100 Seiyuu Everybody Should Know: 20-11
I can’t believe this whole series is taking me so long to finish, but after 2 1/2 months we’re finally down to the final 20 and here’s another 10 seiyuu knocked off the list! I always enjoy hearing people happy to see their favourite seiyuu being mentioned and here’s hoping that those of you still waiting for your faves to turn up might find a few within this post. Here we go!
About Wakamoto: Even though Wakamoto’s seiyuu career goes back to the 70s, it really wasn’t until the 2000s that he really started popularity thanks to a string of comical and villainous roles that made good use of his distinctly deep voice. A Waseda University law graduate, Wakamoto entered the police force and was assigned to the riot squad for a number of years, and he also signed up as a member of the Consumers Union of Japan. The story goes that Wakamoto was sitting in a train and an ad in the newspaper lying on the seat next to him caught his eye – it was an ad for seiyuu Kurosawa Ryo’s atereko (dubbing) classes. Wakamoto started attending the lessons on a part-time basis, but after a bust-up with a senior member of the Consumers Union he resigned from his job and worked full-time on voice acting. His first officially recorded role was in 1972’s Gatchaman.
Best known roles: Cell in Dragon Ball series, Oskar van Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Onsokumaru in 2×2=Shinobuden, Vicious in Cowboy Bebop, Shapiro Keats in Dancouga, Charles zi Britannia in Code Geass series, Mechazawa in Sakigake!! Cromartie High, Chiyo’s father in Azumanga Daioh, Winters Zokalo in D.Gray-man, Dracula in Castlevania series
What else you should know: As a member of the riot squad, Wakamoto was on the frontline in the 1968 Shinjuku station riots caused by protests against the transportation of fuel for US forces by rail. To reinforce his tough guy image, he holds 3-dan ranks in Kendo and Shorinji Kempo.
Currently heard in: Duel Masters Cross (George), Kiddy Girl and (T.A.M.A.)
Signature line: Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!
Background: After graduating from senior high in 1997, Rie entered a summer school organised by NichiNare training school and won a prize that was sponsored by I’m Enterprise & radio programme Watashitachi wa Tobimasu (co-hosted by Tamura Yukari). I’m took her on straight away and she made her seiyuu debut in 1998 with a role in PC game etude prologue. Most of her early years were spent voicing imouto-type & soft-spoken characters and it wasn’t until 2005’s Shakugan no Shana that Rie’s career really clicked into gear, going from strength to strength and picking up two Seiyuu Awards in three years for her efforts.
Queen of Tsundere: Somewhat typecast in recent years due to her voicing of that famous quartet of characters all displaying similar tsundere traits, Kugimiya attracts love and hate in droves but you gotta admit it’s quite some feat to scorner the market like she has. Even so, her voice acting talents extend to covering male characters and older types as well.
Kugimiya Disease: The deadly Kugimiya disease (釘宮病) has claimed thousands of victims, or so wiki parody Uncyclopedia claims. Nevertheless, the S, N and L strains of the virus caused otaku to turn into loli-tsundere loving fanatics that Asobit carried warnings on its Shana merchandise and Sofmap set up a stand to explain the origin of the sickness (and peddling Kugimiya-related goods) in its stores.
Best known roles: Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Kagura in Gintama, Aisaka Taiga in Toradora!, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Minase Iori in Idolmaster, Iwaki Rizel in Rizelmine, Matsudaira Touko in Maria-sama ga Miteru series
Currently heard in: FAIRY TAIL (Happy), Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Alphonse), Gintama (Kagura), Ladies vs Butlers (Daichi Kaoru), Hidamari Sketchx☆☆☆ (Chika), Tamagotchi! (Mameccha), BLEACH (Kurotsuchi Nemu, Kurosaki Karin)
About Romi: Studied at Wayo Konodai Girls School’s junior and senior high sections before doing drama in Toho Gakuen junior college and then doing an overseas progamme at Seoul’s Yonsei University studying Korean (she is indeed of Korean descent). After finishing up her studies, Park signed up with the theatre group En and began acting on stage. It was only around 1998 that she got into voice acting on the invitation of anime director/writer Tomino Yoshiyuki, who had gone to see one of her plays. Tomino cast her in his Brain Power’d series that year, and again in 1999 for Turn A Gundam as Loren despite Park having originally auditioned for the role of Dianna Sorei/Kihel Heim (eventually went to Takahashi Rieko).
