Seiyuu!

[Nepenthe]

  

 

"Th'ell?... Ohh nooo.... Ohhhhhh noooooooo.... It's gonna be one of those topics about something Japan, isn't it?"

 

Yes it is, because the appearance of a third nerd in the form of Ragna (who requested this topic) has made me geek out a little too much at there potentially being more of you around, or potential fence-sitters I can turn. So here I hoist upon you one of the most niche interests I've ever garnered. Advance apologies.
 
Just what the hell is a seiyuu?
 
Seiyuu is the Japanese term for "voice actor;" in a western sense, it refers only to voice actors of Japanese origin, similar to the terms "manga" and "anime."
 
Okay, why the topic when we already have one for voice actors?
 
Beyond any perceived Japanophile tendencies, Japan's voice acting industry is highly unique, so much so that it's pretty much its own subculture and thus a topic onto itself: 
 
First, Japan produces an exorbitant amount of animation, the majority in the entire world annually. Thus, their voice acting industry has grown ridiculously to meet the demand, including the formation of specialized schools. Second, business deals in the 60s and 70s between studios limiting the avenues that seiyuu could pursue in their field coupled with the meager pay grade forced them to find other entertainment work. Along with the creep of Japan's idol culture and theater troupes, you get the beginnings of what we see today in the industry. 
 
Basically, seiyuu have risen to become celebrities themselves, far beyond the normal social standing of voice actors in any other country. Seiyuu produce music albums, music videos, and are in or have been in singing groups. Many also do live theater work, theatrical films, CD dramas, pen their own comics and visual novels, do some directorial work, and are a formidable force in promoting the media of which they're apart of through television and radio appearances, as well as special shows called "seiyuu events" where script readings, skits, games, and ridiculous off-the-cuff shit happens in front of a live audience. 
 
The fad of anime call-ins during the 90s, as well as the advent of the Internet and social media, have also allowed seiyuu great opportunity to become a little more personable with their fan bases as well as showcase themselves better as individuals. Radio shows, blogs, as well as professional seiyuu magazines complete with highly fashionable photo shoots, are ubiquitous. Basically, you come for the knowledge of who has voiced who and eventually stay for the personalities and the massive amount of derp.
 
Since I'm still here reading this, clearly I find it interesting. Any names should I know?
 
Um, a veritable shitload. The industry's explosion has led to a ton of noteworthy people all having a significant hand in the field in some way, and several rise through the ranks of popularity every few years or so that it's difficult to keep up with who's the absolute most notable. TVTropes has a massive list of noteworthy seiyuu, although it may be a bit outdated considering some of the hot new blood is not on there. If I had to pick just a few folks though, it would be these:
 
Chikao Otsuka: Aside from being the ever-lovable Dr. Eggman, he's an earlier contributor to the first era of Japanese voice acting, having essentially worked in the field before the term "seiyuu" even became a thing.
 
Toru Furuya: Probably best known as Pegasus Seiyaa from Saint Seiyaa, Yamcha from Dragon Ball, and Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon, he is one of the three of the first seiyuu to form a band and perform live.
 
Megumi Hayashibara: She's Faye from Cowboy Bebop, Jessie from Pokemon, and Female Ramna from Ramna 1/2, and one of the first and most popular seiyuu during the 90s to take advantage of the fad of using radio to receive sponsorships for DJs and concerts.
 
Takehito Koyasu: Well known as Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo, he is, as far as I'm still aware, the seiyuu with the record of most voice acting credits; also responsible for helping elevate the popularity of my avatar dude through a popular media franchise called Weiss Kreuz.
 
Anything else?
 
Uhm... they made a seiyuu movie not too long ago! Yep, the movie pretty much solely exists as a vehicle to showcase seiyuu together in a live-action setting, or at least a few good friends in the business with extensive connections with one another. It's called Wonderful World, and as far as I know, it's about a potentially-apocalyptic conflict that takes place between the planes of our reality and a secret dream world called HEM. For context, it stars Light Yagami, Joseph Joestar, Domon Kasshu, and Wolverine.... Yep.

No sub as far as I know, if you were that curious.
 
... Alright, time to go!
 

[Kuzu]

It's beautiful

 

 

 

 

So yea, having watched a lot of subbed Anime lately, and looked at the respective Seiyuus, I've really become a fan of them. I think one of my favorite things about them is how human they seem, like outside of their work they obviously love to have fun and goof with each other. It's just amazing things.

