Anime Anime Global

November 2 is Ishida Akira’s birthday.

Ishida Akira made is debut in 1990. He won the Sub Character Award for Male Actors at the 1st Seiyuu Award. He appeared in many titles in 2020, including “Cells at Work!! The Strongest Enemy Returns. An Uproar in the Body’s intestines!”, and many big-screen releases.

To celebrate Ishida Akira’s birthday, like last year, we conducted a reader survey “Who is your favorite character played by Ishida Akira?” Responses were received from 1,252 people during the survey period from October 22 to October 29.
The male-female ratio is about 15% for males and about 85% for females. About 40% of the age group were minors, about 25% were in their 20s, and about 20% were in their 30s.

■The titles that are about to be released on the big-screen are ranked high!
1st place
1st place for the 3rd year in a row goes to Katsura Kotaro from “Gintama” with an approval rating is about 20%.

The blown-out character that cannot be seen in other works is popular, “Because he is a serious and also a sincere person, the wonderful performance of Ishida-san who makes various blurs is really fun.”, and “I love his line, ‘It’s Katsura, not Zura’!”
His gap between joke scenes and serious scenes are also charming, and the comments mentioned that said, , “His voice of an old man in Ryuji chapter was way too different!”, “I like his joyful rap performance”. Many readers said, “He is maximizing all good things of Katsura Kotarou.”

2nd place
2nd place goes to Nagisa Kaoru from “Neon Genesis Evangelion” with an approval rating is about 12%, which is ranked up from 4th place last year.

Many readers pointed out how wrapping his voice is, “I think, Ishida-san well shown the ephemerality and mystery of Kaoru-Kun’s voice.”, and “Even though he appeared only in one episode of the TV anime, he left a tremendous impact on my heart! In the movie “Q,” I remember leaving the cinema with a mixture of emotion and respect, with every single line permeating. I’m glad that Shinji had Kaworu.”
Many readers get known about Ishida-san from this work, and there are still many strong fans about 25 years after the broadcast.

3rd place
3rd place goes to Athrun Zala from “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED”. The approval rating is about 9%, which is the same as last year.

Some readers praised the delicacy of the voice, “I like his clumsy and awkward personality of an elite pilot that everyone envies, and the way he sticks to his own justice while suffering from hesitation.”, and “His struggles with the fight with my best friend, the love affair with his war partner, and the distress in his own position are left a deep impact to me.” Many remarkable notes were received from people, who recalled how they watched it in their childhood, “Although I was in a kindergarten, I remember watching it with my mother and commenting, ‘I like Athrun!’ Now I’m a grown-up and those feelings haven’t change!”

■Let’s introduce other comments!
About Zhu Bajie from “Saiyuki”, “His voice is like the incarnation of kindness. He remained to be a good person even after he was hurt and suffered, and Ishida-san played his with a warm voice of an mature adult.”, and “I like the difference that when he gets angry or really scared.”
About Kagari Shuusei from “Psycho-Pass”, “I was surprised at the first glance how Ishida-san could play this playboy-like character, but after watching his old story, I get addicted to it, and now I think that only Ishida-san can play the integrity of choosing justice.”

About Natori Shuuichi from “Natsume’s Book of Friends”, “The pleasant and dark sides of the character get you a glimpse. This light and dark performance is truly Ishida-san ability. I fell in love with Natori-san and Ishida-san who accept the main character Natsume as a friend because of his rigor and kindness.”
About Yuurakutei Yakumo from “Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju” as a performance of one person, “The transition from Kikubiko when he was young to Yakumo in old age, the different roles of men and women of all ages in the rakugo performance , and the fluent Edo dialect. It is a work that you can fully see Ishida-san’s Ishida’s god-like amazing acting.”

Various characters were ranked in the 2020 version as well, but the new one in the top 10 is Akaza from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”. The voice actor wasn’t involved in production until the movie was released, and it was a surprise for people who saw the movie. “The voice of Ishida-san was perfect because he liked fighting and persists to become stronger,” and “The acting that was full of madness and spirit was very wonderful,” his acting was also praised.

“Gintama”, ranked in the top, and “Neon Genesis Evangelion” of the 2nd place, is awaiting the release of the new movies. “Gundam SEED” ranked in the 3rd place probably because the release of the special final edition movie is scheduled on Nov.

■Ranking Top-20
“Who is your favorite character played by Ishida Akira?”
1st place Katsura Kotaro “Gintama”
2nd place Nagisa Kaoru “Neon Genesis Evangelion”
3rd place Athrun Zala “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED”
4th place Zhu Bajie “Saiyuki”
5th place Zeros “Slayers”
6th place Akaza “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Infinity Train”
7th place Natori Shuuichi “Natsume’s Book of Friends”
7th place Yuurakutei Yakumo (Kikubiko) “Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju”
9th place Gaara “NARUTO”
10th place Shuusei Kagari “Psycho-Pass”
11th place Fyodor Dostoevsky “Bungo Stray Dogs”
12th place Fish Eye “Sailor Moon SuperS”
13th place Yuuki Osamu (Hero) “Persona 3”
14th place Ayabe Kihachiro “Nintama Rantarou”
15th place Hanbei Takenaka “Sengoku Basara”
15th place Lid Herschel “Tales of Eternia”
17th place Xerxes-Break “PandoraHearts”
18th place Zeref “FAIRY TAIL”
18th place Hajime Mizuki “Prince of Tennis”
20th place Izana Wistaria Clarines “Snow White with the Red Hair”

(Response period: October 22, 2020-October 29, 2020)