Tuesday, September 07, 2010

This Fall's Busiest Seiyuus: Hayami Saori, Taketatsu Ayana, Yuuki Aoi

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I've been a big fan of Yuuki Aoi for the past year or so, and of Hayami Saori for 2-3 years. Now it appears that anime producers have become fans, too.

Those two and Taketatsu Ayana are the busiest of all seiyuus this fall. Left to right: Hayami Saori (age 19), Taketatsu Ayana (21), Yuuki Aoi (18).

 
Each of these three young seiyuus will be in five new TV series this fall. And that doesn't count OVAs: Saorin has roles in three OVAs, Ayachi 2, and Ao-chan one.

Both Hayami and Taketatsu work for I"m Enterprise, one of the two big sister agencies involved in a roles-for-sex scandal a few years ago. One of the seiyuus with four roles also works for I"m Enterprise: Yahagi Sayuri (age 23).

There was talk recently that Ayachi had surpassed Saorin as the young seiyuu I"m Enterprise was promoting most. Now it appears they are promoting them both pretty well. 

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Seiyuu Yuuki Aoi -- Dai Maou Took My "First"

"Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maou was the show that took my 'first'," jokes seiyuu Yuuki Aoi. As Korone in Dai Maou, she had to make a little sound like someone having sex. It took instruction from older seiyuus before she could get it right.

Ao-chan was speaking August 20 as host of an awards ceremony for Hobby Japan light novels. Dai Maou was based on a Hobby Japan title, as is her current show, Hyakka Ryouran - Samurai Girls.

Ao-chan said that her character in Hyakka Ryouran, Yagyuu Juubei, is very cute, but her charm comes even more from what a cool person she is. "I've fallen in love with her," she laughed. "She's like a big puppy dog that everyone loves."

"At recording sessions, since I'm the youngest, everyone is always petting and comforting me. Kotobuki Minako is the same age as me, only a few months older, but she does it, too." The report on animate.tv website says that with stories like these, Ao-chan created a nice atmosphere at the event.

Hyakka Ryouran will not start until October, but there was a preview broadcast of episode one Friday night. Ao-chan's character made only a brief appearance, but within a few seconds, she had given us two quite different voices, both new voices for Ao-chan.

Here is a combined clip of the two voices Ao-chan uses in this episode: first, the voice she uses when her character, Yagyuu Juubei, is in her unawakened form, falling naked from the sky; and then there is a bit of her after she has transformed into her real form of a fully-accoutered woman warrior. The warrior Juubei says: "I am Yagyuu Juubei," in a completely different, rich and resonant voice:

Seiyuu Yuuki Aoi's Favorite Music

In her blog post on Friday, Yuuki Aoi revealed some of her own favorite music: Radwimps and SuzukiP.

She wrote that she recently spent a long time drawing on the computer with a pen tablet, something she hadn't been able to do for a while. She refused to show us any of what she had done, but said she drew so much it blunted the tip of the pen.

She said she put on her current favorite music and just started drawing. She says her favorites have changed since she started in college. "I wonder why." The two groups she named were the smart romantic pop of Radwimp and the imaginative Vocaloid music of SuzukiP.

Here is one selection of SuzukiP's music, and here is a selection of his Vocaloid work. Such as the audio behind this: