10. Mizuki Nana (水樹 奈々)

More on Nana: Setting and smashing records left and right, Nana is currently the seiyuu industry’s hottest property and its most prominent spokesperson, although she is primarily known for her singing skill rather than her voice acting ability. In training to become an enka singer from a young age, Nana won a couple of local & regional contests when she was still based in her hometown of Niihama, Ehime and got scouted. She moved to Tokyo and entered Horikoshi Gakuen where famous schoolmates included KinKi Kids singer Dohmoto Tsuyoshi and actress/singer Tomosaka Rie. Mizuki also enrolled in Yoyogi Animation’s seiyuu training school at the same time, graduating in 1997. By 1998 she had landed her first voice acting role in the PS game Noël: La Neige and by 2000 had gotten a recording contract with King Records, releasing her fist single Omoi in December 2000. The going was slow at first but the Nanoha series proved a turning point, its opening theme innocent starter earning Nana her first top 10 hit in 2004 and she has firmly established herself at the top of the seiyuu idol stakes since.
Records: The first seiyuu to achieve a No.1 single, album, DVD and on the modern-day Oricon charts, the first seiyuu to play Yokohama Arena & Saitama Super Arena, the first seiyuu to be invited to the NHK’s year-end song contest Kohaku, all achieved before the age of 30.
Best known roles: Hyuuga Hinata in Naruto series, Fate in Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha series, Wrath in Fullmetal Alchemist, Lan Fan in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Ogata Rina in White Album, Shinobu in 2×2=Shinobuden, Kirihara Misaki in Darker than Black series, Kururu in Bottle Fairy
Currently heard in: Tegami Bachi (Sylvette), Naruto Shippuuden (Hinata), Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Lan Fan)

9. Seki Tomokazu (関 智一)

About Seki: One of the finest and voice actors of his generation, not much is known about how Seki got into the seiyuu industry – most of the tales of his youth revolve around his love for gunpla and figures and he actually observed and learned about garage kit manufacturing after spending time at Kaiyodo during his school days. Seki debuted in 1993 as Tomache Massarik in Mobile Suit Victory Gundam and a year later earned the lead role in Mobile Fighter G Gundam as Domon Kasshu. His screaming ability & hot-bloodedness was much valued and got him cast as many mecha/robot anime heroes, but Seki’s versatility is such that it is impossible to typecast him in any particular role, good or bad. He’s kept up his work rate in recent years, balancing voice acting with stage work as the chairman of Hero Hero Q Company.
Best known roles: Sagara Sosuke in Full Metal Panic! series, Kinomoto Toya in Cardcaptor Sakura, Van Fanel in Escaflowne, Domon Kasshu in Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Chiaki Shinichi in Nodame Cantabile, Chichiri in Fushigi Yugi, Shindo Shuichi in Gravitation, Ryuki Shi in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Gai Daigoji in Kidou Senkan Nadesico, Sohma Kyo in Fruits Basket
What else you should know: People might remember that Seki was ‘dropped’ from the cast line-up of Mai-HiME follow-up Mai-Otome (‘replaced’ by Konishi Katsuyuki) after producers got cross at him for accidentally leaking out an important plot point about the final episode of the first series. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise for Seki since the sequel wasn’t… particularly good.
Did you know?: Seki was originally asked to audition for the role of Doraemon in the renewal of the classic kids’ series, but he couldn’t pull off the voice required and the producers cast him as Suneo instead.
Currently heard in: Nodame Cantabile Final (Chiaki), Duel Masters Cross (Amachi Ryoga), Doraemon (Suneo)

8. Inoue Kazuhiko (井上 和彦)

More on Inoue: Inoue went into seiyuu training school after graduating senior high, having previously entertained hopes of being a pro bowler or a chef – he has a chef’s license and worked as a delivery boy while his parents opened a Chinese restaurant. Making his seiyuu debut in 1973 with a role in Mazinger Z, the cool-voiced Inoue describes his early seiyuu days as being tough and a steep learning curve with directors often berating him for his lack of skill. With a few more years’ experience under his belt Inoue got a major role in Candy Candy in 1976, which increased his profile and set him on the road to fame in the 80s where he voiced a string of characters in popular mecha anime. The early 90s were a leaner period for him, although he did become the representative for the Genki Project agency in 1995 (before eventually leaving to start up his own seiyuu school B-Box in 2005). In the late 90s/early 00s Inoue started coming back into prominence with roles in Gravitation and Saint Beast and in 2009, picked up a Seiyuu Award for his performance in Natsume Yujincho. Throughout his career Inoue has released music CDs and in recent years, tried his hand out at sound directing on Tactics and Ueki no Hosoku.
Best known roles: Asuka Eiji/Albatro Null in SPT Layzner, Dusty Attenborough in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Hatake Kakashi in Naruto series, Madara/Nyanko-sensei in Natsume Yujincho, Anthony Brown in Candy Candy, Yuki Eiri in Gravitation, Yamaoka Shiro in Oishinbo, Jerid Messa in Mobile Suit Z Gundam, Bill Wilcox in Bismark (Saber Rider & the Star Sheriffs)
What else you should know: Inoue has been married thrice – his first marriage was to Candy Candy mangaka Igarashi Yumiko, with whom he had two children and his second wife was seiyuu Arakawa Minako. His current spouse is the actress Ochi Shizuka. One of his seiyuu training classmates was the late Gouri Daisuke (who commited suicide on Jan 18) – the two of them worked part-time jobs at McDonalds and soba shops whilst chasing their seiyuu dream.
Currently heard in: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! (Gamma), Naruto Shippuuden (Kakashi), Detective Conan (Shiratori)

7. Hidaka Noriko (日高 のり子)

Nonko’s history: The oldest of three children, Hidaka was brought up in the Chiyoda area of Tokyo by her tailor parents and was a child actress in her younger days, attached to Tokyo Hoei. By the age of 18 she had released her first single under the name Itou Noriko – the song was used as the theme for 1980 anime Futago no Monchhichi. Dropping out of junior college, Nonko pursued the idol route under the management of Sony/CBS, releasing numerous CDs, appearing in ad campaigns for Nivea and on NHK TV shows. However her career stalled quickly and by 22 Hidaka was ready to quit showbiz before a listener on one of her radio shows suggested she try out voice acting because she had a ‘unique’ voice. Acting on this advice, Nonko started going to voice auditions and passed an audition for the role of Musica in The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross in 1984 and a year later she shot to fame with the lead role of Minami in Adachi Mitsuru’s Touch. Subsequent roles in Totoro, Ranma 1/2 and Gunbuster would further cement her reputation, and Nonko continued releasing solo CDs as well as with her Ranma 1/2 castmates as DoCo before putting a stop to her recording career in 2007. Today she focuses on narration works and management, having established the Combination talent agency with her Touch co-star Mitsuya Yuji in 2009. Additionally, her popular radio show Anime Scramble (with Hasegawa Nobita) has been running on Bunka Housou for 19 years.
Best known roles: Kusakabe Satsuki in Tonari no Totoro, Asakura Minami in Touch, Tendo Akane in Ranma 1/2, Takaya Noriko in Top o Nerae!/Gunbuster, Sojiro Seta in Rurouni Kenshin, Kikyo in Inu Yasha, Jean Roque Raltique in Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, Near in Death Note
What else you should know: Hidaka has often spoken of the unpleasant experiences she had to go through in her idol days, including a now-humorous situation where she was required to do a photoshoot in an onsen…. with a bear, much to her horror. The bear unfortunately chose to bite Nonko’s hair – her complaints to the director fell on deaf ears and he told her to get in the onsen again and this time, the bear bit her arm.
Currently heard in: Inu Yasha Kenketsu-hen (Kikyo)

6. Kamiya Akira (神谷 明)

Signature line: AAATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!!!! AAAAA-CHAAAAA!!!
All about Akira: Kamiya was part of the first wave of male seiyuu ‘idols’ in the ’70s, working extensively on CM and TV work in addition to providing voices for anime characters, in his case – a lot of super robot anime heroes. He got his start in 1970 with Mahou no Mako-chan whilst taking acting lessons at Theatre Echo and by the end of the decade had gained much fame for his roles in the Super Sentai series as well as various anime conversions of Shonen Jump manga. Kamiya’s skill and repuation was so high that mangaka Takahashi Rumiko had personally requested him to fill the role of Kuno Tatewaki in Ranma 1/2 but the director chose the late Suzuoki Hirotaka instead. Due to his seniority and veteran status, the fees his services demand have caused some production companies to drop him from the cast to keep costs down, most notably for Kinnikuman and also rumoured to have been the reason behind him being dropped from his long-running role in the Detective Conan anime in 2009.
Best known roles: Roy Focker in Macross, Nagare Ryoma in Getter Robo, Saeba Ryo in City Hunter, Kenshiro in Hokuto no Ken, Mendo Shutaro in Urusei Yatsura, Kinniku Suguru in Kinnikuman, Mori Kogoro in Detective Conan, Hibiki Akira in Yusha Raideen
What else you should know: Kamiya was the first seiyuu to put on a one-man show at the Nihon Gekijo theatre (now the Yurakucho Marion) and also headline his agency Aoni’s Voice.Voice.Voice event, the first seiyuu-only production held at the same venue. In 1995, Kamiya would also organize a seiyuu charity project in aid of victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake called WITH YOU, releasing a single and holding various events to raise money.

