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October 12 is Itou Miku-san’s birthday.

She debuted in the 2010s, and in 2021, she plays characters in various titles including, “The Aquatope on White Sand”, “Muv-Luv Alternative”, and “BanG Dream! FILM LIVE 2nd Stage”.
She is also active as an artist and released “No. 6”, the opening theme of “Combatants Will Be Dispatched!”, in April this year. A project to celebrate her 5th anniversary as an artist is also in progress.

To celebrate her birthday, we at Anime!Anime! conducted an annual reader survey, “Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Itou Miku-san?”. There were 389 votes during the survey period from September 27 to October 4.
Most of the voters were male with a gender ratio of 80% male to 20% female, and the age range was on the younger side with 55% under 20 and 30% in their 20s.

■”Quintessential Quintuplets” Nakano Miku received almost half of all the votes!

1st Place

The list was topped by Nakano Miku from “Quintessential Quintuplets” with roughly 50% of the votes, keeping her at the top for 3 years in a row.

“She’s the third sister of the quintuplets and loves history. I also love history so I think we can get along well! How she’s usually modest but gets pushy when it comes to who she loves is so cute,” and “She’s usually shy, but when it comes to Fuutarou, she works hard! I admire how she tries to change herself!” are comments that show how she is popular for trying hard to get Uesugi Fuutarou’s attention.

There were also many comments pointing out how her acting changed such as, “Her expressions began to change after falling in love with Fuutarou, and I was blown away by the stunning acting adapted to each scene”, and “At first glance, she seems to be shy and mature, but I love how she becomes a cheerful, cute high school girl when it comes to her beloved Sengoku warlords.”

2nd Place

Coming in 2nd was Tsurumaki Kokoro from “BanG Dream!” with roughly 20% of the votes, she also kept her position for 3 years in a row.

Readers became fans of the leader of the girls’ band “Hello, Happy World!” not only from the anime but also from her singing voice. She received comments such as, “She’s the sun of Hello, Happy and makes everyone smile! I respect how she immediately puts what she comes up with to action no matter how difficult it is,” “Her goal of making the whole world happy is amazing! Mikku in Kokoro-chan’s costume at a real-life event was totally Kokoro-chan,” and “It’s amazing how she can sing in Kokoro-chan’s voice. Her voice is the same at live concerts and I became a fan the moment I heard her voice.”

3rd Place

Shimamura from “Adachi and Shimamura” took 3rd place with roughly 10% of the votes, moving up from last year’s 5th place.

Shimamura is a high school girl that often skips classes. Fans were fascinated by her somewhat cold voice and said, “Shimamura keeps a distance with everyone, and her cool but not too distant voice is fascinating!”, and “How she’s unaware of her class-ditching friend Adachi’s feelings towards her is cute.” Her relationship with the other characters also left a strong impression on fans, “At first she didn’t get deeply involved with anyone and spoke in an indifferent manner. I was moved by how her voice changed towards the end as if it gained color.”

■Here are some comments for other characters!!

For Usami Nanako from “Locodol”, “Her first main character. She’s dedicated, straightforward, and has a strong sense o responsibility, which is just like Mikku herself,” and “I especially feel attached to the show since it is set in my home town. Thanks to Nanako, I now love my hometown even more.”

For Nanao Yuriko from “The Idolmaster Million Live!”, “This is Itou Miku-san’s debut title as a voice actor, so she’s a special character that has walked together with her. An anime project is also in the works, and I’m looking forward to Yuriko-chan’s continued success!”

For Russel of the Water from “Combatants Will Be Dispatched!”, “The character has cute looks but is actually a boy and not a girl. The maid costume in the final episode was so cute that I forgot he was a boy.”
There were also votes for a character from a current title, Misakino Kukuru from “The Aquatope on White Sand”, “How she does her best to save Gamgama Aquarium is clumsy but makes you want to root for her. I look forward to the 2nd cour!”

In the 2021 survey, titles that received new anime in 2021, “Quintessential Quintuplets” and “BanG Dream!”, made it high up the list. Both have films coming up in 2022 and fans’ expectations are rising.

■Top 10
“Who’s Your Favorite Character Played by Itou Miku-san?” 2021 Edition
1. Nakano Miku “Quintessential Quintuplets”
2. Tsurumaki Kokoro “BanG Dream!”
3. Shimamura (Shimamura Hougetsu) “Adachi and Shimamura”
4. Misakino Kukuru “The Aquatope on White Sand”
5. Kokkoro “Princess Connect! Re:Dive”
6. Nanao Yuriko “The Idolmaster Million Live!”
7. Usami Nanako “Locodol”
8. Asami Kei “Girl Friend Beta”
8. Hitotsuyanagi Yuri “Assault Lily Bouquet”
8. Frenica “Sword Art Online Alicization”
8. Russel of the Water “Combatants Will Be Dispatched!”

(Survey Period: September 27 – October 4, 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.