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40-405: Animage was established in 1978 as the first magazine devoted to animation and comics aimed at a general public and not professionals. In 2007 the magazine started its online edition. The Anime Grand Prix is the annual prize decided by the readers' votes to the anime of the year. The Anime Grand Prix started in 1979, and the first prize was announced at the issue 1980 January, generally announced at

80-466: A benshi was the aspect of the film presentation that drew in the audience, more so than the actors appearing in the film, and promotional posters would frequently include a photo of the benshi announcing the movie. The silent film era lasted until the mid-1930s in Japan in part due to benshi , despite the introduction of sound in full-length films in the late 1920s. The adoption of this new technology

120-443: A theatre organ as accompaniment, Japanese films had a score which supported the traditional Japanese instruments of a kabuki play. Since benshi performed without external amplification, they had to carefully coordinate with the orchestra to be heard. At that time, theaters typically seated 1000, so a trademark of successful benshi was the ability to project their voices into large spaces. Famous benshi active in

160-443: A band, Slapstick  [ ja ] , and perform live. Many other voice actors released their own albums. At around 1979 the first anime magazines began to be published. The then editor-in-chief of Animage , Hideo Ogata , was the first to publish editorials on the ongoing transformation of voice actors into idols . Following his lead, the other magazines created "seiyū corners" with information and gossip about voice actors; this

200-409: A century of social critique, often presenting popular films along with new dialog and narrative intended to juxtapose their ideas with those of the audience. While some have adopted the term " Neo-Benshi ", other performers have chosen to adopt the title "movieteller" as an alternative. They believe it emphasizes the multicultural past and future(s) of the form, while inviting further experimentation with

240-538: A character went under the name of " ateshi ". It is during this golden age for dubbing that the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society was founded. Later, Haikyo voice acting managers left and opened their own management agencies. Voice actors in Japan also voiced anime. The first dubbed show broadcast in Japan was an episode of the American cartoon Superman , on October 9, 1955, on KRT (today TBS ), and

280-408: A minute long. The first benshi were thus hired to provide greater value for the high ticket prices charged by theaters relative to other public entertainment, while also giving technical and cultural context to the audience. The operation of the projector itself would be described before the showing, and then explanations of Western culture would accompany the film with the benshi standing to

320-432: A moving visual. In addition, it was traditional for the benshi to introduce the film, even giving a brief lecture about the history of the setting. This meant that filmmakers could assume that a live narrator, accustomed to improvisation, would be present at the showing to explain scenes or even explain missing scenes or unfilmed action. Perhaps because most early Japanese films were simply kabuki plays adapted to film,

360-491: A performance of a radio drama was broadcast. They referred to themselves as "seiyū", but in those days the term "radio actor" ( ラジオ役者 , radio yakusha ) was used by newspapers to refer to the profession. In 1941, NHK opened a training program to the public to prepare actors to specialise in radio dramas. This was called the "Tokyo Central Broadcasting Station Actor Training Agency" ( 東京中央放送局専属劇団俳優養成所 , Tōkyō Chūō Hōsō Kyoku Senzoku Gekidan Haiyū Yōsei Sho ) . Then in 1942,

400-435: The idol industry, and some fans may watch a show 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

440-728: The 1950s, a rise in the popularity of radio dramas as well as foreign television and film created many new opportunities for voice actors. After the 1950 Broadcasting Act  [ ja ] , the Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) began public broadcasting. Among these new broadcasts were several radio dramas, such as the 1952 drama Kimi no Nawa (Your Name)  [ ja ] , which would receive several adaptations on film, television, and stage due to its popularity. Actors that were famous for their roles in dubbing and radio were used for their star power to voice similar characters in several anime productions. For example, Yasuo Yamada , who

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480-626: The Gosha Agreement, cinema actors were prevented from dubbing foreign movies for television. Television actors were also prevented from dubbing because of a similar agreement. This caused studios to turn to actors from the radio age and actors from the Shingeki style of acting. Around this time dubbing of foreign animation was done by Rakugo story tellers, Asakusa comedians, and the like, and voice actors were called "dubbing talents" if they specialised in dubbing, while those giving voice to

520-545: The TV. In the 1990s, a new boom centred on more personal ways of communication, such as radio shows, Original Video Animation , television quizzes, public events and the Internet, gave way to the publication of the first dedicated voice acting magazines, Seiyū Grand Prix  [ ja ] and Voice Animage . Voice actors acquired many new fans thanks to the radio, and their CD sale figures increased. Concerts began to be held in

