#Ayase Itou

[saga-jihen]

Taiga yo Tomo ni Naitekure (大河よ共に泣いてくれ, O Saga, Cry With Me!) (Franchouchou Cover)

Sung by: Poppin'Party (ポッピン パーティー) Kasumi Toyama (戸山 香澄) [CV: Aimi (愛美)] Tae Hanazono (花園 たえ) [CV: Sae Otsuka (大塚 紗英 )] Arisa Ichigaya (市ヶ谷 有咲) [CV: Ayase Itou (伊藤 彩沙)] Album: BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Cover Collection Vol.6

"Even if we have nothing else, we still have the future A lowest point? Starting over from zero? That's just part of the saga Even if we burn out in the process, we'll make it come true! This is where our revenge begins!"

[midoriandran]

Long time no post!

[satoshi-mochida]

Some thoughts on my last Gamefly rental, Chaos;Child.(possible context-less spoilers)

While it’s a sequel to Chaos;Head/C;H Noah, which were never localized, and I think a fan translation was taken down, it’s stand-alone enough to be played without it. There’s some references to the other Science Adventure series games on occasion, not just Chaos;Head.

The name of one of Takeru’s magazines may make any moments it gets brought up unintentionally funnier because of a certain internet personality. I’ll let you see it for yourselves if you don’t know what I mean.

Like in Chaos;Head, you have the option of picking a Positive or Negative delusion at many points in the game instead of choices, or choosing neither. Positive delusions usually result in something silly or mildly suggestive, while negative ones can end in something creepy, a fake death or other bad things(including a few on some routes that give you a bad end)...or sometimes the “bad” moment is kind of goofy, intentionally or not, like one delusion of Itou acting so over-the-top chauvinistic that I think it was meant to be a bit funny

Unlike Chaos;Head, which had three actual endings(AA, A and B) and one bad ending(though B is pretty much a bad ending too), this has character endings, a few bad ends, and a True End(Chaos;Head Noah got new endings added to it, but I don’t know the details of them).

Some thoughts on the character endings: I liked that they told us more about the other girls(since Serika’s is pretty much the main route), but I didn’t like how some of them ended. Nono’s was nice and conclusive, Kazuki’s was cool, as was her power, but her route just kind of stops, and Uki has two endings, both sad in different ways(and four bad endings). Same for Hinae’s.

As for the True End, which is more of a long epilogue, without getting into too many details, I was a bit iffy and confused about some parts of it, but it was overall a mostly satisfying ending to the game. I have a feeling we may end up seeing some of these characters again in another Science Adventure game...hopefully with one of them getting the comeuppance they so deserve.

There was a manga and drama CD for Mio, since she doesn’t get a route. You can get details on them here. You’ll want to finish the game first, though.

There were a few parts where they didn’t add subtitles for when characters were speaking. It was only a problem if it was during endings, since I couldn’t just bring up the backlog to check what was said(though most of the time, it was just the same quote from Hinae that gets repeated a lot for a while).

In both this and Chaos;Head, I noticed characters don’t really use their Di-Swords as often as openings and so on might make you think. ^^;

I didn’t watch the anime adaption when it was airing, but considering how long just one route in this can be(like Serika’s), I’m not sure how well they managed to cram as much of the full story into only 13 episodes and a movie(one episode being a recap of Chaos;Head).

There were three songs from Kanako Ito in this: ‘Singularity’, ‘Fictional Youth’, and ‘Silent Wind Bell’(possible spoilers). There’s also a song done by Phantasm(Ayase’s band from Chaos;Head), ‘Vanitas of the Eclipse’.

Here’s a mostly detail-free guide for anyone who needs it.

I think I’ll be adding Steins;Gate Elite/S;G 0 to my queue in the future, or buy them if I get the chance.

Next game being sent is: Cosmic Star Heroine.

[natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk]

Seiyuu Challenge #30

We have reached the end! Kind of? There’s a bonus round, and I will be making a compilation post, so there’s that. But this one is the last question on this specific list.

I didn’t know whether this meant newly known to me or to the industry. These aren’t really in any order, but the best ones will be saved for last.

30. A newly known seiyuu who impressed you?

Takako Tanaka, Yoshiki Nakajima, Rie Murakawa (Hinamatsuri)

Takako Tanaka hasn’t worked on a whole lot of other things, but her portrayal of Hina was spot-on, made me laugh so hard, and she was iconic with Yoshiki Nakajima.

