No.5：Nonohara Himeko
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
She is the main character of “Himechan no Ribbons,” an anime based on a girls’ manga that aired from 1992 to 1993.
She is a cheerful and energetic junior high school girl who attends the Kazaritsu Daiichi Junior High School and is in love with a senior member of the drama club.
Her life changes completely when she meets Erika, the princess of a magical land, and receives a “magic ribbon” that allows her to transform into someone else.
Since her training school days, Ms. Otani has always been the type of person who would rather play Romeo than Juliet, and even after her debut, she has played more boy and girl roles than girl roles.
Her roles as a heroine are also extremely rare for a female voice actress, such as Rio Hinayama in “To Heart”.
As a side note, Ms. Otani also played the main character Kobo-chan in “Kobo-chan,” which started around the same time as “Hime-chan’s Ribbon.
Kobo-chan is a very famous 4-panel manga with more than 100 volumes released in total, and the anime has a high viewer rating of 17.9%, which is not low at all, but surprisingly it is not talked about much.
No.4：Gash Bell
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
The anime “Gash Bell in Gold” is based on “Gash the Golden Color” which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. is one of the main characters of the anime “Gash Bell of Gold Color! which was serialized on Weekly Shonen Sunday.
He is one of the 100 candidates for the king of the “battle to determine the king of the demon world,” and is a demon boy who manipulates electric shock techniques.
Although he is a demon, he has a pure character and fights against the other candidates along with the other main character, Kiyomaro Takamine, with the aim of becoming a “kind king.
Ms. Otani took a temporary break in 2006, and all the characters she played at that time were replaced by understudies, and Gash was played by Konami Yoshida, who played Ellie and Rovnos in the same work.
The other roles were played by Ms. Otani again after her return, but “Gash Bell in Gold! was finished before her return, so she was dropped from the show.
However, in the game “Golden Gash Bell! Golden Memories” released in 2019, Otani is back in charge of the game.
No.3：Tuburaya Mituhiko
He is a member of the Detective Boys from the popular anime “Detective Conan.
Conan and Haibara are much older than him, so he doesn’t stand out, but he is actually a very capable boy, boasting an outstanding amount of knowledge for an elementary school student, and he is also physically strong.
Perhaps because of this, there are whispers among fans that he is the mastermind behind the story.
In the beginning, he didn’t stand out much, but gradually, his brave side and love-loving nature were highlighted, and he started to make his presence felt.
At present, she is portrayed as having more affection for Haibara than Ayumi.
Of all the people that Mr. Otani has played, he is definitely the most well known character.
No.2：Tony Tony Chopper
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
The youngest pirate in the Straw Hat Gang led by Luffy, the main character of the national work “One Piece”.
He is a reindeer from Drum Island in the “Great Passage,” and his role is that of a ship’s doctor.
He is especially close to Usopp, who is also a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, and they make a great pair.
He is a crybaby, and at first he was noticeably timid and withdrawn, but as he continued his journey with Luffy and the others, he grew up to be very strong.
He was selected as the main character in the movie “ONE PIECE: Chopper Kingdom on Chinjuu Island” for his first appearance in a movie, and “ONE PIECE THE MOVIE: Episode of Chopper + Miraculous Cherry Blossoms in Winter”, in which he was also the main character, has received the highest acclaim among the movie versions.
No.1：Pikachu
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
Of all the characters played by Mr. Otani, the one with the greatest name recognition and popularity is none other than Pikachu, the Pokémon from the national game “Pokémon” and Japan’s world-famous mascot.
Technically, it is Satoshi’s Pikachu.
When he is introduced in the media, he is usually referred to as “Pikachu voice actor,” a role that has become his business card.
He does not speak human language, but uses the Pikachu language, which uses only the letters in “Pikachu.
Pikachu! (I got it!) (Get it!)” and “Pikapi (Ash)” are just a few of the many expressions that correspond to the human language.
The same “pika” can be “um” or “hmm” depending on the situation, and all the differences must be made by intonation alone.
Ms. Otani does not play Pikachu simply because she has a cute voice and has played many non-human characters.
He is Otani because of his excellent acting ability to express emotions without relying on human words, and he can convey them to people from any country.
Summary
Looking at it this way, there are surprisingly a lot of human roles too!
The top three characters are from the longest-running series of all time, so the impression of these three characters is very strong, but even after a career of over 30 years, he is still playing new roles every year, and the demand for his work never stops.
That’s really something!
