Taking into account the sheer number of anime produced every year, voice acting is probably one of the most competitive artistic professions in Japan. Japanese voice acting does tend to be on another level and the way in which the actors pour their hearts into every scream, laugh, and grunt is certainly commendable. Some voice actors keep their talents limited to a few anime, while some others have literally voiced hundreds of characters throughout their careers.

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The anime equivalent of Rotten Tomatoes or IMDb, MyAnimeList has been a leading figure in the anime industry for many years for all kinds of rankings and information. Using their statistics, the following list looks at the most popular anime characters in history and the men and women who worked behind the scenes to bring them to life.

10 Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter) - Kanako Mitsuhashi and Mariya Ise

Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter) - Kanako Mitsuhashi and Mariya Ise

Rookie Hunter Killua Zoldyck is one of the four protagonists of Hunter x Hunterbut in terms of popularity, he is in a league of his own (at least judging by the votes on MAL). The anime first aired in 1999 and ran for 62 episodes during the course of which Killua was voiced by Kanako Mitsuhashi.

More than a decade later, actor Mariya Ise lent her voice to the character when the anime was rebooted, starting anew with a different studio and thus completely different voice actors.

9 Okabe Rintarou (Steins;Gate) - Mamoru Miyano

Okabe Rintarou (Steins;Gate) - Mamoru Miyano

With an unfortunate first half that doesn't do justice to the rest of the plot, Steins;Gate is a critically-acclaimed sci-fi anime on an unsurpassable level. Okabe Rintarou, despite being at such a young age of only 18 years old is arguably the most famous mad-scientist in anime, although it is perhaps insulting to call the guy who invented time travel "mad".

And as if working on one massively popular character wasn't enough, actor Mamoru Miyano voiced Yagami Light in Death Note as well, and Masaomi Kida in Durarara!!.

8 Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto) - Junko Takeuchi

Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto) - Junko Takeuchi

Everybody's favorite ninja in orange, Naruto is not a name anyone even familiar with the concept of anime could possibly be unacquainted with, regardless of whether they've actually watched the show or not. A big part of the character's charm is how much of a complete journey his story is, from a playful child to a mentor and father.

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Across its 700+ episodes, the responsibility of literally giving the character a voice was handled by Junko Takeuchi for over 15 years.

7 Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) - Romi Park

Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) - Romi Park

Fullmetal Alchemist tells the story of the Elric brothers in their search for the Philosopher's Stone and restoring their damaged bodies. While both brothers are the main protagonists, considering Alphonse isn't even a human it's not too difficult to see why Edward is more famous in general.

Ironically, one of the most famous brother duos in anime are voiced by women actors, and Romi Park has won many awards throughout her career for her performances in FMA and her projects include Bleach and Attack on Titan.

6 Roronoa Zoro (One Piece) - Kazuya Nakai

Roronoa Zoro (One Piece) - Kazuya Nakai

One Piece is the only anime that somehow managed to sneak its name twice into this list, which is perhaps expected from one of the longest-running anime ever with nearly 1000 episodes. A legendry swordsman by his own merit, Roronoa Zoro was the first to join the Straw Hat Pirates after Luffy himself.

Surprisingly enough, actor Kazuya Nakai doesn't voice just Zoro in One Piece, but 6 other supporting characters such as Drip and Nusstorte Charlotte. Besides this, he can also be found in Gintama and Fire Force.

5 Yagami Light (Death Note) - Mamoru Miyano

Yagami Light (Death Note) - Mamoru Miyano

Unlike many of the others on the list, Yagami Light is not a character with any redeeming or heroic attributes. He is straight up the villain of the story and a despicable person, and his popularity is proof of the fact that audiences will not shy away from rooting for even the antagonist as long as they are well-written.

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In the beginning, all Yagami Light wanted was to rid the world of bad people, but his sadistically executed noble ambitions soon faded away and revealed it clear that all he was interested in was playing God.

4 Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece) - Mayumi Tanaka

Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece) - Mayumi Tanaka

Monkey D. Luffy's quest for the titular One Piece is one that has been a long time in the making, a little too long some might even say. Women voicing male characters is a phenomenon that can only be witnessed in anime, and one must applaud the versatility of these voice actors for being able to accomplish such a feat.

Long-lasting characters seem to be Mayumi Tanaka's specialty, as besides doing the voice of Luffy for over 20 years she also worked on Dragon Ball Z as the voice of Krillin since his first appearance in 1985.

3 Levi (Attack On Titan) - Hiroshi Kamiya

Being a force to be reckoned with is the most common characteristic a fictional hero could possibly have, but there is just something about it that never fails to draw people in, and Levi is no exception to this. To outshine everybody when it comes to the coolness factor in an anime where half the characters can turn into 50 feet tall monsters is no ignorable achievement indeed.

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Hiroshi Kamiya brings a certain level of gravitas to Levi through his voice that has become one of the character's signature traits.

2 L (Death Note) - Kappei Yamaguchi

L (Death Note) - Kappei Yamaguchi

Not many people (or in this case, fictional characters) can claim to be recognizable just from a single English alphabet like L can. He is the antithesis of the protagonist and also the main villain Yagami Light.

The two exist because and for each other and are the sole two factors that function together to keep pushing the plot forward to its extreme lengths. L isn't the only world-famous detective that actor Kappei Yamaguchi has worked on, as he is also the man behind the voice of Detective Conan.

1 Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass) - Jun Fukuyama

Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass) - Jun Fukuyama

The exceptionally intelligent writing of Code Geass is something that is rarely seen anymore, and the anime expresses and explores itself through its main character Lelouch Lamperouge who is regarded as one of the smartest characters ever in anime.

A character as complex as anything can get, it's not too difficult to see why he was the most popular male character in anime once upon a time. Voicing him has brought actor Jun Fukuyama a plethora of "Best Male Voice Actor" awards throughout his career, and also for his work as Koro-sensei in Assassination Classroom.

NEXT: Anime Dubs: 10 Male Characters Played By Female Voice Actors