Thank you for another interesting episode! ^^ I knew the seiyuu industry is hard, but... Wow. Although I knew about the low payment and that they have to work A LOT to survive, I didn't know about the ranking, I think it was what surprised me the most. But it makes sense, thinking how this industry is getting more competitive... Even if you're popular, you still have to work a lot. That's why there are a lot of seiyuus that get ill or end with their voices damaged. But it makes me feel better that seiyuus keep helping another seiyuus, not only with acting advices but also as friends, like some of the examples that were mentioned at the beginning, or opening their own agencies with more fair conditions. Also I like that more projects are supporting new seiyuus, as Readyyy project did. I hope this trend continues and, of course, I wish the fans be willing of supporting new voices. Maybe I'm being too positive, but hopefully these actions can make a change in the future. ^^' Of course this industry is terrifying as part of the entertainment industry, but thankfully now the foreigners fans have more possibilities to support our favorite seiyuus. Again thank you for the research and the information! This was a hard episode but necessary, as this industry isn't amazing as some people may think.
Hello Grecia! Nice to find you again in the comments section of a Seiyuu Lounge episode! Yeah. The ranking system is not a novel thing. It already dates back to, at least, the late 90s. I honestly don't know what they wanted to accomplish with it since you don't get to the top by being a veteran - unlike what happens in most jobs in Japan. In a way, it seems like it was created to prevent that anyone with no passion for the industry would join it. With no wages in some fields as a junior seiyuu, many people that were not passionate enough - or at all - about voice acting were on the fence and ultimately did not join the industry. At the same time though, I imagine that those with talent but no money were either struggling to survive or had to give up on their dream. Those hurdles - created by the ranking system - that junior seiyuu have to navigate, end up leading to some being homeless, having multiple jobs... if it wasn't for kind veterans in the industry, a couple of top tier/popular seiyuu we have right now would not be in the industry today (we really need to thank those seiyuu because they were awesome by supporting struggling rookie male seiyuu). The problem with Readyyy Project is that, although they supported rookies (an awesome feat), if SEGA was following the "traditional" payment system in the seiyuu industry, none of the seiyuu with less than 3 years in the industry was paid for their variety appearances or live shows
If that is the case, it's good to know that there is a talent agency that actually takes care of their seiyuu right from the start! Joining the voice acting industry in general (but especially Japan) is already a big undertaking so any help that rookies can have early on may help them thrive for longer until they can make an impact of some sort and start earning enough money to go by (and potentially, living off of their passion). Thanks for the comment!
I missed the stream 😭 💔 I was already asleep when it premiered 😭 Nevertheless, I shall comment 😤 I wasn't really aware of the ranking system. I think at the back of my mind I know that there's some hierarchy in the industry but not like this. It's safe to assume that popular seiyuu can negotiate their fees especially if they are approached by the committee to voice their project. What I'm mostly shocked about is the junior seiyuu's fees. When you mentioned they are similar to an unpaid internship I thought "it cannot be /that/ bad" but it's actually worse. Work is still work; why are these junior seiyuu not paid for their time in a public appearance?! It's so unfair. I can understand if they are paid less compared to the other seiyuu in that event but no pay at all? That sounds like an abuse. God, this makes me remind of an awful abuse regarding an anime TV project. He's doing better now I think, if my brief browse of his Twitter and YT is good enough. I know pachinko are really big in Japan but I didn't think it ranks at the top for highest paying work. Do a lot of seiyuu lend their voice for pachinko? I don't think I've really heard any news for it, if it's work even a mention in news. Based on the list of high-paying works, I'm glad that Hatanaka is getting quite a lot of foreign movie dubbing these