On the other hand, I heard of Yoshiki Nakajima thanks to Tumblr, but it was in relation to BL and idol stuff which I don’t dabble in too often.

Rie Murakawa has been on the scene far longer than the other two, so she actually has some more notable roles like Pink Rem-- I mean Ram from Re:Zero and Hotaru Ichijou from Non Non Biyori.

Arisa Date & Kento Itou (Wotakoi)

Apparently, these two have only been active on the idol side of things, but Kento Itou is apparently quite talented in the music realm. He’s a composer, he plays multiple instruments (synth, piano, drums, guitar, etc.), and he now raps as Doppo in Hypnosis Mic.

Aoi Koga (Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai)

This is an anime that just came out this season, and the time of posting this, two episodes are currently out, but anime fans are already saying stuff about her perfect performance as this character. She acts alongside Makoto Furukawa who has already had quite a few notable roles (*cough* Saitama from One Punch Man). Her voice is one of the highlights of the series so far.

Yume Miyamoto, Yuuya Hirose, Reina Ueda (SSSS.Gridman)

Yume Miyamoto has a few minor roles in other anime, and she’s affiliated with the Himawari Theatre Group which I’ll talk about more when I get to my later picks. I hope she gets more roles soon because I like the realistic tone she gave to Rikka.

Yuuya Hirose has had roles here and there as well, but you might’ve heard him in Handa-kun as Junichi Aizawa.

Reina Ueda is actually pretty well-known now, but her presence was made more prominent to me by this anime. I made a birthday post about her a little while back where I talk about a lot of roles she’s done that I haven’t watched.

Character Songs from the cast of Gridman

The cast of Zombieland Saga

There were too many to really list on top, so I’m going to quickly list the newcomers: Asami Tano, Kaede Hondo, Minami Tanaka, Maki Kawase, and Rika Kinugawa. While some of them aren’t completely new, they are relatively new comparing to the others like Hiroyuki Yoshino, Risa Taneda, Mamoru Miyano, and of course, Kotono Mitsuishi.

Idol anime would not be idol anime if it weren’t for the seiyuu behind it, and they made this anime so enjoyable that it was one of my favourites of last year.

Yuuma Uchida

Who wouldn’t route for Maaya Uchida’s little brother?

He’s already making a name for himself, and he did really well in the Summer 2018 season.

Notable Roles: 

Sonic - Kekkai Sensen

Ginshi Shirazu - Tokyo Ghoul: re

Kazuomi Ooga - ReLife

Iori Kithara - Grand Blue

Ash Lynx -Banana Fish

Asami Seto

I haven’t really watched her works, and I didn’t truly realize how good she was until I watched last season’s Seishun Buta Yarou where she played the main girl Mai, and honestly, I’ve been missing out.

Here are some of her other notable roles:

Ayaka Kagari - Witch Craft Works

Raphtalia - Tate no Yuusha

Akira Mado - Tokyo Ghoul

Mai Sakurajima - Seishun Buta Yarou

Shizu Delta - Overlord

Yoshino Takatsuki - Wandering Son

Onna no Kurokami - Death Parade

Ichiyo Higuchi - Bungou Stray Dogs

Chihaya Ayase - Chihayafuru

Sumire Morohoshi

I’ve probably been going on about her since hearing her in Bungou Stray Dogs since she voiced my favourite character in that series. As another member of the Himawari Theatre Group (who had notable people attached like Mamoru Miyano, Ryohei Kimura, Kouki Uchiyama, Yuuto Uemura, Miyu Irino, etc.) she’s clearly talented, and I’ve really liked pretty much everything I’ve watched that she’s worked it.

[I haven’t watched all of these. I’m just putting it as a spotlight on what she’s done so far!]

Nina Tucker - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Mako Akagi - Welcome to the Ballroom

Stella Barklem - Mahoutsukai no Yome

Hinami Fueguchi - Tokyo Ghoul

Ichigo Hoshimiya - Aikatsu Stars

Popuko - Pop Team Epic (EP 8-A)

Hitoka Yachi - Haikyuu

Ann Magnolia - Violet Evergarden

Emma - The Promised Neverland

Kyouka Izumi - Bungou Stray Dogs

[recentanimenews]

Anime News Site Traces Changing Popularity of Voice Actresses

How long does a voice talent stay popular in Japan? There are some who seem essentially immortal, but when it comes down to actual press, it takes only five or six years for the landscape to change completely.

