2023 has the potential to be memorable for fans of high-quality music and awesome singers among male seiyuu. Let’s talk about the 11 albums by male seiyuu artists that may be released in 2023.
Seeing as this year has kicked off rather slowly for fans of male seiyuu artists, you’d be mistaken to think the rest of the year will be as uneventful.
Truth is, 2023 has the potential to become a year to remember given how many high-profile male seiyuu artists and bands have yet to release a full-length album or it has been a while since they last released a full-length album.
You can find all the content in this feature on episode 138 of SEIYUU LOUNGE, The Hand That Feeds HQ’s official weekly podcast in video format.
CONFIRMED CD RELEASES
Shouta Aoi’s 3rd full-length album
Who remembers Shouta Aoi‘s 2nd full-length album “0“?
It was released in 2017 and left quite the mark as one of the best pop albums released that year.
It was also Shouta Aoi’s best album released to date, bringing to the spotlight good old dance hits alongside new tunes that made fans excited, made them cry and, overall, fully appreciate the talent that Shouta Aoi has as a singer, performer, lyricist and even composer.
But it has been 6 years since he released a cohesive album.
There have been plenty of awesome singles released in the meantime and it is expected that the leading tracks in all of them will be featured in this album alongside 4 or 5 new songs.
On my end, I am quite excited about the possibility of “I am”, Shouta Aoi’s best song released to date – and an outstanding b-side track in the single “Eclipse” – making the cut and we get an emotion or ballad-driven corner within the album.
Aoi is a talented singer with an amazing tenor range and I’d love to find technical performances from him in this new album. Nothing puts a massive smile on my face than to listen to a singer excel at what they do.
Shouta Aoi’s 3rd full-length album is, easily, the most anticipated CD release of 2023, at least when you take into account that Aoi’s fans have been waiting for it for 6 years.
Potential CD releases (NOT CONFIRMED)
From this point on, none of the CDs mentioned is confirmed. These are just PREDICTIONS based on usual release schedules or patterns that some of these male seiyuu artists have.
Yuma Uchida’s 3rd album
Highly anticipated and rumored to be announced during Yuma Uchida‘s new live tour kicking off later in May, this 3rd album has the potential to shake up things for pop and R&B seiyuu solo artists.
Yuma Uchida has been on a good spell, releasing engaging, fun, and, at the same time, emotional and highly technical singles. And he is coming from a streak of two perfect full-length albums, “HORIZON” and “equal“.
I believe it is about time a new full-length album is released, especially when you notice that Yuma Uchida releases one every 2 years so it is… time for that to happen.
Makoto Furukawa’s 2nd album
While not as appreciated by seiyuu fans as Yuma Uchida, Makoto Furukawa may be back with a new full-length album by the end of 2023 that will make some people quite excited about it.
The talented singer and lyricist has been impressing with a unique brand of jazz music, now not as purist as before, welcoming acid-jazz, rock, and R&B ballads into the mix.
At the same time, he was on a perfect streak of releases with 2022’s “Ware, bara ni insu” and “Ibara Rinbukyoku“, something that was begging for a follow-up album to neatly wrap up the year.
As we arrive in 2023, Makoto Furukawa has yet to announce any music and at the time of writing this, there is no indication that he may be making a comeback any sooner.
However, taking into account that Makoto Furukawa loves his albums to feel like going through a story – and that takes time to craft – not to mention that he has been extremely busy as a seiyuu -, make it so that it is expected he will release music in 2023 however only later in the year.
A full-length album would be interesting to check how much he has grown as a performer – now tackling high notes in falsetto and head voice – as well as a lyricist.
Soma Saito’s 3rd album
Despite a ridiculously busy 2022 in which Soma Saito couldn’t catch a break to compose and write all the music he wanted – and he still released 2 astounding EPs, “my beautiful valentine” and “Yin/Yang” -, Soma Saito may find in the quiet of 2023 an opportunity to strike when and where it hurts with a new album.
Since the release of “Yin/Yang” in December 2022, Saito has been quiet about his music although he did tell fans he’d be releasing more music just not as soon as many would wish.
For those of you that pay close attention to release schedules and marketing strategies for seiyuu artists, Soma Saito follows patterns in the CDs he releases and when he releases them. And he follows a schedule that usually matches the only times of the year in which he is experiencing some “free time”.
December is his month of choice so it is expected he will release a full-length album, to follow up on 2020’s mind-blowing “in bloom” and as a direct follow-up to the equally mind-blowing “Yin/Yang”.
Saito has mentioned that if he gets decent free time to compose and record, he’d love to release a double album but given how in demand he is for one of the most anticipated anime reboots in the past couple of years – Rurouni Kenshin – it is quite possibly impossible he will pull that off this year.
Perhaps, around the time of his debut anniversary – June -, fans will get a digital single to whet that appetite for the big release later this year, potentially in December.
One thing is for certain, Soma Saito will be releasing new music in 2023. In which format? That is what you and I will have to wait to know.
In the meantime, let’s put on repeat his past 3 CDs as they are masterpieces in storytelling and composition.
Toshiki Masuda 3rd album
Toshiki Masuda has been quite impressive in the last couple of years.
I’m quite fond of Toshiki Masuda’s voice for, what is now, over 13 years, but the growth he has shown in recent years as a singer has made me pay a lot of attention to his solo career.
