Unveiling the journey of Kento Hama, the talented seiyuu represented by Sigma Seven. Get insights into his career and more in this Seiyuu Digest.
Kento Hama
KANJI: 濱健人
BORN: February 2, 1992
OCCUPATION: Voice actor
HEIGHT: 177cm
Kento Hama was born on February 2, 1992, in Kochi, Japan, and since 2023 is represented by the talent agency Sigma Seven.
Seiyuu
During high school, Kento Hama aspired to become a voice actor after seeing Jun Fukuyama‘s performance as Lelouch, the protagonist in “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion” at a friend’s house.
From that point on, he was set on becoming a voice actor. In his second year at the vocational school, he focused solely on auditioning for the talent agency Ken Production (best known for housing talents such as Kisho Taniyama, Katsuyuki Konishi, Takuya Sato, Abe Atsushi, Tsubasa Yonaga, and more) and passed.
After graduating from the vocational school, he joined the voice acting training school School Duo, affiliated with Ken Production, as a 14th-term student.
Then on April 1, 2014, he became a trainee at the agency.
2014 – 2016
A strong start but a rough road ahead
Kento Hama debuted as a voice actor in 2014, as Olivier Gaillard, one of the supporting characters and one of the villains in the TV anime “Cardfight!! Vanguard Legion Mate-Hen“.
This was a massive debut role for Hama, putting him in the spotlight in a beloved series and with a cast comprised of many talents from Ken Production (Takuya Sato, Tsubasa Yonaga, and Abe Atsushi).
He reprised his role in the movie Cardfight!! Vanguard Movie: Neon Messiah.
Despite having kicked off his career strongly, in 2015, it seems things went back to the “normal” in the industry for rookie seiyuu. Kento Ito got several minor roles in anime series such as Ushio and Tora, Card Battle ZERO and Anti-Magic Academy: The 35th Test Platoon.
Other anime series he’s voiced characters during this time include:
- Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road (2014)
- Gundam Reconguista in G (2014)
- Pac-World (2014)
2016 –
Trying to build up some momentum
In 2016, he reprised his role as Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki one of the main characters in Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, the anime adaptation of the popular game, Touken Ranbu.
The anime was well received in Japan due to its stellar animation by studio Ufotable, bringing a lot of attention to its cast.
Hama gave a lot of life to Mustunokami’s exciting and energetic personality, however, with a cast as big and a convoluted story, his performance didn’t end up standing out as much.
Up until the time of writing this feature, this is best known character in anime.
Still in the same year, he was cast in Kiznaiver, RIN-NE and Dream Festival!.
In 2017, he reprised his role as FRAME’s Ryuu Kimura in the anime adaptation of THE IDOLMASTER SideM. The series focused on the main group, DRAMATIC STARS and, as such, there was not much focus on his group or his character, only appearing for brief moments.
Still in the same year, he voiced minor characters in Seven Deadly Sins and Shoukoku no Altair.
A year later, Hama was back to reprise his role as Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki in the movie Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru – Makuai Kaisouroku.
During these series, he was also an advisor on the Tosa dialect – which he speaks -, ensuring it was accurate throughout.
2018 was a big year for Hama, getting the most roles in a year, even if most if not all, were supporting ones.
He was back as Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki in the slice-of-life anime adaptation, Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, had minor roles in Mahou Shoujo Ore, Doraemon, Inazuma Eleven Ares no Tenbin, BAKUMATSU, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, and Zombie Land Saga.
In April 2019, he was promoted from junior to full member of Ken Production. In that year he got minor roles in the anime series Mr. Shadow and Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo..
2020 was a weird year for the voice acting industry due to the lockdowns and end of production of some anime projects all because of COVID-19.
But for Kento Hama, it was the year he got to reprise his role as Autumn Troupe‘s energetic and slighly noisy Taichi Nanao, one of the main characters in A3! Season Autumn & Winter, the anime adaptation of the popular game, A3!.
Still in the same year, he voiced a minor character in the anime series, 100-man no Inochi no Ue ni Ore wa Tatteiru.
A year later he was cast as Takenoko Oyakata in the kids anime series, Dosukoi Sushi Zumou.
In 2022, he was back with two more minor roles, this time in Puzzle & Dragons and BLEACH: The Thousand-Year Blood War.
Before the end of the year, he reprised his role as Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki in Toku: Touken Ranbu – Hanamaru – Setsugetsuka.
2023 kicked off with minor roles in Fumetsu no Anata e and Hirogaru Sky! Precure.
Then, on December 27, 2023, Hama announced on his X/Twitter account that he was leaving Ken Production as of December 31.
