Anime Anime Global

July 16 is Furukawa Toshio’s birthday.

Furukawa Toshio debuted as a voice actor in the 1970s. Since then, he has been active at the forefront. In the 2020s, he has appeared in “GeGeGe no Kitaro”, “Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga”, “The Genie Family 2020”, and others.
For “Aoyama 2 Cho-me Gekijo”, a radio program on Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, he has been in charge of a personality since 2014. He is also in charge of coaching trainees as the head of Aonijuku Tokyo, a training school by a talent agency Aoni Production.

To celebrate his birthday, Anime!Anime! conducted an annual reader survey titled ‘Who is your favorite character played by Furukawa Toshio?’. During the survey period from June 25 to July 2, a total of 133 responses were received. For the gender ratio, we received roughly the same number of votes; 45% from the males and 55% from the females. For the age distribution, we received responses from readers of all ages: about 20% were teens, about 25% were in their 20s, and about 20% were in their 30s.

■From anime, radio drama, western movies… votes for various characters have been received votes!
1st place
1st place went to Moroboshi Ataru from “Urusei Yatsura”. The support rating was about 20%, and he moved up from 2nd place last year.

The comments received include, “He usually behaves like a comedian, but he gets things done when he needs to. Only Toshio-san can play such a role as Ataru!”, “When I heard the voice, I thought that ‘the character is alive!’ for the first time. Ataru’s tone of voice is so soothing that I want to keep listening to it”, and “I like Ataru and Lum’s heartwarming interactions”. He is popular among the readers especially in their 40s, and results in topping the list.

2nd place
2nd place went to Portgas D. Ace from “One Piece”. The support rating was about 18%, and he slipped down from 1st place last year.

He is popular as a reliable and amicable big brother, and the comments received include, “I like Ace-kun, but I also like the gap between the fresh and cute performance just like a character in his 20s, and the masculine and cool performance just like a big brother”, “I was moved by him taking care of Luffy like a younger brother”.
Many readers mentioned the episode of The Summit War of Marineford, which proves that the episode still remains in a lot of fans after years since the broadcast.

3rd place
3rd place went to Piccolo “Dragon Ball”. The support rating was about 13%, and he kept 3rd place as last year.

The relationship with Gohan seems to have attracted many fans, and the comments received include, “He initially looked heartless, unfriendly and scary. However, he sometimes shows a human touch and has been getting more friendly, after he encountered Gohan”, “It won’t be an exaggeration to call him a teacher and 2nd father of Son Gohan as he becomes a strong but gentle warrior after he met Gohan”.
Also, his cool aspect seems to be popular as the comments show, “Unusually, Furukawa-san shows tasteful and unique romance here, which is completely different from his light and gentle voice!”

■Let’s introduce other comments!!
Yamamura Misao from “Detective Conan”
“He is a useless detective, but he was promoted to a police inspector thanks to Conan. He doesn’t even wonder and brags about it on the contrary. However, his playing is wonderful as it makes him hard to hate.”
Faceless from “Karakuri Circus”
“His age is complicatedly changing, but his voice always matches him no matter how old he is. Faceless and Furukawa-san’s intonation go well very well, and I was so impressed”.

Panchito from “The Three Caballeros”
“His man’s personality is cool! In his self-introduction song ‘My name is Panchito’, I was impressed by Furukawa-san’s articulation.”
Yajima Kanji from “Sora ni Shirusu”
“He is both cool and funny, so Yajima Kanji represents Furukawa Toshio-san. This work evokes our imagination, which is the true value of a radio drama and makes me feel an affinity with the story filled with human traits. The interaction with Tanaka Hideyuki as his buddy reminds me of the famous combination from ‘CHiPs’, and I really enjoy it”. The protagonist in a radio drama by “Aoyama 2 Cho-me Gekijo” has also gained some votes.

In the 2021 edition, various characters from a radio drama and dubbed version of western movies as well as anime.

■Ranking Top 10
[Who is your favorite character played by Furukawa Toshio? 2021 Edition]
1. Moroboshi Ataru “Urusei Yatsura”
2. Portgas D. Ace “One Piece”
3. Piccolo “Dragon Ball”
4. Kai Shiden “Mobile Suit Gundam”
5. Shin “Fist of the North Star”
6. Shinohara Asuma “Mobile Police Patlabor”
7. Yamamura Misao “Detective Conan”
7. Hojo Takeru “Magne Robo Gakeen”
9. Satotsu “Hunter × Hunter”（2nd Series）
10. Prince Mito “Saikyo Robo Daioja”
10. Date ‘Boo’ Masamune “Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga”
10. Nezumi Otoko “GeGeGe no Kitaro”
10. Panchito “The Three Caballeros”, etc.

（Survey Period: June 25 – July 7, 2021)

■All the Characters that Won Votes
[Who is your favorite character played by Furukawa Toshio? 2021 Edition]
Moroboshi Ataru “Urusei Yatsura”
Portgas D. Ace “One Piece”
Piccolo “Dragon Ball”
Kai Shiden “Mobile Suit Gundam”
Shin “Fist of the North Star”
Shinohara Asuma “Mobile Police Patlabor”
Yamamura Misao “Detective Conan”
Hojo Takeru “Magne Robo Gakeen”
Satotsu “Hunter × Hunter”（2nd Series）
Prince Mito “Saikyo Robo Daioja”
Date ‘Boo’ Masamune “Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga”
Nezumi Otoko “GeGeGe no Kitaro”（6th series）
Panchito “The Three Caballeros”, etc.
Galvidi “Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger DELUXE: Abare Summer is Freezing Cold!”
Teacher Belmont “New Maple Town Stories: Palm Town Chapter”
Hawk’s Eye “Sailor Moon SuperS”
Yoshiharu Kubo “Shoot!”
Yajima Kanji “Sora ni Shirusu”
Ben Sobel “Analyze This”
Thomas J. Whitmore “Independence Day”

（Survey Period: June 25 – July 7, 2021)