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August 7 is Hirata Hiroaki-san’s birthday.

Hirata Hiroaki started his career as a stage actor in the 1980s. He later expanded his work to voice acting and won the Best Actor in leading role in the 6th Seiyu Awards.
In 2021, he plays various roles in titles such as “Fena: Pirate Princess”, “B: The Beginning: Succession”, and the game “VR Boyfriend”.

To celebrate his birthday, we conducted the same readers’ survey as last year asking, “Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Hirata Hiroaki?” There were 337 votes during the survey period from July 21 to July 28.
Most of the voters were female with a gender ratio of 85% female to 15% male, and the age range was widespread with the most number of readers in their 40s at 30%, 15% in their teens, and 20% in their 20s.

■ Kotetsu from “Tiger & bunny” got over twice the votes of 2nd place and topped the list!

1st Place
Kaburagi T Kotetsu from “Tiger & Bunny” topped the list with roughly 45% of the votes moving up from 2nd place last year.

Kotetsu, who works hard as a failing superhero Wild Tiger, received comments such as, “A man who remains a hero despite the restrictions of his company and age. Hirata-san’s performance makes him even more relatable in those scenes where he’s serious but a little off,” and “He’s usually a bit unreliable but has a conviction that never wavers, and he becomes reliable when needed. I think this is a perfect character for Hirata-san, who can play both a cool and comedic character.”

Hirata-san plays the middle-aged man that knows both the joy and bitterness of life, a rare protagonist in an anime, both strongly and charmingly. The new series “Tiger & Bunny 2” is scheduled to be aired in 2022. The fans are getting hyped for it.

2nd Place

Coming in 2nd was Sanji from “One Piece” with roughly 22% of the votes. He fell from the top position last year.

“He has a soft spot for beautiful women, but is strong in fighting and his skills as a cook is top-notch. Just for once, I’d love to taste Sanji’s dishes,” is a comment that shows how unique Sanji is as a fighting cook. Many fans said he was a character that lets us enjoy various tones of Hirata-san, “The charm of Sanji, who is both cool and funny, can only be brought out by Hirata-san’s flexible acting,” and “The gap between his cool lines after beating the enemy and the goofy voice he does in front of beauties is the best!”

3rd Place

Nanba Mutta from “Space Brothers” took 3rd place with roughly 8% of the votes, keeping him at the same place as last year.

The aspiring astronaut received comments like, “He portrayed Mutta, a character that’s not really cool, with the perfect balance without making him too unattractive, but super cool when in need! I was amazed by the contrast of his voice acting,” and “Hirata-san is the best at playing characters that are laid-back in a good way. His voice was just as how I imagined it would sound.”
There were also fans who want to see the sequel to the anime, “My whole family got up early to watch it. I’m looking forward to the sequel.”

■Here are some comments for other characters!!

For Sagojou from “Saiyuki”, “He’s usually a shallow man, but I love how he is also strong and kind,” and “Only Hirata-san can portray the weakness he sometimes shows and how he takes care of his friends!”
For Chuuzenji Akihiko (Kyougokudou) from “Mouryou no Hako”, “Since it was so easy to convey Hirata-san’s Kyougokudou going on about difficult youkai knowledge, it convinced me that it is the gentle sound of his voice that saves the possessed.”

For Suikotsu from “Inuyasha”, “I remember how he skillfully played opposite personalities of a difficult character with a dual personality.”
There were several votes for dubbed characters in foreign films this year too, Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Hirata-san has dubbed Johnny Depp in many films, and Jack is by far my favorite! Hirata-san’s voice is perfect for his elusive character.”

While popular characters were strong in the 2021 survey, there were also characters from foreign TV shows and games. A wide range of roles made the list.

■Top 5
“Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Hirata Hiroaki? 2021 Edition”

1. Kaburagi T Kotetsu / Wild Tiger “Tiger & Bunny”
2. Sanji “One Piece”
3. Nanba Mutta “Space Brothers”
4. Sagojou “Saiyuki”
5. Jack Sparrow “Pirates of the Caribbean”

(Survey Period: July 21 – 28, 2021)

■Top 10 “Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Hirata Hiroaki? 2021 Edition”
1. Kaburagi T Kotetsu / Wild Tiger “Tiger & Bunny”
2. Sanji “One Piece”
3. Nanba Mutta “Space Brothers”
4. Sagojou “Saiyuki”
5. Jack Sparrow “Pirates of the Caribbean”
6. Klein / Tsuboi Ryoutarou “Sword Art Online”
7. Engine Machalcon “Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger”
7. Terada Tatsugorou “Gintama”
9. John Carter “ER”
9. Leomon “Digimon Adventure”
11. Arthur Fleck “Joker”
11. Shikkoku “Teiden Shoujo to Hanemushi no Orchestra”
11. Kondou Masami “After the Rain”
11. Balflare “Final Fantasy XII”
11. Pip Bernadotte “Hellsing”
11. Max Lobo “Banana Fish”

(Survey Period: July 21 – 28, 2021) *This survey was held to investigate the readers’ “interests and attention towards current anime titles and characters”. The results should not be used to determine the supremacy of characters and titles. We hope this article will help you find new anime/characters and deepen your understanding of them.