August 18 is Otani Ikue-san’s birthday.

Otani Ikue-san debuted as a voice actress in the 1980s. She has been playing various characters from boy and girl characters to non-human characters.

She won the Kids Family Award in the 6th Seiyu Awards. She is playing the main characters in the titles with more than 20-year history, such as “Detective Conan”, “Pokémon”, and “One Piece”, and I’m sure everyone has heard her voice before.

To celebrate her birthday, we conducted the same readers’ survey as last year, “Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Otani Ikue-san?”. There were 112 votes during the survey period from August 4 to 11.
For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 70% while the males were about 30%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from readers of young ages: about 40% were teens, and about 25% were in their 20s.

■Pikachu topped the list for two years in a row. Pikachu’s sound is common across the world.

1st Place

1st place went to Pikachu from “Pokémon”. The support rating was about 28%, topping the list for two years in a row.

Pikachu’s adorable sounds fascinate a lot of fans, and the received comments include, “I’m impressed by how she expresses a variety of emotions with the only sound ‘Pikachu'”, and “Pikachu represents ‘”Pokémon’ itself. ‘Pikachu no Uta’ is composed of only the Pikachu’s language. I can’t find words to describe how cute it is”.

As “Pokémon” is popular all over the world, some reader was surprised by the fact that Otani-san is also playing Pikachu of all the overseas editions, saying “Pikachu is voiced by Otani-san in all the overseas editions, which is absolutely amazing!”.

2nd Place

2nd place went to Tony Tony Chopper from “One Piece”. The support rating was about 25%, keeping 2nd place as last year.

This character also has adorable charms, and the received comments include, “Chopper’s adorable looking and Ikue-san’s sweet and cute voice are the perfect combination. He brings out his full potential as a doctor when needed, and sometimes works hard for his friends. Chopper is such a hard worker, and I love him”.
Chopper can change his appearance, and some readers mentioned how skillfully she plays him differently, saying “I was surprised by her playing him with different tones of voice depending on his appearance”, and “How could she play all the different voices by herself……?”.

3rd Place
3rd place went to Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko from “Detective Conan”. The support rating was about 13%. The top 3 remained the same as last year.

He is a diligent and gentlemanly character, and the received comments include, “Even though he cannot beat Conan, he is smart for an elementary school student. Otani-san’s performances that convey both his cuteness and intelligent are impressive”. Some reader that he/she can tell Mitsuhiko’s characteristic from the performance like a big kid, saying “He is cute when he becomes a little shy while talking with Ai-chan”.

■Let’s introduce other comments!!

Hana “Ojamajo Doremi”
“I began to aim to be a nursery after I watched ‘Ojamajo Doremi #’. She expressed the character’s feelings so realistically that I thought a real baby was playing the character. Also, it is pretty amazing that I can tell her growth as the story progresses!”

Korasho “Korasho no Kaitei Wakuwaku Daibouken! Movie”
“He is a mascot character of Shinken Semi Shogaku Koza. He is a familiar character for me as I was learning with Shinken Semi, and I still use Korasho’s alarm clock.”

Candy “Smile PreCure!”
“I love her the best among all the pixies in PreCure. She was especially cute when she was wearing a princess-like costume in episode 30, in which Miyuki and others travel around the world.”

Some readers voted for the dubbed version of the overseas drama.
Stephanie “Full House”
“‘Full House’ was my favorite TV show, and I used to go home quickly. Otani-san’s voice reminds me of those days, even the smell of dinner back in the days！”

The popular characters that everyone know stand out in this survey. A wide range of characters such as a heroine, boy, baby, and animal, have ranked in.

■Ranking Top 5

[Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Otani Ikue-san? 2021 Edition]
1. Pikachu “Pokémon”
2. Tony Tony Chopper “One Piece”
3. Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko “Detective Conan”
4. Fu “Uchi no Sanshimai”
5. Nonohara Himeko “Hime-chan’s Ribbon”

(Survey Period: August 4 – 11, 2021)

*This survey is intended to research the readers’ “interest in anime and characters today”. It is not intended to discuss the relative merits of each character nor work. I would be glad if this article can help you develop an understanding and interest in the anime and characters.

■All the characters that received the votes

[Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Otani Ikue-san? 2021 Edition]
Pikachu “Pokémon”
Tony Tony Chopper “One Piece”
Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko “Detective Conan”
Fu “Uchi no Sanshimai”
Nonohara Himeko “Hime-chan’s Ribbon”
Candy “Smile PreCure!”
Hana “Ojamajo Doremi”
Zatch Bell “Zatch Bell!”
Tabata Kobo “Kobo, the Li’l Rascal”
Olivier “HeartCatch PreCure! the Movie: Fashion Show in the Flower Capital… Really?!”
Korasho “Korasho no Kaitei Wakuwaku Daibouken! Movie”
Sarutobi Konohamaru “Naruto”
Margareta von Herxheimer “Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden: The Retriever”
Morgana “PERSONA5 the Animation”
Stephanie Tanner “Full House”
Pete Ross “Yuukyuu Gensoukyoku”
Reiko “Miracle Girls”
Mannish Boy “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders”
Takaba Jiromaru “Bakuso Kyodai Let’s & Go!!”
Shiratori Yukina “Martian Successor Nadesico”
Hakuryu “Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3”

(Survey Period: August 4 – 11, 2021)

*This survey is intended to research the readers’ “interest in anime and characters today”. It is not intended to discuss the relative merits of each character nor work. I would be glad if this article can help you develop an understanding and interest in the anime and characters.