Do you know the name of the voice actor or actress of your flavor cartoon character? Probably not. But in Japan, voice actors and actresses of anime are very popular.
The role of voice actors or actresses, particularly voice actresses, is very important for a anime. A great voice actor or actress has to be able to bring out the emotions and the uniqueness of the voice-over character through sound no matter what the characters say, making he or she alive. Some people even decide whether to watch a anime based on the list of the participating voice actor or actress! Since the basic salary of a voice actor or actress is not very high (in fact lower than the average wage of Japanese workers), many of them will also perform in front of the screens, like singing of being MC of an event.
Once they become more well-known, they can have more job opportunities and earn more money, like selling their CD or holding their own concerts. There is a magazine for introducing voice actors and actresses only, and some famous voice actors or actresses even have fan clubs (both local and international)! In other words, voice actors and actresses are kind of idols in the Japanese music industry as well.
Among all voice actors and actresses, Nana Mizuki should be the most popular one. Originally Nana Mizuki was trained to be a enka (a kind of Japanese traditional song) singer, but later she decided to be a anime voice actress due to her passion of anime. Besides the voice-over job, Nana Mizuki often participate in some singing events.
Later, as her voice and songs getting more popular, she started to hold annual concert. Not only being the first voice actress singing in the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, the biggest annual singing event on the New Year’s Eve, the “queen of anime music” become the first voice actress holding personal concert in the Tokyo Dome!
Compared with other countries, since the anime industry in Japan is more mature and bigger, the demand of voice actors and actresses is larger as well as their social status and flame. In fact, no matter which country you are living in, voice actors and actresses is a hard job and requires lots of training. Therefore, next time when you are watching a anime, try to find out who is in charge of the voice-over of your flavor character.
Comic World 