Seiyuu Spotlight: JUN Fukuyama

It’s time for our next Seiyuu Spotlight, and today’s post is all about Jun Fukuyama. Jun was born on November 11th, 1978, and first started working in the voice industry at the tender young age of twenty. Since then, his career has simply exploded. His voice is suitable for a variety of characters, as you will see in a second, and there is a good chance you will recognise at least one of them below. Jun’s tremendous effort and incredible ability has not gone unnoticed, and he has been winning voice acting awards consistently since 2006. Let’s dive in to the characters that Jun has bought to life.

(Clockwise, from top left) Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass), Koro-sensei (Assassination Classroom), Lawrence (Spice and Wolf),  Yukio Okumura (Blue Exorcist)

We’ll start with the four big roles that Jun is most famous for voicing. The most obvious one, of course, is the calculating, intelligent, and complicated Lelouch Lamperouge from the Code Geass Series. I really love Lelouch’s character; the way he acts as a stoic but kind school boy in front of his friends, but the ruthless and cold Zero when trying to change the world. He’s certainly a difficult character to play, but Jun pulls it off without a problem! The next well-known character would probably be Koro-sensei from Ansatsu Kyoushitsu (Assassination Classroom). Although I’m yet to see this series, I have been able to tell from others’ reviews that Koro-sensei is another difficult character to voice; although he’s very smart, he can switch from being crazy and jovial to serious in a second. Next, and moving onto characters that are more stable in their characterisations, is Ao No Exorcist’s (Blue Exorcist’s) Yukio Okumura. Resident worry-wart, Yukio is also one of the series’ more intelligent and calm characters, although he is shown at times to be on the manipulative side as well. Finally, and keeping with the serious and mature tone set by Yukio, is Kraft Lawrence from Spice and Wolf. Just like Yukio, Lawrence is calm and mature.

(Clockwise, from top left): Liberta (Arcana Famiglia), Keeichi Shimizu (La Corda d’Oro), Hakuren Oak (07 Ghost), Hanabusa Aido (Vampire Knight).

With his most famous roles out of the way, let’s take a look at some of Jun’s other roles. We can see from his castings as Lelouch and Yukio that Jun isn’t a stranger to voicing good-looking young men, and many of his other roles reflect this. In Arcana Famiglia, he lends his voice to the energetic, caring, and childish Liberta. In La Corda d’Oro, it’s the quiet, sweet, drowsy Keiichi Shimizu. In 07 Ghost Jun voices Hakuren Oak, who’s proud, thoughtful, and diplomatic, but also a little bit arrogant. Finally, in Vampire Knight, it’s the charismatic, flirty Hanabusa Aido that Jun voices. That’s a bunch of good-looking guys, a whole lot of blondes, and some very different personalities!

(TOP L-R)): Kimihiro Watanuki (xxxHOLIC), Alber de Morcerf (Gankutsuou). (BOTTOM L-R): Misaki Yata (K), Grell Sutcliff (Black Butler), Panda (Shirokuma Cafe)

Jun also seems to have a knack for covering loud and less-mature characters. For example, xxxHOLIC’s Kimihiro Watanuki starts off in the series as childish and loud, although he does show later character development. Albert de Morcerf, from Gankutsuou, is another character who is more on the rash side, naive side. However, these two are really nothing compared to Misaki Yata from the K series, and Grell Sutcliff from the Black Butler series. Both are quite loud and blunt, but Yata tends to be more brash and rude, while Grell is over-the-top and flamboyant. Jun also lends his voice to Panda from the Shirokuma (Polar Bear’s) Cafe series. In true teenager fashion, Panda is lazy and obnoxious.

(TOP L-R): Souta Takanashi (Working!!), Ichimatsu (Osomatsu-kun). (BOTTOM L-R): Shinra Kishitani (Durarara!!), Zheng Ying (Kingdom), Cassim (Magi).

So far, Jun’s characters have been relatively kind and warm, but he also lends his voice to some more cold and aloof characters. These include characters such as Souta Takanashi from Working!!, Shinra Kishitani from Durarara!!, Ichimatsu from Osomatsu-kun, Zheng Ying from Kingdom, and Cassim from Magi. Although some of these characters may show warmth towards their friends, their initial impressions suggest that they are cold, serious, and often quite calculating.

(L-R) Makoto Hanamiya (Kuroko No Basket), Rokuro Bundo (Deadman Wonderland).

Finally, although not too often, Jun occasionally lends his voice to the more unlikeable characters in the anime universe. These include the sadistic Makoto Hanamiya from the Kuroko No Basket series, and the sly Rokuro Bundo, from Deadman Wonderland. These two are a far cry from the kind and attractive men we were looking at not too long ago!

