{ Monthly Archives }
I am just about set for AX. Unfortunately, I will need to wear a mask because I have an irritated throat. Plus, I don’t want this mishap to get worse. I can speak still, but it places a force on the throat every now and then.
I will bring lots of stuff like my DC over and “Moero! Justice Gakuen”. People that never played the game, here’s your chance. Don’t play against me because I will kill you. =P
Okay! That’s that. I’m off! Mata ne!
I will be gone for about a week because I am going to Anime Expo. Whether or not I make this an annual thing or a semi-annual one at least, I don’t know. It all depends on what is presented. If a game like “Pink Sweets”, “Arcana Heart” or better yet, “Quiz Magic Academy IV” shows up, then oh boy! That’s beyond crazy! If not, then the visit is just eh.
Okay! Prep time! Hee!
Here’s part 2. Here, I will list the guys. Then, I will give off my rant in regards of this.
Oh. Honorable mentions. Kikuchi Masami-san, the Ootsuka father-son combination of Chikao-san and Akio-san, Okiayu Ryoutarou-san, Aono Takeshi-san, Yuuki Hiro-san, I can go on and on.
Males
1. Seki Tomokazu-san
This is an anime guy. He loves “Getter Robo” and he’s a fan of Kamiya Akira-san as well as the fact that he loves reading various kinds of manga. When he first entered the seiyuu world, he made a big impact. Of the male seiyuu, I have to say that Seki-san is the most versitle one because he can and will make his voice rough if needed. Funny, serious, hotheaded, he can do it all.
2. Koyasu Takehito-san
Koyasu-san is another one of those versitile seiyuu and chances are that if you heard a deep voice from a bishounen, it most likely belonged to him. Of course, there are cases in which he does not go into that deep (and sexy to girls) mode, but fans pretty much know him for that. Not only is there that voice as well as that look, he even created “Weiss Kreuz”.
3. Ueda Yuuji-san
Though not as well-known as a good amount of the guys on this list here, Ueda-san is a seiyuu to take note of. A good amount of the time, you hear him play as an underdog type of character or a character that needs love like Keitarou of “Love Hina”. Of course, he has his fair share of aggressive roles like Shouma of “Justice Gakuen”, but many fans know him for his underdog roles.
Oh. He’s the husband of Ueda Omi Minami-san. This is not the only seiyuu couple I’ll mention here. I tell you. Hearing his voice is sort of like hearing a teddy bear talk or a feeling like that.
4. Midorikawa Hikaru-san
Girls love him and some are probably stalking him in Japan right now. Guys are jealous of him (including myself). Regardless, Midorikawa-san is another notable seiyuu to take note of and if you take a look at his list of roles, you’d know why. That voice of his can really make a girl melt, even if he said just a short word like “suki”. I believe he’s married. So, to answer your question if he’s still available girls, no.
5. Wakamoto Norio-san
Ho ho ho! What can I say? He is still the man after all these years. For those not familiar with him, and you should get to know the old school fellows like this one, he is the one that provides that witty voice of his for that memorable villain. Can’t forget those silly characters too. I mean, he played as a dirty mascot for crying out!
6. Kamiya Akira-san
Let’s see. “Macross” ace: check. Loud, powerful fighter: check. Sweeper: check. Rival of beautiful alien’s boyfriend: check. Need I say more?
7. Yamadera Kouichi-san
Hee hee! You can’t have a list like this without mentioning Yamadera-san! Aside from being married to Yamadera Mika Kanai-san who happens to be a seiyuu herself (and who happens to be still more attractive than ladies my age), Yamadera-san/Yama-chan not only is a seiyuu and singer, but he is also a host of a children’s show. He is still a joy to hear after all these years.
8. Hoshi Souichirou-san
Though I first heard Hoshi-san’s voice way back in high school from “Puzzle Fighter”, I didn’t know about him until college or so when I saw the anime version of “To Heart”. A late bloomer, you can find him in various series these days. That gentle voice of his is pretty well-known, but he does play as aggressive people every now and then, showing his versitility. Oh and yes, many of his characters use “boku”, something male seiyuu need to do more with their characters if possible.
9. Yamaguchi Kappei-san
Yamaguchi-san is another seiyuu I weaned on when I first started getting to know seiyuu largely because of his debut anime: “Ranma”. He tends to play as teenage boys and many of them have that aggressive trait, but he’s also known to play as silly characters. Chances are that you will get to know him early on as well.
