Kyoto Animation has already taken on Air and Kanon, so why no take another Key work, Clannad, as well? Omni has some screenshots and more info over on his blog. It’s something most people have wondered about for awhile, and now it’s come into being. Interesting enough, Toei has already announced a Clannad movie. Toei had also worked on the original Kanon series and the Air movie. I do not claim to be an expert in anything Key because I haven’t played any of their games. I’ve done my share of online reading though, pretty much like everyone else. Anywho, what I cared most about Omni’s post was the announcement of the seiyuu cast. For me, seiyuu cast is usually more important than animation quality or even overall story. My reasoning is that a crap story will always be a crap story, but at least a good seiyuu cast will make things interesting. It’s not always the case, but more times that not a good mix of veterans and rising stars make for some interesting episodes.
Usually when a new anime season roles around, I tend to be more interested in who is voicing who when coming up with a list of stuff I’ll check out. I don’t end up watching everything, but every so often a good performance outweighs a crappy series. For others it’s who is directing what or who is animating what. It’s my little quirk. Everyone starting in Clannad is a seiyuu that I always watch out for (with the exception of Hirohashi Ryou).
Nakahara Mai (ANN)
Mai – Mai HiME/Otome
Miina – Onegai Twins
Nagisa – Strawberry Panic
Rena – Higurashi no Naku Koroni
Miu – DearS
May – Kaliedo Star
I’ve always been on the fence with Nakahara Mai. I do not dispute her talent, but she’s never been a top tier favorite on mine. She does have excellent range, having done cutesy roles and more aggressive roles. What I think her selling point is though, is that she’s quite good at being bi-polar with characters (i.e., Rena in Higurashi). When you actually look at what roles she has done in the past, it’s definitely not a long list, but for the most part, what she has done have been memorable.
Nonaka Ai (ANN)
Mika – Manabi Straight
Konoka – Mahou Sensei Negima
Kana – Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu
Shima – Stellvia
Ichijou – Pani Poni Dash
Nonaka Ai’s voice is either love it or hate it voice. It’s almost annoyingly cute. Almost all of her roles have been ditsy characters and aloof characters. However, she’s one of those seiyuus that has one tool, but uses it well. I would think most people know her mainly from Pani Poni Dash or Negima, but I think her best roles were in Stellvia and currently in Manabi Straight. Although she plays a low confidence and somewhat aloof character in Stellvia, she did a great job conveying the character’s range of emotions using her usual voice. I think she’s finally moving beyond staring in less popular series and being a side character in the more popular ones, especially in Manabi Straight. Even though she’s casted with Horie Yui and Hirano Aya, I have been more impressed with Nonaka Ai in that series. It’s feeling a lot like Horie Yui breaking out in Love Hina or Nabatame Hitomi breaking out in Ichigo Mashimaro. Okay, maybe it’s not to that extent, but she’s been very impressive. Whether or not Manabi Straight becomes Nonaka Ai’s breakout role, I think she will be remembered for it.
Kanda Akemi (ANN)
Asuna – Mahou Sensei Negima
Kazuki – Tonagura
Miharu – Da Capo
Rico – Witchblade
Nina – Ultra Maniac
Like Nonaka Ai, Kanda Akemi is another love her or hate her voice. Also, like Nonaka Ai, she’s a seiyuu that seems to have one similar voice, but uses it well. She’s probably most well known as Asuna in Negima, but I would go as far as to say that I enjoy her in Tonagura and Witchblade more. She has called herself a tsundere and does a pretty good job with those kinds of characters (i.e., Asuna and Kazuki). She also does a good job with overly genki side characters (e.g., Miharu or Kana in OtoBoku). However, unlike Nonaka Ai, she really hasn’t had a chance to have any sort of breakout performance. Because of that, I’m always watching out for roles she takes and I usually make an effort to watch those series.
Kuwashima Houko (ANN)
Yurika – Nadesico
Natarle, Flay, Stellar – Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny
Kirika – Noir
Kagura – Azumanga Daioh
Quon – Rahxephon
Kuwashima Houko has to be one of the most underrated seiyuus out there (in a Tanaka Rie way), despite having an impressive list of roles. She’s got the range of more well known people, such as Orikasa Fumiko or Chiba Saeko, but usually goes unnoticed because she rarely has major roles in popular series (again, similar to Tanaka Rie). Even when she does, there are usually more popular seiyuu that steal the spotlight. She voiced THREE characters in the Gundam Seed universe, all of where were quite contrasting personality. That right there is an accomplishment few seiyuu can hang their hats on. When you think Kuwashima Houko, you think aggressive deeper voices like Natarle in Gundam Seed or Gurageif in Simoun… however, her DEBUT role was a ditsy Yurika in Nadesico. There’s a contrast!
Noto Mamiko (ANN)
Enma Ai – Jigoku Shoujo
Aya – Ichigo 100%
Yakumo – School Rumble
Ana Copola – Ichigo Mashimaro
Masane – Witchblade
I’ll probably get booed here, but even as a self-proclaimed Noto Mamiko fanboy, I’ve been really disappointed by her showing as of late. Looking back on what she has done, she does demonstrate the ability to voice different personalities ranging from dark in Jigoku Shoujo to perky in Ichigo Mashimaro to aggressive and trite in Witchblade. However, for the most part, she’s ridiculously typecasted and really only has one or two main voices to work with. If you close your eyes and listen to her roles and had no idea where they were from, you could categorize them as either Nodoka in Negima or Ana Copola in Ichigo Mashimaro. Her range is pretty limited. That all being said though, she does an extremely outstanding job at what she does, using what she has. I guess my disappointment comes from her lack of really exhibiting what she really could do and me ending up thinking, “That’s the same old Noto Mamiko.” I’m never surprised by her roles and can identify her immediately, but you can’t always say the same thing about someone like Mitsuishi Kotono or Kawasumi Ayako.
Hirohashi Ryou (ANN)
Sora – Kaleido Star
Rinna – Stellvia
Rakka – Haibane Renmei
Alice – Aria the Animation/Natural
Out of everyone listed her, Hirohashi Ryou is the one I am least familiar with. I’m most familiar with her roles in Aria and Kaleido Star. I wasn’t all that fond of her in Stellvia, but loved her in both Aria and Kaleido Star. Both characters (Alice and Sora, respectively) were quite different, so she’s definitely got vocal range. I’m just not that familiar with her overall to say more.
