki to Kitsune”
10. Raphtalia “The Rising of the Shield Hero”
(Survey Period: October 26 – November 2, 2021)

*This survey was held to investigate the readers’ “interests and attention towards current anime titles and characters”. The results should not be used to determine the supremacy of characters and titles. We hope this article will help you find new anime/characters and deepen your understanding of them.

■Overall Ranking

Which is the First “Tanuki” Character that Comes to Your Mind?

1. Doraemon “Doraemon”
2. Watanuki Banri “Inu × Boku SS”
3. Tom Nook “Animal Crossing”
4. Inugami Kohachi “Kemono Jihen”
5. Kamado Tanjirou (Ponjirou) “Demon Slayer: Kimetu no Yaiba”
6. Shimogamo Yasaburou “The Eccentric Family”
6. Takechiyo “Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon”
8. Tony TOny Chopper” One Piece”
9. Yamadanuki “Urashimasakatasen”
10. Tanuki “Tanuki to Kitsune”
10. Raphtalia “The Rising of the Shield Hero”
12. Futatsuiwa Mamizou “Touhou Project”
13. Shigaraki “Gugure! Kokkuri-san”
14. Asakusa Midori “Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!”
14. Kagemori Michiru “BNA”
14. tanuki “Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun”
14. Doudanuki Masakuni “Touken Ranbu -ONILIN-”
18. Gu “Nonon Biyori”
18. Heinrad “Super Life-Form Transformers: Beast Wars Neo”
(Survey Period: October 26 – November 2, 2021)

*This survey was held to investigate the readers’ “interests and attention towards current anime titles and characters”. The results should not be used to determine the supremacy of characters and titles. We hope this article will help you find new anime/characters and deepen your understanding of them.