days. He's also in Ultraman Z, though I'm not sure where it fits. There's also his singing career but I'm kind of worried about that. His latest single barely exceeded 1,000 sales for the first week 😭 I want him to do more singing but I'm not sure if it's viable for him... Seiyuu industry is very harsh. I still can't believe that they have to spend their first 3 years without having enough money to survive. I can understand if it's because there's just not enough work for them but no, it's because they system is intended to work that way, to work against the rookies. I'm glad that you mentioned about some agencies changing their way and paying their talents fixed monthly payment instead of this BS. It's most helpful especially during these trying times. Thank you so much for this episode! I didn't expect this to be dark whew, but I'm glad to learn more about the industry. I would love to learn more that you are able to share 👀 I can think of one scandal involving the seiyuu industry (but not really music related) that might be relevant to the next episode. If it is about the dark and dirty stuff in the industry. Still makes me angry about it but the male seiyuu is doing good these days, if my brief browse of his Twitter and YT is good enough. I look forward to your next episode! And hopefully I can watch it live 😭🙏 P.S. I just finished listening to Dear Vocalist discography. It may not be everything because I just picked a fan-created playlist with 93 tracks (some are repeating) on Apple Music but I did it! Some songs are added to my daily playlist 🥰 Lots of them are from Toshiki Masuda 😊 He's so good 😭 He's one of my favorite seiyuu ever since I heard him from Samurai Flamenco. I haven't really been following him closely but I should correct that now. I might check Dynamic Chord or a different franchise next time. I forgot to list down the names 😱 I'll have to check E7 again for that www
Hope you, at least, got a nice rest 😄 It seems as though those 3 years not being paid for variety work and underpaid in all other work is a way to "filter" who joins the industry. There might be some exceptions in which junior seiyuu are actually paid for variety appearances - I sure hope so -, but other than that, it is written in stone that the "traditional" ranking system works like this. This is archaic at best, incredibly ridiculous at its worst. They should ditch that system and really embrace the idea of fixed monthly payments. Takaya Kuroda is basically the god of pachinko. He voices a lot of pachinko machines. How much it pays, I don't know and, no matter how much I looked for, it doesn't say anywhere. Hatanaka has a really inconsistent career as a voice actor - which is weird. Doesn't have much anime nor drama CD work and does do narration. His primary activities are music and dubbing. His sales numbers are not the best, I have to admit that I wasn't expecting him to struggle with music sales. As it is right now, 1000 copies is very far from even paying for the studio expenses (and let's not count expenses with the music video set on location and the sort). There's no way he's making a lot of money out of his music career right now, which is a pity because quality is something he doesn't lack. I wonder where are his fans though... I bet he has more than 1000, after all he held a live show with more than that number of fans in attendance... Really odd 😕 Dubbing has been pretty big for him. Him being the official Japanese voice of a Canadian actor - can't recall who - is a sure, consistent stream of revenue for him! You're welcome and apologies because of the "darkness" in this episode 😅 Looking forward to catching up with you on the live comments section 😄 Oh, the Dear Vocalist franchise is exactly 94 songs as of now (and some songs repeat because of the 2 best of albums that were released last year). Glad that you like it! Masuda? Wow! He's actually changed a lot his singing and, in the most recent releases he sounds beyond awesome! "√PARANOIA", "I am a loser" and "9/10" are among his best songs as RE-O-DO. Have you checked Masuda's solo career? He's been dazzling everyone with his improved singing skills (also really awesome to have him playing guitar in some of his songs). DYNAMIC CHORD is going to be a completely different experience for you. All 4 bands sound nothing like each other. Still a pretty good franchise that recently announced their comeback after a 2 year hiatus! Would love to hear your feedback on other franchises you check! 😃 Also, thanks for your comment!
