Anime Anime Global

Jun. 26 is Hanae Natsuki-san's birthday.

He debuted in 2011 and won Best Rookie Actors at the 9th Seiyu Awards in 2014, Personality Award at the 11th in 2016, and Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 14th in 2019. In 2020, he is taking on the main characters in many titles, such as “Smile Down the Runway” and “Appare-Ranman!”.

To celebrate his birthday, Anime!Anime! has conducted the same survey as last year asking, “Who's Your Favorite Character Voiced by Hanae Natsuki-san?” We received 333 votes during the voting period from Jun. 13 to Jun. 20.
Most of the voters were female with a gender ratio of 20% male to 80 % female, and the age range leaned toward the younger side with 60% under 19 and 20% in their 20s.

■The protagonists of “Kimetsu”, “Tokyo Ghoul”, and “Your Lie in April”
1st Place
1st place was taken by Kamado Tanjirou from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” with roughly 25% of the vote, keeping him at the top.

“He's an honest caring big brother, but when it comes to slaying demons, he always devotes his full power! I love how he never gives up!!” “I fell in love with his kindness and courage fighting to turn his demon sister back to a human,” and “He takes good care of his family and friends, and has a kind heart to even show mercy to the demons,” are comments that show how he is popular for his gentle personality.
He also fascinates fans in the radio program, “His strength, kindness, and dignity are each expressed well. Every time I watch the anime, I'm like 'Tanjirou's alive…!' It's so impressive. I also enjoy listening to him on 'Kimetsu Radio'.”

2nd Place
Coming in 2nd was Kaneki Ken from “Tokyo Ghoul” with 15% of the vote. He kept his position from last year.

The emotional and troubled protagonist received comments such as “The protagonist who's both a human and a ghoul. His conflicted feelings swaying between human and ghoul and crying out his pain left a strong impression on me,” and “His performance transitions along with Kaneki's personality, and his kindness and terror are expressed well. I was drawn in by this anime.”
Fans say “I can't forget the fear I felt through the performance,” pointing out how the screams in the torture scene stuck in their heads.

3rd Place
3rd place went to Tomoe Hiyori from “Ensemble Stars!” with roughly 7% of the vote. He rose from 8th place in last year's survey.

Tomoe Hiyori, the leader of Eve, was popular for his cheerful and social personality, and received comments such as, “Hanae-san's cheerfulness is similar to that of Hiyori-kun and he gives me energy. I also love how he sometimes shows his matureness,” and “The sparkly charm of Ohii-san can only be portrayed by Hanae-san.” His symbolic line “Ii Hiyori” (A good day) is also memorable.

■Here are some comments for other characters!!
For Sakishima Hikari from “Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea”, “He's boyish and cool. His words can be harsh but his voice is so gentle. I think Hanae-san taking on the role of the protagonist Hikari made 'Nagi-Asu' a painful yet heart-warming story,” and “I can feel the love for the title from Hanae-kun's profile location being related to 'Nagi-Asu'.”
For Higekiri from the “Token Ranbu” series, “He's usually so laid-back that he even forgets his younger brother's name, but his dignified voice in battles well matches “the treasure of the Minamoto clan”. I can't resist the gap!”

For Kaizuka Inazuka from “Aldnoah.Zero”, “He's cool, but also has a passionate side. It's refreshing to watch him turning over the desperate battles.”
For Tomaruin Satsuki, a character from the latest spring 2020 anime series, “Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition”, “He's annoying how he gets in the way of everyone, but his performance stops me from hating him,” and “His voice becoming a bit deeper when he sometimes talks ill of others gives me butterflies in my stomach.”

The top 2 positions didn't change from last year's survey, but 3rd place and below were completely different. Not only anime characters but also game characters made the list.

■Top 20
[Who's Your Favorite Character Voiced by Hanae Natsuki-san? 2020 Edition]
1. Kamado Tanjirou “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
2. Kaneki Ken (Sasaki Haise) “Tokyo Ghoul”
3. Tomoe Hiyori “Ensemble Stars!”
4. Toritsuka Reita “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.”
5. Arima Kousei “Your Lie in April”
6. Tomaruin Satsuki “Kakushigoto: My Dad's Secret Ambition”
7. Kominato Haruichi “Ace of Diamond”
8. Riddle Rosehearts “Disney Twisted Wonderland”
9. Hoshitani Yuuta “Star-Myu”
10. Enomoto Kotarou “Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai: Ren'ai Series”
10. Elam “The Heroic Legend of Arslan”
12. Ashuu Yuta “B-Project”
12. Sakishima Hikari “Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea”
14. Sera Ritsuka “Tsukipro The Animation”
15. Higekiri “Token Ranbu: Online”
15. Takumi Aldini “Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma”
17. Kaizuka Inazuka “Aldnoah.Zero”
17. Hshiumi Kourai “Haikyuu!! To The Top”
19. Ix Nieves “Tales of the Rays”
19. Fuuma Kotarou “Fate/Grand Order”
19. Yuna D. Kaito “Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card”
19. Yoruha No.9 Type-S “NieR: Automata”

(Voting Period: Jun. 13 to Jun. 20, 2020)