Anime Anime Global

May 30 is Ishikawa Yui’s birthday.

Ishikawa Yui debuted as a voice actress in the 2000s. She won Best Actress in Supporting Roles in the 8th Seiyu Awards, and Best Actress in a Leading Role in the 15th Seiyu Awards. In 2021, she is playing main characters in “Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure”, “The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent”, and “Battle Athletes Victory ReSTART!”.

To celebrate her birthday, Anime!Anime! conducted a reader survey titled ‘Who is your favorite character voiced by Ishikawa Yui?’. During the survey period from May 19 to 26, a total of 208 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 60% while the males were about 40%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from the young readers: about 35% were teens, and 30% in their 20s.

■Both main characters and heroines have been ranked!
1st place
1st place went to Violet Evergarden from “Violet Evergarden”. The support rating was about 40%, and moved up from 2nd place last year.

Violet is a ghostwriter who used to be a soldier. The comments received are, “This character is hard to get along with, as she doesn’t express her emotions. However, she has gradually become better at showing her feelings, from TV anime series to films, which I can tell through Ishikawa-san’s wonderful play”, “Ishikawa-san perfectly plays Violet’s subtle emotions while she is getting capable of understanding ‘love’ through her job as a ghostwriter. I was moved by the scenes where she is crying and shouting”, “Ishikawa-san Plays Violet using different voices and plays as she grows up, which is wonderful. She expresses indescribable feelings with a few words”. These comments show how the readers were attracted by her changing through various encounters.
Especially, the film released in 2020 got a high reputation. Some readers left comments such as, “I couldn’t help crying” and “I saw many times”.

2nd place
2nd place went to Mikasa Ackerman from “Attack on Titan”. The support rating was about 25%, and she dropped from 1st place last year. The readers mention this character as a heroine with both strength and cuteness with comments, including “Mikasa is not a heroine who is protected by a protagonist, but a heroine who protects a protagonist. She is bright and cool, but, she is also the cutest cute girl that loves Eren more than anyone else!”, “Even though she is a beautiful, lovely, and strong woman, but she also has a somewhat transient aspect. Ishikawa-san’s pure voice matches such a character”, and “I am moved by her faithfully loves Elen. I respect such a strong girl”.

3rd place
3rd place went to Ichinose Minori from “Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure”. The support rating is about 15%.

Ichinose Minori is a 2nd-year middle school student who has the top grade for the school year. Her charm point is her eyes, and her alter ego is Cure Papaya. The readers were attracted by her gaps as a Pretty Cure, saying “She usually has a poker face and doesn’t show any emotion, but she becomes cheerful after transformation. I love that!”, “She takes off her glasses when she transforms, which is cute. She is usually quiet but playful at the same time. She is a very amusing character!”

■Let’s introduce other comments!!

For Sei from “The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent”.
“Although she is summoned to a different world, she faces the reality, and looks for what she can do. I like such a genuine personality.”
“I can tell Ishikawa-san’s nice personality from her play, which also makes the character’s popularity increase.”
For Shinjo Hinaki from “Aikatsu!”
“I was encouraged by her making an effort towards her dream, and I got to love dressing up, thanks to Hinaki-chan.”

For Anima “ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos”.
“This is a rare character that keeps growling, but Ishikawa-san plays her as if she were rich in emotion, which shows how skillful she is.”

For Aurora from “UTA-KATA Vol.1 -Yoake no Ginyu Shijin-”
“She is the character for her first solo live-performance. She is a bard who travels with protagonist Cordelia. I was moved by ‘meaning of recitation’ for her. I still remember it.” Her role in a music recital got some votes.

In the survey of 2021, various characters were ranked from a blockbuster title that came to an end, and latest titles released in 2021. A full-list of the characters that won is below as well, which includes not only the characters from anime, but also those from games and dubbed version of western films.

■Ranking Top 10
1. Violet Evergarden “Violet Evergarden”
2. Mikasa Ackerman “Attack on Titan”
3. Ichinose Minori / Cure Papaya “Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure”
4. Sei “The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent”
5. YoRHa No.2 Type B “Nier: Automata”
6. Shinjo Hinaki “Aikatsu!”
7. Izanami Kyoko “The Day I Became a God”
8. Utara Canaria “Qualidea Code”
8. Junior Red Blood Cell “Cells at Work!”
8. Taira Tsukasa “Devils’ Line”

■Full-list of the characters that won votes.
Violet Evergarden “Violet Evergarden”
Mikasa Ackerman “Attack on Titan”
Ichinose Minori / Cure Papaya “Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure”
Sei “The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent”
YoRHa No.2 Type B “Nier: Automata”
Shinjo Hinaki “Aikatsu!”
Izanami Kyoko “The Day I Became a God”
Utara Canaria “Qualidea Code”
Junior Red Blood Cell “Cells at Work!”
Taira Tsukasa “Devils’ Line”
Aurora “UTA-KATA Vol.1 -Yoake no Ginyu Shijin-”
Anima “ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos”
Zia Rodriguez “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
Yutika “Lupin the Third princess of the breeze -Kakusareta Kuchu Toshi-”
Ito Haruna “Farewell, My Dear Cramer”

（Survey Period: May 19 – 26, 2021)