12 Male Seiyuu that Impressed in 2022

From outstanding performances with 2D groups to intricate, spine-chilling ones as solo artists, these are my picks of the 12 male seiyuu that impressed me in 2022.

This is a yearly feature that reflects my impressions of the various male seiyuu active in the music industry.

To create this feature, I had into consideration several things about the seiyuu in question:

How active they were in 2022
How much has the seiyuu improved as a singer
Their technique and voice tone
Variety, and the versatility of their music
Quality of the music released
Performances outside of their solo careers

So, this isn’t just an article about who I like the most but about who impressed me the most taking into account those factors.

A note that even with that criteria, this is a highly subjective top and as such, it is quite possible that the seiyuu you felt impressed the most in 2022 will not coincide with my choices. As such, I welcome you to tell me your picks in the comments.

These entries in this feature ARE RANKED, starting from #12 up to #1.

Without further ado, let’s kick this off.

#12 – Ryota Suzuki

Ryota Suzuki has been a big surprise on my radar. He has been primarily active as part of EROSION in the CARNELIAN BLOOD franchise and he has been making sure he impresses everyone.

As the leader of the 5-vocal rock band, Suzuki has been showing more and more of his abilities to blend in, harmonize and switch with ease between a supporting or leading vocal position.

And as he led the way in “Still…“, solo track part of EROSION’s “EROSION with you from CARNELIAN BLOOD” CD series, I wished he got many more opportunities to showcase his abilities.

He was also active as part of THE LAST METAL’s Venomous 8 however, the franchise was little to no interested in putting the spotlight over the seiyuu’s vocals and thus, Suzuki lost a fantastic opportunity to impress, not because of his fault but the project’s fault.

Still, in the songs Ryota Suzuki got to perform in 2022, he was impressing me a whole lot.

His control is quite impressive for someone with as little experience performing music for 2D groups.

His charisma on stage is electrifying and the way he harmonizes with other singers, serving as an anchor in EROSION is something that makes me wish more people pay attention to him.

#11 – Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Whatever song Toshiyuki Toyonaga sings will, for sure, impress. And in 2022, the best singer among male seiyuu was on a roll with outstanding performances.

As always, he was incredibly active in 2D music projects, something that is no surprise as he is the voice actor with the most credits in 2D music projects.

Among the various projects he was active in Paradox Live, B-PROJECT, Pythagoras Production, CARNELIAN BLOOD, aoppella!?, Dear Vocalist, Tsukipro, Hana-Doll* and FABULOUS NIGHT!.

From rap to pop, R&B, dance music, and emo-rock, Toshiyuki Toyonaga performed it all. And better yet, he was not only the lead in some projects but also a reliable support in others such as CARNELIAN BLOOD.

His ability to harmonize with anyone, his good ear that enables him to fit right in whichever lineup he is a part of, and his versatility continue to make him an essential piece for every single group he is a part of.

To top it all off, Toyonaga was back with solo music of his own with the release of “.Link” (released in late 2021, but didn’t count for last year’s edition of this feature), album that was a bit more experimental than previous releases of his.

But that’s not all, the talented singer-songwriter joined Daisuke Ono, working on the composition of Ono’s album “Sounds of Love“.

In 2022, Toyonaga was everywhere you could think of and honestly, he could be in even more 2D projects and I’d never get sick of hearing his voice.

#10 Arthur Lounsbery

Arthur Lounsbery has been rocking the stage with mostly 2D rock music groups. In 2022, he was active with EROSION in the CARNELIAN BLOOD franchise, Fantôme Iris in the FROM ARGONAVIS franchise, and Venomous 8 in THE LAST METAL franchise.

It was with EROSION and Fantôme Iris that Arthur shone the most.

He led the way in “OneThing”, one of the best albums released in 2022 and easily one of EROSION’s best to date. Not only was he a driving force in the title track, but he also went all out for a raw, emotional performance in “Determination”.

This song is on my top best songs released in 2022 because of how powerful it is from its slow-paced, dirty, distorted rock instrumental but also by how passionate and spine-chilling Arthur’s performance is. It is a thing of beauty.

But if you fancy a more theatrical style of rock, Arthur was also active as the frontman for the visual-kei rock band, Fântome Iris.

And it was bloody amazing to see and hear his aura and voice tone completely change between these two bands. For EROSION, Arthur is using his natural voice however adding a bit of raspiness to it. For Fântome Iris he was performing in faux baritone style for the whole time. That lower, more dramatic vocal range… allied with his technique and versatility had him delivering ridiculously good performances for the band.

With Arthur focusing more and more on performing rock music, I wouldn’t be surprised if he joined yet another 2D rock music project in 2023, perhaps even making a solo debut?

One can dream.

