Voice actor Koichi Yamadera talks about the role of "voice" in his hometown of Miyagi

Koichi Yamadera, a voice actor who is said to have a “seven-colored voice”.

In charge of dubbing Uncle Jam and Ikeken Cheese in the anime "Soreike! Anpanman", and Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey in dubbing foreign films.

Furthermore, as an actor, he has been active in a wide range of fields by making use of his voice, such as appearing in the historical drama "13 people of Kamakura" and playing Jien.

He says that when his hometown of Miyagi was hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake, he felt helpless and searched for what he could do.

Mr. Yamadera, what is the role of "voice" now?

(Interviewer: Sendai Broadcasting Station Announcer Minori Chiba, Interviewer: Sendai Broadcasting Station Announcer Shingo Teshima)

The origin is the days when I devoted myself to rakugo at a university in Sendai

Mr. Yamadera, who is active as a voice actor, has his origins in Tohoku Gakuin University in Sendai City, where he attended from his parents' home in Miyagi.

This is the club room of the "Rakugo Study Group" that Mr. Yamadera belonged to.

She says Yamadera spent a lot of time at this part of the campus in downtown Sendai.

This time, Yamadera, who visited the club room for the first time in about 40 years, burst into tears when she entered.

The walls are lined with wooden tags with the stage names (koza names) of successive club members written on them.

There was also a tag with Mr. Yamadera's stage name "Hanareya Bunko".

(Yamadera) The origin of her

name is that "the school's branch is a little far away"...

I don't know why you gave me that name (laughs)

.

I played around with various things in the style of "Nanatei Nana Nana".

15 people in my generation.

It probably had the largest number of members in the 50-odd-year history of Rakuken.

It was a big family.

It's decided what's good first.

"Kagariya Shinkyo" is a name that really sounds like a professional rakugo storyteller's name, but after such a nice name, "Yes, Bunko!?"

My senior told me, "Then think for yourself."

At that time, I really liked Yasutaka Tsutsui, so how about "Tsutsuya Staka"?

I remember that it was decided that it would be "Staka... it's hard to call. Bunko."

(Chiba)

In the first place, I heard that Mr. Yamadera liked to imitate and make everyone laugh since he was little.

(Yamadera)

I was doing various things at elementary school and at home.

I think I was in the third grade at school.

There were birthday parties and fun parties, and it seems that they had a lot of things to do.

A child who transferred to another school wrote down things like, ``Yamadera-kun is good at being able to speak in a variety of ways.

I thought it was faint, but it's true!

What?

Be aware that there are people who find it fun to be able to use different voices.

I guess that's how you got on with it.

(Chiba)

Even though you were a child, did you already feel that your voice was a little different from others, or that it was your strength?

(Yamadera)

I think so.

It's not just my own voice, it's the fact that I can produce various voices...

(Chiba) I would say

width.

(Yamadera)

I think so.

I have been working with dogs, cats, and chickens since I was very little.

That's why I was doing things like using different anime characters.

Anyway, since I was little, I have been very interested in "expressions of voice", that kind of thing, and it continues to this day.

(Chiba)

Did a boy who likes to imitate like that become a university student and pass in rakugo?

(Yamadera)

In rakugo, there are many different characters, and I do it all by myself, so I think it's perfect for someone like me who likes to imitate.

Sanyutei Ensei was the first.

he's a real celebrity.

When I listened to the sound source, I first performed a rakugo story called "Tenshiki".

It starts with a feeling like "Eh, it's always from this long time ago", pillow.

They say, "Some people are stingy with this. Well, for us."

When the 18-year-old I did it, saying, "(Imitate Ensei), we do it every time," my seniors said, "That's good," and "That's because it's plain."

My seniors told me, "You say you're good at mimicking, but rakugo isn't about mimicking."

I thought it would be interesting to change it, but I thought it would be interesting to change it, such as retirement, Yatsuan, and young people, but I said, "No, it's not." No."

"That's right..."

(Chiba)

It's a bit of a shock.

(Yamadera)

That's right!

