June 21, 2108

Bandai Children’s Survey Report

Results of Children’s Characters’ Popularity Survey

Topic 1: ANPANMAN, DORAEMON, and PRECURE series top overall rankings.

Popularity of ANPANMAN and DORAEMON unchanged from 2017.

PRECURE series returns to top three for first time since 2013.

Topic 2: ANPANMAN No. 1 with boys and girls alike! KAMEN RIDER series moves up

in boys’ rankings. Sumikkogurashi No. 1 with older girls.

Bandai Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Masaru Kawaguchi, Head Office: Taito-ku, Tokyo) has released the results of a survey into the most popular children’s character franchises. The 800 survey respondents were parents with children aged twelve and under. Respondents had to complete the online survey, which was conducted from May 11 to 13, 2018, with their child. Below is a summary of the results.

Topic 1: ANPANMAN, DORAEMON, and PRECURE series top overall rankings. Popularity of ANPANMAN and DORAEMON unchanged from 2017. PRECURE series return to top three for first time since 2013.

Most Popular Children’s Characters (800 respondents each) 2018 Overall Top 10 2017 Overall Top 10 No. 1 ANPANMAN 11.5% No. 1 ANPANMAN 11.5% No. 2 DORAEMON 8.0% No. 2 DORAEMON 7.1% No. 3 PRECURE series 5.6% No. 3 YO-KAI WATCH 5.6% No. 4 Pokémon 5.3% No. 4 KAMEN RIDER series 4.4% No. 5 PRECURE series 4.5% No. 5 Sumikkogurashi 4.3% No. 6 Detective Conan (CASE CLOSED) 4.1% No. 6 Disney Princess 3.8% each No. 7 FROZEN 3.4% No. 7 Minions No. 8 Inai inai baa! 3.3% No. 8 Inai inai baa! 3.5% No. 9 Shimajiro 3.1% No. 9 Crayon Shin-chan 3.4% THOMAS & FRIENDS No. 10 3.0% each No. 10 Detective Conan (CASE CLOSED) 3.3% SUPER SENTAI series

In this year’s Children’s Characters’ Popularity Survey, ANPANMAN took the overall top spot among all children twelve and under for the second year in a row and DORAEMON held fast at No. 2, a clear sign of the enduring popularity of legacy character franchises, which appeal as much to children today as to their parents’ generation. Moving down the rankings, there was much jockeying for position. The PRECURE series franchise, now in its fifteenth year, moved up two spots from 2017, breaking into the top three for the first time in five years. Meanwhile, Disney Princess, Minions, and Crayon Shin-chan all made the top ten list for the first time. KAMEN RIDER series returned to the top ten with an all-time best ranking of No. 4, while Sumikkogurashi jumped up to No. 5, also an all-time high. A breakdown of characters’ popularity by age and gender follows.

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Topic 2: ANPANMAN No. 1 with boys and girls alike! KAMEN RIDER series moves up in boys’ rankings. Sumikkogurashi No. 1 with older girls.

Most Popular Children’s Characters for Boys and Girls 12 and Under (400 respondents each)

Boys Top 5 Girls Top 5

No. 1 ANPANMAN 11.0% No. 1 ANPANMAN 12.0% No. 2 DORAEMON 9.3% No. 2 PRECURE series 11.3% No. 3 KAMEN RIDER series 8.3% No. 3 Sumikkogurashi 8.0% No. 4 THOMAS & FRIENDS 5.0% No. 4 Disney Princess 7.3% SUPER MARIO BROS. No. 5 4.5% each No. 5 DORAEMON 6.8% Detective Conan (CASE CLOSED) Breaking the results down by gender, ANPANMAN held its overall No. 1 ranking in both the boys and girls categories, demonstrating strong appeal irrespective of gender. One major factor was the franchise’s overwhelming popularity with children two and under. DORAEMON, No. 2 overall, also enjoyed strong popularity among boys and girls across multiple age categories, finishing in both the boys and girls top five. The franchise was No. 1 among both early and late elementary boys and No. 3 among girls two and under and among those in early elementary school. Meanwhile, KAMEN RIDER series, No. 3 in the boys rankings, came in at No. 1 in the preschool boys category and No. 2 in the early elementary boys category, demonstrating solid support from younger boys. SUPER MARIO BROS. and Detective Conan (CASE CLOSED) rounded out the boys top five, tying for fifth place and improving on last year’s results. In the girls category, No. 2 PRECURE series proved popular primarily with younger girls (up through early elementary), while No. 3 Sumikkogurashi appealed more strongly to older girls (late elementary), showing that children’s character preferences evolve as they get older. Meanwhile, Disney Princess continued to be a favorite with girls irrespective of age, finishing in the top three for all age groups with the exception of girls two and under.

Most Popular Children’s Characters by Age and Gender (100 respondents each)

Boys Two and Under Top 3 Girls Two and Under Top 3

No. 1 ANPANMAN 31.0% No. 1 ANPANMAN 32.0% No. 2 THOMAS & FRIENDS 14.0% No. 2 Inai inai baa! 14.0% No. 3 Inai inai baa! 13.0% DORAEMON No. 3 6.0% each Shimajiro

Preschool Boys (ages 3-5) Top 3 Preschool Girls (ages 3-5) Top 3 No. 1 KAMEN RIDER series 16.0% No. 1 PRECURE series 28.0% No. 2 ANPANMAN 13.0% FROZEN No. 2 13.0% each No. 3 SHINKALION 11.0% Disney Princess

Early Elementary Boys (ages 6-8) Top 3 Early Elementary Girls (ages 6-8) Top 3 No. 1 DORAEMON 16.0% No. 1 PRECURE series 14.0% No. 2 KAMEN RIDER series 12.0% No. 2 Sumikkogurashi 13.0% DORAEMON No. 3 SUPER MARIO BROS. 9.0% No. 3 8.0% each Disney Princess

Late Elementary Boys (ages 9-12) Top 3 Late Elementary Girls (ages 9-12) Top 3 No. 1 DORAEMON 13.0% No. 1 Sumikkogurashi 17.0% No. 2 Detective Conan (CASE CLOSED) 12.0% No. 2 Minions 9.0% Disney Princess No. 3 ONE PIECE 9.0% No. 3 7.0% each Detective Conan (CASE CLOSED)

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Survey overview: Survey objective: Measure popularity of character franchises among children Survey area: Japan Target demographic: Parents with children 12 and under (Note: Parent must take survey with child) Survey method: Online survey (with help from Cross Marketing Inc.) Survey period: May 11-13, 2018 Sample size: 800 people Composition of sample: Ages 0-2 Ages 3-5 Ages 6-8 Ages 9-12

Boys 100 100 100 100

Girls 100 100 100 100

Children’s Survey special web (Japanese): http://www.bandai.co.jp/kodomo/ Bandai website (English): http://www.bandai.co.jp/e/

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