Anime Anime Global

April 28 is Toyonaga Toshiyuki-san’s birthday.

Toyonaga Toshiyuki-san was active as a child actor, and made his debut as a voice actor in 2000s. He won Best Actor in a Leading Role on The 12th Seiyu Awards. In 2021, he is playing a role in “Koikimo”, “I-Chu”, and other titles.

To celebrate his birthday, Anime!Anime! conducted a reader survey titled ‘Who is your favorite character voiced by Toyonaga Toshiyuki?’. During the survey period from April 13 to 20, a total of 569 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 95% while the males were about 5%. For the age distribution, we received responses from the readers of all ages: about 25% were from minors, 25% were from twenties, and 25% were from thirties.

■Sports anime occupied the top positions!
1st place
1st place went to Katsuki Yuri “Yuri!!! on Ice” again for three years in a row. The support rating was about 40%.

The readers left comments, using the word “sensitive”： Yuri has a heart of glass, and his sensitivity, confidence, and strength that he achieved through interacting with his coach is wonderful.’ ‘Yuri is competitive but sensitive at the same time, and Toyonaga-san perfectly played both.’ ‘Toyonaga-san’s gentle voice matches the image of Yuri-kun, who is sensitive.’
Some readers said that they became Toyonaga-san’s fan through this title, and some of them also got interested in figure skating, which shows the title’s power of influence.

2nd place
2nd place went to Kiyose Haiji (Haiji) “Run with the Wind” asthe same last year. The support rating was about 8%.

Here, Toyonaga-san plays a character who aspires to participate in the Hakone Ekiden: ‘I like listening to Toyonaga-san’s natural voice through this character, which is perfect for Haiji, who is kind, fleeting, but strong.’ ‘I like not only his running scenes but also daily conversation as Toyonaga-san plays very naturally. Haiji-san leads the team and encourages them, which is very impressive.’ ‘Haiji is truly pure and innocent, but he never shows it, and supports other members in a matter-of-fact way. Toyonaga-san perfectly recreates it. He is gradually showing his honest feelings, and speaks about his passion at the end, which was really moving.’

3rd place
3rd place went to Shirabu Kenjirou “Haikyu!!”, getting a higher rank than 6th place last year. The support rating was about 7%.

Shirabu Kenjirou is a second-year student at Shiratorizawa Academy and is a setter for the team. The comments received were: ‘His comments “I will be a setter that never stands out.” was so cool when he should be nervous in the middle of the game.’ ‘I got goosebumps to see the scene where Shirabu, who is usually calm, gets so excited that he raised his voice!’ ‘Shirabu is usually calm, but he really admires their ace Ushijima. Toyonaga-san perfectly play such multiple roles.’

■Let’s introduce other comments!
Kaneshiro Goshi “B-PROJECT”
‘I like Toyonaga-san’s lower voice and singing than usual. He is singing and dancing as Kaneshiro Goshi at live-performances as well, and I’m always fascinated by it.’
Claude von Riegan “Fire Emblem: Three Houses”
‘This character is seemingly hard to deal with, but actually he is pure, smart, and good at taking quick action, which is very attractive.’

Narrator “Secret × Heroine Phantomirage!”
‘He was in charge of narrating, but his enthusiasm was surprising.’
‘I couldn’t help laughing to see the theatrical version of “Hyper Ver. Advance Notice”.’

Popp “Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai”
‘Toyonaga-san’s voice is so wonderful that it conveys how Popp has been growing up from a loser through battling, and his feelings. I can feel as Popp really existed as Toyonaga-san gives consideration to Popp.’ Some readers voted for the popular title that released new series in 2020.

In the survey this year, the titles featuring sports occupied the top 3 positions. From the latest works, “Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai” were ranked in top 10. Please look forward to the next survey for which characters to be chosen.

■Ranking Top 20

1. Katsuki Yuri “Yuri!!! on Ice”
2. Kiyose Haiji (Haiji) “Run with the Wind”
3. Shirabu Kenjirou “Haikyu!!”
4. Tanizaki Junichirou “Bungo Stray Dogs”
5. Kaneshiro Goshi “B-PROJECT”
6. Popp “Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai” (2020)
7. Arisugawa Homare “A3！”
8. Ryugamine Mikado “Durarara!!”
9. Claude von Riegan “Fire Emblem: Three Houses”
9. Shiina Asahi “Free!”
11. Yatonokami Nayuta “Paradox Live”
12. Irie Shoichi “Reborn!”
12. Tachibana Sousei “Yumeiro Cast”
14. Nagachika Hideyoshi “Tokyo Ghoul”
15. Suzukawa Naoto “Aikatsu!”
16. Aoi Kentarou “The Prince of Tennis”
16. Ohara Sora “Tsukipro The Animation”
16. Fuwa Mahiro “Blast of Tempest”
16. Momochi “Dear Vocalist”
20. Kisaki Hotaru “On Air!”
20. Harimiya Touji “DREAM!ing”

（Survey Period: April 13 – 20, 2021)

*This survey is intended to research the readers’ “interest in anime and characters today”. It is not intended to discuss the relative merits of each character nor work. I would be glad if this article can help you develop an understanding and interest in the anime and characters.