@@thtfhq Hatanaka's manager or whoever is in charge might have thought to use a different approach for his career? Maybe they thought he has more chance of a breakthrough from non-anime source? I really wish they do more effort for marketing/promoting him for his music releases. Maybe the Ultraman single will be /it/ 🙏 He has so much potential for singing 😭 √PARANOIA is my most favorite of his! He sounds kinda soft when singing the chorus 😊 I did check his solo career! Ngl, I didn't like his first single so I didn't immediately follow him because of that. But then his first album 👍👍👍 I might be imagining this but I can hear some influences from his previous profession from "Diver" but he was able to embrace and adapt it to his current self/profession? If that makes sense. And because of that, he was able to sing very comfortably, just based on that song. I still haven't listened to the whole album 😭, the album is not available on Apple Music. His first EP is available though. Gotta look for Dynamic Chord playlist some time soon 💪 And no worries about the darkness of the topic. It's very much welcomed 👍 It's nice to hear about the reality of the industry we are supporting, even if the information are not so nice XD
@P M Whoever is in charge may think that Hatanaka is actually better in different types of work, which would explain why he has little work in anime. At the same time I expected that Hatanaka at least had an acting career - because of his father - but his talent agency also doesn't put him in any acting gigs. When it comes to music and dancing, you can tell right away that Hatanaka loves it and his music shows that. I only hope people paid more attention to him. He ends up sounding a bit generic at times - because of Lantis insisting on him singing pop music - but when he strays away (most of FIGHTER and most recently, Regret) he shows that there is a lot of talent in him that must be explored. If he had a differential about his sound, he could stand out. Lack of vision by the manager and the music label are hindering Hatanaka's exposure. Of course, this is my take as someone that, per year, ends up reviewing hundreds of similar pop releases by different seiyuu. It gets really boring on my side when seiyuu sound exactly the same despite all having their own - allegedly unique - solo careers. That's why I get excited - and write long reviews - when I find an "odd ball" in the mix 😂 Being experimental, showcasing more of his talents on the vocal end and even as a lyricist would be good. I continue to support his career because Hatanaka sure can sing insanely well 😍 We're on the same page when it comes to RE-O-DO! 😁 Oh, you didn't like it? I found it to be a pretty unexpected single coming from him. Thought he'd go the "pop route" instead of rock and jazz. Was pleasantly surprised. Diver is also not available in Europe, only his single. Seems like, on this one, all his fans that haven't purchased the album are waiting for the day it becomes available on streaming platforms. Have fun! 😄 Thanks! 🙏 I hope that, at least, I am adding some useful context about what goes behind the scenes in the seiyuu industry. It's not necessarily something positive - or novel - but it makes us support and appreciate even more seiyuu (the big positive out of so much darkness).
@@thtfhq I'm 👌 this close in wanting Hatanaka to change music labels because of this. Lantis is good, it's just that most of the times they have same-sounding releases 😭 I actually listened to Masuda's first single today and it was okay-ish so it might take time for me to get used to it. I guess I'm very picky when it comes to listening to music; I have to be impressed at the first listen 😥
After what they did to Yuki Ono (the whole man of the jungle concept and making him sing like he doesn't know how to when, in fact, he's one of the best singers in his generation of seiyuu), I really am wary of Lantis and their... exotic style of artist management. The same sounding releases is much due to the fact that they always collaborate with the same composers and lyricists (even the studio musicians) + they seem like they want seiyuu to stick to one image and sound for their whole career. How long did it take for Lantis to stop sticking that "pimp/sleezy" image to OnoD (since the "Delight") and finally embracing a more mature look and sound? Almost 5 years. So, I wouldn't hold my hopes high that they'd be flexible with Hatanaka this soon. But who knows, maybe in a couple of years he does have freedom to do what he wants, that or he leaves the label for something different. There are some releases that take a while to sink in for us to notice their greatness. They tend to be more complex or, at that time in your life they simply don't connect with you. Then, there are others that strike us immediately. It really depends on the person, I, for one, thought it was insanely good but, for example, his performances in the Dear Vocalist franchise too a long time to sound good to me - the earlier ones, at least. If it doesn't click with you, don't worry. Those standards you have are for something! He'll sure will have something that will click with you :)
Ahh... yes, the seiyuu industry. Because it's also part of the entertainment industry, unfortunately they share a similar, if not, the same system. When I was young and naive, I thought to be able to make a living with just your voice is such a good deal. After reading more about the industry, while I'm sadden by the facts, I actually gained a new appreciation for seiyuus. The ones that made it until today, really, really work hard to achieve their dreams. I read/watched somewhere that if you'd like to survive your junior years, you either have to work lots of part-time jobs, have a supportive parents that are willing to give you food/shelter, or have kind senpais around you like Tatsu. Most seiyuus I read about don't have the luxury of having a supportive parents, many actually went against their parents' wishes. If you've read about Kakihara's early days, you'd know how determined he was on becoming a seiyuu. It was extreme. Do you have any name of who might be in the no-rank tier? As far as I know, most seiyuus still go to auditions even the more senior and well-known ones. It's rare hearing one particular seiyuu being appointed directly by the committee without any audition unless it's a big production with an enormous funds or with many investors. Like a certain Chinese BL audio drama production that appointed Tatsu directly for the main character's role just because the author of the original material is a huge fan and they have the money XD I do wonder about the fees for appearing in variety/game shows like those Jinro battles or treasure hunts. The pay must have been pretty decent for them to keep appearing in these shows. I personally really like the Jinro battles and drinking shows like Suwabe Junichi's Tobidase! Nomi Nakama because we could hear a lot of insider stories there. Also, I just love listening to him talking in a regular voice XD A bit oot but I personally think female seiyuus have it harder than their male counterparts because of the prevailing sexism in the country. I think I read more stories on female seiyuus throwing in the towel than male ones for the last few years. There are also a few shady things like the casting couch, sexual harassment by the producers/fellow seiyuus, I can go on and on. It's just very messed up like the idol industry.
