Anime Poll: Demon Slayer's 'Burn Your Heart' Takes Top Quote Spot for 2026
The poll shows a generational split, with a modern shonen line edging out decades-old sports manga classics that still hold cultural weight.
Reporting from 1 sources: Anime Anime.
Anime! Anime!'s annual reader survey for Words Day ranked Kyojuro Rengoku's 'Burn your heart' from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba as the most famous anime quote. Bungo Stray Dogs' 'There won't be a second time!' took second, and a tie between Slam Dunk and Haikyu!! quotes placed third.
May 18 is Words Day in Japan, a pun on the digits 5, 10, and 8. Anime! Anime! marked it with its annual reader survey of favorite famous anime quotes, collecting 290 responses between May 9 and May 13. The gender split was nearly even, and about 40 percent of respondents were under 19.
Kyojuro Rengoku's 'Burn your heart' from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba took first place with about 3 percent support. Readers said the line from the Mugen Train arc encourages them in daily life. Chuuya Nakahara's 'There won't be a second time!' from Bungo Stray Dogs came second at about 2 percent, with voters noting its comedic delivery. Third place was a tie between Coach Anzai's 'If you give up, the game is over' from Slam Dunk and Toru Oikawa's 'Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you polish!!!' from Haikyu!!, both Weekly Shonen Jump sports manga.
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: 1st place: Kyojuro Rengoku's 'Burn your heart' (about 3% support)
- Bungo Stray Dogs: 2nd place: Chuuya Nakahara's 'There won't be a second time!' (about 2% support)
- Slam Dunk: 3rd place (tie): Coach Anzai's 'If you give up, the game is over'
- Haikyu!!: 3rd place (tie): Toru Oikawa's 'Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you polish!!!'
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.