Tag Archives: seiyuu

Welcome Back, Tange Sakura

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Kinomoto Sakura, the heroine of Cardcaptor Sakura, is one of the most beloved anime characters of all time. Full of energy, enthusiasm, and a drive to find happiness for everyone with mixed an innocent girlishness, Sakura became what is essentially the lofty goal of most moe characters. She tugs at the heartstrings in a convincing manner, gets you rooting for her as she goes out to face the next challenge, and is both believable and fantastic. A good portion of this power and majesty (at least in the anime!) lies in her voice actor, Tange Sakura.

Tange Sakura to certain otaku such as myself is one of the finest voice actors ever, due mainly to the convincing humanity she puts into her roles. But then a  few years back Sakura retired from the world of voice acting, right around time anime really started to take off around the world, leaving a small semi-generation of anime fans unfamiliar with her abilities. But now she’s back, and I have to say few things are as momentous in anime voice acting as the return of Tange Sakura. I don’t know why she left, or why she’s decided to come back, but it is welcome news.

So far she’s played a character in the video game Love Plus, with her first anime role since her retirement being the vampire Hatori Kanon in Anyamaru Tantei Kirumins (which if I were to try to translate into English would be something like “Animeow Detective Mascots”). It’s definitely Sakura all right, though she doesn’t get very many lines. She’s also working with a mix of relatively new voice actors, and some people she’s worked with before, namely Tanaka Hideyuki (Sakura’s dad in CCS). I wonder if anyone out there is watching this show just for her, and not say, because it’s directed by Kawamori Shouji (Various Macross seres, Escaflowne, Aquarion).

I would not be surprised if that were the case, and wouldn’t really mind anyone watching this show in particular for the voice actor(s).

THAT FAT GUY IS AMURO RAY

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When I first went to see Paprika in theaters, one thing that caught my attention was the voices. At first, I could not pinpoint them. Who is the main character? I know I’ve heard her voice before… And then it hit me: Hayashibara Megumi, that most prolific of 90s voice actors (who’s still doing work today and has recently written her own book), was the voice behind Paprika. Then another voice struck me. THAT FAT GUY IS AMURO RAY! I felt the desire to jump out of my seat and shout, “AHA!” but decided against it. Unfortunately for me though, I was not accompanied to the theater by any friends who were particularly into anime, so I could not share my discoveries at the time.

There are anime fans who have watched just as much if not more than I have, who are unable to pick up on a character being voiced by an actor from their favorite series, but there are also anime fans who have watched far less than me who are able to pick up on the subtle nuances of a voice and determine, despite any sort of wild differences in the voices used for the two characters, that the same actor plays these roles. And they’re not even always seiyuu otaku!

What is it that makes some people more able to recognize voice actors than others? I’m not applying this solely to Japanese seiyuu, but rather voice actors in general from Frank Welker to Kamiya Akira. I don’t consider myself to have a keen sense of hearing, so I can’t say I’m particularly tuned to any difficult-to-perceive aspects of voices, but when I do notice a recognizable voice, it generally has to do with something that one role has in common with another, even if those roles vary wildly. Of course, I don’t always get it right, and there are times when a voice hits me but I just cannot pinpoint it. I don’t know, I unfortunately do not have the proper vocabulary to explain it.

Perhaps someone with greater knowledge of voices and audio could explain better.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy has an AMAZING voice cast

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I’m not the biggest Final Fantasy fan, but watching the new trailer for the upcoming PSP crossover Final Fantasy fighting game, Dissidia, I came out completely blown away by the voice cast. It is one of the best voice casts you will EVER see in a video game, take my word for it.

I couldn’t find a single guide, so for my convenience and yours, here’s a list of all voices revealed so far. As more voices and characters are announced, I’ll continue to update this list.

By the way, the names are spelled as they are on the official site, so don’t complain that Kefka is Cefca, I’m just going by what’s there.

Last Updated 10/16/2008.

Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy): Seki Toshihiko (Legato Bluesummers, Trigun)

Frioniel (Final Fantasy II): Midorikawa Hikaru (Zelgadis, Slayers)

Onion Knight (Final Fantasy III): Fukuyama Jun (Lelouch Lamperouge, Code Geass)

Cecil Harvey (Final Fantasy IV): Hodoshima Shizuma (Jonouchi Hisashi, Boogiepop Phantom)

Butz Klauser (Final Fantasy V): Hoshi Souichirou (Kira Yamato, Gundam SEED)

Tina Branford (Final Fantasy VI): Fukui Yukari (Nia Teppelin, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann)

Cloud (Final Fantasy VII): Sakurai Takahiro (Kururugi Suzaku, Code Geass)

Squall Leonhart (Final Fantasy VIII): Ishikawa Hideo (Uchiha Itachi, Naruto)

Zidane Tribal (Final Fantasy IX): Paku Romi (Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist)

Tidus (Final Fantasy X): Morita Masakazu (Rail Tracer, Baccano!)

Shantotto (Final Fantasy XI): Hayashibara Megumi (Ayanami Rei, Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Cosmos (Dissidia Final Fantasy): Shimamoto Sumi (Nausicaä, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind)

Garland (Final Fantasy): Utsumi Kenji (Raoh, Hokuto no Ken)

Emperor of Palamecia (Final Fantasy II): Horiuchi Kenyuu (Jamil Neate, Gundam X)

Cloud of Darkness (Final Fantasy III): Ikeda Masako (Maetel, Galaxy Express 999)

Golbeza (Final Fantasy IV): Kaga Takeshi (Chairman Kaga, Iron Chef)

Exdeath (Final Fantasy V): Ishida Tarou (Count Cagliostro, Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro)

Cefca Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI): Chiba Shigeru (Narrator, Hokuto no Ken)

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII): Morikawa Toshiyuki (Hayami Masumi, Glass Mask 2005)

Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII): Tanaka Atsuko (Kusanagi Motoko, Ghost in the Shell)

Kuja (Final Fantasy IX): Ishida Akira (Xelloss, Slayers)

Jecht (Final Fantasy X): Amada Masuo (Manev the Gale, Trigun)

Gabranth (Final Fantasy X): Ohtsuka Akio (Batou, Ghost in the Shell)

Chaos (Final Fantasy): Wakamoto Norio (Cell, Dragon Ball Z)

Narrator (Dissidia Final Fantasy): Sugawara Bunta (Kamaji, Spirited Away)

Updated for Dissidia Duodecim:

Kain Highwind (Final Fantasy IV): Yamadera Kouchi (Spike Spiegel, Cowboy Bebop)

Gilgamesh (Final Fantasy V): Nakai Kazuya (Mugen, Samurai Champloo)

Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII): Itou Ayumi (Tifa Lockhart, Final Fantasy: Advent Children)

Laguna Loire (Final Fantasy VIII): Hirata Hiroaki (Sanji, One Piece)

Prishe (Final Fantasy XI): Hirano Aya (Suzumiya Haruhi, Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi)

Lightning (Final Fantasy XII): Sakamoto Maaya (Kanzaki Hitomi, Vision of Escaflowne)

 

Neo Humans and Steel Cyborgs

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Tatsunoko Pro’s latest adaptation of Shinzo Ningen Casshern, Casshern Sins, has Furuya Tohru playing the titular character. Furuya is not the original actor form the 70s despite his long history in anime, but luckily,he has experience playing the role of a man turned into a cyborg to fight an evil force: Koutetsu Jeeg.

The similarities don’t end there! Each show poses a vital question during its opening.

Casshern: “If Casshern won’t do it, who will?”

Jeeg: “If I stop (BAN BABAN) , then who will do it? (BAN BABAN)”

Clearly this role was made for the man.

Just like “fat guy in Paprika.”

The Ogiues who never were

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Mizuhashi Kaori landed the role of Ogiue and for that we are all grateful.

Landing the role, however, means that she had to have beaten out other voice actors.

So I have to wonder, who else tried out for the part of Ogiue? Who could have been the voice of Fujoshi Omega?

Sadly this mystery will probably never be solved.