Kis-my-ft2’s Yuta Tamamori Was the First Johnny’s to Make Such an Accomplishment at Disney’s Headquarters in the U.S.
Kis-My-Ft2’s Yuta Tamamori (33) will voice-act in an animated film for the first time in the Japanese dubbed version of “My Element” (released on August 4). This is the “first time” that a talent from Johnny’s has voiced an American animation production company, Pixar, in a film. This time, Disney and Pixar have teamed up for the new film, and Tamamori was selected after auditioning at Disney’s U.S. headquarters.
According to the official Disney movie page, “My Element” is “Disney & Pixar’s most ambitious film to date, asking the question, ‘If there were a world of fire, water, earth, and wind elements, what would their personalities be like, how would they live, and how could they interact with each other?’ The film is set in a world with the most challenging concept in Pixar’s history: “If there were a world of fire, water, earth, and wind, what would their personalities be like, how would they live, and how would they interact with each other? The Japanese version of Ember, a girl of fire, will be voiced by actress Haruna Kawaguchi, and Tamamori will play Wade, a young man of water, who is the other main character in the film.
On May 12, the official Twitter account of Disney Studios (Animation) uploaded a trailer along with Kawaguchi’s comment. Then, Japanese fans and others commented, “Mizu’s voice sounds like Tamachan’s! On June 1, it was officially announced that Tamamori would be appearing in the film, and there was a wave of congratulation.
According to an article in Sankei Sports dated June 1, “This is the first time for a Japanese talent to act as a voice actor in a Pixar movie. It has been 19 years since Shonen-tai member Noriyuki Higashiyama (56) voiced “Brother Bear” (2004) in a Disney movie. In other Disney films, Masahiro Matsuoka of TOKIO dubbed for “Hercules” (’97) and Hiroshi Nagano of 20th Century dubbed for “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (’01).
In recent years, more and more Japanese talents have taken up the challenge of voice-over work. For example, SixTONES’ Hokuto Matsumura participated in Makoto Shinkai’s “Suzume no Togome” released last November, and King & Prince’s Ren Nagase participated in “Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Sky Ideal World” released this March. Each of them received high praise on SNS, with comments such as, “I thought they were performed by professional voice actors,” and “I wish Matsumura-san would do voice acting as well.
In addition, some voice actors have also worked on TV anime: Kis-My-Ft2’s Toshiya Miyata was an additional cast member for “Delicious Party Pretty Cure” (TV Asahi), which started last February, and appeared in the 13th episode (broadcast on June 5 of the same year). He played the role of a twin brother in a one-man dual role. Daisuke Sakuma of Snow Man was chosen to play the role of Michiru Mawarima, a new character in “Vanguard will+Dress” (TV Tokyo, started July 4, 2010), his first regular voice acting role.
Miyata and Sakuma are known as two of Johnny’s biggest anime fans. Miyata made his first attempt as a voice actor in the movie “BEM the Movie: BECOME HUMAN,” released in ’20, in which he guest starred as Burgess, the best friend of the main character Bem. Before the recording session, she attended voice actor Daisuke Namikawa’s studio and took lessons. At the completion preview of the film, cast members Kensho Ono and Katsuyuki Konishi praised Miyata’s acting, saying, “You’re so good! Miyata’s performance was praised by cast members Kensho Ono and Katsuyuki Konishi.
Meanwhile, Sakuma made her voice acting debut as the original character Maxa North in the 140th episode of the TV anime “Black Clover” (TV TOKYO) broadcast the same year. According to an August 25, 2008 Sports Hochi report, he had been practicing by consulting with Takuatsu Terashima, a voice actor with whom he had been in contact. Both Miyata and Sakuma’s love of anime must be the reason why they worked so diligently while learning from the pros.
How will the audience perceive Tamamori’s voice performance? We look forward to the release of “My Element.
