Today is Tomatsu Haruka’s 20th birthday! At least it is in Japanese time anyway…Which obviously means it’s a good day since she now becomes of legal age and I don’t have to feel so bad ogling her pictures anymore!

The other significance to this date? I’m moving blogs. Naturally most people would think I’m mad to give up on all that Google juice or ego-tripping linkage stuff but I’m not really bothered by that kind of thing to be honest.

I thought I’d throw in a few statistics before I wave adios to atemonai.com. Since I started recording stats in August 2008 I’ve racked up over 522,000 unique visits. Anime Nano has been my biggest referrer followed by hashihime and kurogane (thanks guys, haha). The most searched for keyword is ‘j1m0ne’, then ‘atemonai’, then ’seiyuu blog’ and then… ‘j1mone’ (sic). I guess people really love me *ego burst*. Twice as many Americans visited the site as Japanese people did, then Canadians and Singaporeans. My fellow countrymen only come in fifth. The most read posts are:

1. Spring 2009 Anime Season Guide
2. Autumn 2008 Anime Season Guide
3. Ultimate 60th Kohaku Guide
4. Ito Shizuka is the Ultimate Yuri Pimp
5. 60th Kohaku Review
6. A Visual Study of Seiyuu Boobsize
7. 2ch Reactions to Chihara Minori Coming to Malaysia
8. Seiyuu Guide for Autumn 2008 Anime Season
9. A List of Married Seiyuu
10. Fixing Fat Faces and Ugly Hair

My Kohaku posts, hahahaha. I only wrote them a month ago… the 100 Seiyu List series is actually doing very well at the time of writing with all accumulating over a 1000 unique pageviews each but naturally, the anime posts all win. Rams home the fact that anime is still big business and seiyuu is small fry in comparison.

Anyway, no time for nostalgia. Apologies for the inconvenience caused, I’d be most grateful if people would update their feed reader subscriptions and links to reflect the move. I will be keeping this blog open since there’s a lot of good stuff in the archives worth looking back upon and laughing at.

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:
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31
30-21
20-11

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:
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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
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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

Less a review, more a live-blogging-twitter-spamming kind of thing.

8-year old cutie pie Kato Seishiro opened the show. Kid did a good job even if he, like Ohashi Nozomi, messed up a few of his cues. Nakama Yukie and Nakai Masahiro (+Abe Wataru) were good hosts as usual, keeping things moving along at a sprightly pace.

As you would expect, NHK milked Arashi to the fullest, getting them to support for TOKIO and Alice, giving Ohno Satoshi a solo line in Uta no Chikara and having them generally hang around in the background ^^;;

Blow-by-blow, with Youtube links for performances I like NHK move fast so links are gone. Head on over to Jpopsuki for torrent downloads.

1.Hamasaki Ayumi - Like last year, opened the show with a bang. Plenty of power packed in her performance. 8/10

2. EXILE - I was kind of distracted by Taka’s girly hair. The song was bog standard but they were good as usual, vocal-wise. 7/10

3. AKB48 - With the SKE girls, total of 72 on stage. I felt they got way too short an airtime - blink of an eye and it was over. Could barely tell who was who. 6/10

4. flumpool - Decent Kohaku debut. 7/10

5. NYC Boys - It started off terrible and probably got worse. Oh gosh. At least Yuuki 100% made me smile? 4/10

6. Ikimonogakari - Kiyoe totally killed YELL. Incredible performance, backed by full choir. 10/10 Let’s see how long this link lasts.

