These are the best solo artists of 2023, growing before our eyes while delivering stellar performances embracing their talents as performers or singer-songwriters.
From January 5 to 15, 2024, readers and viewers of THTFHQ voted for these awards valuing, first and foremost, talent and quality over popularity.
Nominees were shortlisted by The Hand That Feeds HQ and our readers chose a winner.
To avoid petty fights between fans and disrespect towards seiyuu and their fans, no votes are disclosed in any written features covering THTFHQ AWARDS 2023.
If you want to check the abridged version of the complete results of this year’s edition, those were unveiled on episode 182 of SEIYUU LOUNGE, THTFHQ’s weekly podcast all about male seiyuu music and 2D groups.
#1 Yuma Uchida
Yuma Uchida makes it a double – after getting as well Album of the Year. In this case, he went head-to-head until the last second with Toshiyuki Toyonaga, emerging as your solo artist of the year.
In 2023, Yuma Uchida celebrated his 5th anniversary as a solo artist, and with that arrived a series of digital singles – his first ever digital singles series – and a set of new songs, each exploring different music genres, vibes, and even singing styles.
Later on, in November 2023, those would wrap up neatly in the 3rd album “Y”, one of the best albums of the year, actually, your album of the year.
After an amazing 2023, Yuma Uchida is your solo artist of the year.
From this point on, the seiyuu mentioned are not ranked (the order in which they appear below doesn’t correspond to the place they ranked in the final voting):
Kent Ito
What a year Kent Ito had!
The talented singer-songwriter was active as a solo artist with his 1st EP “Hanabi” and managed to start 2023 already in contention for the best album of the year.
This was a stylish EP in which pop-rock, funk, and citypop gave way to some of the most nostalgic and unique songs you could get.
Ito stepped up into the composer role and was in charge of composing some of the songs in the EP – the first time in his solo career that he has done that.
Before the end of the year, he released two digital singles “Tawagoto” and “Sadman’s Land”.
While not many people pay attention to Kent Ito, the truth is he continues to grow as a singer-songwriter for his solo career. And now that he’s added his personal touch to his music, there’s a lot of excitement for what he can pull off next.
Makoto Furukawa
Makoto Furukawa continues to be one of the most interesting singers among male seiyuu. His enthusiasm and passion for his solo music are noticeable without him even saying it.
2023 was the year in which Makoto Furukawa celebrated his 5th anniversary as a solo artist. And with that celebration arrived the stylish jazz-rock single “Place your bets”.
Furukawa was back in his element in 2023.
“Place your bets” was all in for jazz and rock, bringing forth stylish music, vivid soundscapes, and stories that grab your attention right from the start with their mystery.
Furukawa’s confidence and a want to wrap up a period in his solo career in the best way made “Place your bets” his best-selling CD at the moment with over 11.000 copies sold.
After celebrating his 5th anniversary as a solo artist with the release of the special single “Place Your Bets”, he held his first live show Furukawa Makoto 1st Re-Live “Call” in the BOX in November.
This was a strong year for him, wrapping up an important chapter in his career in the best way possible.
Shouta Aoi
Shouta Aoi was back in 2023 for more live shows – Shouta Aoi LIVE 2023 WONDER lab. Garden and Anisama 2023 – and finally, in November, the long-awaited 3rd album “DETONATOR” arrived.
The album has its highs and lows – with “8th HEAVEN” standing out as one of the best songs released in 2023 – but as a whole, it was underwhelming, especially given how fans had to wait 6 years for it.
Still, Shouta Aoi continues to showcase his creativity in ways other male seiyuu artists don’t. From the stage setting to the wardrobe for his live shows and even deciding the setlist, Aoi is a creator and decision-maker. This shows his love and dedication both to his music and to presenting his fans with the best.
And I feel like these are more than enough arguments to bring Shouta Aoi to the conversation of best artist of the year.
Tetsuya Kakihara
In 2023, Tetsuya Kakihara was back with new music and, as it has been tradition in the past couple of years, he released an amazing album.