Starting January 1, 2024, he became affiliated with Sigma Seven. Since then, however, he’s struggled to get consistent work in the voice acting industry.
The only role so far in 2024 has been as Mutsunokami in the movie, Touken Ranbu Kai: Kyoden Moyuru Honnouji.
Radio
When it comes to radio shows, Kento Hama is quite active, having started working in this field in 2015.
He quite witty and bubly throughout radio shows and depending on who’s alongside him, he can get quite energetic to a point that he’s hard to handle.
Over the years, he’s co-hosted and hosted several radio shows. Contrary to many seiyuu early on in their careers, Kento Hama has actually had his first solo radio show in 2015 (only one year since his debut).
Some of the radio shows he’s hosted/co-hosted include:
Hama Kento’s Nishimura Radio (2015, 2018 – 2019)
His first radio show hosting gig was in Hama Kento’s Nishimura Radio (濱健人のニシムラジヲ). The radio show was hosted in 2015 and then returned for a second season in 2018.
In this radio show, Kento Hama speaks in his natural Tosa dialect instead of standard Japanese.
IDOLMASTER SideM Radio 315Night! (2016 -)
Since 2016, Kento Hama has both hosted and guested some of the episodes on the radio show “IDOLMASTER SideM Radio 315Night!”.
The show focuses on promoting SideM’s units and their music releases but it was also a place for a lot of fun conversations and crazy shenanigans.
Iiko Warui Ko Hama Kento! (2018)
In 2018, Kento Hama kicked off hosting the solo radio show “Iiko Warui Ko Hama Kento!“.
A3! Blooming RADIO (2020 -)
In 2020, Kento Hama co-hosted A3! Blooming RADIO as February’s Personality. Since then he has co-hosted the 2021 January and April Personality and 2022 August Personality episodes.
The radio show has episodes available on Mankai Company’s official YouTube channel.
Other radio shows he’s guested or co-hosted/hosted include:
- We’re Talking N-Pri (2016 – 2021)
- Toki Shunichi x Hama Kento Arithmetic Channel (2017-2018)
- Monthly New Handsome Communication November Issue ~ Monthly Hama Kento (2017)
- &CAST!!! Hour Love Lunch! (2018 – 2020)
- H&H Planner (2019 – 2022)
- Sega Girls News Public Relations Radio (2020)
- Nariyuki NIGHT2 (2020)
- ENLIGHTRIBE RADIO (2022 – 2023)
Games
In his career, Kento Hama has a couple of memorable characters. He often voices hot-headed, athletic characters with a heart of gold.
He’s lent voice to a couple of characters such as:
Ryuu Kimura in Touken Ranbu (2015 -)
In 2015, Kento Hama was cast in the massively popular game, Touken Ranbu. He voices Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, a kind and selfless individual, which often gets him in the middle of fights.
This has been the longest running role in Kento Hama’s career, having reprised it in several anime series, movies and spin-offs.
Ryuu Kimura in THE IDOLM@STER SideM (2015 -) and SideM LIVE ON ST@GE! (2017 -)
In 2015, Kento Hama joined the cast of the popular idol franchise, THE IDOLM@STER SideM.
The game, of the same name, was released in 2017 and mixed elements of music, story (incredibly toned down), and idol nurturing/farming.
He voices Ryuu Kimura, the hot blooded and reckless member of FRAME.
Taichi Nanao in A3! (2017 -)
In 2017, Hama was cast as Autumn Troupe’s energetic member, Taichi Nanao in the popular smartphone game A3!.
He is a friendly young man who enjoys being the center of attention and seeks validation from others.
He actively follows trends in fashion and the latest activities but is disappointed that he is not particularly popular, especially with women. Despite pretending to be unaffected by rejection, Taichi has low self-esteem and feels hurt.
However, he continues to be persistent and maintains a casual yet positive attitude. T
This is Kento Hama’s most memorable role in games up until now, being one of the most beloved characters in the A3! franchise.
He also voiced characters in the following games (list is not exhaustive):
- Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! (2014)
- STELLA GLOW (2015)
- Cardfight!! Vanguard G Stride to Victory!! (2016)
- Cryptract (2017)
- Granblue Fantasy (2017)
- Ayakashi Musubi (2017)
- WolfToxic (2018)
- Op8♪ (2019)
- Hearthstone (2019)
- GALAXYZ (2020)
- Disney Twisted Wonderland (2020)
- Piofiore no Banshou -Episodio1926- (2020)
- Princess Peach Showtime! (2024)
Acting
Aside from live reading plays – in which he often teams up with fellow seiyuu and friends Reona Irie, Koutaro Nishiyama and Yuto Suzuki, Kento Hama has also acted in a movie, showcasing his skills in alongside K4 Company’s members.
