What is the main thing that makes or breaks anime? It’s characters, of course! No matter how good the premise if the characters aren’t interesting then it will all fall apart. Just as equally as important as having good characters is choosing the right seiyuu to voice them. After all, you can’t just take a ton of talent and throw them randomly into character roles that do not match. That’s how you end up with a Queen’s Blade! Right? Anyway, here is the second out of four parts of our 3rd annual Anime Inbou Awards!

Best Lead Male

Winner: Kitamura Kou from Cross Game

Honorable Mention: Hei from Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini

I’ve been reading the Cross Game manga before the anime started and I think it goes without saying that Kou is one of the better male leads anyone will see for a long time. His growth is to be admired in my opinion. Not only in baseball but in his relationships with everyone around him. He started out as a boy who knew little of baseball but had natural talent in hitting. He was good friends with Wakaba who lost her life in an unfortunate accident and as a result of that I think it was one of the reasons he got into baseball even more. That and he wanted to be as good as Aoba. He moved passed wanting to live up to the expectations of others and became his own man in baseball and love.

I’d also like to mention Hei. Hei survived the majority of Darker than Black 2 without his Contractor powers. DtB is a world where many people die Contractors and normal people alike but the latter are more susceptible to death for obvious reasons. That said I just found it amazing how he still owned people even without his powers. I guess it goes to show you that it’s better to have a foundation of good fighting skills just in case you end up losing your supernatural power some day!

Winner: Battler Ushiromiya from Umineko no Naku Koro ni

I never thought I’d enjoy a guy played by Daisuke Ono. Not saying I don’t like him, but I tend not to care much about characters he voices. But with Battler, it’s a different story. Here’s a guy who is pretty much Phoenix Wright, what, with the finger pointing, finding the truth, deducing based on events and evidence. He may make a fool out of himself sometimes, but he’s not stupid and being around him lifts up the vibe.

Winner: Date Masamune from Sengoku Basara

Honorable Mention: Akira Takizawa from Eden of the East

Date is the heart and soul of Sengoku Basara. Granted that Yukimura and Shingen’s “Oyakata-sama” banter is hysterical, Date is the character that is the most fun to watch. He is cocky, but he also has honor to his men and opponents. Kazuya Nakai, his seiyuu, did a magnificent sound with his energy, not to mention he is the only guy that can make Engrish sound insanely epic. I watched the show literally because of his antics.

Even if EotE ended on a whimper, it at least left one good impact on me, its lead. Akira is just a lovable guy. While he is suffering from amnesia, his character still kept developing and avoiding the usual pitfalls of an average protagonist. Despite his carefree attitude, he is still intrigued to learn more about himself, and his journey is what makes the show interesting. Neet, huh?

Winner: Okazaki Tomoya from CLANNAD ~After Story~

Honorable Mention: Adam Blade from Needless

Tomoya didn’t grow on me till After Story aired. I really didn’t think much of him during the first season and could only keep asking myself why the hell did he choose the dango Nagisa. But the second season is where his character truly shines. Seeing him struggle and develop has been a wild ride for me emotionally. There were times when I laughed at his antics. There were times when I smiled for his happiness. Then of course there were the times when I sympathized and baww’d with him as he fell into despair. The viewers have been with him since he was an angst-filled teen and we depart with him as a family man. As a character, he has griped the viewers tightly. We feel what he feels. And boy, did we feel it. Seeing him grow and change over two seasons was really something and for me he’s definitely one of the most fleshed out anime protagonists I’ve seen in years.

If you’ve seen Needless, you would know that Adam Blade is who every male shounen protoganist should aspire to be like. I feel like I’ve been longing for his kind of character every since the TTGL fad years ago and Blade delivers. Add on top that he’s a pedophile with unique fetishes and you’ve got one of the more eccentric and energetic leads of this year. Blade is a breathe of fresh air over past male protagonists. There is no faggotry, no hesistation, no buts. Just adrenaline, fists, and bad ass.

