What do you know? K-On! has been rocking everyone's world recently, and so I find it no surprise that show-stealer Mio has gone ahead and captured the hearts of Japanese otaku everywhere. She, and many of her dere compatriots -- women who have a tough exterior, often coming off as abrasive, even though they mean well -- topped the list.

So who's rocking it? Well, don't be too surprised, but most of the list leans towards the recent.

1. Mio Akiyama - K-On!
2. Hinagiku Katsura - Hayate the Combat Butler
3. Taiga Aisaka - Toradora!
4. Rukia Kikuchi - Bleach
5. Yuki Nagato - The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
6. Azusa Nakano - K-On!
7. Chrome Dokuro - Hitman Reborn!
8. Sheryl Nome - Macross Frontier
9. Yui Hirasawa - K-On!
10. Asuka Langley - Neon Genesis Evangelion

Pretty much every character here has been in the public memory fairly recently, and so I wonder how things would go if they opened it up to a wider audience. I'm figuring most of the votes came from the under-25 crowd, and that very few of them have really spent some time looking at classic anime.

Is it even a guess as to who I'd go with? Naturally, my waifu is Kagami from Lucky Star. Quick! Claim yours in the comments!