Most Iconic Anime Characters Born in February

February is the shortest month of the year, with just 28 days for most years, and 29 on leap years for odd, astronomical reasons. Nonetheless, it’s when lovers get together for Valentine’s Day, when a groundhog decides how long winter lasts, and when Abraham Lincoln, Michael Jordan, and George Harrison were born.

It’s also when some famous fictional characters were born in their lore. Street Fighter’s Ken, DC Comics’ Batman, and The Terminator’s John Connor are all February babies. In addition to these, the world of anime has a few famous characters who celebrate their birthdays in the shortest month. But who are the most iconic anime characters born in February? Read on and find out.

Updated on February 3rd, 2024 by David Heath: February has come once again, and it’s a leap year, so those born on February 29th can have a proper birthday for a change. These include the likes of horror movie icon Ken Foree, rapper Ja Rule, composer Gioachino Rossini, and DC Comics’ top hero Superman.

But the Man of Steel isn’t the only famous fictional figure to be born in February. There are even more top figures, cult classics, and rising stars in anime who canonically came to be in the second month of the year. So, this list has been updated with more of these iconic anime characters born in February, alongside some info and format tweaks for ease of reading.

15 Jotaro Kujo

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Starting off with a big one, the most famous protagonist from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure was born on February 1, 1970, to Holly Joestar and Sadao Kujo. Jotaro’s dad was never shown in the manga or anime, but his American Japanophile mother was the impetus for his strange journey in Part 3: Stardust Crusaders. When Dio took over the body of Jonathan Joestar and got Stand powers, Jonathan’s descendants gained ones too via their bloodline.

While Jotaro and his grandfather Joseph could control theirs, Holly couldn’t, and it began to slowly kill her. The only way to save her was to find Dio and kill him to stop his influence. Even after his adventure was done, Jotaro would return to support the other protagonists, like Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable’s Josuke, and his own daughter Jolyne in Part 6: Stone Ocean.

14 Edward Elric

Fullmetal Alchemist

Edward Elric, the lead character in Fullmetal Alchemist, was born on February 3, 1899, in Resembool, Amestris. After trying to revive his late mother with a transmutation experiment, he made a mistake that would cost him an arm and a leg, and his brother Alphonse his whole body. His soul ends up trapped in a suit of armor, leaving a guilt-stricken Edward to seek out the Philosopher’s Stone in order to restore his old body.

While JJBA’s Jotaro is a tall guy, Elric is only 4’11”, which he’s acutely aware of. His foes and friends alike taunt him for being a pipsqueak, shorty, and a little red runt, among other insults. However, he isn’t to be trifled with. In addition to being smart enough to become a State Alchemist at 12 years old, he’s strong enough to take on bigger foes with his martial arts training and his automail prosthetics’ hidden weapons.

13 Rin Tohsaka

Fate/Stay Night

Also born on February 3rd, Rin Tohsaka is one of the main heroines of the Fate/Stay Night series, from the original visual novels to its different animated series and adaptations. Fate/Zero showed her as a little girl, while Fate/ Strange Fake had an elder Rin at 22. But the original series saw her at 17 trying to fulfill her duties as the new master of the Tohsaka Clan’s brand of Magecraft.

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As such, she comes off rather stern, and is quite a perfectionist as she does her best to prove she has what it takes to be a Magus. Like the series’ lead, Shirou, Rin wants to win the Holy Grail Wars and obtain the grail’s power. But while he wants to undo a catastrophe from the past, Rin just wants to live up to the family name. Or so she says. Her feelings about her family and Shirou are more complicated than they appear.

12 Haruhi Fujioka

Ouran High School Host Club

Ouran High School Host Club’s Haruhi Fujioka was born on February 4, and had an ordinary childhood for a Japanese girl. It was only when she entered high school that things took a strange turn. Despite being a commoner, she got a placement at the prestigious Ouran Academy. However, the school is so expensive that she could only afford a baggy boy’s uniform instead of the girl’s uniform. Then she had to cut her hair short after some gum got caught in her hair.

To make matters worse, she broke an expensive vase belonging to Ouran’s Host Club. Their leader, Tamaki, mistakes her for a boy thanks to her new appearance, and makes her work off her debt by doing host work for them. The club soon discovers the truth, but vow to keep it a secret, so she can keep working. Still, she has to learn to charm other women, and Tamaki has to figure out his mixed-up feelings. Maybe gender is more about perception than they realize.

11 Nico Robin

One Piece

Born on February 6, One Piece’s Nico Robin is the sole survivor from Ohara Island after it was destroyed by the World Government’s Marines. They didn’t want Ohara’s archeologists to discover the Poneglyphs and their elusive author, the Ponegriff. With nowhere left to turn, and ostracized by the world at large, Nico Robin initially fought against the Straw Hats as a member of Sir Crocodile’s Baroque Works.

Once that fell apart, she warmed up to the Straw Hats enough to become a true crew member. As well as being the only person left in the world who can read the Poneglyphs, she can also grow extra limbs and body parts because she ate the Flower-Flower Fruit as a child. It comes in handy during her adventures, but when the crew got statues in creator Eiichiro Oda’s home prefecture of Kumamoto-ken, the sculptors stuck to her regular amount of limbs.

10 Mikasa Ackerman

Attack on Titan

February is a good month for anime heroines. Nico Robin is joined by Attack on Titan’s Mikasa Ackerman. Born on February 10, she’s almost as iconic to the series as the titular Titans themselves. Her dark bob hairstyle, red scarf, and military wear made her one of the standout human characters before she even showed off her strength and intellect.

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After her parents were killed when she was a child, Mikasa was raised by the Yeager family. While her childhood trauma left her a stoic, quiet figure, she’s much warmer around the Yeagers and their son Eren. She’d repay their kindness by joining Eren in the Survey Corps to look after him. Still, her devotion to him would be tested throughout the series.

