The 19th Seiyuu Awards ceremony, which recognizes the most active voice actors of the year, will be held on March 15th. The ceremony is held every March, and this year's awards will be for voice actors who were active and released between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024, with winners in all categories including the Lead Voice Actor Award, Supporting Voice Actor Award, and New Voice Actor Award announced. In the run up to the ceremony, we look back on the previous Seiyuu Awards and explain what to look forward to this year.
◇Last time, we looked at the voice actors of "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury" and "Oshi no Ko"
At the previous 18th Seiyuu Awards, Kana Ichinose , who made headlines for playing the protagonist Suletta Mercury in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury , and Kazuki Ura , who played the protagonist Kiyotaka Yoichi in Blue Lock , were awarded the Best Supporting Voice Actor award. Azakami Yohei and Mamiko Noto , who also appeared in The Witch of Mercury like Ichinose, were awarded the Best Oshi no Ko award, along with Manaka Iwami , who also made headlines for her role as Akane Kurokawa in Oshi no Ko. Yurie Igoma , who played Ruby in Oshi no Ko, also made her presence known by winning the Best New Voice Actor award. The awards given to actors also attracted attention, with Nanoka Hara , who played the protagonist Iwato Suzume in Suzume Suzume , winning the Best New Voice Actor award, and Takahata Mitsuki and Murai Kunio winning the Best Foreign Film or Drama award.
The Most Valuable Seiyu (MVS), which attracts the attention of fans every time, was awarded to Yuichi Nakamura. It is the only award among all categories of the Seiyu Awards that is decided by fan votes, and in the newly established 13th award in 2019 and the 14th award, Hiroshi Kamiya was chosen, in the 15th and 16th awards, Hiro Shimono, and in the 17th award, Takuya Eguchi was chosen, and Nakamura received the most support from fans last time.
◇This time, "The Apothecary Diaries" and "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End" are all popular works. There is also a good selection of animated movies.
Who will be taking to the stage this year? Looking at the works announced during the target period of October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, there are many popular titles starting in the fall of 2023, such as "The Apothecary Diaries," "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End," and "MF Ghost," while anime starting in the winter of 2024 include "Bang Brave Bang Bravern," "Urusei Yatsura" Season 2, and "Mashle " Season 2.
Works starting in spring 2024 include the " Hashira Training Arc " of " Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba ," " Kaiju No. 8," "Black Butler : Public School Arc," "Go! Go! Loser Ranger!," "Oblivion Battery," and the third season of "Sound! Euphonium." Other hot topics starting in summer 2024 include "Too Many Losing Heroines!," "Shikanokokonokoshitantan," "Kinnikuman: The Perfect Origin Arc," "The Elusive Samurai," and "The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies"
There was also a bumper crop of animated films, with hits such as Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, Haikyu!! the Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump , Look Back, and the theatrical compilation Bocchi the Rock! Re:/Re:Re:. Other Spy × Family Code: White, Mononoke: Karakasa, The Colors Within, Touching Me, The Imaginary, and Trapezium. Attention is focused on the awards ceremony to see who will take home the crown.
