#fantastic to get a more in-depth look at haruka and to get to really know her by playing her and seeing how she interacts with people and

[designernishiki]

I feel like I liked yakuza 5 a lot more than most people for some reason

[drink-n-watch]

I’ve been promising this post for a while now. I did a voice actor version some time ago and it was one of my favourite lists to put together. I think you guys enjoyed it too.

As we all know, an actor’s performance can really drag down an anime. There’s something heartbreaking about a painfully wooden performance in the middle of a wonderful story that rips you right out of the fantasy. On the bright side, I’ve seen more than a few characters go from boring to endearing on the strength of an actor’s charisma. Voice actors don’t have as much to work with as conventional actors. They can’t rely on body movements or smouldering looks to get their message across. So it’s doubly impressive when they manage to convey subtle emotion and complex feelings though inflection and tone alone.

And for me, these ladies do just that.

Today let us celebrate the artistry that goes into bringing some of our favourite characters to life. In no real order we have!

5. Aoi Yuuki

I don’t care how petty it sounds, I’m just going to put this right here. This young woman is shorter than me!!! A musician and traditional actress, Aoi unique voice has made her quite successful in the field. Here are a few selected roles out of the tons she has had:

Hana – Ben-To

Tsuyu – My Hero Academia

Mina – Vampire Bund

The Energetic Ringo – Daily Lives of HighSchool Boys

Sosuke – Free!! (surprised? – I was)

Victorique – Gosick

Mihoshi – Gundam

Russia – Hetalia

Kino – Kino’s journey

Futaba – Persona 5

Iris – Pokemon

Mélie – Radiant

Shinra – Durarara!!

Sunako – Shiki

Borr – SSSS.Gridman

Tanya – Saga of Tanya the Evil

Oh yeah – she’s also Madoka in some magical girl show…

She’s set to play Touka and Boogiepop in the upcoming remake and I am psyched for this!

Not to mention roles in March Comes In Like a Lion, ACCA 13, Asobi Asobase, Welcome to the Ballroom, Gangsta, Gintama, Goblin Slayer, Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, Hyakka, Hyouka, Your Name, last exile, One Punch Man, Seraph of the End, Sword Art Online II, Tanaka-kun, Tokyo Ghoul, Snafu, Yuru Yuri, and I seriously skipped over most of them. This lady works!

The surprisingly raspy quality of her vocals, and the counterintuitive depth of her tone makes her suitable for a wide range of diverse characters. A small actress with a big voice! Irresistible.

4. Chiwa Saito

Miss Saito has been acting for some time which means she’s had the chance to amass a pretty impressive portfolio. One of my favourite random facts out there, is that she is part of a voice acting groups called “MORE PEACH SUMMER SNOW”. That’s the best name ever. I’m going to rname Buddy that. (His actional name if Sir Buddy Livingston Master Chief Brown). Sadly, she is taller than me.

Yona – Yona of the Dawn

Aika – Aria

Hitagi – Monogatari series

Sigyn – Break Blade

Yuki – Vampire Bund

Chloe – Fate/Kaelid series

Natsumi – Keroro

the fantastic Riko – Kuroko’s Basketball

Louise- Gudam 00

Anita – R.O.D. TV

Kotori – rewrite

Meru – Zetsoubu Sensei

Nadeshiko – Yuru Yuri

She’s also Homura in some magical girl show…I swear I didn’t know this before researching for this post. I never realized how much I liked the Madoka casting before!

Of course there’s like a billion more titles but I’m going to name these ones because, reasons: Amanchu, Arakawa Under the Bridge, Boccano, Berserk, Dog & Scissors, D-Frag, Daily Lives of HighSchool Boys, Gintama, Girls Bravo, Kino’s journey, Last Exile, Log Horizon, Lyrica Nanoha, Murder Princess (I just like this title) One Piece, Sward Art Online, I’m just going to stop now.

You can actually hear her sing in some roles and she truly has a beautiful singing voice. It has a rich timber and she obviously has a great ear for melody. If ever she chose to switch career paths to the musical instead, I’m sure she’d have a great future. We would miss her as an actress though so let’s not encourage that!

3. Megumi Hayashibara

A more classical voice actress and one of the best known in Japan, Megumi almost became a nurse instead. There’s a certain personality that goes along with choosing a career in nursing. Caring but also resilient. You can see that peek through a bit in Megumi’s character and acting choice. Then again, there are so many to pick from I could probably make an argument for any character type.