Best Lead Female

Winner: Tsukishima Aoba from Cross Game

Honorable Mention: Senjougahara Hitagi from Bakemonogatari

Hmm. What’s this? Another Cross Game character taking a win from me?! It goes without saying that Aoba is awesome. I love the fact that she isn’t your typical clichéd female lead and is easily one of the strongest young women you’ll see in manga/anime. She constantly proves that she can compete with the guys in Cross Game and is actually leagues better than the vast majority of everyone that plays baseball in the series. You gotta love that she also isn’t a sucker for love and by that I mean that Kou isn’t going to win her over without some hard work. Real hard work. Her no-nonsense and all-or-nothing attitude is to be admired by many other heroines.

Winner: Senjougahara Hitagi from Bakemonogatari

Honorable Mention: Tsukishima Aoba from Cross Game, Sango Shizuku from Kampfer

Hitagi is a one-of-a-kind gal, and a tsundere. Besides her incredible beauty and fame (among boys and even girls), she has inner beauty that I just can resist; she’s got a lot of wit, always making wisecrack jokes at Ararararagi-san and, not to mention, the complete cockteasing. I imagine Saitou Chiwa was enjoying her role. Hitagi’s also pretty dangerous, keeping an arsenal of school supplies, most notably, the stapler. Sometimes I think Koyomi’s a lucky bastard, but other times, I pray for his life.

I want to mention Aoba, for she has been one heck of a character. She’s a female and just because of that she’s not allowed to be in the big leagues, yet she still goes on and brings her spirit to the players while she sits on the bleachers. It’s great to know how hard she’s working, if only for Wakaba’s dreams. Other than her mentality, her personality and charms are awesome, and almost like Kou’s. Finally, Shizuku was just about the only likable character in Kampfer. I’d say she was quite similar to Hitagi in that she was very forward with her actions and wasn’t at all embarrassed with them. Doesn’t matter what the gender, she’ll kiss them, though she prefers kissing boys. I’d say she’s also more forward than Hitagi herself but only because Shizuku’s jammed her tongue into the main character’s mouth so many times over.

Winner: Birdy Cephon from Birdy the Mighty Decode 02

It’s really hard to like agree with me after the fact the first show was based on Birdy’s whiny counterpart Senkawa. Thankfully with season 2 the focus has shifted and for the better. Birdy was a very likable heroine, but now that her past is unveiled, we can identify and understand her better. Thank god there is not a lot of Senkawa.

Winner: Onosawa Mirai from Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

Honorable Mention: Senjougahara Hitagi from Bakemonogatari

I remember back when I first started blogging Tokyo Magnitude that I would rag on Mirai quite a bit. She lived up to the PMS Loli 8.0 joke going around in the internet. Irritable, impatient, immature, but the viewers endured that. We realized that she does have her better moments by the half way point. By the end, we accept and sympathize with her. The drama in the show pushes the main characters to their limits and through everything Mirai is the one who changes the most. Human drama is a hit or miss genre for anime. It usually becomes convoluted with bad writing and stupidity, but there are rare occasions when it’s something that’s griping and emotional and only the characters can make that happen. As a dynamic character, Mirai portrays immense change through love and loss which is brought forth by the disaster. She changed not just as a person, but as a sister and daughter.

Hitagi hasn’t made enough appearances in the show as I would have liked so sometimes I forget that she’s even a lead. But with that said she is one and it would be unjust to not even mention her for this category. Out of all the girls in Bakemonogatari she stands out the most and that’s quite the feat. Actually not just Bakemonogatari, but also as a female lead in general she’s quite something. There really are a myriad of different qualities about her and I’m not sure what it is I love most about her. There’s that playfulness of hers when she teases and degrades others. That honest and take-charge attitude. The list goes on. But one thing I am certain about is that I can’t help but be allured by her.

