May 28 is “the day of fireworks”

On May 28, 1733, the Water God Festival was held at the riverside of Kanda River to comfort the souls of people who died of hunger and illness that occurred a year before. The day of fireworks was established since fireworks were set off during the festival.

Fireworks, which beautifully light up the night sky, have been attracting a lot of people. Many characters related to fire/flame appear in anime and games. They are depicted in various ways such as a character who manipulates the flame and has a name meaning fire or flame.

So, here at Anime!Anime!, we conducted the annual reader survey titled ‘Who is your favorite “fire/flame” character?’ During the survey period from May 24 to May 28, a total of 339 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 75% while the males were about 25%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from the readers of younger ages: about 50% were from minors, and 25% were in their twenties.

■The characters from the latest works have got higher ranks!
1st place
1st place went to Rengoku Kyojuro from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”. The support rating was about 19 %. He moved up from 3rd to the top.

Due to the release of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train” in October 2020, he moved up from 3rd place. The comments received are, ‘Mugen Train was so amazing that only Rengoku-san came up to my mind! He is honest, enthusiastic, but gentle. I love Rengoku-san’, ‘Not only his appearance, but also his heart is also flaming hot. I think that he became a character that represents flame that everyone immediately thinks of’, and ‘His life and personality are full of passion, and he can give warmth to other people’.
In addition to his skills related to fire and flame, he has an enthusiastic personality. Many readers mentioned his line “Keep your heart burning!!!”

2nd place
2nd place went to Natsu Dragneel from “Fairy Tail”. The support rating was about 9 percent, and he dropped from the top.

The comments received are, ‘He is a Dragon Slayer who breathes fire, wears fire, eats fire, and has a passionate personality’, ‘He is very thoughtful to the point that no one compares, and he confronts anything. That is so cool’, and ‘He is also known as “Salamander”‘. Some reader mentioned his characteristic spiky　hairstyle, saying ‘His hairstyle looks like a flame’.

3rd place
3rd place went to Shinra Kusakabe from “Fire Force”. The support rating was about 7%, and he moved up from 5th place last year.

The comments arrived for Shinra Kusakabe, a new member of the Special Fire Force Company 8, are ‘He is cool when he is soaring freely through the sky while unleashing flame bursts from his feet. Even though there are many characters that manipulate a flame in this anime, Shinra is the best!’, and ‘I wish I could soar in the sky like him’. The fans are attracted to his skill to generate a flame from his feet.
Shinmon Benimaru, a member of the Company 7, was also ranked 7th. The comments showed this title features many flame-related characters such as, ‘He is the most powerful character, and lacks affability, but I like him as he cares about his friends’.

■Let’s introduce other comments！！
For Roy Mustang from “Fullmetal Alchemist”
‘He is also known as the Flame Alchemist, and he has the skill of building a fire by snapping his finger, which is amazing. This skill is full of attraction and romance that makes us try.’
For Goenji Shuya from “Inazuma Eleven”
‘He is a very reliable ace striker, and his technique is also wonderful!’
‘His techniques are related to a flame such as Fire Tornado and Bakunetsu Storm.’

For Portgas D. Ace from “One Piece”
‘He is a great brother that is passionate like a fire, and is warm-hearted.’
‘His brother Sabo takes over Mera Mera no Mi, which is the best part!’
For Cure Rouge from “Yes! PreCure 5”
‘She is the first character featuring a flame in PreCure series, which matches her sporty personality. I like it.’
The readers voted for a new PreCure that appeared in the movie, which was released this year.

In the survey 2021, the characters from the titles, which are released in 2020 or 2021 such as “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”, “Fire Force”, and “Shaman King”, got high positions. There are so many fire-flame related characters, so please look forward to the next year’s survey.

■Ranking Top 20
1. Rengoku Kyojuro “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
2. Natsu Dragneel “Fairy Tail”
3. Shinra Kusakabe “Fire Force”
4. Portgas D. Ace “One Piece”
5. Todoroki Shoto “My Hero Academia”
6. Roy Mustang “Fullmetal Alchemist”
7. Endeavor “My Hero Academia”
8. Goenji Shuya “Inazuma Eleven”
9. Hao “Shaman King”
10. Shinmon Benimaru “Fire Force”
11. Alice Asmodeus “Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun”
11. Sailor Mars “Sailor Moon”
13. Megumin “KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!”
13. Lio Fotia “Promare”
15. Cure Rouge “Yes! PreCure 5”
15. Sabo “One Piece”
15. Hanabishi Recca “Flame of Recca”
15. Charizard “Pokémon”
19. Uchiha Sasuke “Naruto”
20. Cinderace “Pokémon”
20. Nobimaru “Kemono Jihen”
20. Bakugou Katsuki “My Hero Academia”

（Survey Period: May 24 – May 28)