5. Takayama Minami (高山 みなみ)

About Minami: Birth name is Arai Izumi. She joined Gekidan Himawari in junior high but upon graduation from her senior high school in Adachi, entered the workforce as an OL. It was only at 22 that Minami decided to work towards becoming a seiyuu and within a year she earned her first anime lead role in Mister Ajikko. Her big break came with the titular role in Ghibli’s 1989 classic Kiki’s Delivery Service, but it was not all good news for Minami as her association with the role of Kiki made it a little harder for her to find work (a case of typecasting). Her fortunes improved over the next few years, establishing herself in shonen shows such as Moomin, Magical Taruruto-kun and Yaiba before landing her regular gig as Conan in Detective Conan – she’s been voicing the character for 14 years and counting.
Music: Apart from her voice-acting exploits, Minami has an active music career. She teamed up with her Ranma 1/2 castmates Inoue Kikuko, Hidaka Noriko, Sakuma Rei and Hayashibara Megumi to form DoCo & they released 6 CDs before being dissolved in 1994. Minami also used to be in an indie band called RE-X and was introduced to producer Shiina Nagano through a friend – he ended up working with her on her 1992 album Endless Communication and as part of a trio called ES CONNEXION with guitarist Abukawa Osamu. Takayama & Shiina then teamed up to form TWO-MIX in 1995, debuting with JUST COMMUNICATION which was used as the theme song for Gundam Wing. Their second single RHYTHM EMOTION (also for Gundam W) would eventually end up as the second biggest-selling seiyuu-related single of all time with 353,270 copies sold, and they went on to win one of the Best 5 New Artist awards at the 10th Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1995. In recent years, attempts at reviving the TWO-MIX brand through collaborations with Joe Rinoie (II MIX ⊿ DELTA) and ShiinaTactix have yielded mixed results and the project has been put on official hiatus.
Best known roles: Edogawa Conan in Detective Conan, Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ajiyoshi Yoichi in Mister Ajikko, Kurogane Yaiba in Yaiba, Moomin in Tanoshii Moomin Ikka, Asakura Hao in Shaman King, Yamamoto Yoko in Starship Girl Yamamoto Yoko, Tendo Nabiki in Ranma 1/2, Dilandau in Escaflowne
What else you should know: Minami married manga-ka Aoyama Gosho in 2005 (she proposed to him) but they divorced after 2 1/2 years. Amongst Aoyama’s works were Yaiba, Magic Kaito and Detective Conan – Minami voiced characters within all 3 anime adaptations of the manga.
Currently heard in: Detective Conan (Conan), Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Envy), Nintama Rantaro (Inadera Rantaro)

4. Nozawa Masako (野沢 雅子)

More on Nozawa: One of the most influential figures in the seiyuu industry, Nozawa has been voice acting since the 1950s while her showbiz history stretches back even further, having made her movie debut at the age of 3. Due to her father’s work, the family was forced to relocate from Tokyo to Gunma and Masako spent her teenage years attending school in Numata while still commuting to Tokyo for acting work during her holidays. After graduating from high school she moved to the capital permanently and mostly took on stage work before trying out voice work, although in those days the dubbing overs were done live on air. Masako’s first anime work was in Astro Boy in 1963 and her first major role in Gegege no Kitaro in 1968, but it is still the role of Goku in Dragon Ball that she is most associated with until today.
Management: Masako, or Mako-chan as she is affectionately called, was one of the founding members of Aoni Production, one of the largest seiyuu agencies today, when it was first established in 1969 but eventually left to join 81produce and then in 2006 broke away to form her own agency Office Nozawa with long-time friend and former seiyuu Yoshida Rihoko. Additionally Masako is the chairwoman and director/producer of theatre group Gekidan Moonlight.
Best known roles: Son Goku in Dragon Ball, Kitaro in Gegege no Kitaro (1st & 2nd series), Kitaro in Hakaba Kitaro, Hoshino Tetsuro in Galaxy Express 999, Esteban in The Mysterious Cities of Gold, Hiroshi in GoLion, Guilmon in Digimon Tamers, Hiroshi in Dokonjo Gaeru, Kaze Daizaemon in Inakappe Taisho, Kaibutsu Taro in Kaibutsu-kun 2, Dr.Kureha in ONE PIECE
What else you should know: Masako’s father Nozawa Ryoshu was an artist while her aunt Sasaki Kiyono was an actress in the 20s. She is married to fellow seiyuu Tsukada Masaaki.
Currently heard in: Dragon Ball Kai (Son Goku), Cross Game (Nomo)

3. Yamadera Koichi (山寺 宏一)

About Yamadera: Yama-chan had a bit of experience appearing in ads and TV shows in his younger days in his hometown of Shiogama, Miyagi but pursued a degree in business studies at Tohoku Gakuin university where he cultivated an interest in voice acting as a member of the rakugo society. After finishing his studies Yamadera went to take voice lessons at Haikyo’s training school, an agency with whom he would be associated until leading an exodus to form Across Entertainment in 2008. His first role was in the Megazone 23 OVA in 1985 but it would not be until getting the part of Hibiki Ryoga in Ranma 1/2 that his career truly got going. Rather than focusing on regular TV animation roles, Yamadera’s CV is filled with dubbing roles for western movies – he has dubbed for a wide range of actors from Eddie Murphy to Jean Claude Van Damme to Jim Carrey and Tom Hanks. He also has a strong association with Disney works – he is the Japanese voice of Donald Duck and has also dubbed for Beast, Stitch and Aladdin’s Genie. Yama-chan is also familiar to the mainstream as the host of TV Tokyo’s early morning programme Oha Suta, which has been on air since 1997.
Voice: Yama-chan’s versatility is both a strength and weakness, on the one hand he can do any role asked of him (he can cover women too) but director Oshii Mamoru once commented that ‘his biggest problem is that nobody knows what his “true voice” is like’. He voices four different characters on Anpanman.
Best known roles: Spike Siegel in Cowboy Bebop, Kaji Ryoji in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kodai Susumu in Uchuu Senkan Yamato series (replacing late Tomiyama Kei), Hibiki Ryoga in Ranma 1/2, Togusa in Ghost in the Shell series, Cheese in Soreike! Anpanman, Kibagami Jubei in Ninja Scroll
Currently heard in: Stitch (Stitch), Gintama (Yoshida Shoyo)

2. Hayashibara Megumi (林原 めぐみ)

All about Megu: Megu holds a certificate in nursing, attending college and voice acting school simultaneously and made her anime debut before graduating with a bunch of minor roles in Maison Ikkoku. At the beginning of her career, the young Hayashibara came in for criticism from various corners for her frankness and no-nonsense approach, with her behaviour reportedly disrupting various events that she was involved in – there was an incident during a Ranma 1/2 event where Hidaka Noriko had to step in to smooth the situation over. Megu’s lack of experience also made recording difficult, often fluffing her lines during studio sessions. That naturally did not last long as her talent shone through and by the mid-90s Megu had secured her position as the top seiyuu in the business with an impressive string of iconic roles adding to the current record of 2.5 million singles and 1.3 million albums sold since 1991. She has additionally topped Animage’s Seiyuu Grand Prix poll 12 times between 1990 and 2002, and some of her close friends/rivals in the seiyuu business jokingly described her as a ‘cockroach’ that you just can’t wait to get rid of due to her being ever present in print media, on TV and on the airwaves.
Recently…: Having gotten married in 1999, Megu went on a break in 2004 to give birth to her first child. Since then she has kept a relatively light workload while raising her daughter and gets to pick and choose roles which are specially offered to her, a rarity given that almost all seiyuu have to audition for their roles no matter how famous they are. Megu still however, presents her two long-running radio shows – Heartful Station on Radio Kansai and Tokyo Boogie Night on TBS, the latter for which she was awarded a Golden Mike trophy for long services.
Best known roles: Ayanami Rei in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop, Lina Inverse in Slayers series, Musashi in Pokemon, Haibara Ai in Detective Conan, Kyoyama Anna in Shaman King, Canal Vorfeed in Lost Universe, Chiba Atsuko/Paprika in Paprika, Female Ranma in Ranma 1/2, Bakabon in Tensai Bakabon
Currently heard in: Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl (Musashi), Detective Conan (Haibara Ai)

1. Furuya Tohru (古谷 徹)

About Furuya: The son of tofu shop owners, Furuya’s mother enrolled him into Gekidan Himawari when he was just 5 years old, hoping to get her son to carry on her failed dream of becoming an announcer. His seiyuu debut came in 1966 in Toei’s Kaizoku Ouji at the age of 13, voicing the lead character Kid & two years later he would successfully audition for the main role in the anime adaptation of classic baseball manga Kyojin no Hoshi. After that came a 7-year break from acting/voice acting as Furuya pursued his studies, graduating from Meiji Gakuin University having studied Commerce in the economics department. By the age of 22 he was back doing seiyuu work and by 25 he would land the role of Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam, which made him one of the most famous male seiyuu idol pin-ups of the 70s. The Amuro role has also helped Furuya remain one of the most familiar faces (and voices) in the seiyuu world today with appearances on popular TV programmes (Saku Saku, Utaban, Waratte Iitomo!), ads as well as in pop superstar Amuro Namie’s recent Defend Love PV.
Best known roles: Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam series, Yamcha in Dragon Ball, Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon, Hyuma Hoshi in Kyojin no Hoshi, Pegasus Seiya in Saint Seiya, Kasuga Kyosuke in Kimagure Orange Road, Shiba Hiroshi in Kotetsu Jeeg, Casshern in Casshern Sins, Narration & Ribbons Almark (under the pseudonym Sogetsu Noboru) in Mobile Suit Gundam 00
What else you should know: Formerly married to seiyuu Koyama Mami, but they divorced in 1983. He is currently married to another seiyuu, the retired Majima Satomi with whom he has a daughter. Some of Furuya’s hobbies include windsurfing and automobiles, and he taught himself basic programming – you can download a few of his apps on his website (for older OS). He also plays the drums and did so for seiyuu group Slapstick, whose other members included Kamiya Akira, Furukawa Toshio, Nojima Hisao, Mitsuya Yuji, Sogabe Kazuyuki and Suzuoki Hirotaka.
Currently heard in: Dragon Ball Kai (Yamcha)

Phew.

I could spend years listing out the seiyuu that didn’t make the cut, people like Shinohara Emi, Kishio Daisuke, Sakamoto Chika, the Naya brothers Goro & Rokuro, Otsuka Chikao, Oyama Nobuyo, Ogata Kenichi, Natsuki Rio, Yokoyama Chisa, Orikasa Ai, Kikuchi Masami, Morikubo Shotaro, Shiozawa Kaneto, Nomura Michiko, Tobita Nobuo, Ono Daisuke, Nakahara Shigeru, Ueda Kana, Amano Yuri, Nagai Ichiro, Ishikawa Hideo, Okawa Toru, Sakurai Tomo…that’s probably long enough, but I think you get the picture. I’m sure I missed out a lot more worthy names as well, I was already loathe to leave some personal favourites like Iwao Junko, Koyama Rikiya and Kasahara Hiroko off the list.

So many seiyuu who made an impact on the business in their own little ways, but of course I couldn’t look too far back in time or place too much emphasis on the present if I wanted to build a balanced list that had a good blend of old-timers and young ones. Hopefully that’s what I’ve done here and maybe people will have learned a thing or two they never knew they wanted to know about seiyuu they’ve never heard of.

Once again, thanks all for sticking with me and reading through this list over the last three months. It’s been a fun ride!

Quick Links:
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20. Wakamoto Norio (若本 規夫)

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.)

