Ever since I started studying Japanese and watching unsubtitled anime, I began to notice that I could recognize more and more actors by the sound of their voice. Eventually it became a hobby of mine to watch all the new shows in a season and try to identify as many voice actors as possible, and while I admit it’s a tiny bit geeky, I’m now able to discern some people from a single breath.

To see if there are other people like me out there, I asked Omni if I could try to make a new section, and this is it: a voice acting quiz with 10 (+1 bonus) sound bites taken from various anime. The challenge is for you to listen to each clip and identify which seiyuu it is, and then write the ones you got in a comment. I’ll post the correct answers in the next quiz, and give a special mention (!) to whichever poster got it right first. You only get one chance, though, so make sure before you hit submit!

Omni’s response to watching the clip was that it was too easy, so I’ll be happy to receive feedback, and comments on whether you think this is a fun addition to the blog.

Note: Alright, so it was too easy. And it probably doesn’t help that people see each other’s comments. How about trying to name the shows/characters? 🙂

Edit: The first one to list every single seiyuu correctly in one post was Kurogane, and here are the answers for quiz 1:
Show Spoiler ▼

Sorry for using the same show over and over again, but I had the episodes on hand, and there was no plan to quiz on characters initially.

61 Comments

  1. #1 Tomokazu Sugita
    #2 Mamiko Noto
    #3 Norio Wakamoto
    #4 Kikuko Inoue
    #5 Tomokazu Seki
    #6 Maaya Sakamoto
    #7 Keiji Fujiwara
    #8 Ai Nonaka

    I know the others, but effort coming up with their names…

  2. Patrik did go a bit easy on this first quiz. Only the bonus question is pretty hard (I’m still not sure who it is) and #10’s a bit tricky.

    But then again, that’s coming from a seiyuu fanatic so who knows!

  3. Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I’m able to identify Ayako KAwasumi, Mamiko Noto, TOmokazu Seki and many more just by their sighs… no kidding. A shame I can’t see the videoclip here at work, but I guess I would easily guess 8 from 10

    Syaoran Li
  4. 1 Tomokazu Sugita, 2 Mamiko Noto 3 Norio Wakamoto, 4 Kikuko Inoue 5 Tomokazu Seki 6 Maaya Sakamoto, 7 Keiji Fujiwara, 8 Ai Nonaka 9 Shinichiro Miki 10 Marina Inoue
    Still on the 11.

    Steche
  5. 1. Sugita Tomokazu
    2. Noto Mamiko
    3. Wakamoto Norio
    4. Inoue Kukiko
    5. Konishi Katsuyuki
    7. Fujiwara Keiji
    8. Nonaka Ai
    10. Tomatsu Haruka

    Well it wasn’t hard in general, but I tend to forget some names… Anyway nice addition to the blog, #10 even reminded me, that I should really finish Moryou no Hako…

    SunyiNyufi
  6. Sugita Tomokazu
    Noto Mamiko (OH SNAPZ ITS SHIMAKO <3)
    Wakamoto Norio
    Inoue Kikuko
    Katsuyuki Konishi
    Sakamoto Maaya (SAYAKA <3)
    Fujiwara Keiji
    Nonoka Ai
    Shinichiro Miki
    Inoue Marina
    Koyama Rikiya

    Mighty Mouse
  7. #1 Sugita, Tomokazu AS Kyon in Suzumiya Haruhi (“S2” Episode 8)
    #2 Noto, Mamiko AS Toudou, Shimako IN Maria-sama ga Miteru
    #3(easyest) Wakamoto, Norio AS Oda, Nobunaga IN Sengoku BASARA (4th i think)
    #4 Inoue, Kikuko AS Lust IN Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
    #5 Seki, Tomokazu (???)
    #6 Sakamoto, Maaya AS Nakasugi, Sayaka IN Tetsuwan Birdy Decode 2
    #7 Fujiwara, Keiji (maybe Hughes IN FMA?)
    #8 Nonaka, Ai (maybe Kanade IN Asura Cryn)
    #9 Shinichiro Miki (Mustang IN FMA2?)
    #10 ???
    #11 ???

  8. 1. Tomokazu Sugita (Kyon-kun, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi) dead giveaway here.
    2. Noto Mamiko (Shimako Toudou, Maria-sama ga Miteru) same.
    3. Norio Wakamoto (Oda Nobunaga, Sengoku Basara) same.
    4. Inoue Kikuko (Lust, Full Metal Alchemist) same.
    5. Seki Tomokazu (Katana, Coyote Ragtime Show) This was rather hard but oh well, i’m just shooting in the dark.
    6. Maaya Sakamoto (Nakasugi Sayaka, Birdy the Mighty) heh, I nearly forgot about this show.
    7. Fujiwara Keiji (Keisuke Muroto, Birdy the Mighty) also shooting in the dark for this one.
    8. Nonaka Ai (Inamori Mika, Manabi Straight) I think this is the only show where she sounds “normal”.
    9. Shinichiro Miki (Lockon Stratos, Gundam 00) dead giveaway.
    10. Tomatsu Haruka (Kanako Yuzuki, Mouryo no Hako) stole the answer. I didn’t watch this show.

