Hiroyuki Yoshino
For another guy in his 40s, Hiroyuki Yoshino plays most of his roles well. Coincidentally, most of his voiced characters are young (mostly) or handsome men, which just showcases how much of a bishie voice this guy has. HOWEVER, his characters DON'T sound very bishounen at all, instead, some of them sound downright menacing or manly, depending on the character. He's done his fair share high school students like Inumata (Kill La Kill), Fujisaki (Sket Dance), Ox Ford (Soul Eater) or Natsuki (Minami-Ke Series), in which he sounds like either a calm and cool guy, a smart ass or a completely average school kid. Then there's the mobster duo in Firo (Baccano!) and Debito (Arcana Famiglia), one is a average hero joe while another is a badass gambling jerk off. Then he's also got his inner psychopath in character like Reiji (Tokyo Ravens) and Uragami (Parasyte). He's also got Yajiro (Uchoten Kazoku), but he's nothing but a little frog man who's lost his place in his world.
Characters from left to right
1st row: Firo (Baccano!), Debito (Arcana Famiglia), Inumata (Kill La Kill), Uragami (Parasyte)
2nd row: Ox Ford (Soul Eater Series), Natsuki (Minami-Ke Series), Reiji (Tokyo Ravens), Yajiro (Uchoten Kazoku)
Center: Bossun (Sket Dance)
Nobunaga Shimazaki
Nobunaga Shimazaki actually has quite a good amount of roles under his name for a seiyuu of his age. I'd say he's one of the few new male seiyuus rising up to take the mantle of the male protagonists from the old guard, and he's doing rather well. Too bad he does quite a few characters from shows that I don't quite like too much (Yaoi, lol), but that's just how it is. He's most well known for Haruka (Free!) among his female fans, go figure. Other than that though, he's got his typical harem shounen hero in Shido (Date A Live), a pervertic protagonist in Koichi (Daimidaler), and badass, character building bastard in Shinichi (Parasyte). He's got other characters under his belt, like the young and naive Nobukatsu (Nobunaga The Fool), the flirtatious Ghandi (Nobunagun) and the tyrant shouta king, Livius (The World Is Still Beautiful). So much shoutas and pretty boys, this guy's got quite the future ahead of him.
Characters from left to right
1st row: Shido (Date A Live), Livius (The World Is Still Beautiful)
2nd row: Ghandi (Nobunagun), Koichi (Daimidaler), Shinichi (Parasyte), Nobukatsu (Nobunaga The Fool), Haruka (Free!)
Atsuko Tanaka
Like the lovely Kikuko Inoue, Atsuko Tanaka is another one of those voice acting veterans that you cannot count out, simply because of how relevant she still is in the current industry. She's voiced A TON of characters, ranging from villains to motherly figures to pervertic girls or just downright insane women. Her voice range can get quite insane, though its not hard to tell that its her. I tend to like her more playful characters like the batshit insane Bayonetta (Bayonetta), the fun loving demon slayer Trish (Devil May Cry), the sadistic transexual Poison (Street Fighter X Tekken) or the pervetic alchemist Astrid (Atelier Arland Series). She shows some hints of that in Kiyama (To Ar Kagaku No Railgun) as well, though she has a serious side as well. Speaking of seriousness, she's got characters like the barbaric Flavia (Fire Emblem Awakening), Lisa Lisa (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) or the multiple faced Tamiya Ryoko (Parasyte). Finally, she's got her villains down just right, with characters like Ultimecia (Dissidia: Final Fantasy) or Caster (Fate Series).
Characters from left to right
1st row: Astrid (Atelier Arland Series), Flavia (Fire Emblem Awakening), Ultimecia (Dissidia: Final Fantasy), Lisa Lisa (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)
2nd row: Poison (Street Fighter X Tekken), Caster (Fate/Stay Night), Trish (Devil May Cry)
3rd row: Kiyama (To Aru Kagaku No Railgun), Bayonetta (Bayonetta), Ryoko (Parasyte)
Ayahi Takagaki
Now here's a hot woman with a very versatile voice. Ayahi Takagaki is another one of those girls who does a very good job voicing all types of characters. Be it a mature girl, a high school sweetheart, a tomboy, an animal or a sexy girl with a sexy personality, she gets it done nicely. She's most well known for Lisbeth (SAO), who's her most docile role IMO, because she's basically just a high school girl in love without much of a special personality. A hard working girl who fights to be the best? Nina (Chrome Shelled Regios) fits the bill. A mature, calculative woman who requires her fair share of cuteness from time to time? Henrietta (Log Horizon) says hi, and she's easily one of my favorite characters in "Log Horizon". Tsun-Tsun? Chris (Senki Zesshou Symphogear) is SUPER tsundere. We even have a cheerful talking demon cat with Kuro (Ao No Exorcist), a happy-go-lucky fujoshi with Erika (Durarara!) and a CROSS DRESSING woman, Yui (The World God Only Knows). My personal favorite lies with Tadakuni's sister (Daily Life Of High School Boys). She's absolutely insane, and fits well in a show full of crazy idiots.
