Voice Actor Appreciation & Discussion

[Sonhex]

Gah, they're both so young, but a lot of these seiyuus seem to be barely out of their teens it seems. Anyway they seem like a well suited pair, so congratulations to them. Rather ironic that Renton ended up marrying Anemone

^Looks at lil-d01's avatar^ I'm also enjoying Ami Koshimizu as Kallen in Code Geass which, rather like Anemone, is quite an aggressive role in parts.

[Zappster]

Wait... are you sure that's right? I mean Yuko Sanpei's a she... I didn't realize Koshimizu Ami swung that way, if true.

[Sonhex]

Yep, definately true. Yuko Senpai's blog has a piccy of the wedding cake

[Zappster]

Colour me surprised then

[Ryota Hayami]

The entire cast of great teacher onizuka and the people that did the seiyuu's of kare kano (his and
her's circumstances)

[lil-d01]

Originally Posted by Sonhex

Gah, they're both so young, but a lot of these seiyuus seem to be barely out of their teens it seems. Anyway they seem like a well suited pair, so congratulations to them. Rather ironic that Renton ended up marrying Anemone

Well they're adults in the Japan world. *points to bold part* Man was I laughing my head off when I made that connection. Poor Renton/Eureka & Dominic/Anemone fans.

Originally Posted by Sonhex

^Looks at lil-d01's avatar^ I'm also enjoying Ami Koshimizu as Kallen in Code Geass which, rather like Anemone, is quite an aggressive role in parts.

Good good!

[Kaoru Chujo]

Unfortunately, it appears that the marriage ceremony for Amisuke and Pe was just a radio stunt. But it has been very well received in Japanese forums. Probably partly because the radio show itself was really well done (one of the hosts is Asano Masumi), and partly because Koshimizu Ami in particular is widely thought to really be gay. Ami hasn't mentioned the radio show in her blog yet, but Yuuko has in hers, although she didn't say who was married to whom.

I read Amisuke's blog from time to time, and the idea of her being gay comes as no surprise. She spends a lot of time with Mizusawa Fumie (Waporif in Simoun), and had a pic in the blog last year of them pretending to be a male-female couple. Ami seems to be a big, bold, beautiful person.

Sanpei Yuuko has been in my mind recently because she has taken over the role of Souta in the excellent fairytale anime Otogijushi Akazukin, following the illness of the former seiyuu. And she is doing a terrific job, as she did as Renton in Eureka 7. Ami of course is excellent in all her roles: Karen in Code Geass most recently, but also in Asatte no Houkou, Muteki Kanban Musume, Simoun, etc. etc. Her debut role was Nadja in Ashita no Nadja.

Here is a pic of Ami and Yuuko from a December entry in Ami's blog where she said they had not seen each other for half a year because of their schedules. They have been friends since they were 12, went all through school together from that point on, and Ami had her in her blog frequently in the first part of last year. A few days ago, Ami had a picture in her blog of their hands, holding identical fortune cards they both happened to get from temples. "Connected by fate," as Ami wrote. Another member of their group of friends is big, smiley Nazuka Kaori. Here are Ami (tall) and Yuuko (short):



By the way, thanks for the heads-up, Sonhex.

[Dernhelm]

ah, Kaoru Chujo beat me to declaring it was just a radio stunt. XD

[lil-d01]

hey Dernhelm!

[Sonhex]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Unfortunately, it appears that the marriage ceremony for Amisuke and Pe was just a radio stunt...

Ah I see, well it was an interesting stunt nonetheless. Bet the three of them had a good laugh about it

[Kaoru Chujo]

We've just been talking about Hirano Aya over in the SOS Voice Actors thread, and about Gotou Yuuko in the Hidamari Sketch thread, if anyone here is interested and hasn't seen those threads.

