The light novel "Welcome to the Classroom of the Elite" (abbreviated as "You-Jitsu"), set in a school where merit is the only thing that matters, is so popular that it has been translated and read overseas. The first and second seasons of the anime are also doing well, and the third season, scheduled to air in January 2024, is generating a lot of buzz. This series features a diverse team of production staff and voice actors. Many people are curious about who they are. This time, we'd like to introduce the production staff and voice actors of the main characters!
Seiji Kishi (Director)
Seiji Kishi has been working as an animation director since around 2003. He made his voice acting debut with "Seto no Hanayome" alongside the series composer. Due to his outspoken personality, he once spoke out loud during an interview, prompting a restaurant clerk to scold him. He seems to have a desire to make films, and his current goal is to create a film from scratch.
Hiroyuki Hashimoto (Director)
This film also features another director. Hiroyuki Hashimoto works as an animator and anime director, but sometimes also directs, as in this film. His first directorial role was "Is the Order a Rabbit?". In recent years, he has increasingly taken on the role of director rather than director. Expectations are rising for Hashimoto's success as director!
Kazuaki Morita (Character Design)
Kazuaki Morita has been working as a character designer since around 2006. While he occasionally serves as animation director, he is often in charge of character design. He handles a wide range of anime design projects, including character design, weapon design, and animation for opening and ending credits. If you're an anime fan and particularly interested in fine art, be sure to check out Morita's work.
Shoya Chiba (Kiyotaka Ayanokoji)
Shoya Chiba was a child actor before he became a voice actor. Driven by his desire to do something only he could do, he aspired to become a voice actor, wanting to be involved in the anime, music, and musicals he loved since childhood. In 2022, he underwent surgery to remove nodules from his vocal cords, and is fully recovered to resume his voice acting career. He will also debut as a solo artist in 2023, and we expect him to become even more active in a variety of fields.
Kitou Akari (Horikita Suzune)
It goes without saying that Kito Akari established herself as a popular voice actress with her role as Kamado Nezuko in "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba." Since then, she has played major characters in various series, and her appearances in works that aired before "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" have also garnered attention. The impact of appearing in popular works is immense. She is known for her addictive, laid-back characters, such as Omi Kanata in "Nijigasaki School Idol Club" and Seiun Sky in "Uma Musume."
Yurika Kubo (Kushida Kikyo)
Yurika Kubo rose to fame as Koizumi Hanayo from "Love Live!". The impact of Love Live was enormous, and Koizumi Hanayo became Kubo's signature character. Originally a model, she had always wanted to become a voice actress, but things didn't go smoothly. She later changed agencies and began her career as a voice actress. Incidentally, her nickname is Shikako, and since Kubo is from Nara Prefecture, it seems she's called that because it strongly evokes the image of a deer. If she were from Aomori Prefecture, perhaps she would have been called Ringo...? It's just a hypothetical question, so we don't know.
Ayana Taketatsu (Megumi Karuizawa)
Many people may have heard of Ayana Taketatsu's name as Azusa Nakano in "K-ON!". Her popularity skyrocketed after this series, and she has since gone on to play major characters in a variety of series. She's now a popular voice actress, known to all anime fans. She's married to fellow voice actor Yuki Kaji and has a child. Her child recently voiced a crying baby in "Attack on Titan." Making her voice acting debut at the age of 0 is an unprecedented feat. No doubt, she'll be amazed to hear the story from her parents when she grows up.
Masaaki Mizunaka (Sho Ryuen)
Masaaki Mizunaka became interested in voice acting after hearing the voice of Houchu Otsuka in a foreign drama. He has been praised for his excellent acting skills, such as switching voices without recording them in one go and adapting shouts according to instructions during public recordings at events. His acting skills have been highly praised, and he has been appearing in numerous productions since 2021.
Nao Toyama (Honami Ichinose)
Nao Toyama is fluent in English, and she displayed her fluent English in her role as Karen in "Kiniro Mosaic." Her cool voice as Jibia in "Spy Classroom" is quite different from Karen's, demonstrating her wide acting range. She seems to consider her own voice "uncharacteristic," but instead uses it to her advantage, allowing her to play a variety of characters.
Rina Hidaka (Arisu Sakayanagi)
Rina Hidaka also has a background as a child actor. She made her voice acting debut in 2008 while still a junior high school student. In 2009, she starred in her first anime series. She excelled in high school, and her name was even posted in the hallways as one of the top students. Her entry into the entertainment industry as a child actor came about when her grandfather, seeing her writing "I want to be on TV" on a Tanabata paper strip, applied to a talent agency. It feels like fate. If her grandfather hadn't seen the strip, Hidaka might not have become a voice actress.
Summary of the Production Staff and Voice Actors
We've introduced the production staff and voice actors, but did any of them seem familiar? Learning about the staff and cast will help you discover other series and enjoy them more deeply. Also, if you're familiar with the staff and cast, you might be able to recommend other series with confidence! Why not use "Youjitsu" as an opportunity to discover a new way to enjoy anime? That's all for today. Thank you for reading.