Even though I'm good at that, I was told, ``Don't go that far.

(Chiba)

What kind of specific exercises did you do in order to improve after being pointed out by your seniors?

(Yamadera)

Anyway, he says he listens to professional sound sources.

There weren't many videos.

Everything started from imitation, so I took in what the professionals and seniors thought was good.

I guess it came naturally to my skill.

Anyway, I practiced, over and over again.

It's still exactly the same.

I'm going to put it in myself and do it until I'm satisfied.

There is a point where you can't do it while thinking about it in your head.

Among them, Mr. Hanashika, who was recommended by seniors, is the master of Kokontei Shincho.

He was shocked when he heard it.

I thought, "This is it!"

(Chiba)

What kind of place is it?

(Yamadera)

The sharpness, the speed, and the portrayal of the characters all made me go, "Wow!"

Especially the tempo is very good.

It's amazing that you can switch instantly.

I cut my own lines and move on to the next one.

It's also a normal play, isn't it?

Say it before the other person finishes.

Keep switching there.

So now, for example, in Anpanman, when Uncle Jam, Maiken Cheese, and Hippopotamus (who I'm in charge of voice acting) come out together, I want to keep doing it except for the part where I'm wearing it. .

(Chiba)

Certainly, there is a scene where it seems that Mr. Yamadera is the only one in progress.

(Yamadera)

Yes, because it happens sometimes.

You can record them separately, though.

It's efficient.

But it's fun to do that kind of switching in reverse.

When it comes to being able to work together, people say things like, ``Isn't it just superficial?''

And the idea of ​​“being able to be”.

All in acting, in everything that I really liked rakugo.

yes.

At that time, the place where I worked hard with my friends was on the roof of the building where the clubroom was.

(Chiba)

What were you doing here?

(Yamadera)

Anyway, this is vocal practice.

It's like, "Well, I'm on the roof right now, practicing my voice, practicing my voice!"

Somebody said, big.

So that you can hear it as far as the Hirose River.

"A-E-I-U-E-OH-AH-OH" or "KA-KE-KI-KU-KE-KO-KA-KO", doing all the 50 syllables, with everyone.

I always do that at noon.

Those three years were when I practiced my voice the most.

(Chiba)

Do you feel that you have developed a stable voice volume over the past three years?

(Yamadera)

I think so.

Anyway, I had a lot of classmates, so I didn't want to lose.

There was a guy in my class who was very vocal.

That guy's voice was nasty.

"Eh!"

I don't usually speak like that.

I won't lose.

There are a lot of other classmates, so I thought I'd try not to lose.

So, I was doing it from my stomach, from my stomach.

We also interviewed people who knew Mr. Yamadera at the time.

This is Mr. Yoshiteru Onodera (Koza name: Shomontei Raifuku), the chairman of the Tohoku Gakuin University rakugo research group alumni association.

Mr. Onodera is two years junior to Mr. Yamadera, and it is said that Mr. Yamadera was his idol.

(Chiba)

What kind of senior was Mr. Yamadera at the time?

(Onodera)

It was cool.

Well, it was cool.

(Yamadera) That's

fine.

for TV.

(Chiba)

What kind of place is it?

(Onodera)

First of all, no matter what you do, there is beauty.

Anyway, there is something wonderful in one word.

So, you were a hard worker, and everyone was working hard with Yamadera as their goal.

I had the illusion that if I worked hard, I could become like Mr. Yamadera.

I can't do it at all.

(Yamadera)

Is that so?

That's right (laughs)

.

(Chiba)

I heard that Mr. Yamadera is what he is now because Mr. Onodera did a certain job.

(Yamadera)

Huh, is that so?

(Onodera)

At the request of (Yamadera-san), I just posted an application form for acting training school.

Well, it was hard work.

(Yamadera)

Why can't I

enter on my own?

Everyone was looking for a job, but I got frustrated in the middle, or rather, I wondered what I really wanted to do.

Buy various books at the co-op here.

But, does that mean that you sent me an application form for the training school that I'm going to go to later?

(Onodera)

Yes.