Pai and IV – 3×3 eyes

Ai – Detective Conan

Haruko – FLCL Progressive

Haruka – Love Hina

Todomatsu – Osomatsu-kun

Paprika and Chiba – Paprika

Musashi – Pokemon

Ranma – Ranma 1/2

Lime – Saber Marionette J

Anna – Shaman King

Lina – Slayers

Ai – Video Girl Ai

Genkai – Yuu Yuu Hakusho

Hello Kitty…this woman is Hello Kitty

The incomparable Faye Valentine – Cowboy Bebop

Probably best known as Rei Ayanami – Evangelion

She can also be heard in Blue Exorcist, Bakuretsu Hunters, Sailor Moon, Blue Seed, Chihayafuru 2, Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Macross Plus, Lupin III, Maison Ikkoku, One Piece, Project A-ko, Shadow Skill, the Doreamons, Tenchi Muyou, and obviously a million more shows.

This lady’s body of work speaks for itself. I have to say I was already pretty amazed that spunky, opinionated Faye, with her womanly register and quiet monotone Rei were played by the same person, add in Hell Kitty to the mix and my mind is a little broken…and then you have comedy queen Ranma. This is the type of career you look up to!

2. Romi Park

Did you know that Romi studied Korean in university. I just find that intriguing, obviously she’s always liked languages. Ok I’m beating about the bush so let me just say it, miss Park’s performance was one of the best parts of FMA: Brotherhood for me. I literally caught myself in the middle of scenes just going, OMG the acting is phenomenal. I’ve heard great things about the English language cast but you really are missing ouy if you didn’t catch this performance.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya –  Bleach

Teresa – Claymore

Akane – Danganronpa

Tanaka – Daily Lives of High School Boys

Igarashi – Deadman Wonderland

Kenichi – Cyber Coil

Ken – Digimon

Sena – Eyeshield 21

Natsume – Gakuen Alice

Walter – Hellsing Ultimate

Switzerland – Hetalia

Angelina – Black Butler

Taiga – Major

Falis – Murder Princess (love this title)

Temari – Naruto

My precious, precious Naoto – Persona 4

Jiro – Pokemon

Syrup – Precure

Alma – Radiant

Zoe Hange – Attack on Titan

Everyone’s favourite rocker Nana Osaki – Nana

And of course Edward Elric – Fullmetal Alchemist

And if that wasn’t enough, you can hear her in Air Master, Beelzebub, Blue Dragon , Clannad After story, Detective Conan, Devil May Cry, Garo, Granblue Fantasy, Hunter x Hunter, Kill la Kill, Lupin III, Gundam 00, One Piece (everyone is in this), RahXephon, Sengoku Basara, RDG, Samurai 7, Terra Formars (cause it’s terrible), Aquarion, White Album

Romi Parks has the most devastatingly emotional voice I know. She often plays calm, cool and collected genius type characters (a lot of boys as you can see) but when an emotional contrast is needed, she really knows how to deliver, making her characters feel so real and raw.  One of the greatest performers in my opinion, she tends to make me want to see a show just to hear what she can do with the character.

Honorable Mentions

Ami Koshimizu

C,mon, she Ryuko from Kill la Kill. Always loved that sexy alto voice! Apparently she was also both Hiro and Naomi in the recent Darling and the Franxx. I loved her as Ibuki in Danganronpa. She was Kallen in Code Geass, Holo in Spice and Wolf and Yuiko in Persona. Obviously I’m skipping over st of her work including some very big roles. I suggest you look her up! The only reason she isn’t on the list proper is that I simply haven’t seen that many of her shows even though a lot are very popular.

1. Megumi Ogata

OK fine so this is a subjective choice. Well they all are really, it’s my top 5 list. Fact is, I’ve been a fan of Megumi Ogata for a long long time and I’m just always going to be. She’s the first voice talent I ever learned about and I absolutely love her work. Sure, she might have voiced a few of my anime crushes but surely that did not influence my choice in any way…. She’s much taller than me.

Ayato – Angel Beats

Haruka (Sailor Uranus) – Sailor Moon*

Jun – Captain Tsubasa

Yukito and Yue – Cardcaptor Sakura*

Makoto – Danganronpa

Nagito – Danganronpa***

Shinji – Evangelion*

Izumi Rio – Searching for the Full Moon*

the terrifying Fairies – Humanity has Declined

Cranberry – Raising Project*

Ichigou Fujimoto – Magical girl Ore

Ken – Persona 3

Yukimura – Samurai Deeper Kyo*

Akagi – Slam Dunk

Valkyrie – UFO Princess Valkyrie

Yuugi – Yu Gi Oh!*

Karuma – Yuu Yuu Hakusho*

And just o drive the point home, here are a few more at random. If you want to full list, you’ll have to look it up. I just can’t type that much! Bleach, Detective Conan, et Backers, Great Teacher Onizuka, Kino’s Journey, Magic Knight Rayearth, Tamayura, Tokyo Mew Mew,

Megumi Ogata is a revered veteran in the field. Comparing Nagito to Makoto (purposefully similar characters with a lot of very similar lines) will reveal her mastery on inflection and subtle vocalisation to embody a character way beyond their dialogue. Anyone still under the illusion that voice acting is simply reading your lines, please see master Ogata’s work!

