Jan. 28 is Kamiya Hiroshi’s birthday.
He debuted as a voice actor in the 1990s and in 2019, he played important roles in various works such as, “Osomatsu-san the Movie”, “Carole & Tuesday”, “GeGeGe no Kitarou”, etc.
He has also appeared on TV shows such as the documentary, “Professional Shigoto no Ryuugi”, variety show, “VS Arashi”, etc., and has played a major role in spreading the name of the voice acting profession.
Here at Anime!Anime!, we had conducted a survey asking “Who’s your favorite character voiced by Kamiya Hiroshi?” to celebrate his birthday. There were 568 respondents during the voting period of Jan. 15 to Jan. 22.
The main respondents were female, with the gender ratio at 10% male, 90% female, and the age group was on the younger side with 40% being under 19 and 30% in their 20s.
■”Natsume’s Book of Friends” kept the top seat for 2 years in a row!
The most popular character was Natsume Takashi from “Natsume’s Book of Friends” with 22% of the vote and kept its position from last year.
His warm voice was praised in comments such as, “Kamiya-san’s voice perfectly matches Natsume-kun’s strong-willed yet ethereal character.” and “I think Natsume is the most gentle and clear character of all the characters Kamiya-san voiced.”
“Kamiya-san’s delicate and clear voice matches both the lonely Takashi-kun at the beginning of the story and the gentle Takashi-kun that has opened his heart to others.” was another comment which comes from the series being a long-run with over 10 years of airing.
Coming in 2nd was Levi from “Attack on Titan” with 14% of the vote, also at the same ranking as last year.
People liked his reliable captain character saying, “He’s the ideal boss that acts as if he doesn’t care about his team members but actually takes good care of them!”, “He’s not just the strongest human but also becomes even more attractive with his ambivalence expressed through Kamiya-san’s acting.
“Kamiya-san uses a different tone of voice than usual and I can see how he’s polishing his acting in every episode.” is a comment that shows there are fans fascinated by his low-key voice.
3rd place was Orihara Izaya from “Durarara!!” with 9% of the vote. He moved up a rank from last year.
The Shinjuku based information broker, Orihara Izaya, received comments such as, “Kamiya-san is the only one that could portray such an unsavory yet loveable character like Izaya.”, “It surprised me that he could give out such frantic laughter and speak in such a hateful voice.”
“I watched the scene where he crushes the cellphone with his foot while laughing loudly over and over again.” was a comment from a fan that couldn’t forget that eccentric scene.
■Below are comments for other characters.
“The amplitude of his strength and weakness, cuteness and coolness, furiousness and gentleness, childishness and nobleness, actions and emotions, are all at the max, making him a character that lets you enjoy the range of acting from Kamiya-san.” for Yato from “Noragami”
“I can’t forget the line ‘Zetsubou shita’ (I’m in despair)” and “I think negative and twisted characters are Kamiya-san’s true forte.” for Itoshiki Nozomu from “Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei”.
“The 18-year-old Choromatsu from ‘Osomatsu-san the Movie’ makes me laugh every time. He’s the character that made me want to support Kamiya-san.” for Matsuno Choromatsu from “Osomatsu-san”.
“He lets you enjoy the acting that gives warmth even to an inorganic character. He’s so cute!” for Frontier Setter from “Expelled from Paradise”.
Dubbings of animal characters and of Tokusatsu characters were also ranked in the overall ranking.
■Ranking Top 20
“Who’s your favorite character voiced by Kamiya Hiroshi? ver. 2020”
1. Natsume Takashi “Natsume’s Book of Friends”
2. Levi “Attack on Titan”
3. Orihara Izaya “Durarara!!”
4. Yato “Noragami”
5. Saiki Kusuo “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.”
6. Araragi Koyomi “Bakemonogatari”
7. Akashi Seijuurou “Kuroko’s Basketball”
8. Matsuno Choromatsu “Osomatsu-san”
9. Itoshiki Nozomu “Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei”
10. Trafalgar Law “One Piece”
11. Edogawa Ranpo “Bungou Stray Dogs”
12. Klaus Keyman “Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2202”
13. Tieria Erde “Mobile Suit Gundam 00”
14. Souma Hiroomi “WORKING!!”
15. Takeda Ittetsu “Haikyuu!!”
15. Penguin “Shirokuma Cafe”
17. Yanase Yuu “The World’s Greatest First Love”
18. Jean-bot “Ultraman Zero: The Revenge of Belial”
19. Shou Ronpo “Uchu Sentai Kyuranger”
20. Otonashi Yuzuru “Angel Beats!”
20. Otohata Rei “Gals!”
20. The School Festival Executive Head “Night Is Short, Walk On Girl”
20. Gareki “Karneval”
20. Matou Shinji “Fate/stay night”
20. Balder Hringhorni “Kamigami no Asobi”
20. Freecell “Phi Brain: Puzzle of God”
20. Beelzebub Yuuichi “Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san”
(Voting Period: Jan. 15 to Jan. 22, 2020)