(Yamadera)

…I don't remember at all!

(Laughs)

(Chiba)

How did Yamadera-san go down that path from the perspective of his juniors?

(Onodera)

It was a longing.

When I got the role and found out, "I'm going to appear in this next time," everyone checked it out.

There was a diary in the club room, and we all wrote, ``Today, what time will Mr. Yamadera appear in this role?''.

(Yamadera)

In an era when there was no internet or email?

Is that so?

I'm happy!

When I was sending them off, everyone came to Sendai Station to see me off, just like in a drama when I went to Tokyo.

"Do your best!"

For writing colored paper and messages.

He wrote various things such as "Please do your best as a voice actor" and sent me off.

I feel like I was sent to the next generation.

But you did check it out!

"Voice" is the closest thing to life

After graduating from university, Mr. Yamadera attended a training school in Tokyo and made his debut.

She soon made a name for herself as a voice actress.

She is active in children's programs and foreign movie dubbing.

Her versatile voice captivates children and adults alike.

(Chiba)

I think both dubbing and anime.

In the end, isn't the "voice" adding color to the work?

What do you think about the size of that role?

(Yamadera)

Of course, there are various elements in one of her works.

But her voice has a lot to do with it.

There is often the phrase "breathe life into it."

But even the people who make the pictures think about how to make the character attractive, their movements, their gestures, their facial expressions, and so on.

I think we are together.

I think they are acting together.

If there is no voice that fits the picture that is created in that way, everything will be ruined.

Even dubbing is done as a wonderful work.

replace the voice.

The music and sound effects are the same.

Only the voice is replaced.

I think it's a very big job in the sense that just a little change in that part can ruin the work.

(Chiba)

It means that there should be no sense of incongruity.

(Yamadera)

Well, at least there should be no discomfort.

Plus, I think it's important to have an attractive voice expression.

I know it's hard work, but it's also fun.

Unlike showing yourself, voice work has the potential to become something completely different from yourself.

In one day, after doing "Kabi", you can do "Hollywood-level second star".

A few hours after that.

It's funny, isn't it?

You can't get tired of it.

(Chiba)

Mr. Yamadera, how do you interpret that the voice is "the work of breathing life into it"?

(Yamadera)

Hmm...

something more "raw".

Even the visuals, if it's anime, are drawn by hand, but music is also played by humans, so it's raw, but... the things emitted from the body, of course, through various machines such as microphones, are the most raw. I think it's a thing.

in one work.

I think it's the most analog thing, the voice.

Now, there is talk that AI can do it to some extent, but I think the voice is the closest thing to the real thing.

For example, let's try animation.

I'm going to do a lot of tricks, but it's hard to cheat.

Of course, when I appear in a play or film, I have to do other things, and since I'm chosen to play that role, I have to do it, but I'm still not confident about that.

With just that one element of voice, I have to express myself without losing.

So I hope people can enjoy it somehow.

I always thought that the only weapon I could use at that time was my voice.

"Voices" of characters that children enjoyed

For this interview, I also visited my hometown of Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture.

It is an area hit by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

So, when I asked Mr. Yamadera what he was doing 12 years ago on March 11, 2011, he began to talk about his feelings at that time.

(Chiba)

Were you in Tokyo at the time of the earthquake?

(Yamadera)

Yes, we recorded at a studio in Tokyo.

It shook a lot.

The tremor was too big, so I was told to evacuate.

At first, I was holding the equipment together with the staff.

But I said, "Right now," and when I went out from the emergency stairs, I was already in the Yotsuya area, and everything was shaking.

I think this is where the epicenter is.

I heard on TV and other sources that the epicenter was off the coast of Miyagi prefecture.

This turned out to be a big deal.

We were able to watch TV all the time, so it was glued on.

Hmm.

I know about the tsunami.

I was stunned.

I lost my words.

Watch and listen to the news coming in one after another.

I was stunned.

I sent an e-mail to my family at home, but they immediately returned with only that one sentence, "no injuries," and soon after that I lost contact with them.

I didn't get in touch with him after that.

