2018 Seiyuu Awards

These roll around faster than you expect, don’t they?

Last year’s winners:

Best Actor
Kamiki Ryunosuke (Amuse)

Best Actress
Kamishiraishi Mone (Toho)

Best Supporting Actor
Ohtsuka Hochu (Crazy Box)

Best Supporting Actress
Han Megumi (Atomic Monkey)

Best Male Newcomer
Ito Setsuo (Air Agency), Uchida Yuma (I’m Enterprise), Kobayashi Yusuke (Yu-rin Pro)

Best Female Newcomer
Ozawa Ari (I’m Enterprise), Senbongi Sayaka (I’m Enterprise), Tanaka Minami (81produce)

Best Singer
Aqours

Best Personality
Hanae Natsuki (Across Entertainment)

>> -Kimi no Na wa was big this year, they’ll want to acknowledge that. But surely not by doing a Kanda Sayaka and rewarding mainstream actors with voice acting awards? I wouldn’t mind me some Kamiki publicity shots but…

LOL look at what I said last year…I should’ve had more confidence in myself. The irony is that I didn’t even get my Kamiki publicity shots since he didn’t turn up at the event (his co-star Kamishiraishi did though).

My votes this year:

Best Actor: Suwabe Junichi (Haikyo)

Anyone but Matsuoka this year please?

I thought a bit longer about this one. In the end, Suwabe got my vote simply because I’ve been watching plenty of shows with him over the past 12 months, starting from Yuri on Ice to Demi-chan wa Kataritai to Isekai Shokudo to Fate/Apocrypha, Vatican Kiseki Chosakan and Shōkoku no Altair.
Other possibilities: Kaji Yuki, Yamashita Daiki, Suzumura Kenichi

Best Actress: Yuuki Aoi (Pro-Fit)

Y.Aoi was the obvious standout for me – I wasn’t a fan of her Tanya (Yojo Senki) but there were other splendid performances in the form of ACCA 13’s Lotta, Aho Girl’s Yoshiko and the titular character in the Kino no Tabi remake. She won this award in 2012 so that might count against her.
Other possibilities: Hayami Saori, Tomatsu Haruka, Anzai Chika

Best Supporting Actor: Saito Soma (81produce)

Last year, Ohtsuka Hochu was justly rewarded for his terrific performance in Ajin albeit a year late. Pondered voting Tsuda Kenjiro for a 2nd year running, though he had a less prolific year this time around – but you never know, right? In the end I went for one of my favourite young actors but I’m thinking they’ll probably give it to one of the older guys…anyone from Hiyama Nobuyuki to Sakaguchi Daisuke is a possibility.
Other possibilities: Genda Tessho, Okamoto Nobuhiko, Sugita Tomokazu

Best Supporting Actress: Taichi Yō (Vims)

Too many choices, no idea who to pick. Taichi is someone I’ve been rooting for for a while and I think 2017 has been a great year for her, her sexy Dorothy in Princess Principal being the deciding factor in my vote.
Other possibilities: Hikasa Yoko, Komatsu Mikako, Ichimichi Mao, Sakura Ayane

Best Male Newcomer: Horie Shun (Pro-Fit)

This should’ve been a straight pick between Horie and Chiba Shōya but the latter is from Sigma Seven e and we know how that goes. So it’s Horie for me. I like his voice in that despite sounding like a pre-pubescent teen, he doesn’t make it sissy, whiny or grating (sorry Yonaga Tsubasa & Yamashita Daiki).
I voted Yashiro Taku last year but he didn’t win, so the door is still open. Same story for a host of others. A bit early for Kumagai Kentaro, Ichikawa Taichi, Ichikawa Aoi, Tokutake Tatsuya etc, they’ll have other chances.
Other possibilities: Yashiro Taku, Inoue Yuuki, Sugawara Shinsuke

Best Female Newcomer: Kito Akari (Pro-Fit)

Taking Osawa’s Kohara Konomi out of the equation, Akarin’s the one rookie who easily stands out for having both decent acting chops and the looks/ ability to carry off an idol career of sorts (she’s been cast in one of those Love Live franchises)..
In recent years they’ve been putting at least 1 idol-oriented girl on the list so expect one of those to come in. Maybe even Ozaki Yuka for Kemono Friends?
Other possibilities: Tomita Miyu, Hondo Kaede, Harada Sayaka, Fujita Akane

Best Singer: AOP

I don’t know if this is even allowed..? Most of the past winners have been idol groups of some kind & I voted Walkure last year but they didn’t get it. Can I vote Suzuki Konomi or Kanda Sayaka (those SAO tracks were awesome!!) instead? They’re seiyuu, aren’t they?
Other possibilities: Poppin’Party/Bang Dream!, Kemono Friends

