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The List - 7 Most In-Demand Japanese Voice Actors of 2015


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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:21 pm Reply with quote
Aww, surely you guys could find a cuter photo of Hanae? He's not the same without his glasses! ^^; Here's his official profile with a much better photo.

Pretty surprised that Namikawa took the top spot. I definitely wasn't expecting that.
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KENZICHI



Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Posts: 1101
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:32 pm Reply with quote
No surprise Mamoru is on the list and I guess I'm not surprised Namikawa is on the list also lol. I like both of them!
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vonPeterhof



Joined: 10 Nov 2014
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 1:11 pm Reply with quote
And there I was thinking that the list will be dominated by the main cast of Osomatsu-san.

Not sure how I should vote in the poll: while I only bought volumes of one series, I also bought several issues of Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine while I was in Japan. The magazine currently carries a little less than 30 series, but I've only been following nine of them.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2165
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 1:54 pm Reply with quote
Wow, I really thought Matsuoka would make the list.

Glad to see these actors here though; I like their voices.
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Knoepfchen



Joined: 13 Dec 2012
Posts: 698
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 1:55 pm Reply with quote
As a big fan of Sakurai, this sees me happy. Also, good to see Hosoya getting so much attention.

Miyano's picture certainly takes the crown, could be taken straight from the opening of a 90's sitcom.
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Ashen Phoenix



Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 2904
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 1:59 pm Reply with quote
FilthyCasual wrote:
Wow, I really thought Matsuoka would make the list.

Glad to see these actors here though; I like their voices.

Same. I really enjoy his work.

I'm glad so many who made the list are people I've gotten to hear. Haikyu!'s roster is fantastic, and while I haven't seen many new anime airing this year I'm a big fan of Miyano's character work in Chihayafuru, K, DRRR!!, and Free!.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 3:47 pm Reply with quote
Ryota Ohsaka: For overseas folks, we got to hear him as Mikleo in Tales of Zestiria (if anyone's been switching to Japanese voices). A pretty good role for him, especially considering the bad rap the game has gotten.

Natsu Hanae: He was very amusing as Shinichi in Outbreak Company, I have to say. He's also pretty well settled into his role as Tai. I look forward to hearing how he handles the Digidestined leader's more emotional moments down the line.

Mamoru Miyano: Prince Demande was a pretty solid fit for him, since he can do both nice guys and bad guys. He's still awesome as Flynn and Riku, even though those two have solid English voices as well.

Takahiro Sakurai: He'll always be Mega Man X to me, especially since X hasn't had an English voice in years following Gatha's departure from the role. He's one of those Japanese voices I've come to easily recognize now.

Yuichi Nakamura: Even though it's from eight years ago, he was very entertaining as Alto in Macross Frontier. We also could have heard more of him as Kurt Irving, but since they chose to forego Valkyria Chronicles characters for Project X Zone 2, that option's out. And I can never forget him being Tomoya in Clannad (one of my favorite roles for him overall).

Yoshimasa Hosoya: He's pretty good being the new voice of Yamato in Digimon. I also enjoyed hearing him as Masrur (haven't had a chance to see Magi in English yet, so it's my only reference at present).

Daisuke Namikawa: Looking back, I know a lot of folks preferred his voice to David Vincent being Richard in Tales of Graces (due to Richard's insanity moments), and of course, being the voice of Mr. Infinite Swagger himself, Persona 4's Yu Narukami. This guy's just on fire. XD
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WsupItsAnna



Joined: 29 Oct 2015
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 4:23 pm Reply with quote
I thought for sure that Kaito Ishikawa was going to make the list because he was main for a lot of anime this year.
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CrowLia



Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 5500
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 5:00 pm Reply with quote
I thought Kamiyan would make the list, I felt he was everywhere this year (and the last two or three years), but all of these men are amazingly talented too, so that's okay. Mamoru Miyano and NamiDai have always amazed me with their incredibly wide range of performances, while Sakurai's voice is extremely distinctive but always very fitting, his work is always amazing.
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RestLessone



Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Posts: 1426
Location: New York
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 5:20 pm Reply with quote
No surprises here, but no complaints either; they're all talented and I'm happy when they get work. Namikawa Daisuke's voice is so flexible. Before I really kept track of VAs, I was surprised to see him voicing characters that sounded nothing alike. Sakurai's voice is very distinctive and isn't super flexible, but his emotional range is great. It's too bad he often gets cast as characters that don't emote, have a couple emotional breakdowns, and then go back to deadpanning.


I felt like Soma Saito had popped up quite a few times, along with Shimazaki Nobunaga. Though neither have been on the scene for very long.
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kpk



Joined: 05 Apr 2009
Posts: 484
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 6:07 pm Reply with quote
No Yuki Kaji?!
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 7:23 pm Reply with quote
Yay, I know some of these! Maybe I'm not so out of touch in some places.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 7:34 pm Reply with quote
RestLessone wrote:
Sakurai's voice is very distinctive and isn't super flexible, but his emotional range is great. It's too bad he often gets cast as characters that don't emote, have a couple emotional breakdowns, and then go back to deadpanning

It's true he gets a lot of those roles, but I'm not sure what you mean by flexible. If you don't think playing all those moody or stoic roles along with Yuri Shibuya (Kyo Kara Maoh), Misaki Takahashi (Junjou Romantica), Suzaku Kururugi (Code Geass), and Osomatsu Matsuno (Osomatsu-san) isn't flexible, you'll need to elaborate for me. And Polar Bear (Polar Bear Cafe) might've usually sounded deadpan, but you could practically hear the tongue in his cheek in his delivery. Smile

I have to say that I just got recently impressed (well, more impressed) by Daisuke Ono when I realized he was playing Daikoku in Noragami. To nail the refined control of Sebastian Michaelis, the unfettered rage of Shizuo Heiwajima, and the uncultured grumpiness of Daikoku is no small feat.

Anyway, this was a very interesting list! I'm also curious as to which male and female seiyuu have the most roles on their resume. Takehito Koyasu has some 530 roles under his belt and shows no signs of slowing down, but my google-fu is weak, so I don't know if he's the leader, and I have no idea what female seiyuu would top the ranks.
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RestLessone



Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Posts: 1426
Location: New York
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 7:55 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:

It's true he gets a lot of those roles, but I'm not sure what you mean by flexible. If you don't think playing all those moody or stoic roles along with Yuri Shibuya (Kyo Kara Maoh), Misaki Takahashi (Junjou Romantica), Suzaku Kururugi (Code Geass), and Osomatsu Matsuno (Osomatsu-san) isn't flexible, you'll need to elaborate for me.

It's not about who he plays, but his voice's flexibility. I was comparing him to Namikawa Daisuke, who has played characters like North Italy (Hetalia) and Chris (Ace of Diamond). Or, keeping to the same role, Waver Velvet (Fate) as a young adult in Fate/zero and an older adult in Fate/stay night. Characters that don't sound like each other at all. Sakurai has played plenty of characters who aren't deadpanning, but his voice keeps that distinct...Sakurai-ness? It's not bad or anything; he's one of my favorites after all.
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Aisama



Joined: 16 Mar 2015
Posts: 41
PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 8:06 pm Reply with quote
Only the two #5 I'm not familiar with. But, I'm quite surprise that Kaji Yuki and Kamiyan isn't on the list. And much moreso that Namikawa Daisuke is at #1 spot.
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