Voice acting in Japan

Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs.

In Japan, and actresses have devoted fan clubs due to a crossover with the idol industry, and some fans may watch a show or play a game merely to hear a particular voice actor. Many voice actors have concurrent singing careers and have also crossed over to live-action media.

There are around 130 voice acting schools in Japan. Broadcast companies and talent agencies often have their own troupes of vocal actors. Magazines focusing specifically on voice acting are published in Japan, with Voice Animage being the longest-running.

The term character voice (abbreviated CV) has been commonly used since the 1980s by such Japanese anime magazines as ' and Newtype to describe a voice actor associated with a particular anime or game character.

Definition and role

A provides voice-overs for characters and narration for various types of media, including anime, video games, audio dramas, live-action stunt and puppet shows, and commercials. A voice actor also provides dubbing for non-Japanese television programs and films. The initial term for voice actors in Japan was , but was later shortened to a compound word to make the word . While several voice actors opposed the term, believing it devalued their roles as actors, only after voice acting became more prominent did the word become more widespread.

There are three main factors that set voice actors and traditional actors apart:

Their professional upbringing by the , formed by NHK and other private networks during the golden age of radio.
The lack of Japan-made movies and dramas forced TV networks to air foreign shows, which raised demand for voice actors.
The boom in the anime world market, which produced a wave of young talents who wanted to become voice actors, rather than traditional actors.

History

Voice acting has existed in Japan since the advent of radio. It was only in the 1970s that the term seiyū entered popular usage because of the anime Space Battleship Yamato. According to a newspaper interview with a voice talent manager, "Since the Yamato boom, the word 'seiyū' has become instantly recognised; before that, actors and actresses who introduced themselves as seiyū were often asked, 'You mean you work for Seiyu supermarket? After the , the Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) began public broadcasting. Among these new broadcasts were several radio dramas, such as the 1952 drama ', which would receive several adaptations on film, television, and stage due to its popularity. This period also saw a gradual split of anime voice actors from their roots in theater. With the rise of voice-actor-specific training centers and audio-only productions, voice actors could start their careers working full time without any association to a broadcasting theater company. The term "seiyu" emerged to describe these voice actors who focused solely on voicing for anime productions. BS Zelda no Densetsu was identified by Nintendo as the world's first integrated radio-game.

2000–present: Idol and real-life crossovers

During the mid-to-late 2000s, voice acting talents began crossing over with the Japanese idol industry. Prominent examples include Aya Hirano, Koharu Kusumi, and Nana Mizuki, all of whom were established actors or singers in mainstream entertainment before entering voice acting. Over the mid-to-late 2010s, multimedia projects where the voice actors would appear as their characters in real life became popular, such as The Idolmaster and Love Live! The magazine Seiyū Grand Prix noted that over 1,500 voice actors were active in 2021, compared to 370 voice actors (145 men and 225 women) in 2001.

Voice acting in Japan

Definition and role

History

2000–present: Idol and real-life crossovers

See also

References

Sources

External links