Voice: Park’s voice is deep, with a roughness to it (like a certain Ogata Megumi) which makes her an ideal voice for young male characters and tough ladies, roles she has filled time and time again. She’s apt to playing against type as well, voicing weaklings such as Denno Coil’s Haraken.
Best known roles: Osaki Nana in NANA, Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist series, Hitsugaya Toshiro in Bleach, Loran Cehack in Turn A Gundam, Ueki Kosuke in The Law of Ueki, Regene Regetta in Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Tao Ren in Shaman King, Okamoto Katsushiro in Samurai 7
Currently heard in: The Book of Bantorra (Hamyuts Meseta), Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Edward), Higepiyo (Higepiyo)
Signature line: Inoue Kikuko, 17-sai (Oi, oi)!
All about Kikuko: Inoue entered junior college aiming to be a teacher but reportedly abandoned the course after being bullied by students during her training period. She signed with Ezaki Production (now Mausu Promotion) and made her seiyuu debut in 1988 with Hai Akko Desu before gaining her first major role in Ranma 1/2 the following year. Kikuko’s most famous role would come in 1993 when cast as Belldandy in Ah! My Goddess, which helped her become the most popular seiyuu idol during the early 90s boom where she was part of various idol groups such as DoCo, the Goddess Family Club, Idol Project and Osakana Penguin. Her marriage in 1996 and the subsequent birth of her daughter in 1998 saw a temporary drop in activity but by late 2000/early 2001 Kikuko was back working in full flow, leaving Mausu to form her own agency Anemone (managed by her older sister).
Voice: Although not the creator, Inoue perfected the template for the ever-popular ‘arara’ dojikko, sexy onee-san and soft-spoken motherly types. Without Kikuko you would not have an Ohara Sayaka and her ilk.
17-Sai Club: Inoue famously established the cult Forever-17 Club of which the core members include Inoue herself, Tamura Yukari, Horie Yui, Satou Rina and Nogawa Sakura. The whole 17-years old thing started from the time Kikuko hosted a radio show with then fresh-faced newcomer Yamamoto Marina, who would introduce herself as ‘Yamamoto Marina, 16 years of age!’ which Kikuko jokingly copied (Inoue Kikuko, 16 years of age!). When Marina turned 17 Kikuko also changed her introduction accordingly and the phrase somehow stuck. It was however, only in 2006 when the 17-sai Cult started getting stronger when Tamura Yukari was officially ‘initiated’ as a member and from then on the group started gaining in numbers although the official list remains small. In response, other seiyuu age cults (Team 30, Chiaking’s Forever 23, Goto Yuko Forever 29) have gained in popularity.
Best known roles: Belldandy in Ah! My Goddess, Tendo Kasumi in Ranma 1/2, Mizuho Kazami in Onegai! Teacher, Rune Venus in El Hazard, Grace O’Connor in Macross Frontier, Aina Sahalin in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Currently heard in: Shugo Chara (Rikka’s mother)
All about Kotono: Mitsushi attended Katsuta Seiyuu training school after graduating senior high, classmates included Morikawa Toshiyuki, Neya Michiko, Takagi Wataru and Yokoyama Chisa. To support herself during her training period (she also attended Nichi Nare), she worked part-time as an elevator girl in Sunshine 60 in Ikebukuro and also held a regular office job. Kotono’s first official work was in a PR video for a Hokkaido power plant safety video, and her first seiyuu role was in the Ace o Nerae Final Stage OVA in 1989. She finally resigned from her office job in 1990 and earned her first leading anime role in Future GPX Cyber Formula the following year, but the biggest break was to come in 1992 when Kotono bagged the role of Tsukino Usagi in Sailor Moon. This and Evangelion helped make her one of the decade’s most popular female stars, riding on the wave of the early ’90s female seiyuu idol boom. Marriage in 2000 and the subsequent birth of her daughter meant her work schedule had to be scaled down for a while, but starting 2005 Kotono got back into the business with Doraemon. Subsequently she left ARTSVISION after an 18-year association to start her own agency Lazuli Arrow[?] (ラズリーアロー) in 2008.
