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| Nogizaka Haruka, Toujo Aya, Satellizer el Bridget, Ichinose Kotomi |
3. Mamiko Noto (4292 favourites, #15 on MAL)
Most cringe-worthy role: Nogizaka Haruka (top left)
I've always thought that she had the most generic "soft" voice there is in the industry, so I was surprised that people actually liked her. I never did, but I never hated the voice either until Nogizaka Haruka. Back then when Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu came out, I had the dumb pride of never dropping a title just so that I could write a fair review. And trying to finish that title was pretty much torture. While it doesn't apply to all her "soft" roles, every time I heard Haruka's half-crying, half-gasping voice I had wanted to punch her (the character, lol) in the f-cking face. That title still haunts me.
It's funny. I had wanted to write a post like this for a long time, and I was sure that I'll be putting Noto in the #1 spot. But I soon started hearing her non-"soft" roles, and guess what, it's pretty darn good! I'm mostly referring to Tomoe in Hanasaku Iroha here, but it just proves that she can be pretty awesome outside of her character archetype. And that pushes her back into the #3 spot.
Preferred roles: Anyone that isn't a pushover, e.g. Wajima Tomoe, Felicita (Arcana Fagmilia)
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| Nanael, Nagase Minato, Nonomura Ayumi, Lucy Heartfilia |
2. Hirano Aya (12582 favourites, #2 on MAL)
Most cringe-worthy role: Nagase Minato (Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka, top right)
I was quite a "Harutard" back then, and a lot of people assumes I'm a Hirano Aya fan as a result. I thought I am, too. Then came Nanael (Queen's Blade), the first of many characters who made me cringe. She has a really pretty voice that also made her a good singer, but it's her exaggerated voice work that ruins it for me. Her loud, animated voice does suit over-the-top characters like Haruhi very well, but it's not always the case. I guess it's usually worse with the weaker characters, because Lucy (Fairy Tail) wasn't as bad as the less well-known characters like Ayumi (Hyakko). Maybe it's her tendency to overact the less popular ones?
I do really like her role in Misa (Death Note) and Konata (Lucky Star), and her recent minor role in Arisa (Girls und Panzer) was pretty good too. It's beautiful when she doesn't sound like she's on drugs. It's too bad we're unlikely see many (or any) roles for her in the future because of her scandal. Fucking your whole band is a risky thing to do when you're in the "purity is gold" business...
Preferred roles: The less girly, the better. I always thought that she got a pretty good boyish role... am I mistaken?
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| You already know these characters. |
1. Kugimiya Rie (13585 favourites, #1 on MAL)
Most-cringe worthy role: Everyone after Shana.
Why is she the voice I can't stand the most? Does the pic give a hint? You know, I don't even need the four famous ones for the pic.
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| Kanzaki Aria, Astarotte Ygvar, Rose, Sanada Yukimura |
Well, she's called the Queen of Lolis for a reason. The problem is that besides sharing the exact same voice, they are pretty much sharing the same fucking traits. Tsundere, violent, childish, falls in love with a pathetic male protagonist. I don't blame her, though. She's good at what she does, there's a high demand, and the industry is churning these characters out like cockroach eggs. But do they have to put KugiRie in like half of them? Look, I actually liked Shana, but when they start producing a thousand Shanas off the cloning vat, it gets really annoying.
Unfortunately, there isn't a character I find that she's particularly good at. Except for Shana clones and cats, I don't really think there's a suitable archetype for everyone's favourite seiyuu.
Preferred roles: Anything not loli.
P.S I would have liked to put Satomi Arai here, but there just isn't enough characters of her I hated, and I kinda liked Kuroko...
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