When voice actors look like their characters

[senshikoi]

So, I was on the net yesterday, and stumbled across the fact that Jess Nigiri is the voice of Super Sonico in the dub to SoniAni, and it got me thinking, of other instances where voice actors look like their characters!

 

This can be extended this to seiyuu too!

 

Technically, Jess Nigiri could be described as cheating, I assume she got the gig because she has cosplayed as Super Sonico, and thus Jess and Sentai Filmworks have a symbiotic relationship where each benefits from the other, although I have been informed that Jess was also in RWBY, so it appears she's not a one-trick voice pony!

 

I actually wonder if it's because of Jess that one of the Sonico games is getting a world wide release, on Steam, I'm guessing, any "WW" releases on Wikipedia are usually Steam right?

 

Sticking with Super Sonico, but not the topic, anyone know if Super Pochako (also written as Pochaco) and Super Taruko feature in games, or if they're just available as figures?

• Actually, only really know about figures regarding Pochako (and Sonico, obviously)!
  

Anyway, so back to the topic, I have to wonder if when Disney dubbed Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind(s), they hoped to make a live action movie from it, because if you look at some of the cast, and their characters, they look quite similar:

• Nausicaä - Allison Lohman,
  
• Asbel - Shia LeBeouf,
  
• Kushana - Uma Thurman,
  
• Kurotawa - Chris Sarandan!
  

Even Patrick Stewart could look like Lord Yupa if someone stuck a Trible over his mouth, plus, seeing a real life Mehve would be like Christmas for me! That said, they exist (mehves), however it wasn't Disney that made them!

 

Now, not to the same degree, but in Laputa: Castle in the Sky, they cast Mark Hamill, a blonde floppy haired actor (in his youth), as a blonde floppy haired villain, Muska! Hamill was also in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind(s), but wasn't playing a blonde floppy haired anything in that movie!

 

Still, in regards to Studio Ghibli, not all of their movies have been their original ideas:

• Laputa: Castle in the Sky is technically inspired from Gulliver's Travels;
  
• Kiki's Delivery Service is based on a book by Eiko Kandono (and is available in English);
  
• Ocean Waves is based on a manga by Saeko Himuro (and doesn't have a dub);
  
• Whisper of the Heart is based on a book by Aoi Hiiragi;
  
• Howl's Moving Castle is based a book by Diana Wynne Jones;
  
• Tales from Earthsea is based on multiple books by Ursula K. LeGuin (plus the Sci-Fi Channel did a -terrible- live action);
  
• The Borrower Arrietty is based on a book by Mary Norton (plus there are multiple live versions already);
  
• From Up on Poppy Hill is based on a manga by Tetsurou Sayama!
  

So not all Ghibli movies could possibly be made into live action, and in the instance of Tales from Earthsea, given how disappointed LeGuin was with both the Sci-Fi Channel's version, and Ghibli's there's also that reason, however I have to agree, Sci-Fi's version was terrible (they had to make everything "magic", like swapping Sparrowhawk's true name and use name around, because his true name didn't have the "magic" factor), and Ghibli did change quite a bit too, it's more based on Shura's Journey (Hayao Miyazaki)!

 

Still this is also slightly off topic, the only way I could remain on topic, is if I discuss about the cast in the movies above:

• Kiki's Delivery Service - Kirsten Dunst would probably have been too old to reprised her role as Kiki in a live version;
  
• Whisper of the Heart - Ashley Tisdale could probably have reprised her role in a live version, with hair dye;
  
• Howl's Moving Castle - Christian Bale and Emily Blunt, I could see both of those being a possibility;
  
• Tales from Earthsea - Timothy Dalton, sure I could see it, he's a bit fair skinned however, but that didn't stop Sci-Fi Channel!
  

I considered whether I should address my short falls, by looking the other cast members, of the previously mentioned movies, to flesh it out a bit, but I thought, if I do that, then this becomes more "me talking at you", and not "mutual involvement", this way, by not addressing everyone, you can argue the case about the other cast members!

 

Plus if I think about it, I've ended up focusing on only certain Ghibli movies (those that are based off other people's property), whilst there are other movies, which also had voice actors, who may in fact, look like their characters!

