Japanese media names 7 seiyuu that are leaving a mark in the music business

Japanese media, outside of the seiyuu oriented media, is already taking an interest in several seiyuu and their music projects. Music news website (K-Pop, J-Rock, J-Pop), T-Site News released today a special article in which they name 7 seiyuu that have been impressing everyone in the music business through their unique charms.

According to the article, all these solo artists/bands have set themselves apart through fantastic live performances, unique lineups, exciting music, impressive dance skills, visuals and shocking stage performances. The contributions and success that Miyano Mamoru, GRANRODEO and OLDCODEX have experienced, paved the way for other seiyuu to give it a try and enter the music business. 

Miyano Mamoru is labeled as a multitalented performer, an all rounder that knows how act, dub, sing, dance, write lyrics. He’s the very first seiyuu to have a successful solo career.

GRANRODEO are compared with B’z, Japanese 80’s rock band. GRANRODEO have rocked the anisong and rock industries with their exciting songs, hyped up choruses or mesmerizing melodies. Right now the band has reached a stadium rock band status and is loved by almost all anime fans around the work.

OLDCODEX are considered as one of the most unique projects, a blend of sound and visual, the work of polar opposites, a vocalist and a painter. There isn’t a band like them in the world which is pretty amazing.

Onto the breakthrough artists’ side, we find 4 familiar faces that, coming from a Seiyuu background, have been stirring and shaking up the music business.

Soma Saito is labeled as the new “Ikemen” in the music business, according to the original article’s writer, Soma Saito is the “excessively handsome voice artist” turned singer. Saito‘s instant shot to fame with “Hikari Tatsu Ame” (instant #1 on iTunes in July) has impressed a lot of people in the music industry in Japan, some have even said that if Saito had auditioned for Johnny’s (talent agency known for managing pop legends ARASHI and Kat-Tun), he would have entered the company in a heartbeat with his looks alone.

Jun Fukuyama is labeled as a “genreless singer” or like we’d like to put it, a versatile singer. He has tried a multitude of music genres since he made his major debut this year. EDM, rock, jazz, bubblegum pop, rap and metal, Fukuyama has been everywhere and that certainly has impressed music specialists in Japan.

Hiro Shimono is labeled as a “healing individual” that is loved by everyone. He’s a complete entertainer – energetic on stage, able to hold his own alone and always full of ideas to present the best self to his fans. His drive and entertainment skills set him apart from most seiyuu turned singers.

Lastly we find Shouta Aoi. Aoi‘s outstanding vocals and theatrical performances are, according to the writer, insanely popular in Japan. During Aoi‘s “Wonder Lab” tour there were a lot of jaws dropped in awe with his performances.

For the whole article, please refer to the link below.

SOURCE: T-SITE NEWS (original article is in Japanese)

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Vanessa Silva
Vanessa Silvahttps://www.handthatfeedshq.com
The Hand That Feeds HQ founder, content creator, and music reviewer. Basically, the only person managing everything at The Hand That Feeds HQ. Stumbling upon Mamoru Miyano's "Orpheus" in 2011 was the start of this journey. If music is thought-provoking or deep, you may find her writing almost essays (not limited to, but it happens a lot with Soma Saito's music). She's the producer and host of the male seiyuu-centric podcast, SEIYUU LOUNGE (see Spotify link in this profile).
  1. Não acompanho a carreira musical de muitos seyuus , eu sou fã do Mamoru Miyano (fiquei muito feliz pelo merecido reconhecimento do seu trabalho) , mas também estranhei Miyu não aparecer na lista .

    • Se não fosse o Mamoru a quebrar o estereótipo de que os seiyuu eram “maus cantores”, muitos dos artistas que hoje fazemos review no site não se teriam estreado no mundo da música. O seu talento e charme conquistaram todos e abriram portas para todos os seiyuu que possivelmente estavam a evitar seguir outro dos seus sonhos devido a experiências mal sucedidas de alguns seiyuu no passado (as carreiras a solo falhadas de KISHOW, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Takashi Kondo e Yuto Suzuki, etc).

      Miyu não aparecer na lista é algo verdadeiramente estranho. Até agora é um dos seiyuu que mais vezes mostrou a sua versatilidade, já para não mencionar que é dos poucos que compõe a sua música e sabe tocar vários instrumentos. A única forma de justificar o autor não o ter mencionado será devido ao seu hiato.

    • Well, this poll only featured male seiyuu that’s why those names aren’t there. But if talked about female seiyuu Nana Mizuki and Maya Sakamoto are high on the list, they paved the way for other young female seiyuu to debut in the music business.

  2. Hmmm.

    Fukuyama Jun and Shimono Hiro over Suzumura Kenichi and even Ono Daisuke? I can’t agree with the opinions of the Japanese site to be honest. :/ I may not like Ono’s singing voice but at least he has arguably more stable vocals and somewhat mkre stage charisma than those two. Suzumura’s stagr capabilities are miles ahead than them too. Weird list IMO

    • We felt the same when we were reading the article. Not taking away the merit that both Fukuyama and Shimono have (not easy to juggle seiyuu and singer careers), they are far from being good singers. Still this article was about those names that have captured the attention of music specialists due to different charms (which obviously include skills beyond singing). Fukuyama represents versatility (genre wise) and Shimono his affable nature and energy. Notice how the writer never talked about their singing skills as well as he mentioned them in the newcomers/breakthrough artists. OnoD and Suzumura are way above that league right now, with both with 10 years of solo career and several successful releases.

      • Hmmm, hasnt Suzumura done more genres than Fukuyama Jun though(and pulls it off better too)? When I think of versatality, I first think of Miyu Irino or Suzuken. Not so much FukuJun. *shrugs* I guess it’s the author’s own opinions :/

        • As a solo artist, Suzumura hasn’t tried a lot of genres. There are times in which he endeavors to other genres, but he’s been pretty consistent with his pop-rock sound. But I agree with you when you say that he pulls off any attempt at new things. A good example is “NAKED MAN”, the whole mini-album is an assortment of experiments and he pulled every single one of them off.

          Personally, and taking into account my years of experience reviewing Miyu’s music, I can only say that aside from Mamoru Miyano, he’s one of the most versatile singers/performers in the business. Dance, rock, pop, ballad, jazz, rap, he’s done a little bit of everything and never failed to impress whereas Fukuyama has tried a variety of genres but failed to impress with most attempts. I’d replace Fukuyama with Miyu in a heartbeat if I’d written the original article.

          Like you said, it’s the writer’s opinions, still it was interesting to read something from a japanese music specialist standpoint about seiyuu and their skills.

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