Anime Anime Global

September 21 is Uchida Yuuma-san’s birthday.

He debuted in the 2010s. He won the Best Rookie Actors in the 11th Seiyu Awards and the Best Actor in a Leading Role in the 13th. He plays the role of protagonists in “Getter Robo Arc” and “Burning Kabaddi” in 2021.

He is also active as an artist, and he is releasing his 2nd album “Equal” on September 22, which is the next day of his birthday.

To celebrate his birthday, we conducted an annual readers’ survey, “Who is your favorite character played by Uchida Yuuma-san?”. There were 422 votes during the survey period from September 6 to 13.
For the gender ratio, the females were the majority with about 85% while the males were about 15%. For the age distribution, we received the majority of responses from readers of young ages: about 35% were teens, and about 30% were in their 20s.

■Multiple characters from the latest titles have been ranked in!

1st Place
1st place went to Ash Lynx from “Banana Fish”. The support rating was about 42%, and he continuously topped the list since last year.

The received comments include, “Uchida-san delicately expressed the complex emotions of a teenager who had grown up in a difficult background and does not reveal his true feelings. The character behaves like an innocent child, but at other times he shows mature expressions contrary to his age. Uchida-san pulled off them all, which left impressions on me”, and “I was impressed to see him facing his fate while tackling challenges. I felt that every single word from Uchida-san forms Ash, and it was the first time for me to empathize with a character that much.”
Even though this character is a complicated role in that he is a street gang with strength and vulnerability, the readers appraised Uchida-san’s performance as it directly conveys the character’s feelings.

2nd Place
2nd place went to Fushiguro Megumi from “Jujutsu Kaisen”. The support rating was about 12%, and he was nominated from the TV anime that started in the fall of 2020.

Fushiguro Megumi is a freshman at the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. The fans are captivated by him in both battles and daily life, saying “Yuuma-kun’s low tone of voice matches cool Megumi. I was thrilled to see Fushiguro in the scene of Domain Expansion, as he was so ghastly and totally different from usual!”, and “I firmly thought that Uchida-san is playing Fushiguro Megumi as one human being, including his calmness, sincerity, cuteness and goofiness”.

3rd Place
3rd place went to Sakuraba Kaoru from “The Idolmaster: SideM”. The support rating was about 8%, and he won the same place as last year.

Uchida-san has been playing this character, which seems to be one of the reasons for his popularity. The received comments include, “This character introduced me to Yuuma-san. I can feel his passion even in his calmness, and I like how he interacts more with the unit members and other idols in the company over time, and builds trust relationships with them”, and “‘SideM’ is celebrating its 7th anniversary this year. His solid, straightforward but delicate performance stands out, and I think Uchida-san is the only one I can entrust with Kaoru”.

■Let’s introduce other comments!!
Uenoyama Ritsuka “Given”
“Uchida-san plays the role of Uenoyama Ritsuka, who is clumsy but gentle, with a beautiful voice. Thanks to this title, I got to be a big fan of Uchida Yuuma-san.”
Suzuno Yu “King of Prism” Series
“This is a boy with musical talent, which is a perfect role for Uchida-san. I couldn’t help crying when I watched the scene of singing solely with a guitar.”

Shishimaru Takaomi “DREAM!ing”
“Even though he sometimes has a bad attitude and abrupt manner, his nice nature and intelligence can still be seen. He is a cutie.”

Vicious “Tales of Crestoria”
“I fell in love with the gap between him speaking in a dynamic way just like groaning and him speaking happily with his friends at the event.”

The game character also won some votes.

In 2021 edition, while Ash Lynx from “Banana Fish” stays powerful, multiple characters from the titles that were broadcast in 2020 and 2021, such as “Jujutsu Kaisen”, “Dr. Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist”, “Getter Robo Arc”, etc. have been ranked in. The results will make you excited to see if new characters will be ranked in the top next year.

■Ranking Top 20

－Who is your favorite character played by Uchida Yuuma-san? 2021 Edition－
1. Ash Lynx “Banana Fish”
2. Fushiguro Megumi “Jujutsu Kaisen”
3. Sakuraba Kaoru “The Idolmaster: SideM”
4. Kusama Kyo “Fruits Basket” (2019)
5. Sazanami Jun “Ensemble Stars!”
6. Shishimaru Takaomi “DREAM!ing”
7. Kawaki “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations”
8. Ultraman Tregear “Ultraman Taiga”
9. Uenoyama Ritsuka “Given”
9. Otori Eiji “Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love” Series
9. Tachibana Souichirou “MIX”
12. Nagare Takuma “Getter Robo Arc”
13. Ramune “Dr. Ramune: Mysterious Disease Specialist”
14. Shinkai Yuto “Yowamushi Pedal”
14. Yoigoshi Tatsuya “Burning Kabaddi”
16. Suzuno Yu “King of Prism” Series
17. Otani Hatori “Stand My Heroes”
17. Okumura Koshu “Ace of Diamond”
17. Kawahara Be “Uchitama?! Have You Seen My Tama?”
17. Kudo Chika “Kono Oto Tomare! Sounds of Life”
17. Kuzuryu Yaichi “The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done!”
17. Crystal Exarch “Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers”
17. Nakai-kun “Teasing Master Takagi-san”

(Survey Period: September 6 – 13, 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 anime and characters.