Anime Anime Global

March 16th is Hiroki Yasumoto’s birthday.

Yasumoto Hiroki debuted as a voice actor in the 2000s. From 2020 to 2021, he appeared in many titles, including “Chuuka Ichiban!”, “Fate/Grand Order – Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot”, “Healin’ Good PreCure”. He will also appear in titles such as “Hetalia World Stars” and “Burning Kabaddi”.

To celebrate Yasumoto Hiroki’s birthday, we conducted a reader survey entitled “Who is your favorite character played by Yasumoto Hiroki?” We received responses from 617 people during the survey period from February 25 to March 4.
The male-female ratio is about 10% for males and about 90% for females. About 35% of the age group were teens, about 20% were in their 20s, and about 20% were in their 30s.

■ Hozuki from “Hozuki’s Coolheadedness” is topping the list with more than 50% of the votes
1st place
1st place goes to Hozuki from “Hozuki’s Coolheadedness” with an approval rating of about 55%, who shines at the top by an overwhelming difference in votes.

Hozuki is the right-hand of King Enma. Readers commented a lot on how great the voice matched the calm character, “In the original, it is said that Hozuki has a baritone voice, and I think the voice acting matched perfectly”, “Hozuki-sama’s cold coolness and Yasumoto-san’s low voice were great”, and “Yasumoto-san’s kindness fits sadistic Hozuki. I can’t stop watching this title.”
Many fans mentioned the fact that this was the first TV anime in which Yasumoto-san played the lead role, saying, “This is the work in which Yasumoto-san played the lead role, and I could hear from the radio that he really cares about Houzuki.”

2nd place
2nd place goes to Germany from “Axis powers Hetalia” with an approval rating of about 10%.

Many readers commented on how the performance of Germany matches its simple and robust personality, “Thanks to this character I got to know about Yasumoto-san! The voice that scolds Italy is great and matches perfectly the serious Germany!”, and “When I heard Yasumoto-san’s low-pitched caring and gentle voice, I became interested in voice acting.”
The character’s song is also popular among fans, “It is amazing how the strength of the German language is exactly expressed in the character’s song.”

Season 7 “Hetalia World Stars” will be on air from April 7.

3rd place
3rd place goes to Kaneshiro Shingo from “Yowamushi Pedal” with an approval rating of about 6%.

Kaneshiro Shingo is the captain of the Sohoku High School Bicycle Club. Readers commented on the reliable character, “The captain who organizes the team Sohoku. I feel the kindness to support members and strength of never giving up in Yasumoto-san’s voice.”, and “Yasumoto-san’s low and kind voice greatly matches the captain’s character, whose seriousness is not common for a high-school student. Many of Shingo’s quotes become unforgettable thanks to Yasumoto-san’s voice.”
The ability to play characters of different ages depending on the episode was also highly praised, “Energetic and pure during middle school, an adult and inclusive in high school, and full of calmness and passion suitable for university , he is a person with plenty of charm with three sides in one person!”

■ Let’s introduce other comments!

For Christophe Giacometti from “Yuri !!! on ICE”, “Yasumoto-san has a charming bass, but it was shocking to see his performance of a character with such a full-blown erotic coolness.”
About Pod 042 from “NieR: Automata”, “It is a wonderful performance of a machine, which has no difference between emotional ups and downs.”

For Kumai Natsu from “Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear”, “It’s just a bear… With a very convincing voice. The end song sung by Natsu was also the best.”

For Yuri from “Megalo Box,” Yuri said, “The changing from the initial cold character to overflowing passionate personality of the second half and the impact of the screaming scene were strong, made him a character with a strong soul. When he becomes more human he becomes more attractive.” Votes for non-human characters as well as votes for characters who will appear only in the coming season 2 also ranked in.

In this questionnaire, multiple characters that make you feel strong are ranked in. There were votes for a wide range of roles, from seniors leading the hero to overwhelmingly strong rivals to comedy relief.

■ Ranking Top-20
“Who is your favorite character played by Yasumoto Hiroki?”
1st place Hozuki “Hozuki’s Coolheadedness”
2nd place Germany “Axis Powers Hetalia”
3rd place Kaneshiro Shingo “Yowamushi Pedal”
4th place Egil “Sword Art Online”
5th place Agni “Kuroshitsuji”
6th place Yasutora Sado “BLEACH”
7th place Kumai Natsu “Kuma Miko: Girl Meets BearKuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear”
8th place Pod 042 “NieR: Automata”
9th place Elfman Strauss “FAIRY TAIL”
9th place Karon “Fire Force”
9th place King “One Punch Man”
12th Vice Chairman “Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou ”
13th place Guaiwar “Healin’ Good PreCure”
13th place Christophe Giacometti “Yuri !!! on ICE”
13th place Scar “Otome brave man”
16th place Arthur Curry / Aquaman “Aquaman” (movie)
17th place Sugai Tsukasa “STORM LOVER”
18th place Aotabo “Nurarihyon no Mago”
18th place Satoya Ame “6 in a faraway space and time”
18th place Dullahan “Blessed this wonderful world!”
18th place Tokita Shinji “Grand Blue”
18th place Yuuri “Megalo Box”

(Response period: February 25-March 4, 2021)

* This questionnaire is part of a survey of readers’ awareness of “current interest in and attention to anime works and characters.” Regarding the results, we do not intend to decide the superiority or inferiority of any character or work. We hope that this article will help you to get to know new works and characters, and to deepen your understanding and interest.