Good list isn’t it!?! I discover new voice talent all the time mind you. I’ll be watching a show and suddenly realize that the actor is doing fantastic work. And I’m always so happy when I discover a new favourite. So please, share yours with me!

that was a lot of pics to find….

  Top Five Voice Actresses in My Harem I've been promising this post for a while now. I did a voice actor version some time ago…

[hourzmanga]

JULY manga rec

hello all. i’m back and a little late.

Hanaoni Tobira no Sakaimeya-san: This series contains episodic stories of yokai and demons who visit a border shop in order to become acclimatized to the human world and meet the goal that they are seeking. Beautiful art and character design and i love my main characters ..

Haruka 17: A soon to be college graduate is desperately trying to find a job. Her search seems to be in vain until she has an interview at a small dingy office where she gets asked many probing questions and is even filmed. Confused, but going along with it, she is called back to be a talent at the agency rather than a manager like she wanted. However, despite her doubts, these circumstances drive her to improve and learn more as a model and actress, chasing her newfound dream. The art is sweet, the main girl is endearing and u just want the best for her, plus each character receives a lot of depth. I couldn’t stop reading!!

Kageno datte Seishun Shitai: Literally perfect manga it hits all my preferences PERFECTLY. After entering high school, the main character has found herself without friends. However, this changes when the handsome boy who sits next to her asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend so he can avoid the unwanted attention he keeps receiving from his female classmates. They begin their unlikely relationship as friends but as they become closer it becomes more.

Love, Hate, Love.: a former ballet dancer and current ballet teacher decides to depart from her current life. Never having had a serious relationship in her life, she pursues her older neighbor, a professor and patron at the bar where she works after her ballet classes. Sweet depictions of interesting characters who, though quite awkward, make up for it with honesty and earnestness. Same author as Butter! (another manga with dance involved—but ballroom instead) but this one definitely has a more mature angle (its Josei).

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun: A disadvantaged boy is sold by his parents to a demon for a pact. However, the demon wants to treat him as his grandson and send him to demon school. There, he makes new friends and succeeds with his unique human qualities. LOVE this, i immediately adored the concept and it’s loads of fun to read.

Majo to Neko no Hanashi: The stories of young witches who, upon turning thirteen, receive a cat and life companion who will help them find their way as witches. Delightful and SWEET.

Melancholia: Named for the asteroid that is coming ever closer to the earth and will decimate all humans living on it, this series of one shots examines the people (and non-people) living on Earth and what they choose to do in their final days. Lot of sweet stories and some strange and unsettling ones, with an unconventional view on impending doom. WARNING for pedophilia in second chapter.

Munakata Kyouju Ikouroku: Episodic chronicles of a professor who specializes in the history of iron, in Japan. Each chapter theorizes about the tangential connections between ancient stories and historical events, ultimately creating a whole new way of viewing not only history but also the modern day. Deals heavily with history so might be confusing if you don’t have any prior knowledge about like, Buddhism or Japanese history. Definitely would recommend having Wikipedia open. The main character also has the best look going on lol, definitely my type of character. But overall love the art and stories and how good it feels to know that you’re learning as you read.

Nekomata: A police officer who can also see nekomata, the spirits who observe the daily lives of the people that live in the houses they watch over.

Psychometrer/Psychometrer Eiji: The first is a rewrite of the second series. I found psychometrer eiji through the rewrite and was really really intrigued. The series are about a delinquent high schooler with the ability to touch objects and people and see select memories of where they have been. His power is discovered by a police officer who has him use his powers to assist her in her cases. I love the premise and the characters, although it often veers very typical shounen with like... boobies and panties and damsels in distress. I also like that the mysteries span several chapters and aren’t wrapped up in two or three chapters. Good amount of violence and blood, but not gratuitous imo. And pro tip: skip the chapters with the weird cop fetishist. not funny.

