Uta's Victory Lap Continues
Four years after ONE PIECE FILM RED broke box office records in Japan, its singing antagonist still dominates the conversation. In Anime Anime's latest reader poll, Uta pulled roughly 19 percent of the vote — a comfortable five-point lead over the runner-up.
Readers praised Uta's Uta Uta no Mi ability and the sheer spectacle of her musical sequences in the film. Several respondents pointed to Ado's powerhouse vocal performance on tracks like "New Genesis" and "I'm Invincible" as inseparable from the character's appeal. One voter noted that Uta even crossed over into reality when the character appeared at Japan's annual Kohaku song contest — a move that caught fans off guard.
The Macross Legacy Holds Strong
Nekki Basara from Macross 7 claimed second place with about 14 percent support, proving the 1994 classic still resonates. Basara's entire philosophy — flying into battle in his Fire Valkyrie not to shoot but to sing — earned passionate praise. "He barely fires a single missile and saves the galaxy with his voice," one reader wrote. Others loved the detail that his custom mecha has a mouth built into it because, well, you can't sing without one.
The original Macross heroine Lynn Minmay also received votes, with fans calling her the character who defined the "fight with song" archetype for an entire medium. It's telling that three Macross characters — Basara, Minmay, and Macross Frontier's Sheryl Nome at No. 8 — placed in the top ten. The franchise practically owns this category.
Symphogear Punches Through at No. 3
Hibiki Tachibana from Senki Zessho Symphogear landed third with about 6 percent. Readers celebrated her literal approach to musical combat — her famous line "I will punch with my song!" sums up a character who channels vocal energy through her fists. One voter highlighted that Symphogear's appeal lies in Hibiki's kindness underneath the power: she always believes she can reach out and take an opponent's hand.
Symphogear's Tsubasa Kazanari also placed at No. 11, giving the franchise two representatives near the top. The Anime Anime poll notes that a Symphogear theatrical film is confirmed to be in production, which should keep the series in these conversations for years to come.
Surprise Entries and Deep Cuts
The rest of the top ten featured some delightful picks. Doraemon's Gian took fourth — his singing is so catastrophically bad it literally functions as a weapon, and readers cited a memorable Doraemon film scene where he belts out a song to snap a possessed Suneo back to his senses.
Cure Idol from Kimi to Idol Precure♪ landed fifth, representing the newest entry on the list. Nanami Luchia from Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch and Yamada Ichiro from Hypnosis Mic rounded out the middle of the pack, while Tougen Anki's Momoo Senritsu and Honkai: Star Rail's Robin closed out the top ten — the latter a rare video game crossover pick.
Anime Anime also highlighted a vote for Gai from Yoroi Shinden Samurai Trooper, whose fighting style involves humming classic Japanese pop songs mid-battle — a detail that gets funnier the more you think about it.
Looking Ahead
The poll's timing feels apt. Spring 2026 brought Ghost Concert: missing Songs and Princession Orchestra, two new anime that put musical combat front and center. With the Symphogear film on the horizon and the Macross franchise continuing to expand, the "fight with song" subgenre shows no signs of fading.
The survey ran from April 16 to April 20, 2026, collecting 805 responses split roughly evenly between male and female readers. About 35 percent of respondents were 19 or younger, with the 30s and 40s age brackets each accounting for around 20 percent — a spread that explains how a 1994 mecha pilot and a 2022 film character can coexist at the top of the same list.