Seiyuu Digest #44 – Kent Ito

Kent Ito made a late debut in the seiyuu industry however, that hasn’t stopped him from constantly proving to everyone what he’s capable of.

Kent Ito

KANJI: 伊東健人

BORN: October 18, 1988

OCCUPATION: seiyuu, singer, songwriter, radio personality

HEIGHT: 179,8 cm

Seiyuu

His journey to the seiyuu industry started rather late – already in his 20s – yet it’s an interesting one.

According to a recent interview with numan, he didn’t know much about anime, games, and dubbing. He was a full-time student with no specific post-graduation goals.

When job hunting season started and he actively started looking for a job he noticed that his communication skills were not good.  At that time, he found a voice actor school that he could attend while attending classes at his college – the College of Law.

In another interview, Ito mentioned that he enrolled in a voice actor’s school hoping he could overcome his communication hurdles, and ultimately start speaking with others more confidently.

With that in mind, he ended up applying for Tokyo Announcer Academy.

He was accepted and later graduated from it, and joined 81 Produce (known for its popular talents: Shinnichiro Miki, Takahiro Sakurai (later left and joined INTENTION), Tetsuya Kakihara (later left and founded Zynchro), Takuya Eguchi, Wataru Hatano, and rising talents Soma Saito, Koutaro Nishiyama, Arthur Lounsbery, etc).

2011 – 2016

Debut days

Ito made his debut in 2011 but his first job as a seiyuu only came in 2013.

However, his first job in anime came a year later in 2014 with a role in the idol/music anime, Pripara. The role was far from being memorable as he was only credited for voicing a “man”. Still, in the same year, he voiced yet another random character for D-FRAG.

In 2015, things changed around a little bit. He had minor roles in Ore Monogatari!!, Kamisama Minarai: Himitsu no Cocotama, Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt, harmony, Punchline and Gintama.

For the kid’s anime Atashin’chi, he had a total of 20 minor roles, being a presence on the show during its two-year run.

2016 arrived and the picture hadn’t changed much. He was far from being a constant presence in anime with yet another 4 roles that might have gotten unnoticed by most anime fans.

In that year he voiced characters in Nintama Rantaro, Magi: Adventure of Sinbad, DETECTIVE CONAN Episode “ONE” and Reikenzan.

His role as Chu Qin in Reikenzan provided him with more spotlight than any of his previous roles had. Although still a minor character, his interactions with the main characters proved to be quite entertaining and his acting was incredibly solid.

Although not that popular, this anime provided Ito with a chance to showcase his talent – even if briefly.

After two years working in anime and three years since his debut as a seiyuu, Ito got his chance to be voicing one of the main characters for an anime series. Ironically, that was his only role in 2017.

2017 –

First leading roles

One role in 2017 was enough to put the spotlight on Ito.

The popularity of IDOLM@STER SideM was already huge when the anime series was greenlit, filling up venues in Japan for their live shows, having a loyal following of men and women (contrary to most 2.5D projects that usually have more than half of its following being women), millions of people playing the games and it was, quite possibly one of the things seiyuu fans like the most, a project that bet on new talent or underrated seiyuu.

The anime series premiered in 2017 during the Fall season and was always on top of the popularity ranks both in Japan and overseas. Ito was cast to reprise his role as Michio Hazama, a serious mathematics teacher that decides to pursue a life as an idol in order to inspire students through his songs.

He enlists the help of other two teachers Rui Maita and Jiro Yamashita and through a series of events, they end up as S.E.M, the teacher unit of 315 Production. Just a quick glance at the personalities of each of their members is enough to understand why Hazama is their spokesperson and leader.

Serious, dedicated, and passionate, he’s the one that devises strategies for the unit and pulls them all together with one objective: to inspire youths.

Ito’s performance as Hazama was among the best in the series, being highly praised by fans of the franchise.

Building upon the momentum IDOLM@STER SideM provided to himself, we arrive in 2018 to a role and anime series that have been favorites among Japanese and overseas fans.

Spring 2018 season arrived and with it came Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, popular romance/comedy manga that was now being adapted to anime. He was already a fan of the manga when he was cast as Nifuji Hirotaka for the drama CDs (released a couple of years back).