Unfortunately, the seiyuu industry is really no different from other industries part of the entertainment industry. The more you read, the darker it gets. It really is frustrating. I will actually talk a bit about in the next episode about some of the things you mentioned and how female seiyuu actually suffer a lot with the sexism in the country. As I read though some news articles and paid attention to their testimonies - of those that abandoned the industry because of that harassment - I couldn't help but to feel sorry for them. They didn't have anyone supporting them, not even their managers. It is frustrating. As I went through doing the all the math on how much each job pays and how it is needed to survive in Tokyo, it started to show how almost impossible it is to survive those first 3 years in the industry. Kakihara is a good example, Tatsu and Suwabe as well. They all had it rough. I've read that Suwabe's family doesn't recognize his work - or something along those lines, please correct me if I am wrong - and that Tatsu basically ran away from home to pursue his passion. Kakihara... man, that precious man really had it rough. it puts a smile on my face that he managed to be successful and founded his own talent agency! On the women's side it's Masako Nozawa. It is said that, on the male side, Junichi Suwabe and Toshiyuki Morikawa are no-rank seiyuu. Nozawa actually confirmed it on a tv show (when she went to talk about the seiyuu ranking system), Suwabe and Morikawa are just rumors - there is no official info on that so take it with a grain of salt. It is rare but it still happens. Especially in those cases in which the sensei/mangaka/original creator really want one person to be in the cast 😁 There will also be directors that really pictured a specific seiyuu for a role and do everything to ask them to accept the role. I'd love to know how fees work when it comes to variety. I really wonder if those pay a lot - thus, that's why seiyuu attend those with frequency - or pay badly - and that's why only no "popular" seiyuu participate in those. Man, those treasure hunts give me life 😂 Love how crazy those end up being and how some seiyuu go as far as creating elaborate cheating plans to get to a goal ahead of everyone 😂 The Jinro battles used to be really good. Haven't watched one since they changed most of the regulars. Suwabe Junichi's Tobidase! Nomi Nakama is such a great show. I really love Suwabe's laidback hosting style. He puts the guests in a really good mood and it is like you say, we get interesting bits of information from these that we wouldn't get anywhere else! Plus his voice...😍 Thank you so much for your comment!
@Go Jo Thanks for your comment! The earnings are the same for both male and female seiyuu! You can check the sources in the description for more info (it's in Japanese though). A note that, the reason why I only focused on male seiyuu it's because SEIYUU LOUNGE is a "male seiyuu centric" podcast. Hope you enjoyed the episode :)
![SEIYUU LOUNGE EP7 - Rise and Fall of 2D Music Franchises [PART 2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gWySNVydAlE/mqdefault.jpg)
![SEIYUU LOUNGE EP7 - Rise and Fall of 2D Music Franchises [PART 2]](/img/tr.png)
Thank you for another interesting episode! ^^
I knew the seiyuu industry is hard, but... Wow. Although I knew about the low payment and that they have to work A LOT to survive, I didn't know about the ranking, I think it was what surprised me the most. But it makes sense, thinking how this industry is getting more competitive... Even if you're popular, you still have to work a lot. That's why there are a lot of seiyuus that get ill or end with their voices damaged.