Best Supporting Male

Winner: Iceman Hotty from Basquash

This guy is hilarious. He stuck out rather well throughout the year as someone I’d remember for a while for a few reasons though two reign dominant. His name and his unforgettable “DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY!” behavior whenever he played Basquash. You’d think that having a friend who says that while throwing a ball at you at killer speeds is a bad thing but that’s all a misunderstanding. That’s just his way of passing the ball to you and he wants to know if you can handle the heat!

Winner: Sunohara Youhei from CLANNAD ~After Story~

Who else but Sunohara. I still remember that refreshing story he had and his date with Nagisa’s mom. I never thought there could exist a guy as dumb as this guy, but, sure enough, there is! Despite his small IQ, he was more than just a sidekick because he was there for everyone to lighten the mood. That’s what a team player is. Also, you can’t have the tsukkomi without the boke. No other comedy duo than Sunohara and Tomoya.

Winner: Shinmyou Nataru from Birdy the Mighty Decode 02

Nataru comes in the beginning of season 2 and it marks the shift from Senkawa to Birdy. He appears to be a mild guy who just longs for Birdy’s affection, but as the story moves along we learn more about the cruel and harsh past he had to go through. Poor guy.

Best Supporting Female

Winner: Selvaria Bles from Valkyria Chronicles

Just like with Best Female Lead I had a hard time with this one. It took me a loooong while but after multiple deliberations I finally came up with Selvaria. I’ve always been a Selvaria-tard since the game so seeing her fleshed out even more in the anime was a treat. She’s a strong and intelligent woman with an endless well of loyalty. Having her as an ally is a blessing but having her as your knight/close friend is an even more wonderful experience I’d imagine.

Winner: Yano Ayane from Kimi ni Todoke

The best female friend one can ever have (aside from Chizu). She’s beautiful, mature, and sharp – a deadly awesome combination. Whether she’s around you or not, you know she’ll have your back, not to mention she’s one of the only people actually aware of anything going on. She talks briefly during significant scenes as to clue in on the other person, just because she knows about it and wants to hear what the person on the other side of the cord has to say. A fine character for Sawashiro Miyuki to play.

Winner: Koyoi Besshou from Hatsukoi Limited

This was a rather hard choice because there are a lot of characters in Hatsukoi Limited that were good, but from all of them it’s probably Koyoi that’s sticks out the most. She loves her brother. I mean REALLY loves her brother. Her brother complex is probably the worst I have seen, but man does that make great entertainment when she ventures into her imagination… Gotta love her quirky sense of humor.

Winner: Katsura Hinagiku from Hayate no Gotoku!!

I won’t deny that I’m a Hinafag. Hell, the only reason I watched Hayate no Gotoku!! despite dropping the first season was because of the amount of Hinagiku screentime I was hearing about. I didn’t plan on watching the second season at first, but when I heard it was a Hinafest I couldn’t help but to check it out. And it delivered. She’s mature yet sometimes childish. Strong-willed yet gentle. She’s the kind of girl any guy could easily fall for. Including me.

Best Cast

Winner: Basquash

Honorable Mention: Bakemonogatari

Basquash had one of the more interesting casts of last year. Everyone just simply clicked if you asked me. Dan’s fiery spirit, Miyuki’s “bouncy” cheer, Sela’s exotic looks and sauciness, Iceman’s reserved cool guy-to-destructive madman personality, Rouge’s all-around excellence, and Haruka’s obscenely massive boobs of manipulation all made for a more-than-entertaining experience each time I sat down to tune in. There is some great chemistry here.

Winner: Bakemonogatari

With all these people with unique characteristics, you’d be thinking they were from some monster madness horror movie or Halloween creatures. Well, bakemono is right then. When you look past these parts, they’re still very much human with the same kind of kink that makes them awesome. Hitagi’s assertiveness, Mayoi’s playfulness, Suruga’s tomboyish power, Nadeko’s moe-ness, Tsubasa’s fancy panties intelligence. And of course we can’t forget the witty pervert, Koyomi, along with his two younger sisters plus Shinobu and Meme.