Website: Like Inoue Kikuko, Mitsuishi runs an actively updated website (albeit on a smaller scale) where she draws her own manga and runs a shop peddling her self-designed T-shirts.
Best known roles: Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon in Sailor Moon series, Katsuragi Misato in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Excel in Excel Saga, Celcia Marieclaire in Those Who Hunt Elves, Mireille Bouquet in Noir, Sugo Asuka in Future GPX Cyber Formula, Mine Sayaka in YAIBA, Kanzaki Urumi in GTO
What else you should know: A huge fan of the Ebichu manga, Kotono personally lobbied for the lead role in the anime adaptation which she of course, got. She still cites Ebichu as being one of her most treasured roles, along with Tsukino Usagi.
Currently heard in: ONE PIECE (Princess Boa Hancock), Doraemon (Nobita’s mother), Crayon Shin-chan (Ageo-sensei), Ojamaru (Okamehime)
All about Maaya: Maaya’s start in showbiz came early, joining child troupe Group Komadori in 1988 – many seiyuu such as Hino Satoshi, Iwata Mitsuo and Ikeda Shuichi all got their start there. Her first work was singing a CM song, but throughout the late 80s and early 90s she provided dub voices for many Western films including Fatal Attraction, Lethal Weapon 2 and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Maaya’s first anime role came in 1993 OVA Little Twins but it was when she landed the lead role in Escaflowne at the age of 16 that her career really launched into orbit, establishing her as an anime seiyuu and also bringing about a musical partnership with composer/songwriter Kanno Yoko. Nowadays Maaya still splits her time between film/TV show dubbing, radio, anime work and music and adds to that a regular role in the Japanese production of Les Miserables as Eponine.
Best known roles: Kanzaki Hitomi in Escaflowne, Fujioka Haruhi in Ouran High School Host Club, Ryogi Shiki in Kara no Kyokai movies, Lunamaria Hawke in Gundam Seed Destiny, Ciel Phantomhive in Kuroshitsuji, Alphard in CANAAN, Aerith Gainsborough in Kingdom Hearts/FF series, Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII, Takada Kiyomi in Death Note
Currently heard in: COBRA THE ANIMATION (Secret)
More on Akira: One of the seiyuu industry’s quietest men, whose personal life remains very much in the background compared to his work. Ishida originally had no intention of going on to university and wanted to go straight into acting, but reconsidered his decision at the urging of family members and went on to complete his drama degree at Nihon University. Signed up by Ezaki (later Mausu) while still in uni, his first official role came in 1990’s Mobile Police Patlabor.
Work: Extremely prolific and very versatile, Ishida almost exclusively focuses on doing work in anime, games and drama CDs. For the earlier part of his career he was actively voicing BL drama CDs but by the early 00s such roles he appeared to have stopped doing such roles. Additionally Ishida no longer sings or performs character songs and has also repeatedly refused to do regular radio work, giving him a rather ‘reclusive’ reputation. He left Mausu in 2009 and now works freelance.
