Soramimi Project #29: Ishida Akira 石田彰

First heard: Ikeda Kazuma (Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyo)

First noticed: Nagisa Kaoru (Evangelion)

Memorable characters: Nagisa Kaoru (Evangelion), Xelloss (Slayers series), Athrun Zala (Gundam SEED/SEED DESTINY), Sarutobi Sasuke (Samurai Deeper Kyo), Kouya/Kenrou Shinkun (Juuni Kokuki), Hayami Atsushi (GunParade March), Chrono (Chrono Crusade), Head (Star Driver), Takenaka Hanbei (Sengoku Basara 2), Katsura Kotarou (Gintama), Gaara (Naruto), etc.

Image character: N/A

Discernment rate: very high; visual

Number of works seen: 97

Number of merchandise owned: 12

ｷﾀ━━━━━( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ )━━━━━!!

My honmei male seiyuu! XD

Ishida-san is undoubtedly one of the best seiyuu out there and is of legendary status. One of his most famous stunts involved him portraying 7 different characters (himself, father, mother, grandpa, grandma, younger brother, and younger sister) in a 5-min track where he listens to an answering machine message left by his families.

I first heard Ishida-san in Kare Kano, but as Kare Kano was my 2nd ever anime in Japanese, I knew nothing about seiyuu. When I really started to watch anime a few years after, Kaoru from Evangelion caught my attention. Soon after I met Xelloss from Slayers TRY, and that's when I started to recognize his voice.

As can be gathered from the very high number of works I've seen of Ishida-san (which is probably not even half of what he's done), he's pretty much played any type of characters imaginable, from young to old, male to female, hero to last boss, cold-blooded to hot-blooded... You name it, he's probably played it. And he is goooood. He creates a presence for his character whenever he speaks.

He's got a very smooth and graceful voice, but he's stopped singing character songs after 2002 (but would sing if it's part of the act in the show), which is a real shame. I really like his Xelloss songs for Slayers Next and Try.

The first time I heard Ishida-san's own voice in a web radio program, I was surprised at how high his pitch was. He's generally known to not be a people's person, and he often appears in photos without a smile. But when he's amongst people he's familiar with, he opens up a bit and acts more freely. Then he becomes a potential tsukkomi person, especially when he's with good friends such as Hoshi Souichirou.

Despite having heard many works where Ishida-san appears in, I still squeal in happiness whenever I hear him. Since he's my honmei male seiyuu, obviously I'd want to hear as many of his works as possible. I'd shoot for 150 works if it's possible, but seeing how I don't have access to Japanese games, this is not really feasible since I'm also watching other anime as they air and therefore can't just watch anime that he appears in.

I'm probably pushing it to even shoot for 110, but I'm gonna set the goal at 120 works by the end of 2012. Anything more would be bonus. XD

素敵な演技をいつもありがとうございます、石田さん！
これからも頑張ってください、ずっと応援します！( ﾟ ∀ ﾟ )