5 Acts that Paved the Way for Seiyuu Artists & 2D Music Projects

5 Acts that Paved the Way for Seiyuu Artists 2D Projects

For seiyuu, the music industry as we know it is completely different from a decade ago and that’s because trails were paved, records set, and barriers broken. In this special feature, you and I celebrate 5 – of the various – acts that helped shape the music industry for seiyuu artists and 2D groups.

This is an original The Hand That Feeds HQ feature.

This is a PATREON COMMISSION.


The seiyuu industry has changed a lot in the past couple of years, that is a fact.

If you’ve been around the seiyuu fandom since the early 10s or are a veteran and have been following seiyuu since the early 00s or even the 90s, you’ve certainly noticed that a lot has changed – and drastically as well! – for seiyuu in the music industry.

The path to being a singer, especially when coming from a voice acting background offered a lot of resistance a couple of years ago.

After all, the general sentiment around seiyuu venturing to music to be artists was that they shouldn’t be taken seriously. There was that misconception that all seiyuu were bad singers, to begin with.

Yes, you had solo debuts in the 90s and 00s but many tanked as soon as their debut CDs were released, others kept releasing music in a noncommittal way, more as a “thank you” to their fans than as a serious statement about “being an artist” or “wanting to be an artist”.

And there were also some seiyuu and 2D groups back in the 90s – E.M.U and Weiß Kreuz -, the pioneers of today’s multiple projects of the same nature.

Seiyuu were never stopped by the barriers they found to joining the music industry.

There were barriers but they always pushed further and some were able to achieve important feats.

Seiyuu artists and 2D groups /projects have been pushing the envelope in the last couple of years as well.

In this special feature, a commission for The Hand That Feeds HQ’s patron PM, you’ll get to know a bit about the 5 acts – seiyuu artists and 2D projects/groups – that have not only adapted themselves to the music industry but also rewrote the history books about what is or not possible for seiyuu.

Uta no Prince-sama: the start of the 2D idol group trend

Utapri1

It’s inevitable to talk about acts or projects that rewrote history books without mentioning the Uta no Prince-sama franchise.

In 2010, this was a franchise that released otome games with tie-in music releases. Utapri was not a 2D music project.

No one could imagine at that time that it would explode in popularity and turn into a trendsetting project that would go on to inspire multiple 2D idol groups/projects and even games with rhythm components.

The franchise’s strength is, quite possibly, its longevity (now over the 10th anniversary mark). Its story was never a strength, as it was originally a different twist on an otome game – a dating sim, essentially – but its music is quite the awesome greeting card.

And yes, if you’re asking yourself if I’m basing this comment on the anime series alone, I am not. I was a big fan of the franchise since its OG PSP games and first CDs and only got into the anime series way after the 1st season premiered. (the music in Utapri is literally the reason this website exists, alongside Mamoru Miyano).

So when I refer to the story not being a strength is that, as much as I’d loved it, there is no cohesion between OG PSP games, the anime adaptation, and the music released.

And thus, for those outside of the fanbase, the Utapri franchise is best known for its music, not its lore, or for being heavily story-driven.

This franchise excels in showing growth through its music more so than the anime series or even the games that, by now, seem like an isolated story point in the franchise’s lore. Still, this is a website about music and not anime.

So let’s get back to the topic at hand.

From 2011 to 2016, this franchise was in its peak form. Literally, no one could come closer in exposure and popularity.

Since then, it’s arguable if Broccoli/KING RECORDS have been milking the franchise dry. In my opinion, they have but that’s a talk for a SEIYUU LOUNGE episode or a longer, in-depth article.

Maji LOVE 1000% STARISH
Maji LOVE 1000%

Still, the franchise grew into a massive hit, with STARISH’s song “Maji Love 1000%” turning into one of the most requested songs for karaoke-goers in Japan in the past decade.

It is truly one of those songs that you can rightfully call “iconic”.

At the same time, QUARTET NIGHT headlined their own live tours and has set records while pushing towards opening the doors for other 2D groups to be taken seriously.

When you look at 2D music projects out there, it is clear how much inspiration was taken from the Utapri franchise and its winning formula.

After all, this is a franchise that put the spotlight on 2D music as well as seiyuu as singers, something that, no other project before had managed to pull off this masterfully.

Mamoru Miyano: Paving the way for seiyuu artists

Mamoru Miyano 2021 profile

Another name you can’t avoid when talking about male seiyuu that rewrote the history books in the music industry is Mamoru Miyano.