As you can see, Jun is clearly an important voice artist in the anime world, responsible for so many characters! I’m amazed at how well he changes his voice to suit each character, giving him the ability to voice a huge variety of personalities. Somehow, in what I’m sure is a very hectic schedule, Jun also does dubbing work, voices characters in video games, and is even a singer! He often sings OPs or EDs for the anime he’s working on, but he also has a solo career. I hope that Jun continues strong for many years to come, as his voice is one of the best in anime!

-S

Seiyuu Spotlight: HIROAKI Hirata

Time for another Seiyuu Spotlight post! Today it’s on Hiroaki Hirata, who is famous for voicing one very, very well known character. It’s also because of this character that I know Hiroaki’s voice. That character? None other than One Piece’s Sanji!

Sanji (One Piece)

I’ve always liked Sanji as a character. He’s got such a cool, intelligent persona around him. I like his fighting style and I like his loyalty and chivalry. I also love how he looses all of this in an instance, especially around a beautiful woman! Since I’m also a massive Zoro fan, I also like the way he and Zoro butt heads and argue constantly.  Hiroaki does such a good job of covering all of the different aspects of Sanji’s personality, and it’s something you can really appreciate in watching One Piece!

(L-R) Benny (Black Lagoon), Mutta Nanba (Space Brothers)

Hiroaki doesn’t have too many other main characters to his name, but I have noticed that he seems to be often selected to voice easy-going, calm characters. Other such characters, who play more of a significant role in their series, include Benny from Black Lagoon and Mutta Nanba from Space Brothers. Benny is easy going and non-violent, but still hardened to the realities of his line of work. Mutta is generally calm and collective, but interestingly, shares Sanji’s fierce competitiveness.

Clockwise from top left: Genma Shiranui (Naruto), Professor Kakuzawa (Elfen Lied), Suikotsu (Inuyasha), Tatsuji Chibiki (Another), Klein (Sword Art Online)

In his more minor roles, Hiroaki shows a great talent in voicing characters with incredibly different personalities. Although his role as Genma Shiranui in Naruto reflects his calm, collected character pattern, he also lends his voice to antagonists such as Professor Kakuzawa in Elfen Lied and Suikotsu in Inuyasha. The latter is a character with a dual personality, so Hiroaki voices both a kind doctor and a blood thirsty killer! Just to further prove his ability to take on a variety of roles, Hiroaki voices the friendly, loyal, and largely the comic relief character of Sword Art Online; Ryoutarou Tsuboi, better known by his screen name Klein. But, he also lends his voice to the serious, cold, and mysterious Tatsuji Chibiki, the librarian from the anime series Another. That’s an impressive range of different personalities!

Leomon (Digimon Adventures)

If you’re a fan of the Digimon Adventures series, you may also recognise Hiroaki’s voice. He’s the narrator throughout the series, although he does also voice a few minor characters. He also voices Leomon!

It’s clear to me that Hiroaki is incredibly talented, and can adjust his voice perfectly for the very varied characters he’s bought to life. To further reflect this, Hiroaki is actually the official Japanese dubber for all of Johnny Depp’s roles! If that’s not the meeting point of talent, I don’t know what else is! Hiroaki is actually quite active in the dubbing world, and another big name star that he’s often responsible for is Matt Damon. He also dubs Matt LeBlanc, who plays Joey, in Friends, which is actually quite funny to listen to.

With the ability to master so many different roles, and with One Piece never seeming to come to an end, it looks like we can look forward to hearing Hiroaki’s voice for many years to come. He’s still quite young, born in 1963 (the same as my dad!), and I wish him all the best for the future!

-S

Seiyuu Spotlight: SHIRATORI Tetsu

I’ve already looked at one seiyuu who is known for his distinct voice (see here), and for this post I decided to focus on another one; Shiratori Tetsu. No doubt if you recognise any of the character names listed below, you will immediately think of Shiratori’s nasally, often whiny voice.

Unfortunately I can’t find too much on Shiratori, unlike other seiyuu I’ve covered so far. He was born in Tokyo on March 21st, 1972, and started his voice acting career in 1998. Since then he’s done about 20 roles, although the profile on his website also states that he’s worked as an actor, director, and producer.

Shiratori hasn’t yet been cast in any major roles. He has voiced the main character in a couple of small series, none of which I’ve heard of, and hasn’t made an appearance in the Big 3, or really any other well-known anime… except for the few I’m about to mention.

