Tsuda Kenjiro has been in the entertainment industry since his debut at 19. But it wasn’t until his breakthrough role as Kaiba Seto in Yu-Gi-Oh! years later that he gained recognition for his prowess in voice acting. Since then, he has lent his deep and raspy voice to many memorable anime characters that we know and love.
From nostalgic figures from our childhood to new characters in upcoming releases, here are 10 iconic anime characters voiced by Tsuda Kenjiro.
One of Tsuda Kenjiro’s most iconic roles is none other than Kaiba Seto, the charismatic anti-hero from our beloved childhood series Yu-Gi-Oh!. His low, attractive voice is befitting of a CEO of a major gaming conglomerate.
As Kaiba, Tsuda Kenjiro manages to convey the competitive nature of the character through his aggressive line delivery during the games. Special mention goes to his signature evil laughter, which made him an entertaining character to watch.
During an interview with TV Asahi, Tsuda Kenjiro said that the role of Kaiba was a major turning point in his career and life, propelling him to fame as he went from a struggling actor to a household name in Japan.
Mitsuya Yūji, a veteran voice actor who happened to be the voice director of Yu-Gi-Oh! at the time, shared that Tsuda Kenjiro was up against two other auditionees in the final round. Ultimately, he was casted as they envisioned Kaiba with a deep voice.
Enter Tatsu, a retired yakuza member who is now a devoted family man who takes care of household chores while his wife goes to work.
Despite his commitment to his new role as a househusband, old habits die hard as he approaches everyday, mundane things with the demeanour of a gangster. This leads to awkward misunderstandings such as threatening a roomba with a katana and terrifying a supermarket staff member by asking her if they sell “that white powder stuff”.
While the series has gotten some flak for its animation that’s mainly a bunch of moving still cuts, Tsuda Kenjiro’s throaty voice sells Tatsu as an ex-yakuza member with a menacing presence, making it a worthwhile watch.
In fact, he’s so fitting for the role that he literally starred as Tatsu in an live-action commercial that was made to celebrate sales of 1.2 million manga copies of The Way Of The Househusband. Get you a man who can voice and act the part.
Stoic and mysterious, Ogata from Golden Kamuy – a series set in northernmost Japan right after the Russo-Japanese War – is a highly competent sniper. As a cold and ruthless character with a dark backstory, Ogata’s personality shines through with Tsuda Kenjiro’s calm and low-pitched voice.
While he is intelligent and competent in combat, Ogata is a bit of a wild card in the series as he often does things that are unexpected. His unpredictability easily makes him one of the most interesting characters in the series.
Another anime role that contributed to Tsuda Kenjiro’s rise to fame in the early 2000s was Inui Sadaharu from Prince of Tennis.
An analytical player who specialises in using data to defeat his opponents, Sadaharu’s character shines through thanks to Tsuda Kenjiro’s calm and collected voice.
As the nutritionist of the team, Sadaharu would often concoct disgusting juice blends, which he dubbed “Inui juice”, that are capable of taking down anyone who drank it. Eager to avoid the repulsive drink as punishment, his team members usually end up motivated to train harder.
A pivotal character who saved Eren and Mikasa from the Smiling Titan in the first episode of Attack on Titan, Hannes was the unit captain of the Garrison Regiment, whose purpose was to defend the citizens from the Titans in the event of a wall breach.
He started off the series as a good-for-nothing and seemingly unreliable soldier, often drinking during his shift. However, his failure to save Carla during the fall of Shiganshina and his resulting guilt changed him into a more responsible soldier.
Originally, Hannes was voiced by Fujiwara Keiji, a legendary voice actor who was known as having the “national dad voice” as he played Hiroshi Nohara, Crayon Shinchan’s dad. In season two, Tsuda Kenjiro filled in for him when Fujiwara was on hiatus to undergo a medical treatment.
Needless to say, he had some pretty big shoes to fill. But he did a superb job at retaining the gruff voice that’s signature of Hannes, while adding his own subtle spin.
Avid players of Genshin Impact and Japanese voice actors will be able to recognise Dainsleif’s voice immediately. A tall and slender man with blonde hair and blue eyes, Dainsleif is a character with a mysterious origin, who seems to have extensive knowledge of fate itself.
A feast for the eyes and ears, Dainsleif’s first appearance was in the World Quest, guiding players to uncover the secrets of the Bough Keeper together.
Besides voicing the enigmatic Dainsleif, all of the Collected Miscellany videos were also narrated by the seasoned voice actor himself.
Image credit: David Production
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where people spontaneously combust and turn into fire demons called “Infernals”, Fire Force follows the titular organisation that’s made up of said flame users, who are able to manipulate fire.
Tsuda Kenjiro plays Joker, an anti-hero whose main goal is to uncover the truth regardless of the means.
Orphaned as a child and raised as an assassin, Joker is an extremely skilled fighter who’s able to hold his own against other powerful opponents in the series. Beside Tsuda Kenjiro’s acting, the series has tons of action and battle scenes with decent animation.
A major antagonist in season four, Overhaul is the leader of the yakuza organisation Shie Hassaikai in My Hero Academia. Tsuda Kenjiro seems to be regularly cast in badass roles that are involved in the underground world. Not that we’re complaining, since that just means we get to hear more of his buttery voice.
In the series, Overhaul was first introduced as the foil to the League of Villains, openly expressing his wish to eradicate quirks from the world. As a big germaphobe, he becomes irritable and develops hives when he’s confronted with something unsanitary.
Slightly jaded, gets pissed off when he has to work overtime, despises labour – Nanami Kento from Jujutsu Kaisen is literally every one of us who is working a boring corporate job.
Though he used to be a salaryman with a financially lucrative job, his conscience prompted Nanami to leave his stable job and return to become a Jujutsu sorcerer.
In the Jujutsu Kaisen podcast, Tsuda Kenjiro talked briefly about his experience voicing Nanami. When asked about his approach to voicing the character, Tsuda shared that he tries to speak as naturally as possible, even maintaining a flat voice to make the character more realistic.
There’s a running joke within the fandom that the fan-favourite Gojo Satoru is disliked by both the manga artist Akutami Gege and his voice actor Nakamura Yuichi due to how flashy the character tends to act. Recently, on his YouTube channel, Nakamura mentioned that his favourite character is none other than Nanami. Interesting.
If, like us, you can’t get over Tsuda Kenjiro’s buttery smooth voice, this new comedy anime series on Netflix will be your new ASMR obsession. Thermae Romae Novae follows Lucius, a bath architect from ancient Rome, who accidentally travels to the future and finds himself in a bath house in modern-day Japan.
Naturally, he is overwhelmed by the sheer ingenuity and innovation of modern Japanese baths. Taking a leaf out of Japan’s book, the inspired architect brings these ideas back to ancient Roman society.
Lucius even discovers the wonders of Japanese toilets and what it feels like to have your butt treated like royalty. His reaction in the trailer is, to be honest, anyone’s reaction when they first discover Japan’s advanced butt-spraying technology.
Video credit: Netflix Anime
The original series was released on Netflix on 28th March 2022. Though we’ve yet to watch it, judging by the looks of the trailer and the fact that Tsuda Kenjiro is voicing the main protagonist, we have nothing but high hopes.
From an ex-yakuza member who loves his wife too much to a chill salaryman sorcerer who just wants to get off work on time, Tsuda Kenjiro has a voice built for any role. Despite having the range, his voice stays rather distinct, so it’s hard to miss when you hear him. Have a go to see if you can recognise his voice in the next anime series you watch!
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Cover image adapted from (clockwise from top left): IMDb, MAPPA, Netflix, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Fandom
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