Anime Anime Global

Feb. 25 is Morikubo Showtaro-san’s birthday.

He debuted in the 90s and in the 10th Seiyu awards, he received the Tomiyama Kei award, which is given to the male voice actors who spread the arts of voice acting through various media.
In 2019, he voiced the main characters of “Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Kingdom”, “Demon Lord, Retry!”, and others.
In 2020, he is voicing the protagonist of the new anime title, “Sorcerous Stabber Orphen”.

Here at Anime!Anime!, we conducted a survey the same as last year, asking the readers, “Who is your favorite character voiced by Morikubo Showtaro-san?” to celebrate his birthday.
We received 116 votes during the voting period from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17.
The male-female ratio was leaning a bit on the female side with 60% female and 40% male, and the age group was centering on the younger side with 50% being under 19 and 25% being in their 20s.

■The ranking changed since last year!
1st place goes to Nara Shikamaru from “NARUTO” with approximately 16% of the votes. He moved up from 4th place last year.

Nara Shikamaru is quite lazy but has an IQ of over 200. Comments such as “It’s cool how he analyzes everything in a calm manner.” and “His abilities to grasp the progress of the battle was so attractive.” shows how he is praised for being a different type of ninja than the protagonist Naruto. “Mendokuse-” (A phrase to express that you are being bothered by something) is a phrase that well expresses his personality, and there were some comments pointing out this phrase such as “When it comes to Morikubo-san, this is the phrase that comes to my mind!”.

Coming in 2nd was Kotobuki Reiji from “Uta no Prince-sama” with approximately 13 % of the votes. He dropped down a position from last year.

Kotobuki Reiji is a member of Quartet Night and is the one that brings the team together. He received comments such as “He’s always cheerful and is kind to his teammates.”, “I love his unique personality!”, and “If it weren’t for him, the members of Quarter Night would never get along with each other.”
His “Macchoccho” phrase he uses for greetings leaves quite an impression and cheers up many people.

3rd place goes to Shigeno Gorou from “Major” with approximately 9% of the votes, keeping his position from last year.

“Major” is a popular series with the protagonist Shigeno Gorou and has over 150 episodes of anime aired.
“I love Morikubo-san’s vigorous voice.”, “I liked how he puts in all his effort.”, and “I grew up watching ‘Major’ and he left a strong impression on me.” were the comments praising him acting the character from a junior high school student to a pro baseball player. “I liked how ‘Kokoroe’ sung by Morikubo-san was like the culmination of the ‘Major’ series” shows that he also grasped the hearts of fans with his singing in the OVA.

■Here are some comments for other characters!
For Yuuki Makoto from “Ensemble Stars”, “He is a bit timid and flaky, but I love his eager personality, kindness, and cheerful and lively singing voice.”

For Okita Souji from “Hakuouki”, “Because he showed a strong passion by fighting for Shinsengumi though having Tuberculosis.”

For Kirihara Akaya from “The Prince of Tennis”, “He sometimes hurts his opponents through his aggressive playstyle, but he’s actually kind and is good looking. I love his effort in practicing tennis to beat the big three!”

For Mini 4 fighter (Takeshi Sugiyama) from “Bakusou Kyoudai Let’s & Go!!” his debut title, “The characters say, ‘His commentary gives me the chills’ or ‘The race misses something without his commentary’, and it’s so true. He really brings up the heat.”

The increase in male voters has changed the ranking drastically from last year.

■The whole ranking
“Who is your favorite character voiced by Morikubo Showtaro-san?”
1. Nara Shikamaru “Naruto”
2. Kotobuki Reiji “Uta no Prince-sama”
3. Shigeno Gorou “Major”
4. Makishima Yuusuke “Yowamushi Pedal”
4. Yuuki Makoto “Ensemble Stars!”
6. Okita Souji “Hakuouki”
7. Orphen “Sorcerous Stabber Orphen”
8. Kai Setsuna “Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children”
8. Kirihara Akaya “The Prince of Tennis”
8. Zatto Konnamon “Nintama Rantarou”
11. Osari Hikaru “B-Project”
11. Remorseful Knight Arslevan “Kaettekita Juuden Zyuuden Sentai Kyoryuger 100 Years After”
11. Sera Kaito “Classroom☆Crisis”
11. Chouno Uryoku “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.”
11. Bartolomeo “One Piece”
11. Miwa Taishi “Cardfight!! Vanguard”

(Voting Period: Feb. 10 to Feb. 17, 2020)