 

So what other series or movies can I talk about? I wondered whether the dub cast for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children might have been chosen on looks, Christie Carlson Romano as Yuffie, and Rachael Leigh Cook as Tifa, however looking at some images of RLC, I didn't really see much Tifa to her, and that's not a reference to female assets, however now that I say that it's not, it sounds like that's what I mean!

 

That said, Ayumi Itou on the other hand, Tifa's Japanese seiyuu, I feel that there is a look of Tifa about her - wow, she's only six years, three hundred and fifty-eight days older than me, which is interesting, as I'm twenty-five days older than Tifa !

 

So, speaking of seiyuu, a couple of them dress up as their characters, for promotions, performances and ending videos, such as Mai Nakahara and Ai Shimizu starred as Nagisa and Tamao in

to Strawberry Panic!, but didn't really look like their characters, whilst Yukari Tamura and co. (I think) dressed up as Nanoha and co. to promote Movie 2nd A's, but didn't really look like their characters!

 

I actually came across an image of the seiyuu to Ro-Kyuu-Bu!, and found it interesting that the tallest girl of the basketball team, Airi, is played by the shortest seiyuu (in the cast), Rina Hidaka! Actually I'm reminded of Sakura Wars, where the cast heights differ from the character heights!

 

Right, well that's all the comparisons I can think of, so how about you?

• Any comparisons you want to make?
  
• Continuation of some of the comparisons I've made?
  
• Know any more comparisons for Studio Ghibli, or Final Fantasy?
  

Ok then, that's all from me, it's over to you!

Edited May 11, 2016 by Guest

[Baka]

Well, it's not from FF or Studio Ghibli, but Nadeko from Monogatari looks like Kana Hanazawa, her seiyuu.

 

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I might be the only one who sees it though...

[senshikoi]

B-L-I-M-E-Y, I see it too, nice shout! I've gotta get back to Monogatari at somepoint, watched Bakemonogatari, but then there was a gap that was filled by Katanagatari, which I need to see, and then Nisemonogatari and everything else was sneezed out at the same time, I've not had a chance to catch up!

 

That said, it would only disappoint me - I route for Tsubasa and Nadeko as love interests, not Hiiragi! Damn sudden girlfriends alwys winning out over childhood friends !

 

I wasn't actually looking at only Studio Ghibli and Final Fantasy, it was open to any anime, hence the fact I opened talking about SoniAni, although as I said, that one might have been cheating!

[senshikoi]

Apologies for double post, but stumbled across two series where I feel (some of) the seiyuu look similar to their characters!

 

The first series is "Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha":

• Sadohara Kaori (seiyuu - give her a pair of glasses) and Marutamachi Chika;
  
• Nomizu Iori (seiyuu - lighten her hair a bit) and Sumizome Akemi!
  

The second series is "Wagaya no Oinari-sama":

• Asano Masumi (seiyuu - give her a pair of glasses) and Bekira;
  
• Itou Shizuka (seiyuu) and Miyabe Momiji;
  
• Mizuhashi Kaori (seiyuu) and Mubyou;
  
• Yoshida Hitomi (seiyuu) and Sainoku;
  
• Hayami Saori (seiyuu) and Kou;
  
• Kano Yui (seiyuu) and Sakura Misaki;
  
• Horie Yui (seiyuu) and Takagami Miyako!
  

Just trying to figure out if Asakawa Yuu (seiyuu) and Enjuu look similar now, the image of Asakawa that anidb has doesn't help too much!

 

EDIT: Found another series where I think there's more seiyuu character similarity!

 

Third series is "Asatte no Houkou":

Fujimura Ayumi (seiyuu) and Isokawa Karada, although playing her kid "form" would be a bit tough;

Itou Shizuka (seiyuu) and Nogami Shouko, although playing her kid "form" would be a bit tough;

Koshimizu Ami (seiyuu) and Shiozaki Kotomi, no kid form for this one, so no problem !

 

Think there might have been a fourth series, but I was too busy to save the pages, and now aniDB's blocked me (temporarily) as part of anti-leeching policy!

Edited May 20, 2016 by Guest