#izumida toishiro

[theoriginalfanwoman-blog]

Seiyū Love: Atsushi Abe

Half of the leading creative duo in “Bakuman,” manga artist Mashiro was my first Atsushi Abe character. From awkward junior high school kid to articulate and capable artist, Abe matured Mashiro over the course of the series. Squeaky embarrassment, impassioned speeches, petulant grumbling — Abe’s portrayal was completely genuine, drawing viewers into the series. The interplay between Mashiro and his professional counterpart, writer Takagi, were so lively and dynamic that you became more invested in them as the story progressed.

Initially, I didn’t believe it when I looked up the seiyū for Izumida from “Yowamushi Pedal.” A diehard weightlifting fanatic with semi-self-aware pectorals (and now his back, too, apparently), Izumida speaks with a flamboyant flair and the complete confidence any proud member of Hakone Academy’s inter-high cycling team rightly deserves. He is absolutely nothing like Mashiro, and I still can’t hear even the slightest hint that those two characters share the same set of pipes, which I always consider a testament to a voice actor’s skills. The difference is simply remarkable.

While Izumida is competition for the heroes, Ren is clearly an antagonist in the card-game based anime “Cardfight!! Vanguard.” Ren lacks the youthful exuberance of the other two, and the way he speaks has a definite chic factor — calm, cool, and occasionally condescending. There’s also a smooth, slipperiness to Ren’s voice you could say is a bit sexy, a quality not found in the others.

Hero to baddie, clumsy to confident, inspiring to demoralizing, Abe can stretch his voice to meet his characters’ needs with exceptional clarity and absolute believably. I sometimes feel I’m the only one who has watched “Bakuman” and Yowapeda, so I hope folks are at least somewhat familiar with the references. Abe’s is a voice worthy of fan awareness!