What You Need to Know:
- Masako Nozawa has etched a very special place for herself in the world of seiyuu. She rose to fame when she voiced Goku and Gohan in the popular world mega-hit Dragonball Z. She is still the voice of Goku and Gohan in the currently airing Dragonball Super.
- Recently she was at an interview with Fumi Hirano, who rose to fame when she voiced Lum from Urusei Yatsura. They were discussing the current industry of seiyuu when they started to talk about very specfically about seiyuu and the roles that they take on and perform. Read below.
- Hirano: "There are these cute girls who are also performing as idols and they are being watched. Then, on TV they show these girls as not "actresses" but "seiyuu", and this is what young children see and aspire to be. Furthermore, they go and see these idols perform in works specifically geared for idols which means that the next generation has less and less to choose from....Young children watch anime. They then imitate the things they see in anime which then creates a copy of a copy of a copy. By doing this (and lacking originality) the future roles and performances that they can give are becoming smaller and smaller."
- Nozawa: "Sometimes when I am in our office, I will be asked by kouhai (younger employees) "How can I become a seiyuu that stands on their own??" And I always respond "Just look around and pay attention to your surroundings. By doing so, you will be able to observe others and increase your own abilities. This is what is important. The younger generation is not creating anything new, but rather just copying the roles that they have seen others create and it's really a waste." "
Source: Yaraon
Reactions Around the Web
This.... This is so on point.
All current seiyuu suck. They are as bad as Aya Hirano.
Mamiko Noto's copy is Saori Hayami and her copy is... etc. It keeps going on and on.
This makes me sad about how true this is.
There are really only about 3 good seiyuu these days.
Oh... wow... she really let them have it with that... That was SAVAGE. But... one some level, you have to agree with what she says. It is better to be original than a copy.
'Apply cold water to the burn directly'. That was no joke. I agree though! Originality is always more fun than a carbon copy!
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