Anime Anime Global

A wide variety of anime were broadcast, released, and streamed in 2021. Although the COVID pandemic continuing from last year is still unpredictable, it has been a year of diverse titles blowing away the gloomy feeling.

We at Anime!Anime! conducted the annual 【Anime!Anime! General Election】to look back on the year 2021, asking the readers about voice actors blowing life into characters.

We had readers vote for the “most active voice actor” who has left a strong impression by taking part in popular titles, playing the role of main characters, or appearing in various titles such as TV programs and stage performances, as well as the readers’ “fav voice actor” who you’ve become a fan of this year or want to recommend to others for both male and female voice actors.

During the survey period from November 12 to December 12, we received over 3,000 votes again this year. There were more female voters with a gender ratio of 25% male to 75% female, and the age range was on the younger side with 35% under 20 and 40% in their 20s.

Here are the results of the survey asking, “Which Female Voice Actor Do You Think Was the Most Active in 2021?”

■Readers’ had various reasons for voting for the voice actor they chose! Popular voice actors made the list

1st Place

Topping the list was Hanazawa Kana-san with roughly 15% of the votes, moving her up from 2nd place last year.

“I loved Druj from ‘The Great Jahy Will Not be Defeated!’ who let me enjoy Hanazawa-san’s comical side!”, “Every year, it feels like she’s in almost all the anime I watch. In particular, ‘Kiyo in Kyoto’ was cute and I enjoyed it,” and “Even my kids notice Hanazawa-san when watching anime. She’s in so many titles, we naturally remember her name,” are comments that point out how she played characters in many titles in 2021.
There were many readers who were looking forward to “Jujutsu Kaisen 0 the Movie” which was released on December 24.

She also made many appearances including TV shows. Fans were surprised by the unexpected appearances she made and said, “Her friendly narration fully conveys the appeal of voice acting and I think many people know Hanzazawa-san even if they are not familiar with anime,” and “She often appears as a guest or the narrator in variety shows, but I didn’t expect to see her in a commercial for cold pills, haha.”

Her first single released in three years was also a hot topic. “Changing record companies let me discover new charms of hers. She is a one-and-only person not only as a voice actor but also as an artist,” shows how she is popular for her singing too.

2nd Place

Coming in 2nd was Uchida Maaya-san with roughly 13% of the votes.

The voice actor that was active again this year received comments such as, “‘My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! X’ becomes even larger-scale than the 1st season. She played the different personalities of Catarina holding a meeting in her head and pulled off expressing each of their uniqueness. I was impressed by her professionalism in playing seven roles single-handedly,” and “She took part in multiple dubbings of foreign films including ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’. She blended in so well, I didn’t notice her voice while watching and was surprised to see her in the credits.”

As an artist, she received comments like, “In her third album ‘HIKARI’ released this year, she sang from low to high notes, and I was reminded of her quality skills,” and “Her 12th single ‘Strobo Memory’ is my favorite and I’ve been listening to it on repeat.”

There were also many readers pointing out her becoming the Okoshiyasu ambassador for the event “KYOMAF 2021”, taking part in the second sound channel for the pro league baseball broadcast, and opening her YouTube channel. Excited fans said, “It’s amazing how she keeps tackling different jobs and achieving results in them. I’m sure she’ll have more opportunities to be active in the future.”

3rd Place

Kitou Akari-san made it in 3rd with roughly 8% of the votes.

In 2021, she took part in titles of various genres, including “Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z”, “Shadows House”, “Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy”, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”, and “Kimi to Fit Boxing”.
She received comments pointing out how she takes on difficult roles such as “She has played many roles this year, and her range of acting is really wide. She even played a regular role as a boy in ‘Shikalion Z’, which let me see a new side of Kitou Akari-san,” and “She conveyed the feelings of Nezuko from ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’ just by grunting. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her in season 2!”

She’s also entertaining fans as an artist, “She released her first opening theme song ‘No Continue’ for the anime ‘Battle Game in 5 Seconds’. Her 2nd live concert held on December 4 was also a great success!” She also narrated TV programs and served as a one-day police chief, among many other activities, “I think she gained even more popularity through this year!”

In the 2021 survey, voice actors who are active not only in anime but in multiple media continued to rank high. With many hot titles coming up next year, we won’t want to miss out on the activities of the cast members.

■Top 10

[Which Female Voice Actor Do You Think Was the Most Active in 2021?]
1. Hanazawa Kana
2. Uchida Maaya
3. Kitou Akari
4. Minase Inori
5. Hayami Saori
6. Sakura Ayane
7. Sawashiro Miyuki
8. Waki Azumi
9. Ogata Emi
10. Itou Miku

(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

[Which Female Voice Actor Do You Think Was the Most Active in 2021?]
1. Hanazawa Kana
2. Uchida Maaya
3. Kitou Akari
4. Minase Inori
5. Hayami Saori
6. Sakura Ayane
7. Sawashiro Miyuki
8. Waki Azumi
9. Ogata Emi
10. Itou Miku
11. Fairouz Ai
12. Yuuki Aoi
13. Amamiya Sora
14. Komatsu Mikako
15. Tanezaki Atsumi
16. Kuno Misaki
17. Mizuki Nana
18. Machico
19. Ishikawa Yui
19. Koga Aoi
19. Kobayashi Yuu

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