    Japanese site Yaraon! crunched the numbers and rated voice actress popularity in 2009 vs. 2015 based solely on their mentions in articles on the site. Rie Kugimiya (Nagi in Hayate the Combat Butler) topped the 2009 list with 191 stories to her name. The rest of the list:

  2. Miyuki Sawashiro (Fujiko Mine, Lupin III as of 2012) -- 182

3. Haruka Tomatsu (Naruko Anjou, anohana) -- 181

4. Mamiko Noto (Rin, Inuyasha) -- 163

5. Eri Kitamura (Sayaka Miki, Madoka Magica) -- 155

6. Yui Horie (Toru Honda, Fruits Basket) -- 154

7. Aya Endo (Sheryl Nome, Macross Frontier) -- 144

8. Ami Koshimizu (Kallen, Code Geass) -- 138

9. Aki Toyosaki (Chitose, YuruYuri) -- 132

10. Sayuri Yahagi (Suzu, Seitokai Yakuindomo) -- 127

  Fast-forward to 2015, and the playing field has changed completely -- while many of these voice actresses are still quite popular, the top ten is completely different.

    Leading the pack now is Maaya Uchida (Rikka in Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!), who appeared in a total of 168 stories. The rest of the list:

  2. Ayane Sakura (La Pucelle, Magical Girl Raising Project) -- 167

3. Saori Hayami (Ayase, Oreimo) -- 140

4. Ai Kayano (Riri, Hand Shakers) -- 135

5. Ari Ozawa (Chiyo, Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun) -- 132

6. Hisako Kanemoto (Sailor Mercury, Sailor Moon Crystal) -- 125

7. Kana Hanazawa (Raphiel, Gabriel DropOut) -- 124

8. Shizuka Itou (Hinagiku, Hayate the Combat Butler) -- 121 (tied)

8. Risa Taneda (Rize, Is This Order a Rabbit?) -- 121 (tied)

10. Aoi Yuuki (Madoka, Madoka Magica) -- 120

  None of the 2009 set has faded into obscurity by any means, but it's interesting to see who's the most talked about (and potentially what got them there) in recent years. Are any of your favorites on this list? Do you have a favorite voice actress you wish got more recognition? Let us know!

  Source: Yaraon!

  -----

  Kara Dennison is responsible for multiple webcomics, blogs and runs interviews for (Re)Generation Who and PotterVerse, and is half the creative team behind the OEL light novel series Owl's Flower. She blogs at karadennison.com and tweets @RubyCosmos.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[midoriandran]

[midoriandran]

[midoriandran]

[midoriandran]

Ran is cutely enjoying the debate.

[natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk]

Seiyuu Challenge: Bonus Rounds

This is inspired by the seiyuu challenge I saw @rukiinightray doing on their Tumblr. Check out the #Seiyuu Challenge tag on their Tumblr to see the questions. 

I just picked my favourites from Rukii’s to add to the compilation. After this, I will be posting the masterpost for my fully answered 30 Day challenge (it’s a separate one) including this bonus round!

Bonus Rounds Include:

Favourite Seiyuu above 40 Years Old

Favourite Singing Unit/Group

Seiyuu with Cute Voices

Seiyuu with Attractive Voices

Seiyuu with the Best Smiles :D

Bonus Round #1: Favourite Seiyuu Above 40 Years Old

Hiroshi Kamiya (pretty much 44)

Akira Ishida (51)

Romi Park (46)

Good luck finding current female seiyuu that still get hired above age 40 without having “legendary” status. Hahaha... why is the industry like this.

Tomokazu Sugita, Nana Mizuki, and Yuuichi Nakamura are all 39. I just wanted to mention that.

The gifs are just the most iconic character for them (although I had a tough time choosing)

Bonus Round #2: Best Singing Unit/Group

I’ll be honest, I don’t listen to units often, but I do come across the occasional song, so I’ll be sharing a few of those! I’d say that the three following groups are the only ones that I’ve actually listened to on their own. 

The original question was the best 2.5D and 3D group, but I didn’t know exactly what those meant. I’m guessing 2.5D means there are anime characters played by seiyuu who also perform live like Utapri whereas 3D have real people performing and not as characters.