(L-R) Lloyd Asplun (Code Geass series); Zancrow (Fairy Tail); Kain Fuery (FMA);Gluttony (FMAB)

I know Shiratori from his very distinct voice in the following roles; Lloyd Asplund from Code Geass, Zancrow from Fairy Tail, Kain Fuery from Fullmetal Alchemist, and Gluttony from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I think this makes him one of the few seiyuu to appear in both versions of FMA, although I find it pretty interesting that he doesn’t reprise the same role. What these couple of roles have taught me is that Shiratori must be pretty talented, as the characters are quite different! Lloyd, although very intelligent, is childish, whiny, and cowardly. Zancrow is short-tempered and viciously sadistic. He is also very cocky and likes to mock his opponents. Kain, although a small role, is shown to be very intelligent, but far more capable than Lloyd. He is also brave and level-headed. Finally, we have Gluttony, who I’m still convinced only really posses a shell of a personality. He’s docile and simple, largely driven by his hunger for humans or the commands of Lust. He is childlike with only a very basic level of intelligence.

The fact that Shiratori can voice such starkly different characters very well suggests to me that he is underappreciated and underutilised in the seiyuu world. Even if he doesn’t catch a break as a main character in a major production, I still hope Shiratori thrives in voice acting. I will constantly be on a look out (listen out?) for his nasal tones!

-S

 

 

Seiyuu Spotlight: MIKI Shinichiro

It’s been a looooooooong since my first Seiyuu Spotlight post. This was originally going to be a series of posts that I wanted to keep up semi-regularly, but, as they involved a lot of research, got constantly put on the back-burner. Although I’m not watching as much anime as I used to, I still want to have a look at the people behind some of my favourite voices, and Miki Shinichiro was next on my list!

I know Miki for voicing two awesome characters from two completely different series. Interestingly, both of these characters are strong, sophisticated, attractive males, with a head for leadership, who exude calmness and coolness. Miki’s smooth voice gives both of these characters extra charm, leaving poor individuals like myself left to fan-girl/boy over them! I am of course talking about Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Toshizuo Hijikata from the Hakuouki series.

(L-R) Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) and Toshizuo HIjikiata (Hakuouki series)

However, these aren’t Miki’s only roles, as he boasts a very long career, first recording voices in 1995. Ten years ago, he had over 230 voice credits to his name… I wonder what the number is today! Miki doesn’t just lend his voice to anime, he is also prevalent in video games and dubbing (notably as Magneto in the X-Men series). Of the anime he’s done, I noticed that Miki voices main characters in a lot of long series. Unfortunately I’m not familiar with a lot of them, but they include roles such as Takumi Fujiwara from Initial D and Tieria Erde in Mobile Suite Gundam 00. He is stars as significant side characters in series I’ve at least heard of, but never checked out, such as Crim in .hack// and Hitomi in Code:Breaker.

TOP (L-R): Takumi Fujiwara (Inital D) and Tieria Erde (Mobile Suite Gundam 00) BOTTOM (L-R): Crim (.hack//) and Hitomi (Code:Breaker).

Miki sure seems to voice a lot of younger characters, which is pretty funny since he’s knocking on the door of the big five-oh, being born on the 18th of March in 1968. What can we say, though, he can teach those young ones a thing or two! In fact, Miki often plays flirty, confident “ladies man” characters, such as Kurz Weber from Full Metal Panic, Aikurou Mikisugi from Kill La Kill, and Kudou Youji from Weiss Kreuz. This last role is particularly interesting, because Miki formed a band called Weiss with the other three male voice actors from the anime. I’m sure it was a fairly unexpected turn of events for everyone involved!

(L-R) Kudou Youji (Weiss Kreuz), Kurz Weber (Full Metal Panic), and Aikurou Mikisugi (Kill la Kill)

Of course, Miki wouldn’t get far in the seiyuu industry without showing the ability to play varied roles. A lot of the characters he plays tend to be either calm or more jovial, but they are all fairly intelligent, and, a good deal of them sarcastic. I’ve already mentioned Roy Mustang, of course, but Kisuke Urahara from Bleach and Assassin from Fate/Stay Night are too other characters that fit this bill!

(L-R) Kisuke Urahara (Bleach) and Assassin (Fate/Stay Night)

So far I haven’t revealed one of Miki’s biggest roles, but the time is nigh as we move into characters with a more sadistic or villainous streak. Of course one could argue that this character in particular isn’t as bad as he tries to be, but we can safely say that Team Rocket’s James isn’t always on the same side as our protagonist. Yes, our seiyuu providing voices for the sophisticated and, dare I say, sexy characters above also voices this rather incompetent character! Other villainous roles include Mizuki Touji from Naruto and Zamasu from Dragon Ball Super.