But it makes me feel better that seiyuus keep helping another seiyuus, not only with acting advices but also as friends, like some of the examples that were mentioned at the beginning, or opening their own agencies with more fair conditions. Also I like that more projects are supporting new seiyuus, as Readyyy project did. I hope this trend continues and, of course, I wish the fans be willing of supporting new voices. Maybe I'm being too positive, but hopefully these actions can make a change in the future. ^^'
Of course this industry is terrifying as part of the entertainment industry, but thankfully now the foreigners fans have more possibilities to support our favorite seiyuus. Again thank you for the research and the information! This was a hard episode but necessary, as this industry isn't amazing as some people may think.
Hello Grecia! Nice to find you again in the comments section of a Seiyuu Lounge episode!
Yeah. The ranking system is not a novel thing. It already dates back to, at least, the late 90s. I honestly don't know what they wanted to accomplish with it since you don't get to the top by being a veteran - unlike what happens in most jobs in Japan.
In a way, it seems like it was created to prevent that anyone with no passion for the industry would join it. With no wages in some fields as a junior seiyuu, many people that were not passionate enough - or at all - about voice acting were on the fence and ultimately did not join the industry.
At the same time though, I imagine that those with talent but no money were either struggling to survive or had to give up on their dream.
Those hurdles - created by the ranking system - that junior seiyuu have to navigate, end up leading to some being homeless, having multiple jobs... if it wasn't for kind veterans in the industry, a couple of top tier/popular seiyuu we have right now would not be in the industry today (we really need to thank those seiyuu because they were awesome by supporting struggling rookie male seiyuu).
The problem with Readyyy Project is that, although they supported rookies (an awesome feat), if SEGA was following the "traditional" payment system in the seiyuu industry, none of the seiyuu with less than 3 years in the industry was paid for their variety appearances or live shows
Actually I read somewhere that if you join Office Osawa, you are safe and guaranteed to have enough money
If that is the case, it's good to know that there is a talent agency that actually takes care of their seiyuu right from the start!
Joining the voice acting industry in general (but especially Japan) is already a big undertaking so any help that rookies can have early on may help them thrive for longer until they can make an impact of some sort and start earning enough money to go by (and potentially, living off of their passion).
Thanks for the comment!
@@thtfhq It's actually only because Office Osawa's seiyuus are mainly doing Narration works
I missed the stream 😭 💔 I was already asleep when it premiered 😭 Nevertheless, I shall comment 😤
I wasn't really aware of the ranking system. I think at the back of my mind I know that there's some hierarchy in the industry but not like this. It's safe to assume that popular seiyuu can negotiate their fees especially if they are approached by the committee to voice their project. What I'm mostly shocked about is the junior seiyuu's fees. When you mentioned they are similar to an unpaid internship I thought "it cannot be /that/ bad" but it's actually worse.
Work is still work; why are these junior seiyuu not paid for their time in a public appearance?! It's so unfair. I can understand if they are paid less compared to the other seiyuu in that event but no pay at all? That sounds like an abuse. God, this makes me remind of an awful abuse regarding an anime TV project. He's doing better now I think, if my brief browse of his Twitter and YT is good enough.
I know pachinko are really big in Japan but I didn't think it ranks at the top for highest paying work. Do a lot of seiyuu lend their voice for pachinko? I don't think I've really heard any news for it, if it's work even a mention in news.
Based on the list of high-paying works, I'm glad that Hatanaka is getting quite a lot of foreign movie dubbing these days. He's also in Ultraman Z, though I'm not sure where it fits. There's also his singing career but I'm kind of worried about that. His latest single barely exceeded 1,000 sales for the first week 😭 I want him to do more singing but I'm not sure if it's viable for him...
