Gojo's Height and a Stack of Official Yukata Art Did the Work
Japanese anime news site Anime Anime runs this summer-kickoff poll every year, timed to the season of fireworks shows and festival yukata. In the 2026 male-character results, voters made a practical case for Gojo. One respondent argued that a man over 190cm tall is simply going to look good in a yukata. Others pointed out that nobody has to imagine it: official yukata illustrations of Gojo already exist across merchandise and events, covering both his present-day teacher look and his student days at Jujutsu High.
Gojo teaches at Jujutsu High, the school protagonist Yuji Itadori attends, and is billed in-series as the strongest sorcerer of the modern era. His win also lands in a year when the franchise is everywhere again. Season 3, The Culling Game Part 1, began airing January 8, 2026.
Demon Slayer and Gintama Split the Rest of the Podium
Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, took second place. Voters singled out an official illustration of him in a blue-and-white vertically striped yukata, and one comment admitted to wanting something the show rarely provides: the famously reserved swordsman actually relaxing. Demon Slayer has extra visibility right now too, since the entire TV series is in the middle of a full rerun in Japan.
Third went to Gintoki Sakata, the owner of the Odd Jobs shop in Gintama and a former Joi-war fighter once feared as the Shiroyasha. His voters reasoned that a man who already lives in a blue water-patterned kimono would wear a yukata just as naturally, while another comment focused on the muscle definition showing through his black inner shirt. Gintama has its own release hook this summer: the Blu-ray and DVD of the new film, Gintama: Yoshiwara in Flames, arrive August 26.
As for who was voting, the 434 respondents split almost evenly by gender, about 45 percent male and 55 percent female, and skewed young. Teens and twentysomethings each made up roughly 30 percent of the sample.
Hakuji's Fireworks Scene and the Rest of the Field
The comment section beyond the podium is where the poll gets interesting. Akaza, under his human name Hakuji, landed at fourth on the strength of his tragic human backstory in Demon Slayer. One voter wrote that they can't forget the fireworks scene with Koyuki, where Hakuji promises to protect her for the rest of his life, and that seeing him out of his usual white training gear was genuinely striking.
Kitaro's father from The Birth of Kitaro: Mystery of GeGeGe drew praise for the adult charm of a tall, unbothered man in a blue kimono. Hanamaru Kawakami of Devil Butler with Black Cat got votes for being the one butler in the cast with a Japanese-style name and a uniform that already reads as vaguely Japanese in style, so his festival-event yukata felt inevitable. And Jinshi of The Apothecary Diaries picked up support on pure logic: he spends the series in Chinese-style court dress, so a yukata should suit him, though one voter worried he would get mistaken for a woman depending on the styling. His franchise has a theatrical film opening in Japan on December 11, 2026.
The full top 10:
- 1. Satoru Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen)
- 2. Giyu Tomioka (Demon Slayer)
- 3. Gintoki Sakata (Gintama)
- 4. Akaza / Hakuji (Demon Slayer)
- 5. Shinsuke Takasugi (Gintama)
- 6. (tie) Shinichi Kudo / Conan Edogawa (Detective Conan)
- 6. (tie) Yukichi Fukuzawa (Bungo Stray Dogs)
- 8. Japan (Hetalia: Axis Powers)
- 9. Mei Kinosaki (Marriage Toxin)
- 10. (tie) Tengen Uzui (Demon Slayer)
- 10. (tie) Mahiro Oyama (Onimai: I'm Now Your Sister!)
- 10. (tie) Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)
Looking Ahead
Anime Anime says the female-character results are coming next, so expect a companion ranking shortly. On the calendar side, the Gintama: Yoshiwara in Flames Blu-ray and DVD hit Japanese shelves August 26, and The Apothecary Diaries movie opens in Japanese theaters December 11, 2026. The report did not include international release details for either. Demon Slayer's full-series rerun is a Japan-side broadcast, though the series itself remains widely available on streaming overseas.