#9 – Shun Horie

Shun Horie was dazzling everyone in 2022.

The talented seiyuu, owner of a unique raspy tenor voice led the way for SparQlew’s groovy album “neon”, was a force to be reckoned with in Anthos*, was active in the FABULOUS NIGHT!, VISUAL PRISON, and THE IDOLM@STER SideM franchises between many more projects.

No matter how much time passes, Shun Horie continues to impress me further. His control, the unique singing tone, the delicate way he approaches his lines and then delivers them with immense power…

He is a cut above most seiyuu currently active in 2D music projects and has been showing he is extremely reliable as part of a seiyuu unit with SparQlew.

Although 2022 was a year in which he saw himself joining more 2D music projects, I’d love for Horie to finally get his chance to shine either on a 2D project that puts the spotlight on himself or as a solo artist.

Regardless, he was shining left and right in 2022 having a well-deserved entrance in this top 12.

#8 – Takuya Sato

A force to be reckoned with on the vocal end, Takuya Sato had a 2022 in style when it came to his work for 2D music projects.

The versatile baritone was leading the way with FYA’M’ in the aoppella!? franchise, he was grooving with TRIGGER in the IDOLiSH7 franchise, and stealing the show as a member of ROCK DOWN in the VAZZROCK franchise.

In all groups, Takuya Sato started to showcase new things on the vocal end. In 2022 and it was through Reiji Amaha’s solo track “Turn around again” in the VAZZROCK franchise that Sato first performed in head voice and it was mindblowing to hear it coming from such a low baritone.

With FYA’M’ he showed everyone that he has the power and technique to lead the way, shining even within a star-studded group. R&B riffing, canons, harmonies, and falsetto were big tools of his for the group’s performances.

TRIGGER had a stellar 2022, presenting fans with unique performances that left many people wanting more. From ballads to R&B tunes and even groovy disco-funk, the group was performing a little bit of everything and as such, on the vocal end, there were new things being displayed by all members.

Takuya Sato was harmonizing, performing in head voice, and falsetto, unleashing his powerful vibrato, and harmonizing with two insanely skilled singers.

As 2022 wrapped up, Takuya Sato was a name that I easily associated with the year. He was everywhere for me and delivered impressive performances, a result of his growth as a singer.

#7 – Gakuto Kajiwara

2022 was a solid year for Gakuto Kajiwara. The rising star singer-songwriter released two CDs “Irochigai no Itotaba” and “Road Movie” and let me tell you: he impressed me a whole lot.

While I was not the biggest fan of him making a debut so early in his career as a seiyuu, truth is, he has been sounding really well since the start of his activities as a solo artist, displaying a consistency and technicality that very few have.

And I’ve grown to love his solo career a whole lot as he has a laidback semi-acoustic sound that perfectly fits his impressive clean vocals.

As he arrived in 2022, he made sure to further improve as a singer and songwriter, creating unique songs, writing interesting lyrics for himself and delivering, at times, impressive performances that make you want more and more of his music.

He was also active in 2D music projects such as Paradox Live, TOKYO COLOR SONIC!! and Ensemble Stars!! and yes, he did impress a whole lot with powerful, engaging performances.

I’ve said it before, I’m liking a whole lot to see how much Gakuto Kajiwara is growing as a singer. And as a solo artist, he has been showing a maturity that very few seiyuu artists have.

I’m pumped up to see and hear what he has in store for us all in 2023.

#6 – Yuma Uchida

2022 was a simple yet solid year for Yuma Uchida. As a solo artist, Uchida released two singles “Good mood” and “Congrats!!” and held a live tour right by the end of the year to wrap up his solo activities in style.

For 2D music projects, Uchida was active with Impish Crow in the DIG-ROCK franchise, DRAMATIC STARS in THE IDOLMASTER SideM franchise, Eden in the Ensemble Stars franchise and joined the aoppella!? Franchise as part of VadLip.

Rock, pop, jazz, dance, and acapella. Yuma Uchida did it all in 2022, delivering impressive performances that showcase both his vocal range and technicality. And he didn’t sound the same between projects, something that I value a lot.

Looking forward to seeing what he will do in 2023. Hopefully, we will release his 3rd full-length album and dazzle everyone with his Acapella skills with VadLip.

#5 – Kent Ito

I’ll admit, when 2022 kicked off, Kent Ito was not a name I expected to add to this list given how he is participating in very few 2D music projects and UMake was on a weird hiatus.

But hey, the best solo debut of 2022 belongs to Kent Ito after he dazzled everyone with a stylish and mature Citypop sound in “Mayonaka no Love“.

This song was on repeat for me as soon as I listened to it. It was not what I envisioned for Ito, given his track record of performing solo ballads for UMake but it was a pleasant, addictive entry that ended up shining in 2022.