Bokukoe (2017 and 2019)
In 2017, Hama joined the cast of the eccentric variety series, Bokukoe. This was his first iteration of live acting.
Aside from a medieval skit in the first season, he was back for the series’ second season as member of the weird edgy idol group, GENMEPER.
Seiyuu ga kataru kowai hanashi (2023)
In 2023, Hama joined the cast of 声優が語る怖い話 (Seiyuu ga kataru kowai hanashi) or, in short, Seikowa, show produced by MBS, airing simultaneously on TV as well as Seikowa’s official YouTube channel.
This show features scary ghost stories – written by professionals – and performed/acted by seiyuu in what is expected to be an immersive experience for fans of the genre.
K4 Company (2021)
In 2021, Kento Hama starred on K4 Company THE MOVIE.
This was the very first time he acted in a movie and he was, within K4 Company members, one of the most natural in front of the camera.
The movie’s main cast included all K4 Company members.
The supporting cast included Tsubasa Yonaga, Kentaro Kumagai, Gakuto Kajiwara, Jun Kasama, Sho Karino, Yuuki Shin, and Yuya Hozumi in the movie K4 Company THE MOVIE.
Narration / Dubbing
As far as narration goes, Kento Hama has a couple of credits under his belt.
He did narration for the – now – extinct seiyuu TV show Animemashite in 2017, Your Story Project 1/100, Chiba PUSH Lifesaving Video as well as several health and safety PSAs.
Drama CDs
When it comes to drama CDs, Kento Hama has been consistently lending voices for characters tied to 2D music or mixed media projects.
He’s aalso quite active in the Boys Love (BL) scene, having a couple of roles under his belt.
Some of the CDs in which he participated include (list is not extensive):
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM series (since 2016)
- Otogi no Uta ~CHRONICLE~ Series (since 2019)
- HANDEAD ANTHEM series (from 2019 until 2022)
- ENLIGHTRIBE series (since 2021)
- Touken Ranbu ONLINE
- RUSH! DRAMA CD
- Welcome to the Fantasy Sales Department♥ Series
- Flaver
- Song of the Dawn Series (since 2022)
- MAKARE
between many more.
Music
Since his debut Kento Hama has been involved in a couple of 2D music or mixed media projects as well as real life units alongside fellow seiyuu.
As a singer, Hama has a slighly nasal twist to his delivery but he packs a lot of power and has quite the dramatic and energetic presence, making his performances quite enjoyable to listen and watch.
He’s best known for being part of the following 2D music groups:
FRAME (2014 -)
This unit consists of Hideo Akuno (Kentaro Kumagai), Ryu Kimura (Kento Hama), and Seiji Shingen (Takuya Masumoto), all of the members being former civil workers.
They are known for their energetic pop-rock sound and performances. On stage, everyone is overflowing with energy, focusing on putting a smile on their fans’ faces.
Up until now, the trio has released:
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM ST@RTING LINE-08 FRAME
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM 5th ANNIVERSARY DISC 01 PRIDE STAR
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM 3rd ANNIVERSARY DISC 02 FRAME & Mofumofuen & F-LAGS
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM 4th ANNIVERSARY DISC “LIVE in your SMILE / DREAM JOURNEY”
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM 5th ANNIVERSARY DISC 04 FRAME & S.E.M & Legenders
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM NEW STAGE EPISODE:11 FRAME
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM GROWING SIGN@L 03 FRAME
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM 49 ELEMENTS-09 FRAME
- THE IDOLM@STER SideM CIRCLE OF DELIGHT 02 FRAME
Aside from these singles, FRAME has participated in several cross-unit and solo song projects within the franchise.
The trio has participated so far in several IDOLMASTER SideM stages:
- 1st STAGE 〜ST@RTING!〜 (2016),
- 2nd STAGE 〜ORIGIN@L STARS〜 (2017),
- 3rd STAGE 〜GLORIOUS ST@GE!〜 (2018),
- 4th LIVE STAGE 〜TRE@SURE GATE〜 (2019),
- 6thLIVE TOUR ～NEXT DESTIN@TION!～ (2022).
A3!’s Autumn Troupe (2017 – )
In 2017, Kento Hama joined the cast of the A3! franchise as Taichi Nanao.
The game instantly shot to fame with several music releases beating sales records and, as a result, the franchise hitting popularity high rather quickly. The Autumn Troupe has released two CDs up until now.
