News: Everybody loves akio otsuka

October 27, 2005, 08:31 PM

by tim, via his brain -
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Akio Otsuka ("Ootsuka Akio" if you're hip) is the Japan's manliest animation voice-actor; his best known role may or may not be that of Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Metal Gear Solid 3, though he's also gained quite indestructable respect from the anime crowd for his work in the "Ghost in the Shell" movies and the "Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex" anime and game. (Which is a pretty good game, too, by cavia, makers of Drag-on Dragoon 2, one of the better games of this year.) Mr. Otsuka's career hit a high note when he played the energetic and flambuoyant Mr. Akihabara in the otherwise horrendous Square-Enix manga/music mishmash Heavy Metal Thunder. Since then, he's in just about everything.

Now for the news: it turns out Akio Otsuka is doing the voice of Musashibou Benkei in Banpresto's Yoshitsuneki for PlayStation 2, being released next month. This is most interesting, because earlier this year, he performed the role of Benkei in Game Republic's Genji, also for PlayStation 2. (From Software's Yoshitsune Eiyuuden, released last year, featured an Otsuka soundalike as Benkei.) Otsuka is also slated to perform the role of Benkei in Genji 2, being released sometime late 2006. It's curious, to say the least, that he's played the same role in two games by different makers. Mr. Otsuka says, of the role, on Yoshitsuneki's official website, that it was "very easy for me to get into the role," and that it's "very fun," and that Benkei is a favorite character of his. "Favorite," in the anime industry, means you're willing to be typecast down to the specific character.

The game itself is quite different from Genji, which visualized the Yoshitsune legend from a Hollywood-action-movie perspective. From Software's effort progresses like a Japanese television drama series. Yoshitsuneki is definitely manga-inspired, with character designs by Hikaru no Go and Death Note artist Takeshi Kobata. The art looks very nice.

Akio Otsuka's next project is the voice of villan Brandon Sheffield in Capcom's insert credit: the videogame, based on the anime insert credit: the musical, based off Araki Hirohiko's upcoming manga "the insert credit chronicles." We shudder with anticipation to hear him utter the famed line "Ore no koto GORGEOUS to omousska?" Actually that's a joke