Anime Anime Global

November 24 is Otsuka Akio’s birthday.

Otsuka Akio has been active as a voice actor since the 1980s. He is widely active in anime, games, dubbing movies, etc., and at the 9th Seiyu Award, he won the Tomiyama Kei Award, which is given to a person who represents the profession of voice actor through the media.
In 2020, he appears in movies and streaming titles such as “Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector” and “Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045”. His appearances in topical works in the future such as “Pompo: The Cinéphile” have been announced as well.

Here at Anime! Anime!, to celebrate Otsuka Akio’s birthday, we conducted the same as last year a reader survey, “Who is your favorite character played by Otsuka Akio?”. We received responses from 127 people during the survey period from November 10 to November 17.
The male-female ratio is about 55% for males and about 45% for females. About 25% of the age group were minors, about 30% were in their 20s, and about 25% were in their 30s.

■Snake from “Metal Gear” is topping the list for 2 consecutive years! Wireless is popular!
1st place
1st place goes to Snake from the “Metal Gear Solid” series with an approval rating is about 15%, which is higher than last year.
Snake is a former member of the special forces FOXHOUND. Readers commented about how well the role suited to him, “He’s astringent, cool, and has a sense of humor, which is similar to Otsuka-san himself. You can see that he has been playing naturally and happily.”
Some fans pointed out the attractiveness of different Snake through the series, “I especially like Naked Snake in the third movie. I think half of the film is made up for Otsuka-san’s wireless scene.”As the comment, ‘I still remember the scene that he co-starred with his real father Otsuka Chikao-san in the 4th season’, it is also one of his attractive points that he has played different Snake in different series.

2nd place
2nd place goes to Black Jack from “Black Jack”. This one also remains in the same place as last year.
Readers commented about a modest character who is hiding his true feelings, “Black Jack is a genius surgeon with a sad past. He is calm and does not shows emotions, which is perfect for Otsuka Akio’s low voice.”, and “His cold words are fulfilled with kindness towards to people.”
This work has also multiple additional series such as OVA and TV anime, and it is also popular because of its comical side.

3rd place
3rd place is shared between Anavel Gato from “Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 STARDUST MEMORY” and Yamada Denzou from “Nintama Rantarou”.
About Anavel Gato, “He was the first character that made me fall in love with Otsuka-san’s voice. The voice matched well with a straight samurai-like character.”, and “His voice full of charm of a clumsy, sad and beautiful man.”
About Yamada Denzou, “He is a teacher of practical skills 1st-year class. Although he is an excellent ninja, he is not good in crossdressing. But the best thing, that he actually thinks that he is good!”, and “A character who inherited the profession from his father. I love Yamada-sna, who is kind, funny, and sometimes strict.”

■Let’s introduce other comments

About Garuru from “Sgt. Frog”, “Otsuka-san’s astringent voice of a transcendental handsome person makes wonderful even the cute character.”
About Naganegiman from “Anpanman”, “Uncle Negie is usually gentle and calm, but when he transforms, he is cool and strong. I absolutely love the gap between before and after changing clothes.”

About Kyoraku Shunsui from “Bleach”, “Although he is usually sullen and easygoing, he is an old shinigami with the highest strength among the captains. The difference between his peacetime and battle is astonishing.”
About Execution Division Master from “Akudama Drive”, the original title which is on-air now, “The astringent voice that matches the character design is insanely cool. Especially during the fight at a quarrel shop, the master is the best!”

In the 2020 year version of the survey, attractive adults characters are ranked in the top. In addition, characters such as fairies, evil spirits, and animals such as Moominpapa from “Fun Moomin Family”, Dimple from “Mob Psycho 100”, and Lion from “African Office Worker” are also conspicuous.

■Full ranking
“Who is your favorite character played by Otsuka Akio? Version 2020”
1st place Solid Snake “Metal Gear Solid” series
2nd place Black Jack “Black Jack”
3rd place Anavel Gato “Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory”
3rd place Yamada Denzou (2nd generation) “Nintama Rantarou”
5th place Kyouraku Shunsui “Bleach”
6th place Naganegiman “Anpanman”
6th place Sena Yoichi “Star Twinkle PreCure”
6th place Rider (Iskandar) “Fate / Zero”
9th place Lieutenant Garuru “Sgt. Frog”
9th place Moominpapa “Fun Moomin Family”
11th place Dimple “Mob Psycho 100”
11th place Batou “Ghost in the Shell” series
11th place Yokomizo Sango “Detective Conan”
14th place Spawn “Todd McFarlane’s Spawn”
14th Captain Nemo “Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water”
14th place Marshall D. Teach (Blackbeard) “One Piece”
14th place Lion “African Office Worker”
14th place Wamuu “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”

(Survey period: November 10 to 17, 2020)