Connecting Anime Characters to Their Voice Actors

Voice acting is practically an art in Japan, and there are over 130 voice acting schools around the country. Sixty per cent of the world's animation is made in Japan, so it comes as a given that the voice acting biz is big. And by big, think: fanbases, performances where voice actors read their script out loud in front of a whole audience, fan events where they act out their characters (for example, Ace of Diamond is such a popular sports anime that they have events where the actors play baseball at the stadium), variety segments, and radio shows.

Take a look at our list that links voice actors (also known as seiyuu in Japanese) to various titles you might be familiar with!

Note: For the sake of brevity, our list isn't an extensive one, and we have only listed down roles in popular anime titles the public may be able to recognise.

Male Voice Actors

His voice, deep and dignified, has landed him in protagonist roles where his characters take on leadership. He voices the abrasive and unapproachable squad leader, Levi Ackerman in Shingeki No Kyojin, but can switch personalities as the soft-spoken Takashi Natsume in Natsume Youjinchou. More hilariously, he took the role of Choromatsu, one of the sextuplets in Osomatsu-san; the most logical and practical one out of the siblings.

Now you've probably heard this guy's voice in almost every anime ever. If Hiroshi is the dude who plays leader-types, then Yuki is the one who plays the up-and-coming young leads. His voice is so distinctively loud that someone even compiled his screams in Guilty Crown. But he also knows how to tune it down in Haikyuu!! where he plays the introverted Kozume Kenma.

Both a voice actress and a singer, this 27-year-old made her voice acting debut 13 years ago. Her long career has seen her playing characters such as the idealistic Inspector Akane Tsunemori in Psycho-Pass and the gentle Kosaki Onodera in Nisekoi.

This voice actress' talent has such a wide range, going from cutesy from one character to having a mature, deep tone in another.

Saori Hayami

Her refined tone and mannerisms has led her to be cast as high-class female characters, such as Miyuki Shiba in Mahouka Koukou No Rettousei, but she hasn't been typecast just yet. One of her popular characters, Shirayuki from Akagami Shirayuki-hime is a peasant girl who falls in love with a prince.

Female voice actresses have also voiced iconic male characters before:

This is where connecting voice actors to their characters are fun, because some actors get to reprise certain dynamics with other actors they've worked with before. Maybe it's chemistry, or maybe it's the producer playing up their reputation, but most of the time, it works.

Yuki Kaji and Hiroshi Kamiya starred in the mega popular Shingeki No Kyojin; the latter playing a 'mentor' of sorts to the former. Similarly in Noragami, Kamiya plays Yato, a deity who uses and trains Yuki's character, Yukine, as his weapon.

Up and coming voice actors Ryota Ohsaka and Natsuki Hanae have played best friends who like the same girl in Your Lie in April and baseball teammates in Ace of Diamond. They've also voiced identical twins in Prince of Stride Alternative. Outside of their voice acting gigs, the two co-host a radio show, Ohana, together.

There's also Maaya Sakamoto and Mamoru Miyano, who have played romantic couple dynamics, including in the 'classic' favourite, Ouran High School Host Club as Haruhi Fujioka and Tamaki Suou. Their roles took a darker turn in the supernatural thriller Death Note as Kiyomi Takada and Light Yagami.

Satoshi Hino has paired up with Rie Kugimiya's 'difficult' female characters at least twice; in Zero no Tsukaima and Shakugan No Shana.