In 2017, he was announced in the main cast for the series, reprising his role as Hirotaka, a character that easily won over the viewers. Hirotaka is a gamer otaku that looks aloof, not caring about others’ reactions to his hobbies.

In a sense, his dedication to completing games translated to reality makes him an effective employee that always finishes work earlier. Ito’s performance as Hirotaka is wildly commended for having captured perfectly its essence by tackling perfectly the character’s flat emotions.

The character’s popularity has rubbed off positively on Ito, with people now starting to take an interest in his career.

Although still with few roles under his belt, his flawless performances as Hazama and Hirotaka are starting to make people notice him. There’s still a long until being a star but Ito is using his talent to slowly and steadily make his name known in the business.

Awards

At the 13th Seiyuu Awards in 2019, Ito, as part of the cast of the massively popular hip-hop franchise Hypnosis Mic, won the Singing Award. He didn’t attend the awards ceremony.

Radio

Since his debut, Ito has worked on a couple of radio shows, and somehow, he always ends up partnered with easygoing, smooth talkers and/or chatterboxes that cover for his flaws perfectly.

Ito Kento to Nakajima Yoshiki ga anata o muchunisaseru radio 〜 yumeraji 〜 (2016 -)

In 2016, Ito ventured for would-be his first radio show and the longest-running out of all radio shows he’s hosted so far.

Paired up with fellow 81 Produce talent, the easy-going Yoshiki Nakajima, the duo hosts Ito Kento to Nakajima Yoshiki ga anata o muchunisaseru radio 〜 yumeraji 〜 on Radio Tomo.

Ito and Nakajima‘s chemistry shows with ease on their broadcasts as they have comfortable casual conversations or tackle more complex themes. This show is the catalyst for UMake‘s debut.

IDOLMASTER SideM Radio 315Night! (2017)

Alongside fellow S.E.M‘s members Yoshiki Nakajima and Junya Enoki, Ito hosted the radio show “IDOLMASTER SideM Radio 315Night!” in 2017.

For this show, the trio invited members of the franchise’s cast for an entertaining show filled with a great, warm vibe, fun corners, and a lot of crazy shenanigans.

MTMR Ito Kento no! I to You from Tokyo (April – May 2018)

In April 2018, Ito was invited to be the host of MAN TWO MONTH RADIO, show in which seiyuu can handle their own radio show for two months before switching to the next seiyuu. According to himself, this was a “Born and raised in Tokyo, city boy radio show“.

MTMR Ito Kento no! I to You from Tokyo counted with a “granting wish” corner in which he’d give his support to the ones that asked for his support in the emails or grant whatever wishes he could. The show also included the “Itopedia” corner and several talk parts.

From moments in which he was surprised by his genius, to gags, funny stories, or just some casual talk about his life, likes, and dislikes, Ito showed that he’s a comfortable radio show host that knows how to keep his listeners thoroughly entertained.

In June 2018, Ito kicked off hosting his one-month radio show “Ito Kento de Radio” on Manga Park.

Wotakoi Radio (April 2018 – )

Following his casting as Nifuji Hirotaka, Ito co-hosted the radio show Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, alongside his co-star, Arisa Date.

Still in 2018, Ito hosted a one-month radio show titled “Monthly Shin Otokomae Tsushin February issue – Monthly Ito Kento“.

Games/Drama CDs

Ito made his debut as a seiyuu in 2013 with a character in Hyaku-nen senki Euro-Historia as Charles V (French King). Since then he’s been part of several action, RPGs, otome, and music games.

Some of the games he voiced characters in include:

• IDOLMASTER SideM (2015), 
• Girl and Dragon – Phantom Beast Contract Cryptolect – (2015), 
• Kyoshi-tachi no himitsu no hokago (2015), 
• Ikemen bakumatsu ♢ unmei no koi 〜 hana no miyako to koi no ran 〜 (2016), 
• Yuba no shirushi (2016),
• Captain Tsubasa 〜 Tatakae Dream Team 〜 (2017),
• IDOLMASTER SideM LIVE ON ST@GE! (2017), 
• SOUL REVERSE ZERO (2017), 
• Eto Kare ~ Junishi ni neko ga moreta riyu ~ (2018), 
• Ikemen Live koi no uta o kimi ni (2018),
• Haunted Obachestra (2018),
• Shinen RESIST (2018) and 
• Shometsu toshi 2 (2018).

