Seiyuu Digest #52 – Taku Yashiro

seiyuu digest yashiro taku 1

Taku Yashiro has been showing little by little that he has the potential and the skills to become very successful in the seiyuu industry.

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Taku Yashiro

Taku Yashiro

KANJI: 八代 拓

BORN: January 6, 1993

OCCUPATION: seiyuu, radio personality

HEIGHT: 176 cm

Seiyuu

Born on January 6, 1993 at Iwate prefecture, Taku Yashiro has been slowly but surely paving his path since his debut as he attempts to spread his wings to all of the other departments and has therefore become one of the seiyuu that has become increasingly popular throughout the years.

2013-2015

taku 1
Taku Yashiro

Yashiro began his career in 2013 and precisely in the same year he would land on his first role. At this point in the game it already is widely known that not all seiyuu start off big, in fact, often as not the opposite is frequently seen in this industry, and Yashiro is no exception to this trend. His first roles consisted on minor characters in several anime of the most diverse genres.

Although his first years in the industry were nowhere near prolific, they were enough for him to propel his career and important to him as the seiyuu slowly began making him name known. As aforementioned, rookie seiyuu have to begin somewhere and usually that consists on them accepting these minor roles, even if sometimes they have few lines. This is the reality in the seiyuu industry and it seems that it is almost a rite of passage for the rookies, at least in the first few years in of their career.

Some of the anime include names such as Silver Spoon (2013), Persona 4 the Golden Animation (2014), Isshuukan Friends. (2014), Yowamushi Pedal (2014), Arslan Senki (2014), Aldnoah Zero (2014), GANGSTA (2014), Shokugeki no Souma (2014), Gintama (2014), Fairy Tail (2015-2016).

2016-

2016 is the year that marks the start of Yashiro‘s popularity explosion. With 3 years into his career the seiyuu had already adjusted to the industry and began making his efforts felt in his previous appearances in anime. With that being said, Yashiro‘s career began sailing towards success.

Subaru Yuuki Aikatsu Stars
Subaru Yuuki in Aikatsu Stars!

Just in 2016 alone, the seiyuu landed on at least four main character roles. One of the first was perhaps the beginning of Yashiro’s repertoire of music anime. In Aikatsu Stars! the seiyuu plays the role of Subaru Yuuki, one of the boys enrolled at the Four Stars Academy’s male division and coincidentally one of the four members of the unit M4 whose members are the top male students. Yuuki is a top student at the academy, and above all else he gives off the image of being the cool type with some hints of confidence in himself as well as his habit of teasing others, especially when he notices the other person is being stubborn about something which is not true, so in a way Yuuki enjoys provoking others.

Kono Danshi Mahou ga Oshigoto Desu 1
Toyohi Utsumi in Kono Danshi, Mahou ga Oshigoto Desu

In the early stages of one’s career it is one of the most important moment to showcase the ability to play different roles in different genres of anime.

Yashiro has been doing precisely that since the beginning, from the music genre the seiyuu changed gears in Kono Danshi, Mahou ga Oshigoto Desu., an anime about magic and romance between the two main characters, Toyohi Utsumi (played by Yashiro) and Chiharu Kashima (played by Yuuki Ono).

Utsumi is a normal person who has always wanted to meet a magician, so when he finds out Kashima is one, other than feeling contentment Yashiro’s character feels fascinated.

As Yashiro began to build his career, the momentum and popularity he gained could not be wasted, thus the seiyuu proceeded with his approach to diverse roles in different genres. Naoto Azuma in Tiger Mask W is one of Yashiro’s first main role in a sports anime.

It is not everyday that one hears about a wrestling anime airing so in a way this was a good chance for Yashiro to draw attention to himself, granted that his character was liked by the fans.

Azuma is your typical definition of an anti-hero. Although the young man has noble motives the way he behaves screams nothing but villain.

Despite that, and perhaps, unlike others, Azuma has some flaws which often as not have hindered his plans.

Other than his tough image, one cannot forget his moments of goofiness when the character is not standing on stage, which are in fact extremely funny when one thinks Yashiro’s personality, at times goofy. Tiger Mask W was actually praised for some people as the art work reminded the 80s shounen anime.

Hayato in Mayoiga
Hayato in Mayoiga

Mayoiga is one of the must see anime in Yashiro’s repertoire.

Hayato is one of the main characters in this anime. The plot of the story consists in a group of eccentric people going on a trip to an abandoned village in order to change themselves, as each and everyone of the individuals has his/her own past problems and therefore want to change either their lives or their circumstances.

