, known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and rakugoka affiliated with Gokū and 21st Century Fox. After making his voice acting debut in 1989 as the male version of Ranma Saotome in Ranma ½, Yamaguchi went on to other notable roles, including Inuyasha in Inuyasha and its sequel Yashahime, and L in Death Note. He currently voices Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kid in Case Closed, Usopp in One Piece and Teddie in Persona 4. He is married and has a son, Ryunosuke, and a daughter, Akane. Ryunosuke and Akane are also voice actors, while the latter is also a rakugoka.
Biography
Early life and education
Yamaguchi was born in Fukuoka. He graduated from Fukuoka's prefectural Chikuzen High School. In 1984, Yamaguchi moved to Tokyo and entered the Tokyo Announce University College, a vocational school training various performers from voice actors to singers to announcers or even reporters and dancers.
Background
Yamaguchi is the son of a carpenter father. He had been into anime as a child, but his interest lapsed in high school after joining a band.
He attended acting classes taught by Kaneta Kimotsuki, and soon joined his 21st Century Fox theater company. About a year after joining, he took the stage for the first time in a supporting role, and played the lead role of the boy detective in So Kitamura's "Odoriko ~THE DANCER MURDER CASE~".
Yamaguchi began working as a voice actor, voicing Ranma Saotome in Ranma ½.
Activities as a voice actor
He has appeared in numerous works in the fields of live-action dramas, animation, games, and foreign film dubbing. In anime, he specializes in playing lively children and young people. In the early 1990s, he also played low-key roles such as Eto in Record of Lodoss War and Gokujurota in Gale! Iron League.
In Case Closed, he plays Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kid. His favorite "Conan" episode is "Flying Locked Room Shinichi Kudo's First Incident".
In One Piece, he originally wanted to play the role of Monkey D. Luffy, the main character, and went to audition, but was unsuccessful. He decided to play the role of Usopp after receiving an offer. Yamaguchi has been reading the original manga since the beginning of the serialization, and couldn't imagine what kind of voice the character would have prior to getting the role.
Other ventures
In Japanese dubs of international works, Yamaguchi is the voice of Kyle Broflovski, Bugs Bunny, and Crash Bandicoot. He appeared in hentai and eroge as . After performing rakugo at an event in 2017, Yamaguchi started studying under Shirano Tatekawa. He uses the name as a rakugoka. and in Sakura-Con 2009. His third appearance to date has been at Animazement in 2010. He also made a fourth appearance in Hawaii at Kawaii Kon in 2011.
Yamaguchi won the individual seiyu award at the 2003 Tokyo International Anime Fair.
He established his own entertainment production company called Goku Co. Ltd., of which he is president.
In 2019, Yamaguchi won the Kei Tomiyama Award at the 13th Seiyu Awards.
Filmography
Anime series
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| 1989-92 || Ranma ½ || Ranma Saotome || Debut ||
|-
| Jungle King Tar-chan || Etekichi || ||
|-
| Red Baron || Ken Kurenai || ||
|-
| ' || Tasuke || ||
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1996 || Baby and Me || Takuya Enoki || ||
|-
| Brave Command Dagwon || Rai Utsumi || ||
|-
| Case Closed || Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| Cowboy Bebop || Rhint || Episode 10 ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000-01 || Baby Felix || Poindexter || ||
|-
| Gravitation || Sakuma Ryūichi || ||
|-
| Rumiko Takahashi Anthology || Intendant || ||
|-
| 2003-04 || Peacemaker Kurogane || Shinpachi Nagakura || ||
|-
| 2011 || Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera || Enma-kun || ||
|-
| 2012 || Hunter × Hunter || Feitan || ||
|-
| 2013 || Danganronpa: The Animation || Hifumi Yamada || ||
|-
| rowspan="5" | 2014 || Chō-Bakuretsu I-Jigen Menko Battle Gigant Shooter Tsukasa || Mendō Tsukasa || ||
|-
