Seiyuu Appreciation 101

This is largely for Kagamisumi’s sake, so he’d better be taking notes ‘cos there’s a quiz coming up at the end of the post.

First and foremost, to appreciate a seiyuu, we’ve got to recognize her voice. I say “her” because, seriously, who gives a damn about the guys?

Let’s warm up with a really simple example.

Noto Mamiko, otherwise known as mamimami on this blog and everywhere else, is a good starter seiyuu, for the simple fact that she sounds the same.

In. Every. Single. Show.

The best way to start is to compare these fairly recent examples (you’ve got to go watch the shows yourself, no clips):

Enma Ai (Jigoku Shoujo)
Ichinose Kotomi (Clannad)
Yakumo (School Rumble)
Hecate (Shakugan no Shana)
Kazama Shinji (Full Metal Panic)

After watching these shows, you will most probably find that mamimami has one of the most recognizable voices in anime. Come to think of it, mamimami’s was one of the first seiyuu voices I managed to recognize. Playing “Spot the Noto Mamiko” was quite fun for a while.

If I had to put it in words, I would say mamimami’s roles are characterized by that very distinct airy wispiness, a quality she injects into her singing as well. (Apparently, she enjoys singing that way. The interview is somewhere on ANN.)

Interestingly enough, her voice loses 90% of the wispiness once she’s in spontaneous fast-talking mode. We are able to observe this phenomenon on radio shows and in interviews. Go figure. Here’s a clip from Witchblade Radio showcasing both the ghostly singing and non whispy fast-talk. Click here for clip. The other female voice belongs to her co-host Kanda Akemi.

Alright.

Now that we can recognise mamimami’s voice, the next step is to recognize her in photos, because appreciating (i.e. ogling) them is a big part of seiyuu fanboying.

The one on the left is mamimami. She’s got her hair pulled back in a (delicious) ponytail right here, but she does appear with her hair down quite often, in which case she would remind me of a French poodle. I think the first pic up there is a good example of the poodle look. Good pose too.

Notice I have sneaked Rierie into this post, because we can use every excuse we can get to upload pics of Rierie.

Ok, Quiz Time.

1) Name the following seiyuu.

If you can do it, congrats. You have passed Seiyuu Appreciation 101 with flying colours.

If you can’t, please go watch both very boring seasons of Jigoku Shoujo as homework.