Seiyuu industry is very harsh. I still can't believe that they have to spend their first 3 years without having enough money to survive. I can understand if it's because there's just not enough work for them but no, it's because they system is intended to work that way, to work against the rookies. I'm glad that you mentioned about some agencies changing their way and paying their talents fixed monthly payment instead of this BS. It's most helpful especially during these trying times.
Thank you so much for this episode! I didn't expect this to be dark whew, but I'm glad to learn more about the industry. I would love to learn more that you are able to share 👀 I can think of one scandal involving the seiyuu industry (but not really music related) that might be relevant to the next episode. If it is about the dark and dirty stuff in the industry. Still makes me angry about it but the male seiyuu is doing good these days, if my brief browse of his Twitter and YT is good enough.
I look forward to your next episode! And hopefully I can watch it live 😭🙏
P.S. I just finished listening to Dear Vocalist discography. It may not be everything because I just picked a fan-created playlist with 93 tracks (some are repeating) on Apple Music but I did it! Some songs are added to my daily playlist 🥰 Lots of them are from Toshiki Masuda 😊 He's so good 😭 He's one of my favorite seiyuu ever since I heard him from Samurai Flamenco. I haven't really been following him closely but I should correct that now.
I might check Dynamic Chord or a different franchise next time. I forgot to list down the names 😱 I'll have to check E7 again for that www
Hope you, at least, got a nice rest 😄
It seems as though those 3 years not being paid for variety work and underpaid in all other work is a way to "filter" who joins the industry. There might be some exceptions in which junior seiyuu are actually paid for variety appearances - I sure hope so -, but other than that, it is written in stone that the "traditional" ranking system works like this.
This is archaic at best, incredibly ridiculous at its worst. They should ditch that system and really embrace the idea of fixed monthly payments.
Takaya Kuroda is basically the god of pachinko. He voices a lot of pachinko machines. How much it pays, I don't know and, no matter how much I looked for, it doesn't say anywhere.
Hatanaka has a really inconsistent career as a voice actor - which is weird.
Doesn't have much anime nor drama CD work and does do narration.
His primary activities are music and dubbing.
His sales numbers are not the best, I have to admit that I wasn't expecting him to struggle with music sales.
As it is right now, 1000 copies is very far from even paying for the studio expenses (and let's not count expenses with the music video set on location and the sort). There's no way he's making a lot of money out of his music career right now, which is a pity because quality is something he doesn't lack. I wonder where are his fans though... I bet he has more than 1000, after all he held a live show with more than that number of fans in attendance...
Really odd 😕
Dubbing has been pretty big for him. Him being the official Japanese voice of a Canadian actor - can't recall who - is a sure, consistent stream of revenue for him!
You're welcome and apologies because of the "darkness" in this episode 😅
Looking forward to catching up with you on the live comments section 😄
Oh, the Dear Vocalist franchise is exactly 94 songs as of now (and some songs repeat because of the 2 best of albums that were released last year). Glad that you like it! Masuda? Wow! He's actually changed a lot his singing and, in the most recent releases he sounds beyond awesome! "√PARANOIA", "I am a loser" and "9/10" are among his best songs as RE-O-DO.
Have you checked Masuda's solo career? He's been dazzling everyone with his improved singing skills (also really awesome to have him playing guitar in some of his songs).
DYNAMIC CHORD is going to be a completely different experience for you. All 4 bands sound nothing like each other. Still a pretty good franchise that recently announced their comeback after a 2 year hiatus!
Would love to hear your feedback on other franchises you check! 😃
Also, thanks for your comment!
@@thtfhq Hatanaka's manager or whoever is in charge might have thought to use a different approach for his career? Maybe they thought he has more chance of a breakthrough from non-anime source? I really wish they do more effort for marketing/promoting him for his music releases. Maybe the Ultraman single will be /it/ 🙏 He has so much potential for singing 😭
√PARANOIA is my most favorite of his! He sounds kinda soft when singing the chorus 😊 I did check his solo career! Ngl, I didn't like his first single so I didn't immediately follow him because of that. But then his first album 👍👍👍 I might be imagining this but I can hear some influences from his previous profession from "Diver" but he was able to embrace and adapt it to his current self/profession? If that makes sense. And because of that, he was able to sing very comfortably, just based on that song. I still haven't listened to the whole album 😭, the album is not available on Apple Music. His first EP is available though.
