[Rin on...] Anime Voice Actors

     This is a journey concerning two specific voice actors, and how much fun it is to trace one voice actor through all those animes you've watched, full of "Oh shit! That was him?!" moments. Moreover, this is about how much of a weeaboo I really am, if you ever doubted it before. I follow my mind and wikipedia biographies through J. Michael Tatum and Christopher Patton's work. Step in, enjoy the ride, and remember, keep your arms and feet inside at all times. Otherwise they'll be ripped off due to the G-force of my nerdy awesomeness.




     So let's begin this voyage through my mental process. Here, take my hand. I'll be your guide. Let me begin by saying looking up voice actors freaks me out sometimes. I'm self-diagnosed with minor OCD, so if I'm watching a show and recognize a voice, I can't continue on with my life until I know where he or she is from. You can see where this would get me in trouble, considering my watching hobbies of anime and b-rated Japanese horrors and Korean mind-benders, and thrillers by Fruit-Chan. Oh, wait, there are other Chinese directors. My bad. So, this journey begins when I had another one of my "Where do I know that voice from!?" moments.

Hirasawa is fairly adorable,
though he's no Sebby.

     Get this mental process: What did I watch fairly recently? I knew I'd watched something that had a familiar voice actor but had, god forbid, forgotten to look him up. This would be the start of a long journey. So I ask myself, what could it have been? Okay, Eden of the East and The Place Promised in Our Early Days. Started with former. Okay, I wasn't looking for main characters, I knew that much.
     Let's try Hirasawa, the defacto leader of Eden of the East in the anime. Pretty great character. Here's the trailer by the way. His voice was probably the one I had found familiar. A few clicks of a keyboard later... I had my answer. FREAKING SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS! That would be a character from Black Butler, and possibly my dream demon man. Herp derp, right? How could I ever forget those sultry tones? I shouldn't neglect to mention that Eden of the East made a movie as part II, and I suggest you watch it after you finish season 1 of the anime, because that's naturally what you're going to do, right? It really is a pretty excellent anime. More light-hearted than what I normally watch, but the characters are excellent and loveable and the storyline is perfectly convoluted as only the Japanese can do. Here's the trailer to the part II movie as well.

Very nice, Mr. McGuire.

     This voice actor's name is J. Michael Tatum, and I heard his lovely voice not too long ago whilst watching Phantom: Requiem of the Phantom, which I don't want to talk about because the ending was the biggest cock-block I've ever seen. Actually, you might as well slam a raging hard-on in a car door about a hundred times. That's about how it felt watching the ending of that anime. Anyways, Mr. Tatum played Raymond McGuire, who was also quite an entertaining character. He was no Sebastian though. :cough:butthat'simpossible:cough: He was nonetheless a memorable character, especially as far as minor characters in animes go. There's a few occasions where you see him naked in a hot-tub sipping on champagne. Like a boss.
     As a heads up, I should let you know that I will likely blog about one or two or all of these animes at a later date. Okay, in fairness, probably just my favorites. Though likely, you'll get plenty of my opinions from this blog. Maybe too many. I don't think I care. Just know by the end of it you'll know how much of a nerd I really, really am. You could even say... foreveralone.jpg
     Let's continue on with our journey.

Jiro, sans fugly hat.

     Okay, so who else did this Tatum fellow voice? Oh, what's that? Jiro Mochizuki!? He's the main character in Black Blood Brothers. One thing to say about this anime: Don't judge this book by its cover. I saw the DVD art and said "No sir, no thankyou." A friend of mine got watch it, however, and I was pleasantly surprised. And in all honesty? My biggest problem with this entire anime, no joke, was Jiro's hat. I hate it with every bone in my body. Horrible fashion sense! I paid heed not to find a picture where he's wearing it. I would be tempted to punch my laptop in its face, and I'm sure you would too. You're welcome. You can send me a check for the money I just saved you.
      Though, Jiro isn't my favorite character in the show [sorry Sebastian's voice-actor]. I mean, don't get me wrong, he was an enjoyable character, able to kick some ass when he needed to. Oh, did I mention they're all vampires? Probably should have mentioned that earlier. Don't worry, they don't glitter.

Zelmin. <3

     But Rin, you were going to tell us your favorite character! Oh, never fear my children, I shall. It's none other than the lovely 900 year old Zelman Clock! Great character. I mean, just watch this video. Skip to 2mins. You can see him kick some children in the face and then smoke a cigarette. Yeah, you heard right. He SMOKES. How can you not love that? He also goes by Crimson-Eye Zelmin. Mostly because he can like, summon massive balls of fire or some shit. I don't know. It's fucking cool. Don't judge me.