Kids Kohaku
Kato Seishiro is soooo cuteeeee.
11-year old Sakura Maya was great too. Future enka superstar?
Snow Prince thing was boring, but the kid’s voice is great.
Oh shit ponyo.
And as expected. Katori Shingo declared a draw =.=

7. Godai Natsuko - Happy but slow but happy. 6/10

8. Kitayama Takeshi - Half-naked guys in fundoshi is kinda scary, nearly spoils his performance. 7/10

9. GIRL NEXT DOOR - I went to prepare for dinner while this was on.

10. Jero - Typical Jero performance of Umiyuki. As in, very good. 9/10

11. Mizuki Nana - Haha. My mom walked past and said ‘Is this what you’ve been waiting for?’ She wasn’t impressed and to be honest, when you’re performing in a field this accomplished you’ve got to really kill the song to stand out and she didn’t. This was standard Nana which means stellar, but not a knockout. Better than Music Japan at least. 7/10

12. FUNKY MONKEY BABYS - Lol at the DJ’s getup. But FUNKY MONKEY really knocked the ball out of the park with their performance, excellent debut Kohaku. 10/10

13. Nakamura Mitsuko - Went to eat dinner.

14. Porno Graffitti - Went to eat dinner.

15. Tendo Yoshimi - Oh god, this was really good. Very touching. Ex-tennis star Sugiyama Ai was her supporter… IIRC. 10/10

16. Mikawa Kenichi - Hahahahaha. Crazy as expected, some Bollywood meets enka number with bombastic outfits, backed by Audrey’s Kasuga Toshiaki and with Haruna Ai & Ikko (both transsexuals) dancing around in the background. Weird shit, man. 7/10

17. Sakamoto Fuyumi - Oh my god so boring. Nana was her supporter, looked uncomfortable and could only manage fangirling when asked to say a few words. 5/10

18. Hosokawa Takashi - Guy’s got really good voice control, never looks like he’s busting a lung. Tons of shamisen in the background. 9/10

19. Otsuka Ai - Poodle hair, birdcage dress, out of tune as usual. Still cute! 5/10

20. Remioromen - Fujimaki messed up on a lyric, not sure if he forgot his lines or just choked. Went off-key as expected. 5/10 Video link

21. Kawanaka Miyuki - Went to wash dishes.

22. Mori Shinichi - Went to wash dishes.

NEWS BREAK

Ann Sally + Kohaku performers - Uta no Chikara
Kimura Takuya totally fluffed his lines and SMAP looked bored. Of the solo parts, the girls hit all the right notes - Kiyoe, Hirahara Ayaka and Angela Aki in particular.

Susan Boyle was divine on I Dreamed a Dream. And KimuTaku was total fail, talking to Susan in English and then having SuBo turn to the translator and go ‘Huh?’

23. Yusuke - Excellent, much better than I expected. Nice move to have the whole crowd waving sunflowers during a song appropriately called… Himawari. And oh god, I saw a fan waving one of Nana’s ugly mascot dolls in the crowd during his performance. 9/10

24. aiko - Typical professional aiko. 8/10

25. Tokunaga Hideaki - Heh, he was really good. Song wasn’t as bad sung live. 8/10

26. Hirahara Ayaka - ROLLY guested on guitar! Seriously, this is the best Ayaka performance ever on Kohaku. In previous years she was shaky at times but really hit the target this time. 10/10

27. TOKIO - On target as usual. Lol at Arashi introducing them and asking for otoshidama xD 8/10

28. Akimoto Junko - I was going to go back to washing dishes, but then Miyamoto Emiri comes out to play violin. 7/10

29. Perfume - Haha Perfume. Cute as usual. 8/10

30. TVXQ - Snoozefest. Went to wash dishes 5/10

31. Mizumori Kaori - Washing dishes.

32. Itsuki Hiroshi - Washing dishes.

Michael Jackson tribute - Heh Nakai does his Jacko dance act again. Then led a group sing on Heal the World, which wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.