The Autumn troupe is known for a rough mix of rock and electronica that matches the personalities and backgrounds of its members.
The Autumn Troupe consists of Chiharu Sawashiro (leader), Shunsuke Takeuchi, Kento Hama, Kentaro Kumagai, Yuichi Jose, and Seiya Konishi.
The troupe has participated in all EP series so far. Those include:
- First AUTUMN EP (2017),
- Blooming AUTUMN EP (2017),
- VIVID AUTUMN EP (2018),
- BRIGHT AUTUMN EP (2019),
- SUNNY AUTUMN EP (2021).
Hama has participated in the franchise’s cast events.
He attended A3! First Blooming Festival (2018), A3! SECOND Blooming FESTIVAL (2019), A3! THIRD Blooming FESTIVAL (2021) and A3! BLOOMING LIVE 2022.
All events included talk and live performance corners.
GENMEPER (2018 -)
GENMEPER consisted of Kensho Ono, Yuma Uchida, Shunichi Toki, Anri Katsu and Kento Hama.
The group performed the theme song for Darekoe, Bokukoe spin-off series. The song is titled 幻滅交響曲“いい歌じゃねぇ” (Symphony of Disillusionment “It’s not a good song”).
K4 Company (2018 -)
In 2018, Kento Hama teamed up with fellow seiyuu Takeaki Masuyama, Takuya Masumoto, and Shohei Komatsu to create K4 Company.
The group started with a variety/talk show, then started releasing music, starred in its own movie and then branched out to voicing several characters in the ambitious EDM music project, HANDEAD ANTHEM.
As a group, K4 Company rarely releases music and it does, it’s usually pop-rock tunes and ballads. Since its debut, the group has released 6 singles and 2 duet CDs.
Rush! (2018 – )
The five piece group Rush! consists on Kento Hama (leader), Yuto Uemura, Makoto Furukawa, Toshiki Masuda and Yusuke Kobayashi.
Their songs were marketed as being powerful and having underlying battle vibe. Although the group was announced in February 2018 it took 2 years to release their debut song.
“Rush” was released as a digital single in 2020.
HANDEAD ANTHEM (2019 – 2023)
HANDEAD ANTHEM is a music project created by K4 Company (Shohei Komatsu, Takeaki Masuyama, Takuya Masumoto, and Kento Hama) and launched on July 26, 2019.
This project mixed seiyuu, zombies, and EDM music all in the same place. Each group has its own unique identity and seiyuu – despite voicing characters in various groups – focuses on giving a unique voice for each character they are in charge of.
K4 Company members (Shohei Komatsu, Takeaki Masuyama, Takuya Masumoto, and Kento Hama on vocals) were in charge of voicing the franchise’s flagship groups deva, HIGH-TIDE, B.U.H, Yona.
The franchise featured with the following groups: deva, HIGH-TIDE, B.U.H, Yona, ALBA, and Shura Jodo.
Aside from releasing several CDs – not available for international fans -, music by all groups is available on streaming platforms.
Since its launch, the franchise has held several live shows featuring its units.
In 2023, the franchise announced its end.
ESMERALDA (2020 -)
In 2020, Kento Hama joined the cast of the ambitious full-scale rock x character project by movic (Tsukipro, Tsukiuta, VAZZROCK, etc.), ENLIGHTRIBE.
He joined ESMERALDA (Portuguese word for “Emerald”), a 4-piece rock band that is labeled as an “upper-class band that has everything”.
The cast consists of:
- Vocals – Eiri Futabagi (CV: Junta Terashima)
- Bass – Hiero Kagami (CV: Yusuke Nagano)
- Guitar – Hekiru Houou (CV: Kento Hama)
- Drums – Ramo Toride (CV: Shohei Komatsu)
In a live setting, all members play live instruments, something that makes this project quite unique. Out of all the bands in the ENLIGHTRIBE franchise, ESMERALDA is the most popular.
Kento Hama plays guitar for the band.
ESMERALDA’s sound is heavy and dramatic, taking heavy inspiration from visual kei, hard rock, and groove metal.
Everything about their sound is technical and intense however with a unique poise and confidence that are striking on a first listen.
For the band’s debut CD “ESMERALDA -THE IGNITION-“, ESMERALDA hit everyone with a powerful rock sound with influences of visual-kei metal and prog-rock.
Their sound made a big impact with hard-hitting drums, technical guitar solos, thunderous basslines and, most of all, unreal vocals by Junta Terashima.
A note that, in the first CD, only Terashima sang.