| Persona 4: The Golden Animation || Kuma (Teddie) || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2015 || Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace || Corpsey || ||
|-
| Rin-ne || Sabato Rokudō || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2016 || Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū || Amaken || ||
|-
| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable || Shigekiyo Yangu || ||
|-
| Nobunaga no Shinobi || Hideyoshi || ||
|-
| 2016-17 || Kamiwaza Wanda || Wanda || ||
|-
| 2017 || The Ancient Magus' Bride || Oberon || ||
|-
| 2018 || Radiant || Master Lord Majesty || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2019 || Vinland Saga || Jabbathe || ||
|-
| Zoids Wild || || Ep 21 ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2020 || Bofuri || Shin || ||
|-
| The Gymnastics Samurai || Bigbird Aragaki || ||
|-
| 2020-22 || Yashahime || Inuyasha || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2021 || Jujutsu Kaisen || Kechizu || ||
|-
| Odd Taxi || Kakihana || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2022 || JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean || Yo-Yo Ma || ||
|-
| Boruto || Ōga || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2024 || Bucchigiri?! || Komao || ||
|-
| Mechanical Arms || Yakumo || ||
|-
| Ranma ½ || Ranma Saotome || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2025 || Ishura Season 2 || Krafnir the Hatch of Truth || ||
|-
| Mechanical Marie || Old Man Carl || ||
|-
| 2026 || Daemons of the Shadow Realm || Hikaru "Hagure" Kagemori || ||
|}<!-- NEED SOURCE
| 2006-18 || The Adventures of Hello Kitty || Badtz-Maru || ||
| 2017 || Vierratime: Born Dragon Note! || Raka Cyril Damar || ||
-->
Original video animation
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| 1988 || Legend of the Galactic Heroes || Heinrich Lambertz || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1990 || 1+2=Paradise series || Yuusuke Yamamoto || ||
|-
| Ryokunohara Labyrinth: Sparkling Phantom || Kanata Tokino || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1990-91 || Record of Lodoss War || Etoh || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1995 || Vixens || Ujita || ||
|-
| Fire Emblem || Julian || ||
|-
| 2008 || Ranma: Akumu! Shunminkō || Ranma Saotome || ||
|-
| 2011 || Coicent || White deer || ||
|-
| 2021 || The Ancient Magus' Bride: The Boy From the West and the Knight of the Mountain Haze || Oberon || ||
|}<!-- Notability concerns
| 1994 || Oira Uchū no Tankōfu || Ushiwaka Nanbu || ||
-->
Anime films
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| 1989 || Kiki's Delivery Service || Tombo || ||
|-
| 1992 || Ranma ½: Nihao My Concubine || ||
|-
| 1994 || Ranma ½: One Flew Over the Kuno's Nest || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1996 || Gokinjo Monogatari || Tsutomu Yamaguchi || ||
|-
| Kindaichi Shōnen no Jikenbo || Hajime Kindaichi || Only this first film ||
|-
| 1997 || Case Closed: The Time Bombed Skyscraper || rowspan="2" | Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| 1998 || Case Closed: The Fourteenth Target || ||
|-
| 1999 || Case Closed: The Last Wizard of the Century || Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid || ||
|-
| 2000 || Case Closed: Captured in Her Eyes || Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| 2000-09<br/>2011-12<br/>2016 || One Piece series || Usopp || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2001 || Doraemon: Nobita and the Winged Braves || Tobio || ||
|-
| Case Closed: Countdown to Heaven || rowspan="2" | Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2002 || Case Closed: The Phantom of Baker Street || ||
|-
| A Tree of Palme || Roualt || ||
|-
| Bonobono: Kumomo no Ki no Koto || Araiguma-kun || ||
|-
| 2003 || Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital || Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2004 || Dead Leaves || Retro || ||
|-
| Detective Conan: Magician of the Silver Sky || Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid || ||
|-
| 2005 || Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths || Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2006 || Dōbutsu no Mori || Fūta the Owl || ||