    11. Rikiya Koyama (Hakuoro, Utawarerumono) stabbin’ in the dark again.

  9. This just proved how the voice recognition is very hard for those that need to rely on subtitles to understand the show…though sometimes I watch an anime and go “Hey, that person played x in y show!” Like when I heard Kimblee in FMA, I immediately thought of Hallelujah…

    Tenck
  10. Heh, I recognized Norio Wakamoto before I even heard his voice. His evil soundtrack theme from Basara was all it took.

    Seriously, though, some of those are pretty hard. I guess I don’t watch enough anime.

    Dardklrd
  11. 1.Sugita Tomokazu (Kyon from Haruhi)
    2.Noto Mamiko (Shimako Toudou from Maria watches over us)
    3.Wakamoto Norio (Oda from Sengoku Basara)
    4.Inoue Kukiko (Lust from FMA Brotherhood)
    5.Katsuyuki Konishi (-.-)
    6.Sakamoto Maaya (Hitomi from Escaflowne)
    7.Fujiwara Keiji (Maes Hughes from FMA)
    8.Nonoka Ai (no idea xD,didn’t watch much animes in which she was a member of the staff)
    9.Shinichiro Miki (Lockon Stratos from Gundam 00)
    10.Tomatsu Haruka (Kanako Yuzuki from Moryou no Hako)
    11.Koyama Rikiya (TBA^^)

    Seth
  12. Interesting. I got everyone right… almost (at least, I think the list Kurogane posted is correct). Tomatsu Haruka’s part was indeed a bit tricky, but you can’t go wrong with the whole past lives / rebirth speech, if you’ve seen Mouryou no Hako. However, my first reaction to #2 was wrong… the beginning made me think of Hayami Saori. I can now understand why some people thought Noto would be voicing Saki upon hearing the first Eden of the East trailer – there’s something very similar. Of course, hearing “Yumi-san” later on made me realize I was mistaken, but if I had to rely on the voice only, this would be a 9/10.

    This was fun – I’ll be looking forward to future posts of the same kind! 🙂

    Katapan
  13. I am honestly disappointed in myself. The only one I got was Sugita Tomokazu. I mean I have watched my fair share of anime and yet I totally bombed this one. (Especially since my favorite seiyu is Ai Nonaka and I didn’t get her!)

    omimon
  14. I think that a guess what Anime/Character the voice is from would be better.
    It would get pretty hard for some, like Shinichiro Miki’s clip
    could be from Gundam00 or FMA2.
    It would be especially great if you choose clips that made it definite what anime it is,
    like including another character’s name or some famous line.
    It could get really hard if you choose an old anime.
    Could even mix it up with both Japanese and English voice actors.

    As a spin off,
    I think it would be great for Anime OP/ED.
    Just take 5~10 secs of one and guess Artist/Anime.

    Just some thoughts.

    WEB
  15. I am such a geek…I replay the tape and each time…anime characters from recent animes I have been watching or watched popped into my head as I listened..:)

    1. Tomokazu Sugita – I went “Kyaa..it’s Kyon of Suzumiya Haruhi!”
    2. Mamiko Noto – Aya of Ichigo 100%, but then “Yumi…” gave way to Shimako
    3. Norio Wakamoto – I pictures the Emperor of Britannia spouting over Lulu,then Oda came
    4. Inoue Kikuko – Grace o’ Connor of Macross F creeped in.
    5. Seki Tomokazu – I went “LOL, it’s Yzak of Gundam Seed…oh, he’s also Kyo of Furuba”
    6. Maaya Sakamoto – I went “Kyaa…it’s Haruhi of Ouran Host”
    7. Keiji Fujiwara- Hughes-san…don’t die 🙁
    8. I am so clueless about this one…no character pops up
    9. Shinichiro Miki – ROFL ..it’s Lockon of Gundam 00
    10. Haruka Tomatsu- I leaning toward this one…no sure.

    Bakanekokun
  16. I don’t know the seiyuu’s names, but based off some of the voices of characters from animes that I have watched…
    1. Kyon (Haruhi)
    2. Sounds like Kotomi (CLANNAD)?
    3. Sounds like Charles Britannia (Geass)?
    4. ???
    5. ???
    6. ???
    7. Sounds like Ali Al Saachez (Gundam 00)?
    8. Sounds like Fuko (CLANNAD)?
    9. LOCKON STRATOS FTW
    10. ???
    11. ???

    Jacky
  17. 1) Sugita Tomikazu
    2) Noto Mamiko
    3)Wakamoto Nori
    4) Inoue Kikuko
    5) Seki Tomakazu
    6) Sakamoro Maaya
    7)Fujiwara Keiji
    8) Ueda Kana
    9)Miki Shinichiro
    10) Tomatsu Haruka
    11)RIKIYA!!!