Best known roles: Nagisa Kaworu in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Athrun Zala in Gundam Seed series, Cho Hakkai in Saiyuki series, Xellos in Slayers series, Katsura Kotaro in Gintama, Judeau in Berserk, Gaara in Naruto series, Okazaki Shinichi in NANA, Chrono in Chrno Crusade
Currently heard in: Gintama (Katsura), The Book of Bantorra (Mokania), Kiddy Girl And (Un-Oh)
More on Koyasu: Born in Yokohama, not in the Evil Demon World as he has once claimed. Debuted in 1988 with a role in Don Don Dommel to Ron (known as Wowser in the States) before breaking through the following year with Ranma 1/2 and Shurato. His deep, often deadpan voice is amongst the most recognisable in the seiyuu business and he is also one of the most prolific seiyuu on record (he tops ANN’s list of seiyuu with most roles). Koyasu started off at Production Baobab but left after 10 years to start his own agency T’s Factory, and is well known as the creator of the Weiß Kreuz series. The Weiss group he forms with Seki Tomokazu, Miki Shinichiro and Yuuki Hiro was the first group of male seiyuu to grace the cover of any seiyuu magazine.
Best known roles: Il Palazzo in Excel Saga, Aiba Shinya/Tekkaman Evil in Tekkaman Blade, Fujimiya Ran/Aya in Weiss Kreuz, Takahashi Ryosuke in Initial D, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Snufkin in Tanoshii Moomin Ikka, Kiryuu Toga in Shojo Kakumei Utena, Fool in Kaleido Star, Kazama Shin in Area 88, Happosai in Ranma 1/2
What else you should know: Koyasu’s catchphrase is ‘Koneko-chan’ (my little kitten), a term he came up with on one of his radio shows that refers to female listeners. It has become something like a running joke in the anime world and this Nico Douga video compiles some of the Koyasu-voiced characters (including Kururu from Keroro Gunsou) that had ‘koneko-chan’ inserted in their dialogue. By popular demand, Koyasu also came up with ‘Bouzu’ to denote his male listeners.
Currently heard in: Keroro Gunsou (Kururu), Gintama (Takasugi Shinsuke), Metal Fight Beyblade (Daidouji), Hanasakeru Seishonen (Quinza Hafez)
All about Kappei: Yamaguchi moved from his hometown Fukuoka at the age of 19 to study at Tokyo Announce Academy, working part-time jobs as a newspaper delivery boy, a sushi shop helper and posing as Goku from Dragon Ball. He officially debuted with a bang in 1989, taking the lead role in Ranma 1/2, the show where he met and formed a close friendship with Hidaka Noriko. Starting off mainly voicing young male characters, he has taken on many different types of roles since and also branched into stage acting as a part of Kimotsuki Kaneta’s 21st Century Fox group. Yamaguchi also set up his own production company Goku in 2004 and for a while, set up a stage group with close friends Seki Tomokazu and Takagi Wataru.
Best known roles: Saotome Ranma in Ranma 1/2, Inu Yasha in Inu Yasha, Usopp in ONE PIECE, Tombo in Kiki’s Delivery Service, L in Death Note, Raimon Taro/Monta in Eyeshield 21, Kudo Shinichi in Detective Conan
What else you should know: Married with at least one child (a son). Yamaguchi’s true given name is Mitsuo, the stage name Kappei was given to him by Kimotsuki Kaneta. A Jimi Hendrix fan, he used to play guitar in a band during his school days and keeps a pretty nifty guitar collection – a 1941 Gibson L-100, a 1968 Gibson J-50, a Paul Stanley Silvertone, a Gibson Les Paul JR, a Talbo Jr (with built-in amp/speaker) and a Fender Telecaster (which is the same model Koyuki uses in the anime Beck). He also owns a ukulele and a shamisen.