In addition, my relatives and friends are all over Miyagi Prefecture, and even near the sea.

yes.

Anyway, it was days when I was watching the news all the time to get safety information.

Mr. Yamadera said that he entered Miyagi about two weeks after the outbreak.

(Yamadera)

Seeing it in news footage and witnessing it with your own eyes is such a different thing.

It's been two weeks, so there's still a lot to do.

As long as you can get guidance from the locals.

There were many places I couldn't go.

yes…….

I couldn't come up with any words.

(Chiba)

Didn't you find any words to say?

(Yamadera)

Yeah...

However, I brought supplies to the people who were voluntarily gathering at the small evacuation center, and they gave me time to listen to their stories.

Everyone is very hard, but behave brightly.

He asked me, "Would you like some coffee?"

"No, no, we can't do that. We brought a lot of things in hopes that they would be of some help, so that's it."

I thought that no one knew about me, but they said, "Oh, that's right!"

I was really warmly welcomed, but he said, "Well, can I ask you a question?"

Really, everyone, I heard that you are here now at the last minute.

Listen to all kinds of stories.

Also the affected areas.

Hmm, I wondered what I should do...

Even so, many children came to the shelter.

I don't know how to say it, but I want people to know who I am.

Just a little bit, I thought it would be good to do something like the voice of an anime character, but it seemed like my child was a little happy...

That's what it means.

I'll see you first, then go see you.

So I know what the situation is.

So, just a little bit, if you have a child, it would be nice if you could be happy.

It was the day I decided to do something like that.

On the way back, I want to go to Shiogama, and if possible, I want to visit my parents' house, because I haven't been able to get in touch with my parents.

I was worried about my friend who was the closest to the sea, and when I went there, he was fine and said, "I'm fine somehow."

I listened to a lot of stories about that time, and on the way home, I stopped by my parents' house for a bit, saw my parents' faces saying, "It's going to be okay," and then just went home.

Then, on weekends, I would come as much as I could, visiting various places, dealing with and purchasing various supplies, and starting to go around various places.

But really, I thought, "What will happen if I come here?"

(Chiba)

Why is that?

(Yamadera)

Hmmm...

Even if I come here and make her feel like that, it's hard.

While thinking about various things, such as if it was a famous person, they would be happy.

But rather than that, I wondered if it would be better to go around various places and clean up the debris, but while I was doing that, I had a lot of friends, so I asked, "Can you come?" Or, "Come here!"

After that, it has already become a feeling of 'Oh, I'm going' and 'I'm going'.

(Yamadera)

Perhaps the children who were in the evacuation shelter were also in a last-minute situation.

Life was saved, but the situation continued to be dire.

I think it was a situation where I couldn't relax or enjoy myself.

Well, thanks to you, I was doing a lot of works that made small children happy.

If you do it in front of you, you might be disappointed when people say, "Wow, what kind of old man did this?"

When you do that, you're like, "Eh!"

Seeing the child's face made the parents happy.

That's why I really felt that it was good to do that kind of thing.

I think that will make you happy.

As for the role, I thought that "Anpanman" is what everyone knows, so I played Cheese and Hippopotamus.

Also, I've been working on a number of Disney characters, so when I did some of them, I was like, "Ah!"

Adults will understand that it is a Disney work.

To tell the truth, I was told not to do it in front of many people, but I thought it would be good here, so I did it.

Also, he's on a mimicry program, so he says he'll do something like a joke.

Also, I was doing a children's program in Tokyo, and the people at the companies involved in it, such as stationery makers and toy makers, also supported themselves, but they said, ``I'm from Miyagi, so I go there from time to time,” and he said, “Then I definitely want to cooperate.”

I used to collect and carry such things.

hand out those things.

I tell everyone, "This is who I am. It's Yama-chan. You may not have seen him before, but he has a voice like this!"

"Well, I have a lot of stationery and toys here, so I'll give them out to everyone. Get them!"

First of all, I was doing it for my child.

That's why I thought that I was useless for anything, but I think I was satisfied with something like that.

