Lightning Users Go One-Two
Anime Anime, a Japanese anime news site, times this survey to Himawari Day on July 14. The date marks the 1977 launch of Himawari-1, Japan's first weather satellite, named for the sunflower. The 2026 edition of the yellow character poll drew 303 responses between June 23 and June 30. Women made up about 65 percent of voters, and roughly 35 percent of respondents were 19 or under.
The clearest pattern sits right at the top: both leaders fight with electricity.
Zenitsu took about 14 percent of the vote. Voters pointed to his golden hair, his yellow haori with its triangle pattern, and the blinding flash of his Thunder Breathing techniques. One reader called his dandelion-colored hair adorable and joked that his famously shrill scream counts too, a nod to the Japanese idiom that calls high-pitched shrieking a "yellow scream." Another praised his fight against Kaigaku in the Infinity Castle arc, saying it showed a side of the usually terrified swordsman that fans rarely get to see.
Pikachu's roughly 10 percent kept the Pokémon mascot in second place, the same position as last year. Respondents ran through the obvious checklist (all-yellow body, red cheeks, lightning-bolt tail, Thunderbolt), but several went further and called Pikachu a character that represents Japan itself. Fans of the current series also shouted out Captain Pikachu, Friede's partner, who backs up the Rising Volt Tacklers crew, plus smaller quirks like Ash's Pikachu loving ketchup and Captain Pikachu sneezing uncontrollably whenever someone calls him cute.
Marisa Kirisame Crashes the Top Three
Touhou Project's Marisa Kirisame landed third with about 6 percent, a real jump from her tie for seventh in the 2025 poll. The human magician lives in the Forest of Magic, runs the Kirisame Magic Shop, and tears around the sky on a broom in a black-and-white witch outfit, blond hair trailing behind her.
Her voters came at yellow from several angles. Some cited the stars and light of her flashy bullet-hell patterns. Others mentioned the fan-made "Yukkuri" meme, which reduces her to a disembodied head where the blond hair does most of the visual work, and the fan-art tradition of drawing her next to bananas because of that same hair color.
Mami Tomoe, Carrera, and the Rest of the Field
Mami Tomoe of Puella Magi Madoka Magica placed fourth. Voters praised how the yellow of her magical-girl outfit, hair, and Soul Gem plays up her elegance. One comment turned speculative: past entries in the franchise matched their logo colors to a key character, and the logo for the new film, Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Walpurgisnacht: Rising-, happens to be yellow.
Outside the top ranks, readers made cases for some less obvious picks. Carrera of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, the powerful demon known as Primordial Yellow (Jaune), drew praise for her brief cameo in Visions of Coleus ahead of her full-scale debut in Season 4. A One Piece fan argued for Sanji, whose official image color is blue but whose blond hair carries family history. And a Sgt. Frog voter brought up Sergeant Major Kururu, whose yellow body famously comes from being buried in curry, and who showed up in the franchise's new theatrical film.
The full 2026 top ten:
- Zenitsu Agatsuma (Demon Slayer)
- Pikachu (Pokémon)
- Marisa Kirisame (Touhou Project)
- Mami Tomoe (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
- Ryota Kise (Kuroko's Basketball)
- (tie) Yayoi Kise / Cure Peace (Smile PreCure!), Sergeant Major Kururu (Sgt. Frog), Jyushimatsu (Mr. Osomatsu), Nagi Rokuya (IDOLiSH7)
- (tie) Denki Kaminari (My Hero Academia), Ichika Nakano (The Quintessential Quintuplets), Himawari Nohara (Crayon Shin-chan), Kenji Miyazawa (Bungo Stray Dogs)
Looking Ahead
The poll's winners all have something on the calendar. The film Zenitsu's voters referenced, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, arrives on Crunchyroll and digital platforms on July 28, 2026, according to the film's official English site. Carrera's full debut comes in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4, and Mami fans will be watching whether that yellow Walpurgisnacht: Rising logo means what they think it means.
Anime Anime's color series keeps rolling, too. Voting is currently open for its "water" character poll through July 21 and its "blue" character poll through July 20, so Zenitsu's challengers get another shot at a crown next summer.