Currently heard in: ONE PIECE (Usopp), Inu Yasha Kenkestsu-hen (Inu Yasha)
More on Mayumi: Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin Women’s Junior College and went straight into stage acting, something she had strongly wished to do since her teenage years. In 1978 Tanaka made her seiyuu debut in Gekisou Rubenkaiser but people only really started noticing her in 1982 when she won a role in Urusei Yatsura as reverse-trap character Fujinami Ryunosuke, further enhancing her stock with the lead roles in two high-profile movies – 1985’s anime version of Miyazawa Kenji’s Night on the Galactic Railroad and Ghibli’s 1986 classic Laputa. At the same time Tanaka’s stage work continued, setting up a theater troupe called Oh, Peretta in 1988 with writer Nagai Hirotaka and composer Takeda Eri while she maintained her popularity with roles in Dragon Ball and ONE PIECE. She still maintains a huge presence in the industry and often appears on mainstream TV shows that feature seiyuu such as Waratte! Iitomo in 2008.
Voice: You could think of her as an early example of the female seiyuu who mainly voice tough ladies and young shonen roles, a ‘tradition’ that continues until today.
Best known roles: Pazu in Laputa, Monkey D. Luffy in ONE PIECE, Krillin in Dragon Ball, Ikusabe Wataru in Mashin Hero Wataru series, Fujinami Ryunosuke in Urusei Yatsura, Giovanni in Night on the Galactic Railroad, Mao in Cooking Master Boy, Luckyman in Tottemo! Luckyman, Kirishima Kanna in Sakura Taisen series
What else you should know: Tanaka also regularly narrates TV shows and currently works on Fuji TV’s popular Quiz! Hexagon II programme which features popular tarento and comedians such as Kamiji Yusuke, Tsuruno Takeshi and Yaguchi Mari.
Currently heard in: ONE PIECE (Luffy), Nintama Rantaro (Settsuno Kirimaru)
The next one’s the (not so) big reveal, stay tuned…
Quick Links:
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31
30-21
I love everyone here…! EVERYONE! (sigh, only 11 left?)
And Kotono’s website is probably one of the cutest places I’ve ever been to. “PRO-fi-leeee~”.
Automatic win for God Emperor Wakamoto at the top of the table in this post.
Some other long-running seiyuu, both male and female, in this post too, I had no idea Park Romi was Korean and her name is actually spelled that way.
One thing that I’m starting to notice after reading all of these is that there’s definitely some kind of point in time where the descriptions stop being like “He/she studied drama/stage acting at (blank) University…” and start to be about how they jump right into seiyuu school after high school. Any thoughts on that? Also, is that switch from acting to management for people like Mitsuishi and Inoue a kind of a trend?
For once, I actually know everyone here.
“Juunanasai!” “Oi, oi!”
<3
What a leggy shot of Kotono! You also should mention that she joins Gotuzasama as a famed seiyuu motorcyclist!
jpmeyer: see seiyuu idol bloom. As for the agency switch an older j1m0ne post covers this (google it?), as it has to do with work and life scheduling. Both Inoue and Mitsuishi are full time moms.
アイウイッシュアイワーアバード。
Oh man. He’s so good. His radio show is hilarious too.
Lined up back to back, but I’m not much of a fan of the Elric duo. It’s not that I hate “Hagaren”. It’s that I’m not a fan of the brothers’ seiyuu generally. The stay in the tsundere world needs to stop. As for the latter, it’s really hard for me to tell an anime rookie to get to know her early on overall.
“Onee-chan” never ceases to amaze. It’s because of her I tell people that I look 17. Ha ha ha!
If you didn’t hear Hayashibara-san in an anime in the 90s, you’d most likely hear Mitsuishi-san. People don’t like her high voice, but I say that it makes her more versatile. Yes, she’s that good.
Sakamoto-san was in one other anime before “Escaflowne”? Wow. I never knew that.
I’m surprised not many people know Ishida-san. He’s a decent seiyuu. I guess it’s because there are people like the person after him in his era.
“Koneko-chan”? Ha ha ha! Oh boy.
I have nothing witty to say about Yamaguchi-san. He’s a solid seiyuu. The same can be said for Tanaka-san.
@DoggieDyna
10 more. Oh and yes, her site is cute.
@Panther
She’s Korean alright. Oh and yeah, Wakamoto-san is the man indeed.