19. Kugimiya Rie (釘宮 理恵)

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)

18. Park Romi (朴 璐美)

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)

17. Inoue Kikuko (井上 喜久子)

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)

16. Mitsuishi Kotono (三石 琴乃)

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)

15. Sakamoto Maaya (坂本 真綾)

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)

14. Ishida Akira (石田 彰)

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)

13. Koyasu Takehito (子安 武人)

ALL HAIL, ILLPALAZZO-SAMA

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)

12. Yamaguchi Kappei (山口 勝平)

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)

11. Tanaka Mayumi (田中 真弓)

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

30. Furukawa Toshio (古川 登志夫)

All About Furukawa: The youngest of 15 children, Furukawa graduated from Nihon University’s Arts Department and made his seiyuu debut in 1975’s Yuusha Reideen. Having taken tate (swordfighting) classes before, Furukawa has also ‘appeared’ in tokusatsu shows as ‘the guy inside the monster suit’.
Best known roles: Maboroshi Ataru in Urusei Yatsura, Piccolo in Dragon Ball series, Portgas D. Ace in ONE PIECE, Shinohara Azuma in Mobile Police Patlabor, Yamamura Misao in Detective Conan, Kai Shiden in Mobile Suit Gundam, Shin in Hokuto no Ken, Enjoji Daisaku in Albegas
What else you should know: A rarity amongst seiyuu, Furukawa is a Christian and also teetotal, although the latter is due to the fact he cannot hold his drink. He is married to fellow seiyuu Kakinuma Shino and they have a Shih Tzu called Ataru, named after his Urusei Yatsura character.
Currently heard in: Dragon Ball Kai (Piccolo), ONE PIECE (Portgas)

29. Ohtsuka Akio (大塚 明夫)

More on Ohtsuka: Started voice acting after encouragement from his father, the veteran seiyuu Ohtsuka Chikao, debuting in Armor Hunter Mellowlink. Signed to Mausu Promotion, Ohtsuka’s credits stretch across games and dubbing – he regularly provides dubs for the likes of Antonio Banderas, Steven Seagal and Nicolas Cage. He seems to have gained a reputation for voicing the ‘big guy’ with the ‘deep voice’, for example his two signature roles Batou and Solid Snake.
Best known roles: Batou in Ghost in the Shell series, Black Jack in Black Jack series, Solid Snake in Metal Gear series, Kyoraku Shunsui in BLEACH, Captain Nemo in Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, Gwendal von Voltaire in Kyo Kara Maoh! series, Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts series
Currently heard in: BLEACH (Shunsui), Durarara!! (Kishitani Shingen), Baka to Test to Shokanju (Narrator, Nishimura Soichi)

28. Nakata Jouji (中田 譲治)

All About Nakata: Nakata was a moderately succesful actor in the 80s, mainly appearing in tokusatsu shows before moving into voice-acting at the start of the 90s on the recommendation of veteran seiyuu Nomura Michiko. His distinctive, deep voice lends itself well to villains and narrations and that’s what you’ll find him doing in many an anime today, though of course he can do taxi drivers and okama perfectly fine too.
Best known roles: Alucard in Hellsing, Folken in Escaflowne, Edmond Dantes/The Count of Monte Cristo in Gankutsuou, Giroro in Keroro Gunsou, Kotomine Kirei in Fate/stay Night, Deithard Reid in Code Geass, Araya Souren in Kara no Kyokai movies
Currently heard in: Keroro Gunsou (Giroro), Dance in the Vampire Bund (Wolfgang)

27. Hisakawa Aya (久川 綾)

Beginnings: Born and bred in Kaizuka, Osaka as the daughter of hardware store owners, Aya developed an interest in voice acting from a young age and started taking distance learning lessons in senior high. After graduating high school she moved to Tokyo and entered Aoni Production’s training school, making her seiyuu debut in 1989 with Kiteretsu Daihyakka.
Signature line: Honana!
Voicework: Well-known for her portrayal of characters with Kansai accents. The joke goes that during the recording for Azumanga Daioh (where Aya voices Nyamo-sensei), there was a scene between her character and Matsuoka Yuki’s Kasuga Ayumu aka Osaka where she inadvertently switched to Kansai-ben without noticing, despite the fact that Nyamo-sensei was supposed to speak normally.
Best known roles: Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury in Sailor Moon series, Skuld in Ah! My Goddess series, Cerberus/Kero in Cardcaptor Sakura, Sohma Yuki in Fruits Basket, Kaoru Miki in Shojo Kakumei Utena, Chloe in Noir, Natsume Maya in Tenjo Tenge

26. Kuwashima Houko (桑島 法子)

All about Houko: Graduated high school a year later than everyone else after being held back in 2nd year not having recorded enough days of attendance (acc. to wiki). Upon graduation, she moved straight from her hometown of Isawa in Iwate prefecture to pursue a voice acting career, her first anime appearance coming in 1995’s Sailormoon SS before making a breakthrough with the lead role in Nadesico.
Work: Incredibly versatile with no real character pigeon-holing to her name, able to voice all sorts of roles crossing the genders and ages. Houko was groomed to be a ’seiyuu idol’ during the earlier part of her career despite an initial reluctance to sing and perform, but has since ‘retired’ from the scene – her fanclub closed down in 2005.
Best known roles: Misumaru Yurika in Martian Successor Nadesico, Sango in Inu Yasha, Yuumura Kirika in Noir, Shurei Ko in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Fllay Alster in Gundam Seed, Stella Loussier in Gundam Seed Destiny, Clare in Claymore, Sakagami Tomoyo in CLANNAD
Currently heard in: Keroro Gunsou (Hinata Fuyuki)*, BLEACH (Soifon)*, Inu Yasha Kenksetsu-hen (Sango), Kobato. (Mihara Chitose), Element Hunters (Homi Nandie)
*temporary replacement for Kawakami Tomoko

25. Sakurai Takahiro (櫻井 孝宏)

Background: The son of rice shop owners in his hometown of Okazaki in Aichi, Sakurai attended the Nagoya branch of Yoyogi Animation’s seiyuu training school, signing for 81produce soon after graduation. Made his debut in 1997’s Bakuso Kyodai Let’s & Go!! WGP.
Controversy: More than 3 years on, Sakurai is still remembered for his plagiarism scandal that resulted in a public apology and temporary suspension of all activities for a few months. Long story short – Sakurai scripted and put on a play that was accused of copying the work of a certain Mitani Koki, notorious for not allowing any of his works to be re-used or reworked in any way. Cue about 5-6 different apologies across his radio shows and agencies, and even now he doesn’t seem to have 100% recovered his reputation – no Seiyuu Awards thus far despite consistently producing winning performance after winning performance.
Best known roles: Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy series, Kururugi Suzaku in Code Geass series, Shibuya Yuri in Kyo Kara Maoh! series, Tentomon in Digimon Adventure, Ukiya Shun in Gate Keepers, Kusuriuri in Mononoke, Kamiyama Takashi in Cromartie High School, Takamine Kiyomaro in Konjiki no Gash Bell
Currently heard in: Cross Game (Azuma Yuhei), Chu-Bra! (Hayama Keigo), The Book of Bantorra (Ruruta), Battle Spirits: Shonen Gekiha Dan (Momose Yuki), BLEACH (Kira Izuru), Bakemonogatari (Oshino Meme)

24. Kawasumi Ayako (川澄 綾子)

Background: Entered Yoyogi Animation’s seiyuu training school after winning an open seiyuu audition organised by Sony Music Entertainment. Ayako’s official seiyuu debut was in 1997’s Taihou Shichauzo! (You’re Under Arrest), but the real break came in 1998’s Outlaw Star as Melfina. Has since done almost every type of character under the sun and has amassed an impressive number of lead roles.
Best known roles: Lafiel Abriel in the Seikai series, Noda Megumi in Nodame Cantabile series, Kamigishi Akari in ToHeart, Ando Mahoro in Mahoromatic series, Sakuraba Aoi in Ai Yori Aoshi series, Saber in Fate/stay night, Melfina in Outlaw Star, Ikusawa Ruriko in Gate Keepers, Ohno Kanako in Genshiken
What else you should know: Self-admittedly bad at singing but particularly adept at the piano – she has played since the age of 3 and graduated from Toho Junior College of Music. Wrote all the lyrics and composed the music with Iwasaki Taku for her 2002 piano/pop album Primary.
Currently heard in: Nodame Cantabile Finale (Noda Megumi), Seikon no Qwaser (Tsujido Miyuri), Ladies vs Butlers! (Saikyo Tomomi), Battle Spirits: Shonen Gekiha Dan (Mai Viole)

23. Seki Toshihiko (関 俊彦)

About Seki: The older of the two most well-known male seiyuu with the surname Seki, sharing the same trait of being incredibly versatile although Toshihiko is of the laidback type.
Work: Started voice acting in radio dramas in 1983, when he was still in university and went on to anime work later the same year in The Mysterious Cities of Gold. Has clocked up well over 200 anime roles to his credit and as a senior figure within his agency 81produce, lectures and gives classes at the Osaka branch of its training school.
Etc.: Married with 2 daughters, Seki has also worked extensively on education and programmes targeted at kids, providing narration for various NHK shows and doing readings for audio recordings of children’s books.
Best known roles: Duo Maxwell in Gundam Wing, Sanzo Genjo in Saiyuki series, Mousse in Ranma 1/2, Legato Bluesummers in Trigun, Hidaka Shurato in Tenku Senki Shurato, Count D in Petshop of Horrors, Rau Le Creuset in Gundam Seed, Kanzaki Reito in Mai-HiME, Momotaros in Kamen Rider Den-O, Shiba Kaien/Aaroniero Arruruerie in BLEACH
Currently heard in: Keroro Gunsou (Urere), ONE PIECE (Duval)

22. Ogata Megumi (緒方 恵美)

About Megumi: Started showbiz life as a trained musical actress – Megumi applied to Aoni Juku training school after finding out that the theatre troupe she was attached to was dissolving. She attended an audition for Yu Yu Hakusho and was hired on the spot by virtue of her voice – story goes that all Megu had said was ‘Hi, I’m Ogata from Aoni Production’
Voice: Her husky voice lends itself well to male and tomboy characters, also does the occasional sexy female role. Has spent more time pursuing a music career in recent years, usually using the name em:óu (she is signed to Lantis) rather than voice acting, but maintains a fairly huge fanbase – her website is actively updated and her fanclub RED ANGEL is entering its 4th year.
Best known roles: Ikari Shinji in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kurama in Yu Yu Hakusho, Tsukishiro Yukito/Yue in Cardcaptor Sakura, Muto Yugi in Yu-Gi-Oh! (Toei), Tenoh Haruka/Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon series, Tia Harribel in BLEACH
What else you should know: I remember that hilarious ‘lolwtf can’t be true, she must be a lesbo’ reaction amongst certain Western female fans to Megu’s 2004 announcement that she had gotten married to a man 13 years her junior. That’s the kind of fandom she attracts thanks to her sexy voice!