Winner: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I remember how many people first freaked out when 75% of the original cast didn’t return to this adaptation, but honestly, I am a lot more content. The actors that did come back (Bradley, Armstrong and even Izumi) were the most influential ones and the new recruits such as Shinichiro Miki as Roy do a spectacular job. In fact aside Yuuichi Nakamura as Greed, I love this cast with a passion.

Winner: Bakemonogatari

Bakemonogatari easily came to mind when thinking of this. It’s probably not the most powerful cast as a whole for this year, but it’s definitely the most colorful. One of the reasons that I love the characters in this show is how defined everybody is. Especially with that supernatural layer on top of most of them. And this goes back to why I chose the show for Best Supernatural/Fantasy. To paraphrase my words from part 1 of the Awards, “The oddities featured in the show serve as complements to the characters. The focus isn’t just on the supernatural element, but more importantly it is on the people themselves who bring out that element.” If there’s one thing that every character in Bakemonogatari has, it’s personality and they’re full of it.

Male Seiyuu of the Year

Winner: Nakamura Yuuichi

This guy has had one great year. Looking back he came into 2009 already having some great roles. He did a great job with Alto in Macross Frontier and Graham Aker in Gundam 00. Oh and let’s not forget him being Tomoya in both Clannad and After Story. From there he was excellent as Iceman “DESTROY DESTROY DESTROY” Hotty and picked up pretty high profile roles as Greed in FMA: Brotherhood and Gray in Fairy Tail. It looks like 2010 is going to be a great year for Yuuichi as well.

Winner: Nakamura Yuuichi

Entering 2009, Nakamura’s voice has been in a lot of anime, and for each one he does a great job voicing them. Clannad After Story was continuing from the year before, but it’s definitely one of his great roles by far because of how Tomoya has to cope with everything. He puts on a sarcastic and witty voice on the outside, but inside he’s somewhat broken up. In Basquash!, he voiced heartthrob Iceman Hotty and it’s a pleasure to hear him go nuts, yelling “DESTROY!!!” at everything. He’s also Greed (or Grin as of now) in the new FMA. My least favorite role of his from 2009 is definitely Muramasa, the filler villain zanpakutou of Bleach, but he does the voice of a villain pretty well. Right now, I’m enjoying his role as Sanada (Kimi ni Todoke), who sounds a lot more laid back and carefree.

Winner: Kazuya Nakai

LET’S PAATY!

Kazuya Nakai is without a doubt one of my favorite Seiyuus of all time. He doesn’t alter his voice much but I he just leaves a lasting impression. Let’s take Masamune aside which is definitely his most pivotal role and look at what else he has done. The crazy yet lovable Takei from Hatsukoi Limited, Ryo from Asa no Yoichi and even Miles from Fullmetal Alchemist. The guy can give a small character like Miles such a cool voice that I actually want him to be in more scenes. Kazuya is a proof you don’t have to do a lot of crazy voices in order to be a great actor, you just need to act, and he does it well!

Winner: Sakai Masato

I’m sure most of you don’t even know who this guy is lol. To make it clear, Sakai Masato is more well-known as an actor than a seiyuu. And Aoi Bungaku is probably the biggest job he’s taken on as a seiyuu so far. For those who haven’t seen the show, it’s basically composed of multiple 2-4 episode length arcs. Each arc adapting a different piece of Japanese literature. One of the things I noticed progressing through the show is that Sakai actually voices a central character in each story. Of course, I caught onto this almost immediately as his range isn’t that wide. But one of the things that I liked about his voice acting was that even with all the various roles he played, there’s a different spin on each one them. None of his characters feel alike and he takes a fresh approach to each one. There was a multitude of personalities he was assigned to in one show and he displayed many different emotions wonderfully: anxiety, fear, anger, depression. With each start of a new arc, I was always intrigued about what kind of role he’ll play this time.