All his roles in games listed from 2018 are main roles, most of those from games that have yet to be launched.

When it comes to drama CDs, Ito has quite a few under his belt, especially those from BL.

He’s voiced characters in drama CDs such as:

• THE IDOLM@STER SideM ST@RTING LINE (as Michio Hazama), 
• Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii (as Nifuji Hirotaka),
• Hypnosis Mic (as Doppo Kannonzaka), 
• DOUBLE DARE STORIES (as Namu), 
• Shikkuna megane to ki ni naru Karada (as Hiyori Nose), 
• Rikaidekinai kare to no koto, Zensen kichi kara aiwokomete,

between many more.

Acting

Bokukoe 2 (2019)

In 2018 Bokukoe announced its return with a 2nd season in January 2019, bringing a new cast, as well as some old faces from the first season plus a whole new skit selection for fans to enjoy.

Kento Ito joined the cast in the 2nd season however not with a secondary role but as a main character in a skit about embracing your embarrassing self.

恥ずかしがり隊 -「僕たちと一緒にもっと恥ずかしいことしようよ！」(Shy party – “Let’s be more embarrassed with us!”) features Kento Ito, Yoshiki Nakajima and Takuma Nagatsuka.

Live reading/Dubbing

81 Produce has a long tradition of having their talents well-versed, especially with training in narration and/or live reading.

Yearly, the company’s acting school promotes a series of Live Reading plays with some of their talents and Ito has, in the past few years, been a part of some of their live reading plays.

In 2018 he joined the cast of 謎解きはディナーのあとで (Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de), a detective story that counted with some of 81 Produce’s top male seiyuu talents on its lineup such as Soma Saito, Shinnichiro Kamio, Koutaro Nishiyama, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Wataru Komada, Arthur Lounsbery and Yuki Yonai.

In 2017 he participated in Recitation Play TARO alongside Wataru Komada (for his session).

When it comes to dubbing, Ito has quite a few credits under his belt. Thomas Lasky in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Beck in Tron: Uprising, and Gus in Julie’s Greenroom.

Other credits include dubbing in Anarchy, ZODIAC: Signs of the Apocalypse, Sunny, Pioneer, Ironclad, Back to the Future, Beautiful Creatures, What I Like About You, Sam & Cat, The Thundermans, My Love from the Star, among many others.

Music

Ito mentioned on MTMR that since he was a kid, he was always passionate about music. He was part of a band and joined his University’s music club, hence he knows how to play a variety of instruments including electric and acoustic guitars, drums, piano, bass, and synths.

He was previously known as a Vocaloid producer way before making his debut as a seiyuu. As 21SeikiP he mentioned that due to having a lot of free time at some point in his life, he started composing songs in 2009.

As 21SeikiP, Ito produced mostly rock songs but all of those had an easy-listening touch, never delving into aggressive guitar riffs or excessively fast-paced, heavy melodies.

He also delved into other music genres including pop and rock ballads but never forgetting to insert his trademark touch – acoustic or electric guitars were always on his compositions, showing that those were the instruments at the basis of his songwriting.

His music always has a unique acoustic or rock touch that you can easily pinpoint that he was the one producing it.

Aside from being part of a band and his work as a Vocaloid producer, Ito never had a solo career, not even after making his debut as a seiyuu, however, he is and was part of several interesting and popular 2.5D projects.

soffive (2013)

81 Produce debuted soffive in 2013. The unit was created to promote their rookie talents.

soffive consisted of Kent Ito, Yoshiki Nakajima, Arthur Lounsbery, Koutaro Nishiyama, and Shunya Hiruma. They performed live and featured three of their songs in the motion comic, Voice Acting Sentai Boy’s tome 7. Soon after debuting, the unit disbanded.