While it was just a digital single, “Mayonaka no Love” was more than enough to grab my attention and highly anticipate Kent Ito’s next CD release.

On the 2D music side, Kent Ito was active with Matenro in the Hypnosis Mic franchise, S.E.M in THE IDOLMASTER SideM franchise, Venomous 8 in THE LAST METAL franchise, and Anthos* in the Hana-Doll franchise.

For me, his most impressive performances arrived with Anthos*, group that not only he sort of leads on the vocal end but also a group that enables him to showcase his vocal range, to bring out those beautiful flourishes, that stunning vibrato and smooth head voice and falsetto.

It was in performances like “TELL” and especially in “Mirage in Mirage” that my jaw dropped. It is ridiculous just how technical Kent Ito is while bringing a lot of emotion to his performances.

Adding to his solo work and 2D music project participations is his work as a songwriter for other artists and projects. in 2022, Kent Ito was quite active in composing songs for 2D music projects, something that is quite impressive.

2023 will be a strong year for him with the release of his 1st EP. I’m quite excited about it so let’s see where Kent Ito will stand on next year’s episode about the 12 male seiyuu that impressed me the most in 2023.

#4 – Shunichi Toki

Shunichi Toki was more impressive than usual in 2022. The talented seiyuu and solo artist tackled the challenge of releasing his first full-length album “Good for” and left quite an awesome impression on me by releasing what I consider a top 3 best album released in 2022.

He managed to nail the vibes from the 80s and 90s in that album, there were amazing new arrangements for songs that, in the past, had been lackluster. There were new awesome tunes that were genuinely impressive on the composition but also performance sides.

And Shunichi Toki, with his sweet tenor voice, managed to deliver outstanding performances that left me wanting much more from him as a solo artist. I feel like “Good for” is Toki’s best album to date, a fantastic example of the technical singer he is but also, without forgetting, that he is really experienced as a singer and can basically do it all on the vocal end.

When it came to 2D music projects, although he is active in a couple that go from THE IDOLMASTER SideM to Paradox Live, Hana-Doll*, Tsukipro and TECHNOROID, he was the most impressive in Hana-Doll* as one of the main vocals in Anthos*.

What he pulls off in that group is absolutely amazing. The harmonies, the canons, the ad-libs in R&B style, the riffing, the playing around with his range from low to higher. His performances with Anthos* are always a cut above the others he does for other 2D music projects. And even if the Hana-Doll* franchise is not that popular and Anthos* is equally as niche, both are well worth diving into just for the sheer quality on the vocal end.

2022 was a strong year for Shunichi Toki and I’m honestly quite curious to see and hear what he will pull off in 2023.

#3 – Makoto Furukawa

Deeply underappreciated despite how active he was in 2D music projects and even as a solo artist, Makoto Furukawa is, for me, one of the 12 male seiyuu that impressed in 2022.

Owner of one of the most powerful and complete vibratos among male seiyuu artists, with a unique charm and allure, always present in his performances and with a stylish sound as a solo artist, Furukawa impressed me a whole lot and, by the end of 2022 was making me wish he had released a full-length album to perfectly wrap up the year’s activities.

Still, the talented acid-jazz artist released 2 singles “Ware, bara ni insu” and “Ibara Rinbukyoku“, bringing stylish, refined, and deeply emotional songs to the spotlight. Furukawa wrote lyrics to some of the songs and those were, in my opinion, the ones that impressed the most and felt the most “Furukawa” you could get.

“Onlynight Crown” is, easily, one of my favorite songs that Furukawa has written lyrics to so far.

For 2D music projects, Makoto Furukawa was active with RUBIA Leopard in the DIG-ROCK franchise, Café Parade in THE IDOLMASTER SideM franchise, Goku Luck in the Paradox Live franchise, O★Z in the VISUAL PRISON franchise, SOARA in the Tsukipro franchise, STAND-ALONE in the TECHNOROID franchise, Twilight in the FABULOUS NIGHT franchise, between many, many more projects.

He was performing from rock to hip-hop, R&B, ballads, pop, EDM, visual-kei rock and pop-rock. Furukawa was doing a little bit of everything from being a lead to a supporting voice for the groups he is a part of.

And in all of these groups, he showcased his versatility as a singer – now showing much more of his vocal range on the lower and higher frequencies – as well as his control performing in extremely dramatic singing styles – as he does for O★Z in the VISUAL PRISON franchise.

And he was rapping for the very first time! With a flow and intensity that I was not expecting at all coming from him.

As 2022 wrapped up, Makoto Furukawa was, undoubtedly a name that should be mentioned as a highlight.

#2 – Jin Ogasawara

The biggest surprise of the year for me was Jin Ogasawara.