Many of you will be saying: “but what about all the male seiyuu artists that came before him, those that truly opened the doors for seiyuu to venture into becoming solo artists?”.

And I hear you. Since the 70s – yes, believe it or not -, male seiyuu have been active as solo artists however regardless of how serious they were about becoming solo artists or pursuing a career as pop stars, none had managed to achieve the things Mamoru Miyano did.

And while all the trailblazing work done by almost 40 years of seiyuu artists was certainly a reason why Miyano was able to venture from being a voice actor into becoming a pop star, much of what he achieved was due to a unique combination of factors + his talent.

The multi-talented seiyuu and solo artist has been a staple, a role model for seiyuu artists.

He made his solo debut in 2007 but it wasn’t until 2011 that he’d experience what popularity is as a solo artist.

mamoru miyano orpheus
“Orpheus” (2011)

His breakthrough was with “Orpheus” and, much thanks to the attention that the Utapri franchise garnered, he was in the spotlight from that point on. KING RECORDS made the best out of that attention by consistently releasing CD after CD and that, mixed with Miyano’s talents as a singer and performer, plus his likable personality turned him into a superstar.

The path he trailed after that put the spotlight on seiyuu venturing into the music industry.

If Miyano was this good, what about other seiyuu trying their luck at being artists?

And truth is that many more that followed his footsteps have shown a lot of quality and, in some cases, an impressive creative vein. However, the ease with which they joined the music industry was partly possible because of the attention Miyano brought to seiyuu.

Miyano was the first male solo artist to headline a show at Nippon Budokan in 2013.

He would end up being as well the first male solo artist to go on an arena tour in 2018.

And he was also the first seiyuu artist to hold a global livestream concert in December 2020.

All these feats were achieved at completely different times in his career.

Nippon Budokan’s live show put Miyano in the spotlight. We’re talking about a venue with 14,000 seats to fill. Although a gamble at that time, those seats sold out, further solidifying his stance as a rising pop star.

The arena live tour confirmed his superstar status among seiyuu artists and he started to be taken much more seriously by the media in Japan, consistently getting invites for TV shows – variety, music, and more -, something that put him in the public eye and further solidified his stance in the music industry.

It’s undeniable how much Miyano contributed since 2012 to opening the doors for seiyuu to venture into the music industry and not meet as much resistance and disdain as before.

Since 2012, in a way, most seiyuu artists tend to follow his lead, and music labels surely follow what new things Miyano and KING RECORDS have in store.

Toshiyuki Toyonaga: Putting singer-songwriters in the spotlight

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

There’s no denying that Toshiyuki Toyonaga is an insanely good voice actor. His wide vocal range, ability to play polarizing characters, and natural acting are just some of the things that stand out about him as a voice actor.

However, there’s more to him than meets the eye.

He is a singer-songwriter that can play a variety of musical instruments.

MUSIC OF THE ENTERTAINMENT
MUSIC OF THE ENTERTAINMENT

Since his solo debut in 2014 with “MUSIC OF THE ENTERTAINMENT” – under the minor music label Art Sonic -, Toyonaga has been pushing the boundaries of what creativity means for seiyuu artists.

While his feats are not quantifiable, it’s noticeable how much Toyonaga has been an inspiration for seiyuu artists wanting to showcase their singer-songwriting skills.

Up until 2014, it was expected of seiyuu artists to perform pop/R&B music with lyrics and compositions outsourced. Toyonaga made it a “normal” occurrence for seiyuu artists to put their hands to work, creating highly personal CDs that are a reflection of their creative minds.

Seiyuu artists like Soma Saito and Shugo Nakamura have followed in his footsteps, carrying the torch as respected and crafty singer-songwriters.

If Miyano Mamoru opened the door for seiyuu artists, in general, to be accepted and well-viewed within the music industry, Toshiyuki Toyonaga took it a step further and made it cool to be a singer-songwriter on top of all that.

QUARTET NIGHT and TRIGGER: Setting records and opening the doors for 2D groups’ rise in popularity

Although from different 2D music franchises, what QUARTET NIGHT and TRIGGER achieved in 2017 would end up opening the doors for 2D music projects to actually be taken seriously.

GOD’s S.T.A.R
GOD’s S.T.A.R

QUARTET NIGHT (Utapri franchise) achieved #1 on Oricon’s Weekly Singles Chart with “GOD’s S.T.A.R”.