560-668: The Tokyo Broadcasting Drama Troupe debuted its first performance. This was the second time that the term "seiyū" was used to refer to voice actors. There are several theories as to how the term "seiyū" was coined. One theory is that Oyhashi Tokusaburo, a reporter for the Yomiuri Newspaper, coined the term. Another theory is that Tatsu Ooka, an entertainment programming managing producer for the NHK, came up with it. At first, voice actors, like those at

600-610: The Tokyo Radio Drama Troupe and similar companies specialised in radio dramas; with the advent of television, the term took on the additional meaning of one who does dubbing for animation. Television broadcasting aside, when radio was the leading mass medium, actors who played in radio dramas were not without their fans; for example, actors in the Nagoya Radio Drama troupe who played the lead love interest roles often received many fan letters. Starting in

640-601: The available staff. For example, in Benkei tai Ushiwaka animator Kenzō Masaoka cast himself and his wife as the titular Benkei and Ushiwaka, respectively. In 1925, the Tokyo Broadcasting Company (predecessor to the NHK , Japan's public broadcasting system) started radio broadcasts. In that same year, twelve students who were specialising in voice-only performances became the first voice actors in Japan when

680-419: The bigger halls. While the second boom also saw the voice actors become DJs, this time the recording houses backed the voice actor radio shows as sponsors, and large sums of money began to circulate. Megumi Hayashibara , Hekiru Shiina and Mariko Kouda are the first examples of this new trend. Recording companies and voice acting schools began to devise new ways to raise young voice actors. When voice acting

720-463: The characterization style benshi performed roles strongly influenced by the narrators in kabuki or a noh chorus—a grave, dramatic, exaggerated style. Due to the influence of kabuki , audiences were not distracted by a single benshi voicing male and female roles, regardless of the gender of the benshi . In 1927, there were 6,818 benshi , including 180 women. Many benshi were famous in their own right and garnered great acclaim. The presence of

760-646: The first half of the 1980s. In 1989, the voice actors of the five main stars of the animated television show Ronin Warriors ( Nozomu Sasaki , Takeshi Kusao , Hiroshi Takemura , Tomohiro Nishimura and Daiki Nakamura ) formed an all-male singing group called "NG5". The group was featured as the subject of a special documentary program on MBS . During this period, voice acting production companies also began to provide specialised courses at on-site training schools specifically for training in animation dubbing. The 1960s and 1970s booms were centered on media, such as

800-409: The first non-animated dubbed show broadcast was Cowboy G-Men , again by KRT, in 1956. Both were dubbed live; the first show to be broadcast with pre-recorded dubbing was The Adventures of Television Boy ( テレビ坊やの冒険 , Terebi Bōya no Bōken ) on April 8, 1956. During the late 1970s, Akio Nojima , Kazuyuki Sogabe , Akira Kamiya , Tōru Furuya and Toshio Furukawa were the first to unite into

840-514: The introduction of audio in film by at least a decade. Much like their live-action contemporaries during this period, screenings would have musical accompaniment and oftentimes include a benshi (narrator). The benshi would fulfill a role similar to ones in the Japanese puppet theater and magic lantern shows, where the narration would fill in dialogue and other story elements. With the introduction of sound in film , voices were often pulled from

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880-615: The longest running. The term character voice (abbreviated CV ) has been commonly used since the 1980s by such Japanese anime magazines as Animec  [ ja ] and Newtype to describe a voice actor associated with a particular anime or game character. A voice actor ( 声優 , seiyū ) 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

920-460: The magazine suspended publication in February 2002 with its 42nd issue. At Kadokawa, Kobayashi and Watanabe helped launch Voice Newtype . Beginning in February 2009, Voice Animage resumed publication as a quarterly magazine. The magazine has focused mainly on male voice actors since relaunching. AniRadi also began publishing VoiceRadimage ( ボイスラジメージュ , Boisu Radimēju ) as a play on

960-857: The mid-2010s, was used to describe voice actors who would portray their characters in real life, such as television or stage plays. 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. Benshi Benshi ( 弁士 ) were Japanese performers who provided live narration for silent films (both Japanese films and Western films). Benshi are sometimes called katsudō-benshi ( 活動弁士 ) or katsuben ( 活弁 ) . The earliest films available for public display were produced by Western studios, portraying brief scenes of everyday life, often less than

1000-643: 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. While character song tie-ins were already common in the film industry by then, some voice actors also began making crossover television, stage, and concert appearances as their characters as well, leading them to be closely associated with one another. The term "2.5D", which picked up frequent usage in

1040-470: The name of Voice Animage . 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 , voice actors ( 声優 , seiyū ) and actresses have devoted fan clubs due to a crossover with