He has a simple rock sound that brings back memories from the 90s, and early 00s, he doesn’t focus too much – or at all – on promoting his music with big marketing campaigns, and… when you least notice, Toshiki Masuda is, effortlessly, behind Soma Saito and Mamoru Miyano, as one of the 3 best-selling seiyuu artists (per individual CD sales).
He has a tasteful, intense rock sound that works without any fancy stuff on top. His vibrato-led singing style is gentle and powerful at the same time.
And if his performances in “origin” and “Midnight Dancer” are anything to go by, he’s en route to releasing something really special.
Now, while Toshiki Masuda is all kinds of awesome as a solo artist, there is a big unpredictable side to his solo career. He doesn’t follow release cycles like pop artists – a couple of singles leading up to albums – nor the cycle of a rock artist – release 1 EP and then an album.
Masuda simply appears with a full-length album out of nowhere. Sometimes with years between releases.
With that being said, I think that the ideal thing for Masuda to keep up the momentum he got from “Midnight Dancer” in 2022 would have been to follow it up with an album or EP release in the Summer of 2022 – something that didn’t happen.
So, as it is, interest in Masuda’s music has died down quite a lot, unless his music label gets him to perform another song for an anime series.
Out of all names I mention in this feature, Toshiki Masuda is the most unpredictable as he hasn’t had a consistent release schedule since his debut.
So let’s see what 2023 has in store for Toshiki Masuda’s fans.
Koutaro Nishiyama 1st album
Citypop is underappreciated among male seiyuu artists with very few fully embracing it while others only flirt with the concept or the sonority.
However, there is one male seiyuu artist you can always trust will bring you a full-on Citypop mini-album filled with stylish songs and unique performances, Koutaro Nishiyama.
The talented solo artist has been under the radar for the past year, after releasing the stylish mini-album “Laundry” in 2021.
Given how much time has passed and how Koutaro Nishiyama has yet to release a full-length album since his debut, I dare say this year would be perfect for that.
Gakuto Kajiwara 1st album
Gakuto Kajiwara is yet another seiyuu artist that has been impressing with a unique sound and compositions that make him seem like a veteran artist when, in fact, he only has a couple of years of experience as a solo artist.
I’m quite fond of Kajiwara’s unique, crystal clear singing tone – something that no other seiyuu has – and his feel-good, mature semi-acoustic rock-meets-jazz sound.
And I’d certainly love to hear more and see where Kajiwara takes his music next.
A full-length album would be the perfect challenge as it will require a perfect balance between previously released songs – the lead singles – and any new tracks that the album may include.
And I am genuinely curious about what Kajiwara may pull off if a full-length album is released.
Given how Kajiwara has released various singles and mini-albums, it’s about time a full-length album is released and my bet is on it dropping this year.
Jin Ogasawara 1st album
After experimenting with a series of digital singles in which Jin Ogasawara tested the limits of his singing skills, showcased more of his vocal range, played around with different music genres, and worked with various composers while also writing lyrics for his own songs, it’s time for him to release something more robust.
And that’s where a full-length album fits. With so much music released so far – various singles from physical to digital ones -, it’s time to bring some consistency to his repertoire.
In a way, an album is perfect to showcase how much Ogasawara is growing as a solo artist.
But, in a way, I can understand why he has been releasing digital singles. Those are low-risk, high-reward whereas an album can tank, especially for a seiyuu artist with a small following as Jin Ogasawara.
I believe it would be awesome to see how Ogasawara would challenge himself with a full-length album. Given how much music he has released so far, it is about time an album is released.
GRANRODEO 10th album
GRANRODEO isn’t particularly a band that releases music on a tight, predictable schedule. With that being said, their last full-length album was “Question”, which was released in 2022.
They’ve released albums with 2 or 3 years of difference. Given how the band has drastically reduced the frequency with which they release new singles, there is a path open to release a full-length album that is almost entirely new.
Will this happen?
I feel like this is the most unlikely of all my predictions in this feature but still, I’d love for that to happen.
Toshiyuki Toyonaga 5th album
Toshiyuki Toyonaga confirmed in 2022 that he has been working on new music.
Now, given the time that Toyonaga has been taking to work on that music, it is safe to say that he is not working on a new single or even on an EP. This seems like it is going to be a large-scale release, potentially a full-length album.
There is no confirmation from Toyonaga regarding the format of the release nor when it will be released but one thing is for certain, there will be new music released this year by the talented singer-songwriter.
GYROAXIA 1st major label album
And lastly comes GYROAXIA.
Since signing up with UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN, the rock band featuring vocals by Jin Ogasawara released the stellar mini-album “Freestyle” but after that… nothing happened.
The band has shown glimpses of a new song but other than that, it’s been radio silent for 1 full year.
What seemed like an exciting jump to a renowned music label that could take the band to amazing heights has turned into something quite disappointing.
Given the talent that this band has and how amazing they are with their heavy rock sound – now with a splash of shock rock and electronica -, I believe I’m not the only one wishing for more music from GYROAXIA.
So, could this one year of silence mean that the band will approach music in a more concise way, releasing albums and EPs or mini-albums with quite some time apart them instead of releasing singles frequently?
Honestly, I prefer the band releases mini-albums or albums as those are better at showcasing what a band can do and allows for more experimentation even within a concise theme or tone.
I’m expecting GYROAXIA to arrive with a bang in 2023, bringing the 1st full-length album released under a major music label.
Let’s see what the band has in store for fans in 2023.
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