From Joke Dad to Aspirational Figure
The annual reader poll ran from May 29 to June 5, collecting 381 responses (roughly 40% male, 60% female, with about 35% of voters aged 19 or under). The results landed on Father's Day itself, and the message from Japanese anime fans was clear: Hiroshi Nohara is the gold standard.
Hiroshi took about 17% of the vote. What stands out in the reader comments is how the character's reputation has shifted over time. Younger viewers remember him as the dad with the smelly feet. Adult voters see something different: a man in his mid-30s raising two children, supporting a pet, owning a house and a car, all on a salaryman's income. Multiple respondents described him as a "perpetual section chief" who is nonetheless kind, funny, and attentive to his kids.
Movie moments featured heavily in the comments. One voter highlighted the Warring States film, citing Hiroshi's line to his wife Misae about having no reason to stay in a world without Shinnosuke as their family charges into a time-slip rescue. A spinoff series, Hiroshi Nohara: The Way of Lunch, also debuted as an anime in October 2025, giving the character even more screen time outside the main show.
Loid Forger and the Fake Family That Feels Real
Loid Forger held second place with about 9% of the vote, matching his 2025 ranking. The appeal is simple: a world-class spy who can handle any mission but gets completely outmaneuvered by a six-year-old telepath and an assassin wife.
Readers pointed to the gap between Loid's professional competence and his bumbling sincerity as a parent. One comment noted that his joy when Anya passed her entrance exam felt indistinguishable from a real father's pride. With SPY×FAMILY's third season now aired, voters said Loid has grown visibly more comfortable in the role, even if it started as a cover identity.
Kogoro Mouri: Sloppy but Dependable
Kogoro Mouri, Ran's father from Detective Conan, locked in third place at about 7%. The top three hasn't changed since the 2025 poll.
Voters acknowledged his flaws up front: he drinks, he gambles, he lets Ran handle the cooking. But the comments consistently circled back to his reliability in a crisis. Several cited the 2026 theatrical film Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback (released April 18), where Kogoro's marksmanship made it clear his skills from his police days haven't faded. Others reached further back to The Fourteenth Target, where the reason he left the force turned out to be an act of protection for his family.
Villains, Absentees, and Anti-Fathers
The rest of the top 10 reads like a spectrum of fatherhood styles. Naruto Uzumaki (Boruto) placed fourth as the dad who literally saved the world but still can't make it home for dinner. Umibouzu from Gintama took fifth.
The most interesting votes came lower in the rankings. Toji Fushiguro from Jujutsu Kaisen, a character fans affectionately call "Papa Kuro," earned support as a villain who entrusted his son's future to someone else with his dying breath. Jotaro Kujo from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean drew votes for his admission that he always cared about his daughter, delivered in the series' signature deadpan. Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion was acknowledged as the "ultimate anti-father figure," with voters noting that Evangelion 3.0+1.0 finally unpacked his loneliness and fragility.
A five-way tie at ninth place also included Edward Newgate from One Piece, Endeavor from My Hero Academia, the Headmaster from Bungo Stray Dogs, and Minato Namikaze from Naruto.
Looking Ahead
Japanese entertainment news site Anime Anime runs this poll annually, so the race for next year's top spot is already on. With Crayon Shin-chan continuing its weekly broadcast in Japan (and streaming internationally on services including Amazon Prime Video and Bilibili), Hiroshi's presence isn't going anywhere. SPY×FAMILY's manga remains ongoing in Shueisha's Shonen Jump+, published in English by Viz Media, so Loid's story still has room to develop. The Detective Conan franchise, meanwhile, shows no signs of slowing down after One-Eyed Flashback's theatrical run.
The full top-20 ranking is available at the Anime Anime article for readers who want to see which other anime dads made the cut.