1080-570: The next year's June issue every year. It's the Animage's Anime Grand Prix Magazine Reader's Choice too. Voice Animage ( ボイスアニメージュ , Boisu Animēju ) is a sister magazine launched in 1994 that covers the voice acting industry in Japan. It was published irregularly at first, then settled into a regular release every other month. The magazine was edited by Hideaki Kobayashi  [ ja ] together with Takashi Watanabe before Kobayashi moved to work on various Kadokawa Shoten magazines, and

1120-631: The practice was more formalized and financed. As evidenced by the (above) listings of "benshi" in other cultures, the art of cinema accompanied by a live performer was as international then as it is now. There are groups in the United States seeking to revive this form and to continue exploring the possibilities of altering the form in the spirit of experimentation from which the practice emerged. Likewise, new attempts to subvert traditional notions of storytelling and film watching are underway. Some performers interject commentary into films, drawing from

1160-434: The presence of a benshi came to be part of the film. Benshi read the intertitles on silent films and voiced all on-screen characters. Perhaps most significantly for filmmakers, benshi would add their own commentary, explaining what was happening in a shot or describing what had happened in confusing edits or sudden transitions. Some benshi were known to interpret and add to a script, for example reciting poetry to accompany

1200-505: The side of the screen. This commentary was as much part of the theater-going experience as the film itself. In one instance, a benshi was able to avoid government censorship of The Kiss by describing kissing in Western culture to be as casual a greeting as a pat on the back . As film plots became longer and more complex, benshi often spoke for the characters on-screen in theatrical style and played multiple roles. Stemming from

1240-644: The silent era include Musei Tokugawa (at the Aoikan and Musashinokan theaters), Saburō Somei (at the Denkikan ), Rakuten Nishimura, Raiyū Ikoma (at the Teikokukan), Mitsugu Ōkura , and Shirō Ōtsuji . In the 1995 film Picture Bride , Toshirō Mifune portrays a benshi who traveled to sugar cane plantations in Hawaii during the early 20th century. As the film industry and art form developed in Japan,

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1280-488: The traditions of kabuki , noh and bunraku theaters, the benshi 's narration and general commentary were an important part of the Japanese silent film experience. The benshi also provided translation for foreign (mostly American) movies. Much like in the West, Japanese silent films were often accompanied by live music (in addition to the benshi ). However, unlike Western films, which tended to have

1320-430: The world's first digital satellite radio broadcaster, St.GIGA , transmitted episodic video games with voice acted overdubs in a separate and continually streaming vocal track (a technique called SoundLink ), to be played in Japan on Nintendo 's Super Famicom video game console with its Satellaview peripheral. BS Zelda no Densetsu was identified by Nintendo as the world's first integrated radio-game. During

1360-420: Was "koe no haiyū" ( 声の俳優 ) , but was later shortened to a compound word to make the word "seiyū" ( 声優 ) . 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 actors apart. Voice acting has existed in Japan since the advent of radio. It

1400-641: Was famous for his Japanese dub of Clint Eastwood , was chosen to voice Lupin III for the Lupin the Third series. In 1961, during the early days of commercial television broadcasting, the Five-Company Agreement (Gosha Agreement) caused the supply of Japanese movies that were available to Japanese television stations to dry up. As a result, in the 1960s many foreign dramas and other foreign programming

1440-539: Was imported and dubbed into Japanese language for television broadcast. At first, the NHK subtitled most foreign shows; however, shows dubbed in the Japanese language soon became the standard. At the centre of the first voice acting boom were actors like Nachi Nozawa , who dubbed the same foreign actors, in Nozawa's case Alain Delon , Robert Redford , and Giuliano Gemma . Because of problems with pay guarantees arising from

1480-691: Was introduced in television games, the same voice actors would perform in a series of events related to the television game world, making appearances and participating in radio programs based on the television games to attract the fanbase. In the second half of the 1990s, the boom in the animation world led to the increase of anime shown in the Tokyo area. With the Internet, gathering information on their favourite voice actors became easy for fans, and voice actors began to appear in Internet-based radio shows. From 1994  ( 1994 ) to 2000  ( 2000 ) ,

1520-502: Was one of the main causes of young anime fans yearning to become voice actors. 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. This boom lasted until

1560-488: 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 ? ' " The earliest Japanese animation would predate

1600-494: Was slowed by the popularity and influence of the benshi (in addition to the high costs to the cinemas and production companies). Though the tradition has mostly faded, there are a few remaining active benshi in Japan (e.g., Midori Sawato ). The underlying concept of benshi, live narration of film, continues to work its way into performance practices. The actual practice of "benshi" is most commonly referenced in relation to live film narration largely due to it having been and when

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