Anime Anime Global

August 12 is Yusa Koji-san’s birthday.

He made his debut as a voice actor in 1993. He has been performing in tokusatsu dramas and dubbed versions of western movies, as well as anime, and he won the Synergy Award as a member of “Kamen Rider Den-O” in the 2nd Seiyu Awards. In 2021, he is playing characters in a wide range of titles, including “Farewell, My Dear Cramer” and “Seirei Gensouki”.

To celebrate his birthday, we conducted the same readers’ survey as last year, “Who is your favorite character played by Yusa Koji-san?” There were 264 votes during the survey period from July 26 to August 2.
The voters were mainly female with a gender ratio of 80% female to 20% male. The age range was 30% under 20, and 35% in their 20s.

■The characters at the top have changed from last year!

1st Place

1st place went to Ichimaru Gin from “BLEACH”. The support rating was about 14%, moving up from 3rd place of last year.
His gentle Kyoto accent and mysterious personality left impressions on the readers, and the received comments include, “Yusa-san is also from Kyoto, so the accent was perfect. He matches the character well, which was fascinating”, “I have no idea what the character has in mind as he has gray hair and speaks with a Kyoto accent while always smirking. I thought he was a perfect character for Yusa-san”, and “I have never heard such a bewitching Kyoto accent!”.
Since the character won many votes from the readers under 20 and in their 20s, multiple comments, saying that this work introduced them to Yusa-san, have arrived.

2nd Place

2nd place went to Urataros from “Kamen Rider Den-O” as last year. The support rating was about 13%.

A character from the tokusatsu programs have ranked in, receiving the comments like, “He is an Imagin that possesses the protagonist Nogami Ryotaro. I am fascinated by the sexy voices of Satou Takeru-san as Ryotaro and Yusa-san, which is a perfect combination”, “His voice is so sexy that I cannot believe that he is playing a hero on Sunday morning”, and “I became a fan of Yusa-san because of Urataros. As his signature line ‘Will You Let Me Reel You In? ‘, I fairly let him reel me in. lol”. Moreover, he is playing in a voice drama with the supplementary audio, in “Saber + Zenkaiger: Super Hero Senki” that is currently in theaters.

3rd Place

3rd place went to Hakutaku from “Hozuki’s Coolheadedness”. The support rating was about 11%, moving up from 4th place of last year.

He is somehow hard to dislike despite being a flirt and attracts many people, receiving the comments like, “He is cool, but a flirt. Yusa-san is so wonderful that he perfectly expresses both him being well-informed and his disappointing side”, “He acts in different manners when talking to girls or Hozuki. I was surprised by the gap”, and “Yusa-san’s gentle voice perfectly matches the Hakutaku-sama’s airy appearance”.

■Let’s introduce other comments!!
Hyoubu Kyousuke “Psychic Squad”
“This is a wonderful character that allows you to enjoy Yusa-san’s comical acting in ‘Psychic Squad’, and serious and cool acting in ‘The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke’.”
Midousuji Akira from “Yowamushi Pedal”
“I like everything of him, from his quite unique personality, determination to a success, to the sexy voice that sometimes overflows from his disgusting behaviors.”

Lau “Black Butler”
“It was wonderful that he pull off both the alluring vibe that Lau gives off and his comical side.”
“His acting well conveys Lau’s mysterious aura.”
Zhang Liao “Juuzaengi ~Engetsu Sangokuden~”
“Although Zhang Liao has been devoting himself to Fengxian, he gradually learns to have his own will and humane emotion through the interaction with the protagonist. Yusa-san naturally plays such subtleties, and I realized how skillful he is in acting again.”
The readers voted for a wide range of titles.

In the survey 2021, the characters on the top have changed, and those from anime, tokusatsu, and game have ranked in. 17th place was shared among 10 characters, which shows how bravely they fought.

■Ranking Top 10

[Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Yusa Koji-san? 2021 Edition]
1. Ichimaru Gin “BLEACH”
2. Urataros “Kamen Rider Den-O”
3. Hakutaku “Hozuki’s Coolheadedness”
4. Harada Sanosuke “Hakuoki”
5. Hyoubu Kyousuke “Psychic Squad” “The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke”
5. Midousuji Akira “Yowamushi Pedal”
7. Lau “Black Butler”
8. Toujou Ayumu “Gintama”
9. Karna “Fate/Apocrypha”
9. Shima Renzo “Blue Exorcist”

(Survey Period: July 26 – August 2, 2021)

■Ranking Top 20

[Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Yusa Koji-san? 2021 Edition]
1. Ichimaru Gin “BLEACH”
2. Urataros “Kamen Rider Den-O”
3. Hakutaku “Hozuki’s Coolheadedness”
4. Harada Sanosuke “Hakuoki”
5. Hyoubu Kyousuke “Psychic Squad” “The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke”
5. Midousuji Akira “Yowamushi Pedal”
7. Lau “Black Butler”
8. Toujou Ayumu “Gintama”
9. Karna “Fate/Apocrypha”
9. Shima Renzo “Blue Exorcist”
11. Nier “Nier Replicant”
12. Shadow the Hedgehog “Sonic Adventure 2”, etc.
12. Jolly “La storia della Arcana Famiglia”
12. Shou Hayabusa/8823 “Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto”
12. Lilium “ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.”
16. Hyuga Ryuya “Uta no Prince-sama”
17. Azazel Anri “Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun”
17. Adolf Reinhard “Terra Formars”
17. Okita Soji “Detective Conan”
17. Kagami Itsuki “Norn9”
17. Sakami Haruya “Yo-kai Watch Shadowside”
17. Torikai Ginga / Reideen Owl “Raideen the Superior”
17. Nurarihyon “Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan”
17. Hyoue “Magical Girl Ore”
17. Vincent Law “Ergo Proxy”
17. Yuri Petrov / Lunatic “Tiger & Bunny”

(Survey Period: July 26 – August 2, 2021)