There are thousands of unique anime series that are able to tell engaging stories, many of which seem like they’d be impossible to tackle in any other medium. Anime has been able to grow into a mainstream form of entertainment, but a strong reason that series are able to connect so well with audiences is the unique and lovable characters who fill them.
Storytelling and visuals are crucial in an anime series, but the dedicated work that’s performed by the voice actors can often be just as important. Anime is full of incredible performances by the original voice actors, yet it’s still quite surprising when it turns out that some of the biggest male characters in anime are actually voiced by women.
10 Masako Nozawa Has Been The Voice Of Goku & His Family For Over 35 Years
Goku is one of the most recognizable anime characters of all time and a figure who’s able to effectively fluctuate between naïve innocence and intimidating aggression. It may come as a shock to many when they first learn that Masako Nozawa voices Goku, but there’s some method behind this casting decision. Nozawa has voiced Goku since he was a child but stuck with the character as he’s continued to age. Nozawa also voices Gohan and Goten, which keeps this trend going. Nozawa is now in her ‘80s and continues to voice these powerful male characters.
9 Maaya Sakamoto Fills Ciel Phantomhive With Layered Nuance In Black Butler
Maaya Sakamoto is a prolific voice actor who also has earned a lot of credibility as both a successful actress and singer. Sakamoto's first foray into voice acting was with 1992's Little Twins, where she voices a cherub-like character. Sakamoto has gone on to voice many prominent female characters, including the dubbed performance for Padme Amidala in the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. All of this makes Sakamoto's turn as Ciel Phantomhive come as a bigger surprise. The Black Butler character has softer features, but Ciel’s more malevolent tendencies still present themselves.
8 One Piece’s Monkey D. Luffy Connects So Well As A Lead Because Of Mayumi Tanaka’s Performance
Mayumi Tanaka is another one of the more acclaimed performers working as a voice actor in the anime industry. Tanaka has been a staple of the industry for decades and her work hasn't just received the audience's acclaim, but she's even won prestigious voice acting awards, too.
Arguably, Tanaka's biggest role is her performance as One Piece's exuberant pirate, Monkey D. Luffy. Much like Goku, Luffy is a well-balanced protagonist, and Tanaka is able to effectively portray both sides of the character. She’s voiced the shonen lead for nearly 1000 episodes and has truly disappeared into the character.
7 Junko Takeuchi Brings Vibrant Life To Naruto Uzumaki, Renowned Ninja
Typecasting can limit some actors, but other performers are able to take advantage of their niche, which has become a specialty of Junko Takeuchi. Takeuchi has built a reputation for herself with the many oddball male characters she's voiced in anime. Takeuchi excels when it comes to younger male characters who still have a mischievous streak that runs through them. Takeuchi delivers in whatever role she's in, but her most iconic performance is Naruto's own Naruto Uzumaki. Takeuchi is so natural in the part that it's easy to miss the fact that the heroic ninja is voiced by a woman.
6 Edward Elric’s Fiery Passion Rings True Through Romi Park’s Performance
Romi Park is a Korean voice actor who's made a serious dent in the anime industry over the past few decades. Park plays vital characters in huge series like Attack on Titan and Shaman King, but some of her best work comes from the beloved anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist. Fullmetal Alchemist, and its follow-up, Brotherhood, revolve around the bond between brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric. Park voices Edward and her impressive work as this reactionary young adult has much to do with the character's success. Park has played many tough characters, but her Edward performance contains the most depth.
5 Megumi Ogata Brings Shinji’s Complex Pain To Life In Neon Genesis Evangelion
Megumi Ogata has been active as a voice actor for nearly thirty years. Ogata's vocal register is on the gruffer side, which makes her a natural fit for more masculine female characters, as well as male anime protagonists.
Ogata's most iconic work is as the depressed, conflicted lead in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shinji Ikari. Shinji has become one of the most popular characters in anime because of the grueling ride that the anime takes him on. Shinji has to yell, cry, and repeatedly moan his existence, but Ogata always rises to the occasion.
4 Marina Inoue Properly Conveys The Tug Of War Of Emotions Within Titan’s Armin Arlert
Marina Inoue is relatively new to the voice acting industry, but she's already gotten several big opportunities in some of the past decade’s most successful anime. Inoue's youth and her career as a singer make her a natural fit for bubbly female characters, but she's also gotten to play against type with characters like Attack on Titan's Armin Arlert. Admittedly, Armin is one of the kinder and quiet male characters in Attack on Titan, but he still gets pushed into heavy situations. Inoue truly inhabits the pathos of this character and makes Armin his own entity.
3 Minami Takayama Has The Perfect Voice For Case Closed’s Intrepid Conan Edogawa
Minami Takayama has made major waves in the voice acting industry with a career that exhibits quite the range of roles, not to mention excellence as a singer. Takayama has voiced some important female roles, most notably Kiki in Kiki's Delivery Service, but she's also gotten to step in the shoes of some noteworthy male characters. The best example of this is Takayama’s work as Conan Edogawa in the long-running Case Closed/Detective Conan series. Conan is a bit of an anomaly since he’s an adult male who’s trapped in the body of a boy, which Minami Takayama elegantly explores.
2 Pokémon’s Ash Ketchum Gains His Spark From Rica Matsumoto
Rica Matsumoto has been a staple in the anime industry for over four decades, and in that time she's gotten to voice some of the most beloved characters out of children's anime. American audiences were surprised to learn that Ash Ketchum in the Pokémon dub has been voiced by women, but this precedent was previously established in the original Japanese anime. Rica Matsumoto perfectly embodies the voice of scrappy Pokémon trainer, Ash (Satoshi, in the Japanese version). Matsumoto also sings a number of the songs in the Pokémon anime, which highlights the extent of her range.
1 Megumi Han Elevates Gon & Helps Him Grow Throughout Hunter X Hunter
Hunter x Hunter is a groundbreaking shonen anime series that doesn't always get the respect that it deserves. The anime strives to not fall into a repetitive pattern with its storytelling as well as consistently challenge its plucky protagonist, Gon Freecss. Gon is voiced by Megumi Han, who brilliantly taps into both Gon's innocence as well as the rage that can sometimes take him over. Han has an impressive career and voices Miki Kawai in the exceptional film, A Silent Voice, but her performance as Gon is still some of her strongest work.