My Hero Academiahas introduced an entire generation of anime watchers to its expansive cast of lovable characters, with the series’ protagonist,Izuku Midoriya (AKA Deku), being one of the most memorable ones.Needless to say, his inspiring story, heroic attitude and super-powered feats were all elevated byDaiki Yamashita’s excellent voice performance.
Yamashita is a prosperous Japanese voice actor who has been working in the anime industry for more than thirteen years. He often stands out due to his youthful voice, which he uses to bring several kind, noble and charming characters to life, across many different shows. He has delivered numerous incredible performances throughout his career, but the following eight are his absolute best ones so far.
Curiously enough, anime fans often mix up Daiki Yamashita with Natsuki Hanae, seeing as both Japanese voice actors have fairly similar voices. But, while Hanae is famous for voicing Tanjiro Kamado inDemon Slayer, Yamashita has lent his voice to another character who acts completely different from the protagonist:Yushiro,Tamayo’s loyal demon companion who’s deeply in love with her.
He’s hot-headed, passionate and a bit resentful, and Yamashita managed to use his unique voice to make him seem both endearing and funny, especially during comedic scenes. For an actor that became popular for voicing a character as noble and kind as Deku, it’s fascinating to hear him voice someone so unexpectedly mean. At the end of the day, however, Yushiro is a good demon who wants to help humans, so maybe Yamashita was not so out of his element after all.
In 2019, Daiki Yamashita had to face a monumental task: He was cast as the voice ofGoh,Ash Ketchum’s sole companion inPokemon Journeys, meaning that he was going to work right alongside the legendary Rika Matsumoto. Despite the intimidating pressure and the massive workload, he did an excellent job with this new character.
Goh is supposed to work as a foil for Ash, a younger and less knowledgeable rookie trainer who had a lot to learn about Pokemon from the series’ iconic protagonist. Yamashita’s performance worked perfectly for this role, as he made Goh sound both innocent and smart, but also hot-headed and even exasperating when the story called for it. Furthermore, his impeccable chemistry with Masumoto’s Ash was one of many elements that helpedPokemon Journeysbecome one of the best seasons of the show.
One of the best aspects of Pierrot’s recent adaptation ofBleach’sThousand-Year Blood War Arc is the fact that many up-and-coming Japanese voice actors (who weren’t active during the original show’s run) could now lend their voices to this long-awaited new season and Daiki Yamashita was obviously one of them,seeing as he voicedRyūnosuke Yukiin the very first episode.
Yuki shares a lot of similarities with Yamashita’s usual characters: he’s the new Shinigami who is in charge of guarding Karakura Town, so he’s obviously quite strong and noble, but he’s also very timid and a bit of a coward. As expected, Yamashita’s soft-spoken performance was completely perfect for this new character, and it certainly helped him stand out amongBleach’shuge cast of Shinigami fighters.
Yamada Asaemon Sentafrom MAPPA’s 2023 adaptation ofHell’s Paradisefeels like a character that was basically made for Daiki Yamashita to voice, since he’s extremely similar to some of his other characters, like Deku or Goh.As the Asaemon monitor in charge of watching over Yuzuriha, he initially came off as shy, nervous and even a bit pathetic.
This gradually changed over the course of the season, however, as Senta often proved to be quite a strong and brave fighter, despite his shortcomings, not to mention that his relationship with Yuzuriha was both funny and endearing. Needless to say, Yamashita’s voice was not only a perfect fit for this character, but it’s also important to point out that he did a particularly impressive job during an emotional moment that takes place at the end of the season.
Zeke Yeageris, without a doubt, one of the most complex and polarizing characters inAttack on Titan. As a result, he’s voiced by two talented Japanese voice actors: the legendary Takehito Koyasu voices an adult Zeke, while Daiki Yamashita has voiced his child version in all of his crucial flashbacks. While he’s quite a ruthless antagonist now, Zeke used to be a good kid who was unfortunately shaped and changed by the ideas of his father, Grisha, who wanted to take advantage of his royal blood to turn him into a warrior and a spy.
In this case, Yamashita delivered an incredible performance that shows how Zeke’s childhood was ruined by his parents, and how he slowly became the cruel villain thatAttack on Titanfans love to hate and empathize with. This famous actor did such a good job at this role that it almost feels like Zeke’s child version was voiced by a younger Takehito Koyasu.
As always, Daiki Yamashita excels at voicing noble and kind characters who can act heroically whenever it’s necessary, and one of his most noteworthy recent performances wasHokurofrom the 2021 hit series,Ranking of Kings. Despite his size and appearance, Hokuro is a loving guardsman of the Bosse Kingdom who is extremely loyal to Prince Bojji.
He’s one of the few soldiers in the kingdom who willingly learned sign language to communicate with the prince, and he didn’t hesitate to attack Domas when he tried to kill Bojji. To no one’s surprise, Yamashita nailed this role, and his kind-sounding voice helped Hokuro become one of the most wholesome and popular charactersin an anime that is filled to the brim with selfish and cruel people.
While Daiki Yamashita often stars in mainstream action shōnen anime, he has also been involved in many other types of shows. For example, one of his most popular and iconic works is his performance asSenpai(real name:Naoto Hachiouji)in the romantic comedyDon’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro.
Senpai is a character who’s supposed to come off as timid and pathetic (especially when he’s being teased and bullied by the titular Hayase Nagatoro) who also has a more assertive and romantic side to him. Once again, Daiki Yamashita shined in this role, since this character is not too different from Senta or Yuki, and his impeccable chemistry with Sumire Uesaka made the relationship between the two main characters all the more funny and adorable.
Part 5 ofJoJo’s Bizarre Adventurewas initially published back in 1996, meaning thatNarancia Ghirgahad existed in the manga for over 22 years before he and his fellow Team Bucciarati members were brought to life in David Production’s modern animated adaptation. Of course, a lot of other respectable Japanese voice actors had already voiced him in the video games, but the studio chose Daiki Yamashita for the official anime, who was fresh off his recent success as Deku inMy Hero Academia. To the surprise of most fans, Yamashita delivered an excellent performance, and eventually became the best voice of this beloved character.
After all, Narancia is nothing like his usual roles,since this young criminal is temperamental, crass, violent and a bit of a ruthless prankster. But the most important aspect of his character is his childlike innocence and his appreciation for his close friends, which Yamashita managed to portray with his recognizable soft-spoken voice. While most anime fans will always remember Daiki Yamashita for his role as Izuku Midoriya inMy Hero Academia, there’s no denying that his excellent performance as Narancia Ghirga cemented him as one of the most talented voice actors currently working in the anime industry.
