Among My Hero Academia’s expansive and diverse cast of characters, Shota Aizawa (better known as Eraser Head) is one of the biggest standouts. Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher may be strict and lazy at times, but he’s also a caring mentor and a skilled Pro Hero who has defeated countless villains with his Erasure quirk. He was already a memorable character on his own, but there’s no denying that his popularity was elevated by the impeccable performance of Junichi Suwabe, his voice actor in the Japanese dub.
He’s actually one of the most famous and prolific voice actors in the Japanese anime industry, and he has worked on multiple popular shows (mainly in the action shonen genre) both before and after his debut as Eraser Head in My Hero Academia. With his deep and intimidating voice and his impressive range, Suwabe has brought to life many beloved characters, and the ing are just some of the many prominent examples of his talent.
8 Jujutsu Kaisen
Ryomen Sukuna
Junichi Suwabe obviously has a knack for voicing hateable antagonists in iconic shonen anime because he also worked on One Piece, where he voiced not one but two infamous villains. First, years before he was cast as Sukuna or Eraser Head, he voiced Vergo, one of the elite officers of the Donquixote Pirates who appeared in the Punk Hazard Arc. Suwabe’s deadpan delivery made him sound surprisingly threatening and imposing, but he also knew how to use it for comedy as well, since Vergo is also the star of a silly running gag in which he gets random food stuck to his face.
Suwabe was chosen to voice Admiral Aramaki (better known as Ryokugyu) in the Wano Country Arc, after the character’s original voice actor, Keiji Fujiwara, tragically passed away in 2020. This performance couldn’t be any more different from Vergo, since Aramaki is very loud, extreme, ruthless, and elitist. Nevertheless, Suwabe gave an excellent performance that successfully made him sound and feel like the truly despicable villain he is.
6 Bleach
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez is one of the most beloved and iconic characters in Bleach, similarly to how Sukuna and Eraser Head are some of the most popular characters in their respective series. Since 2007, this Arrancar has been captivating countless fans with his incredible power, his impulsive personality, and his deep but loud voice, which was courtesy of Junichi Suwabe himself.
While the voice actor’s signature voice may seem out of place for a character like Grimmjow at first, he quickly took over the role and managed to make him sound both really strong and really cool, especially whenever he clashes with Ichigo Kurosaki and reignites their fierce rivalry. Fortunately, Suwabe got the chance to voice everybody’s favorite Arrancar in the animated adaptation of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and proved that he never lost his touch, even eleven years after the end of the original anime.
5 Demon Slayer
Kyogai
Junichi Suwabe has seemingly worked on almost every major action shonen franchise, and Demon Slayer is no exception. However, his work as the Drum Demon Kyogai is quite different from his usual roles since, instead of making him sound threatening or serious, Suwabe gave a surprisingly loud, over-the-top, and somber performance.
At first, Kyogai seemed soft-spoken and quiet, but he eventually showed his true self during his encounter with Tanjiro Kamado, in which he began shouting at the top of his lungs while unleashing destructive attacks, and Suwabe’s voice got so raspy and high-pitched that it was almost unrecognizable. Like most other demons in Demon Slayer, Kyogai had a tragic backstory, and his inevitable death scene was elevated by Suwabe’s emotional performance.
4 Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Lugner
The cross-generational nature of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s story has allowed David Production to cast the same voice actors as different characters from different parts that never interact with each other, and Junichi Suwabe is no exception. He made his debut in Stardust Crusaders, where he voiced Telence T. D’Arby, a one-dimensional but very entertaining villain who’s very easy to hate. To no one’s surprise, he delivered yet another high-quality performance that successfully made D’Arby sound as despicable as he is.
But Suwabe’s work in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure also resulted in one of the absolute best performances of his entire career, since he was also chosen to voice Leone Abbacchio, one of the main characters of Vento Aureo. This is a multi-layered character that, at first, seems extremely aggressive and resentful (especially towards Giorno), but he slowly reveals that he’s actually quite clever, mature, and caring. Needless to say, Suwabe’s deep and intimidating voice worked perfectly for this complex character, and his performance during Abbacchio’s emotional final scenes resulted in one of the best voice-acted scenes in anime history. Fun fact: In this role, Junichi Suwabe interacted with Deku’s voice actor, Daiki Yamashita, who voices Narancia Ghirga.
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My Hero Academia
Action Superhero Animation