Characters from left to right
1st row: Henrietta (Log Horizon), Lisbeth (Sword Art online Series), Chris (Senki Zesshou Symphogear), Nina (Chrome Shelled Regios)
2nd row: Tadakuni's Sister (Daily Life Of High School Boys), Yui (The World God Only Knows), Erika (Durarara!), Kuro (Ao No Exorcist)
Kosuke Toriumi
Kosuke Toriumi is one hell of an awesome fella. Again, for a man in his forties, he's sure pretty fabulous looking, and let's be honest here, most of his characters are just as fabulous as he is. His voice is pretty easy to make out, he's one of those guys with voices that when you hear it, you'll go "Oh! It's him!". In my opinion, he sounds best with his cocky, nonchalant tone that he takes with some of his characters (Most certainly my favorite). These guys include Gordeau (Under Night In Birth), Yuri (Tales Of Vesperia), and Uroko-sama (Nagi No Asukara). Then, he goes and does a whole bunch of other characters. Objection! Phoenix Wright (Phoenix Wright Series) says hi. He even shows that he can do a kind hearted doctor in Soma (Aldnoah Zero), or a snobby brat in Kiba (Naruto). Joke-y characters like Junpei (Persona 3) and Todomatsu (Nanana's Buried Adventure) are up his ally as well, as well as a super serious fellow like Ishimaru (Danganronpa). He used to sound BADASS as Strider (Strider Hiryu), and shows that he can still do the voice well with a guy like Robin Hood (Fate/Extra). Sure, a sexy voice like his fits well for a villain too, so he gets Julio (Cross Ange), who's pretty much a son of a bitch.
Characters from left to right
1st row: Phoenix Wright (Phoenix Wright Series), Soma (Aldnoah Zero), Kiba (Naruto Series), Junpei (Persona 3), Robin Hood (Fate/Extra)
2nd row: Julio (Cross Ange), Ishimaru (Danganronpa), Uroko-Sama (Nagi No Asukara), Todomatsu (Nanana's Buried Adventure), Strider (Strider Hiryu)
3rd row: Gordeau (Under Night In Birth), Yuri (Tales Of Vesperia)
Sayaka Ohara
My oh my oh my! Sayaka Ohara certainly takes the cake for being the seiyuu with THE most mature voice for very mature characters. I mean, this lady's voice range can go from school girls to young mothers to badass soldiers or sadistic witches, she's SO good at what she does, which is probably one of the reasons why she's still so relevant in today's anime industry. She can do young ladies just fine, sounding a tad young for her age with characters like Milly (Code Geass), Sakuya (God Eater) or even the recent Yuki (Aldnoah Zero), which struck as one of my favorite characters in the series. A badass soldier? Valmet (Jormungand) is pretty awesome, while Selveria (Valkyria Chronicles) is just a powerhouse of a woman. Need her to sound mature? Margaret (Persona 4) and Kobayashi (Knights Of Sidonia) work very well if you want a boner for deep woman voices. Irisviel (Fate/Zero) and Kazane (Witch Craft Works) sound really young for mothers, especially Irisviel. Need villains? Telestina (To Aru Kagaku No Railgun) can sound batshit insane, and I'm Beatrice (Umineko) has her bolts loose as well. Of course, her most famous role is probably Erza (Fairy Tail). For a woman nearing 40, she still makes Erza sound sexy.
Characters from left to right
1st row: Irisviel (Fate/Zero), Milly (Code Geass), Valmet (Jormungand), Selveria (Valkyria Chronicles)
2nd row: Margaret (Persona 4), Telestina (To Aru Kagaku No Railgun), Kobayashi (Knights Of Sidonia), Erza (Fairy Tail)
3rd row: Kazane (Witch Craft Works), Beatrice (Umineko), Sakuya (God Eater), Yuki (Aldnoah Zero)