 

 

If voice acting was as big over here in the states ;A;

[Nepenthe]

Indeed. Half of the draw of the subculture is how utterly immature most seiyuu act on a daily basis. And it's not just one or two major personalities, it's pretty much all of them, even the ones generally typecast into serious or brooding roles whom you'd think would show a bit of personal restraint and social grace. Nope; in casual settings, and even in not-so-casual ones like actual promotions, the rules fly out the window and you get a whirlwind of herping and derping that is just absolutely hilarious.

[MugiMikey]

Might as well get these out of the way, as they're my personal favorites:

 

Mayumi Tanaka: Best known for voicing Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece and Kuririn from the Dragon Ball franchise, she also voiced Koenma in Yu Yu Hakusho. Man, this woman can also sing very well!

 

Ikue Otani: Internationally known as the voice of Pikachu from Pokemon. She also voices Tony Tony Chopper from One Piece, Gash/Zatch from Golden Gash Bell/Zatch Bell, and Mitsuhiko/Mitch from Detective Conan.

 

Masako Nozawa: Very famous for voicing young boys, especially in '70s-'80s anime. She's best known for voicing Son Goku, Gohan, Goten, etc. from the Dragon Ball franchise. She also voiced the iconic Doraemon, and Hiroshi from Dokonjo Gaeru/Gutsy Frog.

[Aquaslash]

Obligatory prop giving to Tomokazu Seki, who while having a metric crapton of roles, stands out to be for being the voice of the Mobirates in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

 

Come on, say it with me.

 

GoooooooooooooooooKAIJA!

[Urban Flow]

Ya know the there are like only a certain few anime that I have seen in japanese and that I actually enjoyed. Fist Of The North Star; Akira Kamiya did a great job doing Kenshiro's voice, like it honestly fits perfectly. However, I don't mind subs but one thing that does annoy me when it comes to female voice actors. Like most females in anime have different voice actors yet sound relatively the same (I mean seriously). It's a personal nit pick. But I cannot stand that stuff. This coming from someone who is not what you would call japanese crazy. I am no otaku or weaboo (well maybe not weaboo because being called that is not exactly a good thing) but I am first and foremost on english audio. In the end I still appreciate some good japanese voices I suppose.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Urban Flow

[Solly]

Hey guys, I think Japanese voice actors are pretty cool... what seiyuu?

 

Okay, okay. I'm actually a bit of a geek when it comes to VA work in general. Some of my favorites are Minami Takayama and Kenichi Ogata, who have some really distinct voices. It's cool to see how valued the profession is over there, although that's to be expected considering how big their animation industry is. 

[Jin.]

Ehh.. Tetsuya Kakihara's my favorite. Yūichi Nakamura pulls off a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mdh7XFNzpM.

[Yoko/葉子]

I LOVE Megumi Ogata. She tends to play handsome girls and pretty boys like Harpuia in Megaman Zero, Kurama in Yu Yu Hakusho, Yue (and Yukito) in Cardcaptor Sakura. She also plays Shinji in Eva, Emeraude and Eagle in Magic Kinght Rayearth. Be sure to follow her on Twitter!

[Dizcrybe]

I LOVE Megumi Ogata. She tends to play handsome girls and pretty boys like Harpuia in Megaman Zero, Kurama in Yu Yu Hakusho, Yue (and Yukito) in Cardcaptor Sakura. She also plays Shinji in Eva, Emeraude and Eagle in Magic Kinght Rayearth. Be sure to follow her on Twitter!

 

Can't read Japanese, mang.

 

To actually contribute to the topic, I thought the voice work in Little Witch Academia was great. Anyone know who the VAs in that were?

[\gunther]

Shuichi Ikeda is definitely one of my favorites, and honestly, is one of the few that I can instantly recognize. He is best known as Char Aznable of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, one of the most famous rivals/antiheroes of all time, and he and reprised the role throughout the franchise. His voice is so smooth, cool, calm, yet also intimidating and mysterious. His performance as Char is what initially drew me to the character, and the Red Comet become one of my favorite anime characters of all time.

 

Besides a few minor roles, he' known as the voice of Shakes from One Piece, Marluxia from Kingdom Hearts, Scorpio Milo from Saint Seiya, Hiko Seijuro of Rurouni Kenshin, and much more. Char will always be my favorite role of his, however, and I think most fans of him would agree. 

