Tuesday 30 April 2013

Seiyuus - Who you need to know

Many times when you play video games or watch anime, do you wonder who are the voices behind your favorite characters? Do you sometimes realize that this certain character sounds a lot like this one other character you saw before? When you look them up in wiki and realize that they were voiced by the same person you will go "Ah, no wonder that voice seemed familiar". Then you look at that voice actor's history of voiced characters, and when you see a lot of characters you know, you will go "HOLY SHIT".


This my friends, are the power of the seiyuus. Without them our characters wouldn't be half as memorable, be it in a good or bad way. These talented people give characters in games and anime life, and give otherwise lifeless characters a form of impact. I will do a series of posts describing seiyuus I like now and then, but for today, these are my favorites, and the ones that YOU, should know.



Kana Hanazawa





She is the queen of moe. I freaking loved her voice ever since I first saw her role of Kanade as the "Kuudere" kind of character but after discovering more of her characters I just fell in love. She is like the manifestation of moe itself, voicing characters like Mayuri (Steins;Gate), Shiemi (Ao no Exorcist) and Kobato (Boku Wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai). She also does well with kuudere voices, such as characters like Kanade (Angel Beats), Sophie (Tales of Graces F), Kuroneko (Oreimo), Anri (Durarara!) and Black rock shooter (Black rock shooter - The anime). Finally, lets not forget the sexy ones like Charlotte (Infinite Stratos) and Rana (Freezing).


Characters  from left to right 

1st row: Kanade (Angel Beats), Sophie (Tales Of Graces F), Kuroneko (Oreimo), Kobato (Boku Wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai), Mayuri (Steins;Gate)

2nd row: Ayase (Guilty Crown), Shiemi (Ao No Exorcist)

3rd row: Mikan (To-Love Ru), Charlotte (Infinite Stratos), Black Rock Shooter (Black Rock Shooter), Anri (Durarara!), Rana (Freezing)



Jun Fukuyama





BOW DOWN TO YOUR TRUE KING!


Honestly I do not watch most of the stuff or play most of the games in which he voices for, but TBH, it doesn't really matter all that much. He is Lelouch Vi Britannia. THE LELOUCH VI BRITANNIA. KING, AND RIGHTFUL RULER OF THIS WORLD! Honestly though, his voice is just bad ass to no regard,  he fits the roles of tyranic and badass people, inclusive of Lelouch (Code Geass) and Maximillian (Valkyria Chronicles). He has done cool voices like Shinra (Durarara!), or can go full retard silly mode, like Torii (Kyokai Senjou Horizon) and Sado (MM!). Or he can full a high voice and go kid mode, Kyle (Tales of Destiny 2) and Onion knight (Dissidia:Final Fantasy) style!


Characters from left to right

1st row: Kyle (Tales Of Destiny 2), Onion Knight (Dissidia:Final Fantasy)

2nd row: Torii (Kyokai Senjou Horizon), Shinra (Durarara!)

3rd row: Sado (MM!), Maximillian (Valkyria Chronicles)

Center: Lelouch (Code Geass)



Miyuki Sawashiro





If Kana Hanazawa is the voice of moe, Miyuki Sawashiro is the voice of womanly sexiness. Most of her characters have this pseudo deep voice that makes them sound INCREDIBLY sexy, and while many say she lacks variety in her voices, HER VOICE SHE USES THE MOST SHOULD STAY. I'm talking about the sexy voice, for characters like Makoto (Devil Survivor 2:The Animation), Milla (Tales of Xillia), Seri (K),  Canaan (CANAAN), Inaba (Kokoro Connect) and a little bit of Kanbaru (Bakemonogatari). She proves that she can voice young boys with Carl (Blazblue), and we all gotta love that cocky, "Ojou-sama" tone with characters like Shinku (Rozen Maiden), Perrine (Strike Witches) and Elizabeth (Persona 3).


Characters from left to right

1st row: Makoto (Devil Survivor 2), Milla (Tales Of Xillia), Seri (K), Carl (Blazblue)

2nd row: Shinku (Rozen Maiden), Perrine (Strike Witches), Canaan (CANAAN), Death Master (Black Rock Shooter)

3rd row: Inaba (Kokoro Connect), Kanbaru (Monogatari series), Elizabeth (Persona 3)



Takahiro Sakurai






This dude. This, dude. He has, easily, one of the most bishounen voices ever, and the thing is, he's pretty much everywhere. He has practically only one voice, but he can change his tone well enough to suit different characters. I mean, he can do soft tone badass heroes, characters like Cloud (Final Fantasy 7), Kira (Bleach) and Haseo (.Hack//GU) fit the bill for that. Or he can go all "ORE WA MAMORU MISERU" with Asbel (Tales of Graces F), Megaman X (Megaman X), Faldio (Valkyria Chronicles) and Suzaku (Code Geass). Finally, we have his bishounen voice, which are guys like Sasori (Naruto Shippuden), Kusanagi (K), Matsuyuki (Anohana) and Alcor (Devil Survivor 2:The Animation).


Characters from left to right

1st row: Cloud (Final Fantasy 7), Asbel (Tales Of Graces F), X (Megaman X series)

2nd row: Sasori (Naruto Shipuuden), Kira (Bleach), Suzaku (Code Geass), Kusanagi (K)

3rd row: Matsuyuki (Anohana), Faldio (Valkyria Chronicles), Meme (Bakemonogatari), Haseo (.Hack//GU), Alcor (Devil Survivor 2)



Nana Mizuki





She is the epitome of perfection. While I do not watch a good deal of stuff she is in, I know that she is a well known singer is Japan. She has some AMAZING songs, as well as doing some AMAZING roles in games and anime. She has great diversity in her voices, and its super hard to tell her apart from her characters. She has the high super cute voices like Hinata (Naruto), Collete (Tales of Symphony) and Moka (Rosario + Vampire). Then she has serious voices like Misaki (Darker than Black) and Lan fan (Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood). Then as for the middle ground, we've got Saya (Blood-C) and Tsubasa (Senki Zesshou Symphogear). She has done more, but I haven't watched those (like Magical girl Nanoha).


Characters from left to right

1st row: Hinata (Naruto), Colette (Tales Of Symphonia)

2nd row: Moka (Rosario + Vampire), Lan Fan (Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood)

3rd row: Misaki (Darker Than Black), Saya (Blood-C)

Center: Tsubasa (Senki Zesshou Symphogear)



There are probably more to come, stay tuned!