     So, Tatum, aka Sebastian, also voices Komui Lee from D.Gray Man. If you watch that OP, you'll totally notice that Abingdon Boys School does the first OP song, called Innocent Sorrow. Oh whoops, was that a link to the video? Anyways, Komoi is one of those really ridiculous, spastic characters, hence my appropriate picture.
     Tatum also voiced Erwin Leszal, some minor character in Kaze No Stigma, which by the way, is a really horrendous anime that I've watched two seasons of just because the main guy character is such an asshole and says the funniest shit. Also, the intro, which starts with "Eyes the color of an azure sky!" always cracked me the hell up. You'd have to see it. Okay, after like twenty minutes of searching for the opening in English dub, I gave up. Here's the first half of the first episode though, just watch it for the opening. If you don't laugh you're boring.
     Tatum also voices Ihika, some minor character from Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne and Harris Barnum, a minor character in Darker Than Black. Okay, can't resist the opportunity to post a picture of Hei. Darker Than Black is absolutely fantastic, and is up there in my favorite animes ever, no joke. Season 1 is on Netflix, btwwwww. Go freaking watch it. If you don't you're seriously, seriously missing out. Here's an excellent trailer for Darker Than Black. Hell, the music could get you hooked.

Hei. <3 Look at those dead eyes.

     Tatum also voiced the obnoxious, obnoxious Rikichi from Samurai 7, the anime. Now, other than this guy, can I say great anime. Grade A, Five-Stars, all that. Fucking watch it. It's very, very loosely based on Seven Samurai, the cult classic. Just don't be surprised when giant robots show up, mhmkay? Now, one thing I will say, and it's been said about Darker Than Black too, is do not get attached. Lots and lots of characters die in this one. Trailer, watch it, get hooked.

Seriously, fuck this guy.

     Next up we have Seigen Irako, from Shigarui, another one of my favorite animes. In fact, all personal preference aside, this is probably one of the greatest, most beautiful animes of all time. I'm not exaggerating. Slow moving, so if you're a child with no attention span, don't bother. The gore is life-like and gruesome, and unrelenting. The character Tatum voices, Irako, is one of the easiest characters to hate I've ever encountered. Just when you think it can't get worse, it does, and you find yourself actually, genuinely hating this guy. Yeah, watch the trailer. Gorgeous, culture-rich, and without a doubt, mandatory.

     Tatum voices Katsuya Shirogane, a relatively minor character from Speed Grapher. He's a real fucking creeper, I'll tell you that. He's the guy in the rubber suit if you watch the trailer. Also, Suleyman from Trinity Blood. And that's about all the characters I could immediately recognize that Tatum voiced.
     As you can see, one name can take you on a journey that in a sleep-deprived state could take you hours to chronicle. Lucky for you, I've already done all the hard work. Now, we approach part two of this wonderful adventure.

It was all for you, Sebastian. <3

     Having discovered all the recognizable characters Tatum has voiced, I felt calm, relieved, content. It set me at ease for a brief moment. Then, Johnathan, my darling brother, stated that it was in fact someone from The Place Promised in Our Early Days that had had me raging at the TV. So, I set out on yet another internet adventure, trying to piece together my memory.

     I started with the main character after watching the trailer again to get the voices in my short-term memory. He had a very familiar voice, something I'd likely heard a million times. This anime, which, upon reflection, was actually pretty good. I'll probably blog about it later. The score is phenomenal, the characters, again, amazing. This is a movie, not a series, so you don't have to dedicate a week or so to finish it. The story is a little convoluted, even giving us one of my favorite things ever: A time jump. Riddled with politics and even some, believe it or not, loose quantum mechanics. I'd suggest giving it a watch.
     The main character's name is Hiroki Fujisawa, and is voiced by none other than Chris Patton. I looked up who else this Chris Patton fellow has voiced. "Where do I know that voice from?" I asked. Wikipedia allowed me to rephrase that question... Where don't I know that voice from?!

     First off, Ikki from Air Gear!? I haven't watched that show in forever. Here's a really corny trailer for the series, season one. Not too much gore or a super-heavy plot, but it is nonetheless worth a watch. I can say that the story starts out simple and then gets a bit more complicated. I kind of miss that show, to be honest, and am thinking about getting back into it. Seeing it turn up in my search kind of sent me down memory lane.      Moving along. Apparently he voiced a minor flashback-only character, Tomoo, from Elfen Lied. Which, by the way, was a sick anime. Lovely amounts of gore. Weird storyline. Here's the trailer, you can judge for yourself. I don't know why it has House in a Heartbeat from 28 Days Later soundtrack, especially considering the score for that show was already good. Here's a shorter trailer that has one of the tracks from the actual show in it.
     Scrolling down through Patton's bio, a light bulb finally went off. THIS WAS IT! Freaking Sousuke Sagara from Full Metal Panic! That was it! Sousuke is a main character in FMP, which explains the flashbulb memory. He's a great character in an alright show. Socially awkward and yet totally badass. Gotta love that type. Well, I won't say it's just alright, I don't really know. I'd only seen a few episodes here and there, but they finally put Season 1 up on Netflix, so I'll probably watch it. If only I can force my way through the cheesy first few episodes. Here's the OP since all the trailers I found sucked.