Best Personality: Sakura Ayane

I give up. I’m just randomly voting at this point…

Points to ponder this year:
/So far, Hosoya Yoshimasa’s been the only “young” freelancer seiyuu to get an acting award [for the 2016 Awards].
/Mausu doesn’t seem to be getting anything of late even though they have plenty of strong shouts w/ the likes of Kurosawa Tomoyo & Kakuma Ai…
/Pro-Fit getting stronger and stronger after Kayanon left. With the guys they’ve got Okamoto & Ishikawa Kaito. For the younger kids they have Iwami Manaka coming up as well…and keep an eye out for Shuto Yukina. Not bad for one of the smaller agencies!
/Potential curveballs? There weren’t any BIG mainstream movies a la Kimi no Na wa this year – the closest candidates are the likes of Yuasa’s Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta (Tani Kanon in the titular kid role), Studio Ponoc’s Mary to Majo no Hana (Sugisaki Hana & Kamiki again) and Yoru wa Mijikashi Aruke yo Otome (the inescapable Hoshino Gen). Or who knows, they might reward a dubbed work a la Frozen, like Sakamoto Maaya in Sing! or Kon Natsumi in Beauty and the Beast…w

Place your votes here on the official site, and if you’re hardcore enough you can add another 2 sets of votes via Web Netwype’s site and on the animelo mix mobile site.

2017 Seiyuu Awards

It’s actually that time of year again…! As usual, you can vote here, deadline is the end of November. You can also add another 2 votes via the Newtype website or on the Animelo site (mobile only).

For the record, last year’s winners for categories that had voting:

Best Actor
Matsuoka Yoshitsugu (I’m Enterprise)

Best Actress
Minase Inori (Sony Music Artists)

Best Supporting Actor
Suzumura Kenichi (Intention) and Hosoya Yoshimasa (freelance)

Best Supporting Actress
Ito Shizuka (Ken Production) and Hayami Saori (I’m Enterprise)

Best Male Newcomer
Umehara Yuichiro (ArtsVision), Takeuchi Shunsuke (81 Produce), Murase Ayumu (VIMS)

Best Female Newcomer
Uesaka Sumire (Space Craft Entertainment), Takahashi Rie (81 Produce), and Tanaka Aimi (81 Produce)

Best Singer
i☆Ris

Best Personality
Suzumura Kenichi (Intention)

Most Votes (Hall of Fame)
Kamiya Hiroshi (Aoni Production)

Anyways, you know & I know that these awards are rigged and mean nothing to anybody so just vote for your faves and have a laugh when the results roll around.

My votes this year:

Best Actor: Ishida Akira

It was either him or Yamadera Koichi but I suppose Ishida’s ero-ness shaded it for me. I don’t think anybody else this year came remotely close to matching these two’s performances in Rakugo Shinju to be honest.

I suppose the popular audience choice would be Kobayashi Yusuke for Re:Zero – my honest opinion is that I can think of 2 or 3 others who might’ve done as well or better in the role. He’s much more memorable as the refined, poised King (in-waiting) Arslan – there must be a reason why Kobayashi is synonymous with 殿下 (denka, His Royal Highness) over in Japan, right?

Best Actress: Hayami Saori

I keep thinking about voting for Kayano Ai, but I wonder if there’s any point knowing that Osawa is unlikely to accept an award. So my next choice by default, is Hayami Saori.

Best Supporting Actor: Tsuda Kenjiro

It has been a great year for Tsuda, probably his best ever year as a seiyuu in anime over his 20-year career. He’s rarely the lead and almost always a supporting antagonist of some kind, but he really stood out in series like 91 Days (Fango), Bubuki Buranki (Shusaku), Taboo Tattoo (R.R) and Joker Game (Gamo). You can’t miss his very distinctive growl and you’ve probably seen him in at least one show you watched this year, be it Euphonium S2, Tales of Zestiria, Flip Flappers or even his return to his signature role of Seto Kaiba in the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie.

Best Supporting Actress: Hikasa Yoko

I was considering M.A.O for a while before realizing I don’t really recall anything she did in 2016 (apart from Keijo) when compared to last year. Hikasa meanwhile, has been busy as usual and seems to pop up everywhere. (Favourite role this year: Yagami Ko; New Game!)

Best Male Newcomer: Yashiro Taku

I don’t have much to go off here. Yashiro is the one I like most of the newer batch, voice-wise. I suppose the only other plausible choices are Uchida Yuma (bland), Hatanaka Tasuku (wooden), Nishiyama Kotaro (just past the 5-year mark) and Uemura Yuto (too unknown). Maybe Masuda Toshiki still has a chance as his 5 years aren’t up yet…? Might Horie Shun or Yonai Yuki have a late shout at it?

Best Female Newcomer: Senbongi Sayaka

On the other hand there are way too many possibilities with this category. You look at last year’s list and laugh at the fact that Sumipe is on it. So anyone is a possibility right? Ozawa Ari hasn’t won anything yet either and she’s not reached the 5-year career mark. There’s Lynn, Suzuki, Naganawa, Akaneya, Hondo etc. But I’m going for Senbongi ahead of Hondo because of Mumei, one of the most memorable characters of 2016. And for Aigasaki in Magikyun. And Chitose in Girlish Number.

Best singer: Walkure

This is their best (only) chance, right?

