T5W#471-Top 5 Characters Voiced by Atsuko Tanaka

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Anime community.  Last week, we lost Rachael Lillis, best known to us as the voice of Misty and Jessie amongst many others from Pokemon.  Yesterday saw the passing of another legendary voice actress, Atsuko Tanaka.  Since 1993, Tanaka have provided voice and life to hundreds of characters across Anime, Video Games and even dubbing of characters from live action US films such as Selene in the Underworld series and Pepper Potts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Of all those characters, it’s hard to pick just five roles to single out, though one is a definite no brainer.  I did have another Top 5 to go up today in relation to Alien: Romulus but I’m going to push that back til Next Wednesday in order to honor this incredible womans legacy with my personal favorite Top 5 Characters Voiced by Atsuko Tanaka.  I’ll be sticking to Anime and Video Game roles only though there will be a mention of one particular live action dubbing for one character.

 
#5-Caster aka Madea (Fate/Stay Night Franchise)

One of the seven Servants summoned for the Holy Grail War, Madea’s Caster appears in all three main routes adapted into Anime form: including Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven’s Feel.  In each version, Madea remains largely the same high level antagonist, a beautiful spell maker who has her own plans for Holy Grail and will stop at nothing to attain it for herself.  Atsuko imbues the role with proper menace and a bit of playful seductiveness too, making her one of the many fan favorites of the entire franchise. 
 

#4-Trish (Devil May Cry Franchise)

Take one look at Trish and you can see why Atsuko would be such a fit for her.  Gorgeous blonde in blade leather with shades and a huge sword?  Come on she just screams bad ass demon babe from the get go.  Trish has a lot of mystery about her but after her duplicitous role in the first game, she becomes Dante’s top partner and ally in demon slaying In many ways, Trish is very much Dantes equal and one of the few who can put the legendary devil hunter in his place.  Beautiful and unstoppable, Trish is never gonna sound the same in Japanese without Atsuko providing that lovely voice.
 

#3-Saeko Misaki (WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3)

This is a personal favorite of mine as WXIII was kind of my introduction to the Patlabor universe.  Tanaka plays Saeko Misaki, a beautiful and mysterious scientist who starts up a romance with Detective Hatta during his investigation of grizzly murders in the Tokyo Bay area.  But mystery turns to something both sinister and tragic as we learn just how close to this case Misaki really is.  It’s one of the more darker tales in the Patlabor saga and Misaki’s ultimate fate gives way to a great performance from Tanaka.  It’s not your typical Patlabor story but that doesn’t mean its not one of the franchises best.

 
#2-Bayonetta (Bayonetta Franchise)

One of the sexiest bad girls in video gaming, Bayonetta is everyones dream date: clever, sarcastic, very naughty and a whiz with firearms and fashionable ass kicking (something that can be attributed to a lot of Atsuko Tanaka roles).  Tanaka provided the voice for Bayo across all three games in their Japanese releases, getting to let loose a very fun and playful personality upon a seemingly neverending army of vengeful Angels and Demons and sky scraper sized bosses using nothing but her guns and the hair that makes up her iconic and sexy wardrobe.  Bayonetta is really the ladies answer to Dante from Devil May Cry and wow why haven’t we gotten that team up yet?
 

#1-Major Motoko Kusinagi (Ghost in the Shell Franchise)

I mean, who else could it be at the top of this list?  Motoko, or The Major as she’s commonly referred to, is the poster girl of Cyberpunk Anime.  She’s strong, dedicated, no nonsense and let’s be honest, she’s sexy as Hell.  When it comes to Cyborgs who can kick all the ass and look good doing so, Motoko is hard to match.  Save for the Arise Prequel OVA, Tanaka provided the voice to this icon for each entry of the Ghost in the Shell franchise including the Oshii Movies and Stand Alone Complex Series, including the SAC_2045 ONA.  This also includes reprising the role dubbing Scarlett Johannson for the live action feature along with the rest of the main cast of the franchise.  When you think of Atsuko Tanaka, Motoko Kusinagi is the first role that comes to mind and rightfully so.  It’s her defining role in a sea of so many others and one that will stay with Anime fans forever.