May 8 is the day of voice (Koe in Japanese).

It was established due to wordplay ‘5 (Ko) 8(E)’.

Voice actors/actresses sometimes perform songs as well as voicing characters. They sing character songs, have a blast at live-performances, sing theme songs, etc. Some of them are even better at singing than actual singers.

Anime!Anime! conducted a reader survey titled ‘Who do you think is the best singer among voice actors/actresses?’, which has been highly requested by our readers. During the survey period from April 24 to May 1, a total of 2,253 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 75% while the males were about 25%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from readers of younger ages: about 47% were from minors, and 25% were in their twenties.

■Voice actors/actresses who debuted as an artist occupied the top positions!

1st place
1st place went to Furukawa Makoto. The support rating was about 10%.
Furukawa Makoto debuted as an artist in 2018. He was in the main cast in “One Punch Man” and “Woodpecker Detective’s Office”, and he is also active as an artist to sing theme songs.

The readers admired him, saying ‘He is capable of singing various genres of songs such as jazz, Latin, rock, etc., and he sings various character songs using each character’s voice, which is amazing’, and ‘He sings in different ways depending on whether it is a character song or his own song, but still good at all the songs! I think it is very difficult to be in tune while keeping a powerful voice’.

The fans also admired the lyrics, saying ‘He has been writing many songs in his original album, and sings in different styles according to melody and words. I was especially moved by Furukawa-san’s figure and voice at his live-performance’.

2nd place
2nd place went to Minase Inori. The support rating was about 6%.

Minase Inori debuted as an artist in 2015. She will release her 10th single ‘HELLO HORIZON’ on July 21, 2021.

The comments received were, ‘She sings her songs with smooth, comfortable voice. In character songs, she sings to fit each character’s image, with completely different styles, which is wonderful!’, ‘She is cute, but at the same time, she seems to have some strength. I can feel that through her voice, and fell in love with her’, and ‘I feel relaxed to hear her songs that fully utilize her type of voice. I especially like “Kaimin! Anmin! Suya Rhyst Seikatsu”, which is the opening theme of “Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle”.’

3rd place
3rd place went to Toyonaga Toshiyuki. The support rating was about 5%.
Toyonaga Toshiyuki debuted on a major label in 2014. He established his own label ‘T’s MUSIC’ in 2017, and he recently released his single ‘Yume no Haguruma ni Notte’ on May 2, 2021.

Anime!Anime! held an interview about his career as an artist when he sang the opening theme of “Durarara!!×2 Ten”.

The readers’ comments were, ‘He can hit both low and high notes, and sing carious genres of songs such as pops, rock, rap, and a cappella. His voice never gets disrupted even while dancing, and his alluring expression is amazing’, ‘He has experience as a musical actor, so he can sing with characters’ voices, and he is exceptionally good at putting emotions into songs. His voice is powerful, vocalization is great, and rhythmic sense and pitch are perfect. I was astonished that his songs in person is better than the CD recording’, and ‘At the 5th festival of “Aikatsu!”, he turned the whole space into a sense of unity with call and response, which was amazing’.

In this survey, some voice actors/actresses, who already debuted on a major label, got positions. These voice actors/actresses have experience of handling some theme songs.

■Ranking Top 10
Who do you think is the best singer among voice actors/actresses? (Honorific titles are omitted.)
1. Furukawa Makoto
2. Minase Inori
3. Toyonaga Toshiyuki
4. Taniyama Kisho
5. Saitou Souma
6. Miyano Mamoru
7. Mizuki Nana
8. Ito Kento
9. Hatanaka Tasuku
10. Uchida Yuuma

(Survey Period: April 24 – May 1, 2021)

■Ranking Top 20
Who do you think is the best singer among voice actors/actresses? (Honorific titles are omitted.)
1. Furukawa Makoto
2. Minase Inori
3. Toyonaga Toshiyuki
4. Taniyama Kisho
5. Saitou Souma
6. Miyano Mamoru
7. Mizuki Nana
8. Ito Kento
9. Hatanaka Tasuku
10. Uchida Yuuma
11. Sakamoto Maaya
12. Aoi Shota
13. Hayami Saori
14. Shimono Hiro
15. Kamiya Hiroshi
16. Hanae Natsuki
17. KENN
18. Yuki Aoi
19. Kimura Subaru
20. Hayashibara Megumi

(Survey Period: April 24 – May 1, 2021)