S.E.M (2015 – )

In 2015, Ito joined the cast of IDOLM@STER‘s male version, IDOLM@STER SideM. He was cast as Michio Hazama (far right in the above picture), leader of S.E.M, currently one of the most popular groups from the IDOLM@STER SideM franchise. Junya Enoki and Yoshiki Nakajima complete the lineup for this unit.

The talented trio is known for their explosive live performances, chemistry, and rich vocals. Since their debut, the group has shown a massive improvement in their vocals, with the major difference being felt in Nakajima and Ito‘s performances of ∞ Possibilities.

Ito brought a whole lot of vibrato into the mix, turning that chorus into a jaw-dropping experience.

Nakajima on the other hand polished his vocals approaching the song with a deeper, more melodic tone. He is a pivotal part of S.E.M‘s vocal prowess, impressing time after time with his singing skills.

Up until now, the trio has released two singles, THE IDOLM@STER Sidem ST@RTING LINE-06 S.E.M (2015) and The IDOLM@STER SideM ANIMATION PROJECT 03「From Teacher To Future!」(2017).

Aside from these singles, S.E.M has participated in several cross-unit and solo song projects within the franchise.

So far, the trio participated in four IDOLMASTER SideM stages: 1st STAGE 〜ST@RTING!〜 (2016), 2nd STAGE 〜ORIGIN@L STARS〜 (2017), 3rd STAGE 〜GLORIOUS ST@GE!〜 (2018) and THE IDOLM@STER SideM 4th LIVE STAGE 〜TRE@SURE GATE〜 (2019).

They also participated in the fan meeting tour “GREETING TOUR 2017 ～BEYOND THE DREAM～” in 2017 and  THE IDOLM@STER SideM’s Five-St@r Party!! in 2018.

UMake (2017-)

Alongside fellow 81 Produce talent and S.E.M member Yoshiki Nakajima, Kento Ito is part of the self-producing duo, UMake.

Since their formation in 2016 as the hosting duo for the radio show “Ito Kento to Nakajima Yoshiki ga anata o muchunisaseru radio 〜 yumeraji 〜“, the duo has released one mini-album “Setsukashou – first” in the summer of 2017.

This mini-album impressed a lot of fans of both members with both their self-producing skills and their singing. Yoshiki Nakajima was in charge of the lyrics for all songs and Kento Ito showcased his composition skills, composing all tracks on that release.

Still in the same year, UMake participated in Artsonic’s Double Dare Covers album to dazzle everyone with their renditions of GACKT’s “Vanilla” and 君の声に恋してる by Tatsuro Yamashita. Their cover of “Vanilla” earned them a lot of praise, especially when the vocals sounded like an upgrade to the original version.

In 2018, UMake was back with exciting news for their fans.

The duo made their official debut, announcing their first live show and single release. SUMMER☆MONSTER premiered during that show, showcasing UMake‘s music sensibility through a variety of music genres that range from acoustic to pop or rock.

The duo released their first full-length album Make up a dream in 2018.

The album featured 14 songs written, composed, and produced by the duo that explored pop, rock, ballad, jazz, and electronica. This eclectic album showcased the duo’s talents in a way that previous releases hadn’t been able to.

The album debuted at #31 on Oricon’s Weekly Album Chart.

After holding their first live during the summer of 2018, UMake announced the release of a new single as well as a new live show that was held in January 2019.

UMake’s 2nd single titled “HOME” showcased a different side to their musicality.

Matenro (2017 -)

In the last quarter of 2017, Kent Ito was announced as part of the lineup for one of the most ambitious and original projects in the seiyuu business, Hypnosis Mic. He was to join Shinjuku’s crew, Matenro.

The most popular crew in the Hypnosis Mic franchise draws inspiration in all ways of “living” a person can experience.

Their introspective, relatable lyrics and unique instrumentals quickly clicked with the fans of the franchise, making Matenro a crew that is a constant presence on the digital charts as well as one of the best-selling crews in the franchise (behind Fling Posse).

Matenro released “Matenrou -Onin Rinshou-” in December 2017 and quickly climbed in the popularity ranks with what turned out to be a complex and powerful release.

