Anime Anime Global

March 18 is Miki Shinichiro’s birthday.

Miki Shinichiro debuted as a voice actor in the late 1980s. He received the Supporting Actor Award at the 4th Seiyuu Awards and the Tomiyama Kei Award given to the person who spread the profession of a voice actor at the 8th Seiyuu Awards.
In 2020-2021 he appeared in a wide range of titles, including “Breakers”, “Castlevania”, and “Pocket Monsters the Movie: Coco “. Moreover, he is also active in various fields, such as being the captain of VART, the first race team in the voice actor world.

To celebrate Miki Shinichiro’s birthday, we conducted the same reader’s survey as last year’s entitled “Who is your favorite character played by Miki Shinichiro?” . We received responses from 268 people during the survey period from February 28 to March 7.
The male-female ratio is about 25% for males and about 75% for females. About 35% of the age group were teens, about 25% were in their 20s, and about 25% were in their 30s.

■ Sakamoto Tatsuma from “Gintama” is topping the list! The ranking has changed since last year!
1st place
1st place goes to Sakamoto Tatsuma from “Gintama” with an approval rating of about 17%, up from 4th place last year.

Sakamoto Tatsuma used to fight with Sakata Gintoki in the Joui War, but is now the leader of the trading fleet Kaientai. Readers commented, “I can’t think of any other than Miki-san for Tatsuma’s slightly naughty personality. I like their bickering with Sakata Gintoki.”, “I love his laugh and energetic personality.”, and “He usually fools with people but his kind side make him attractive.”
Some readers praised his handling the dialect, “I like the Tosa dialect and the way he laughs.”

2nd place
2nd place goes to Toshizou Hijikata from “Hakuouki” with an approval rating of about 14%, down one place from last year’s top.

His strict and kind character is popular among readers, “It’s nice that while being strict with the surroundings as a vice-chief of demons he has a gentle and delicate side.”, and “The low voice of Miki-san in the emotional scenes are the best.”
Some readers pointed on how Miki-san has a lot in common with the character, “I love his way of life to never bend beliefs and fight for what you want to keep. This is similar to Miki’s attitude toward the acting, and you can feel the persuasive power of each line.”

3rd place
3rd place goes to James from “Pokemon” with an approval rating of about 9%, down one place from last year’s 2nd place.
Since he is the regular character from the start of the broadcast, there were many votes, “Thanks to this character I get to know about Miki-san.” He is also very popular as an enemy of Satoshi’s Pikachu, “I can’t hate him even though he is the enemy.”, “A villain who is kind to pokemons, and a kind-hearted handsome guy who also helps Satoshi in case of an emergency.”, and “I love James, who is handsome, nerdy, and a reliable friend!”

■Let’s introduce other comments!

“Mobile Suit Gundam 00” Lockon Stratos said, “Neil, Lyle, and the twins were all played differently and it is amazing. I was really touched by their way of life.”
For Urahara Kisuke from “BLEACH”, “He’s a goofy but strong and dependable old man. He plays both parts of the comedy duo, and when fighting with enemies, his voice becomes thicker than usual, and he is a character who shows various sides of Miki-san.”

About Hagiwara Kenji “Detective Conan”, “Although his appearance in the anime was short, but that was enough to show his good and friendly personality. I think thanks to Miki-san’s voice it was so impressing.”

There were votes for a wide range of roles, including Norizuki Jin from “Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live”, “I don’t think Norizuki Jin who is a charming, suspicious, and cool enemy would exist without Miki-san’s acting.”

In the 2021 edition, Sakamoto Tatsuma from “Gintama” jumped to the top. The fact that “Gintama THE FINAL” was released this year is probably the reason for the vote.
In the top 20, characters that were broadcast in anime in 2020, such as “Bungo to Alchemist” and “Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle” are also ranked in.

■ Ranking Top 20
“Who is your favorite character played by Miki Shinichiro? 2021 Edition”
1st place Sakamoto Tatsuma “Gintama”
2nd place Hijikata Toshizou “Hakuouki”
3rd place James “Pokemon”
4th place Lockon Stratos “Mobile Suit Gundam 00”
5th place Kaiki Deishuu “ Series”
6th place Roy Mustang “FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST”
7th place Hagiwara Kenji “Detective Conan”
8th place Fujiwara Takumi “Initial D” (broadcast in 1998)
8th place Akira Yuki “Virtua Fighter”
10th place Urahara Kisuke “BLEACH”
11th place Kato Yoji “Haru wo Daiteita”
11th place Sir Nighteye “My Hero Academia”
13th place Arikawa Masaomi “Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3”
13th place Clovis “Otome Brave”
15th place Walter von Schönkopp “Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These”
16th place Kikuchi Kan “Bungo to Alchemist”
16th place Shimada Kai “Sangatsu no Lion”
16th place Yoji “Weiss Kreuz”
19th Assassin “Fate / stay night”
19th place Hypnos “Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle”
19th place Norizuki Jin “Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live”
19th place Yorihisa Gen “Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time”

(Response period: February 28-March 7, 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.