October 18 is Itou Kento-san’s birthday.
He debuted as a voice actor in the 2010s and won the Singing Award as a member of “Hypnosis Mic: Alternative Rap Battle” in the 13th Seiyu Awards. In 2021, he is taking part in titles such as “2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team” and “SHOW BY ROCK!! STARS!!”
In “Kimi to Tabi Suru Nichiyoubi vol. 3”, the domestic traveling magazine released in September, he introduced us to the attractions of Hakodate city, Hokkaido. In the game “Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku”, he provided the song “magic number”, which he wrote and composed, showing his wide range of activities.
To celebrate his birthday, we at Anime!Anime conducted an annual survey asking “Who’s Your Favorite Character Voiced by Itou Kento-san?” There were 912 votes during the survey period from October 1 to October 8.
Most of the voters were female with a gender ratio of 90% female to 10% male, and the age range was on the younger side with 60% under 20 and 20% in their 20s.
■Anime, games, live-action… Various characters received votes!
1st Place
Kannonzaka Doppo from “Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle” received roughly 50% of the votes, keeping him at the top of the list for two years in a row.
“He’s usually a pessimistic office worker, but when push comes to shove, he’ll stand up against his opponents as a member of Matenrou, and it’s so cool! Itou-san’s voice matches, how he doesn’t get carried away even when he wins, and his kind nature” “How he changes personality when he’s at the peak of his stress makes him a difficult character to play, but Itou-san’s impressive vocal skills and acting are on full display!” and “The gap between his negative, nervous side and the when he suddenly snaps is amazing,” are comments that show how fans are fascinated by the wide range of his acting.
In particular, many readers pointed out how he shouts during the songs such as, “The shouts by Itou-san during the songs introduced me to ‘Hypnosis Mic’ and now I’m addicted,” and “I was shaken by his shouts as if he’s a different person.”
2nd Place
Coming in 2nd was Aoyagi Touya from “Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku” with roughly 12% of the votes, pushing him up from 10th place last year.
Aoyagi Touya is a member of Vivid BAD SQUAD. “His beautiful voice with both coolness and passion fits the character raised with gifted education,” “He’s serious, straightforward, and loves his friends. He seems cool but has more passion than anyone else, and he changes his singing style depending on the story and his feelings blew my mind,” and “His way of singing is different for each song and makes me want to listen again and again. His lines are also full of emotion and put tears in my eyes,” are comments from fans who were fascinated by both his acting and singing.
The fact that he provided a song for the game is another reason this character gained votes.
3rd Place
Nifuji Hirotaka from “Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku” took 3rd place with roughly 10% of the votes, keeping him at 3rd place for three consecutive years.
“I love how he’s apathetic but cool, devoted to his girlfriend, and how his gentle side comes out as he interacts with other people,” and “I could feel his emotions through his acting even without much intonation,” are comments from fans saying he carefully portrayed the cool otaku office worker. There were also fans who envied the heroine Narumi and commented, “I love the soft voice he uses to talk to Narumi! I want a boyfriend like him.”
■Here are some comments for other characters!!
For Hazama Michio from “The Idolmaster SideM”, “Hazama-sensei seems bland but is actually very passionate. I like how Itou-san’s voice matches his mental strength. When he wears glasses at concerts, he looks just like Hazama Michio!”
For Oda Shinichirou from “2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team”, “He played the hot-blooded, big-hearted captain with enthusiasm and made me like Itou-san even more. The unusual dialect is also very pleasant to my ears.”
For Nusshy from “Numa ni Hamatte Kiitemita”, “I was impressed when he rapped in Nusshy’s voice during the show. He plays each family member differently, so I enjoyed hearing his different voices. It’s also refreshing to hear him in live broadcasts.”
There were also votes for a role he played in a live-action show. For Waon from “Bokuratekiniwa Risou no Rakugo”, “It was a unique show in which the cast members pretend to be Rakugo storytellers. I was fascinated by the conversations between the Mousoutei members, who were playing characters while showing a glimpse of their true selves.”
In the 2021 survey, there were votes not only for characters from anime but also games, live-action shows, and even mascot characters from TV shows. The results show how he plays a wide range of roles.
■Overall Ranking
“Who’s Your Favorite Character Voiced by Itou Kento-san?” 2021 Edition
1. Kannonzaka Doppo “Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle”
2. Aoyagi Touya “Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku”
3. Nifuji Hirotaka “Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku”
4. Hazama Michio “The Idolmaster SideM”
5. Yasu “SHOW BY ROCK!! Mashumairesh!!”
6. Divus Crewel “Disney Twisted-Wonderland”
7. Faust “Promise of Wizard”
8. Toudou Lihito “HanaDoll”
9. Kuwana Gou “Touken Ranbu Online”
10. Nusshy “Numa ni Hamatte Kiitemita”
11. Oda Shinichirou “2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team”
12. Mizuno Souma “Fire in His Fingertips 2: My Boyfriend is a Firefighter”
12. Waon “Bokuratekiniwa Risou no Rakugo”
14. Mizuki Kouichi “The Titan’s Bride”
14. Yushka “Dragon Quest X: The Maiden of Thorns and the God of Destruction”
16. Suppontake Ninja “Nintama Rantarou”
16. Tamiya Kouta “I Love You. I’m Sorry”
(Survey Period: October 1 – October 8, 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.