Compared with the performances of his crew mates Sho Hayami (leader) and Ryuichi Kijima, Ito’s performances are the ones that delve into more depressive topics such as overwork, chain of command, rules, and how stifling everything ends up being for the common salary worker.

His solo performance for チグリジア (Tigridia) shone with its introspective vibe, dark melodies, and the mix between fierce rap and his well-known rich and melodic singing tone.

This unexpected project in his career turned out to be a great outlet to showcase his talent as well as delve into something he wouldn’t normally do – rap. About his rap skills, there’s only praise from the fans of the franchise.

After the release of the introductory singles for each crew, Hypnosis Mic kicked off their 1st Battle Season series.

Matenro faced and beat Fling Posse in the second round in Fling Posse VS Matenro. The CD was certified Gold by RIAJ in 2018.

This was a quick and easy win for Matenro as the group was already massively popular – even in comparison with Fling Posse’s rising popularity.

While BATTLE BATTLE BATTLE was a clear win for Fling Posse, when it came to the group’s representative songs, Matenro made a case for themselves with “Shinjuku Style～warawasu na～“, even if the song strangely flirts with copyright infringement of Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie” (in case you haven’t checked, the chorus in “Shinjuku Style” is a carbon copy of “Nookie”).

After beating Fling Posse, Matenro battled against the winners of the Buster Bros!!! VS MAD TRIGGER CREW battle, MAD TRIGGER CREW.

The battle was fierce, something that quickly translated into the massive sales numbers MAD TRIGGER CREW VS Matenro pulled. The album was certified Gold by RIAJ in 2018.

Matenro won the hard-fought battle – votes-wise – as, weirdly enough, the performances in “DEATH RESPECT” were completely tame in comparison with both crew’s participation in the 1st round.

Crowned Kings, Matenro was set to release a special CD “The Champion“.

The CD counted not only with Matenro’s winner song but also with a song by The Dirty Dawg titled “T.D.D LEGEND“.

In 2019, the crew released the stylish パピヨン (Papillon), featured in the compilation album, Enter the Hypnosis Microphone.

The crew returned in 2020 with the release of Matenro Before The 2nd D.R.B, a critically acclaimed album that brought a contrasting set of songs that, once again, approached the theme of “life” from completely different perspectives.

Doppo was the one who got to perform an all-out, hard-hitting rap song on that CD. BLACK OR WHITE illustrates the life of a Japanese salaryman and Doppo’s struggles in that life.

It is a broken song that gets to you in the weirdest way possible, especially if you take into account that the instrumental is far from being the focus and Doppo’s best solo performance to date isn’t this one.

Kent Ito went for a fast-paced, probing performance with a lot of emotional weight in it.

In a live setting, Matenro is a solid crew however far from perfect – in comparison with Buster Bros!!! and Fling Posse’s impressive chemistry and harmonizations in a live setting.

Show Hayami sets the tone for the live performances however, with Kent Ito and Ryuichi Kijima with deeply contrasting singing tones, the group tends to not sound as neat live as they do on record much due to how their vocals are mixed on record VS live mixing.

Still, they bring a lot of intensity through their unique performances.

So far the crew has performed live 6 times, although in different contexts.

The first franchise release on Blu-ray and DVD is Hypnosis mic- Division Rap Battle – 4th LIVE @ Osaka, massive live held in 2019 that counted with Buster Bros!!!, MAD TRIGGER CREW, Fling Posse, Matenro, and the, then recently announced, Dotsuitare Honpo and Bad Ass Temple.

In 2020, due to issues with Coronavirus (COVID-19), Hypnosis Mic’s ambitious MetLife Dome live, SIX SHOTS TO THE DOME was cancelled.

Instead, all crews performed on 29/03/2020 on a special broadcast by AbemaTV, Hypnosis mic- Division Rap Battle – 5th LIVE @ AbemaTV – SIX SHOTS UNTIL THE DOME that counted with millions of live views.

In February 2021, the Hypnosis Mic held its 6th live “2nd D.R.B”, with the 3rd battle counting with Bad Ass Temple vs Matenro.