QUARTET NIGHT ORICON

To top it all off, the single was Gold Record Certified upon its very first day of release which was jaw-droppingly impressive. Up until 2017, no other 2D music project had managed such a feat.

TRIGGER REGALITY
REGALITY

Similarly, TRIGGER (IDOLiSH7 franchise) went for the impossible task of getting #1 on Oricon’s highly competitive Weekly Albums Chart with “REGALITY”.

Up until 2017, no other 2D group had even come close to #1 on that chart.

TRIGGER went for an emotional #1 that would end up opening the final door left to open for 2D music projects/groups: the possibility of going head-to-head with established acts – national and international – and managing to come on top.

TRIGGER

Both groups had to face tough competition from J-pop and K-pop idols (QUARTET NIGHT nudged past SHINee and TRIGGER managed the herculean task of nudging past the insanely popular BTS) and established rock bands (i.e., BUCK-TICK).

Hypnosis Mic: Trailing a new path for 2D music projects

Hypnosis Mic
Hypnosis Mic promotional image (2017)

Up until 2017, all the feats were being pulled off by pop acts or 2D idol groups/projects.

The arrival of Hypnosis Mic in the 2D music industry came as a complete surprise for many.

No one was expecting a hip-hop project to be announced, much less one in which seiyuu would be actively rapping.

At the time of the announcement, many were the ones that read the words “hip-hop” and “seiyuu” and sneered.

And truth is, for the very first months since its announcement, the Hypnosis Mic franchise was a black sheep struggling to get some attention, especially positive attention.

Something changed early in 2018 and the project started to get a lot of attention from the media as well as domestic and overseas fans.

All of a sudden, the Hypnosis Mic franchise was the hip project to follow, and rightfully so, as it was paving a completely different way for 2D music projects and seiyuu.

Hypnosis Mic

In what was a music industry oversaturated with idol projects and EDM acts, the Hypnosis Mic franchise arrived as a breath of fresh air, something unexpected, exciting, and, better yet, trailing a new path for 2D music projects.

For those that may not be aware, while hip-hop music is wildly accepted and loved internationally, in Japan, many considered it to be the music of and to society’s rejects, mavericks, drug addicts, and criminals.

The image hip-hop had in Japan before Hypnosis Mic’s rise in popularity was dirty and grim and it seemed like EVIL LINE RECORDS and Otomate were gambling way too much with the project given how there was a high risk of backlash from Japanese fans or even the possibility of the project tanking within its first months.

Thankfully, only the first couple of months were rough for the franchise. As soon as it picked up its pace, the Hypnosis Mic franchise was off picking up accolades one after another, setting an impressive Gold Record Certifications record as a franchise.

The Hypnosis Mic franchise has, at the time this feature was published, 9 Gold Record Certifications in its trophy cabinet.

That’s 900.000 CDs sold as a franchise.

Let that sink in.

This is almost a Million seller franchise.

This is as big and impressive as it gets. And no, it wasn’t a traditional idol project that managed to pull it off, it was the unique and exciting hip-hop project that did it.

What this tells us is that Hypnosis Mic’s bold premise – at the time of its launch – ended up paying off. At the same time, it showed everyone in the music industry in Japan that there’s more to 2D music than just pop and EDM idol groups (and the rare rock project that appears). There are other music genres that can thrive and be successful.

Although these projects are not directly related, JAZZ-ON! (jazz music project launched in 2019), PERFECTION NOISE (hybrid idol group project launched in 2020) and Aoppella!? (acappella music project launched in 2021) all arrived with unique premises and exploring never-before-explored music genres and are thriving.

It goes to show that, although pop music and 2D idols will always be loved, fans also want variety and 2D music projects with bold approaches to sound and exploring music genres that are considered “niche”.


These were just 5 (6, technically, I cheated this feature by adding QUARTET NIGHT and TRIGGER at the same point) out of the various achievements that paved the way for male seiyuu & 2D projects in the music industry.

Did you notice any of these feats happening? Do you follow any of the seiyuu artists or groups mentioned in this feature? What do you believe is the next barrier to be broken by seiyuu artists and 2D music projects?

Let me know in the comments below!

If you want to commission a feature like this, consider checking THTFHQ on Patreon. Rank C (or higher) subscribers can choose a theme of their liking for a feature like this one!

