Favourite Seiyu / VAs

ayase

ayase

State Alchemist
Okay, so I created a ranting thread today, and to balance it out I'll create a postive one too. Who are your favourite Japanese or English voice actors? Add the anime and characters you know them from so people know who you're talking about. I've limited myself to 10 but they're in no particular order of preference:

Megumi Hayashibara: Rei Ayanami, Yui Ikari, Pen-Pen(!) (Evangelion), Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop), Lina Inverse (Slayers), Atsuko Chiba / Paprika (Paprika)
Yoshiko Sakakibara: Haman Khan (Gundam), Shinobu Nagumo (Patlabor)
Ryusuke Oobayashi: Ki'ichi Goto (Patlabor), Yasuo Iwakura (Serial Experiments Lain)
Toshio Furukawa: Ataru Moroboshi (Urusei Yatsura), Asuma Shinohara (Patlabor), Kai Shiden (Gundam)
Shigeru Chiba: Megane (Urusei Yatsura), Shigeo Shiba (Patlabor)
Yasuo Yamada: Arsene Lupin III (Lupin III 1971-1995) RIP.
Hirotaka Suzuoki: Bright Noah (Gundam) RIP.
Machiko Washio: Sakura (Urusei Yatsura)

And I'm not a big dub fan but there are two VAs I think deserve a special mention:
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn: Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost In The Shell), Julia (Cowboy Bebop)
Steve Blum: Spike Speigel (Cowboy Bebop), Cheng-Shin (Planetes), Eikichi Onizuka (GTO)

It's interesting that when I looked into it I found most of my favourite Seiyuu did UY or Patlabor (or both). I never realised that Asuma & Shige were also Ataru & Megane until I rewatched the UY films recently. That's pretty awesome. Also two of them are dead. That's kinda sad. :(
 
I've never really paid attention to Seyu's names before. I like the japanese va's you listed over there, but I believe there are many more to be added.
 
Chie Nakamura - She sounds like a goddess; the most sexy voice I've ever heard. She fits the role as Sakura (Naruto) live a glove (pun intended!). She also had a role in Gankutsuou, although it took me awhile to pick out her voice due to how different her role in that is.

Satsuki Yukino - My other favourite female voice actress. Beautiful voice; perfect for fiery (Kaname, Yoruichi...) and psychotic (Mion, Shion...) roles. And, going on how she made her voice unrecognisable in Trigun, she's also skilled at changed her voice.

Mamoru Miyano - He put in the best voice acting performance I've ever heard in Death Note as Light. He was so amazing that he made my cheeks tingle with some of his lines and made me actually want to start laughing in an insane manner with him. His ability to switch between calm and and insane/angry voices is quite incredible.

Noriaki Sugiyama - This guy fits the role of Sasuke perfectly - His voice became Sasuke's voice in my mind. He pulled off lots of powerful lines wonderfully well, such as the one in 133 where he screamed at Naruto in anger about how he wouldn't know what its like to lose everything since he never had anyone from the start.

Jamieson Price - This guy is one of the few truly top tier American voice actors. Although I haven't seen many of his anime performances (he hasn't had a great amount, only Edmond Dantes in Gankutsuou springing to mind), his performance as Ovan in the .hack//G.U. games were awe inspiring - You won't see a voice actor play the 'mysterious character' role any better than he did. He also did a fantastic job as Georg Prime in Suikoden V, his voice there being that of a warrior and and not a mysterious string puller; their voices are very different.

Jouji Nakata - This guy is probably more entertaining to watch in the flesh than he is to listen to. In every anime extra video I've seen him in he always comes across a very funny and cool guy; not at all uptight or nervous and very confident. His voice was perfect for Edmond Dantes in Gankutsuou and his deep (and slightly evil) voice has had many other big roles, such as Folken in Escaflowne.

Steven Blum - Nothing really needs to be said here, he's so famous that everyone knows his name. I loved the work he did as Spike in Cowboy Bebop; one of the few anime series with an American dub that's able to compete with the excellent Japanese voice acting.
 
Aion said:
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Satsuki Yukino - My other favourite female voice actress. Beautiful voice; perfect for fiery (Kaname, Yoruichi...) and psychotic (Mion, Shion...) roles. And, going on how she made her voice unrecognisable in Trigun, she's also skilled at changed her voice.
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Wow, I hadn't realised how many series that I own she has voiced characters in. Talk about versatile

Ai in Planetes
Milly Thompson in Trigun (a character I love)
Nenene in R.O.D The TV
Vanessa Rene in Madlax
Mutsumi Otohime in Love Hina (another adorable character)
Kagome in Inuyasha
Ropponmatsu in Excel Saga

and minor roles in half a dozen other.

And Major roles in series that I don't have like FMP, Get Backers, Ai Yori Aoshi, Clannad and many more.
 