21. Midorikawa Hikaru (緑川 光)

More on Hikaru: One of the 90s most popular male seiyuu, at his peak he (probably) had a zillion fangirls swooning and fainting every time he opened his mouth. Those idol days are long past but Midorikawa still maintains a presence across anime, drama CDs (he’s an uke!) and video games.
Best known roles: Tamahome in Fushigi Yugi, Yuy Heero in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Seiran Shi in Saiunkoku Monogatari, Rukawa Kaede in Slam Dunk, Zelgadis Greywords in Slayers series, Softon in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Shinjo Naoki in Future GPX Cyber Formula series, Li Xingke in Code Geass
What else you should know: His 2000 marriage to fellow seiyuu Maki Midori (formerly Ito Maki) remains hush-hush – her agency would not authorise either of them to publicise the information and as a result, no formal announcement has ever been made.
Etc: A huge fan of the Super Robot Wars series of games, Midorikawa has done beta testing and provided lines for Banpresto free of charge. He also took on his first sound directing role for Super Robot Wars Z under the moniker Himekawa Hikaru.
Currently heard in: Dragon Ball Kai (Tenshinhan)

Only the final 20 left! I look forward to the inevitable abusive e-mails when people discover ’so & so’ has been left off the list entirely….

Quick Links:
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31

Without further ado.

40. Chiba Shigeru (千葉 繁)

More on Shigeru: Originally an actor/stuntman in the late 70s-80s, he appeared in various Oshii Mamoru live-action movies before crossing over to voice acting with a bunch of roles in Hokuto no Ken. In recent years Chiba has turned to the production side of things, heading his own talent agency C&O Actors’ Studio as well as working in sound directing on the Sister Princess series and Kirarin Revolution, amongst others.
Best known roles: Kuwabara Kazuma in Yu Yu Hakusho, Pilaf/Raditz/Garlic Jr in Dragon Ball series, Ichido Rei in High School!! Kimengumi, Megane in Urusei Yatsura, Vanilla Varta in Votoms, Yotsuya in Maison Ikkoku, Don Kanonji in Bleach
Currently heard in: Dragon Ball Kai (Raditz), One Piece (Buggy the Clown)

39. Kawakami Tomoko (川上 とも子)

All about Tomoko: Majored in the arts in junior college (Paku Romi was a classmate) while attending Production Baobab’s voice acting class on the side. Made her voice acting debut in Metal Fighter Miku while still studying, although her breakthrough came in 1997 when she voiced Chiriko in Fushigi Yugi.
Illness: Diagnosed with an unspecified illness in summer 2008, Kawakami underwent surgery and has had to limit her workload since then which resulted in some of her long running roles in Bleach and Keroro Gunsou being passed on to Kuwashima Houko. In September 2009 her radio show Usagi no Mimitabu was put on hiatus after an 11-year run, but she recently reprised her role as Amber in the second season of Darker than Black.
Best known roles: Tenjou Utena in Shoujo Kakumei Utena, Kamio Misuzu in AIR, Shindou Hikaru in Hikaru no Go, Fuyuki Hinata in Keroro Gunsou, Athena Glory in ARIA series, Soifon in Bleach, Motomiya Akane in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de series

38. Miki Shinichiro (三木 眞一郎)

All about MikiShin: His sister was a huge anime/manga fan and that got Miki aware of the seiyuu business, enrolling in 81produce’s voice acting school in the 80s having previously worked as a pastry chef. He made his seiyuu debut in 1989.
Best known roles: Fujiwara Takumi in Intial D series, Lockon Stratos in Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Allen Schezar in Escaflowne, Kojiro in Pokemon series, Urahara Kisuke in Bleach, Kurz Weber in Full Metal Panic! series, Tsuzuki Asato in Yami no Matsuei
What else you should know: Miki is a well-known car and bike maniac, writing columns for various auto magazines. He has also taken part in the K-TAI karting series in 2008 and 2009 with fellow seiyuu Kawakami Tomoko, Toyoguchi Megumi, Namikawa Daisuke and Mizuki Nana.
Currently heard in: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Roy Mustang), Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (Kojiro)

37. Okiayu Ryotaro (置鮎 龍太郎)

All about Okiayu: A graduate from the Osaka branch of Aoni’s seiyuu training school, Okiayu made his debut in 1990 with Dragon Quest and remains one of the most prolific male seiyuu in the business 20 years on. An incredible range, a wicked laugh and smooth, charming tones are amongst the many weapons in his arsenal.
Best known roles: Mitsui Hisashi in Slam Dunk, Kuchiki Byakuya in BLEACH, Tezuka Kunimitsu in Prince of Tennis, Treize Khushrenada in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Dark Mousy in D.N.Angel, Jinnai Katsuhiko in El-Hazard, Nueno Meisuke/Nube in Jigoku Sensei Nube, Matsura Yu in Marmalade Boy
My favourite Okiayu role: Shigure in Fruits Basket was just adorable, equal parts cool and hilarious.
Currently heard in: The Book of Bantorra (Seagal), BLEACH (Byakuya)

36. Tsuru Hiromi (鶴 ひろみ)

All about Hiromi: Tsuru made her seiyuu debut at the age of 18 with the titular role in Perinne Monogatari. Most popular in the 80s and early 90s, she was particularly famed for voicing many strong (and sometimes tsundere) female characters. Since the mid-90s Hiromi has worked mostly on narration for variety programmes as well as providing voices for video games, most notably Naomi Hunter in the Metal Gear series.
Best known roles: Kashima Miyuki in Miyuki, Ayukawa Madoka in Kimagure Orange Road, Mikami Reiko in Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Bulma in Dragon Ball, Dokin-chan in Soreike! Anpanman, Kuonji Ukyo in Ranma 1/2
Currently heard in: Dragon Ball Kai (Bulma)

35. Horikawa Ryo (堀川 りょう)

All about Horikawa: Apparently he was a terrible student, so his parents had him try out child acting. He made his seiyuu debut at the age of 26 in Yume Senshi Wingman. Formerly signed to Aoni Production he now heads Aslead company, which also has his wife & fellow seiyuu Oikawa Hitomi on its books.
About his voice: Hailing from Osaka, Horikawa was a popular go-to guy for characters with Kansai accents, including his roles in Detective Conan and Please Save My Earth.
Best known roles: Andromeda Shun in Saint Seiya, Vegeta in Dragon Ball series, Reinhard von Lohengramm in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Hirono Kenta in Yume Senshi Wingman, Yokoshima Tadao in Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Hattori Heiji in Detective Conan

34. Hiyama Nobuyuki (檜山 修之)

All about Hiyama: SCREEEEAAMMM!!! SHOOUUTTTTT!! The best modern-day example of a hot-blooded screamer, Hiyama often gets cast in mecha shows, tokusatsu voiceovers and fighting games. His talents are not just limited to those kind of roles – from creepers to heroes to cool bishie types, he’s covered everything in his career thus far… except women (I think).
Best known roles: Hiei in Yu Yu Hakusho, Amada Shiro in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Shishioh Guy in GaoGaiGar, Takamiya Teppei in Bt’X, Senpuji Maito in The Brave Express Might Gaine, Madarame Harunobu in Genshiken
My favourite Hiyama role: Of his two Madarame roles, the ultra-cool Genshiken otaku one.
Currently heard in: ONE PIECE (Mr.3), BLEACH (Madarame Ikkaku), Keroro Gunsou (556)

33. Ikeda Shuichi (池田 秀一)

All about Ikeda: Much to his chagrin, Ikeda will forever be most associated with the Char (Aznable) brand despite the fact that he has built a strong career away from the character. Playing the lead role in NHK drama Jiro Monogatari at the age of 6, Ikeda continued acting in a great number of TV shows but also did some dubbing for Western movies on the side. The late Matsuura Noriyoshi, one of the sound directors he knew from these sessions, got him his first role in an anime in Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3. Subsequently Ikeda auditioned for the role of Amuro Ray in Gundam, but they had him test for Char and he was awarded the role. The rest is history.
Best known roles: Char Aznable in Gundam series, Akai Shuichi in Detective Conan, Hiko Seijuro in Rurouni Kenshin, Red-haired Shanks in One Piece, Gilbert Durandal in Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny
What else you should know: Formerly married to Toda Keiko, his current wife is seiyuu Tamagawa Sakiko.

32. Noto Mamiko (能登 麻美子)

(One of her) Signature lines: Ippen shinde miru?
History: Mamiko went straight to Yoyogi Animation school after graduating high school and then onto her current agency Osawa’s voice training school. She worked part-time jobs as a waitress and photographer’s assistant before making her debut as Tonomura Moto in Boogiepop Phantom in 2000.
Voice: Undoubtedly one of the industry’s biggest stars of the 00s, the gentle, breathy tones of Mamiko’s voice have graced many an anime, game and drama CD. Working for Osawa, an agency that specialises in CM narration Mami has provided voiceovers for ads by Toyota, Mitsubishi, Kewpie and Suntory and is also the spokesperson for insurance agency AVOCOM.
Best known roles: Todo Shimako in Maria-sama ga Miteru series, Angol Mois in Keroro Gunsou, Enma Ai in Jigoku Shoujo, Tsukamoto Yakumo in School Rumble series, Ichinose Kotomi in Clannad, Rin in Inu Yasha
What else you should know: Said to be completely machine-illiterate, not knowing that earphones were separated by ‘R’ and ‘L’ (because she doesn’t listen to music) and used to wash all her clothes by hand before learning how to use the washing machine. It is also said that music producer Nakata Yasutaka (Capsule, Perfume) mentioned on radio before that Mamiko is his childhoold friend – they both hail from Kanazawa in Ishikawa.
My favourite Mamiko role: I have a soft spot for Hecate from Shana’s uruchai, uruchai, uruchai.
Currently heard in: Keroro Gunsou (Angol Mois), Inu Yasha Kenketsu-hen (Rin), Kimi ni Todoke (Kuronuma Sawako)

31. Toda Keiko (戸田 恵子)

All about Keiko: Seiyuu work is just one of the many hats that Keiko dons – she’s successfully forged a career as an all-round talento, regularly appearing in J-dramas and movies, does lots of Western dubbing and also sings on the side.
Background: At the age of 16 (1974) Toda moved from her hometown Nagoya to Tokyo, debuting as a young enka singer under the stage name Ayu Akemi. Success was not forthcoming, and she worked reporting & other side jobs before the agency she was signed to folded in 1977. Toda’s saviour was veteran seiyuu Nozawa Nachi, who invited her to join a theatre troupe he was heading and in no time she became one of the group’s biggest stars, putting in award-winning appearances in musicals. At the same time, she debuted as a seiyuu in Invicible Steel Man Daitarn 3 and went on to gain fame with her role in Mobile Suit Gundam.
Best known roles: Anpanman in Soreike! Anpanman, Kisugi Hitomi in Cat’s Eye, Amamori Hajime in Queen Millennia, Karala Ajiba in Space Runaway Ideon, Orihara Kaoru in Oniisama e…, Matilda Ajan in Mobile Suit Gundam
What else you should know: Keiko is the official dub voice of Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully in the X-Files series and is the official voice of Thomas in Thomas the Tank Engine. She speaks French fluently.