The crew arrived with the heartwrenching “TOMOSHIBI” in “Bad Ass Temple vs Matenro“, album that served as the catalyst for this live show, Matenro won the battle against Bad Ass Temple.

The final battle in the 2nd Division Rap Battle series pitied Matenro against Buster Bros!!! and Fling Posse in “Buster Bros!!! VS Matenro VS Fling Posse”.

“SHOWDOWN” ended up being more than just a battle, it was all about each crew stating their intentions, telling their story, and showing their worth for the title of “Champion”.

Later in August 2021, the crew performed live at Hypnosis Mic 7th live “SUMMIT OF DIVISIONS”.

The final results were announced on November 28, 2021. All members of Buster Bros!!!, MAD TRIGGER CREW, Matenro, Fling Posse, Dotsuitare Hompo, and Bad Ass Temple were in attendance at the special broadcast on AbemaTV.

Fling Posse (130346 votes) won the Final Battle in the 2nd Division Rap Battle series after beating Matenro (101981 votes) and Buster Bros!!! (115227 votes) in a 3-way battle that included live show votes + CD votes + VR battle.

Kicking off 2022, Matenro participated in Hypnosis Mic’s 2nd full-length album “CROSS A LINE“.

Still in the same year, the crew was back on stage for Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- 8th LIVE《CONNECT THE LINE》.

In 2023, the Hypnosis Mic franchise held a large-scale live show featuring all crews titled Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- 9th LIVE ≪ZERO OUT≫.

Hypnosis Mic Division All Stars (2017 -)

Division All Stars‘ original lineup consisted of Buster Bros!!!, MAD TRIGGER CREW, Fling Posse and Matenro. In 2019, with the addition of Dotsuitare Honpo and Bad Ass Temple to the franchise, the group now houses all groups.

Their first release was Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- in 2017. This was the explosive start even before anyone knew how each crew would end up sounding.

The song was an instant hit and brought a massive following from overseas to the project.

In 2018, Division All Stars returned with the electrifying Hypnosis Mic Division Battle Anthem. The success it met was even more than on their debut song.

Now that the project was popular, it was a matter of a couple of days until it hit 1 million views.

In 2019, Hypnosis Mic released its first compilation album. Enter the Hypnosis Microphone featured all of Division All Stars‘ songs plus a new ensemble track, Hoodstar.

The song was quickly followed by Hypnosis Mic – Alternative Rap Battle-, song featured as the theme song for the smartphone game, Hypnosis Mic -Alternative Rap Battle-.

Still in the same year, Division All Stars returned with a new take on their debut song, Hypnosis Mic Division Battle Anthem.

After the franchise introduced 2 new units to the franchise, Dotsuitare Honpo, and Bad Ass Temple, the classic track got a revamp, thus Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle-+ was released.

In 2020, Division All Stars made their comeback and once again revamping one of their hit songs. Hypnosis Mic -Division Battle Anthem- was revamped, adding Dotsuitare Honpo and Bad Ass Temple into the mix, creating Hypnosis Mic -Division Battle Anthem-＋.

And in 2020, Division All Stars released the fan favorite, and up until July of the same year, in-game exclusive, Survival of the Illest.

Still in the same year, Division All Stars released the funky tune “SUMMIT OF DIVISIONS“. The song was included with the franchise’s Hypnosis Mic – Division Rap Battle – Official Guide Book.

A year later “Hypnosis Mic-Glory or Dust-“ was released.

The song featured a 3D CGI animated music video – the first one in the Hypnosis Mic -, going in line with the franchise’s recent bet in VR and CGI technology to improve the visibility of its contents.

A couple of months later and still in 2021, Division All Stars released an extended version of the groovy hit tune “Survival of the Illest“.

The reworked song was titled “Survival of the Illest+” and included Dotsuitare Hompo and Bad Ass Temple in the recording.

In 2021, Division All Stars released the funky hip-hop tune with a ’90s touch “Hang out!“.

Still in the same year, the group released a new – extended – version of “Hoodstar”. Now including the rapping by Bad Ass Temple and Dotsuitare Hompo, “Hoodstar+” was released.