“Waratte Ite…” was all about exuding laid-back vibes and showcasing his impressive technical prowess.
The songs in it not only leave you with a broad and proud smile but also invoke tears and goosebumps. If you’re seeking a musical journey with a well-defined concept, “Waratte ite…” is one of the finest mini-albums you can get. It’s an invitation to smile widely and cherish the experience.
During summer, and to promote the album, Kakihara went on a new live tour titled Tetsuya Kakihara Live Tour 2023.
As 2023 wrapped up, Kakihara was one of the highlights. And while his music may have not attracted too much attention it sure deserved more.
Gakuto Kajiwara
Gakuto Kajiwara had a solid 2023 with the release of his new mini-album “Jinsei no Life”.
This CD kept Kajiwara’s tradition of delivering feel-good songs that feel like a warm blanket on a cold day.
“Jinsei no Life” is more human in tone, with lots of stories to tell you and for you to take in. As a result, many of the songs in this release have an introspective or even nostalgic tone, something I wasn’t necessarily anticipating but that ended up being an interesting surprise.
But at the same time, in comparison to last year’s “Irochigai no Itotaba” and “Road movie”, “Jinsei no Life” felt too safe and comfortable, something that ended up making this CD go under the radar for many.
Still, Kajiwara showed how comfortable he is as solo artist, already having a well defined sound and unique voice all ready to share good vibes with you.
Toshiyuki Toyonaga
Undeniably the best singer among male seiyuu, Toshiyuki Toyonaga continues impressing without looking or sounding like he is breaking a sweat.
The tenor continues to put his wide vocal range to the test be it as a solo artist – with his 3rd album “Charactanswer” – or even as part of the most varied 2D music projects.
2023 was a big year for the multi-talented singer-songwriter, He was finally behind the composition and lyrics for all his songs – something that had only happened in 2014’s iconic album, MUSIC OF THE ENTERTAINMENT – and delivered a set of songs, replies, to character songs he performed in the past.
“Charactanswer” ended up becoming quite the niche album as it was not made available on streaming platforms and the only way to get a hold of this album was through very few selected stores in Japan.
For those reasons, unfortunately, I can’t talk in more detail about this album and why it propelled Toshiyuki Toyonaga to go head-to-head with Yuma Uchida as the best artist of 2023.
Wataru Hatano
Wataru Hatano keeps on pushing yet again the envelope with a creative “DAWN“. The concept mini-album plays like a story with music interludes tying up all the loose strings.
While not a highlight for many people, this concept album feels innovative and has an interesting story waiting for you to unveil.
At the same time, Hatano was busier than ever with live shows. He held two in 2023 – Wataru Hatano LIVE 2023 – TORUS – and Wataru Hatano LIVE 2023 – Dawn – -, showcasing the unique colors and sounds of his back-to-back concept albums (TORUS and Dawn).
Wataru Hatano was one of the best seiyuu solo artists of the year.
Takuya Eguchi
Takuya Eguchi found his stride in 2023 with the release of his 1st single “PIZZA SUSHI planet walking“.
This single showed that Takuya Eguchi is now carving out his unique identity as a solo artist, setting himself apart from his previous work in 2D music projects. His voice was well-defined but now is gaining a unique style, which is quite awesome.
While not directly connected, he also joined Trignal in its triumphant long-awaited comeback with “Ironna Katachi”. In there he also showed just how talented he is as a singer and rapper.
2023 was definitely a year of growth and change for Takuya Eguchi, giving way to one of the hidden gems of the year.
Jin Ogasawara
2023 kicked off with Jin Ogasawara riding on a lot of momentum after releasing a stellar series of digital singles in the previous year.
However, what awaited fans was in 2023… quite different.
In 2023, he was quieter, releasing one digital single “TOKYO HOLLYWOOD”.
To everyone’s surprise, the talented solo artist decided to put his solo career on hold immediately after the release of his 1st album “Sokai Gyouretsusha”, on December 31, 2023.
Thank you to everyone who voted at the THTFHQ AWARDS 2023!