@jpmeyer
Omo answered it for you.
@r3
Yes yes. Juunanasai rabu. =P
@omo
Ha ha ha! That first statement you said (and the same is said for Sakamoto-san too). A famed seiyuu motorcyclist, huh?
I LOVE IT!!!!! Oh my!!! Kappei-kun! Tanaka-san!!! waaaaiiii!!! X3333 so happy! yippeee!!!!
although I pray for Hidaka Noriko and Takayama Minami…. please….
wait Sakamoto only #15 ?
Megumi Hayashibara was the one and only who was more famous than Maaya !
@nakapan_jun
Oh, that Tanaka-san. (At the time, forgot that there’s more than one notable seiyuu with the name Tanaka.) XD
@Rukawa
It’s not ranked, remember? Oh, there are plenty of seiyuu more famous than Sakamoto-san.
@jpmeyer
Seiyuu agencies only really started coming into prominence around the early 80s and after that, seiyuu training schools were established around the mid-80s to early-90s. So you’ve got the voice actors split into 2 groups more or less – the older bunch who tried out voice acting as a supplement to stage work/acting and the younger generation who grew up watching anime & actually know what a ’seiyuu’ is & hence, went to seiyuu school.
As for the agencies thing, like omo said most seiyuu eventually break out once they get older to have more control over their own schedules and pay structure and of course, because agencies tend to favour the younger seiyuu over the veterans.
….
For the next batch, I can only predict two seiyuus, the rest I don’t know.
1. Kamiya Akira
2. Hayashibara Megumi
I don’t think I’d find a batch of new seiyuus in the top 10.
Surprising that Wakamoto is in 20th place. I’d expect he’d be number one, but I guess you can’t win with just memetic reputation alone. That said, he’s a superb seiyuu.
@聖者
there’s more than a Tanaka on that list XDDD
But I’m still happy that Nakapan (Nakai Kazuya) made on the list, and I’m expecting not to be on that list, but he made it!
@ChrisX
Aye, you’re late to the party. It’s not ranked. This was a pre-made list.
Want a realistic list of who’ll take the final ten slots? Aside from some obvious choices, I originally said Neya Michiko-san, Hiramatsu Akiko-san, Matsuoka Yuki-san and Shiozawa Kaneto-san. My dark horses were Noda Junko-san and…Yuuki Hiro-san. I highly doubt Ai-pon and Kanda Akemi-san will make the cut though. Now, I’ll make changes. So, in no particular order,
1. Hayashibara-san
2. Kamiya-san
3. Seki Tomokazu-san
4. “Nonko”
5. Aoyama/Takayama Minami-san
6. Furuya Tooru-san
7. Sakuma Rei-san
8. “Yama-chan”
9. Aono Takeshi-san
10. Kikuchi Masami-san
Dark horses? I hate to say this because we’re both Filipino, but…Nakajima Megumi-san is here. Besides her, oh, I’ll list four more: Matsuoka Yuki-san, Hiramatsu Akiko-san, Neya Michiko-san, and “Halko”. I can’t see “Ai-pon” and Kanda Akemi-san taking two of the final ten slots. I’d be surprised if Kouda Mariko-san makes the list because not many people know who she is. The same can be said for Yamazaki Wakana-san.
@nakapan_jun
Yeah, I blanked out and remembered Rie-san as the only Tanaka seiyuu at the time.
Woot, god emperor Norio, the brothers (sisters?) Elric, eternal Onee-san, eternal moon princess, the songstress, the trickster, the man who makes the impossible possible, Ranma an’ Luffy.
Enough anima spiritia to put out any alien invasion XD
I stumbled upon your blog a few weeks ago, and I was very interested by your articles on seiyuu(s). I enjoy watching anime and reading manga in my spare time, but I haven’t really paid much attention to seiyuus. I am pleased that I at least recognized some the seiyuus mentioned in this list XD (i.e. Sakamoto Maaya is one of my fav. JP singers)
I am of a Chinese background and currently lives in Taiwan, but my native language is English. I am glad to discover anime blogs in English that are enjoyable reads
I like how you’ve chosen to put a picture of one of Wakamoto’s pimpliest moments. Fun crowd, they were.