9 Suì-Feng

Bleach

Perhaps better known by her Japanese name ‘Soifon’, Suì-Feng is another fan favorite. She was born on February 11 as the youngest of six children in a noble family. As part of the family tradition, she became a member of the Soul Society’s Special Forces, and quickly rose through the ranks. She became their Commander in Chief and Captain of the 2nd Division of Gotei 13.

But what really made her popular was her relationship with fellow Bleach favorite Yoruichi. She always admired Yoruichi’s strength and skill, and often tried to romance her to little success. She even gained a love for black cat accessories just because Yoruichi could turn into one. These lovesick feelings gave Suì-Feng that softer edge that makes the otherwise firm commander that touch more endearing.

8 Tsuyu ‘Froppy’ Asui

My Hero Academia

After a host of more conventionally cool or fanservice-friendly women, My Hero Academia’s Tsuyu makes for a nice change of pace. She’s more of a quirky character (pun unintended) with her big eyes, big hands, and lolling tongue. It’s all part of her Frog Quirk: she can leap far, crawl up walls and ceilings, swim really well, and grab things with said tongue.

Born on February 12, Tsuyu became one of MHA’s most popular characters. She’s a serious character, taking charge of missions, looking out for her classmates, and telling them what they need to hear (albeit rather bluntly). It just contrasts with her funny frog-like looks and habits. One minute, she could be someone’s emotional support. The next, she’s croaking after each sentence and making a funny face.

7 Suzune Horikita

Classroom of the Elite

She may be in D-Class, but Classroom of the Elite‘s Suzune Horikita is a rising star in her story. She even got her own spin-off manga, which detailed what would’ve happened if she and lead character Ayanokoji spent more time with each other. Either way, she’d still be born on February 15th, and she’d still be in D-Class, where the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing School drops off all their underachievers.

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Suzune is one of the school’s smartest classmates, and aims to reach A-Class no matter what the cost. However, it was this cold-blooded attitude that got her put in D-Class to begin with, as she doesn’t work well with others. Yet she still managed to befriend Ayanokoji and Kikyo. With their help, she begins to open up as a person and trust others, while still being tough enough to stare down the upper-class bullies.

6 Sadaharu

Gintama

Birthdays aren’t just for humans, as Gintama‘s dog spirit, Sadaharu, was born on February 25th. He’s a giant canine that likes to chomp on anything smaller than himself, like the heads of passers-by, including the series’ lead, Gintoki. Originally owned by the priestess sisters Ane and Mone, he’s now looked after by the Amanto alien Kagura. She’s the only one strong enough to handle him, and he’s the only pet that’s survived her clutches.

While she successfully tamed him, it took Sadaharu a longer time to warm up to Gintoki. At first, they were quite antagonistic towards each other, but over time they’d help each other out. Sadaharu saved the Earth from being invaded by alien cockroaches in Episode 29, while Gintoki helped Sadaharu save a little abandoned puppy when it was sick in Episode 265. Which is a rather sweet moment in a series where he’s been turned into a human and a female horse on two separate occasions.

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4 Kazuma Kuwabara

Yu Yu Hakusho

Born on February 27th, Yu Yu Hakusho‘s Kazuma Kuwabara is a rather influential character. Higurashi: When They Cry and Dragon Ball GT both included lookalikes of the big lug, from his attitude to his floppy pompadour. Jojo: Diamond is Unbreakable‘s Okuyasu is also cut from Kuwabara’s mold as a delinquent who’s as sharp as a spoon but is devoted to his friends and tenacious.

For example, he fought (and often lost) to Yusuke, but he saw the fights as a kind of friendship, as he barged into his funeral to mourn in his overly aggressive way. Then his natural sensitivity to the spirit world helped Yusuke on his way back to the land of the living. From then on, the two would become co-protagonists, taking on demons and spirits when they’re not butting heads against each other.

3 Light Yagami

Death Note

February has been full of heroes thus far. So, it’s time to drop a big dose of gray in this vibrant mix. Death Note’s Light Yagami was born on February 28, though the year differs with the media. In the manga it was 1986, then 1989 in the anime. The live-action TV drama pushed it even further to 1995 to keep him 17 years old, because he was that old when he discovered the titular notebook, and its dark power.

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2 Esdeath

Akame ga Kill!

February’s 29th day saw the birth of Esdeath to the Partas Clan in the Northern Frontier Lands of Akame Ga Kill! She lived a rough life in the wild, hunting with her father, where she developed a skill for fighting and a taste for sadism when her father gutted animals without killing them first. After her father and the rest of her tribe were killed, she vowed to become stronger.

Thus, she joined the Empire, leading its assassination squad. She’d lay waste to several tribes with her Teigu powers, murdering hundreds of thousands, and making examples out of others with torture. Whether they’re innocent or guilty doesn’t matter to her, because “the strong survive and the weak die”. So, she’s not the cheeriest person to have a birthday party with.

1 Anthy Himemiya

Revolutionary Girl Utena

If people want to celebrate a nicer person’s birthday on February 29th, there’s Revolutionary Girl Utena‘s Anthy Himemiya. She’s more complicated than being an outright hero/villain, as she’s the ‘Rose Bride’ heroine Utena Tenjo and her rivals fight to win the hand of. She seems like a damsel in distress, but she’s a more self-aware and dark take on the trope.

As the ‘Rose Bride’, she’ll do anything the champion who wins her hand asks of her, since those are the rules. As such, she’s been subjected to her champions’ rage and hatred as well as their love and desires, which made her capable of cruelty and manipulation in order to survive. But through Utena’s friendship, trials and tribulations, Anthy finds a way to break free from her rigid role and head for a brighter future.

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