|-
| Detective Conan: The Private Eyes' Requiem || Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid || ||
|-
| 2007 || Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure || rowspan="3" | Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| 2008 || Detective Conan: Full Score of Fear || ||
|-
| 2009 || Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2010 || Omae Umasou da na || Heart || ||
|-
| Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky || Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid || ||
|-
| 2011 || Detective Conan: Quarter of Silence || rowspan="2" | Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2012 || Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker || ||
|-
| Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning || Robin || ||
|-
| Asura || || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2013 || Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie || Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid || ||
|-
| Detective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea || rowspan="2" | Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| 2014 || Detective Conan: Dimensional Sniper || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2015 || Anata o Zutto Aishiteru || Barudo || ||
|-
| The Boy and the Beast || Jirōmaru – teen || ||
|-
| Detective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno || Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid || ||
|-
| 2016 || Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare || Shinichi Kudo || ||
|-
| 2019 || Case Closed: The Fist of Blue Sapphire || Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kid || ||
|-
| 2022 || Odd Taxi: In the Woods || Kakihana || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2025 || Cute High Earth Defense Club Eternal Love! || Aye-aye || ||
|-
| Dive in Wonderland || White Rabbit || ||
|}
Web animation
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| 2008 || Ikuze! Gen-san || Genzō Tamura || ||
|-
| 2022 || JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean || Yo-Yo Ma || ||
|-
| Ressha Sentai ToQger Vs. Kamen Rider Gaim Spring Vacation Combining Special || ||
|-
| Heisei Rider vs. Shōwa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai || ||
|-
| Ressha Sentai ToQger the Movie: Galaxy Line S.O.S. || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2015 || Ressha Sentai ToQger vs. Kyoryuger: The Movie || ||
|-
| They Went and Came Back Again Ressha Sentai ToQGer: Super ToQ 7gou of Dreams || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2016 || Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. ToQger the Movie: Ninja in Wonderland || || ||
|-
| Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger || Illusion || Ep. 22 ||
|}
<!-- NEED SOURCE
| 1998 || Godzilla Island || Dogora || ||
| 1998 || Tetsuwan Tantei Robotack || Torabolt || ||
| 1999 || Moero!! Robocon || Robopachi || ||
| 2003 || Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon || Artemis || ||
| 2004 || Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger || Thousanian Gineka || ||
| 2010 || Tensou Sentai Goseiger || Marloid Ain-I of the Neutral (Coro) || ||
| 2013 || Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger || Chief Clerk Blu-ray, Chief Edito HVD || ||
| 2014 || Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters: The Great Dinosaur Battle! Farewell Our Eternal Friends || ToQger Equipment Voice || ||
| 2014 || Heisei Rider vs. Shōwa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai || ToQger Equipment Voice || ||
| 2014 || Ressha Sentai ToQger the Movie: Galaxy Line S.O.S. || Narrator, ToQger Equipment Voice, Ticket || ||
---->
Video games
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| 1985 || Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II || Arios || ||
|-
| 1990 || Ranma ½ || Ranma Saotome (Male) || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2020 || Final Fantasy VII Remake || Red XIII || ||
|-