Quick Links:
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41

For the past 1 1/2 years or so I’ve taken a backseat with regards to Nana coverage so that the hardcore fans (you know who y’all are *cough* danie~) can take front and center. Honestly this is a great time to be a Nana fan (although I do feel sorry for everyone’s wallets…), what with her firmly entrenched on the seiyuu pop idol throne and making inroads into the great boiling cauldron of mainstream Jpop. It’s been great fun watching her journey throughout this decade, rising from seiyuu idol wannabe to bona fide superstar.

Although my fanaticism has settled down a lot from my peak craziness (3-4 years ago) I’m still totally in love with her music and that’s something that’ll never change. Since it’s the end of the decade I thought it’d be fun to compile a list of 77 favourite Nana songs as of this very moment (24 December 2009). My tastes tend to fluctuate over time, which means sometimes I can suddenly take to a song I never really liked (like Shin’ai) but generally I think my top 10 is pretty consistent. Hopefully I won’t be too redundant with my comments as I find 77 ways to describe 77 Nana songs…

Countdown time!

List format goes: Number. Romanised title (kanji title) [release on which you can find the song]

In case anyone needs reminding, Nana’s albums so far are titled Supersonic Girl [SG], Dream Skipper [DS], MAGIC ATTRACTION [MA], ALIVE & KICKING [AK], HYBRID UNIVERSE [HU], THE MUSEUM [TM], GREAT ACTIVITY [GA] and ULTIMATE DIAMOND [UD].

Top 77 Favourite Nana Songs
77. Uchi e Kaerou (うちへ帰ろう) [Tales of Symphonia Disc 3 Bonus CD]
Yeah I know it’s a nursery rhyme but it’s… kinda cute you know.

76. Yuuyakegumo no Mukou ni (夕やけ雲のむこうに) [HAPPY LESSON character image single]
One of the earliest Nana songs I heard. Although her singing here is still quite rough, there was an obvious quality to her voice.

75. New Sensation [DS]
IIRC this was one of Nana fans’ top 10 picks in a poll of favourite songs 2-3 years back. Sometimes I think the arrangement is overcooked, other times I love it to bits. A song I tend to like depending on my mood.

74. Akai Sweet Pea (赤いスイートピー) [Rosario + Vampire Character Song 1 Akashiya Moka]
I think this gets a placing because of how much I love the song itself (original by Matsuda Seiko) rather than Nana’s cover, which is just a little bit too bouncy and happier than it should be.

73. TRANSMIGRATION [SG]
The only decent song on Supersonic Girl. If you can’t tell, I still detest that album with a passion.

72. BE READY! [DS]
As per the title, a song that really gets you going.

71. Kanransha (観覧車) [four seasons Binzume Yousei~Image Album~]
It was weird how Kanransha sounded like Nana was on autotune when she actually wasn’t. I actually really like the kind of light vocal approach she takes her, which makes the song all cute and fluffy (like bottle fairies should be).

70. Take a chance [GA]
One of the finer examples of Nana doing trance pop. Or should that be the only example?

69. Hoshizora to Tsuki to Hanabi no Shita (星空と月と花火の下) [HU]
A strange kind of ballad for Nana to tackle. Slow but with marching drums, sombre mood yet happy tune.

68. HONEY FLOWER [NS c/w]
This is probably my guiltiest pleasure, it’s just so much of a ‘Look at Me I’m a Girl in Love!!!’ type of song. Love whistling along to it.

67. Take a Shot [AK]
Yabuki Toshiro’s most successful attempt at channeling Elements Garden.

66. Watashi Dake no Melody (私だけのメロディ) [Shinkyoku Sokai Polyphonica Character Song Album Meta-morphose]
Utterly, utterly cheesy yet so much <3

65. refrain -classico- [DS]
Actually a very good ballad but I don’t quite like either arrangement of the song. I’m thinking something more epic, and perhaps a bit of drums thrown in would improve the song tenfold.

64. White Lie [DS]
This would’ve ranked higher a few years ago, but now sinks and gets lost amongst the many similar Nana songs of that period.

63. Koishiteru… (恋してる…) [SITG c/w, DS]
The shape of happiness This mid-tempo ballad sounded awesome at the time but Nana’s had tons better ‘I love you’ type songs since.

62. Etsuraku Camellia (悦楽カメリア) [UD]
Successfully mimics the Angura-kei/heavy metal stylings of Onmyouza, the heaviest and loudest song Nana’s recorded yet. Sounds especially great on bass-heavy earphones, fantastic to headbang along to.

61. Blue Moon [Meikyuu Butterfly c/w]
Tons better than Meikyuu Butterfly.

60. Soradokei (空時計) [SCEP]
I don’t hear a lot of love for this song, unsurprisingly. Simple, effective Jpop with a slightly restrained vocal by Nana… except for that glory note in the bridge.

59. Brilliant Star [S~M~ c/w, MA]
The production on this is so dated, Nana sounds like she’s singing in a chamber. That doesn’t mask the fact that there’s a great song buried in there.

58. I’m in Love [Itazura na Kiss OST]
Sickly sweet love song, as you would expect from a shoujo show like Itazura. Actually when I listen to this I’m strongly reminded of how dense Kotoko is, the song reflects her earnest stupidity pretty well.

57. deep sea [MA]
deep sea isn’t mentioned too often when fans talk about their favourite Nana songs. I love her controlled vocal during the chorus, not overpowering it with endless shrieky vibrato.

56. JET PARK [DS]
This was probably her best LET’S GO!!! type pop song until Power Gate arrived.

55. Gin’iro no Hane (銀色の羽根) [Mushiuta DVD 6]
The violins here are really nice! Uhhhh yeah I like the way Nana whispers those vocals in the bridge part. Somehow I find a song that’s supposed to be sweet, sexy instead. Urrkkk.

54. Panorama (パノラマ -Panorama-) [AK]
Truth be told this song is so damn cheesy and predictable, but that just means a chorus that is easy to hum along to.

53. Sora ni Naru Tsubasa (空になる翼) [Allison to Lillia Drama CD1]
Character songs allow Nana to indulge in shameless bubblegum pop like this and I for one, am glad.

52. Orgel to Piano to -holy style- [MA]
Ohira Tsutomu’s arrangement >>>>>> Isoe Toshimichi’s. The guy has a good grasp of how to structure a ballad and he’s done it time and time again over Nana’s career.

51. DISCOTHEQUE [Trickster c/w]
Churu-churu-churu-payappa….actually this has some of the most hideous, high-pitched squeaks I’ve heard from Nana but that’s OK, the song is cute. And of course this song is so addictive because the guy who wrote it probably injected subliminal drug messages into the lyrics. Hi Sonoda Ryoji!!!

50. Hikari (光) [SG c/w]
I so wanted this to be the A-side instead of Super Generation If the song has any fault it’s that totally ghey synth.

49. SECRET AMBITION [GA]
I keep thinking like I should love SA more than I actually do, but every time I listen to it there’s this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that it’s not quite as great as it could be. Any way you look at it, it’s always going to play second fiddle to innocent starter for Nana’s best Nanoha theme (and come January, it might be pushed to third by PHANTOM MINDS).

48. Yakusoku no Katachi (約束のかたち) [Allison to Lillia Drama CD2]
Both A+L songs are delightful, even if the anime kinda bombed.

47. Mr.Bunny! [UD]
WHERE OH WHERE IS MY NANA PERFORMING MR BUNNY IN PLAYBOY OUTFIT.

46. Tenkuu no Canaria [天空のカナリア]
The only song worth buying Mugen for.

45. Daisuki na Kimi e (大好きな君へ) [AK]
I have a soft spot for any song with the word Christmas in it that doesn’t have jingling bells.

44. Taiyou ga Niau yo (太陽が似合うよ) [Shugo Chara Chara Song Collection 2]
Easily the best of all the Shugo Chara songs she’s done so far.

43. Shounen (少年) [UD]
Hah, the song that everyone loves to hate. I heart it for the power chords that I can bang out on my air guitar.

42. still in the groove [DS]
For some reason I always imagine Oku(N)i Masami singing this, must be something about the way the song’s phrasing that reminds me of Makkun’s songs.

41. Soyokaze ni Fukarete (よ風に吹かれて…) [AK]
Like feeling the wind blowing through your hair while standing on a hill, staring into the distance…

40. Nocturne -revision- [DS]
Ohira’s arrangement >>>>>> Isoe Toshimichi’s.

39. Open Your Heart [is c/w]
This is so happy, bright and breezy. It’s telling you to SUMAIRU, so do it.

38. Lightning Arc [Twinkle Saber Nova: Hirusagari no Whisper drama CD]
There’s something about this song that really gets me, eventhough it’s really just a very generic anisong – that bit at the end of the chorus where the melody suddenly takes a turn from minor into major key. I lol when I know this song is written by Funta, it sounds more like something Shikura Chiyomaru would do.

37. Mirai Travel (ミライトラベル) [Minami-ke Character Album Minami-ke Biyori]
As a character song Mirai Travel is fail in that it’s nothing like Touma at all but by itself, is a fine piece of pop-rock with a punchy arrangement by Kawai Eiji.

36. Futari no Memory (二人のMemory) [MA]
Severely underrated song, fun to sing along to. Despite Yabuki’s horrible decision to stick male background vocals in.

35. Aoi Iro (アオイイロ) [JTB c/w, GA]
MAAAAYBEEEEE xD

34. Gozen Reiji no Baby Doll (午前0時のBaby Doll) [Shin'ai c/w]
So old-school Jpop, of the horribly cheesy kind that Nana likes (I mean, lol Takahashi Hiro). Which meant I was destined to fall in love with it from the word go.