Female Seiyuu of the Year

Winner: Tomatsu Haruka

Honorable Mention: Chiwa Saito

It’s Haruka! Tomatsu Haruka! I’ve loved her voice for a long while now so given the amount of work she had in 2009 it comes as no surprise that she stands out above the rest for me. She has been quite busy appearing in Asura Cryin’, Basquash, CANAAN, Cross Game, Tatakau Shisho, and Asu no Yoichi (which isn’t even everything she did in 2009). Of all her roles in the past year my favorites have been Rouge in Basquash and Noloty in Tatakau Shisho – The Book of Bantorra. Two totally different characters with their own distinct voices. Being casted as Aoba in Cross Game was probably one of the best decisions made in the industry last year.

As for Chiwa, she had an outstanding performance as Hitagi. I always liked her in Pani Poni Dash as Rebecca and a few other shows she’s been in such as Gundam 00 where she voiced Louise. I think that Hitagi is now her best role. Easily.

Winner: Tomatsu Haruka

Honorable Mentions: Sawashiro Miyuki and Horie Yui

Haruka showed just how great her vocal range can get. I was amazed to hear a character that didn’t have the usual Haruka vibe I always get. Instead, she played a quiet, somewhat introverted, yet cheery girl in Geijutsuka. At first, I was convinced I was listening to Noto Mamiko. I was also impressed with just how many different tones she could put out – the rough, tough elder sister Ayame (Asu no Yoichi!) or Yumiko (Gendai Mahou) who sounded like a more sophisticated and feminine Nagi-sama. Her role as Aoba right now is astonishing.

As for Miyuki and Hocchan, both have done an excellent job. I can’t love Sawashiro Miyuki’s voice enough. 2009 was full of anime with her involved and it was a pleasure to hear all her roles. The tomboyish Tomokane of Geijutsuka or titular character Canaan, Maria in Zetsubou, and the amazing Ayane from Kimi ni Todoke. Admittedly, I didn’t start Letter Bee, so I can’t say much about that. Not only anime, but I’ve been hearing her in three of the video games that came out in 2009 as well! This is probably the only year I’ll ever feel the need she’s one of the top female seiyuu of the year so I chose her. Of course, she is starring in this short anime where she voices ALL characters. Can’t wait. Honestly, I was gonna give this year -since she deserves it- but in the end, I went with Miyuki. Hocchan I want to mention just because she’s had a hell of a lot of shit on her plate for 2009. Not only putting out her new album, but singles and character songs as well, and that’s just besides the VA work, which also went up tremendously. All characters she played as were different in every way, and it was a blessing to hear new voices from Hocchan. Uuuuu!

Winner: Hanazawa Kana

This was a lot harder than I thought it’d be, but after a long debating I went with Kana Hanazawa, a seiyuu I wouldn’t naturally go for. But I got to admit she did a pretty stellar job in 2o09. She played adorable characters like Kagome (Asu no Yuichi), Henaro (Tower of Druaga) and Kobato (from… Kobato) and on the other side of spectrum more serious characters like Coco JD (Basquash), Sharon (Pandora Hearts) and Suou (Darker than Black). I had to admit I barely thought of her highly but looking back on what she has accomplished, I completely underestimated her. Nice job.

Winner: Chiwa Saito

When thinking of this award, I tried to think of the most distinct and memorable female voice I’ve heard in 2009 and Chiwa Saito hit the nail on the head for me pretty fast. And of course I’m talking about her role in Bakemonogatari as Senjougahara Hitagi. In short of words, her performance is superb. She manages to portray the combination of subtlety and boldness of Hitagi’s character in a marvelous way. Not only do I love the character Hitagi herself, but I feel like I’ve fallen in love with her voice as well. Now there’s somebody I wouldn’t mind being verbally abused by. Her role as Senjougahara Hitagi is probably Chiwa Saito’s most notable role of 2009, but there’s also Louise from Gundam 00 as well. I’ll admit I didn’t see more of her other roles this year, but it only took one to win me over.