Fun Survey by Japanese Company: Which Anime Character Do Employees Most Want as a Colleague?

The Japanese business matching platform “Hikaku Biz” recently conducted a novel survey, asking office workers to select the anime character they would most want as a colleague to enhance teamwork. The ranking is based on the characters’ perceived leadership, communication skills, and team-building abilities.

[Local vs. Global Popularity Contrast: ‘Solo Leveling’ Cools in Japan; Reiwa Era Anime Ranking Reveals Mainstream Tastes]

Despite its phenomenal popularity worldwide, the Korean anime Solo Leveling shows a clear contrast in its domestic reception within Japan. Recent fan voting results for the “2025 Top 100 Most Favorite Anime,” released by the Tokyo Anime Award Festival (TAAF), show the title ranking only 61st. This voting period lasted one month and received over 120,000 responses, with Dr. STONE: Science Future and Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX ultimately taking the top two spots.

Simultaneously, the Japanese research company CMSite released a specialized ranking on January 4th focusing on anime from the “Reiwa era (May 2019 to present).” Based on feedback from 1,722 Japanese people, the survey clearly outlines the aesthetic trends in Japan’s current mainstream animation market:

Top 10 Most Popular Reiwa Era Anime (CMSite Survey)

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019) – 158 votes

The Apothecary Diaries (2023) – 87 votes

【Oshi no Ko】 (2023) – 73 votes

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (2019) – 67 votes

The Dangers in My Heart (2023) – 66 votes

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (2021) – 65 votes

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (2022) – 64 votes

THE FIRST SLAM DUNK (2022) – 63 votes

Lycoris Recoil (2022) – 62 votes

Jujutsu Kaisen (2020) – 61 votes

The list presents a pattern of diverse genres progressing together: it includes long-dominant shonen hot-blood series like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, as well as various other types such as historical mystery (The Apothecary Diaries), idol suspense (【Oshi no Ko】), romantic comedy (Kaguya-sama: Love Is War), innovative mecha (The Witch from Mercury), and sports nostalgia (THE FIRST SLAM DUNK). It is worth noting that most of the ranked titles have maintained long-term IP heat through serialization or derivative development. The fact that several new works aired in 2023 managed to rank highly also reflects the continued acceptance of high-quality new IPs by Japanese audiences.

This research not only reveals the differences between Japanese domestic and international market preferences but also demonstrates that, against the backdrop of shonen manga’s dominance, the Japanese animation market continues to evolve with a rich content ecosystem.