It doesn’t take long for new anime fans to encounter a character with the name of Sakura, and before long they’ve realized that there are a lot of characters with that name. In today’s post, let’s explore why there are so many anime characters named Sakura, and try to pick the best one!
Why Are So Many Anime Characters Named Sakura?
In Japan, when parents have a baby, they naturally make lists of possible names depending on whether it’s a boy or a girl. These names follow yearly fashions and trends, the same as in every other country.
In the same way that some parents choose exotic spellings like Meghan/Maygin/Meghan instead of “Megan,” Japanese can get creative at coming up with esoteric kanji for their child. This is especially bad in Japanese because often no one can pronounce the name kanji outside of the family. Then there are weird trends like the “kirakira name” boom that started around the early 2000s, which saw parents giving their kids outrageous names like Pudding, Diamond and Cocoa, expressed with bizarre kanji that no one could read. Aqua and Ruby from Oshi no Ko and Nasa from Tonikaku Kawaii are making commentary on this odd social phenomenon.
Is Sakura an Extremely Common Name in Real Life?
Not really. In 2022 the name written in hiragana (さくら) was ranked #36 in popularity for girl’s names, while the name in kanji (桜) was ranked #81. An alternate kanji version of the name (咲良) is ranked #20.
Want more info on how kanji names work in Japanese? I have a blog post here!
Who Are the Best Anime Characters with This Name?
We asked J-List’s customers of culture on Twitter/X and Facebook to share their favorite anime girl named Sakura, and here’s the ranking we came up with!
How can we choose anyone but Sakura Kasugano from the Street Fighter games?
There can be no argument, Sakura from Card Captor Sakura is best.
Sakura Matou from Fate/stay night is my go-to.
When I see Sakura, this is the first person that comes to mind.
It’s important to wash your motorcycle to keep it clean. Sakura Hane from the Bakuon!! anime shows us how it’s done.
Yae Sakura from Honkai Impact is my pick!
I always loved this one, from Sakura Taisen.
How about this girl? She wants to eat our pancreas for some reason.
Can we allow Sakura as a last name? Chiyo Sakura from Girls’ Monthly Nozaki-kun.
Sakura Meifong from Valkyrie Drive Mermaid never fails to entertain us.
Vtuber Sakura Miko gave us one of the most hilarious moments of the pandemic.
Sakura, the hot school doctor from Urusei Yatsura.
What’s Peter’s favorite character? How about Sakura Igawa from the Taimanin series? This ero toy is in stock on the J-List site here!
Thanks for reading this blog post exploring the best anime girls named Sakura. Do you have a favorite that we forgot? Tell us about her in the comments below!
If you’re on social media, follow us on these platforms!
- Twitter, where Peter posts anime booba for you
- Facebook, where we share memes and discuss anime
- Instagram, for fans who want to keep up with J-List products in your Insta timeline
- Discord, if you want to chat with other J-List customers of culture
- Finally, check out J-List’s new short video blogs on YouTube or TikTok!
The weekend is here, and J-List has posted an extra helping of naughty doujinshi and manga for you to discover on the site. Browse them all here, but remember that the stock of all books is limited and might sell out without warning.
