Anime Anime Global

Sep. 17 is the birthday of Matsuoka Yoshitsugu.

Matsuoka Yoshitsugu debuted as a voice actor in 2009. During his career, he won the Best New Actors at the 6th Seiyuu Awards and the Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 10th Seiyuu Awards.
In 2020, he is in charge of the main characters in many titles such as “Dokyu Hentai HxEros” and the movie “The Stranger By The Beach”.

Therefore, to celebrate Matsuoka Yoshitsugu’s birthday, we conducted the annual reader survey, “What is your favorite character played by Matsuoka Yoshitsugu?”. Responses from 244 people during the survey period from Sep. 2 to Sep. 9 have been received.
The male-female ratio is about 40% for males and about 60% for females, which is a little higher for females. For the age distribution, about 50% are from the minors group, and about 30% were in their 20s.

■Popular titles “SAO”, “Re: Zero”, “Kimetsu” got high ranks
1st Place
1st place went to Kirito from “Sword Art Online” with the approval rating of about 30%.

Comments about Kirito, which boasts the overwhelming popularity of being the top for the third consecutive years, pointed on compatible acting with the character, “The feeling of unity with the character seems so real because the emotions hidden in the heart are carefully captured”, and “Whether it’s a scream or a gentle laughter, Yoshitsugu’s wonderful voice hits my heart.”

Some comments pointed on the long performance, “For playing the same role for 8 years, I can feel how Matsuoka-san has grown up with Kirito”, and “During the long episodes when Kirito is not speaking, although it seems that you would normally forget the voice, Matsuoka-san’s voice will remain in your ears.”
Some people said that they became interested in anime and voice actors because of “SAO” and Kirito.

2nd place
2nd place went to Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti from “Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-“. The approval rating is about 12%, and went up from 3rd place last year.

There were admirable comments on his performance, “That crazy acting and the occasional well-organized voice seem to represent the past and present of Petelgeuse, which is perfect”, and “Far from losing to the character of the original, I thought that he is the character which shows all Matsuoka-san’s abilities.”
Many fans didn’t realize that it was him, “I was surprised to see Matsuoka-san’s name in the staff roll because his past roles were so different.”

3rd place
3rd place went Hashibira Inosuke from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”. The approval rating was about 11%, and went down one place from last year.

Comments said, “He usually is rough but looks cool in the battle scene… I can’t help but feel the gap of his growth such as his absent-mindedness and depression after meeting with Tanjirou”, “It’s amazing how he was able to express Inosuke’s wild childless!”
The scene of his unexpected real face when the boar’s head was taken off is also one the reason for his popularity.

■Let’s introduce other comments
About Aki Tomoya from “Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend” “There are many fast-talking long lines peculiar to otaku, but, amazingly, he says all this without taking a breathe, and it’s easy to hear.”

About Aoyagi Hajime from “Yowamushi Pedal”, “He is cool and barely says anything, but he get passionate when it’s necessary, which is what I like”, and “You can see changes in Aoyagi-kun mood in the short lines.”

About Titus Alexius from “Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic”, “He was so cute as he expressed his emotion honestly through the behaviors, and I enjoyed Matsuoka-kun’s various acting.”
About Kure Raian, an antagonist from “Kengan Ashura”, “He cool not only on playing protagonists but also antagonists too. I think he has a unique awesomeness and sex appeal.”

In this survey, the 1st place is “SAO, 2nd place is “Re:Zero” along with characters of the popular current broadcasting title of the latest work, have ranked in. A fresh release of the year 2020, “My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! ” got into the top 10.
A big melee with 12 characters lined up in 14th place at the same rate. Not only anime but also roles of CDs drama have been included. Check it out!

■Top 20 Ranking
“What is your favorite character played by Matsuoka Yoshitsugu? 2020 edition”
1st Kirito (Kirigaya Kazuto) “Sword Art Online”
2nd Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti “Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-”
3rd Hashibira Inosuke “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
4th Sora “No Game No Life”
5th Yukihira Soma “Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma”
6th Aoyagi Hajime “Yowamushi Pedal”
7th Uesugi Fuutarou “The Quintessential Quintuplets”
7th Mitarai Shota “The Idolmaster SideM”
9th Titus Alexius “Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic”
10th Nicol Ascart “My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!”
10th Bell Cranel “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?”
12th Oboro “Circle of Reincarnation”
13th Aki Tomoya “Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend”
14th Alice “Taisho x Symmetrical Alice”
14th Amp “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.”
14th Ishikawa Takuboku “Bungou to Alchemist”
14th Ugawa Akira “Star-Myu”
14th King “Darwin’s Game”
14th Ooshiba Kensuke “Hitorijime My Hero”
14th Kazama Jin “DAYS”
14th Kure Raian “Kengan Ashura”
14th Atsuro Hachisuka “The Trap of Love”
14th Fujishima Narumi “Heaven’s Memo Pad”
14th Yukimura Tohru “Aoharu × Machinegun”
14th Lubbock “Akame ga Kill!”

(Survey period: Sep. 2 to Sep. 9, 2020)