10. Miki Shin’ichirou-san
Miki-san is one of the most colorful seiyuu ever. I say this for two reasons. The first reason is that he has played as various types of characters whether the person is bright and cheerful or dark and serious. The other reason is that he is known for coloring his hair of various colors from blonde to blue.
Well, that’s that. I felt that it was fair to make two lists. If I made a combination list of both genders, Seki-san and Koyasu-san would end up being the only guys there. Ha ha ha! Yeah and to complete the list, Hayashibara-san, Mitsuishi-san, Inoue-san, Hisakawa-san, Kawasumi-san, Horie-san, Kuwashima-san and Aoyama-san would fill up the other eight slots.
I know. “Where’s Mizuki Nana-san?!” “Where’s Tamura Yukari-san?!” “Where’s Ikezawa Haruna-san?!” “Where’s Kugimiya Rie-san?!” “Where’s Kuwatani Natsuko-san?!” “Where’s Hino Satoshi-san?!”
I missed a lot of people, but I can’t forget my history for the most part. I know I should place in more younger people, but I first started knowing people like Hidaka Noriko-san. I’m so old. I only remember the names of at most, four male seiyuu born after Seki-san (and none of them are in the list of part 2). Whether or not these lists are really the lists to use as guides, I don’t know, but I hope you find them useful.
I’ve decided to follow suit and bring up a “Top 10 Seiyuu Every Anime Fan Rookie Should Know” list. Blame posts like this one, this one, this one, and this one. Ha ha ha!
This will be a two part post. Like everyone else, I will do a female version. Oh. I will do a male version also. This is not by any means a list pair of “Who’s the Best?” or “Who do I Like?” here, but rather a list pair of seiyuu who have made a big impact. Whether or not these will be the lists that end all debates, I don’t know.
Okay! That’s that. I will start with the ladies first in part one because one, everyone has done the ladies and two, there’s that rule of “Ladies first”. Plus, I obviously had an easier time working with the ladies list than the guys list. Part two will follow the same format here and I will give some sort of omake at the end.
Oh! Honorable mentions. I’m sorry, but I have too many here. Some that I should mention are Tanaka Rie-san, Kawakami Tomoko-san, Ogata Megumi-san and Tsuru Hiromi-san.
Female
1. Hayashibara Megumi-san
One of the first seiyuu I weaned on, she was pretty much everywhere in the anime scene. Hayashibara-san can do it all. The list of credits is so long, it’s not funny. Don’t forget the fact that she’s a very good singer and that she was the idol. It’s hard to not watch a series that did not have her in it. Of course, she isn’t in many series these days because of her daughter, but she will always be one of the best ever.
2. Mitsuishi Kotono-san
Like Hayashibara-san, Mitsuishi-san has a list of credits that is so long. If you somehow managed to dodge an anime with Hayashibara-san in it, then you certainly couldn’t have seen a series without Mitsuishi-san. From those genki roles to those “Get serious!” roles, she can do them all and let’s not forget that she was part of two big singing groups during the mid-1990’s.
3. Inoue Kikuko-san
Onee-chan, Sakana-san, the ringleader of “Eien ni Junanasai”, people have their pet name for this person. What people can agree on is that Inoue-san’s one of the most established seiyuu ever. True, people pretty much know her for her gentle roles like Kasumi of “Ranma”, but she has done some sassy roles before like I-no of “Guilty Gear”. She is and has always been a top notch seiyuu.
4. Sakamoto Maaya-san
Though she wasn’t the first well-known seiyuu to start out at a young age, Sakamoto-san was the first one to start out at a young age with a real big role. Keep in mind that she was only 16. (On a side note, she’s probably the one that did strengthen the trend of having seiyuu start early in their lives.) Anyway, she may not have as many key roles as the rest of the seiyuu here, but she is a terrific singer.
5. Kawasumi Ayako-san
While I’m not a fan of her Tsubame team (as I’m a Kyojin guy), I am a fan of Kawasumi-san overall even though she’s not much of a singer. She has one of those voices that’s kawaii, but not overpowered to clamp her down severely (which is a good trait). Many of her roles tend to be gentle like Akari of “To Heart” and her debut role of “Outlaw Star’s” Melfina, but once you hear a role like Lafiel, watch out. Oh and she can play the piano too. (See “Piano”.)