Best personality: Onishi Saori

Oh dear. I am clueless as usual with this category since I have no time for radio nowadays..which means I’m picking the person whose shows I happen to be listening to most. Like, 4 at the moment…

Note:
-As usual, you can expect to discount Sigma Seven and Osawa peeps since they don’t accept awards (bar Hanazawa that one year & Mizuki Nana for singing ones).
-Kimi no Na wa was big this year, they’ll want to acknowledge that. But surely not by doing a Kanda Sayaka and rewarding mainstream actors with voice acting awards? I wouldn’t mind me some Kamiki publicity shots but….

2016 Seiyuu Awards

It’s that time of year again. Looks like they’ve either forgotten about, or done away with the English site/overseas award this time around…or maybe it’s too early, I don’t know.

My votes

Best Actor: Koyama Rikiya

Klaus and Tora?

Best Actress: Saito Chiwa

I just want to give Chiwa-chan an award for churning out awesome performances while heavily pregnant AND not stopping work at all after giving birth. Just think about it, she oozed all that sexy Yona tsundere while she was on the verge of popping a baby.

Best Supporting Actor: Maeno Tomoaki

Best Supporting Actress: Kobayashi Yuu

First names that came to mind, no real reason behind the votes. I just enjoyed the overall body of work from both of these guys this year. Kobayu really shone in a bunch of supporting roles, even when I only glanced through things like Monmusu and ClassCris.

Best Newcomer Actor: Kobayashi Yusuke

Best Newcomer Actress: Ishigami Shizuka

You probably already know how much I love both of these guys. Whisper it, but I ship them together too…

Ahem. There were 3 awards dished out in the newcomer category last year which was quite funny, they’re unashamedly making up the rules as they go along!

I voted for Ozawa Ari last time out but Suzaki Aya was the one who got the gong instead. Surely Ozawa-chan will be up this time around. Unless someone high up at I’m Ent decides they’d rather have someone older like Onishi Saori or Sakura Ayane pick it up, which would quite frankly, be bizarre. Ayaneru might have a better shot at supporting awards…

For other agency peeps, there’s Takahashi Rie from 81p or Kurosawa Tomoyo from Mausu as possibilities…and yeah, there are all those Live/P idols whose names and faces I don’t recognize, plus MuRay might want in on the action even if those other two aren’t yet prominent enough to warrant acting prizes…not that that ever matters, I guess?

For the guys, Uchida Yuma (I’m Ent) and Umehara Yuichiro (Arts) are obvious candidates.

Singer: Sakamoto Maaya

Good Lord I have no idea, this category is always like the Sahara for me.

Personality: Sugita Tomokazu

Good Lord I have no idea, this category is always like the Sahara for me.
————————————————————————————
PS. I’m sure they’d like to give Minase Inori something somewhere, but I’m not sure where.

PSS. I want to give Hayami Saori something too, but I don’t know what. The ‘Ganbatta ne!’ award?

You can vote at the usual place.

2015 Seiyuu Awards

Listing this down for posterity’s sake. For the record, the last time I voted was in 2010.

You can still vote here, until 30th November. The site says that overseas votes will count as part of domestic votes for this iteration of the Awards. Will you still put in your votes twice?

Best actor: Ono Daisuke (Jojo/Barakamon)
Voting for Nakamura Yuichi would have been pointless, so I went for someone who has won before already, but I wouldn’t mind seeing win again.Truth be told though, anything but a Kaji threepeat is fine by me.

Best actress: Tomatsu Haruka (Youkai Watch)
2014 has been like a dry well for memorable female seiyuu performances that aren’t by a newbie/upstart. With Hanazawa, Taneda etc out of the running that leaves few choices. My sentimental pick would be Ueda Kana but is Rin a strong enough case for them to award her? Doubt it. Tomatsu maybe? Keita might just be one of my favourite roles of Tomatsu’s ever. Youkai Watch may or may not be the next Pokemon, but it’ll fill her rice bowl for years to come.

Best supporting actor – Uchiyama Kouki (Ping Pong)
Yeah the supporting category is just a crapshoot and they can go for whoever they want. It was between Uchiyama and Shimazaki Nobunaga for my vote.

Best supporting actress – Nakahara Mai (Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun)
I’m just thinking of how I’m Enterprise have so many talents that have yet to pick up any gongs over the years; your Saito Chiwas & Ueda Kanas & Hayami Saoris & Yukarins & Hikasa Yokos. Kugyu’s won before, as has Matsuoka and Uchida M. Hopefully time for another one? Mai’s best performance in years of late was in Jintai, but Kashima-kun was a surprisingly different, and excellent turn from her.

Best new actor – Hanae Natsuki (Tokyo Ghoul)
So is Ohsaka Ryota not up for the Seiyuu Awards? Early Wing is his agency (KitaEri’s too) so maybe they’re not playing ball. Saito Shoma is the other one who might get a look in this year.

Best new actress – Ozawa Ari (Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun)
It’s a long time since any rookie seiyuu got me as excited as Ozawa-chan has. I could go on and on all day about why I really, really like her but…yeah. I picked her over Tenchan so there you go. That said, I don’t think Ari will win, it’s probably too early for her.

Best vocal – Chihara Minori
I drew a blank and voted for whoever came to my mind first. Maybe I should’ve voted Sphere instead.

Best personality – didn’t vote
I don’t have a clue about this at all.