“ENLIGHTRIBE side.ESMERALDA -THE BRILLIANCE-” arrived with a bang, improving a lot upon a sound that was already incredibly powerful and technical.
The CD includes a set of dark, emotional, and violent rock tunes with outstanding compositions by Yuyoyuppe. There is beauty in decadence and both “El Dorado” and “Radiance” showcase that, making chills run down your spine as quickly as they make you headbang along.
In this CD, Kento Hama – as well as all other members of ESMERALDA – give voice to the backing vocals for both songs.
In 2022, part of ENLIGHTRIBE’s first character song digital single CD series, Kento Hama performed as Hekiru Houou in “Persona”.
“Persona” embraces a gothic rock sound that has a perfect balance between drama and beauty. The composition is refined, with piano melodies and strings creating the drama in this track while the guitar leaves a mark with its technicality and emotion.
As Hekiru Houou, Kento Hama showcases his versatility by bringing a powerful vibrato, going louder, and raising his key ever so slightly to heighten the tension in the song.
Hekiru Houou’s “Persona” is as dark as you can get as a metal tune with symphonic influences, showing you what the ENLIGHTRIBE franchise is capable of in terms of sound.
Since its launch, the ENLIGHTRIBE has held 3 small scale live shows, always with all members playing the instruments live.
Variety
As far as variety and talk shows go, Kento Hama isn’t as present as other seiyuu in his generation but the few he has participated in have led to interesting – sometimes even, crazy – shenanigans.
Below are some of the variety and talk shows he’s been/participated in (this is not extensive):
Seiyuu Bowling Grandprix 3 (2019)
In 2019, Atsushi Abe, Tsubasa Yonaga, Takuya Sato and Kento Hama (all represented by Ken Production) teamed up for the 3rd installment of the variety show Seiyuu Bowling Grandprix.
This is a unique bowling tournament that counts with punishments, skill challenges, and free talk corners.
Jinro Battle lies and the truth 2020 FEBRUARY
In February 2020, Hama participated in Marine Entertainment’s popular Jinro Battle variety show, Jinro Battle lies and the truth 2020 FEBRUARY.
However, there were a couple of twists to the format. First, the show included a reading part, then it was aired live with a crowd, and the public could participate in it.
The cast included:
- Takahide Ishii,
- Taichi Ichikawa,
- Yuki Aoi,
- Takehiro Urao,
- Kazuki Ura,
- Takeo Otsuka,
- Gakuto Kajiwara,
- Shouhei Komatsu,
- Tomohito Takatsuka,
- Yusuke Nagano,
- Daiki Hamano,
- Yoshitaka Yamaya.
Kento Hama’s song! play! home! (2023 -)
In 2023, Kento Hama opened his YouTube channel, “Kento Hama’s song! play! home!“.
This is a channel where he focuses on doing what he wants, mainly singing.
Fans participate through X/Twitter and Instagram DMs in 4 different corners. Those are the following:
- Living Improvisation: Hama challenges himself to perform the lines that fans send him, either seriously or as determined by lottery
- I Can’t Handle This Anymore…: Hama answers or helps fans with their real or imagined recent events that made them feel “I can’t handle this anymore”
- Do You Know This Song!?: if fans send him a song he doesn’t know, he will practice and challenge himself to sing the chorus on the spot.
- Explain That Movie!!: Based on the imaginary movie titles fans send, Hama imagines the content, describes the plot, and performs a scene from it.
Facts
A Tosa dialect specialist
Kento Hama is a Kochi native and knows the region’s Tosa dialect.
As such, on some occasions – especially for the Touken Ranbu anime series and movies – he’s been not only a cast member but a consultant on the Tosa dialect ensuring the accuracy in its pronunciation by other actors who may not know the dialect.
Just “smile”
His motto is “smile”. Kento Hama keeps things simple and has mentioned that he was inspired by the thought “When I smile, the audience smiles as well”, after participating in an event.
Since then, he ensures he’s his happy and smily self during events, focusing on making his fans feel happy.
Close friends with several fellow seiyuu
It is well known that Kento Hama is close to his amateur theatre/live reading troupe friends Reona Irie, Koutaro Nishiyama, Junta Terashima and Yuto Suzuki.
At the same time, he’s close friends with Seiya Konishi, Chiharu Sawashiro and Yuichi Jose, members of the cast for the Autumn Troupe in the A3! franchise.
With this, THTFHQ wraps up another Seiyuu Digest. In the meantime, don’t forget to check past Seiyuu Digests (some of those recently updated) – HERE.