33. Kimura Kaela - Rather wooden and dull. 5/10

34. Alice - Ojisans got a lot of crowd support, lively performance. 8/10

35. Nakashima Mika - Ok this was bad. She looked totally out of it, like she was high on drugs. 4/10

36. Yuzu - Supposed to be touching and all but uhhhhh rather boring. 5/10

37. Angela Aki - Not a kids’ choir this time, but adults! God Tegami is always sooooo good live, but I think last year was marginally better. 9/10

38. Fuse Akira - Japanese version of My Way… his teeth are really nice and straight and white 6/10

39. Kobayashi Sachiko - After the shock of seeing horrible mascot Sento-kun on stage I was not even surprised to see Buddha rising from the stage. Equaled Mikawa for weirdness. 7/10

40. Fukuyama Masaharu - Heh his long hair. Obviously a big draw this year, so he popped up at various intervals to promote Ryomaden. Hatsukoi was good, as expected. 8/10

41. Koda Kumi - They let her sing Lick Me♥ hahah. And ooh sister Misono was on as a guest. I’m not a fan of the songs, but she was spot on as usual. 8/10

42. Arashi - And the highlight of the night, depending on who you are. My heart skipped a beat when they appeared with Sho rapping A.RA.SHI, I swear my inner fangirl died. Pink suits!! From A.RA.SHI to Love so sweet to Happiness to Believe, with a velcro costume change (white suits) in the middle. I think I would’ve cheered louder if it was the me of 10 years ago watching, but the boys put on a good show. 9/10

SPECIAL GUEST: YAZAWA EIKICHI
He was strongly tipped to be on this year’s Kohaku for ages, so it was a disappointment when he was not announced on the initial list. Then NHK blew a bombshell earlier today and said he was going to be a surprise guest. Yazawa totally rocked the hall with Jikan yo Tomare & Cobalt no Sora, and had a nice little chat about how he’s the same age as Kohaku (both turned 60 this year!)

43. Kobukuro - Not a fan of the song, performance was decent. 6/10

44. Wada Akiko - I laughed at her face and her dress. I really shouldn’t have. 7/10

45. Hikawa Kiyoshi - Camp, camp, camp! Needed peacock feathers to complete the look, but Kiyoshi was top notch again. 10/10

46. Ishikawa Sayuri - I dozed off. 5/10

47. Ayaka - Oh god, even Ishida Toshiyuki is crying. A perfect send-off for Ayaka… 10/10

48. SMAP - Haiieeeee Yuck. Can’t sing to save their lives, though Nakai was only out of tune once. 5/10

49. DREAMS COME TRUE - I thought Miwa was going to break the mic with her voice, it was so loud. Newton Faulkner on guitar :O And Fuzzy Control didn’t get cut out after all, yay! 9/10

50. Kitajima Saburo - Closed the show, and ermmmm I was more focused on when the rest of the group would turn up than his song.

As expected, White Team beat Red Team, 348,708 vs 213,047 votes. All Hail Johnny’s!! This year’s voting is way up from last year’s which was around 206,000 vs 112,000. Gosh Red Team would’ve beat White Team last year with that vote total.

All I remember from the recap period was seeing the artists laugh at Maekawa Kenichi’s bit and huge applause for Yazawa. Also, during the end bits, aiko + Kaela were giggling together and hamming it up for the camera. And Perfume were playing with the confetti and FMB just looked… weird.

That’s all I can get out of my battered brain at 1am - I need a HQ rip to watch again, so I might edit this post after that. Anyhow, this year’s show was definitely better than 2008’s. Some of the performances are well worth keeping - quickly ranking the ones I enjoyed the most:

1. Susan Boyle
2. Ikimonogakari
3. Yazawa Eikichi
4. Tendo Yoshimi
5. Hikawa Kiyoshi
6. FUNKY MONKEY BABYS
7. Ayaka
8. Hirahara Ayaka
9. Arashi
10. Hosokawa Takashi

And the excitement’s over til 31 December 2010. See you at the end of the year for coverage of the 61st Kohaku!