 

 

Here's the man promoting a Char-colored Toyota Auris. It might indeed be three times as fast as a normal Auris.

Edited April 10, 2013 by gunthær

[Nepenthe]

Obligatory prop giving to Tomokazu Seki, who while having a metric crapton of roles, stands out to be for being the voice of the Mobirates in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

 

Come on, say it with me.

 

GoooooooooooooooooKAIJA!

 

.... *shrugs* Well-p, it's official. You and me are now best friends for life.

 

Aside from Seki, I've been on a Kouji Yusa kick lately, considering he's long-since nabbed a major role in the Hakuoki franchise and is enjoying some increased exposure as the lead in some new anime called "The Unlimited- Hyobu Kyosuke" (which people apparently refuse to sub). With his performance of Shadow lodged into my brain, it's always fun hearing him in more hot-blooded roles, or at least roles where he can inject a greater amount of snark and self-importance into a stoic character like in Unlimited. Regardless of the archetypes of his characters or what kind of acting the situation calls for, he just has a highly pleasing voice to listen to. And he has a doggie!

[Linkabel]

I think that the Japanese voice acting industry is probably one of the greatest in the whole world. For the most part, Japanese voice actors put a lot of feeling in the parts they are playing. For example, if a character is a hot-headed, action-first kind of guy, then the voice will reflect that. If they need authority, than the voice will reflect that too.

 

Granted, like everything, the Japanese voice acting industry has some shows that do sound better in other languages. And while some shows have excellent quality voice acting, if the person does not like to listen to shows in other languages then there's nothing that can be done about that.

 

My favorite "seiyuu" is definitely Toru Furuya.

I first heard him while watching Saint Seiya when The Hades OVAs came out. There's just something about his voice that sounds so youthful and can sound aggressive and peaceful at the same time.

 

My favorite performances have been when he played Pegasus Seiya and Casshern. It's weird that when they redesigned Casshern they made him look like Seiya, maybe that's why they got him to play it.

I heard some of his singing, and well I can't really say that I liked it. But hey, at least he tried (also why did he voice worthless Yamcha I'll never know).

 

Second, but not least, is Kazuyuki Sogabe.

 

The first time I heard him was, again, in Saint Seiya where he played the part of Gemini Saga and his twin brother Kanon. He also did work for Mobile Suit Gundam, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z/GT and even Metal Gear Solid.

 

His voice just screams authority in every role that he did and for that he became one of my favorite voice actors. Too bad that he died a couple of years ago because I think he still had a lot to give to the industry.

 

This is a small example of both of their performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMj3tXsHdh0

[Southe]

My favorite seiyuu is probably Nakai Kazuya (Zoro/OnePiece Hijikata/Gintama etc)

Whole strawhat cast is good tho was shocked to learn That L was Usopp (Kappei Yamaguchi)

[Jin.]

TOPIC REVIVE

 

 

So I've been paying more attention to seiyuu's lately, and I want to alter my previous post.

 

My favorite seiyuu is still Tetsuya Kakihara, the voice of, for instance, Jin Kisaragi. I think he's a great singer, voice actor and he even knows multiple languages, including German. Second but really close on my list is Asami Imai, the voice of, for instance, Tsubaki Yayoi. My god, when this woman needs to play emotionally broken, she plays it like a pro. Even with an enjoyable, soft but clear normal voice, her screams break my heart.

 

Close, but not quite there are first of all, the well-known Tomokazu Sugita, the voice of, for instance, Ragna The Bloodedge. While I find him overall enjoyable, he doesn't quite fully cut it for me. He's great when he's hammy, but okay otherwise. Secondly there's Tao Yukinari, the voice of, for instance, Bullet. Who I just think has a great voice overall. Lastly there's Yūichi Nakamura, the voice of, for instance, Yuuki Terumi. His crazy laughter and sly tone are great.

 

Yeah I'm using BB actors because I know and love then the most.

[Dizcrybe]

While I'm here I just wanna say that Ami Koshimizu (is that how it's spelled?) was amazing in Kill La Kill. The voicework overall was just great, really. My only complaint is that Nono's voice was a tad annoying at times.

[Jin.]

While I'm here I just wanna say that Ami Koshimizu (is that how it's spelled?) was amazing in Kill La Kill. The voicework overall was just great, really. My only complaint is that Nono's voice was a tad annoying at times.

 

I liked Ami at times, but her screams were annoying IMO.