Also, Kikuko-nee has been listed; the voice that called me away from dubs forever. My life is complete.
Sakamoto, Koyasu, and Ishida on this list? This part of the countdown makes me very happy. I remember going through an intense Sakamoto and Koyasu phase back in February 2008, and this was at a time when I was still getting into seiyuu. Now dark and snowy nights will always bring back those memories of fangirling over some Weiss Kreuz concert clips.
Wow, Ishida Akira is on this list! XD;; I love his voice even though his voice sounds the same (?!) in most of his characters but he’s the one that make me notice about seiyuu (or maybe I’m just deaf & couldn’t recognize others XD). Ishida is my first seiyuu love and he made me eventually notice & recognize other seiyuu as well.
@Yuu
You may be right. =P
@Ａｎｏｎｙｍｏｕｓ
There’s some mystical charm that gives him the ladies. Oh and I’m glad to know that having “Onee-chan” listed made your life complete. X3
@Vness
Oh boy. XD
@Yume-mi
Wow. An Ishida-san fan. That’s rare.
I’m shocked, SHOCKED I say, that Koyasu isn’t in the top ten. Though it’ll probably make the top 10 more, I dunno, interesting. Let’s see here:
Kamiya Akira
Hayashibara Megumi
TomoSeki
Takayama Minami
Furuya Tohru
…
And I’m drawing a blank, here. Though for some reason I think there’ll be one representative of veteran seiyuu (Othsuka Chikao, Shibata Hidekatsu, or Tomiyama Kei) and one representative of the younger seiyuu (Namikawa Daisuke?, Ueda Kana?). I also think Mizuki Nana will be included up there…somehow =P.
I didn’t meant it to be ranked, but I’m pretty sure they’re in somewhere. And yes, I forgot to mention Seki Tomokazu amongst the list.
For the more ‘next generation’ seiyuus, I can only predict Ueda Kana and Mizuki Nana. The rest, I wouldn’t know…
(Wasn’t Namikawa Daisuke listed already?)
By the way, I’m not a Filipino. I’m Indonesian.
@Livid
Late to the party again. It’s not ranked. However, he’d be in my top 10.
Having Ootsuka Chikao-san would really make my day. I think we pretty much agree on who takes the final ten. The young seiyuu that’d have a shot at taking one of the final ten slots would be probably Mizuki-san, though she has better singer credentials than seiyuu credentials really.
@ChrisX
Yeah, that “we’re” was really meant for Nakajima-san and myself, but when I wanted to change it to “she is”, it was too late. I’d be surprised if more than one “next generation” seiyuu makes it. I mean, there’s a very good chance the list I provided will be it. If not, most of those people will be in.
Position 12,hmmm…
On other seiyuu,I proudly anticipate that the one I hoped would miss the cut actually doing so,lapi.Additionally,I believe Nonko already placed in the middle of this countdown,lapi.As for Takehito Koyasu,he didn’t voice Happousai(timeless Ichirou Nagai did)but rather Daisuke(half of a Furinkan male classmate duo),lapi…
@ChrisX
Ah yes Namikawa’s number 86, dunno why I think he haven’t been listed yet, must’ve mistaken him with Sakaguchi Daisuke =P.
Moreover Tomiyama Kei’s also listed, so there goes one of my other nominations. Though all of these Dragon Ball seiyuus being listed makes me wonder if Nozawa Masako is in the top 10.
@聖者
Yeah, Ueda Kana’s a bit of a longshot. But I chose Mizuki Nana exactly because of her singing career, she have that ‘best selling seiyuu idol’ thing going on for her.
I recall that someone has already leaked the number one, which is Hidaka Noriko. (don’t know about Sakuma Rei)
Furuya Tohru is in the list also.