    Yuri Rocks
  18. 1- Sugita Tomokazu (Gintoki from Gintama)
    2- Noto Mamiko (Shimako from MariMite)
    3- Wakamoto Norio (Can’t name the show..)
    4- Inoue Kikuko (Lust, FMA09)
    5- Seki Tomokazu (Liu Bei, Souten Kouro.. I think…)
    6-
    7- Fujiwara Keiji (Hugues from FMA I guess, the fact that I just watched the last episode doesn’t help remembering some other shows he did)
    8-
    9- Miki Shin`ichirou (FMA09 ? Bleach ? Dunno, I can’t remember that line)
    10- Damn I heard this one before…

    Alright, so yeah I kinda suck for female seiyuu… and some show might not be correct (although, I’m pretty confident -and proud if it’s right- about Liu Bei)

    g0rth0r
  19. Definitely fun. I couldn’t figure out many of the voices, but the ones I -did- recognize I seem to have gotten correct. But yeah, some seiyuu are just too good at changing their voice. ;_;

    Other ones just sound the same always. The ones I did get were #1 – Sugita Tomokazu, #3 – Wakamoto Norio, and #10 – Tomatsu Haruka. Other than that, I was pretty much in the dark, although #7 sounded like Nagisa, so I was guessing Nakahara Mai. I dunno, though, it sounded similar to Kotomi too. 😛

    Jaran
  20. I only recognized about 7 and still a bit shaky though.

    I don’t know their names but I do recognize them.

    Things I’m sure of is that Tomokazu Sugita, Kikuko Inoue, and Maaya Sakamoto were there.

    Some I don’t know there names but I do recognize there voice.

    For number 11.. He almost sounded like the one who voiced Araya(Kara no Kyoukai)

    megalith
  21. I love how there’s a lot of confusion between Seki Tomokazu and Konishi Katsuyuki. It’s pretty easy to get them mixed up if you haven’t heard them both enough.

    Speaking of which, I guess no one really minded when Katsuyuki took over Tomokazu’s role going from Mai-HiME to Mai-Otome! 😛

  22. 1) tomokazu sugita – kyon, haruhi
    2) mamiko noto – ???
    3) wakamoto norio – nobunaga, sengoku basara \m/O_O GARrest seiyu out there
    4) kikuko inoue – lust, FMA:B
    5) it’s hard to tell if this is seki
    6) ???
    7) fujiwara keiji – FMA? im more into his bad guy characters rather than good guy
    8) tamura yukari – just remembered elizabeth from kuroshitsuji
    9) shinichiro miki – lockon stratos, gundam 00
    10) tomatsu haruka – nagi, i just remembered her “goddess mode” monologue in kannagi and guessed this one
    11) rikiya koyama – okakura, rideback

    hope there’s a weekly quiz for this. at the very least this helps me practice recognizing voices ^_^ \m/

    baka~
  23. 1) Tomokazu Sugita
    2) Mamiko Noto
    3) Norio Wakamoto (recognized him from his Charles di Britannia voice)
    4) Kikuko Inoue (definitely FMA’s Lust)
    5) Tomokazu Seki (sounds like him xD)
    6) Maaya Sakamoto
    7) Keiji Fujiwara (where did I hear this again…?)
    8) ???
    9) Shinichiro Miki (probably the easiest…Gundam 00’s Lockon)
    10) ???
    11) Rikiya Koyama (sounds like it!)

    Linpau
  24. Here’re my answers.

    Those with the asterisks (*) are voices that I recognized only after shamelessly peeking at others’ comments. 😉

    Those with the hashes (#) are voices I recognize instantly, but I don’t know what series they’re doing, because I’m not familiar with the said series.

    While those I left blank are seiyuu whose voices I’m not too familiar with, even when others have pointed out, so I decide I don’t want to cheat so much. xD

    (I only realized I don’t watch that many series that feature Sakamoto Maaya, even though I love her singing. )

    1 Sugita Tomokazu – Kyon – Suzumiya Haruhi series
    2 Noto Mamiko – Marimite#
    3 Wakamoto Norio – Emperor – Code Geass
    4 Inoue Kikuko – Lust – Fullmetal Alchemist
    5 Seki Tomokazu#
    6 ???
    7 Fujiwara Keiji#
    8 Nonaka Ai*
    9 Miki Shinichirou – Lockon – Gundam 00
    10 ???
    11 Koyama Rikiya*

    Kinny Riddle
  25. 1 – Tomokazu Sugita
    3 – Norio Wakamoto
    4 – Kikuko Inoue (As if the Philosopher’s stone wasn’t enough of a giveaway)
    5 – Tomokazu Seki (1st thought…Tales of Destiny)
    9 – Shinichiro Miki
    10 – Tomotatsu Haruka

    Bah, only could make out barely more than half of ’em.

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