Top 10 Seiyuu Every Anime Fan Rookie Should Know - Part 2: Guy’s Side
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.
