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Various interesting anime were broadcast, released, and streamed in 2021 as well. Despite the gloomy situation where we can’t lax due to the spread of the Novel Coronavirus still persists from the previous year, this year was filled with colorful anime that helps to chase out those negative feelings.

Anime! Anime! has started the annual “Anime! Anime! General Election”. While looking back toward 2021, we had conducted the reader surveys related to the voice actors that gave life to the characters.

The reader surveys that were conducted are “Who is the most active voice actor/ voice actress” that had left a deep impression on you from their appearance in popular and hits anime, their role as the main character, as well as appearance on various media, such as TV program and stage play, and “Your most “favourite” voice actor/ voice actress”, where you had become a fan of this year or the person that you wanted to recommend. The surveys are conducted separately by gender.

From the survey period from November 12 to December 12, more than 3,000 votes were received. The gender ratio is approximately 25% for males and approximately 75% for females. The age distribution is around 35% for minors and around 40% for those in their twenties, and this shows that the votes are mostly from youngsters.

This article will announce the result for “Who is the most active voice actor?”

■ The main character of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” has dominated the Top 3!

1st Place
The 1st place is taken by Shimono Hiro-san with around 20% supporting rate. He has taken the top from 2nd place last year.

Regarding the reason, various readers mentioned that it was due to his appearance in various media, such as “Other than anime, he had left a deep impression in me due as he is active in a wide range of fields from the narration of variety and music programs, to the participation in events and recitals, and the audio guide for the art museum. I have also seen him frequently on TV”. There was also a joyful comment, saying “It was a bit troublesome to catch up with all his activities, but it was a great year”.

“His role as Agatsuma Zenitsu from ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’ is quite addictive, but he also voiced the main character of ‘The Fruit of Evolution’ and ‘Deep Insanity THE LOST CHILD’. It’s amazing how he is able to show off different acting for different work!”, which depicts his appearance in popular series as well as latest works this year.
There were also comments regarding him being active in various fields, such as “I am used to his narration in CDTV Live! Live!. It makes me quite happy that he appears from time to time”, and “It’s his 3rd year as the MC in the variety program ‘Say You to Yoasobi’. I am able to relax with the fun laughter and the stable conversation. I’m also able to get to know other wonderful voice actors.”

2nd Place
The 2nd place is taken by Hanae Natsuki-san with around 8% supporting rate.

In 2021, he played main characters in various popular titles, such as “Odd Taxi”, “The Case Study of Vanitas”, “The Duke of Death and His Maid”, and “Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy”. There were comments mentioning that he has an image that he is able to express various characters and it was given due to his experience in voicing a wide range of main and side characters.
Among all those works, the popular series “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” were mentioned plentifully by the readers as a lot of them are looking forward to the broadcast of the TV anime season 2, such as “I was moved greatly and got goosebumps by his terrifying acting during the crying scene of Tanjirou”.

Hanae-san has also appeared in various media, but out of them, his official YouTube channel stood out the most. There are also fans that got hooked up by his interesting plans and conversations, such as “His channel has exceeded 2 million subscribers! His interactions with the other voice actors are quite interesting, and I’m also able to get immersed in the atmosphere when he is having fun with his friend”.
His appearance has also been decided in various anime that will be broadcast in 2022, so please do look forward to it.

3rd Place
The 3rd place is taken by Matsuoka Yoshitsugu-san with around 7% supporting rate.

He returned to his role as the 14 years old Kirito of the TV anime season 1 in “Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night” that was released on October 30, 2021. There was a comment praising him, saying “Kirito had experienced a tremendous growth throughout the series, but it is amazing how he is able to return to his roots in the film without any sense of discomfort.”
His acting in the characters of new works is also under the spotlights with a comment saying “He is quite skillful to be able to show off different acting and expression in his characters, such as Rio from ‘Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles’, Maru Sueharu from ‘Osamake’, and Mitsuya Takashi from ‘Tokyo Revengers’.”

Other than anime, his unique activities have also caught the fans’ attention, such as his question giving narration for a quiz program, the recital program for Arima Kinen, as well as his appearance at the season-opening ceremony of professional baseball. The finale of the series, the film “The Quintessential Quintuplets”, where he is handling the main characters, will be released in 2022, and it will surely hype up the expectation.

Three voice actor who played main characters in “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” were ranked in in this survey. We believe that the votes were received due to the movie had overwritten the record of Japan’s historical box office revenue and the broadcast of “Entertainment District Arc” has started right before the deadline of this survey.

■ Top 10 Ranking

“Who is the most active voice actor in 2021?”
1. Shimono Hiro
2. Hanae Natsuki
3. Matsuoka Yoshitsugu
4. Ishida Akira
5. Ishikawa Kaito
6. Kamiya Hiroshi
7. Enoki Junya
8. Uchiyama Kouki
9. Okamoto Nobuhiko
10. Tsuda Kenjirou

(Survey Period: November 12 – December 12, 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.

■ Top 20 Ranking

“Who is the most active voice actor in 2021?”
1. Shimono Hiro
2. Hanae Natsuki
3. Matsuoka Yoshitsugu
4. Ishida Akira
5. Ishikawa Kaito
6. Kamiya Hiroshi
7. Enoki Junya
8. Uchiyama Kouki
9. Okamoto Nobuhiko
10. Tsuda Kenjirou
11. Nakamura Yuuichi
12. Eguchi Takuya
13. Kaji Yuuki
14. Fukuyama Jun
15. Sugita Tomokazu
16. Furukawa Makoto
17. Namikawa Daisuke
18. Hino Satoshi
19. Uchida Yuuma
20. Miyano Mamoru

(Survey Period: November 12 – December 12, 2021)