I’ve been listening to Yoshimasa Hosoya and Toshiki Masuda's Maxboys, but they’ve disbanded. I personally think this was due to bad timing, lack of variety and risk, and Masuda being a little less experienced on vocals. (if you can see the thumbnail of the video) *passes towel* 

I did listen to a few TrySail things, but often, female units to me sound a bit too high-pitched and cutesy. I had the same problem when listening to a few K-Pop songs, but hey, I now know a song or two from Girls’ Generation and Twice (who the heck wouldn’t know those groups?) The members of TrySail include Momo Asakura (pink), Sora Amamiya (blue), and Shiina Natsukawa (yellow).

Alternative: Adrenaline - Eromanga-Sensei ED

But my top pick would probably be Sphere. Sphere was one of the first groups that caught my eye which was only got noticed because they sang a Honeyworks song. With members like Haruka Tomatsu, Ayahi Takagaki, Minako Kotobuki, and Aki Toyosaki, they are a bit older than their TrySail counterpart (TrySail members are 22-24ish while Sphere members are late-20s to early-30s). All of this group’s members are listed as actresses and voice actresses as well as singers. Yeah, so they voice act in various anime (each having their own list of shows), occasionally live-action act and make appearances, and sing and practice dancing. In fact, Ayahi Takagaki is one of the few women to appear on Kenichi Suzumura’s AD-LIVE event, and she went twice. I knew each of these members individually for their voice acting first, but they can also go solo (and they do) for their music, but as far as I’m concerned, Sphere is still on hiatus.

Alternative: Here are their top tracks. I couldn’t choose. (I could’ve added a lot more than 15 tracks)

I’d also like to mention that there is a top 20 list for male units (not mine) [source]

1 – ELEKITER ROUND 0 2 – E.M.U 3 – ST☆RISH 4 – QUARTET★NIGHT 5 – HE★VENS 6 – D.A.T 7 – 神谷浩史+小野大輔 8 – フェロ☆メン 9 – Marginal#4 10 – CELL DIVISION 11 - G.Addict 12 - Maxboys 13 - KAmiYU 14 - Trignal 15 - CONNECT 16 - X.I.P 17 - STYLE FIVE 18 - Stella Quintet 19 - R-16 20 - アニ○ズ

This is purely opinion-based obviously, and since I don’t listen to most of these groups (I’ve heard of them), I trust these people’s word. I just don’t like Hiroshi Kamiya’s singing, and I know I will be kicked in the shins again for saying that. Some of these groups are old too so you can see them with funny hairdos. Seriously, Sakurai had a mad mop on his head. I wonder if it was real.

I’d also like to give a quick shoutout to the Honeyworks seiyuu because even if that’s not a “unit”, they still sing a lot of songs from them.

Natsuki Enomoto (CV: Haruka Tomatsu) - song

Yuu Setoguchi (CV: Hiroshi Kamiya) - song

Akari Hayasaka (CV: Kana Asumi) - song

Souta Mochizuki (CV: Yuuki Kaji) - song

Miou Aida (CV: Aki Toyosaki) - song

Haruki Serizawa (CV: Kenichi Suzumura) - song

Saku Akechi (CV: Hikaru Midorikawa) - song

Koyuki Ayase (CV: Tsubasa Yonaga) - song

Hina Setoguchi (CV: Momo Asakura) - song

Kotarou Enomoto (CV: Natsuki Hanae) - song

Sena Narumi (CV: Sora Amamiya) - song

Midori Hamanaka (CV: Gero) - song

Arisa Takamizawa (CV: Nao Touyama) - song

Ken Shibazaki (CV: Yoshimasa Hosoya) - HOW IS HE THE ONLY ONE THERE ISN’T A SONG FOR (or one that I can’t seem to access???)

There’s also Nobunaga Shimazaki and Kouki Uchiyama in LIP x LIP. [Song Recommendations] [Newest Song]

Honestly, I can make more than one post about them. Stay tuned for that! I’m going to make all my song recommendations and explain this whole universe. 

Bonus Round #3: Seiyuu with Cute Voices

Kana Hanazawa

Sora Amamiya

Maaya Sakamoto

Saori Hayami

Ai Kayano

Sumire Morohoshi

Maaya Uchida

Nobuhiko Okamoto

Yoshimasa Hosoya

Yuuki Kaji

These don’t even need explanation. If you’ve heard them, you know exactly what I mean.

