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Hanae Natsuki’s birthday is on June 26.


Hanae Natsuki debuted in 2011, and has won the 9th Voice Acting Awards under the Rookie Male category, the 11th Personality Award, and the 14th Performing Male Actor Award.
Hanae has starred in a wide variety of titles in 2021, including “Odd Taxi”, “Gloomy the Naughty Grizzly”, and “Gyoko no Nikuko-chan”.


In order to celebrate Hanae’s birthday, once again we have opened a reader survey titled “WhoWhat’s your favorite character voiced by Hanae Natsuki?”. The survey was carried out from June 10 to June 17 and we got a total of 398 answers.
The respondents consisted mainly of females, corresponding to about 80% of the answers, while the male side represented the rest 20%.
As for age groups, approximately 45% of the answers were from 19-year-olds and younger, and 30% were from readers in their 20s, making up an overall young audience.


■The popular characters were the strong ones!
1st Place
Kamado Tanjiro from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” ranks 1st for the third year in a row, with a support rate of about 20%.


The character was praised by many voters for possessing both kindness and strength as virtues:
“I voted foron him because he is a strong character that protects his sister and other people from demons, also being compassionate eve towards opponents. You can see from the dialogues that Hanae has portrayed him in a manner that brings out a certain liveliness inout of the character. I think he did an excellent job in aspects such as strength and kindness which are the main traits of Tanjiro.” 
“I look up to Tanjiro’s strong will and kindness! He cares a lot about his family and comrades. After watching the show I really wished I had a brother or friends like him.” 
Another reader points outs that the appeal of the character’s more lighthearted side “I just fell in love with his spontaneity on comical scenes.”







2nd Place
The 2nd place goes to Kaneki Ken from “Tokyo Ghoul” with a support rate of 15%, also ranking in 2nd for the third year in a row.


Many comments pointed out the difficulty in performing such a complex dramatic character.
“I chose this character because Hanae has done an outstanding job by making the anime stand out as a whole through his performance, for example in the parts in which his character displays a sorrowful type of kindness and anguish at the same time, as well as the cool awakening scenes.”
A reader made mention of one unforgettable scene too: “I will never forget the amazing performance behind the emotionally intense torture scene. I got goosebumps watching it.” 


3rd Place
The 3rd place goes to Riddle Rosehearts from “Disney’s Twisted-Wonderland” with a support rate of 7%, climbing up from last year’s 8th place.


The head of Heartslabyul, Riddle Rosehearts was picked by readers for his strict personality: “He rigidly upholds the rules as the dorm leader and his personality fits with Hanae’s voice.” 
“His voice normally is calm and collected, however in contrast, his voice when angry is also powerful. It is something that only Hanae is capable of doing in my opinion.”
One fan opinionates that by performing different aspects of the character is the best way to bring a character to life by relaying different emotions: “Hanae does a wonderful job portraying the young character’s both sides, a competent leader who at the same time holds wounds from a dark past. Hanae knows how to bring to prominence these fascinating characters.” 


■Other Comments
There were also votes for characters of titles that are still being broadcast in 2021.


Arima Kosei from “Your Lie in April”: “The acting of the protagonist who struggles with playing the piano after his mother’s death, is remarkable. It is impossible to watch his and the heroine’s journeys without tearing up.”


Sera Rikka from “TSUKIPRO THE ANIMATION”: “Hanae’s voice is athe perfect match for such a gentle and elegant character. As a fan, I appreciate how Hanae blends gracefully the gap between his high-pitched voice and the Sera Rikka’s wild singing style.”


Ninomiya from “Gyoko no Nikuko-san”: “Hanae’s mysterious and muttering voice matches well with the character Ninomiya. You can also see the changes in his speaking manner as he gets closer to the protagonist as the movie progresses.”


Odokawa from “Odd Taxi”: “When I first listened, I was surprised by how Hanae managed to do such a low pitched and deep voice for Odokawa, because it sounds completely different from Hanae’s normal speaking voice.”









In this 2021 survey, despite the 1st and 2nd places not having changed compared to last year, a wider range of characters have ranked in this time. The fact that many characters from games that haven’t been adapted into anime were chosen, stands out in particular.


■Top 10 Ranking
“What’s your favorite character voiced by Hanae Natsuki? 2021 Edition”


1st Place: Kamado Taijiro from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
2nd Place: Kaneki Ken from “Tokyo Ghoul”
3rd Place: Riddle Roserhearts from “Disney’s Twisted-Wonderland”
4th Place: Tomoe Hiyori from “Ensemble Stars!”
5th Place: Kominato Haruichi from “Ace of Diamond”
6th Place: Arima Kosei from “Your Lie in April”
7th Place: Toritsuka Reita from “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.”
8th Place: Sera Rikka from “TSUKIPRO THE ANIMATION”
9th Place: Nito Senri from “DREAM!ing”
9th Place: Hoshiumi Korai from “Haikyu!!”

(Survey Period: June 10 ~ June 17, 2021)

■Top 20 Ranking
“What’s your favorite character voiced by Hanae Natsuki? 2021 Edition”

1st Place: Kamado Tanjiro from “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”
2nd Place: Kaneki Ken from “Tokyo Ghoul”
3rd Place: Riddle Roserhearts from “Disney’s Twisted-Wonderland”
4th Place: Tomoe Hiyori from “Ensemble Stars!”
5th Place: Kominato Haruichi from “Ace of Diamond”
6th Place: Arima Kosei from “Your Lie in April”
7th Place: Toritsuka Reita from “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.”
8th Place: Sera Rikka from “TSUKIPRO THE ANIMATION”
9th Place: Nito Senri from “DREAM!ing”
9th Place: Hoshiumi Korai from “Haikyu!!”
11th Place: YoRHa No.9 Type S from “TieR:Automata”
12th Place: Enomoto Kotaro from “Kokuhaku Jikko Iinkai Renai”
12th Place: Tademaru Shiki from “Kimono JIhen”
14th Place: Elam from “The Heroic Legend of Arslan”
14th Place: Sakishima Hikari from “Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea”
16th Place: Aldini Takuma from “Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma”
17th Place: Ashuhiro Yuta from “B-PROJECT”
17th Place: Kaizuka Inaho from “ALDNOAH.ZERO”
17th Place: Katsuragi Maki from “Stars Align”
17th Place: Higekiri from “Touken Ranbu”
17th Place: Yuna D. Kaito from “Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card”

(Survey Period: June 10 ~ June 17, 2021)