10 Anime Starring Inosuke Hashibira's Voice Actor Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
Isabella Bartlett
Fans of Inosuke Hashibira's character in Demon Slayer will love these anime starring his voice actor, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka.
With the stunning animation and compelling story of its first season, Demon Slayer lept into the upper echelons of shounen anime in Spring 2019. Eschewing the typical trend of creating a film that is a self-contained story and often times not canon, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train adapted the narrative arc that bridges the first and second seasons.
As one of Tanjiro Kamado's closest companions—and self-proclaimed boss—Inosuke Hashibira brings a unique element to the Demon Slayer Corps: he was raised by boars. Tempered into a warrior by the eat-or-be-eaten nature of the wild, Inosuke utilizes Beast Breathing techniques to tear apart demons. While waiting for season two to officially debut, fans may be interested in Inosuke's voice actor, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, and the characters he voices in other anime.
10 Akame Ga Kill!: Lubbock
Rebelling against corruption and oppression, Akame ga Kill! follows the exploits of an assassin guild, Night Raid, as it attempts to stoke the fires of revolution through espionage and key target elimination. The greedy and duplicitous nature of Akame ga Kill's world is slowly revealed as protagonist Tatsumi experiences firsthand how the powerful prey on the powerless, which prompts him to join Night Raid in hopes of making a difference.
Lubbock is one of Night Raid's assassins and wields a wire Teigu (a mystical and rare weapon within the anime) as well as his cunning intellect. Playful and jocular, Lubbock doesn't shy away from teasing his allies and foes alike—despite his comedic personality, he possesses strong convictions and is faithful to Night Raid's cause.
9 Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma: Soma Yukihira
Battling with culinary techniques rather than mystical spells, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma takes the competitive fights common to the shounen genre to the kitchen. The series follows aspiring chef Soma Yukihira as he bursts onto the scene of Japan's most prestigious cooking school, Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute. Having grown up under the tutelage of his father's style of cooking at their family restaurant, Soma hopes to follow his vocation to become an eminent chef.
After his father takes a job that will require him to travel the world, he closes Restaurant Yukihira and encourages Soma to audition for Totsuki Saryo. Upon entering the elite school and declaring his plans to dominate all competition, Soma battles his rivals—ultimately winning some friends—in competitive cooking known as "shokugeki."
8 Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?: Bell Cranel
Set in the massive city of Orario, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon draws upon elements of RPGs, mythology, and fantasy to create a setting rife with adventure and mystery. Gods descended to the world and founded guilds known as "Familias" many years before the anime's beginnings. These chosen adventurers scale the Tower of Babel that sits upon the labyrinthine "dungeon" that contains monsters and precious loot.
Bell Cranel, the series's protagonist, is a solo-adventurer that farms the weakest floors of the tower and is the only member of the Hestia Familia. Weak and poor, Bell and Hestia primarily survive off their genuine care for one another, rather than lavish spoils of high-powered dungeon farming—that is until Bell develops the ability to grow in power rapidly based on the strength of his feelings.
7 Eromanga Sensei: Masamune Izumi
Eromanga Sensei explores the light novel industry from the perspective of high school student and author Masamune Izumi. After the tragic passing of his biological parents and stepmother, Masamune is responsible for looking after himself and his younger stepsister Sagiri Izumi. Reeling from the loss of her mother, Sagiri becomes a hikiomori (a shut-in who avoids social interactions) and relies on her elder brother for even small necessities such as food.
The anime soon reveals that Masamune's illustrator, who operates under the pseudonym "Eromanga Sensei" and is wildly popular on the internet for their suggestive art, is actually Sagiri. After overcoming his shock that his illustrator is his sister and that she draws lewd images, Masamune is proud of how hard his sister works and hopes that they can create a light novel together that will one day become an anime.
6 The Comic Artist And His Assistants: Yuuki Aito
The Comic Artist and His Assistants provides a look—albeit an outrageous and exaggerated one—into the life of a mangaka (a manga creator) and the trials and tribulations of writing a serialized manga. Following Yuuki Aito and his manga "Hajiratte Cafe Latte," the anime depicts the artist's struggles with deadlines, idea generation, and interpersonal relationships.