In 2022, the Hypnosis Mic franchise released its 2nd full-length album “CROSS A LINE“.

In this album, which included new songs by all crews, there is the groovy self-titled all-star song.

SilverVine (2018 – 2019)

In 2018, Ito joined the cast of Ikemen Live, a new smartphone game that counts with two bands, HOUNDS and SilverVine. He’s the main vocal for SilverVine, band that counts as well with the vocals of Toshinari Fukamachi and Genki Okawa.

SilverVine‘s debut song Even if was previewed in May, raising anticipation for the game’s release.

Haunted Obachestra (2018 -)

Haunted Obachestra, new project by Poni-Pachet (creators of Ozmafia) involving rock music and monsters, announced in the second quarter of 2018 that Kento Ito would be part of their cast. The project is still shrouded in mystery with little to no information unveiled.

Haunted Obachestra is going to have music by Kimiyoshi Maruyama, producer/songwriter part of the producing crew “project lights”

As Exnaz Von Enterstein, Ito performed Ausfahrt.

Anthos (2019 -)

In 2019, Wataru Komada joined the ambitious and unique project, Hana Doll.

Hana-Doll* is an idol project created by MOVIC (TSUKIPRO, VAZZROCK, Tsukiuta, etc) in 2019. Originally, 6 idols were part of Anthos, a group signed to the fictional talent agency Amagiri Production.

Anthos was originally comprised of Toshiki Masuda, Kent Ito, Wataru Komada, Daiki Hamano, Shunichi Toki, and Seiichiro Yamashita.

In 2020, the group welcomed a new member in Shun Horie, and the group stylized their name as Anthos*.

So far, the group has released the following CDs:

• Birth (2019)
• BOXED (2019)
• IDOLls (2019)
• Message (2020)
• For… (2020)
• Meet (2021)
• Es (2021)

Their unique sound completely strays away from that of regular idol projects.

The lyrics delve into darker themes (after all, there’s a really dramatic and emotional story at the core of this group and each character), and the instrumentals do not focus on what is trendy, instead, the focus is put on a minimalistic electronica sound with elements of hip-hop and tropical house that captures the listeners’ attention.

In 2021, the franchise kicked off its first solo CD series The Way I Am.

As LIHITO, Ito delivered an emotional performance in the dreamy “Pain In My Heart“.

Still in the same year, Anthos* started to slightly change their sound, embracing more tropical music while putting aside their minimalistic, chillout sound from their debut.

As a group, their dynamic changed as well with the addition of Shun Horie, Anthos* got more power on the tenor range.

“Meet” was the first album released by the, now rebranded, Anthos*. And it brought two intense tunes to the spotlight, the leading track “Flash Point” and its b-side “Shine on“.

In June 2021, Anthos* performed live on stage for the very first time. 7 Meet A  Anthos* Stage Event 2021 was held at Tokorozawa Sakura Town Japan Pavilion Hall A in Saitama on 06/06/2021.

The live event featured performances by the group as well as the solo tracks released in The Way I Am CD series.

Before the end of 2021, Anthos* released a new CD “INCOMPLICA:I/F~es~“.

This CD welcomed two new songs to the group’s repertoire “Lay it down“, a hard-hitting, dancefloor-driven song favoring the rappers within the group – Daiki Hamano and Seiichiro Yamashita – and “Paradiso“, song favoring the main vocals of the group.

Variety

Voice Garage’s Men-so 〜re! Nakamura-ya no kiji ichiran (2016)

In 2016, Ito joined Shugo Nakamura on Voice Garage’s Men-so 〜re! Nakamura-ya no kiji ichiran.

He appeared on the show twice, one for the live broadcast, in which he played drums to Nakamura‘s original love song and a second time on a live event in which he played acoustic guitar as an accompaniment to Nakamura’s song.

Those that attended or watched that live performance were impressed with Ito‘s guitar-playing skills as he flawlessly tackled a fancy guitar solo.

Ito Kento & Nakajima Yoshiki ga anata o muchunisaseru DVD (2017)

In 2017, Yumeraji‘s duo, Kento Ito and Yoshiki Nakajima. teamed up for the radio show’s first ever variety DVD. The DVD counted with a cooking section in which Ito miraculously managed to fail to cook rice, games and casual talk, all with a comfortable and friendly vibe.

