April 14 is Orange Day in Japan.
In the West, the orange flower is known as the flower used to adorn the bride. In Japan, following Valentine's Day on Feb. 14 and White Day on Mar. 14, Orange Day was established as a day for couples and married couples to demonstrate their love for each other.
The bright shade of orange is a color that looks great on the screen. Among all the characters whose image color is orange, who is the most popular?
Here at Anime!Anime!, we conducted an annual reader survey asking, “Who is your favorite anime character whose image color is orange?”. During the survey period between Apr. 2 to Apr. 9, a total of 274 responses were received.
There were more female respondents with the gender ratio being 20% male and 80% female. The age group was about 50% for those under the age of 19, and about 25% for those in their 20s, mainly focusing on youngsters.
■Hinata Shouyou, the protagonist of “Haikyuu!!” who aims at the Orange Court, is on top of the list for two consecutive years.
The 1st place goes to Hinata Shouyou from “Haikyuu!!” with an approval rating of about 13%.
Hinata Shouyou, a member of the Karasuno High School's volleyball club, was praised by many fans for his impressive hair and uniform, “He has orange hair! It matches with Karasuno's uniform, which is orange as well”.
Some comments mentioned the Orange Court, which is the name given to the National Tournament; “The court he aims at is also known as the Orange Court, which is one more reason to consider him the main orange-based anime character”.
The 2nd place goes to Izumi Mitsuki from “IDOLiSH7” with an approval rating of about 10%.
Mitsuki Izumi is a member of IDOLiSH7 who was praised for his great positive energy which seems to match with the orange color, “His energetic personality always affects the other members”, and “He is energetic, cute, and also has a masculine side. He is thoughtful of his younger brother”. Some of the fans were touched by their memories of the live, “I'll never forget the all-orange view made with penlights!”.
The 3rd place goes to Kousaka Honoka from “Love Live!” and Jinguji Ren from “Uta no Prince-sama” with the same number of votes. The approval rating was about 7%.
Kousaka Honoka received various comments such as, “My favorite μ's leader! He's very energetic, and orange is a color that really suits him!”, and “The vitamin's color, orange matches perfectly with Honoka-chan, who is cheerful and bright like the sun”.
Jinguji Ren was also praised by his fans, “The orange color suits well for his passionate personality, not to mention his character song titled 'Orange Rhapsody'”, and “I think there are no characters who look better than Ren in orange”.
■Let's introduce other comments!
Schubert from “ClassicaLoid”, “He usually wears a bright golden yellow coat, but when the magical effect of Musik appears, his clothes turn into an orange costume. Orange is definitely his image color!”.
Echizen Ryouga from “Prince of Tennis”, “He always brings with him an orange, which is a memorable item of his younger brother Ryouma”.
Gian from “Doraemon”, “The orange sweatshirt is his trademark. He is the neighborhood bully with a strong self-confidence, whose bright orange color suits him very well”.
Some votes were also given to Kaburagi Issa from “Yowamushi Pedal”, a character who has a weakness for orange carbonated drinks, “He has orange hair and always drinks Orange Beena (Orangina)”.
The overall ranking features many idol characters whose image color is orange. Many sports anime, including “Haikyuu!!” on the top, were also ranked in.
■Top 20
[Who is your favorite anime character whose image color is orange? 2020 Ver.]
1. Hinata Shouyou “Haikyuu!!”
2. Izumi Mitsuki “IDOLiSH7”
3. Kousaka Honoka “Love Live!”
3. Jinguji Ren “Uta no Prince-sama”
5. Takami Chika “Love Live! Sunshine!!”
6. Jeremiah Gottwald “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion”
7. Schubert “ClassicaLoid”
8. Nami “One Piece”
9. Uzuki Arata “Tsukiuta. THE ANIMATION”
9. Bakugou Katsuki “My Hero Academia”
11. Kaizuka Inaho “Aldnoah.Zero”
12. Souma Kyou “Fruits Basket”
13. Son Goku “Dragon Ball”
13. Akehoshi Subaru “Ensemble Stars!”
15. Echizen Ryouga “Prince of Tennis”
15. Emma “The Promised Neverland”
15. Kagari Shuusei “PSYCHO-PASS”
15. Kaburagi Issa “Yowamushi Pedal”
15. Kamui “Gintama”
15. Shimotsuki Mika “PSYCHO-PASS”
15. Gian “Doraemon”
15. Juuouin Kakeru “KING OF PRISM” series
15. Sailor Venus / Aino Minako “Sailor Moon”
15. Nakahara Chuuya “Bungo Stray Dogs”
15. Hinatsuki Mikan “The Demon Girl Next Door”
(Survey period: Apr. 2 to Apr. 9, 2020)