Seiyū

(Redirected from Seiyu)

Categories: Japanese terms | Anime and manga terminology | Japanese music | Japanese voice actors

For the company named Seiyu, see Seiyu Group.

Seiyū (声優, also written seiyuu or simply seiyu) is a Japanese term that roughly equates to a voice actor/actress for radio, television and video games. On television, they are mostly used in anime and commercial advertisements, and are somewhat more famous than voice actors traditionally are in America.

When speaking of a character in a series translated into English, conventional usage among American fans is to use "seiyū" to refer to the Japanese actor and "voice actor" for the English one.

Seiyū tend to be more well-known than non-Japanese voice actors and often attract their own appreciators and fans, who will watch shows specifically to hear that actor or actress. Seiyū are also more likely to branch into music, often singing the opening or closing themes of shows in which their character stars, or to be involved in non-animated side projects such as audio dramas (involving the same characters in new storylines) or image songs (songs sung in character that are not included in the anime but further develop the character).

American fandom is sometimes divided over the opinion that some prominent seiyū will "perfect" certain voice types (e.g. the ditsy schoolgirl, the deep-voiced loner) sometimes resulting in these seiyū becoming typecast.

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Notable seiyū and their major roles (Japanese version unless noted):

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See also

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External links

es:Seiyu fr:Seiyuu ja:声優 pl:Seiyu ru:Сэйю zh:声优