This is pure celebrity rumor, but it has inflamed 2channel to the extent of 1000 posts in less than 12 hours, so I thought I'd pass it on.
There are rumors of a relationship between Hirano Aya and 32-year-old seiyuu
Taniyama Kishou. Kiiyan is just about the freakiest-looking seiyuu of all, the singer of a hard-rock band called GranRodeo, and known as a conqueror of ladies. His friends say he has never failed with a woman he went after. He rose to prominence as the lead in
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, was Ken-chan in
Lamune, Takeya in
DearS, Tsukimori in
Corda D'Oro, and Kittan in
Gurren Laggan. He has also done a lot of boys'-love CDs. Here are some of his band's numbers
on YouTube.
It was the two photos below left, from Aaya's blog, that started the rumor. She, along with other female seiyuu, attended the band's concert in Yokohama last weekend. Kiiyan (Kishou's nickname) is in the middle. The guy in white is his musical partner, Iizuka Masaaki. Right is another interesting shot of him from Aaya's blog a couple of months ago, at an after-after party for Busou Renkin:
Then there was a
blog post from someone who claimed to have seen them together in Shinjuku, holding hands and "flirting." All this doesn't add up to much, in my opinion, but it's possible, I suppose. Kiiyan is apparently a bit of an unstoppable force. I saw him totally dominate a cast interview with the cast of Lamune (including Gotuuza-sama). But people say he seems like a nice guy, beneath the wildness.
The day after the concert, Aya wore a GranRodeo tatoo and tank top and called herself a "Rodeo Girl." Aya fans on 2channel are weeping, and anti-Aya elements are posting salacious ascii art and insults to make them weep more. People are thinking back to when Aaya started to become a rocker and trying to date the relationship to then, etc.
It's probably just a wild rumor with no basis in fact. Aaya may even be posting those photos as a way of making herself look more like a rocker than she really is. I think he is likely just a fun
senpai who gives her advice about voice-acting and the business and likes the same kind of music. My opinion if it's true? They should do what they like. It makes some sense since they are both, in their own ways, supremely attractive. It could be fun for both of them, as long as it didn't interfere with any careers. It wouldn't affect my opinion of anyone, anyway.