Anime Anime Global

June 11 is Seki Toshihiko’s birthday.

Seki Toshihiko debuted as a voice actor in the 1980s. He won the “Synergy Award” at the 2nd Seiyu Awards as a member of “Kamen Rider Den-O”. He also won Tomiyama Kei Memorial Award at the 15th Seiyu Award, which is given to people who disseminate voice acting as an occupation through media, as he is acting in anime, live-action films, etc.

To celebrate his birthday, Anime!Anime! conducted an annual reader survey titled ‘Who is your favorite character played by Seki Toshihiko?’. During the survey period from May 26 to June 7, a total of 292 responses were received. For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 80% while the males were about 20%. For the age distribution, we received responses from readers of all ages: about 20% were teens, about 25% were in their 20s, about 25% were in their 30s, and about 20% were in their 40s.

■Everyone’s first love, Doi-sensei topped the list!
1st place
1st place went to Doi Hansuke from “Nintama Rantaro”. The support rating was about 17%, and he moved up from 3rd place of last year.

The comments received were, “I paid attention to the character’s voice for the first time as I thought it was cool, and it turned out to be Doi-sensei. I got to know voice acting of anime characters as an occupation, and I like his gentle, reliable, and calm voice”, “Seki-san’s gentle, warm voice perfectly matches Doi-sensei”, and “He cannot eat fish cakes, which is an attractive and cute gap”.

Many readers named him as their “first love”, using the words “first love killer” and “first love thief”.

2nd place
2nd place went to Umino Iruka from “Naruto”. The support rating was about 14%, and he moved up from 6th place last year.
The comments received were, “He is the mentor of the protagonist Naruto, and understands him well. Seki-san’s warm voice, which seems to be able to melt coldness in our hearts, matches the character” and “I was impressed by him, accepting Naruto while struggling, even when I watched it after growing up as well as when I was a child”. He is popular as a mentor of Naruto.

Teacher characters occupied the top two positions, which can rarely be seen.

3rd place
3rd place went to Momotaros from “Kamen Rider Den-O”. The support rating was about 13%, and he went down from 1st place of last year.

The comments received were, “Seki-san usually plays gentle characters, so I was surprised to see him playing Momotaros, a comical and funny character”, “This character is like a thug, but he is compassionate! He is clumsy, easily moved to tears, but he can get things done when he needs to. I want to see him more!”. His appearance in “Kamen Rider Den-O: Pretty Den-O Appears!”, a short-film released last year, also left an impression. Many readers commented named it as “their most favorite ‘Kamen Rider’ series”, which shows its popularity as a work.

■Let’s introduce other comments!!

For Genjyo Sanzo from “Saiyuki”
“He is too daring for a monk, but has own beliefs. I like it!”
“New anime series is coming soon, and I am really excited.”
For Ichimonji Norimune “Touken Ranbu
“He is a nice person even though he looks like a king. Such a gap is wonderful.”
“He is a person of profoundness and dignity that deserves to be called Omae by Seki-san’s voicing. His old man-like shrewdness is beyond description!”

For Bleed Kaga from “Future GPX Cyber Formula”
“Kaga-san is cool whether he is being passionate during a race, and when he is just pursuing money.”
“He is the only character, which I boutght a character’s song single of.”
For Kibutsuji Muzan “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
“Seki-san perfectly played his presence and aura,”
“Seki-san played both his weirdness and cruelty as a demon king. I am looking forward to seeing him in season 2.”
The readers voted for the new titles to be released soon.

In the survey 2021, ideal teacher characters and reliable partner characters occupied the top positions. On the other hand, some evil villains were also included.

■Ranking Top 10
[Who is your favorite character played by Seki Toshihiko? 2021 Edition]
1. Doi Hansuke “Nintama Rantaro”
2. Umino Iruka “Naruto”
3. Momotaros “Kamen Rider Den-O”
4. Genjyo Sanzo “Saiyuki”
5. Kibutsuji Muzan “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
6. Matsuda Kosaku “Yawara!”
7. Duo Maxwell “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing”
8. Mousse “Ranma 1/2”
9. Ichimonji Norimune “Touken Ranbu”
9. Tezuka Shinobu “Here is Greenwood”
（Survey Period: May 26 – June 7, 2021)

■Overall Ranking
[Who is your favorite character played by Seki Toshihiko? 2021 Ver.]
1. Doi Hansuke “Nintama Rantaro”
2. Umino Iruka “Naruto”
3. Momotaros “Kamen Rider Den-O”
4. Genjyo Sanzo “Saiyuki”
5. Kibutsuji Muzan “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
6. Matsuda Kosaku “Yawara!”
7. Duo Maxwell “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing”
8. Mousse “Ranma 1/2”
9. Ichimonji Norimune “Touken Ranbu”
9. Tezuka Shinobu “Here is Greenwood”
11. Ougi Takaya “Mirage of Blaze”
12. J.J. “Zillion”
13. Bleed Kaga “Future GPX Cyber Formula”
13. Rau Le Creuset “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED”
15. Scorpio Milo “Saint Seiya: Hades”, etc.
15. Riki “Ai no Kusabi”
17. Antonio Salieri “Fate/Grand Order”
17. Luva “Koi suru Tenshi Angelique”
17. Rey Za Burrel “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny”

（Survey Period: May 26 – June 7, 2021)