33. Shinobu Ondo (シノブ音頭) [2x2=Shinobuden Original Soundtrack & Songs]
Nana’s voice is made for the enka stylings of ondo songs, even if they’re rather jokey ones (shurikens, choco-bananas) like this.

32. PERFECT SMILE [UD]
I just love how this song builds towards the epic chorus as well as the way the tune moves from low to high and back. All with that heavenly piano-led arrangement bouncing along in the background… and jeebus this song is hard to sing.

31. Takaramono (宝物) [DS]
Lovely ballad, the Budokan live version makes it even better thanks to her lol mistake on the piano.

30. Mirai Kono Hoshi de (未来この星で)
Like most of the Memories off songs written by Chiyomaru this sounds like it’s stuck in the 90s but the strong melody still hooks me in.

29. MARIA&JOKER [UD]
Experimentation is a good thing, especially when it results in a film noir-esque piece like this. Smokingly sexy.

28. Justice To Believe
Strictly NOT the re-arranged version found on The Museum, which sucks balls for cutting out the piano + acoustic guitar intro. Production on the single version is slightly overdone and bombastic but it’s still trademark Nana + EG epicness.

27. Promise on Christmas [GA]
Love for this song tends to heighten every Christmas season. It was refreshing to hear her take a different vocal approach on PoC but I don’t think many people would nominate this as a favourite. Doesn’t anyone know how hard it is to sing r’n'b with a Koda Kumi-type warble???

26. Last Scene (ラストシーン) [GA]
I have this thing for break-up songs and Last Scene always makes me tear a little with its ‘I knew from the start it was going to end’ lyrics.

25. Kaze no Fuku Basho (風の吹く場所) [Kiba Original Soundtrack 2]
Nice sweeping arrangement courtesy of Fujima Hitoshi, only downside is that it was for some garbage anime nobody watched.

24. Shin’ai (深愛) [UD]
I wasn’t entirely fond of Shin’ai at the start with its odd three-part structure (verse, bridge, chorus all in different keys) but I slowly began to appreciate just how hard to damn hard the song was to sing after seeing that one girl massacre it.

23. Ano Hi Yume Mita Negai (あの日夢見た願い) [MA]
Live studio version *sob *sob

22. WILD EYES [HU]
Hi NANA IN LEATHER YUM. Also, best lyrics she’s ever written, or at least the most impressive sounding.

21. Replay Machine -Custom- (リプレイマシン -custom-) [NS c/w]
This song has fallen out of favour with me a bit – I ranked it top 5 last time but I just don’t listen to it that much at the moment.

20. Trinity Cross [Trickster c/w]
Chiyomaru song + Fujima arrangement = LOVE.

19. STAND [MA]
It finally hit me a few months ago that the intro to Takahashi Naozumi’s Muteki na Smile sounds a lot like STAND. Doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of the song, thankfully.

18. Thermidor -Vingt-Sept- (テルミドール -Vingt-Sept-)
Fantastically grand rearrangement of the bleepy, snoozeworthy original – thank you Agematsu! Nana’s vocal also powers up by a great amount here, much more mature than when she first started out.

17. Violetta [HU]
Best of all Nana’s self-penned tracks thus far – it has a robust, varied structure while still managing to maintain a nice flow to it.

16. You have a dream [HU]
The trance-y intro is rather deceiving since it quickly dives into regular dance-pop. It’s oh-so-very fun!

15. Heart-shaped chant [SA c/w]
The song I once thought ‘Gosh so boring’ still ranks among my favourites. I think it’s down to Agematsu Mika’s heavenly harp.

14. FAITH [HU]
COME ON FEEL MY FACE~~~~~ never fails to make me laugh. At the same time never fails to get me bopping my head to the beat.

13. cherish [Panorama c/w, AK]
I love Nana songs that convey a strong sense of nostalgia and that’s what cherish does very well.

12. NAKED FEELS [HU]
How I wish the song was called FEELS NAKED 8D

11. Independent Love Song [AK]
As of late ILS has risen to be my favourite Nana ballad. As usual, Ohira is at the helm and he produces an understated, poignant piano and acoustic guitar arrangement.

10. Crystal Letter [TM]
The wobbly synth, the tinkly piano and oh, the epic strings. Probably the best strings arrangement in any Nana song yet.

9. Trickster [UD]
I like Nana getting out of her comfort zone and doing something different, and the hard rock riffs of Trickster are a perfect example.

8. Inside of Mind [EB c/w]
Bad, bad Engrish but the beats are evil. Love this song to bits still.

7. Hime Murasaki [WE c/w]
Sloooow-burrrning rock ballad fits Nana so well, why doesn’t she do it more often?

6. innocent starter [AK]
This was the point when Nana started to gain more fans and I started to not feel quite so alone ^^; On the other hand I now feel like I’m getting trampled underfoot by a stampede of insane fanboys… Oh yeah Inosuta, legendary song that everyone knows and loves… right?

5. Nostalgia [GA]
My love for this keeps growing stronger and stronger by the day. Still a shame that it doesn’t go on for longer, 2 minutes 52 seconds is just way too short for a song as good as this.

4. POWER GATE [MA]
A sentimental pick, fan favourite etc etc

3. Tears’ Night [AK]
There will always be a very special place in my heart for Tears’ as it’s the first collab with EG and it is just SO FREAKING AWSM AND MADE OF WIN. Acoustic version is awesome too.

2. Astrogation [SCEP, UD]
So if we ever get to live on the moon I would like to adopt Astro as my love song (to whoever). Honestly, this should’ve been the one named ‘COSMIC LOVE’ what with lyrics about ‘wanting to synchronise (with you)’ and how ‘your smile is blinding like the jewels of Andromeda’. Nana and dance-pop perfection at its best – too bad these kind of hi-energy songs tend not to translate well to the stage.

1. PROTECTION [MA]
No matter how much time passes, no matter how many songs Nana sings, come rain or shine PROTECTION will always be my No.1 Nana song. I find it hard to explain why but really, the songs I first heard when I discovered Nana are the most precious and meaningful to me.

Yes you’re reading the list correct. ETERNAL BLAZE isn’t on because I detest it. I don’t like Super Generation either HARHARHAR. What other Nana songs don’t I like? Plenty actually, but here’s 7 I really want to throw on the ground and trample upon, pour lighter fluid on, blow them up and throw the ashes into South African dunes. In simple Engrish, LOLWTF HATEHATEHATE.

7. NANAiro no Youni
Actually you can swap out this song for anything on SG (except TRANSMIGRATION), they all suck in equal measure.

6. Ano Ne~Mamimume☆Mogacho
No no no this is not cute it’s just bloody annoying. YOU’RE NOT YUKARIN DON’T SING YUKARIN SONGS.

5. MASSIVE WONDERS
Uggghhhhh as much as I loved Yabuki during his 90s heyday, he’s still writing the same bloody song over and over again 10 years later (only works about 10% of the time). MW showed why Nana should try NOT to regress into using his songs as singles.

4. SEVEN
Nana tries to write a song that sounds like Elements Garden. Predictably the result is FAIL.

3. Mugen
This song totally blows. Nothing about it was right, from the shitty ‘hey let’s stick 20 million different instruments in here!’ arrangement to the clichéd lyrics (PLEASE SEE WHO I REALLY AM) to the dreadfully freaky PV.

2. COSMIC LOVE
The best thing to come out of the Sonoda scandal was this song being stripped off ULTIMATE DIAMOND \[^o^]/

1. HEAVEN KNOWS
Ummm seriously is there anyone out there who likes this? Screw that Flashdance rip-off melody and arrangement, this song needs to burn in hell.

*rage mode over

At this point I’m probably supposed to put up some nice Nana pictures or something but I don’t think there’s any image of her out there that hasn’t been raped and used by every blog and fansite known to man. I’m still feeling ill at the moment and the one thing that caught my eye while cycling through my folder of Nana pics was…. LEGS. Iyashikei for the pervert soul.

Sexy back (shoulder?) is fine too. You can tell I like bare skin more than anything.

Thanks Nana for rocking my world in the noughties – may you continue to do so next decade and far beyond.

And thank YOU for skimming through this tl;dr post. Merry Christmas, happy watching Nana’s LIVE DIAMONDxFEVER.

Quick Links:
Best of the Noughties: 25 Favourite Anime
Best of the Noughties: 15 Favourite Seiyuu & Anisong Albums

50. Onosaka Masaya (小野坂 昌也)

Why you should know him: The clown of the seiyuu world.
Signature line: Love and peeeeaccceeeeee!!
More about Onosaka: Less known for his voice acting (although he is actually very good) and more for his comedy antics which make him a particularly sought after TV and radio personality.
Best known roles: Vash the Stampede in Trigun, Cerberus (big) in Card Captor Sakura, Mantaro Kinniku in Kinnikuman series, Don Patch in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Momoshiro Takeshi in Prince of Tennis, Zelos Wilder in Tales of Symphonia
What else you should know: Frequently accused of sexual harassment (thanks to his constant, public discussions of the anatomy of female seiyuu colleagues), Onosaka is also responsible for some rather legendary memes – turning Geneva lake (レマン湖) into Lé Manko, talking at length about the word ‘opanpon’ (female equivalent of ‘ochinchin’) as well as popularising the usage of ’senzuri’ and ‘paipan’ (onani terms).
Currently heard in: Hetalia Axis Powers (France), Dragon Ball Kai (Burter)

49. Kusao Takeshi (草尾 毅)

Why you should know him: He’s a hot-blooded hero!
More on Kusao: Kusao attended Aoni’s training school – his first piece of work was as Chiba Shigeru’s corpse in Oshii Mamoru’s live-action movie The Red Spectacles, while his first voice role was in AKIRA as Kai.
Best known roles: Sakuragi Hanamichi in Slam Dunk, Lamune in NG Knight Lamune & 40, Trunks in Dragon Ball, Parn in Record of Lodoss War, Ky Kiske in Guilty Gear, Fukamachi Sho/Guyver in Guyver, Moteuchi Yota in Video Girl Ai, Sanada Ryo in Ronin Warriors
What else you should know: The popularity of the Ronin Warriors series saw the formation of seiyuu group NG5, of which Kusao and Sasaki Nozomu were a part of. CD releases and live events followed, and they were even the subject of a documentary by mainstream broadcaster MBS.
Currently heard in: Keroro Gunsou (Dororo)

48. Canna Nobutoshi (神奈 延年)

Why you should know him: The man formerly known as Hayashi Nobutoshi, one of the ’90s most popular male seiyuu.
Background: He was a child actor, appearing in commercials as early as 3 years old but dropped out of showbiz to concentrate on his studies. Re-emerged on stage after graduating high school, he made his seiyuu debut in 1991’s Dragon Quest anime as Prince Frank.
Best known roles: Nekki Basara in Macross 7, Guts in Berserk, Mido Ban in Get Backers, Yakushi Kabuto in Naruto, Tasuki in Fushigi Yugi, Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog, Lancer in Fate/stay night
What else you should know: A talented guitarist/singer, he was part of the E.M.U seiyuu unit back in the 90s and also forms one half of FukuJin (福神), a side project with Fukuyama Yoshiki (who actually performed the singing parts for Nekki Basara in Macross 7).