Karaoke MAX (2018 -)

Kento Ito often guests on Karaoke MAX, a popular variety show that airs on Nico Nico. As the name of the show indicates, seiyuu are invited to this show to challenge songs on karaoke.

Ito has given several impressive performances, having most recently impressed with his performance of T.M.Revolution’s “Hot Limit”, not only acing the song but also the main points of the iconic choreography.

Ito Kento to Nakajima Yoshiki ga Muchu ni Naru DVD (2018)

After staying at home for their first variety DVD, Yumeraji’s hosts Kento Ito and Yoshiki Nakajima visited Chinatown in Yokohama for Ito Kento to Nakajima Yoshiki ga Muchu ni Naru DVD. The duo tried delicacies and suffered through a foot massage, among other things.

Hypnosis Mic variety (2020)

Still in 2020, Kent Ito participated in Hypnosis Mic -Division Variety Battle @ ABEMA alongside fellow Matenro members Ryuichi Kijima and Show Hayami.

The variety show included impromptu rap battles, an information corner – on the latest Hypnosis Mic news -, and a Super Difficult Love Trial! Division Pressure Q, a variety challenge in which both crews in attendance on a given episode had to face each other in a difficult quiz.

Hypnosis Mic Division Study Guide (2021)

In 2021, Ito participated alongside Matenro members Ryuichi kijima and Show Hayami in the AbemaTV exclusive show Hypnosis Mic Division Study Guide.

The show is all about making it simple for newcomers to get into Hypnosis Mic by explaining a bit of each character’s background and intentions, the group’s dynamics as well as talking about the music (with some games in the mix).

Random Facts

81 Produce’s Diamond

This nickname has spread much thanks to reports by 81 Produce’s talents on Kent Ito‘s lack of flexibility or coordination. According to Yoshiki Nakajima, the main culprit of dissing Ito, his body was so stiff to the point that he couldn’t reach out to his feet, much less his shins.

For the choreography of S.E.M‘s “STUDY EQUAL MAGIC!” he had a hard time bending into a comfortable position so that Nakajima and Junya Enoki could lean on this back for the final pose.

He also mentioned that dancing was difficult to tackle, as he lacked coordination and his movements used to be, once again, stiff. The nickname 81 Produce’s Diamond has stayed with him since then.

Nowadays, Ito mentioned that he’s exercising, much due to the fact that now that he’s in his 30s. He felt like it’d be good to start exercising regularly with that in mind he frequents a gym to not only improve that so-called “stiffness” but also to tone his body.

Not a fan of carbonated drinks

Ito mentioned that he doesn’t drink beer or carbonated drinks. He even mentioned on MTMR that he doesn’t even know what Coca-Cola tastes like. Passionate about apple juice, hates wasabi and soda.

Gives off a stoic vibe yet…

The first thing someone mentions when they see Ito is that he has a stoic, serious vibe however, he is quite the opposite. He’d be quiet but bubbly in his own unique way. He mentioned on MTMR that, for example, he tends to goof around a lot with his senpai, seiyuu Toshinari Fukamachi.

He also added that the image fans have of him, much thanks to his role in Idolmaster SideM, is the complete opposite of himself “We’re nothing alike. He’s too serious and I hate math!“. In an interview for numan, he mentioned that he considers himself clumsy and “my pace”.

Passionate about Baseball

He is a major fan of baseball. Born and raised in Tokyo, he has always been a fan of Tokyo’s GIANTS. Aside from being a fan of the sport, Ito played baseball from elementary school until the end of the first year of high school. He played as a shortstop.

His favorite seiyuu

His favorite seiyuu is the veteran Daisuke Sakaguchi. He mentioned that Sakaguchi‘s ability to portray subtle nuances in Japanese impressed him.

With this we wrap up yet another Seiyuu Digest. We’re back next month! In the meantime don’t forget to check past Seiyuu Digests (some of those recently updated) – HERE.

Last updated on 12/11/2023