So I originally was going to work on/post a new Seiyuu Spotlight feature today about a wonderful voice actress but I got a little frustrated with some things and decided to put that to the side for now. In the meantime, I wanted to do another one of these write-ups/lists where I talk about some more new faces in the anime voice acting industry, which you can see my first “installment” by clicking here. There have been some rooks that have gotten their big breaks or just caught my eye as of recent, and I think they are worth informing you about. (also you’ll be seeing a lot of connections between these seiyuu, in regards to starring in the same shows lol)
And I know I said I would do something like this but with male rookie seiyuu but I’ll be honest right now… I don’t know many of them. The only one I can really think of is Uchida Yuuma (younger brother of popular seiyuu/idol Uchida Maaya) but I personally don’t know much about him to be sure if he’s an actual rookie. So, maybe another time.
That being said, let’s jump right in!
Koga Aoi
Despite not having many roles, I truly believe Koga Aoi is something special.
If you happened to watch a little show called Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Koga Aoi will definitely sound familiar since she did play Shinomiya Kaguya. Unlike a lot of female characters nowadays where they sound very cute and high-pitched, Kaguya is certainly different with her classy and serious-sounding tone. And Koga Aoi does a very, very good job portraying Kaguya and her personality.
Both as that classy and perfect student council vice president, as well as what her inner thoughts are like, you can tell that Aoi-chan was able to do those personality/behavior changes in Shinomiya really well. And going off of what we’ve seen of Koga Aoi so far, I believe she can go far in this industry with her vocal abilities, especially when she can do a pretty darn good deep/serious-sounding voice.
Also here’s a pic of Aoi (left) with the actress who plays Kaguya in the live-action adaptation, where she actually had a cameo in it!
Tomita Miyu
I’ve personally seen many of the shows that Tomita Miyu is in to the point where her voice is very recognizable lol.
Debuting back in 2015, playing background characters in Himouto Umaru-chan, Miyu-chan has certainly come a long way since then. She landed the main role in idol children’s show Aikatsu Stars, and really got her big break in 2017 when she played Gabriel Tenma White in Gabriel Dropout and Riko from the popular adventure anime Made in Abyss.
One thing I notice about Miyu in the many shows I’ve seen her in is that even though she doesn’t change her voice too much, she is able to portray characters of different kinds very well. Some examples being a perfect-angel-turned-lazy-NEET with Gabriel, energetic and joyful Riko in Made in Abyss, a young and serious-about-studies girl in Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai, and even a full-on chuunibyou-type of character in the currently airing comedy Joshikousei no Mudazukai.
Miyu-chan is also pretty damn talented, music-wise. She is a part of a seiyuu idol group called Kleissis, and about a month ago Miyu announced that she will be debuting as a solo artist in November! And obviously, she has done character songs/tracks within the anime she has been in such as being a part of the seiyuu unit connected with Bokuben that did the opening/endings of the show, Study.
Suzushiro Sayumi
Suzushiro Sayumi is a pretty brand new name in the industry and has done roles in the past such as Shirogane Kei from Kaguya-sama and Akira in High School Girl where she, from my understanding, didn’t even say a word. But the character that really made me like her and think she had a good amount of potential was Takemoto Uruka from Bokuben… aka best girl.
But while I won’t go and try to convince you on why you should root for Team Uruka in the Yuiga Bowl, Sayumi’s performance/portrayal of her was so enjoyable and really brought out the personality of Takemoto. That fun, tomboy-like voice was done well by Suzushiro-san and I think that was one of the factors on why I loved Uruka in that series. Also, Sayumi’s vocal performance as Uruka heavily reminded me of another seiyuu whose known to do spunky and energetic roles, Touyama Nao. And I mean, if you can do similar things to what Naobou has done in the past with genki characters like Kujou Karen or Yuigahama Yui, I think you can go pretty far in this industry.
Oh yeah, she’s also in that Okaa-san Online anime that’s airing this season, as Wise. Nice to hear her in more stuff now.
Oozora Naomi
Similar to Tomita Miyu, I think Oozora Naomi also does a great job being able to portray characters with different personalities/behaviors. Due to the extremely high popularity of the IDOLM@STER series and its Cinderella Girls group, a lot of people most likely first knew Naomi as the voice of the lovable Ogata Chieri. There, she does a timid, nervous, shy voice which perfectly fits that character.
But in 2017, she drastically changes it up when she played Satania Kurumizawa McDowell in Gabriel Dropout, a devil who is really devoted to do evil and mischievous things and defeat her rival Gabriel (aka Tomita Miyu’s character). I absolutely loved Naomi’s performance as Satania, as she sounded amazing with her loud, “chuunibyou-like” voice and the fact that she was very funny to listen to. I personally think Naomi really displayed her talents in this show and her abilities within voice acting.
And like I said in the beginning, she does a great job doing different characters such as a weird high school girl in Chio’s School Road or a sweet and angelic little girl in Wataten.
Kito Akari
Last but definitely not least, one of the busiest women I’ve seen in this industry today, Kito Akari. A lot of people probably started to know about her when she played Meletes Siluca in Grancrest Senki or a tsundere like Hinata Kaho in Blend S, but those roles certainly was the start of a load of work coming towards her.
Himesaka Noa from Wataten, Honshou Aru in Hitoribocchi, Uma Musume’s Seiun Sky, Chiyoda Momo from Machikado Mazoku and Nezuko in Kimetsu no Yaiba in the current anime season, and even being casted in the newest and upcoming Love Live group as Konoe Kanata. And on top of casting, she also has live events, concerts, radio shows to do, so… I’m just impressed with how she can handle all this 😛
But I think all these are very deserving since she is pretty darn talented. She can change up her voice to portray characters of different kinds whether that be a happy-go-lucky gal like Noa or Kaho, or even someone much more calm such as Kanata and Momo. Hell, she can play a demon girl who just mumbles all the time. And if you happened to read my Hitoribocchi first impressions post, I thought the decision to cast Akarin in that show was absolutely perfect, given that she has played characters that just make you want to smile super well.
Music-wise, Akarin exceeds expectations. She can certainly sing, and you can hear a lot of her singing abilities in character songs or theme songs from the anime she’s in such as Honshou Aru’s iconic song or even Kanata’s solo from the Nijigasaki album. But hearing her sing “Kimagure Romantic” in this video truly made me think that Akarin is an incredible and talented singer.
Akarin also announced that she will be making her solo musical debut in October (her birthday, to be exact) with the release of her single “Swinging Heart”. Can’t wait for that!
That’s all I gotta say for today. This post was kinda just whipped up quickly but I really wanted to show all of you these five wonderful voice actresses you should look out for. All of them are talented and lovable, both as actresses and real life personalities, so I hope you found someone that you enjoy.
Thanks for reading!! 😀
-al
omunibasu 