I can’t hardly believe that Kugimiya Rie can pass the final two rounds. She sure does make an achievement lately.
Same goes to Sakamoto Maaya, she is more like a singer to me.
@ChrisX:
Wah! Kita rekan sebangsa kalau begitu.
Well, it’s opinion. Can’t force’em. I mean, MY top 100 would be totally different than this blog’s, but I might also end up making up lists that ends up really unfamiliar to many people.
By the way, it just crossed my mind that I haven’t seen Nabatame Hitomi amongst the list. Wonder if she can make it to the next.
As of my recent fave… I think I give up. As much as I wanted her, she’s just not gaining enough fame and usually just prefers ‘being a supporting character’ (in the shadows). Diverse, but not so-much attention-garnering unlike many people here (especially those listed).
@moemoe:
Wkwkwkwk. Ternyata ada juga orang Indo yg ke sini juga. Kebanyakan fans anime sebangsa yang aku tahu biasanya lebih fokus ke anime/karakter, bukan seiyuu…
@聖者
Rare? ^^;; Well, when Ishida was famous and most anime fan knows about him and listed him as their favorite seiyuu… ah, it feels like it was so long ago… :3 I guess when there’s a lot of new anime & new anime fan, they probably don’t know about him since his famous roles is in ’90s & early 2000’s. ^^;;
Kikuko Inoueeeeeeeeeeeeee. Pretty much the best.
Oh I know someone who came to mind that might appear! The one I call
“Uncle Ogata”…Ogata Kenichi! \/
>>聖者
Ah sorry! Ten! uuuugh, just ten more. There’s just too many names!
I wouldn’t mind seeing Hiro Yuuki! But it may not happen.
I read all the list so far and there’s no chihara minori. even that this is not a ranking, but you’ll save her for slot #1?
@Livid
Oh yeah! Nozawa-san! Another big seiyuu. I hope I’m proven wrong and she’s there.
@Yume-mi
The thing is that not many people here, and by here, I mean San Jose, would have him at the top of their list.
@DoggieDyna
Argh! You had to throw in two more names! This is such a hard task really.
Very useful guide! ^o^
There are 2 points I can’t help but nitpick at though… Koyasu-san debuted as Francois in Anime Sanjushi (mentioned in multiple interviews, radio shows, also on ANN). Also, his Excel Saga character’s name is spelled “Ilpalazzo.”
Kotono is 16?!
Wrrrry!!?
Her role as Excel should’ve placed her atleast in the top 10. Oh well, it ain’t so bad.
Also, is she not in Rebuild of EVA or is it a different seiyuu for Misato this time around?
But overall, great work on the listing! The deal of research you might have done!
Great list!
Like 聖者 said earlier about Sakamoto Maaya, I didn’t know she did some works before Escaflowne. At least this anime was here first lead anime role.
About Inoue Kikuko, (save pic ’cause it’s so rare to find some cosplays), I watched two months ago the event talk of Rosario+Vampire and she introduced by herself : Inoue Kikuko, 17 (ju-nana) sai. All other seiyuus laughed and me too. At least even though she has +40 yo, she still dubs unlike my favourite seiyuu : Mitsuishi Kotono.
Talking about Mitsuishi Kotono, IMO, best role is Katsuragi Misato. I didn’t know she likes Ebichu, that’s why she was good for dubbing this character/nezumi.
@Suzumiya Yuki : for Rebuild of EVA, it’s still her for Misato
Sakamoto Maaya : I really want a concert in Europe. My sis loves her since Escaflowne. Obviously, she’s more well-known as a singer than a seiyuu.
Ishida Akira : lol, why I’m not surprise about his BL works. I watched the last week-end Kiddy Girl-and and Akira dubbed a Yaoi Boy. So I doubt he’ll give up his BL works. BTW, he dubbed the main character of “Kao no nai Tsuki” (Moonlight Lady) : http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=2709