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August 29 is “Versailles Rose Day”

On the same day in 1974, the musical based on “The Rose of Versailles” was performed by Takarazuka Revue. This work that depicts the cross-dressing beauty Oscar and Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, had captured the heart of many fans.

In Takarazuka Revue, there are actress who are performing male characters, but in anime, there are also voice actresses who are voicing young boys. It has left a deep impression as the realism can be felt as if they are acting as an actual boy and the fluctuation of the adolescence are also conveyed.

Thus, we have conducted a survey asking, “Speaking about voice actresses who voiced young boys, who come to your mind first?”. A total of 241 responses were received during the period from August 13 to August 20.
The gender ratio leans toward the females as approximately 25% are from male while approximately 75% are from female. The age distribution was on the younger side with approximately 50% are from those under twenty, approximately 30% are from those in their twenties.

■ A gathering of the voice actress, who voiced the main lead’s young boy!

1st place

The 1st place is Takayama Minami-san with a support rating of approximately 13 %.

One of the comments from the reader are “She has voiced a lot of young boys that is too long to be listed, such as Edogawa Conan from ‘Detective Conan’, Ajiyoshi Youichi from ‘Mister Ajikko’, Edojou Honmaru from ‘Magical★Taruruuto-kun’, Kurogane Yaiba from ‘Legendary Brave Swordsman Yaiba’, Inadera Rantarou from ‘Nintama Rantarou’, and Asakura Hao from ‘Shaman King'”. Some readers mentioned about her voicing skill, saying “She is good at using her voice tone properly!” and “She is quite amazing as she is able to separate properly Conan-kun normal voice, his detective voice, as well as when he is pretending to be a child”.

2nd place

The 2nd place is Ogata Megumi with a support rating of approximately 10%.

Some of the comments for her are “It is because she is still voicing young boy after debuting for approximately 30 years since her debut role as Kurama from ‘Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files'” and “She is at the center of attention when it was announced she is the voice of Okkotsu Yuuta from ‘Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Movie’ as well as her role as Ikari Shinji from ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ and Hanako-kun from ‘Toilet-bound Hanako-kun’.” There is even an opinion that the insecurity of an adolescent young boy can be felt, saying “Her ability to control her voice from a low-pitch to a high-pitch, make me fall prey to her delicate young boy’s voice.

3rd place

The 3rd place is Uchida Maaya-san with a support rating of approximately 8%.

Uchida Maaya is especially known for her role of Norman from “The Promised Neverland”. The comments from the charmed fans are “The voice itself of the clearheaded Norman was quite shocking” and “It was quite amazing that she is able to express the mature feeling despite being a young boy. I believe her young boy’s voice is loved by all genders”. There were also comments mentioning about the unforgettable young boy’s voice that she had shown in the variety program “Say You to Yoasobi”.

Various voice actresses that had voiced a young boy from various titles were ranked in. Especially those who voiced the young boy who is the main protagonist are ranked at the top.

■Top 20 Ranking

“Speaking about voice actresses who voiced young boys, who come to your mind first?”

1. Takayama Minami
2. Ogata Megumi
3. Uchida Maaya
4. Tamura Mutsumi
5. Sakamoto Maaya
6. Minagawa Junko
6. Park Romi
8. Tanaka Mayumi
9. Takeuchi Junko
10. Sanpei Junko
11. Kugimiya Rie
12. Ise Mariya
12. Kumai Motoko
14. Saiga Mitsuki
14. Nozawa Masako
14. Matsumoto Rika
17. Inoue Marina
17. Sawashiro Miyuki
17. Tomatsu Haruka
17. Fujiwara Natsumi
17. Muranaka Tomo

(Survey Period: August 13 – August 20, 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.