6. Horie Yui-san
Horie-san, Hocchan if you want to be sassy, was a minor seiyuu early on and by that, I mean that she either played as minor characters of big series or main characters of series that didn’t get much attention. After ending up being “To Heart’s” Multi and following up with “Love Hina’s” Naru, the rest is history. She is a big influence of the 21st century without a doubt and she will continue to get better.
7. Kuwashima Houko-san
Kuwashima-san has been blessed to be part of the seiyuu craze of the 1990’s. She started out as the spirited Yurika of “Nadesico” and has managed to play as various characters since then. She’s that good of a seiyuu (aside from that one blunder [*coughs* “Dead or Alive” Kasumi]) and she’s a good singer as well. I definitely would want her in my games if I was given the chance.
8. Hisakawa Aya-san
Take away the first three seiyuu I said as well as the entry after this one and you have the definite queen of the 1990’s if you were to ask people pretty much. Most well-known as a seiyuu of “Sailor Moon” early on like Mitsuishi-san, Hisakawa-san, Hisakawa-han if I’m speaking Kansai-ben, is one of the most interesting seiyuu ever. She has a real delicate voice, but she can make a U-turn and be real energetic. Oh and of course, you have to love the Kansai accent.
9. Aoyama Minami Takayama-san
Whether you still say “Takayama-san” or “Aoyama-san” like me these days, you can’t deny that she is a real talent. Besides being married to a terrific mangaka, Aoyama-san has played pretty much every possible role. Rough, evil, innocent, she can do it all regardless of the character. Oh and there’s that act of hers called “Two-Mix” or something like that I believe.
10. Hirano Aya-chan
The last slot was hard to do. I wanted to at least add in one seiyuu that will be in the seiyuu world for a long time, but at the same time, I wanted to strengthen history. Well, I’ve done the latter already pretty much and I just had to add in Hirano-chan because it’s a name I have been hearing a lot as of late.
Besides being the only female seiyuu here younger than me (giving you an idea of how old I am if you don’t know), she has already started establishing a serious list of credits from Lumiere of “Kiddy Grade” to “Haruhi’s” title character. Who knows how much further she’ll go? She’s that hot right now.
Whoa. I’m here, but only for a little bit. I better get some rant out of the way.
Disclaimer: Japanese voice actor appreciation is a dangerous, yet silly hobby, especially if an actress is involved here. What you see down below is what I go through. Please don’t be like me. I am a professional. I don’t know. (Sorry LK. XP)
Shin Bata kun (9:31:46 AM): If I can’t go down south, can you get me Momoi Haruko-san’s autograph? XD
chupiler (9:32:16 AM): if she stops by my booth =P
Shin Bata kun (9:32:37 AM): Ha ha ha!
If you can’t tell, Momoi Haruko-san will be at AX in Long Beach later this month. (For those that don’t know, that’s near Los Angeles.) Of course, let’s hope she stays well this time around. Yeah, there are those other seiyuu, but I obviously have a thing for older seiyuu.
I’d go there if I had the time and money. Getting her autograph myself would be great though. Why didn’t she pick San Jose? I don’t know. I’m better off hoping that someone like Neya Michiko-san comes to San Jose instead because Long Beach beated San Jose to Momoi-san and I’m always looking for surprises. (On a side note, someone please make LK’s wishes come true.)
Oh. The birthdays. My dad’s is tomorrow and my mom’s is a week from tomorrow. Then, mine is next month. So, even though I’m early, happy birthday! That’s your birthday roundup.
First, there’s the doujinshi issue. Now, there’s the Singapore issue. Gah!
I can understand not being able to chew gum, spit or leave the toilet unflushed, but this! This, I can never understand! Why?!
If I’m not making sense here, it’s because I’m mad at what’s going on. For the doujinshi issue, go to Zepy’s site or Insert Credit. For the Singapore issue, go to That Anime Blog.
Why is there no justice? I don’t know. Chupiler taught me something about justice that I’m too embarassed to say. So, I’m not going to bring that out.
In less than two weeks, I’m going to quit my job. While it’s nice to be called a great, it’s pointless if I’m not getting a lot out of it because I’m aiming for the south. I’m more inclined to live in Los Angeles than a place like Irvine because I have relatives there, but of course, Irvine has its upside.
Oh. I know that I just had a two week hiatus earlier, but sorry. I have to take another hiatus. Two months from today, I’m coming back. Three birthdays are coming up: both of my parents and mine.