Moon-speak voice actors AKA seiyuu:

Houko Kuwashima
Noriko Hidaka
Megumi Hayashibara
Romi Paku
Nobuyuki Hiyama
Yuriko Yamaguchi
Toshiyuki Morikawa
Kazuya Nakai

Not as good as the Japanese counterparts AKA English voice actors:

Liam O' Brian
Laura Bailey
Johnny Yong Bosch [**** YEAH!]
Justin Cook
Eric Vale
Linda Young
John Burgmeier
Yuri Lowenthal
Steve Staley
Karen Strassman
Spike Spencer
 
Although I like him, Johnny Yong Bosch can only play one role since he's unable to change his voice. I went off him when I started hearing his voice in just about every American dub.

You know America lack voice acting talent when JYB got the part of Lelouch; a character with two different tones/voices. Hearing JYB's goody-goody voice coming from Lelouch is just wrong.
 
I prefer Johnny Yong Bosch's Lelouch to his Japanese voice, when I first heard it I was like "...." But then I watched a couple of episodes and it's really good, plus Lelouch's Japanese voice is deeper than Evangelion.
 
My absolute favourites are Hayashibara Megumi and Ishida Akira. I love them and buy series I'd never otherwise look at if they're present. Koyasu Takehito has slightly less power over me but his incredibly distinctive (and delightful) voice is always a bonus. That he's a bit nuts and plays some crazy characters with those talented vocal chords is a bonus.

Wakamoto Norio also gets me excited. The extras on the Ninja Nonsense R1s show how awesome a person he is. The cool and very distinctive voice helps too. Oh and Akimoto Yousuke is runner up.

I never watch dubs but I do have some respect for:

ayase said:
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn: Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost In The Shell), Julia (Cowboy Bebop)
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For her haunting performance on one of the Silent Hill soundtracks. She did a lovely job singing Your Rain; it's one of my favourite game songs now.

R
 
Toshio Furukawa is a favourite of mine, too. And Noriko Hidaka has to be up there for her performance in Gunbuster alone. Sumi Shimamoto (Kyoko in Masion Ikkoku) has a voice that I can only desribe as love itself.

In terms of English actors, I've enjoyed everything I've heard of Luci Christian (Chidori Kaname in Full Metal Panic); Colleen Clinkenbeard (Eclair in Kiddy Grade); Richard Epcar (the voice of Ghost in the Shell's Batou); and Laura Bailey (Tohru in Fruits Basket).
 
I dunno why, but Masaya Onosaka as Vash the Stampede always puts a smile on my face, especially when he's doing his goody likeable thing.

He uses a similar voice in Baccano as Isaac Dian, and he's definitely the funniest thing about that show.
 
Japanese
Seki Tomokazu
Yui Horie
Sugita Tomokazu
Satsuki Yukino
Nana Mizuki

Dub
Hilary Haag
Chris Patton
Crispin Freeman
Luci Christian
Brandon Potter (if only for his role as Harima in School Rumble)
 
Was going to create thread about subject of Favorite VA, might as well resurrect this thread.


My personal favorite for an English DUB has to be Steven Blum. While I never heard much of range with different voice, it still very Charismatic sounding voice. Agito Makishima in the old Guyver OVA is my favorite performance by him.

For Japanese voice actors I have to go with Fumihiko Tachiki who has voiced Kenpachi Zaraki in Bleach & Akainu in One Piece. I really like his really low sounding voice, make anyone he play sound like an Bad Ass!
 
It's only really in the last couple or three years that I've started really focusing on vocal performances that I like, so I wonder if my list would have a large recency bias. Quite interesting thread to read though, even with few replies, I will have a think.
 
Likes :
Mizuki Nana (Hanasaki Tsubomi, Fate T. Harlaown)
Taketatsu Ayana (Azu-nyan, Kousaka Kirino)
Tamura Yukari (Kawasumi Mai, Furude Rika, Takamachi Nanoha)
Ueda Kana (Fukuzawa Yumi, Yagami Hayate)
Itou Shizuka (Hasekura Rei, Katsura Hinagiku)
Kugimiya Rie (Alphonse Elric, Kataoka Yuuki, many many tsundere)
Horie Yui (uguu~, Hanekawa Tsubasa)

I guess all the realy huge ones ...
 
Hey, somebody bumped a relevant topic of mine. Those were the days...

Maryke Hendrikse and Kyōko Tongū seriously need adding to my list now.
 
ayase said:
Maryke Hendrikse [snip!]
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She's flamin' brilliant, ain't she? I've been keeping aan eye out for her in dubs ever since Black Lagoon. I liked her turn in Gundam OO as Wang Liu Mei. In the second series she aptly puts across the self-centredness of that character.
 
-Chris Sabat
-Luci Christian
-Matt Hill - Kero in Cardcaptors in case anyone isn't aware, probably my favorite single dub performance of all time.
-Vic Mignogna
-Chris Patton
-Sean Schemmel
-Justin Cook.

All equal the sign of a particularly good dub comming my way pretty much always.
 
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