(L-R) James (Pokemon), Mizuki Touji (Naruto), and Zamasu (Dragon Ball Super)

There is certainly more to Miki Shinichiro than what meets the eye, or rather, the ear. He can handle a lot more than just his sophisticated and calm characters, and there’s even room for a band in his life! I wish Miki Shinichiro great success in his future endeavours, so that we can rely on his voice being around for a long time yet. Thank you for all of your hard work so far!

-S

 

Seiyuu Spotlight: Kakihara Tetsuya

With arguably one of the most distinctive voices in the anime business, Kakihara Tetsuya is one seiyuu who is easily identifiable in any role. I decided to check out a little bit more about the man who voices one of my favourite Fairy Tail characters, but who’s popped up in several other well-known anime as well.

Kakihara’s first major role was voicing the main character Simon in the Gurren Lagann series. However, he is more recently well-known for voicing Fairy Tail’s Natsu Dragneel. Whilst Simon shows considerably more emotional development than Natsu does (or has so far), the two characters care about their friends to the degree that they would both place themselves in danger for their sake. Furthermore, they’re both prodigies when it comes to fighting and combat, albeit with very different styles in each anime. Whilst I’ve never seen Gurren Lagann, so I can’t comment on Kakihara’s voicing of Simon, I do know that his voice is perfect for Natsu’s mischievous, carefree, reckless character.

L: Simon (Gurren Lagann) R: Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)

Born on Christmas Eve, 1982, in Dusseldorf, West Germany, Kakihara Tetsuya actually moved to Japan at the age of 18. His dream was to become a seiyuu, and he’s done so exceptionally. You may also recognise him from some of his other notable roles, including Shin (Amnesia) (both the anime and game), Shino Inuzuka (Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East), and Dragon Ryuho (Saint Seiya Omega).

(L-R) Shin (Amnesia), Shino Inuzuka (Hakkenden), Dragon Ryuho (Saint Seiya Omega)

I also easily recognise Kakihara voicing loud-mouthed characters such as the Earth Demon King Amaimon in Blue Exorcist.  Other characters in a similar vein include Dog Days’ Gaul Galette des Rois, Yowamushi Pedal’s Toudou Jinpachi, and Log Horizon’s Rundelhaus Code. He also shows the ability to voice more sophisticated characters, such as Adolf K. Weismann in K, Kain Fuery in FMAB,  Sasuke Sarutobi in Brave 10, and Kou Sennoza in [C] . This is not a surprise given Kakihara’s real-life intelligence and sophistication. Kakihara attended the very prestigious Gakushuin University in Tokyo. This university was originally designed for, and attended by, members of Japanese upper nobility, particularly royalty. Most of the Imperial family have attending the university, including the current Emperor Akihito. Other alumni include Miyazaki Hayao and even a Chinese princess! Kakihara is also known for being fluent in several languages; apart from German and Japanese, he can speak English, Spanish, and Latin!

(Top, L-R) Amaimon (Blue Exorcist), Gaul Galette des Rois (Dog Days), Toudou Jinpachi (Yowamushi Pedal), and Rundelhaus Code (Log Horizon). (Bottom, L-R) Adolf K. Weismann (K), Kain Fuery (FMAB), Sasuke Sarutobi (Brave 10) and Kou Sennoza ([C]).

Switching up his style again, Kakihara also voices several cold-blooded, psychologically twisted characters such as Jin Kisaragi in BlazBlue (games and anime) , Sakutaro Morishige in Corpse Party (games and anime), Kouha Ren in Magi, and Mercutio Marchege in Romeo x Juliet. That’s a lot of diversity!

(L-R) Jin Kisaragi (BlazBlue), Sakutaro Morishige (Corpse Party), Kouha Ren (Magi), and Mercutio Marchege (Romeo x Juliet).

If you haven’t recognised Kakihara Tetsuya from any of these anime, you may know him from his extensive video game, visual novel, or BL CDs career, as well as a whole host of minor character roles in other anime. Kakihara is also a solo singer, having released a couple of mini-albums. His songs features quite heavily in anime soundtracks; notably, his first single “String of Pain”, which was the ending song for Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East.

For a German-born Japanese boy who dreamed of becoming a seiyuu, I think it’s safe to say Kakihara Tetsuya has achieved above and beyond what he ever expected. A talented voice actor starring in a broad array of media and lending his voice to characters that differ in so many ways, Kakihara is one of my favourite seiyuu, and a voice I always look out for every anime I watch. I can only hope his career continues to prosper. Thank you for your hard work!

-S