Apr. 21 is Shimono Hiro-san's birthday.
Shimono Hiro-san debuted as a voice actor in 00's. In the 6th Seiyu Awards, he won the Best Musical Performance as part of a member of ST☆RISH. He will be playing the main role in “ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. Regards” and “Peter Grill and the Philosopher's Time” in 2020.
Anime! Anime! had interviewed him along with Kaji Yuuki-san during the Japanese dubbing of the oversea drama “FAMOUS IN LOVE”.
Thus, in order to celebrate Shimono Hiro-san's birthday, Anime! Anime! had conducted a reader survey “Who is your favorite character by Shimono Hiro-san?” following the survey conducted last year. We had received a total of 1,000 responses during the survey period of Apr. 9 until Apr. 16.
Most of the responses came from female as the gender ratio is about 6% male and 94% female. For the age distribution, it mostly consists of the young generation as about 50% came from age 19 and below, about 28% came from those in their 20's.
■”Kimetsu”'s Agatsuma Zenitsu rank-up tremendously compare to last year!
1st place goes to Agatsuma Zenitsu from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” with a support rating of approximately 32%. He ranked up to 1st place from 14th place last year.
Regarding, Agatsuma Zenitsu of the Demon Slayer Corp., we had received comments such as “He is a coward, weakling, and a crybaby but the gap when he awakens during the battle with the demon is amazing!” which depicts his charm is the gap when he is pathetic and serious. We also received comments such as “I am surprised that he is able to act differently immediately during the comedy scene and the battle scene.”, and “I think Shimono Hiro-san voice fit perfectly with the fleeting and unhateable characters.” Moreover, there was also a lot of fans mentioning about the “dirty high pitch” of Agatsuma's famous lines such as “I feel that no one is able to imitate the dirty high pitch of Shimono-san.” The character from a work with an upcoming movie had taken the top.
2nd place is Kurusu Shou from “Uta☆Prince-sama♪” with a support rating of approximately 22%.
“Shou looks cute but he is manly among everyone and always goes all out. Shimono-san's voice fits perfectly with the optimistic and cool personality of Shou-chan, he is my favorite character!” which depicts the popularity came from the gap between the cute visual and the manly personality.
There were also comments such as “I feel that Shimono-san had become one with the character and continue growing together after hearing the solo album that was released last year” and “Shou-chan and Shimono-san look a bit alike and sometimes I feel that both of them are in perfect synchronization. I think the optimistic and bright character songs are something that only Shimono-san can sing.” which depicts the fans are charmed by his singing voice.
3rd place is Jean Otus from “ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.” with the approval rating of approximately 6%.
We had received a few comments from the readers on the different impressions on the character such as “Shimono-san has an image of voicing a lot of bright characters but we are able to see the mature Shimono-san in 'ACCA'.”
“Despite being cool, his word carries a kind and soft feeling which produced an exquisite situation. I think this charming character is something only Shimono-san can perform” and “I had fallen for him once again as the acting of his kindness can be seen in the thoughts of the quiet Jean.” which depicts that the calm acting had left a great impression in the fans.
■Let’s introduce the other commentary!!
Regarding Connie Springer from “Attack of Tian”: “He is stupid and can't think properly but I like Connie, as he is able to make everyone laugh in that serious world.”
Regarding Akihisa Yoshii from “Baka and Test”: “He is my favorite character since the original light novel as he is good at expressing his emotion, kind, and an idiot. Shimono-san's voice is the ideal voice for Akihisa as he is able to express all of that.”
Regarding Zeno from “Yona of the Dawn”: “I like him as he is spiritually strong despite being nonchalant. I was deeply moved by the crying and shouting acting in the OVA.”
Regarding Ohashi from “African Office Worker”: “I am able to hear from Shimono-san voice on the various elements of the characters such as cute, noisy, vulgar, and funny. It was quite interesting as there is a lot of ad-lip inserted.” This also shows that there is a vote for a non-human character.
The 2020 version of the survey featured character from new works that were broadcast from 2019 to 2020.
The top was taken by Agatsuma Zenitsu from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” and has left drastic changes in the ranking.
■ Top 20 Ranking
[Who is your favorite character by Shimono Hiro-san? 2020 version]
1. Agatsuma Zenitsu “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
2. Kurusu Shou “Uta☆Prince-sama♪”
3. Jean Otus “ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.”
4. Dabi “My Hero Academia”
5. Connie Springer “Attack of Tian”
6. Akihisa Yoshii “Baka and Test”
7. Zeno “Yona of the Dawn”
8. Ohashi “African Office Worker”
9. Miyoshi “Joker Game”
10. Tajima Yuuichirou “Big Windup!”
11. Misono Arisuin “SERVAMP”
12. Issa Kaburagi “Yowamushi Pedal”
12. Sasuke Tsubaki “SKET DANCE”
12. Ray Blackwell “Ikemen Revolution: Alice and Love Magic”
15. Shihou “The Morose Mononokean II”
15. Tachibana “Teiden Shoujo to Hanemushi no Orchestra”
17. Ouma Kokichi “Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony”
18. Nal “Karneval”
18. Fideo Ardena “Inazuma Eleven”
20. Haruka Kasugano “Yosuga no Sora”
20. Katsuragi Keima “The World Gods Only Know”
20. Kamina Ayato “Rahxephon”
20. Kuronuma Aoba “Durarara X2”
20. Shinomiya Kyouya “GJ Club”
20. Naki “Tokyo Ghoul”
(Survey Period: Apr. 9 ~ Apr. 16, 2020)