47. Kamiya Hiroshi (神谷 浩史)

Why you should know him: He’s currently one of the industry’s most bankable actors, and well on his way to being a superstar.
Signature line: ZETSUBOU SHITA!!!!!!
All about Kamiyan: Kamiya’s career got off on a very, very slow footing – he actually debuted in 1994 but it wasn’t until he got the lead role in Honey and Clover that things really took off. Since then he’s not looked back and has amassed a long list of credits and Seiyuu Awards to his name, being one of those Men With A Thousand Voices that can pull off just about any role with class and style.
Best known roles: Takemoto Yuta in Honey & Clover series, Tieiria Erde in Gundam 00, Itoshiki Nozomu in Sayonara Zetsubo-sensei series, Natsume Takashi in Natsume Yujincho, Araragi Koyomi in Bakemonogatari
What else you should know: I’m sure a lot of people will remember that he was involved in a motor accident in 2006 which landed him in hospital for a few weeks, leaving Nojima Kenji to take over his role for the last episode of Honey & Clover II.
My favourite Kamiyan role: Kaji Tetsushi in Ultra Maniac would seem a strange choice, but I prefer hearing him in softer roles like Takemoto & Natsume rather than talk-nineteen-to-the-dozen Itoshiki.

46. Tanaka Rie (田中 理恵)

Why you should know her: That cosplaying seiyuu.
Signature line: JUNK NI SHITE AGERU (WA).
All about RieRie: Abandoning a nursing career (she likes kids) in favour of voice acting, Rie attended Yoyogi Animation school and won an open vocal audition
Best known roles: Lacus Clyne & Meer Campbell in Gundam Seed series, Suigintou in Rozen Maiden series, Chii in Chobits, Maria in Hayate no Gotoku!, Yomi in Azumanga Daioh, Mariel in Hanaukyo Maid series, Sanada Mitsuki in Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure
What else you should know: Is as well-known for her looks and extra-curricular activities as her voice acting feats – she’s a staple in the print media, on TV and on the airwaves. Adding to that her RPG playing skills and cosplay work, Rie is one of the most recognizable names/faces amongst the younger generation of seiyuu today.
My favourite RieRie role: Matsutaka Hiroko in Hataraki Man is a understated, under-rated performance by Rie.
Currently heard in: Asura Cryin’ 2 (Kurosaki Shuri), Katekyo Hitman Reborn! (Bianki)

45. Horie Yui (堀江 由衣)

Why you should know her: One of the decade’s biggest seiyuu idols, part of the forever 17 clan.
All about Hocchan: The most prolific amongst the current crop of seiyuu idols, both in voice-acting and singing. In addition to the dozens of lead roles she’s accumulated throughout her 12-year career, Hocchan formed two successful musical projects – the now-defunct idol group Aice5 and goth band Kurobara Hozonkai.
Best known roles: Narusegawa Naru in Love Hina series, Honda Tohru in Fruits Basket, Tsukimiya Ayu in Kanon, Sawachika Eri in School Rumble series, Yuki Cross in Vampire Knight, Shirakawa Kotori in Da Capo series, Kushieda Minori in Toradora!
My favourite Hocchan role: Takako/Mikage in Pretear was the first time I heard an evil Yui and she pulled it off pretty well. Shame that she tends to get bogged down in irritating genki roles most of the time.
Currently heard in: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Ushiromiya Maria), Natsu no Arashi Akinaichu (Yamazaki Kanako)

44. Fukuyama Jun (福山 潤)

Why you should know him: Lulu.
All about FukuJun: Had a relatively inauspicious start to his career, mainly voicing support characters and bit-part roles after graduating from Aoni Juku and then joining Production Baobab at the turn of the century. It wasn’t until he got the part of Lelouch in Code Geass in 2006 that his career launched into the stratosphere and
Best known roles: Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass series, Viscount Albert d’Morcerf in Gankutsuou, Watanuki Kimihiro in xxHOLiC, Kraft Lawrence in Spice and Wolf, Kawahira Keita in Inukami!, Mutou Kazuki in Busou Renkin
Currently heard in: Tegami Bachi (Gauche Suede), Nyan Koi! (Tama), Hanasakeru Seishonen (Carl), Kiddy Girl-and (Tweedledum),
My favourite FukuJun role: Over-the-top is his forte and SoraKake’s Leopard is perhaps the best example of his talents.

43. Sasaki Nozomu (佐々木 望)

Why you should know him: Acclaimed 90s seiyuu, not to be confused with Sasaki Nozomi.
All about Nozomu: Despite never intending to become a seiyuu (he was dragged along to an audition by a friend), Sasaki has built a solid career, coming into prominence with a major role in the classic AKIRA movie in the late 80s. The height of his popularity came in the 90s, and it’s said that he’s topped more Animage Seiyuu Grand Prix rankings than any other seiyuu in history.
Best known roles: Shima Tetsuo in AKIRA, Urameshi Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho, Johann Liebert in MONSTER, Mello in Death Note, Olba Frost in After War Gundam X, Eriol Hiiragizawa in Cardcaptor Sakura, Aotsuki Ushio in Ushio and Tora
What else you should know: In recent years he has mentioned that the condition of his voice has deteriorated as a result of taking on roles that ‘require a lot of shouting’ as well as constant live performances.
Currently heard in: Element Hunters (Rodney)

42. Shimamoto Sumi (島本 須美)

Why you should know her: One of the ’80s great veterans.
All about Sumi: Originally an actress, Shimamoto moved into voice acting after guesting on an episode of Zenderman. Having appeared in many popular anime in the 80s, she was a regular winner of annual ‘favourite female seiyuu’ polls conducted by Animage throughout the decade. Less active from the 90s onwards as she focused on bringing up her daughter, Shimamoto has nevertheless taken on occasional roles – most recently as Konata’s mother in Lucky Star.
Best known roles: Nausicaa in Nausicaa Valley of the Wind, Otonashi Kyoko in Maison Ikkoku, Asaka Rei in Oniisama e…, Sarah Crewe in Shokojo Sera, Kudo Yukiko in Detective Conan, Mizunokoji Asuka in Urusei Yatsura, Lady Clarisse d’Cagliostro in Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
What else you should know: A Ghibli/Miyazaki Hayao favourite, Shimamoto released a CD covering Ghibli theme songs in August 2009.

41. Orikasa Fumiko (折笠 富美子)

Why you should know her: Woman of a 1000 voices.
All about Oririn: Not a whole lot is known about Orikasa outside her professional life, she tends to shun the spotlight and lets her work speak for itself. The second daughter of a single-parent family, Orikasa did not attend college and spent the first few years of her adult working life living in a cramped apartment (with communal toilets) while working odd jobs, including stage acting before making her voice acting debut in 1999 as the heroine Fuyutsuki Azusa in Great Teacher Onizuka.
Best known roles: Kuchiki Rukia in Bleach, Seras Victoria in Hellsing, Chise in Saishu Heiki Kanojo, Ciel in Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Saori Kido/Athena in Saint Seiya: Hades, Matsuoka Miu in Ichigo Mashimaro series
My favourite Fumi role: Yagyu Kyubei in Gintama in a bokukko who also happens to be extremely sexy. And rather tsundere.
Currently heard in: Kobato! (Okiura Sayaka), Gintama (Yagyu Kyubei), Bleach (Rukia), Inazuma Eleven (Kino Aki), Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Riza Hawkeye)

Quick Links:
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51

Moving on…

60. Takeuchi Junko (竹内 順子)

Why you should know her: The most recognisable female shonen anime character specialist today.
Signature line: (insert phrase) DATTEBAYO!!!
More on Junko: While studying at Nihon University, Junko joined fellow acting enthusiasts in forming theater group Gekidan BQMAP. She was still working part-time as a political secretary when she got signed up by Love-Live (now YMO Entertainment) and she’s still there more than 10 years later.
Best known roles: Uzumaki Naruto in Naruto, Gon Freecss in Hunter X Hunter, Toramizu Ginta in MAR, Lambo (child) in Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, Endo Mamoru in Inazuma Eleven
My favourite Junko role: Gon is calm-headed, rational, resourceful and 10000x less annoying than Naruto.
Currently heard in: Naruto Shippuden (Uzumaki Naruto), Katekyo Hitman Reborn! (Lambo), Inazuma Eleven (Endo Mamoru), Jewel Pet (Tata), Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou (Kenzaki Rei)

59. Nozawa Nachi (野沢 那智)

Why you should know him: One of the ‘royalty’ of the seiyuu industry.
History: Nozawa never received formal voice training – he had wanted to be a stage artist or writer instead, but never quite made the grade. Instead he turned to acting, eventually setting up his own theater troupe but a combination of mismanagement and incompetence landed him in financial trouble with debts of 37,000,000 yen. Forced to sell off his apartment, Nozawa struggled to stay afloat before a friend recommended he do dubbing work as a part-time job. After halving his debt within a year, he decided to focus more on the seiyuu profession and took on extensive work in Western movie dubbing, anime, stage production, radio and theatre work.
Best known roles: Cobra in Space Adventure Cobra, Hans Axel von Fersen in The Rose of Versailles, Hyakkimaru in Dororo. He mostly worked in dubbing – he is the Japanese voice of C-3PO and also dubbed for Alain Delon, Bruce Willis, Robert Redford and Al Pacino.
What else you should know: Talent runs across the Nozawa family, with his father the late writer Kuga Naojiro, his niece Nozawa Naoko a comedian and his son Nozawa Sou an actor. Nachi is also the head of his own agency Office PAC, and he received a Merit Award in the Second Seiyuu Awards.