Anisong in 2009
K-ON! was obviously the runaway anisong success of the year, which would be OK by me if the music wasn’t quite so bad. Barring Don’t Say “Lazy” (actually, it was really just Sweet Bitter Beauty Song that appealed to me), the music from the show was pure otaku fodder and barely listenable. At least when it was Haruhi all over the charts a couple of years ago I could nod and go ”Yeah, those songs were good” (referrring to God knows… and all the rest of the chara stuff). Oh well, I guess the only consolation is that the music in K-ON! is better than the trash heard in Lucky Star.

Sales-wise it was a decent year - 8 anisong albums cracking the 100k mark is pretty good though the success of Gintama and BLEACH boils down to the fact that both series are Sony-backed, hence you get all the big name acts like Base Ball Bear, Aqua Timez and Sambomaster contributing tracks as theme tunes.

The success of supercell and fripSide after moving to major labels was also a notable talking point, though both acts still have plenty to prove and the true measure of success will be when both release follow-up singles in 2010. They’re signed to Sony and Geneon Universal respectively.

Interestingly, while we’re still on record labels and stuff, I’d like to point out my amusement at the general lack of Lantis releases on either chart. Pony Canyon was the obvious winner with K-ON!, while Frontier Works (with Media Factory) saw a good return on the Hetalia! CDs, King as usual relied on Mizuki Nana and Victor/flying Dog scored big with every Macross release. Lantis’ biggest selling artist? Hirano Aya.

Charts for the Oricon calendar year (2008/12/22～2009/12/21)
Top Selling Anisong Singles
(position-total sales-title-artist)
*1 169,388　Don’t say “lazy” / Sakurakou K-ON BU
*2 150,458　Cagayake! GIRLS / Sakurakou K-ON BU
*3 *81,491　Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari / supercell
*4 *80,696　Fuwafuwa Jikan / Sakurakou K-ON BU
*5 *61,078　Shin Ai / Mizuki Nana
*6 *60,088　Mugen / Mizuki Nana
*7 *55,642　K-ON! Image Song Akiyama Mio (Heart Goes Boon!!) / Akiyama Mio (Hikasa Yoko)
*8 *55,432　only my railgun / fripSide
*9 *53,637　K-ON! Image Song Hirasawa Yui (Gi-ta ni Kubittake) / Hirasawa Yui (Toyosaki Aki)
10 *50,669　Hetalia Character CD Vol.4 England / England (Sugiyama Noriaki)
11 *43,588　Shuketsu no Sono e / Hayashibara Megumi
12 *38,448　Super Driver / Hirano Aya
13 *38,316　pink monsoon / Sheryl Nome starring May’n
14 *38,216　Hetalia Character CD Vol.3 Japan / Japan (Takahashi Hiroki)
15 *35,963　K-ON! Image Song Nakano Azusa (Jajauma Way To Go) / Nakano Azusa (Taketatsu Ayana)
16 *33,078　K-ON! Image Song Tainaka Ritsu (Girly Storm Shisso Stick) / Tainaka Ritsu (Sato Satomi)
17 *31,831　K-ON! Image Song Kotobuki Tsumugi (Dear My Keys ~Kenban no Mahou~) / Kotobuki Tsumugi (Kotobuki Minako)
18 *31,184　Hetalia Character CD Vol.5 France / France (Onosaka Masaya)
19 *28,237　Let’s! Fresh Precure!/You make me happy! / Moie Mizuki & Hayashi Momoko
20 *27,137　Honjitsu, Mankai Watashi Iro! / Katsura Hinagiku with Hakuo Gakuen Seitokai Sannin Musume starring Ito Shizuka with Yahagi Sayuri & Nakao Eri & Asano Masumi

