The most popular character was the one played by Akira! The result of "Akira Ishida's Birthday Commemoration! Character Popularity Poll" results announced!

To commemorate voice actor Akira Ishida's birthday, Akiba Research Institute conducted from November 2, 2019 to November 10, 2019 the "Akira Ishida Birthday Commemoration! Character Popularity Poll". The results are now available.

Akira Ishida is a very popular voice actor with a distinctive voice called "Ishida voice. His unique voice is unrivaled and can be described as a one-of-a-kind, miraculous voice.

How did Akiba Research Institute users vote for Ms. Ishida's character?　In the "Akira Ishida's birthday commemoration! Character Popularity Poll," and here are the top 10.

No. 1: Kotaro Katsura ( Gintama series)...3350 votes
No. 2: Shuichi Natori ( Natsume's Book of Friends series)...1494 votes
No.3: Kaworu Nagisa (" Neon Genesis Evangelion " series) ...1404 votes
No.4: Fyodor D. (" Stray Dogs " series) ...1194 votes
No.5: Aslan Zara (" Mobile Suit Gundam SEED " series) ...1129 votes
No.6: Inoha Kai (" Saiyuki " series) ... 768 votes
No. 7: Yurakutei Yakumo / Kikuhiko (" Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju " series) ... 605 votes
No. 8: Darning Shusei (" PSYCHO-PASS " series) ... 555 votes
No. 9: Gaara (" Naruto Shippuden " series) ... 551 votes
No. 10: Tadashi Hakuba (" Majikku Kaito " series) ... 374 votes

Our editors had expected Kaworu and Aslan to come out on top, but it turns out that the winner was Kotaro Katsura, a popular character from the "Gintama" series, who is well known for saying, "It's not a wig, it's Katsura. He is the leader of the anti-shogunate "Exclusionist Party," and a childhood friend of Gintoki Sakata and Shinsuke Takasugi, who both studied under Shoyo Yoshida and were allies during the Exclusionist War. Whenever these old friends call him by his nickname "Zura," he replies, "It's not Zura, it's Katsura! Even when he is hiding his true identity, he always responds in the same way, and his true identity is revealed. He is a man who, like many of his works, has strong gag elements, such as the two shots with the mysterious space creature "Elizabeth" given to him by Tatsuma Sakamoto of the Kaiyentai, and the placard conversation with Elizabeth.

The second-place finisher in a fierce dead heat with Katsura was Shuichi Natori, a fellow yokai of the main character Takashi Natsume, from the "Natsume's Book of Friends" series. Unlike Katsura, Shuichi Natori was a character who appeared in the series with a distinctly fishy odor, but like Katsura, he is a good friend and helper to Natsume. In this respect, Natori and Katsura have a lot in common. However, Natori is a popular actor active in TV dramas and movies, so it is a safe bet that Ishida-san is the most popular choice when it comes to mysterious good-looking characters.

The third-place finisher in a fierce battle with Natori was Kaworu Nagisa, the popular character from the "Neon Genesis Evangelion" series. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the character who has made Mr. Ishida's name famous in the anime world. Although his appearance in the TV version was only in the 24th episode, "The Last Shi Shi," he became so popular that when it was announced that he would appear in the movie version, there were screams of delight and his comment, "I mean I love you," definitely made female fans and male fans alike lose their minds. The comment "I mean I love you" was surely a hit with not only female fans but also male fans.

Coming in at No. 4 is Fyodor D, the head of the underground band of thieves known as the "Death House Rats" and a member of the murderous group "Tenjin Goketsu" from "Bungo Stray Dogs". The anime version of "Bungo Stray Dogs" was released in 2016, which is unusual for Mr. Ishida, who has been active since the 1990s, and he is a new character to the list. However, the original work itself is a popular work that has been adapted for the stage, made into a movie, and developed into a smartphone app, and the character has a lot to offer, including the first person "boku" (me) in Ishida's voice, the honorific character, the habit of biting his fingers, and the eerie smile on his face. Just to list a few of the characters, it is impossible to say that they are not popular.

Speaking of honorific characters, the 6th-ranked character Ino Hakkai from the "Saiyuki" series, the 7th-ranked character Yurakutei Yakumo/Kikubiko from "Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju", and the 10th-ranked character Hakuba Kan from "Majikku Kaito" are also honorific characters, I guess. Hachikai is usually mild-mannered, always smiling, and a protector of Sanzo and his group, but when he gets angry, he is actually the scariest character in the story. Many people must have been captivated by the gap between his past and present stories. Hakuba Tadashi is the original boy detective character in Gosho Aoyama's works, and although he appears infrequently, he is still very popular, coming in at No. 10 on the list. Many people may think of Mr. Ishida as an honorific character.

Aslan Zara from the "Mobile Suit Gundam Seed" series appears in fifth place.
He is the childhood friend of the main character, Kira Yamato, and another main character. He is also an elite pilot with top-class piloting skills in mobile suit battles, as well as a surprisingly skilled pilot who shows his prowess in hand-to-hand combat. He is a top 5 character in the "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" series.

The most unusual character in this year's Top 10 is probably Yurakutei Yakumo / Kikuhiko from "Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju" at No. 7. In "Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju," Yakumo Yurakutei, known as "the last master of the Showa era" and "the master of Mukojima," became the lone rakugo performer who inherited the Yurakutei name as Yakumo VIII, and Kikuhiko, Yakumo's younger days, played two generations of a single character. Many people must have taken their hat off to his acting and rakugo ability. For those who have not yet seen the show, I urge you to listen to Yakumo's "Shinigami" played by Mr. Ishida.

In eighth place is Darning Shusei, an enforcer in the Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Section 1 from the "PSYCHO-PASS Psycho-Pass" series, which is currently airing its third season. He is a mood-maker with a playful personality and often jokes and talks lightly to everyone, but in reality, he was rejected by society at the age of 5 due to his psychopathic judgment, and has a history of being declared a latent criminal with no hope of being treated and rehabilitated. Her love of games and her skill at cooking are expressed in a variety of ways by Ms. Ishida's voice, and many people were drawn to her lively character.

The ninth-place finisher, narrowly edging out Darning by four votes, was Gaoira from the "Naruto Shippuden" series. The word "love" on his forehead is a character that attracts the viewer's attention. He was a lonely boy who was shunned by his father, the Kazekage IV, and when we hear the story of how he engraved the word on his forehead as a sign that he loved only himself, we are drawn to his story even more than his appearance suggests. He becomes the Kazekage in the second part of the story as he comes to understand Naruto, the main character, and like Katsura, Natori, and Kaworu-kun, he is ranked among the characters that have a great influence on the main character.

The above is the "Akira Ishida's Birthday Celebration: Character Popularity Poll," in which we selected 97 carefully selected characters from the characters he has played, and presented them to you! Character Popularity Poll," what was your favorite character ranked?
Please see below for the results of the 11th place and below, which we could not fully introduce this time.

Last but not least, we would like to wish a very happy birthday to Akira Ishida!

Let the enchanting "Ishida voice" be eternal: !!!!!!