声優seiyu
Quick definition:Seiyu is the Japanese word for a voice actor, a performer who gives voice to characters in anime, video games, dubbed films and commercials, and who often has a following of their own.
Meaning
Seiyu, also spelled seiyuu, means voice actor. Seiyu perform the voices of characters in anime, video games, radio dramas, commercials and foreign films dubbed into Japanese. The full cast of an anime is called the voice cast, and casting can influence how a series is received, since fans often follow a favourite performer from one project to another.
Voice acting is a respected profession in Japan, with training schools and agencies. Performers are expected to deliver a wide range of emotion and vocal styles, from heroic shouts to soft whispers. Popular seiyu also host radio programmes, sing and appear at events. Recording usually takes place in a studio booth, with performers reading from scripts while watching rough or finished footage.
In credits, the seiyu's name appears alongside the character's name, and fans often follow the cast list as closely as the plot.
Origin:Seiyu is written with characters meaning voice and actor. The word became standard in the twentieth century as radio dramas, and later animation, created a profession for performers who worked only with their voices. It entered English-language fandom through anime, where the Japanese term is used alongside voice actor.
Example:In an anime recording session, several performers stand around microphones watching the picture on a screen, reading scripts and reacting to each other's lines. A seiyu who voices a shy girl in one series may play a booming villain in another, which fans enjoy spotting.
Did you know?Japan has a long tradition of dubbing foreign films and television, so many seiyu are also the regular Japanese voices of well-known international actors. Fans of a particular seiyu may be surprised to hear a favourite voice in an unrelated Hollywood film.
