Anime Anime Global

Aug. 12 is Yusa Kouji's birthday.

Yusa Kouji started his career as a voice actor in 1993. He has been playing an active role not only in anime but also in dramas using special effects and western movies dubbed in Japanese. He won the Synergy Award for his role in “Kamen Rider Den-O” on 2nd Seiyu Awards. In 2020, he acted in “Dropkick on My Devil!”, “Radiant”, and others.

Anime!Anime! conducted a readers survey titled “Who is your most favorite character voiced by Yusa Kouji ?”, celebrating his birthday. The survey Period was from Jul. 28, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2020., and received 189 answers.
The male-to-female ratio was about 20% to 80%, which means that the female readers accounted for a large percentage.
The readers of all ages answered with about 25% of under 19-year-old readers, about 30% of readers in their twenties, and about 20% of readers in thirties.

■Harada Sanosuke was ranked No.1, and “Kamen Rider Den-O” Urataros got higher rank than on the previous survey!
No.1
“Hakuoki” Harada Sanosuke was ranked No.1 with about 16% support ratings. It has been ranked the top for three consecutive years.

Harada Sanosuke is the Tenth Division Captain of the Shinsengumi. “Sano is sexy in nature, and Yusa's voice increases it.” “He has human sympathy and is so kind that sometimes spoils others. Above all, he is a truly understanding person! He is a man who embrace others warmly, which is super attractive.” These comments show how attractive he is both as a man and an individual.
A lot of readers expressed his characteristics using “manhood” and “sexy”.

No.2
“Kamen Rider Den-O” Urataros was ranked No.2 with about 14% support ratings. He got higher rank than on the previous survey, which was No.3.

Urataros is an Imagine, who possesses the protagonist to support him. Comments arrived include “Imagines don't change their facial expressions, but Yusa's voice conveys Urataros's feelings. I remember that I watched the final episode with my brother while crying.”, and “He is too sexy for a TV program for kids. He is sometimes careless even though he is trying to act cool. He sometimes lies from his manhood… Urataros would not be so attractive without Yusa's act.”
We cannot help waiting his playing an active role in “Kamen Rider Den-O Pretty Den-O Appears!” of “Toei Manga Festival”, which will be released Aug. 14.

No. 3
“BLEACH” Ichimaru Gin was ranked No.3 with about 12% support ratings. Though he got a lower rank than on the previous survey, which was No.2, he is still ranked within the top 3.
“I like the original manga, but I did not have any sense of discomfort when I first watched the anime. Yusa is from Kyoto, and his voice matches the character well, and sounds natural, which is impressive.” “He usually speaks calmly in Kyoto dialect, but he acts energetically when he is fighting. I like the way he acts differently in each situation.” These comments show that his Kyoto dialect produces the mysteriousness and the attractiveness of the character.

■Other comments are below.
For “Case Closed” Okita Soushi.
“He is Hattori Heiji's rival of Kendo, and resembles Kudou Shinichi as “Kaito Kid”. Yusa's voice makes him sexier, which is interesting.”
For “Fate/Apocrypha” Karuna.
“Karuna doesn't express his emotions, so he tends to be misunderstood by others. However, Yusa acts him well though he doesn't even speak that much, which proves Yusa's great acting ability. That's why I chose this character.”

For “Norn9” Kagami Itsuki.
“He is acting like a womanizer and living his own way, but he is caring about the heroine Mikoto. Yusa matches such a character, and I was truly impressed. I also like the character song.”
For “Giant” Jo Min-woo.
“He is cool but clumsy and loves a woman that he should not love. He expresses such complicated and subtle emotions with his voice and breathes. Especially his acting to cry and force out a thin voice were excellent.”
Some readers voted for the foreign movies he dubbed.

Compared to the previous ranking, the same characters were ranked within top 5, which shows their firm popularity.

■Ranking Top 20
“Who is your most favorite character voiced by Yusa Kouji ? 2020 ver. ”
1. Harada Sanosuke “Hakuoki”
2. Urataros “Kamen Rider Den-O”
3. Ichimaru Gin “BLEACH”
4. Hakutaku “Hozuki's Coolheadedness”
5. Hyobu Kyosuke “Psychic Squad” “The Unlimited Hyobu Kyosuke”
6. Karuna “Fate/Apocrypha”
7. Lau “Black Butler”
8. Okita Soushi “Case Closed”
8. Kagami Itsuki “Norn9”
8. Midousuji Akira “Yowamushi Pedal”
8. Lilium “ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.”
12. Watanabe Osamu “The Prince of Tennis”
13. Shima Renzo “Blue Exorcist”
13. Dragunov “Radiant”
13. Torikai Ginga/Raideen Owl “Raideen the Superior”
16. Ohtomo Jin “Tokyo Ravens”
16. Sakami Haruya “Yo-kai Watch Shadowside”
16. Hyuga Ryuya “Uta no Prince-sama”
16. Hyoue “Magical Girl Ore”
16. Yuri Petrov/Lunatic “TIGER & BUNNY”

(Survey Period is from Jul. 28, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2020.)