Interview: Kousuke Toriumi, 'King of Otome Voices'

Kousuke Toriumi's wide range of character performances showcases a versatile and appealing voice—one that has led to frequent casting in visual novels and drama CDs targeted to women ("otome"). As an invited guest at last year's Sydney Manga and Anime Show (SMASH!), Toriumi was thus billed with the honorary title, "King of Otome Voices."

While Toriumi's MAL page lists numerous adaptations of such otome games, his flexible and expressive acting has also credited him to multiple shounen titles that anime viewers may be more familiar with; including JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 5: Ougon no Kaze, Yowamushi Pedal, and Naruto. During his career, Toriumi has sung in musical groups formed with other prominent voice actors and fictional idol franchises, such as Cecil in the Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ series. Tekitou—a book containing professional photos, some of Toriumi's recipes, and other personal information—was released in 2016 to commemorate his 20 years in the industry.

We were granted an audience with the "King" himself at SMASH! and spoke briefly about his expansive career.


How old were you when you decided to become a voice actor?

I answer this question a lot, but I have no idea, really. It just came to me. When I was in my final year of high school, I didn't know what I wanted to do in the future—whether to find work or go to university. I happened to be in voice acting school and that's how I became a voice actor.

Your talent profile mentions that you enjoy cooking. Did you ever consider being a chef instead?

I didn't really think of becoming a chef. However, since I love eating and drinking, in a broad sense, I like cooking.

Is there anything in particular that you like to cook?

Curry rice, fried rice, omelette rice—just a lot of rice (laughs).

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken has rapidly increased in popularity internationally, and you're currently performing Guido Mista in JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 5: Ougon no Kaze. Do you find anything particularly challenging about this role?

Well... the role of Mista is very hectic. He changes his feelings rapidly, such as from anger to laughter, so in this context, acting Mista is challenging. Actually, recording JoJo is hard for everyone. In the recording venue, we sweat, and it looks like we've been playing a sport or doing martial arts. It’s like a sports tournament where we have to keep making loud voices, and it gets physically tiring (laughs). For Mista, I also have to play the Sex Pistols, which is hard!

Note: Sex Pistols is the name of Mista's Stand. A Stand is a supernatural power in JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken that appears as a physical entity.

What do you think of the other characters in Bucchiarati's gang?

In a lot of cases, my character worked with Giorno, so I would say that he's the most impressive person. Especially when he fought with Ghiaccio: throughout that fight, we had many interactions that really embodied the themes of JoJo Part 5 as a whole. The determination they conveyed through their conversation was really memorable for me.



You've played the role of Imaizumi Shunsuke across four seasons and three movies of Yowamushi Pedal. What was your favourite scene in the role?

Because I played him for such a long time, there are a lot of scenes that I really like. But if I had to choose, I would say the Inter-High races. The Inter-High racing scenes express not only my own character, but also other characters very well. In those parts, there are many scenes that show the feeling of a typical shounen manga, but I really love them because they keep things exciting.

Even if we only look at the select otome games that have been licensed in English, you've performed a wide variety of roles: aloof Saitou Hajime in Hakuouki, soft-spoken Lawrence in Haitaka no Psychedelica, happy Watson in Code:Realize, or arrogant Shiki in Period;Cube. It's hard to believe there is a character type you haven't performed yet.
Which are the most fun to act as?

Basically, all the characters I play are enjoyable to act. However, depending on the story and scenario, I have various feelings.

For example, Hakuouki is a story about the Shinsengumi; historically, it's fated to just vanish, so I had to work on a lot of sad scenes. In those scenes, I was synchronized with the character, and I felt sad and depressed.

On the other hand, in Period;Cube the position of my character was like the "final boss." I didn't have to worry about anything else except acting as I wanted. I could be as he is, arrogant. It was really freeing to act.

Do you find acting in visual novels or drama CDs to be more difficult than television since the heroine is often unvoiced?

Anime and games are recorded very differently. In anime, we often record with the other voice actors, but for games I'm usually recording on my own. So the method of voice acting is different. It's particularly difficult for games because I have no idea how the characters I'm interacting with have acted, so I have to use my own imagination to fill that gap. We just have to assume that it's okay for both visual novels and drama CDs.

In addition to acting you also sing, both as the voice for multiple character idols and with other seiyuu professionally. Speaking is one thing, but how do you approach singing as different characters vs yourself?

I'm not very good at singing to begin with, so it's difficult to sing. First of all, I will do my best to sing. Then, on top of that, I try to sing as close as possible to the voice of each character and to imagine the way in which that character would sing. I sing while taking care to not deviate from the character's image. Although there is a limit, I'm singing hard (laughs).

What was your image of Australia before you came, and how has your experience here so far met that image?

I visited Perth half a year ago around New Year's. So compared to that, I really love the atmosphere in Sydney, which is very different from Perth. As you know, I really like cooking, so I had an interest in Aussie food and wines. Weather-wise, it's a lot drier than Japan. The combination of the weather and the scenery was really great, and the people are really kind.

I've been to four to five countries before, but this is the only country I would actually want to live in.

Interview was conducted through an interpreter and has been edited for clarity.