Top Selling Anisong Albums
*1 186,116　Gintama BEST
*2 117,501　BLEACH BEST TUNES
*3 117,132　Macross F VOCAL COLLECTION Nyan-tama / Kanno Yoko　(Total Sales) 203,582
*4 110,349　Houkago Tea Time / Houkago Tea Time
*5 106,136　Studio Ghibli Songs (Total Sales) 148,848
*6 105,717　supercell / supercell feat.Hatsune Miku
*7 100,970　ULTIMATE DIAMOND / Mizuki Nana
*8 100,526　GUMDAM00 COMPLETE BEST
*9 *85,319　CODE GEASS COMPLETE BEST
10 *75,583　Universal Bunny / Sheryl Nome starring May’n
11 *58,826　Evangelion Movie Soundtrack
12 *53,246　Kazeyomi / Sakamoto Maaya
13 *51,100　Hatsune Miku Best ~impacts~
14 *47,163　Hatsune Miku Best ~memories~
15 *38,316　Rai Chikyuu Kinen Collection Album Space Bio Charge / YOKO KANNO & SEATBELTS
16 *37,503　May’n Street / May’n
17 *36,934　Keikan Shijin SINGLE COLLECTION PLUS / ALI PROJECT
18 *35,209　Seventh Heaven / Kalafina
19 *33,415　EXIT TUNES PRESENTS Vocalostar feat.Hatsune Miku / Super Producers feat.Hatsune Miku
20 *31,438　Styles / May’n

Personal Highlights
Pretty good year for anisong, or so it seems to be judging by the amount of CDs stacked up high on my bedroom table! I’m sorry I haven’t covered anime music much in the last quarter of the year due to my packed work schedule, which is a shame as there were many great releases. Nevertheless, here’s my picks for the best of 2009’s anime music releases.

Favourite Soundtracks
Hatsukoi Limited. Original Soundtrack. Nijine

I have a weakness for soppy (poignant?) piano/violins soundtracks, and Hatsukoi’s is the best I’ve heard this year - marginally beating out the Manimani OST by CooRie & Okubo Kaoru. Nijine’s work here recalls parts of Nanase Hikaru’s work on the Da Capo series, and although this isn’t revolutionary stuff it’s still a pretty damn good listen.

One Outs Original Soundtrack. Akihiko Matsumoto

Matsumoto’s heady mix of funk, jazz, electro-rock and ambient is fresh and unique - despite being all over the place music-wise it gels together well. The mark of a great soundtrack is being able to stand on its own without the aid of the visuals, and One Outs succeeds, with plenty of b-ball style.

Umi Monogatari ~Anata ga Ite Kureta Koto~ Original Soundtrack. Muramatsu Ken

Muramatsu follows up the splendour of the kure-nai music with another potential masterpiece. Although there are plenty of similarities between the two soundtracks, his approach in arranging each of the main themes in 3-4 different ways brings a new dimension to the songs.

Ristorante Paradiso soundtrack - musica paradiso. ko-ko-ya

Bossa nova supergroup consisting of guitarist Sasago Shigeharu (Choro Club), violinist Eto Yuki and clarinetist Kurokawa Saeko craft fantastic chill-out soundtrack, music to relax to with a cup of coffee while watching the world go by. Vocal tracks by Komine Lisa and Kiyoura Natsumi complete the lovely lounge experience. Not quite the usual sort of anime soundtrack fare but if (the hotchpotch of) names like Gontiti, Baden Powell and Astrud Gilberto set your pulse racing, then musica paradiso is one for you.

Favourite Image/Character CDs
China Kibun de High Tension!!. Takagaki Ayahi (CANAAN insert)

The first time I can truly say I enjoyed Ayahi’s singing, and it has to come for a bunch of joke songs! Nene is a legend, and my only wish is for a Taxi Driver version of the three tracks here.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu Character Song Vol.4 - Koizumi Itsuki. Ono Daisuke

Despite the shittiness of Endless Eight the Haruhi character CDs were still quality, all the way from Haruhi to (lol) Taniguchi. Even Kyon’s was amusing! The pick of the bunch is once again Itsuki’s disc, Ono D getting to sink his teeth into some very fun and lively songs.

Ga-Rei Image Song Collection -Yu-rimu Croquette-. Various

Released on Christmas Day 2008 which was outside the Oricon calendar, so rolled over to this year. Still as engaging 12 months on, music that reminds you why Ga-Rei made us all laugh, cry, sit there in shock with mouth wide-open, or want to fling the mouse across the room.