58. Tamura Yukari (田村 ゆかり)

Why you should know her: She is (was?) the go-to person for loli imouto-type characters throughout and is the second most famous exponent of the Forever-17 culture club.
Stuff about Yukarin: Doesn’t need much introduction I think. Yukarin hails from Fukuoka, attended the local branch of Yoyogi Animation on the side while still working and after finishing the course, resigned and moved to Tokyo to enroll in NichiNare. First official role was in radio drama Macross Generation in 1997, for which she also sang an insert song Yuuki o Kudasai – which also happens to be her first ever CD release.
Best known roles: Ranpha Franboise in Galaxy Angel, Takamachi Nanoha in Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha series, Furude Rika in Higurashi no Naku koro ni, Yoshino Sakura in Da Capo series
Recently…: I guess it seems rather depressing that her anime voice work has decreased in recent years while her former partner-in-crime Horie Yui goes from strength to strength…. oh wait. Katanagatari’s Togame may get her back in the spotlight. Her January 2010 release My wish My Love happens to be her 17th official single… should she stop at that number XD
What else you should know: I swear she has the most rabid fanbase on this planet. Also happens to be the third seiyuu to play live at the Budokan, before her (maybe not so) beloved Horie Yui did.
My favourite Yukarin role: Ichigo Morino from the Onegai series, a loli who is actually an oba-san (with a sinister laugh). Where have I heard that description before, ufufu…
Currently heard in: Kampfer (Seppuku Kuro Usagi), Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou (Touri Marin), Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Bernkastel)

57. Mori Katsuji (森 功至)

Why you should know him: People say he’s the Casey Kasem of Japan.
All about Mori: Mori got his start in the entertainment biz when he joined a children’s theater troupe at the age of 10. It was only after working on Speed Racer (1967) that he decided to make a switch to full-time voice acting, thanks to the influence of co-stars Omiya Teiji, Tomiyama Kei and Aikawa Kinya. Mori was most active in the 70s-80s period, although he was cast as the lead in Shirow Masamune’s Real Drive in 2008.
Best known roles: Mifune Go in Speed Racer, Shimamura Joe aka 009 in Cyborg 009, Washio Ken in Gatchaman, Minami Joji in Tekkaman, Jean Pierre Polnareff in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Garma Zabi in Mobile Suit Gundam, Haru Masamichi in Real Drive RD Senno Chosashitsu, Hayami Seiji in Cutie Honey
Currently heard in: If you live in Japan and wake up particularly early, you can hear Mori narrating Mezamashi TV on the Fuji TV network.

56. Suzumura Kenichi (鈴村 健一)

Why you should know him: I HATE SHINN.
All about SuzuKen: Went into voice acting school straight after graduation and debuted in Macross 7 in 1994. SuzuKen’s style of speaking is typically rather laidback (or lazy), and he seems to get more than his fair share of loser roles but is actually a more capable seiyuu than most seem to think.
Best known roles: Shinn Asuka in Gundam Seed Destiny, Kokuto Mikiya in Kara no Kyokai series, Tohno Shiki in Tsukihime, Hitachiin Hikaru in Ouran High School Host Club, Ryutaros in Kamen Rider Den-O
What else you should know: The poor guy has drawn plenty of ire for his role as Shinn, getting plenty of hatemail (I hate Shinn.) for his troubles. He can no doubt still console himself with his horde of crazy, screaming fangirls…
My favourite SuzuKen role: Know-it-all Rakushun (the rat) in Twelve Kingdoms.
Currently heard in: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (George Ushiromiya), Kemono no Soja Erin (Ial), Kara no Kyokai movies (Mikiya), Gintama (Okita Sogo)

55. Hirano Aya (平野 綾)

Why you should know her: Only the second most popular, second most best-selling seiyuu idol of today.
All about Aaya: A member of the child acting troupe Space Craft from a young age, Hirano appeared in commercials, was a member of a short-lived girl group SpringS and appeared in a bunch of anime in the early part of the decade (Tenshi no Shippo, Kiddy Grade) without garnering much attention until the phenomenon that was Haruhi hit. Since then she’s pretty much established herself as one of the strongest players not just in the seiyuu industry but as a multi-media talento with interests in music, TV presenting and gravure.
Best known roles: Suzumiya Haruhi in Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, Izumi Konata in Lucky Star, Amane Misa in Death Note, Lumiere in Kiddy Grade, Serizawa Reira in NANA
My favourite Aaya role: Manabi Straight’s Etoh Mei is perhaps the finest acting performance I’ll ever hear from her, a subtle combination of tsundere and tsukkomi that is neither overbearing nor annoying like many of her other roles (hello Konata).
Currently heard in: Kimi ni Todoke (Kurumi), Fairy Tail (Lucy), Queen’s Blade Gyokuza o Tsugu Mono (Nanael), Dragonball Kai (Dende), Jewel Pet (Garnet), WHITE ALBUM 2 (Morikawa Yuki), Kiddy Girl-and (Lumiere)

54. Morikawa Toshiyuki (森川 智之)

Why you should know him: Sephiroth.
Voice-wise: Badass? Bishonen? Seme? Uke? He covers them all.
Best known roles: Griffith in Berserk, Sephiroth in Final Fantasy series, Naraku in Inu Yasha, Conrad Weller in Kyo Kara Maoh!, Shagia Frost in After War Gundam X, Tekkaman Blade /Aiba Takaya in Tekkaman Blade
What else you should know: His drastic weight loss in recent years has been the subject of much talk even in the seiyuu circles. Seems to have gained a new lease of life lately with his embarking on a rock music career with his band Black Velvet. Oh and er, he used to be in the American Football club in high school.
My favourite Morimori role: The cool-as-ice Captain Alex Rowe from Last Exile.
Currently heard in: Hanasakeru Seishonen (Lee-leng Huang), Inuyasha Kenketsu-hen (Naraku)

53. Ueda Yuji (うえだ ゆうじ)

Why you should know him: Yet another Jack of all trades with tons of tricks in his bag.
About his voice: Although he has a very distinctive voice Ueda is very hard to pigeonhole and oh wait this description is probably too similar to Morikawa’s. He’s got an lazy drawl that he uses to good effect with free-spirited characters like Morita in Hachikuro and Prince Hakim in Emma but he can also be very, very creepy (Daimon in Nazca).
Best known roles: Tenkawa Akito in Kidou Senkan Nadesico, Urashima Keitaro in Love Hina, Sagara Sanosuke in Rurouni Kenshin, Morita Shinobu in Honey and Clover
What else you should know: He comes from a musical family and can play the violin (he did so on a Violinist of Hameln CD). Apparently also a very good cook – his wife must be a very lucky person…
My favourite Yuji role: He sings death metal as Krauser in Detroit Metal City, what’s not to love?
Currently heard in: Pokemon Diamond & Pearl (Takeshi), Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Jean Havoc)

52. Suzuoki Hirotaka (鈴置 洋孝)

Why you should know him: The voice of calm.
All about Hirotaka: Born and bred in Nagoya, Suzuoki moved to Tokyo to further his studies in his late teens and ventured into acting after joining a theater troupe led by Nozawa Nachi. His seiyuu debut came in 1978’s Invincible Steel Man Daitarn 3 after a friend had recommended he try out voice acting as a part-time job, and it eventually turned into his dayjob after joining Haikyo in 1981. Suzuoki continued working steadily throughout the 3 decades leading up to his diagnosis of lung cancer in July 2006. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died little over a month later, at the age of 56. His final role was a reprisal of his signature Bright Noa character in Mobile Suit Z Gundam: III Love is the Pulse of the Stars.
Best known roles: Bright Noa in Mobile Suit Gundam, Dragon Shinryu in Saint Seiya, Saito Hajime in Rurouni Kenshin, Tenshinhan in Dragon Ball, Yellow Belmont in Mospeada, Kuno Tatewaki in Ranma 1/2, Hyuga Kojiro in Captain Tsubasa
What else you should know: Furuya Toru was one of Suzuoki’s best friends in the business, while Shiozawa Kaneto and Ikeda Shuichi were regular drinking buddies. A bright and optimistic person, there was an incident during the 90s when Suzuoki had suddenly collapsed when riding in a bullet-train. Dragonball co-stars Furuya and Horikawa Ryo paid him a visit in the hospital out of great concern but were instead amused to find Suzuoki declaring to them that ‘the nurses here are really cute’.

51. Ohara Noriko (小原 乃梨子)

Why you should know her: The voice of Doraemon’s owner.
All about Noriko: Noriko may have been overshadowed by a certain Oyama Nobuyo throughout most of the 26-year stint on Doraemon, but she built a very credible career away from the show with strong credits in timeless series such as Yatterman and Macross. The daughter of a lawyer, Noriko was enrolled in a child theater troupe from an early age but the group was disbanded due to the ongoing war. Refusing to follow her father’s footsteps, she went into broadcasting after graduating from high school and gradually progressed towards dubbing and anime work (circa 1955).
Best known roles: Nobi Nobita in Doraemon, Doronjo in Yatterman, Conan in Mirai Shonen Conan, Claudia LaSalle in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross , Miime in Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Go Hiyoshi in Voltes V
What else you should know: Around the 90s period, Noriko began to concentrate more on lecturing and giving national fairytale reciting workshops and runs her own production company Stage One geared towards that end. Her son is the animator Tobe Atsuo, who has worked on shows such as Inu Yasha, Kekkaishi and Turn A Gundam.

The progress being made on this series is sloooow, I keep getting distracted by other stuff…

Quick Links:
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61

Another seiyuu off the market – Ohara Sayaka has announced that she registered her marriage today, 6th December 2009 to an unnamed actor 1 year her senior. It also happens to be her 34th birthday today! Saaya has voiced many popular characters over her 10-year career so far, including Alicia in the ARIA series, Layla Hamilton in Kaleido Star, Ichihara Yuko in xxxHOLiC and Milly Ashford in the Code Geass series. She can currently be heard as Beatrice in Umineko, Erza in Fairy Tail and Melfi in Queen’s Blade.

The first time I noticed Saaya was in 2003 when she got three major roles at the same time – in BONES’s Scrapped Princess as Raquel Casull, in Kaleido Star and in Popotan as Ai. At that point it struck me that she sounded so similar to Inoue Kikuko with her ‘Ara-ara ufufu’ motherly manner of speaking, although I prefer her in the tougher, sexier roles like Layla, Yuuko and Moyashimon’s Hasegawa. And she’s good at insulting and putting down Fukuyama Jun xD

おめでとうございます、さぁやさん！Saaya got married like Alicia-san did but I hope that doesn’t mean she’s going to retire too >_<