And I looked back through Amisuke's blog to find where Sanpei Yuuko had appeared before. It looks to me as if I misunderstood what she said, since there are pics of her all through the year. In fact, there are so many that I'm beginning to wonder if the "wedding ceremony" was just describing reality. And there is a nice pic of Ami with Sanpei Yuuko and Mizusawa Fumie pretending to eat from the same bowl. Who knows what all these photos mean. In any case, I enjoy the photos of these beautiful friends, and the little glimpses inside the seiyuus' world. Amazing to think that Koshimizu Ami did Nadja four years ago, and is still not quite 21. Here are some photos, followed by a key to nicknames, translated from Amisuke's blog.

Left: Kaorin, the director of Eureka7 Kyouda Tomoki, Pe, Amisuke. Center: Amisuke, Kaorin, KitaEri (Kitamura Eri), Pe. Right: Amisuke and Kaorin.



Left: Amisuke and Fumie, pretending to be man and wife. Center: Amisuke with Pe, with the caption: "Unfaithful?" Right: Kaorin, Nabatame Hitomi ("Naba-sama"), and Amisuke.


Left: Amisuke, Fumie and Pei. Center: Fumie. Right: Pe.


Left: Amisuke. Centre: Amisuke and Pe, with the caption "A great year together." Right: Amisuke and Pe.



Fumie (Mizusawa Fumie)
Pe (Sanpei Yuuko)
Eriri (Sendai Eri)
Kana-chan (Mizuhashi Kanako)
Yuuka-chan (Nanri Yuuka)
Mika-chan (Kikuchi Mika)
Kaorin (Nazuka Kaori)

ふみえ＝水沢史絵ちゃん
ぺ＝三瓶由布子ちゃん
エリリ＝仙台エリちゃん
カナちゃん＝三橋加奈子ちゃん
ゆぅかちん＝南里侑香ちゃん
美香ちゃん＝菊地美香ちゃん
かおりん＝名塚佳織ちゃん

[Sonhex]

Well it'd be cool to get confirmation either way, if only to prevent fans being confused (or shocked in some cases). It seems quite an odd stunt, especially as Nazuka Kaori was in on it too.

Speaking of Nazuka Kaori, I'm enjoying her work as Mai in Ghost Hunt, she has so much energy it's a joy to listen to. She suits Mai's feisty character perfectly especially as Mai has this incredible range of expressions that have to see to be believed. Of-course Nazuka Kaori is foremost Eureka for me

Oh, I love that picture of Sanpei Yuuko, Nazuka Kaori, Koshimizu Ami and Kitamura Eri. Kitamura Eri is another seiyuu who is forever remembered by me for the stern yet brittle Tatiana Visla from Last Exile (which was her first main role as I recall) and Saya, of-course, from Blood+. She's also in the upconing Idolmaster Xenoglossia which has an absolute stellar cast, including coincidently Nazuka Kaori, Koshimizu Ami and the awesome Yukana to name but three. I think this is why Code Geass is taking a break because these three will be working on this other Sunrise big mecha show.

[Nightengale]

Maybe I'm in the minority (( or the only one )), but I personally have a fond attachment to seiyuus that aren't very multi-talented to the point one can almost not see any form of similarity between 2 differing roles played by one same seiyuu. Of course, I'm not saying I dislike great seiyuus like those who are very well-versed, but at the same time, sometimes I find it discerning when I can't grasp a voice actor's particular style and trademark in their character presentation that makes them stand out, even if it means losing diversity.

Seiyuus of such examples are probably Naya Goro of Great Leader fame or Shuuichi Ikeda of Char Aznable fame. The roles they play occasionally differ greatly such as mild Shouka/Char or Zenigata/Great Leader, but there's a very distinctive style employed by them that makes them very easy to point out and distinguish from the crowd, and yet are able to make each character shine in thier own manner.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I'm with Nightengale on distinctively-voiced seiyuus. One of my absolute favorites is Saitou Chiwa, who is almost always totally recognizable. It's a valuable professional skill to be able to do a range of voices, but just doing one or two voices really well is also wonderful. The newcomer Sasaki Nozomi (Nana-chan in Bokura ga Ita) also has an extremely identifiable voice, and I just love it. But I do still love the work of Kawasumi Ayako, who can do anything. I think Koshimizu Ami falls into the "can do anything" category, too.