Seirei no Moribito: HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS. Like really, BIG recommend. This series centers on a woman working as a bodyguard who, by chance, saves the prince of the country she is traveling through. The prince has been possessed by the spirit of a water demon and the emperor and his associates have been attempting to assassinate the boy; however, this female bodyguard is hired by the empress to guard him and escape from the palace. When she does, she begins a journey fighting against palace hunters, supernatural beings, and more, all to protect the prince who carries something of great importance. The world building is super interesting and comes together piece by piece—from the two moons in the sky and the two worlds that exist side by side, everything is well thought out and executed beautifully. Also well written woman!!!! i’m in love w her..

Shounenshoujo Ryouryuuki: The stories of troubled teens that rely on fantastical and strange elements. The episodic stories join at the end and cleanly complete the series in a very satisfying and thought provoking way.

[docholligay]

princessofapples replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

The little saying, "blood is thicker than water"- people get that wrong. "Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." In a way, Rei already has her children. Her bar. Haruka and Mako. She may not have blood children, her water of the womb, but she certainly has her blood, her covenant, and her love for them is apparent, and she's no less motherly, queenly for it. And there's no doubt she can win.

EXACTLY. She had the things she needs to nurture and grow already with her bar and her idiot staff, which she will turn into adults whether they like it or not.

More replies below the cut--I could hot have predicted this would be one people would love but I’m so pleased!!

princessofapples replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

Of course, I also loved the past present and future line. But there was something that jumped out at me- Rei is drawn up as a queen, and we certainly always do tend to see Rei presented, perhaps, a little royally. She's commanding, haughty, intense, beautiful, elegant (?), in control. But in a way, Rei seems to me in this, more like a mother. Which is an interesting thought, given what Senator Hino says to her- "you, with a child."

A queen not only rules her kindgom but guides it and helps it grow, when a queen is good, and Rei, for all her faults, I would say is a good queen

yamadara87 replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

Your gift with character voices is never more evident then when you write these AUs. No matter what the setting, how you have each character speak is so well defined. This was fun and not only a great showcase for Rei, but also for Mako. Look forward to more of this AU.

Thank you! Jet requested this literally two years after I wrote it the first time aahah

skylineofspace replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

This was great, I'd absolutely love to see more from this setting. It's amazing how well you've built the foundation for this AU, it feels like a place that could really exist somewhere.

Thank you!! 

sailorsunspot replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

Rei cares in such a practical way. “Shut up and better yourself I DONT CARE”

“YOU ARE AN IDIOT ALSO I PACKED YOU A HEALTHY LUNCH” 

sailorsunspot replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

ALSO AGHHHHH MINA’s last call isso perfect i am SUCH A SLUT for a good AU my god

Mina’s sassy hot takes are literally my favorite part of writing her--she’s a character I can border on overclever dialogue with because she is so intelligent and quick. 

sailorsunspot replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

My fave line was about how “some knew the past, they all knew the present, but nobody knew the future”. Out was such a nice bit of description that flavoured the piece

Thank you!!

sailorsunspot replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

THIS WAS SO GOOD. Not to have feelings, butive been having a lot of weird dad things recently, and i felt a sort ofrighteous vindication in this. I loved how this was portrayed, i love how this was presented, i love it!

THANKS YOU a lot of people gave me a version of this comment, some off the fic itself, so I’m super glad it resonated with so many people! 

dancinginredshoes replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

Oh my perfect Mina <3 never ever ever change

She’s so beautiful and terrible

skylineofspace replied to your post “So a bunch of you asked for the Bar AU, which is officially I guess...”

This is a great piece, both hilarious and building a fantastic sense of depth to the world; it's always fascinating to watch you take these characters and rebuild them in different circumstances, so that we can see what really makes them tick

Thank you, it’s REALLY HARD. Any Au that sufficiently far from canon is basically an original story using stock characters we know, so it’s important to me to TRY and pull “what would they all be like if they were never senshi? what else might they do?” and pull it through whatever I have them do. 

tymp3st replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

Rei being the unquestioned queen of her realm is glorious, I fully support future senator Hino. Even more so the character interactions are, as always, super enjoyable.

Thank you!!

pouncequick replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

I love this. I love the way you write Rei and her father, I love Mako working to make sense of everything (or deciding it's not worth it), I love Rei stabbing Mina with a cocktail fork, I love Rei organizing everyone's lives for them in just her own way, and I am here for seeing Rei run against her father someday.

THANK YOU

madegeeky replied to your post “Happy Father’s Day, Senator Hino!”

This was beautiful and amazing and I love it.

Thank you so much!!