Gotta look for Dynamic Chord playlist some time soon 💪
And no worries about the darkness of the topic. It's very much welcomed 👍 It's nice to hear about the reality of the industry we are supporting, even if the information are not so nice XD
@P M Whoever is in charge may think that Hatanaka is actually better in different types of work, which would explain why he has little work in anime.
At the same time I expected that Hatanaka at least had an acting career - because of his father - but his talent agency also doesn't put him in any acting gigs.
When it comes to music and dancing, you can tell right away that Hatanaka loves it and his music shows that. I only hope people paid more attention to him.
He ends up sounding a bit generic at times - because of Lantis insisting on him singing pop music - but when he strays away (most of FIGHTER and most recently, Regret) he shows that there is a lot of talent in him that must be explored.
If he had a differential about his sound, he could stand out.
Lack of vision by the manager and the music label are hindering Hatanaka's exposure.
Of course, this is my take as someone that, per year, ends up reviewing hundreds of similar pop releases by different seiyuu. It gets really boring on my side when seiyuu sound exactly the same despite all having their own - allegedly unique - solo careers. That's why I get excited - and write long reviews - when I find an "odd ball" in the mix 😂
Being experimental, showcasing more of his talents on the vocal end and even as a lyricist would be good. I continue to support his career because Hatanaka sure can sing insanely well 😍
We're on the same page when it comes to RE-O-DO! 😁
Oh, you didn't like it? I found it to be a pretty unexpected single coming from him. Thought he'd go the "pop route" instead of rock and jazz. Was pleasantly surprised.
Diver is also not available in Europe, only his single. Seems like, on this one, all his fans that haven't purchased the album are waiting for the day it becomes available on streaming platforms.
Have fun! 😄
Thanks! 🙏 I hope that, at least, I am adding some useful context about what goes behind the scenes in the seiyuu industry. It's not necessarily something positive - or novel - but it makes us support and appreciate even more seiyuu (the big positive out of so much darkness).
@@thtfhq I'm 👌 this close in wanting Hatanaka to change music labels because of this. Lantis is good, it's just that most of the times they have same-sounding releases 😭
I actually listened to Masuda's first single today and it was okay-ish so it might take time for me to get used to it. I guess I'm very picky when it comes to listening to music; I have to be impressed at the first listen 😥
After what they did to Yuki Ono (the whole man of the jungle concept and making him sing like he doesn't know how to when, in fact, he's one of the best singers in his generation of seiyuu), I really am wary of Lantis and their... exotic style of artist management.
The same sounding releases is much due to the fact that they always collaborate with the same composers and lyricists (even the studio musicians) + they seem like they want seiyuu to stick to one image and sound for their whole career.
How long did it take for Lantis to stop sticking that "pimp/sleezy" image to OnoD (since the "Delight") and finally embracing a more mature look and sound? Almost 5 years. So, I wouldn't hold my hopes high that they'd be flexible with Hatanaka this soon. But who knows, maybe in a couple of years he does have freedom to do what he wants, that or he leaves the label for something different.
There are some releases that take a while to sink in for us to notice their greatness. They tend to be more complex or, at that time in your life they simply don't connect with you. Then, there are others that strike us immediately. It really depends on the person, I, for one, thought it was insanely good but, for example, his performances in the Dear Vocalist franchise too a long time to sound good to me - the earlier ones, at least.
If it doesn't click with you, don't worry. Those standards you have are for something! He'll sure will have something that will click with you :)
Ahh... yes, the seiyuu industry. Because it's also part of the entertainment industry, unfortunately they share a similar, if not, the same system.
When I was young and naive, I thought to be able to make a living with just your voice is such a good deal. After reading more about the industry, while I'm sadden by the facts, I actually gained a new appreciation for seiyuus. The ones that made it until today, really, really work hard to achieve their dreams.
