The organizers of the 20th Annual Seiyū Awards announced in advance the winners of the special awards on Tuesday.
Merit Awards
Award for the seiyū who have contributed to many genres, including foreign works, over the yearsAruno Tahara (left in image below)
Keiko Yokozawa
Synergy Award
Award for works that best show the talent of voice actorsThe IDOLM@STER series
Kei Tomiyama/Kazue Takahashi Awards
Award for the seiyū who has been active in every field including actingShinichirō Kamio (left in image below)
Rei Sakuma
Special Award
Voice actors, works, or activities that deserve special recognitionNami MizunoImage courtesy of Seiyu Awards Executive Committee
© 声優アワード実行委員会
Other winners for different categories will be announced during the awards ceremony on March 15. Starting in 2023, the categories of “Best Lead Voice Actor,” “Best Supporting Voice Actor,” and “New Voice Actor” are no longer separated by gender. The awards committee stated regarding the change, “voice acting is a job that transcends gender, as female voice actors sometimes voice male characters and vice-versa.” The committee added that it discussed the topic for a few years and decided to make the three awards gender free out of respect for diversity.
Starting in 2017, the Special Merit Award, which honors deceased voice actors and actresses who have contributed to many genres, was replaced with an honoring of all voice actors and actresses who died in the previous year.
Beginning in 2019, the awards introduced four new categories, which include “Foreign Movie/Series Award,” “Game Award,” “Influencer Award,” and “MVS (Most Valuable Seiyū).”
Sources: Press release, Seiyū Awards X/Twitter account