Nazuka Kaori gave an incredible performance as Yun in Simoun. She took the role and really did something with it. She's scored a big role now as the lead in Les Miserables - Shoujo Cossette, which will run for a whole year in prime time.

I've now heard the Koshimizu Ami x Sanpei Yuuko radio show, and my Japanese isn't up to understanding all of it, but it was pretty direct: when did you meet? When was your first date? Your first kiss? Ami was a tomboy. Congratulations from friends (Nazuka Kaori, Sakurai Takahiro, etc.) All in an atmosphere of daring hilarity.

According to a post on 2channel, Nazuka Kaori said: "Yuuko is terrible! With me it was just physical. She was just playing around." For when the first kiss was, Pe said "whenever," and Ami said "here and now" and the hosts were chanting: "Kiss, kiss! Use your tongue!"

The idea that numerous female seiyuu are gay is widespread among seiyuu fans in Japan. There are websites with lists of quotes, etc., supposedly showing that certain seiyuu are gay: here, here, here, here, or here (Chinese). Many of the quotes don't seem to me to prove anything, so this could involve a lot of otaku fantasy. But on radio shows, seiyuu do joke about preferring girls. Chiba Saeko said to Itou Shizuka that she preferred girls to guys, and particularly girls who were like pets, and Shizuka-sama replied that she wanted to be Sae-chan's pet.

Some of the names often mentioned are Nabatame Hitomi, Noto Mamiko, Ueda Kana, Koshimizu Ami, Sanpei Yuuko, Nazuka Kaori, Matsuki Miyu, Itou Shizuka, Chiba Saeko, Tamura Yukari, and Horie Yui. All turn out to be favorites of mine, lol.

[Nergol]

Radd;

Thank you for mentioning Mark Hamill. Yes, the Joker was an awesome voice. I remember back in the 90s accidentally catching Hamill on QVC (that's an American hone-shopping network, for you non-US types) during a sale of Star Wars memorabilia. A caller (they take questions during this sort of thing) asked him to do the Joker voice. It was absolutely uncanny watching that voice come out of him - startling.

While we're at it, we can add Dan Castellaneta, Harry Shearer, and Hank Azaria to the list. One of my souvenirs from a year living in Japan is a tape taped off a Yokohama UHF station of The Simpsons dubbed in Japanese. Believe me, it's pretty bad. Makes you appreciate just how talented the original cast is.

Let me also put in a vote for Maurice LaMarche. I just re-watched the Tick animated series with THE EVIL MIDNIGHT BOMBER WHAT BOMBS AT MIDNIGHT!!!! Pure gold - a voice performance that's the equal of anything I've ever seen in anime.

It should be pointed out that in Japan, most voice actresses are voice actresses because, while talented, they "have a face for radio", as the old expression goes.

Well, anyhow, that's what I think. Now, Surf's up space ponies!! I'm makin' gravy without the lumps!!!

[ThoHell]

Hirano Aya and the voice actress of Yumiko from Read or die both have ear pleasing voices, my two favorite !!^_^

[Kaijin]

I must say that there are a few seiyuu whose voices I find totally sexy

Junichi Suwabe (Archer - Fate/Stay Night; Kyousuke - NANA & many others)
Toshihiko Seki (Reito - Mai-HiME & many others)
Takehito Koyasu (Hotohori - Fushigi Yuugi; Keiki - Juuni Kokki & many others)
Ryoutarou Okiayu (Byakuya - Bleach; Scar - FMA & more...)
Tomokazu Sugita (Kyon - Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu; Rin - Shuffle!)