I read/watched somewhere that if you'd like to survive your junior years, you either have to work lots of part-time jobs, have a supportive parents that are willing to give you food/shelter, or have kind senpais around you like Tatsu. Most seiyuus I read about don't have the luxury of having a supportive parents, many actually went against their parents' wishes. If you've read about Kakihara's early days, you'd know how determined he was on becoming a seiyuu. It was extreme.
Do you have any name of who might be in the no-rank tier? As far as I know, most seiyuus still go to auditions even the more senior and well-known ones. It's rare hearing one particular seiyuu being appointed directly by the committee without any audition unless it's a big production with an enormous funds or with many investors. Like a certain Chinese BL audio drama production that appointed Tatsu directly for the main character's role just because the author of the original material is a huge fan and they have the money XD
I do wonder about the fees for appearing in variety/game shows like those Jinro battles or treasure hunts. The pay must have been pretty decent for them to keep appearing in these shows. I personally really like the Jinro battles and drinking shows like Suwabe Junichi's Tobidase! Nomi Nakama because we could hear a lot of insider stories there. Also, I just love listening to him talking in a regular voice XD
A bit oot but I personally think female seiyuus have it harder than their male counterparts because of the prevailing sexism in the country. I think I read more stories on female seiyuus throwing in the towel than male ones for the last few years. There are also a few shady things like the casting couch, sexual harassment by the producers/fellow seiyuus, I can go on and on. It's just very messed up like the idol industry.
Unfortunately, the seiyuu industry is really no different from other industries part of the entertainment industry.
The more you read, the darker it gets. It really is frustrating. I will actually talk a bit about in the next episode about some of the things you mentioned and how female seiyuu actually suffer a lot with the sexism in the country. As I read though some news articles and paid attention to their testimonies - of those that abandoned the industry because of that harassment - I couldn't help but to feel sorry for them. They didn't have anyone supporting them, not even their managers. It is frustrating.
As I went through doing the all the math on how much each job pays and how it is needed to survive in Tokyo, it started to show how almost impossible it is to survive those first 3 years in the industry.
Kakihara is a good example, Tatsu and Suwabe as well. They all had it rough.
I've read that Suwabe's family doesn't recognize his work - or something along those lines, please correct me if I am wrong - and that Tatsu basically ran away from home to pursue his passion. Kakihara... man, that precious man really had it rough. it puts a smile on my face that he managed to be successful and founded his own talent agency!
On the women's side it's Masako Nozawa. It is said that, on the male side, Junichi Suwabe and Toshiyuki Morikawa are no-rank seiyuu. Nozawa actually confirmed it on a tv show (when she went to talk about the seiyuu ranking system), Suwabe and Morikawa are just rumors - there is no official info on that so take it with a grain of salt.
It is rare but it still happens. Especially in those cases in which the sensei/mangaka/original creator really want one person to be in the cast 😁 There will also be directors that really pictured a specific seiyuu for a role and do everything to ask them to accept the role.
I'd love to know how fees work when it comes to variety. I really wonder if those pay a lot - thus, that's why seiyuu attend those with frequency - or pay badly - and that's why only no "popular" seiyuu participate in those.
Man, those treasure hunts give me life 😂 Love how crazy those end up being and how some seiyuu go as far as creating elaborate cheating plans to get to a goal ahead of everyone 😂
The Jinro battles used to be really good. Haven't watched one since they changed most of the regulars.
Suwabe Junichi's Tobidase! Nomi Nakama is such a great show. I really love Suwabe's laidback hosting style. He puts the guests in a really good mood and it is like you say, we get interesting bits of information from these that we wouldn't get anywhere else! Plus his voice...😍
Thank you so much for your comment!
Is it a different case with female seiyuus? You only talked about males seiyuus so...
@Go Jo Thanks for your comment! The earnings are the same for both male and female seiyuu! You can check the sources in the description for more info (it's in Japanese though).
A note that, the reason why I only focused on male seiyuu it's because SEIYUU LOUNGE is a "male seiyuu centric" podcast. Hope you enjoyed the episode :)
@@thtfhq Thanks for the clarification.
No problem!