End Prophecy. Phantasm (FES cv. Yui Sakakibara)

Take all the best bits of Yousei Teikoku and Asriel + a pinch of AliPro and transform eroge singer into blazing hot rocker chick, voila! Best character compilation CD of 2009. End Prophecy (collection of Chaos;Head songs) is epicness unrivaled.

Favourite Anisong/Seiyuu Albums
ColorS. Takahashi Naozumi

Amongst the mass of male seiyuu scrambling for a slice of the fangirl market, Takahashi stands tall. His songwriting partnerships with Nonaka ‘Masa’ Yuichi and U-Ken really pay off on ColorS, which represents his most mature work thus far, including the beautiful Ano Oka e which featured as a theme song for the Youjuu Mameshiba movie/dorama series that he had a small role in. As always, Takahashi’s vocals are nothing less than fantastic and now he’s got the songs to match his talents. I hope Nao-nii comes back for Animelo next year!

Kazeyomi. Sakamoto Maaya

Slow-burning album that takes time to reveal its charms, if you give it a decent chance. Almost one year on since its release and I’m loving Kazeyomi a lot more - even Peanuts.

STARGATE. Ito Kanako

STARGATE is a whole different ball game from the themes Kanako does for anime and games, with ample room for experimentation. The result is a diverse record that runs the gamut of the pop spectrum from electropop to jazz, all courtesy of the good folks at 5pb.

Griotte no Nemurihime. Shimotsuki Haruka

You’d be forgiven for having a few jitters over Shimotsukin’s follow-up to Tindharia, but rest assured Griotte does not disappoint and in fact, often trumps its predecessor in with the sheer beauty of the arrangements and instrumentation. Anisong world needs more ambitious projects like this, thank God for Haruka and Shikata Akiko.

10 random songs from various anime, video game and anison CDs I really liked but don’t quite fit in on any of the other lists. When I think about it, these songs are all likely candidates to be covered on my next album…links to Youtube samples where possible.

1. Pub de GO!!. Sugiyama Noriaki (Hetalia character song) [song]
Sugiyama’s hilarious song for England from Hetalia, with lyrics covering all things British from tea, fish and chips to fairies, unicorns and Her Royal Majesty. Though seriously, if I hear another English fandub of this I’m going to scream.

2. Dokkyun Heart. Inoue Marina (Umineko anime insert) [full versh]
Annoying happy hardcore, hyper rap techno etc. Everyone secretly loves this song.

3. Fuwaffuwahho Maple Magic!!. ave;new project feat. Yuzuki Ryoka [CM edit]
Apt to turn brains to mush.

4. Kimi ga Iru Kara. Sugawara Sayuri (FFXIII theme song) [PV]
Lolololol at international version of FFXIII having Leona Lewis as theme song.

5. Occultics no Majo. Ayumu (Umineko Chiru 5 OP) [Umineko 5 OP]
Strange to have a Jrock singer (Ayumu from Zwei) do an Umineko song. Still kicks plenty of ass.

6. You & Me. Tamura Yukari [short PV]
Rubbish para-para, strangely addictive.

7. Starting Over. Okui Masami (Final Approach2 1st priority Portable OP) [full song]
Overlooked, under-rated. Makkun’s best single in years.

8. platonic syndrome. Duca (Natsu no Ame OP) [Demo PV]
Best eroge theme song in 2009.

9. Fake me. Ito Kanako (Chaos;Head Noah OP) [OP]
So many great Chaos;Head songs, this is the pick of them.

10. Yami ni Saku Hoshi no Youni. CooRie (Sora no Manimani ED2) [full song]
More like an insert really. Better than the actual ending song.

And that wraps up another year for anime music. Moving along….

Quick Links:
2009 in Review: Top 12 Anime Theme Songs
2009 in Review: Anime