Ever wonder about the voice behind the anime character? You may have heard of them refered to as voice actors, seiyuu, or CV (character voice), but their jobs are all one and the same and also very vital. They give "life" and more character and personality to our favorite anime and manga characters.
Voice actors in Japan are very involved in their work, and the seiyuu industry is considerably large, with over 100 different seiyuu schools in Japan. The jobs of these men and women aren't limited to voicing anime characters, however. They also dub foreign movies, documentaries, and TV shows; record voice tracks for video games; record CDs, drama CDs, and radio dramas; and even perform live event shows.
So, who are your favorite seiyuus? Why do you like them? What are your favorite anime roles by them? Have any favorite songs, or know any facts about them? Any way to show your appreciation for them, whether they're Japanese, American, German, or Chinese.
I guess I'll start it off. X3
My very favorite voice actor is
Miki Shin'ichirou. Some of his most notable roles are of the road racer Taki Fujiwara in Initial D, the
pimp Youji in Weiss Kreuz, the mysterious Urahara in Bleach, the puppylike Katou from Haru wo Daiteita (<3), the psychotic Creed Diskence from Black Cat, and of course the goofy Kojirou from Pokemon. We in the TRC fandom also know him as King Touya. And that's only a few of his almost 200 roles. The man is brilliant... he has so much variety in his voice! Not to mention he's not so bad looking. (At least when his hair doesn't look like he's been electrocuted. ^_~ But seriously, I think he's very hot. I'm obsessed. But you don't need to hear that do you...) ^_~
My next favorite seiyuu is
Morikawa Toshiyuki. I think his most notable role would be Sephiroth from Final Fantasy (although I've never played/watched it ^^;). He also voices Kurosaki Isshin from Bleach, Iwaki from Haru wo Daiteita (notice a pattern in my two favorite seiyuu? XD), Naraku from Inuyasha, Conrad from Kyo Kara Maoh!, and Nakajima in Gakuen Heaven. He also has a lot of variety in his voice, and also has done a lot.
Other seiyuu that follow are Fukuyama Jun, Seki Tomokazu, Koyasu Takehito, Inoue Kazuhiko, Takahiko Sakurai, Megumi Ogata, Paku Romi, and Sakura Tange. ^^ They're all very talented actors and performers with lovely voices.
Some good links:
Seiyuu - WikipediaAnime News NetworkSeiyuu Livejournal Community - VERY good place for media
MikiShin<3You don't have to put as much info as I did. I'm just very obsessed. ^^;;; Your posts can be short and to the point, and you can just put your favorite seiyuu and favorite roles. I just would like to get some more appreciation and attention to them for their amazing performances that they so diligently do.