Then I'm a fan of:

Shinichirou Miki (Urahara - Bleach & so many more I ain't listing...lurve him!)
Tomokazu Seki (Kyo - Fruits Basket; Sousuke - FMP!; Tate - Mai-HiME; Nobu - NANA; Chiaki - Nodame Cantabile & so many, many more...I love him!!!!)
Daisuke Namikawa (Akizuki - Bakumatsu; Rock - Black Lagoon; Fye - Tsubasa Chronicle and more)

[lil-d01]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

According to a post on 2channel, Nazuka Kaori said: "Yuuko is terrible! With me it was just physical. She was just playing around."

That is one of the best moments in the whole episode. LOL And after Kaori's message, Ami is in 'shock' and going. "Wait! Darling! What was that about? (??)" while Yuuko's going "Darling?? "

Those are quite interesting quotes (well...some of them)...o.o Never knew that my top four favs would be in that kind of 'otaku' list.

[Kaoru Chujo]

I've made a full blog post about the "marriage" of Koshimizu Ami and Sanpei Yuuko, and about yuri seiyuus in general. The radio show is also around on bittorrent.

I have no doubt that a lot of the talk about Lesbian seiyuus -- much of it from the seiyuus themselves -- is just for entertainment. But I also have little doubt that some of it is true. And why not?

Their relationship, whatever it is, doesn't seem to have harmed Amisuke and Pe's work: they are both at the top of their form.

EDIT: And further to Kaijin's post, I've been really impressed with Koyasu Takehito's voice as "Rin Senya" in recent chapters of Saiunkoku Monogatari.

[Kaoru Chujo]

The Japanese anime magazine Anican has put out rankings of the top anime and seiyuu of 2006, as chosen by its readers. Here's the list of female seiyuu, from 2channel. I'll put the anime list in the "2006 favorite series" thread.

2006年日本アニカン大賞　「女性声優部門」
01位 田村ゆかり(2489票) Tamura Yukari
02位 堀江由衣(2412票) Horie Yui
03位 水樹奈々(2057票) Mizuki Nana
04位 平野綾(1451票) Hirano Aya
05位 能登麻美子(918票) Noto Mamiko
06位 釘宮理恵(570票) Kugimiya Rie
07位 朴ロミ(526票) Paku Romi
08位 川澄綾子(484票) Kawasumi Ayako
09位 野中藍(447票) Nonaka Ai
10位 野川さくら(432票) Nogawa Sakura
11位 後藤邑子 Gotou Yuuko
12位 小清水亜美 Koshimizu Ami
13位 神田朱未 Kanda Akemi
14位 新谷良子 Shintani Ryouko
15位 大原さやか Ohara Sayaka
16位 中原麻衣 Nakahara Mai
17位 生天目仁美 Nabatame Hitomi
18位 皆川純子 Minagawa Junko
19位 斉藤桃子Saitou Momoko
20位 茅原実里 Chihara Minori
21位 浅野真澄 Asano Masumi
22位 林原めぐみ Hayashibara Megumi
23位 植田佳奈 Ueda Kana
24位 白石涼子 Shiraishi Ryouko
25位 喜多村英梨 Kitamura Eri
26位 柚木涼香 Yuzuki Ryouka
27位 伊藤静 Itou Shizuka
28位 斉藤千和 Saitou Chiwa
29位 佐藤利奈 Satou Rina
30位 名塚佳織 Nazuka Kaori

Not a bad list. My own top few would be, in some order or other, Hirano Aya, Gotou Yuuko, Sasaki Nozomi, Koshimizu Ami, Horie Yui, Tamura Yukari, Takahashi Rieko, Niino Michi, Toyoguchi Megumi, Nazuka Kaori. Half my list is from Simoun, of course. These lists are just based on 2006 work. Ueda Kana, Yahagi Sayuri, Saitou Chiwa, and Nabatame Hitomi are among my favorites, but for work in 2005 or earlier.