| One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 || rowspan="2" | Usopp || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2023 || One Piece Odyssey || ||
|-
| Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis || rowspan="2" | Red XIII || ||
|-
| 2025 || Shuten Order || Arale || ||
|}<!-- NEED SOURCE
| 2017 || Striveshoot Generations || Raka Cyril Damar || ||
| 2018 || Yakuza Kiwami 2 || Fake Shinji || ||
-->
Drama CD
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| 2007 || Devil May Cry Volume 2 || Peter Pan || Episode 1: "Devil's Neverland - Peter Pan ||
|-
| 2015 || ' || Panda-shachou || ||
|}
Dubbing roles
Live-action
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Dub year !! Title !! Role !! Original actor !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| 2003 || 2004 || Agent Cody Banks || rowspan="2" | Cody Banks || rowspan="2" | Frankie Muniz || ||
|-
| 2004 || 2005 || Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London || ||
|-
| 2005 || 2008 || Charlie and the Chocolate Factory || Mike Teavee || Jordan Fry || NTV edition ||
|-
| 2008 || 2011 || 10,000 BC || Baku || Nathanael Baring || TV Asahi edition ||
|-
| 2009 || 2009 || Dragonball Evolution || Goku || Justin Chatwin || ||
|-
| 2012-13 || 2012 || Smash || Tom Levitt || Christian Borle || ||
|-
| 2017 || 2017 || Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back || The King || Bao Bei'er || ||
|-
| 2019 || 2021 || Vivarium || Tom || Jesse Eisenberg || ||
|-
| 2023 || 2023 || Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania || Veb || David Dastmalchian || ||
|-
| 2023-present || 2023 || One Piece || Usopp || Jacob Romero Gibson || ||
|}
<!--NEED SOURCE
| 1987-1992 || Growing Pains, Benjamin "Ben" Hubert Horatio Humphrey Seaver || Jeremy Miller || Seasons 5–7 ||
| 1993-1999 || Star Trek: Deep Space Nine || Nog || Aron Eisenberg || ||
| 1995-00 || Boy Meets World || Cory Matthews || Ben Savage || Seasons 3–7 ||
| 2001 || Dr. Dolittle 2 || Archie the Bear || Steve Zahn || ||
| 2005 || Initial D || Itsuki Takeuchi || Chapman To || ||
| 2006 || Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties || Garfield || Bill Murray || ||
-->
Animation
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Original actor !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
| 1960-89 || The Bugs Bunny Show || Bugs Bunny || Mel Blanc || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1982-1983 || rowspan="2" | Shirt Tales || Leknid || Episode: "Shirt Napped" || ||
|-[
| Sparky || Episode: "Kip's Dragon" || ||
|-
| 1993-15 || VeggieTales || Larry the Cucumber || Mike Nawrocki || ||
|-
| 1995 || A Goofy Movie || Max Goof || Jason Marsden || ||
|-
| 1996 || Space Jam || Bugs Bunny || Billy West || ||
|-
| 1996-99 || Beast Wars: Transformers || Rattrap || Scott McNeil || ||
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1997-present || rowspan="4" | South Park || Kyle || rowspan="2" | Matt Stone || WOWOW dub ||
|-
| Kyle Broflovski, Craig Tucker || ||
|-
| Jimmy Valmer, Clyde Donovan, Dougie || Trey Parker || ||
|-
| Sixth Grade Leader || Rochelle Lefler || ||
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000 || An Extremely Goofy Movie || Max Goof || Jason Marsden || ||
|-
| Tweety's High-Flying Adventure || Bugs Bunny || Joe Alaskey || ||
|-
| 2000-05 || Sealab 2021 || Stormy || Ellis Henican || ||
|-
| 2001-03 || House of Mouse || Max Goof || Jason Marsden || ||
|-
| 2002-04 || Baby Looney Tunes || Baby Bugs Bunny || Samuel Vincent || ||
|-
| 2003 || Looney Tunes: Back In Action || Bugs Bunny || Joe Alaskey || ||
|-
| 2004 || Justice League Unlimited || Booster Gold || Tom Everett Scott || ||
|-
| 2004-07 || Maya & Miguel || Tito Chavez || Candi Milo || ||
|-
| 2005 || Madagascar || Mort || Andy Richter || ||
|-
| 2007-09 || Transformers Animated || Jetfire, Rattle Trap || Tom Kenny || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2008 || A Matter of Loaf and Death || Baker Bob || Ben Whitehead || ||
|-
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa || Mort || Andy Richter || ||
|-
| The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie || Sedgewick || Phil Vischer || ||
|-