Bonus Round #4: Seiyuu with Attractive Voices

Mitsuki Saiga

Megumi Ogata

Hikaru Midorikawa

Kazuhiko Inoue

Akira Ishida

Takahiro Sakurai

Junichi Suwabe

Yuuichi Nakamura

Yuuichirou Umehara

Kouki Uchiyama

Ryouhei Kimura 

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Yoshimasa Hosoya

Mamoru Miyano

Toshiyuki Morikawa

Shizuka Itou

Eri Kitamura

Kikuko Inoue

Miyuki Sawashiro

Kana Hanazawa

Saori Hayami

Aki Toyosaki

Haruka Tomatsu

Asami Seto

I probably missed a ton, but this is such an open-ended category. 

Bonus Round #5: Seiyuu with the Best Smiles :D 

Kouki Uchiyama He doesn’t smile too often, but apparently, he smiles when misfortune happens to others. I sympathize. Why do you think fail videos can be funny sometimes?

Miyuki Sawashiro

Mamoru Miyano

Tomokazu Sugita

Nobuhiko Okamoto

Yoshimasa Hosoya

Saori Hayami

I feel like I had to put that tadbit for Kouki because he’s such an odd choice. The other ones are quite obvious. There are certain smiles that just make you smile, and that’s my list.

[midoriandran]

[recentanimenews]

Highlighting the Tower of God Anime’s Top Shelf Voice Cast

  Shortly after the Tower of God anime adaptation was announced as a Crunchyroll Original, the folks behind it came through with the first staff and cast reveals. We already covered the former, so it's time to turn our attention toward the voice talent that will be bringing SIU's WEBTOON series to life. 

  The main characters revealed so far include Bam, Rachel, and Headon, offering up an impressive mix of veterans and those with lighter, but nonetheless impressive, résumés. Let's start off with the character voice actor Taichi Ichikawa describes as "a pure and honest boy."

  Bam - Taichi Ichikawa

    Ichikawa's comments were first shared along with the initial cast announcement. He went on to say Bam is "single-mindedly devoted to Rachel" and grows from his powerless state as the tower throws more tests at him and his friends help him out along the way. 

  Taichi Ichikawa has grown from a supporting cast member to lead voice talent over the past few years. He played Kengo Nakata in a handful of HINAMATSURI episodes in 2018, and voiced Hagel in a few eps of If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord in 2019. More prominent roles came into play around the same time, including Kurogo Kurusu in Kabukibu!, Hayato Urabe in MAJOR 2nd, and Seiji Maki in the anime adaptation of Nio Nakatani's yuri manga Bloom into You. 

    Like Ichikawa, we're excited to watch Bam's journey and listen to his own corresponding growth as the series progresses. 

  Rachel - Saori Hayami

    Actress/singer Saori Hayami has an absolutely stacked list of credits to her name, including a ton of major roles in series ranging from Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Ryū Lyon) to One-Punch Man (Hellish Blizzard), My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Yukino Yukinoshita), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Shinobu Kochō) and Oreimo (Ayase Aragaki), among many others. Chances are, you've heard Hayami's voice in something, and she's even taken home some tangible accolades for her work. 

  In 2016, Hayami won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 10th Annual Seiyū Awards along with Shizuka Itou. You'll also find her in plenty of games, voicing a couple iterations of Rider in Fate/Grand Order as well as Leia Rolando in Tales of Xillia, Emma Millstein in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel series, and more. 

  In her Tower of God comments she said she wants the audience to "pay close attention to Rachel's actions." 

  Headon - Hochu Otsuka

    That brings us to the tried and true veteran of the bunch, Hochu Otsuka, who has been an anime industry staple for decades. If you're into the vintage stuff, maybe you know him as the voice of Yazan Gable in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, or Akira Sendou in Slam Dunk. More recently, you may have heard Otsuka voicing First Lieutenant Tsurumi in Golden Kamuy, Abuto in Gintama, and Sakonji Urokodaki in Demon Slayer.

  Many of you will be most familiar with Hochu Otsuka's role in shaping and training a certain young orange-clad ninja. Otsuka's voice left an indelible impression on countless fans of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden—and even recently in certain episodes of BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS—as the pervy sage himself, Jiraiya. That fact alone makes us excited about how Otsuka will approach the mysterious Headon. 

    When Otsuka commented on his Tower of God role, he said he loves character types like Headon. He's had a lot of fun playing him so far, and we're looking forward to unraveling this enigmatic character alongside him. 

  Which cast members are you most excited about for Tower of God? Let us know, and be sure to check out our previous post about the anime's staff while we gear up for the show's April 1 premiere.

    -------

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his webcomic, BIG DUMB FIGHTING IDIOTS at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox. 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com