Voice actress Ikue Otani has played many non-human characters in her career, including mascot characters and fairies, and we’ve compiled a top 10 list of her most popular and well-known roles!
How many human characters will make the list?
No.10：Yabe Akio
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
This glasses-wearing character has long been an annoying but beloved fixture in Powerful Pro Baseball Live.
He is a baseball player who appears in every game as a friend of the main character, Pawapuro-kun, mainly in Success Mode.
He’s an otaku with a penchant for cute girls, and he’s always trying to talk to them, but they never seem to take him seriously.
He is also known for his unique ending, “~deyansu.
He first appeared in 1997’s “Powerful Pro Baseball Live 4”, and has been a regular character for over 20 years.
In the beginning, some of the old fans were puzzled by his voice, such as “You’re Yabe, but you’re so cocky” and “You’re Yabe, but your voice is too cute.
No.9：Candy
She is a character from the 7th generation Pretty Cure “Smile Pretty Cure! She is a fairy who comes to Earth in search of the Pretty Cure to save Fairyland.
She tries to take on the role of navigating the Pretty Cure girls, but at first she struggles a lot, becoming a troublemaker due to her clumsy and whiny personality.
Later, she grew up and successfully accomplished her mission.
It is well known that Ms. Otani has played many non-human beings, and this Candy is one of them.
She may look like a stuffed animal, but she uses human language.
She has a distinctive “-kuru” ending.
No.8：Monger
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
He is the main character of “21emon,” an anime series created by Fujiko F. Fujio that aired from 1991 to 1992.
He is a space creature from the planet Sasayama in the Tamba Nebula of the Hekkolodani Nebula, and resides in 21emon’s family’s rundown inn, the Tsuzureya.
Like Qitaro, Doraemon, and Korosuke, he is the sidekick of the main character in Fujiko’s works.
He has a habit of saying “moi” and “mui mui”.
Mr. Otani made his voice acting debut in “Mezon Ikkoku” in 1986, and made his debut as a non-human in “Mitsu-me ga Tooru” in 1990 as the monster bird Moa.
In 1990, he made his debut as a non-human in “Mitsukeme ga Toru” (The Third Eye).
No.7：Morgana
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
A party character in the game Persona 5, released in 2016.
It is a mysterious creature that the protagonist, Joker, encounters in the cognitive world of “The Palace.” It lives as something second-class cat-like in the Palace, and as a black cat that can communicate with Joker in the real world.
Unsure of who he is, he has established a mutually supportive relationship with the Joker and others in order to return to his true form.
Unusually for a non-human character played by Mr. Otani, he does not have a distinctive ending, nor does he have a purr-like habit of speaking.
However, he is a mascot character in the series, a point he shares with the other characters.
He is also played by Otani in the anime version of PERSONA5 the Animation, which aired in 2018-2019.
No.6：Hana
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
A character from the TV series “Oja Witch Doremi,” which aired from 1999 to 2003 and has since been developed in various media such as OVA and novels.
She is a candidate for the next queen of the witch world, born from the magical flower “Witch Queen Rose,” and has appeared since the second season.
There is a tradition that the first discoverer of the witch queen rose takes care of the baby for one year, so Doremi and her friends name her “Hana” and raise her while struggling with her crying at night and unconscious use of magic.
In response to their affection, Hana grows up and activates a spell that turns her into a sixth grader, and for a time she goes to school with the others.
She went to school with Doremi and the others for a time, and her name was Hana Makihata Yama.
It seems that playing a baby was a wish for Ms. Otani, and she struggled a lot to create the role, and as a result, she succeeded in mastering her acting to the level of being indistinguishable from a real baby.
