Japanese voice actors take on a lot when they play a role, sometimes voicing two characters speaking to each other, often creating their own sound effects, and always delivering a high-quality performance that will have fans wanting to see more. It takes a dedicated actor to rise to the occasion, and Japan has many of them.
Some voice actors are household names with anime fans, such as Romi Park, who famously voiced Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, and Hitsugaya Toshiro in Bleach, among many others. However, there are many voice actors who fans may not recognize by name, but who nonetheless appear across multiple series and genres.
10 Suzuko Mimori
Suzuko Mimori rose to popularity when she voiced the serious yet reserved Sonoda Umi of Love Live!, going on to do live shows with the rest of the cast for some time after the anime. However, Mimori voiced several other characters of note. In Bodacious Space Pirates, she played the role of Belinda Percy, and in Bang Dream!, she voiced Yuri Ushigome. In Digimon Adventure Tri, Mimori took on the role of Sora Takenouchi, which she later reprised in Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna.
Mimori also plays many contrasting roles for darker series, including voicing Mimori Togo in Yuki Yuna is a Hero and Himiko in Btooom! Mimori also has a foot in the video game world, providing the voice of Hiyoko Saionji in the Danganronpa game series. With a wide acting range and a fantastic singing voice, Suzuko Mimori is one voice actor to watch this year.
9 Tetsuya Kakihara
Tetsuya Kakihara has voiced many important roles in anime, one of the biggest being the voice of Natsu Dragneel in Fairy Tail. However, Kakihara is no one-hit-wonder. He landed other major roles such as playing Simon in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Kain Fuery in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Reggie in Pokémon, and Jinpachi Toudou in Yowamushi Pedal.
Kakihara has acted in more light-hearted anime such as playing Keith Claes in My Next Life as a Villainess and Alex Tachibana in Himouto! Umaru-chan, as well as darker anime such as Corpse Party: Tortured Souls, where he voiced Sakutaro Morishige. With his amazing range of characters, Tetsuya Kakihara is a name fans should remember.
8 Chiwa Saito
Chiwa Saito has a seriously impressive resume. While many fans discovered her when she played Homura Akemi in the hugely popular Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime, Saito has voiced many more major roles. Some of her most prominent works include playing Hitagi Senjougahara in Bakemonogatari, Yona in Yona of the Dawn, Riko Aida in Kuroko's Basketball, Schierke in Berserk, and Kim Diehl in Soul Eater.
Saito proves that she is a jack of all trades by voicing characters opposite Homura, such as Xiao Mei in Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan and Aoi Asahina in both the anime & game series of Danganronpa.
7 Tatsuhisa Suzuki
Tatsuhisa Suzuki has voiced a wide range of characters from small to large roles. One of his most notable roles is Hiroomi Nase of Beyond the Boundary. Other major parts include playing Makoto Tachibana in Free!, Kazunari Takao in Kuroko's Basketball, Ban in The Seven Deadly Sins, and Alan Stuart in My Next Life as a Villainess.
Suzuki has also voiced some prominent video game characters, such as the protagonist and heir to the Lucian throne, Noctis Lucis Caelum in Final Fantasy XV, and Eve of NieR: Automata. With his many talents, Tatsuhisa Suzuki is a name to watch.
6 Kotono Mitsuishi
Kotono Mitsuishi has been voice acting since the 1980s and has built an extensive resume. One of her first major roles was the part of Usagi Tsukino in Sailor Moon, which she has reprised in Sailor Moon Crystal and every other anime iteration of the series so far. Mitsuishi was also the voice of Misato Katsuragi in Neon Genesis Evangelion, another major anime of the 1990s.
She voiced several other major parts, such as Juri Arisugawa in Revolutionary Girl Utena, Kagura Sohma in Fruits Basket, Boa Hancock in One Piece, Gracia Hughes in Fullmetal Alchemist, and Tae Yamada in Zombie Land Saga. Mitsuishi also lent her voice to some video game roles, such as Peko Pekoyama in the Danganronpa series and Katherine McBride in Catherine: Full Body.
5 Kenta Miyake
Kenta Miyake has been acting for over 2 decades and has many credits to his name. One of his first large voice acting jobs was as Tsume in Wolf's Rain. From there, Miyake landed many more important roles, such as Sydonay in Shakugan no Shana, Jirobo in Naruto, Klaus in Hayate the Combat Butler, Zambai in One Piece, and Skin Boric in D. Gray-man.
He went on to star in My Hero Academia as the famous superhero, All Might, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood as Scar, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure as Mohammed Avdol, and Tower of God as Rak Wraithraiser, among many others. Miyake's video game prowess also holds strong with roles such as Gladiolus Amicitia in Final Fantasy XV and Z.W.E.I. in Soul Calibur V.
4 Mai Nakahara
Mai Nakahara famously voiced Rena Ryuugu of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, a role she has taken on once again for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Gou. However, Nakahara has had several other major roles in her career that may surprise fans, including another Rena: Rena of .Hack//Legend of the Twilight. In the popular tearjerker Clannad, Nakahara plays one of the main characters, Nagisa Furukawa, showing off her acting range.
Nakahara's other major roles include Haruno Yukinoshita of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Mifuyu Azusa in both the Magia Record anime and game, and Sekhmet in Re:Zero. Most recently, Nakahara voiced Michiru Inukai in Talentless Nana. Mai Nakahara proves time and time again that she is inarguably talented as a voice actor.
3 Yuki Kaji
Yuki Kaji rose to fame when he voiced the morally controversial Eren Jaeger in Attack on Titan, a job he did so well, he even changed famous mangaka Hajime Isayama's opinion of Eren. Kaji has played several other characters of note including Finny in Black Butler, Alibaba Saluja in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Osamu Mikumo of World Trigger, and Yukine of Noragami.
In recent years, Kaji also voiced Meliodas in The Seven Deadly Sins, Ryuuichi Naruhodou in Ace Attorney, Shoto Todoroki in My Hero Academia, Kenma Kozume in Haikyuu!!, and Terunori Kuga in Food Wars. Kaji has many notable video game roles as well, including playing Hope Estheim in Final Fantasy XIII, and as Link in Hyrule Warriors.
2 Megumi Ogata
In the 1990s, Megumi Ogata voiced Shinji Ikari of Neon Genesis Evangelion, an anime that changed the course of the sci-fi genre forever. She has reprised this role multiple times, voicing Shinji again recently for Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time. Ogata has taken on many other significant roles, including playing Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon, Reiha in Vampire Princess Miyu, Ayato Naoi in Angel Beats!, and Itona Horibe in Assassination Classroom.
Ogata also became the voice of Yugi in the 1998 anime Yu-Gi-Oh! Ogata recently reprised another of her roles, as Yukito Tsukishiro of Cardcaptor Sakura, playing him in several movies and shorts, and recently in Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc. Ogata has done several video game roles, including playing Makoto Naegi and Nagito Komaeda in both the anime and game versions of the Danganronpa series.
1 Masakazu Morita
Masakazu Morita played the part of Ichigo Kurosaki in the hit anime Bleach, one of the roles he is most well-known for. However, Morita has taken on many other prominent roles. Some of his most notable characters include Claire Stanfield in Baccano!, Marco in One Piece, Kija in Yona of the Dawn, and Whis in Dragon Ball Super.
Morita's most recent work includes playing Barnaby Brooks Jr. in the long-running series Tiger and Bunny, a role he continues to play in Tiger and Bunny 2. Morita also voiced the character of Tidus in Final Fantasy X, reprising his role in every subsequent appearance including the Kingdom Hearts series. Truly, Morita is a man of many talents.
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