Sousuke Sagara.

     Sated now that I had figured out the cause of my anxiety while watching The Place Promised in Our Early Days, I languidly continued to scroll through Patton's bio. Apparently, he wasn't done yet. He voiced Nishi, who you'll remember from Season 1 of Gantz. Freaking psychopath.

Jō, left, and Jin, right.

    Oh, but that's not all! Patton also voiced darling, darling Jō Katsuragi from Innocent Venus. Again, here's the trailer. I hadn't even thought about Innocent Venus since it broke my heart two years ago. Not only does it have a gut-wrenching twist, but it's one of those god-awful bittersweet endings. It's not really a happy ending, which I hate, but it was just happy and just sad enough to depress me. Oh, those were the days.

     Right after that flashback, I had yet another. Jinki Extend, what?! It was just a minor character, but still, sent me down memory lane for that anime. I don't much remember Jinki Extend, except that it involved mechs and a mind-fuck. It also had two different, intertwining timelines involving two main characters. Ah, it's starting to come back to me now. Yeah. Mindfuck. Happy ending if I recall correctly though.

     Okay, next character I recognized is a little embarrassing, since I have to admit I've seen the anime he's from. His name is Narugami, better known as Thor. Yeah, he's from Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok. Worst part is I actually enjoyed it. It takes Norse mythology to a place it probably never should have gone. I won't even try and explain that one. I'm just going to move on.

     Next recognizable character was Agito, from Origin: Spirits of the Past. It was an anime movie, not a series, and was pretty good I suppose. Charming, endearing, and of course a little weird. Let's just say dragon-plants-from-the-moon. I'm not kidding. The environmentalist undertones got a little heavy at times, but it wasn't hard to overlook them. This movie is an easy watch, if anything, and entertaining. Johnathan loved it. I suppose if I were a normal person I'd call it heartwarming. However, I'm still mad [Spoiler!] they killed off my favorite character.

     Then, I stumbled across Ayato Kamina, from RahXephon. This was a weird, weird anime that I only got a few episodes into. Unfortunately it's not on Netflix as I would have watched it by now. It's got mechs, yeah, I know, like that hasn't been done before. They take an entirely new spin on it though, and I still haven't made up my mind on quite what to make of it. The show is weird, trust me, and not exactly in a bad way. In fact, I demand you watch this trailer to better grasp what I mean when I say weird. Get on it. The music was pretty great too if I remember correctly.

     Noticed another familiar name, Oboro from Utawarerumono. Yeah, try pronouncing that. This was another anime I only got a few episodes into, though I may start watching it again. It's kind of adorable with lots of people with animal ears. Perfect fodder for furries, ehhhh?

     Patton also voiced J.C. from Red Garden, Asura from Soul Eater, Daijirou Matsumura from This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (another weird one), Enderles Kudza from Trinity Blood, and oh, OH!!!

Kureha.

     Someone from Tokyo Majin!!! And not just anyone, adorable Kureha of the Martial Fist. What an excellent character to find in my quest. Kureha wasn't my favorite character, but he was up there. He's just so pretty.

     This got me really excited because Tokyo Majin is one of my all-time favorite animes. Not only does it have beautifully done animation, a captivating and interesting storyline, but it has dynamic, relatable, adorrrrrable characters. There are a few episodes that are horrendous [such as episode two or three of season one], but overall the anime is spectacular. I got really attached to this one, which doesn't happen often. In fact, here's the trailer.  Just be warned, it's really corny. The show isn't though, rest assured. In fact, I feel a little nostalgic right now because it's over. By the way, both seasons are up on Netflix.

Tatsuma. <3

   So, Kureha isn't my favorite character, but his perfect rival/eventual friend is probably my favorite. I never could decide. I suppose, by the end of the show, I had to pick Tatsuma as my favorite. I really adore him. It's insane that such an adorable boy can wreak so much havoc. He's kind of the ultimate badass, not even kidding. He's such a genuine character too, :sniffle:, I just want to cry thinking about that show.

:gurgle:

     If you take anything out of this rambling, let it be that Tokyo Majin is one of those animes you absolutely must, without question, watch. It's nestled itself in my weeaboo fuckin' heart, and it's definitely, definitely one of my favorites. The OP track is so good too. Should probably show you one of my other favorite characters, Kisaragi. He's kind of an emo kid, and Kyouichi calls him "Mister Doom and Gloom," if that gives you an idea. But he's so pretty. :fangirl sigh:

     Thank you ladies and gentlemen, your ride has reached its final destination. I hope you enjoyed the journey, but now it's time to be on your way.

ARIGATOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!~~~