| 2009-11 || Poppets Town || Blooter || Cory Doran || ||
|-
| 2010-19 || My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic || Snips || Lee Tockar || ||
|-
| 2011 || Rio || Blu || Jesse Eisenberg || ||
|-
| 2011-14 || The Looney Tunes Show || Bugs Bunny || Jeff Bergman || ||
|-
| 2012 || Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted || Mort || Andy Richter || ||
|-
| 2012-17 || Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles || Michelangelo || Greg Cipes || ||
|-
| 2013 || My Little Pony: Equestria Girls || rowspan="2" | Snips || rowspan="2" | Lee Tockar || ||
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2014 || My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Rainbow Rocks || ||
|-
| Penguins of Madagascar || Mort || Andy Richter || ||
|-
| Rio 2 || Blu || Jesse Eisenberg || ||
|-
| 2018-19 || Tinpo || Logipo || Keith Wickham || ||
|-
| 2019-22 || Amphibia || Hop Pop || Bill Farmer || ||
|-
| 2019-present || Helluva Boss || Moxxie || Richard Steven Horvitz || ||
|-
| 2021 || Space Jam: A New Legacy || Bugs Bunny || Jeff Bergman || ||
|-
| 2022 || The Bad Guys || Professor Marmalade || Richard Ayoade || ||
|}
Commercials
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Company !! Role !! class="unsortable" | Note !! class="unsortable" | Ref
|-
|| Burger King || Narrator || Japanese || ||
|-
| M&M's || Red M&M || Japanese; original voice by Billy West || ||
|}
Discography
Audio dramas
- 20 Mensou Ni Onegai! (1990<!--21 June-->), Victor VICL-3001
- "Kon'ya ha April Fool" (1991<!--21 Jan-->), Pony Canyon – Ranma ½ character single as Ranma Saotome (male)
- "Otousan" (1991<!--21 Jan--->), Pony Canyon – Ranma ½ as Ranma Saotome (male), sings "China kara no Tegami" with Megumi Hayashibara
- "Characters Christmas" (1991<!--21 Jan-->), Pony Canyon – Ranma ½ as Ranma Saotome (male)
- "Ranma to Akane no Ballad" (1993<!--6 Oct-->), Pony Canyon – Ranma ½ as Ranma Saotome (male)
- "Unbalance City" (1996<!--20 July-->), Nippon Columbia – COCC-13586
- Twinbeee Paradise Nesshou! Vocal Battle Hen (1994<!--21 April-->) – Twinbeee Paradise
- Fancy Lala Final Best Selection (1998<!--16 Dec-->) – Fancy Lala album
- Shouwa Hit Studio (2011<!--6 July-->), Enma-kun – Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera
- Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star 2nd ED (2006)
<!-- Unsourced/Not RS
- A Boy (1991) - Futureland/Youmex, TYCY-5185
- Code Name wa Charmer (1991), Yuuji Nonaka – Bandai/Apollon, BCCM-6
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam (1995), Sai Saici - character song: "China Shuffle", with Argo Gulskii
- "Joujou Kibun Kouyou" (1995), Chichiri - Fushigi Yūgi character song
- Mini-Best (1995) - Meldac/Nippon Crown, MECH-18004
- Twinbee Paradise 2 Sound Fantasia (1995<--21 Jan), Konami – KICA-7652<span style="display:none;">MusicBrainz</span>
- Twinbee Paradise 3: Vocal Bomb! (1995), Light - Konami, KICA-7761
- Equal Striver (1996), Shadow Skill V - with Akio Matsuoka, Star Child, KICA-310
- Gravitation Sound Story III (2004), Ryuichi Sakuma – character song: "Predilection"
- "Aoki Yasei O Daite" (2005), InuYasha character single
- One Piece: Character Song Carnival!! (2005), Usopp
- Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Character Song Series: Gash with Best Friends (2005), Danny – character song: "Boy..."
- Neo Angelique ~My First Lady~ (2006), René
- Law of Ueki – The Law of Songs! (2007), Hideyoshi Souya – character song: Hattari!
- One Piece Song Collection: Lies Come True (2017), Usopp
-->
Radio shows
- Pure Pure Island (aired for a month in 1998 as a tie-in with the anime series Fancy Lala and was co-hosted with J-pop singer Reiko Ōmori who was also the voice actress who voiced Miho Shinohara)
- Hiroi Ouji's Maruten Cha Cha Cha! (ongoing, co-hosted with voice actress Chisa Yokoyama and Sakura Taisen creator Ohji Hiroi)
Awards
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Result
|-
| 2019
| 13th Seiyu Awards
| Kei Tomiyama Memorial Award
|
|-
|}
References
External links
- Official agency profile at Gekidan21 Seiki Fox
- Kappei Yamaguchi at GamePlaza-Haruka Voice Acting Database
- seiyuu.info