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Vanessa Silva
Vanessa Silvahttps://www.handthatfeedshq.com
The Hand That Feeds HQ founder, content creator, and music reviewer. Basically, the only person managing everything at The Hand That Feeds HQ. Stumbling upon Mamoru Miyano's "Orpheus" in 2011 was the start of this journey. If music is thought-provoking or deep, you may find her writing almost essays (not limited to, but it happens a lot with Soma Saito's music). She's the producer and host of the male seiyuu-centric podcast, SEIYUU LOUNGE (see Spotify link in this profile).

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4 COMMENTS

  1. There’s another trend that I find interesting – more voice actors are starting to appear in live action. I am not talking about cases, where voice actor debuted as a live action actor in the first place, like Jouji Nakata, Masaya Matsukaze or M.A.O or a seiyuu-centric projects, like Kami Voice. More and more seiyuus are starting to appear in mainstream shows, like in Taiga dramas for example. The biggest one probably would be Wataru Takagi in recurring supporting role in 2016 NHK Taiga drama drama “Sanadamaru”. While it’s obviously very far from beinga first major appearance of seiyuu in mainstream media, I can’t help but notice that not only it was a main topic of discussion among other seiyuus during that time, but regular seiyuu appearances in live-action projects became a much more frequent thing afterwards, Akio Ohtsuka, Rikiya Koyama, Koichi Yamadera and Takagi himself all started to appear on screen quite often.

    • Oh, that’s another one. You bring an interesting topic to the conversation, Anton!

      Wataru Takagi may have paved the way for seiyuu to be more commonly found tackling live action projects.

      One thing that still stands out however, is that very few seiyuu make/made a smooth transition to live acting.
      At the moment it still looks like seiyuu are considered for those projects just as a means to boost popularity of the series/drama itself (especially noticeable in the cases of casting seiyuu superstars like Yuki Kaji, Natsuki Hanae or even Mamoru Miyano) instead of being cast primarily for their acting skills.

      Time will tell if that will change and we’ll start seeing the younger generations of seiyuu having that awesome mix of voice and live acting skills that seiyuu like Kenjiro Tsuda or Rikiya Koyama have.
      However, I wonder if that will spark yet another trend. I believe seiyuu will genuinely turn into talento if that happens.

      It sure does look like seiyuu are on their way to become that. But for veteran seiyuu – that stop getting leading roles in anime – it may be a nice career transition or something to have at the same time as narration, for example.

      Thanks for the comment!

  2. Very interesting read! I’d also like to give a shoutout to Parahost which does Eurobeat music!

    Although I am quite new to following seiyuu and 2D project music scene, it is always a pleasure to see new genres being explored. Would be interesting to see if the metal genre would get some exposure, considering how kawaii metal got popular in Japan.

    Recently, more utaites have been participating in 2D music projects. Most notably 96neko in Paradox Live. Some utaites have even debuted as professional singers and seiyuus. Vocaloid producers also often participate in creating music for these multimedia projects. Perhaps this will become a new stepping stone for newer talents to rise, as most projects contain staple seiyuu and some new talents.

    Personally, I would like to see more mixed gender groups even if it’s currently unpopular. There are a couple groups such as Swiiiiiits, but there are so few and hard to find.

    • Good shout out with Parahost!

      Metal is not that popular – I guess – but you always have MEDICODE (FlyME project – Visual-kei rock band with metal undertones) and OSIRIS (Band Yarouze! – also a visual-kei rock band with metal influences).

      An all-out project with metal at its core would be beyond awesome. The abovementioned bands already gave everyone a taste of how it’d work and proved that seiyuu are more than able to pull off raw, impactful performances befitting of the genre.

      utaites making their jump to 2D music projects is also an interesting mention, aside from 96neko, Wataru Urata (part of FYA’M in the aoppella!? franchise) was also a utaite. In some ways, the tsukiuta franchise has been collaborating with utaites (and vocaloids) since 2012 as well.

      Could be interesting!

      I reckon – but I could be wrong – that Swiiiiiits are the only co-ed group out there (in which there are really male and female characters within the same group). Seeing how “all male” or “all female” groups are all the rage – I can understand it from a marketing perspective, it’s easier to segment the target audience this way – thus I don’t see it becoming a trend but who knows, 3 years ago no one would say that “2D hip-hop” projects would be a thing and yet… here we are.

      In a way, this is what makes the music industry for seiyuu/2D groups, quite interesting for me 🙂

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