July 25th is Takagi Wataru’s birthday.
Takagi Wataru debuted as a voice actor in the late 1980s. He has played a wide range of roles, including not only main protagonists but also memorable villains and supporting characters. In 2021, he appeared in many titles, including “Godzilla Singular Point”, “Healin’ Good♥Pretty Cure: Transform and Enthusiastically GoGo into the City of Dreams!!”, and other media such as Web, TV, movies, etc.
Therefore, to celebrate Takagi Wataru’s birthday, we conducted a reader survey entitled “Who is your favorite character played by Takagi Wataru?” We received responses from 108 people during the survey period from July 6 to July 13.
The male-female ratio is about 40% for males and about 60% for females. About 35% of the age group were teens, and about 25% were in their 20s.
■ The character with the same name is topping the list!
1st place
1st place goes to Takagi Wataru from “Detective Conan”. The approval rating was about 30%. He topped the list again as last time.
Readers commented on detective Takagi of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Investigation Division, “It is amazing that the real name permeates the name of the character! I was amazed by the level of his professionalism when I learned that he also played the completely different role of George Kojima”. It is widely known that initially this character had no name, but the name was decided as he called himself as an ad-lib remark.
Another reason for the popularity is the character’s gentle personality, “His feelings towards detective Sato are frustrating but cool”, and “He is a kind, hard-working and caring detective”.
2nd place
2nd place is shared between Onizuka Eikichi from “GTO” and Kojima George from “Detective Conan” with an approval rating of about 8%.
Eikichi Onizuka is a teacher who is a former Yankee. He teaches problematic children in a non-ordinary way. The TV drama was also a big hit, which made this work even more famous. Many readers commented, “He is a good teacher who unexpectedly cares about his student.”, and “The ruggedness of Onizuka remains in my memory. The OP anime was also stylish!”
Kojima George is a self-proclaimed leader of the Detective Boys. Readers commented, “A mood maker who makes everyone calm. Surprisingly, he often gives hints for solving cases.”, and “Although he has also played the role of detective Takagi, the performance is wonderful!” Many people didn’t realize at first that it is the same actor as for detective Takagi.
■ Let’s introduce other comments!
For Garrod Ran from “After War Gundam X”, “He, fighting on Gundam with the pure desire to protect Tifa, is so cool. It is also refreshing to see a bright mood maker character, which is rare among the Gundam protagonists who usually have low tension.”
About Okuyasu Nijimura from “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable”, “He is usually a stupid and short-tempered guy but he is also a passionate person with family and friends! The acting of such a wonderful character was amazing.”
About Cheetah from “Beast Wars: Transformers of Super Life”, “A Cybertron warrior who transforms into a Cheetah. He is a clown with a habit of saying “Jan”
, and it was impressive that he was always involved with Rattle.”
For Bunbee from “Yes! PreCure 5”, a lovable villain who appeared in the movie released this year, “Originally this character was supposed to be sent off, but Takagi Wataru’s play became popular, so he came back! A comical and cheerful voice makes him a perfect and lovable role.”
In this survey, characters from overseas anime and tokusatsu, as well as long-term series titles, were ranked in.
■ Top 10 rankings
“Who is your favorite character played by Takagi Wataru? 2021 Edition”
1st place Takagi Wataru “Detective Conan”
2nd place Onizuka Eikichi “GTO”
2nd place Kojima George “Detective Conan”
4th place Uchiha Obito “NARUTO”
4th place Garrod Ran “After War Gundam X”
4th place Nijimura Okuyasu “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable”
4th place Bunbee “Yes! PreCure 5”
8th place DimeVolcano “Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger”
8th place Yasha Maru Hirataki “Nintama Rantaro”
10th place Cheitas “Beast Wars: Transformers of Super Life”
(Response period: July 6 to 13, 2021)
■ Overall ranking
“Who is your favorite character played by Takagi Wataru? 2021 Edition”
1st place Takagi Wataru “Detective Conan”
2nd place Onizuka Eikichi “GTO”
2nd place Kojima George “Detective Conan”
4th place Uchiha Obito “NARUTO”
4th place Garrod Ran “After War Gundam X”
4th place Nijimura Okuyasu “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable”
4th place Bunbee “Yes! PreCure 5”
8th place DimeVolcano “Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger”
8th place Yasha Maru Hirataki “Nintama Rantaro”
10th place Cheitas “Beast Wars: Transformers of Super Life”
11th place Sensei “Doraemon” (2005-)
11th place Soga Genzo “Cheeky Angel”
11th place Kakuro “Shaman King”
11th place Bellamy “One Piece”
11th place Marukawa Masato “SHIROBAKO”
(Response period: July 6 to 13, 2021)