Nanachi

Nanachi is a major character from Akito Tsukushi's web manga and anime series Made in Abyss. Introduced late in the anime's first season, Nanachi is a narehate, a survivor of ascending through the Abyss' sixth layer which causes madness and loss of humanity. After a backstory and certain present events, the human-bunny hybrid joins Riko and Reg as the third member of the delvers in their quest to reach the bottom of the titular Abyss.

Nanachi's gender is presented as ambiguous. The character refers to self using oira, a gender-neutral pronoun in Japanese, and their appearance in the backstory is also depicted as androgynous. However, most audiences consider Nanachi as a female because of their cute appearance and the fact that the character is voiced by women. As a result, Nanachi typically competes in the female character contests.

Season 1 spoilers Nanachi is formally introduced during the last few episodes of Season 1, where the character watches Reg's desperate attempt to save Riko by cutting off her poisoned hand while she is bleeding from every hole in her body. The narehate interferes, and decides to treat Riko's grave injury in their hut using knowledge gained from years living alongside the layer's flora and fauna. The character's backstory is then revealed afterwards.

The backstory shows Nanachi as a lonely but curious kid living in an unknown snowy location. The kid joins a group of children on an expedition into the Abyss' fifth layer led by Bondrewd, one of the highest-ranked delvers known as White Whistle. Along the way, Nanachi forms a friendship bond with a girl named Mitty. The two children were the last to be put in Bondrewd's experiment: a pair of elevators which drops all the way down to the sixth layer, and then suddenly rises up again, forcing its occupants to suffer from the effects of the fifth layer's curse - loss of humanity. Mitty is violently transformed into a blob monster in the ensuing event like the rest of the kids, but her bond causes Nanachi to survive whilst turning into their current appearance instead. The newly-transformed Nanachi then escapes with the blob-ified Mitty towards the fourth layer and develops an intense grudge towards Bondrewd, who declares his experiment to be a success.

In the present, Nanachi requests Reg to vaporize Mitty using his hand cannon, which he reluctantly accepts. After giving an emotional farewell to a long-time friend, the narehate joins the main party in their journey towards the fifth layer with the intent to settle scores with the White Whistle.

Contest profile
Nanachi is easily the most popular character of Made in Abyss because of their easily merchandisable, cute, and fluffy appearance. The anime adaptation has been well-received due to its impressive audio, detailed visuals, and graphic, mature content that provides a striking contrast with Tsukushi's signature cute artstyle. However, the story's content may be off-putting to certain audiences because of the author's portfolio of previous works, which feature young girls in suggestive scenes. Furthermore, the series isn't considered popular enough to establish a dedicated fanbase that is aware of character contests.

In the r/anime subreddit, Nanachi is eligible for both Best Girl and Best Guy due to their ambiguous gender. The narehate made a great impression in the subreddit's first-ever seasonal contest in Summer 2017, finishing runner-up behind Tsurezure Children's Yuki Minagawa. Nanachi has since competed in all three major character tournaments, with its best result being a round 3 appearance.

r/anime record
Seasonal Salt - Summer 2017 - seed 12
 * (53) Sarah Gold @ Isekai Restaruant, 1066 - 415
 * (21) Mary Saotome @ Kakegurui, 780 - 547
 * (5) Ayaka Kamine @Tsurezure Children, 802 - 730
 * (4) Chiaki Hoshinomori @ Gamers! 734 - 599
 * (1) Aguri @ Gamers!,  938 - 841
 * (2) Yuki Minagawa @ Tsurezure Children, 1349 - 1404

Best Girl 6 - seed 105
 * (406) Haru Okumura @ Persona 5, 2644 - 1717
 * (152) Nao Tomori @ Charlotte, 2668 - 2411
 * (24) Riza Hawkeye @ Fullmetal Alchemist, 1959 - 3795

Best Girl 7 - seed 106
 * (407) Lyza Made in Abyss, 1571 - 754
 * (151) Kaho Hinata @ Blend S, 1748 - 1724
 * (23) Nezuko Kamado @ Demon Slayer, 1716 - 2620

Best Girl 8 - seed 122
 * (391) Ruri Gokou @ Oreimo, 1607 - 1627

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Best Guy 5 - seed 92
 * (421) Hans Humpty @ Rokka no Yuusha, 911 - 269
 * (165) Shinichi Katori @ Tsurezure Children 746 - 487
 * (737) Hisoka @ Hunter x Hunter, 657 - 1261

Best Guy 6 - seed 100
 * (413) Tomoda @ Nozaki-kun, 561 - 265
 * (157) Ban @ Seven Deadly Sins, 575 - 427
 * (29) Genos @ One Punch Man, 456 - 803

Best Guy 7 - seed 115
 * (398) Satoru Asahina @ Shinsekai Yori, 311 - 170
 * (142) Meowth @ Pokemon, 306 - 272
 * (14) Alphonse Elric @ Fullmetal Alchemist, 210 - 737

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Best Character  - seed 61
 * (452) Kenzo Tenma @ Monster, 1313 - 608
 * (196) Decim @ Death Parade, 1141 - 582
 * (68) Rider @ Fate/Zero, 1058 - 1207

Best Character 5 - seed 87
 * (426) Shun Kaidou @ Saiki K., 553 - 191
 * (170) Guts @ Berserk, 423 - 518

ISML record
2017 Summer
 * TBD

2020 Winter
 * Elim. Round (Prelim 5, Approval, Max 16): 276 (24th/25th, Out)