I wonder what will happen to my hometown...

yes.

I wondered how the people of Tohoku would one day recover from that much damage and smile.

On the other hand, I thought, "What am I going to do now? I have to do my best for my hometown for the rest of my life." I felt that it might not be there.

Even though I can't do much.

That's what I thought.

That's why, but when I think about what I can do, I get confused.

But when I came here, no, rather than thinking about such things, I may be wrong and I can't do anything big, but I don't care what I do, I'll go if I'm asked.

(Chiba)

Actually, I was originally from Miyagi, and I was in Tokyo at the time of the earthquake, and was a third-year university student.

At that time, especially right after that, I was nothing and was tormented by the frustration of not being able to do anything.

Mr. Yamadera, what do you think about how your career and what you have done so far will be useful in the wake of this disaster?

I wonder if the things I've done so far, which have brought joy to people through entertainment, will work for this event, and if they're really required.

(Yamadera)

I think that's what everyone involved in the entertainment industry was worried about.

Go and do something, comedians, "It's not the time to laugh yet."

Even though I said that I couldn't listen to songs or music, I think that the idea was to do what I could if there was a moment when people would come to me to heal their hearts, even just a little. Everyone.

So am I.

But as a voice actor, I wondered what I should do in that situation.

Even so, I'm sure you're taking care of me, but if there are even a few people who say, "Oh, I'm glad I got to see you" or "I'm glad I met you,"

I think it's better to act first than to hear people say, "I just did that," rather than what I have in mind.

I felt like what I would do if I was told, "I don't think you would be happy if you came."

But I had friends who worked with me.

My local friends would say, "No, no, it's okay, it's okay."

I was worried when I went to Shichigahama.

When I said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm in a difficult situation," I said, "Oh, that's Mr. Yamadera!"

"I'm friends with your mother," or something like that.

I was told, "You're doing your best~, you're a voice actor!"

(Chiba)

I should have gone to relieve him, but he said he was relieved.

(Yamadera)

That's right.

I have a lot of experiences like that.

Even though I think that's what I have to do.

I wonder if everyone was warm in that sense, saying that they were locals, and that although they hadn't seen their faces on TV, they had somehow heard their voices.

After all, he said that because he was a local.

But, after all, I was worried.

“The expressiveness of speaking is infinite.”

Mr. Yamadera has worked with singers from his hometown to build a fund for children in the affected areas and other efforts to support reconstruction.

I would like to continue to use the power of my voice to support my hometown.

(Yamadera)

The only reason I'm able to make people happy when I come here is because I was doing this job.

In that case, I think it's good for me to work hard at work, and if I work hard and make people happy, I'll be able to communicate better.

If so, I have to work harder.

Before I die, I want to create as many works as possible that only Yama-chan can do.

By doing so, I hope the locals will be happy.

(Chiba)

I felt that there was something that could be delivered precisely because it was a human voice.

(Yamadera)

Hey, if you think so, I couldn't be happier.

Well, mainly thanks to the characters and works.

I've really been able to meet good works and characters so far.

I owe a lot to that.

It might have been a lot of trouble before I got the role... and before I could make the character my own.

The job I've been doing for a long time because I thought it was really fun just happened to be like that.

But yeah, come to think of it, although I occasionally show up, my main job is voice acting.

For me, it's a big thing for me to realize that even voice actors can be useful to people.

I'm glad I did it.

I think especially when my children are happy with it.

(Yamadera)

Everything is the same, but the way it is said, the nuances, and the way it is conveyed are all different.

It's the same with facial expressions, because one word can change everything.

Animal sounds may sound the same to us, but there may be subtle differences there.

Because the nuance plus the meaning of the word is also combined.

After all, I think that the expressive power of “talking” that humans have, and its diversity, is infinite.

It's a job that makes it a living.

“Ah, I have to work harder,” is what I think to myself as I speak.

"Interview From Here: Voice Actor Koichi Yamadera"

[General] January 9 (Mon/Holiday) 7:30 a.m. ~

* Missed broadcast on NHK Plus for one week after the broadcast