Although earnest and kind, Yuuki is somewhat of a reprobate with a proclivity for drawing undergarments. Yuuki's assistant Sahoto Ashisu bears the quotidian brunt of her boss's debauchery, but she develops genuine respect towards his work and compassion towards his caring personality.
5 Mob Psycho 100: Teruki Hanazawa
Possessing stylish aesthetic, impressive fight sequences, and heart-warming character development, Mob Psycho 100 takes the tried-and-true shounen trope of a protagonist possessing unparalleled powers and flips it on its head. Shiego "Mob" Kageyama is a quiet, unassuming middle-schooler who commands unmatched psychic abilities; however, rather than defining himself as an esper due to his innate talents, Mob challenges himself by working to improve his weaknesses, such as his poor public speaking and weak physical stature.
Teruki Hanazawa, a gifted esper in his own right, acts as a foil to Mob's outlook; Teruki imagines himself as the "main character" because he possesses powerful psychic energies, and he uses his powers to oppress and terrorize those who are weaker. After suffering an incredibly decisive battle against Mob, Teruki's perspective is forever altered—rather than "special," he sees himself as an average person who must also strive to lift others up and improve himself.
4 No Game No Life: Sora
Presenting a world in which games decide everything, No Game No Life sees its two step-sibling protagonists, Sora and Shiro, transported to a fantasy land where their reputation as undefeated gamers is tested to a degree they never could have imagined. Divided into kingdoms based on species, Disboard is a magical world that settles all disputes—whether personal or political—with gaming competitions under the mischievous eye of the God of Games, Tet.
On Earth, Sora was a masterful gamer who, along with his stepsister, suffered from traumatic experiences that led to them becoming hikikomori together. While they suffered in the real world, the duo was unbeatable online and known as "Blank." Blank's reputation proceeded itself to such a degree that Tet challenged them to a game of chess and ultimately lost. Impressed, he brought the two to Disboard to turn the tides for Imanity, the last-place human kingdom.
3 Re:Zero – Starting Life In Another World: Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti
Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World is an isekai anime steeped in mystery and brutality. Natsuki Subaru begins his new life in a fantasy world with little information: he has no idea how he arrived, who summoned him, or for what purpose. Poking fun at the common tropes of the isekai genre, Natsuki initially hopes to discover that he has been blessed with some new power upon entering the world; although he has indeed inherited a special ability, Natsuki soon learns how traumatic and devastating his "Return by Death" power is.
As Natsuki struggles to piece together the lore of the world and his role in it, he begins to uncover his connection to the legendary and infamous Witch of Envy. Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti is the Sin Archbishop of Sloth and a pillar of the Witch Cult. Driven mad and contorted by his power, Petelgeuse's twisted appearance reflects his inner-being; he wields horrific invisible hands and terrorizes Natsuki and his companions.
2 Sword Art Online: Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya
Largely responsible for the immense popularity of isekai anime, especially in the West, Sword Art Online captivated viewers with its catchy and shareable premise: players that die in the game die in real life. Along with the concept of being spirited away into a new world, even if it's an MMORPG, Sword Art Online also introduced the legendary "beater" (a portmanteau for "cheater" and "beta player") Kirito, whose real name is Kazuto Kirigaya.
Although the trope of an overpowered protagonist with innate abilities that elevate them above their peers has become tired, Kirito has become the quintessential embodiment of "OP" in the anime culture zeitgeist. Stoic and devoted to his friends, Kirito is often shown overcoming his and even the world of SAO's limitations to defeat foes.
1 The Rising of the Shield Hero: Ren Amaki
Drawing from its isekai predecessors, The Rising of the Shield Hero sees several men from varying versions of Earth brought into a fantasy world that possesses MMORPG elements. Serving as "Cardinal Heroes," each person is assigned an emblematic weapon to use in the protection of the world from waves of inter-dimensional enemies that spawn in events called "Waves."
While the series follows the eponymous Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani, there are three other main heroes that undulate between allies and unwitting antagonists. Ren Amaki takes on the mantle of Sword Hero and, in design and temperament, seems to be an homage to Sword Art Online's Kirito—an allusion that is enhanced by the two characters sharing the same voice actor, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka.
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