The talented seiyuu and solo artist embarked on a special digital single series that had him playing around with his vocal range – and impressing everyone while at it -, at the same time that he explored new music genres and mixes that may end up shaping his sound as a solo artist going forward.

I was quite impressed with what he showed on the vocal end. I was under the wrong impression that Ogasawara was a sort of one-dimensional singer – which is to say, can only sing in one specific style and with a specific tone – but he proved me wrong, delivering an outstanding set of performances that made me instantly purchase all his digital singles part of last year’s collection.

He was performing in falsetto, head voice, he was doing R&B riffing, he was rapping, and performing clean singing. He tried whisper style and in all of those he was sounding bloody amazing.

I love the fact that Ogasawara – with nothing to lose – decided to experiment both with his sound but also with his singing skills.

He is still a long way from becoming a top singer among male seiyuu but if the talent he showed in this digital singles collection is anything to go by, it won’t be long before he starts to be in the conversation.

And, of course, it is quite exciting that he is growing this much and this fast in front of our eyes. I’m quite excited about what’s in store for him in 2023.

As far as 2D music projects go, Ogasawara was mostly active with Gambét in the GAMDOL franchise and GYROAXIA in the FROM ARGONAVIS franchise. He also joined the visual-kei meets neo-Sengoku franchise, MAGATSU NOTE.

When it comes to impressive performances, Ogasawara absolutely threw it out of the park as the frontman for GYROAXIA, now a rock band signed to a major music label. Their mini-album “Freestyle” is their best to date, including songs that not only nod to past releases but also showcase the influences and versatility that the band has.

It is with GYROAXIA that he has also been impressing me because of how he does the screamo parts in the recordings. He is showing good technique in there although in a live setting, at times, he still struggles to have the proper technique to avoid injuring his vocal cords.

Still, Ogasawara is a promising talent and if 2022 is anything to go by, he will be impressing everyone both as a solo artist as well as part of the bloody amazing rock band, GYROAXIA.

#1 – Soma Saito

In what was an absolutely flawless year, Soma Saito was not only ridiculously active in several 2D music projects but also released 2 EPs with intricate concepts and even made time to write lyrics and compose songs for other seiyuu artists.

Saito is, just like Toshiyuki Toyonaga, in way too many 2D music projects. From Tsukipro, to IDOLiSH7, TOKYO COLOR SONIC!!, Ensemble Stars!!, Hypnosis Mic, Honeyworks, Dear Vocalist, and many more, Saito made sure to showcase just how versatile as a singer he truly is.

He tackled songs in the most varied music genres from rap to R&B, ballads, funk, disco, rock, EDM, pop, and many others. He performed with his natural high vocal range (tenor) but also as a faux baritone. He was there singing in whisper style, raw and rough at times, sweet and clean at others.

He shifted between vocal ranges within the same songs and kept on delivering quality performance after quality performance.

As a songwriter, Soma Saito wrote lyrics for Wataru Hatano’s “No man is an island”, song in Hatano’s album “TORUS” and composed “Lonely darling”, song in Takuya Eguchi’s mini-album “EGUrand”.

He is slowly working with other seiyuu artists which is quite exciting given the quality that he usually brings for his lyrics and compositions.

But what impressed me the most in 2022 were the 2 EPs he released. “my beautiful valentine” is, easily, the best album released in 2022. And “Yin/Yang” is not only one of the most experimental in Soma Saito’s repertoire, but it’s also one of the most emotional.

Saito managed to give life to one of the most abstract concepts you could think of in “my beautiful valentine” and then, for “Yin/Yang”, created a consistent collection of songs that ended up giving life to a spine-chilling story that has you, the listener, yet again, in the front seat.

When it came to the performances, it is safe to say that Soma Saito has established himself as a falsetto and head voice style of singer, making fantastic use of his versatile tenor range. He also has embraced the whisper style of singing something that, paired up with his falsetto and head voice makes him a really tough singer to even dare copy on karaoke.

The technicality and emotion in his performances, the wonderful, vivid stories he writes plus the rich, storytelling-driven instrumentals he composes made him shine in 2022 and, in my opinion, make him the artist of 2022.

So much talent and yet again, I didn’t even cover all the seiyuu that managed to impress me. 2022 was a year in which the wide majority of male seiyuu brought their best to the table, delivering memorable and technical performances.

Almost all the seiyuu that I mentioned in this feature – that have solo careers – released stellar CDs, regardless of whether they are singles, mini-albums/EPs, or full-length albums. Those who don’t have solo careers, surely have started to make a case for themselves with their performances.

2022 was a quality year.

Which male seiyuu impressed you in 2022? Share those in the comments!

You can find all the content in this feature on episode 128 of SEIYUU LOUNGE, The Hand That Feeds HQ’s official weekly podcast in video format.