Hayato is no different. This young man appears to remain calm at all times and reducing his interaction with other people to his childhood friend Mitsumune Sakai, to which he has vouched protect from anything that might hurt him.

His strong desire to help others, in this case Sakai, when he is being bullied or subjected to other type of harassment does not simply come from a strong sense of righteousness or anything else other than it being, perhaps unconsciously, Hayato‘s way of not seeing his past repeat in front of him when he can prevent that.

So, aside from preventing Sakai from doing things wrong or getting in trouble, Hayato is always attempting from that happening. Unlike the other passengers in the bus, he does not want to change or run away from something, quite the opposite.

He intends to prove his point about a certain story others seem to believe in. As it would seem the character is quite loved by the fans who praise Yashiro‘s performance as this troubled character.

Despite we saying that Yashiro‘s popularity had begun to grow, the seiyuu still had some minor roles in several anime such as Fukigen na Mononokean as Norito Saga, Norn9: Norn+Nonet, Sakamoto Desu ga?, SHOW BY ROCK!!, Dimension W, Battery and Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Arc-V.

Ei Oreki in Piace Watashi no Italian
Ei Oreki in Piace: Watashi no Italian

As aforementioned, Yashiro’s characters tend to vary quite a lot in terms of personality, and with that being said it is predictable that ever so occasionally the seiyuu will be playing those more goofy and air headed characters, such as his role at Piace: Watashi no Italian as Ei Oreki just one of the eccentric workers at Trattoria Festa, to which one cannot really apply the saying of not judging a book by its cover since Oreki looks, acts and is flirtatious. If anything, that makes him easy to read as he is exactly as he seems.

Tsubasa Kashiwagi in The iDOLM@STER SideM
Tsubasa Kashiwagi in The iDOLM@STER SideM

Over the years Yashiro has been continuously been gaining popularity and recognition which has been playing well for the seiyuu as we can see him playing roles for famous franchises anime adaptations such as The iDOLM@STER SideM as Tsubasa Kashiwagi, one of the members of the unit called DRAMATIC STARS. Kashiwagi is a character that perhaps more than others suits Yashiro best.

Cool and with a calm voice the ex-pilot is at times even soothing or if we dare say borderline cute.

Although most of the time we see the character attempting to make the unit work or work as a mediator between the other two members of the unit, Kashiwagi seems to be problem ridden at some point, however, much to one’s disappointment the truth reveals to be more complicated to for rookie in the industry.

It is perhaps due to the fact that the character has some “real” problems that Kashiwagi became popular, as he possibly has a background to which others might be able to relate to.

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Yuu, Tokiharu, Yorito and Shinomune.

Still in 2017, Yashiro reprised his role in the popular game DYNAMIC CHORD that has an anime adaptation. In the game, the seiyuu had played the role of the drummer for the popular rock band Kyohso as Shinomune Sumiya.

Although Sumiya‘s presence is not that constant as in the game, there are still quite some times when the fans of the franchise can enjoy watching the character interacting with others.

Most recently, Yashiro has been in quite some anime. Aside from his reprisal of his role as Tsubasa Kashiwagi in The iDOLM@STER SideM: Wake Atte Mini! all the other roles are new in his repertoire.

His most recent roles include names such as Brown Bess in Senjuushi (2018), Ichiya Mokusaibashi in Jingai-san no Yome (2018), Ebitani in Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa (2018), Tsukasa Shiba in Gundam Build Divers (2018), Susumu Yamazaki in BAKUMATSU (2018), Akihiko Hadano in Shuudengo, Capsule Hotel de, Joushi ni Binetsu Tsutawaru Yoru. (clean version) (2018), Kakeru Juuouin in King of Prism by Pretty Rhythm (2019), Natsuo Fujii in Domestic na Kanojo and finally in Stand My Heroes (201?).

Radio

Yashiro is no stranger to the radio business, in fact, the seiyuu has quite some entries in his repertoire. Be it hosting or as an invitee, Yashiro is sure to brighten up the mood and even make others laugh because, in all honesty, he is often as not a little lost and ends up being a gag, though not inadvertently.

Mozaiku Night (2014-2018)

Mozaiku Night is a show with several different hosts, which change every day of the program, that has been continuing to use the same formula for several years now. As October of 2014, Yashiro became in charge of co-hosting the Tuesday broadcast along with Shoko Nagahiro, a fellow seiyuu.

Murase-kun to Yashiro-kun (2015-)

If there is one thing that Yashiro is without a doubt is being a free-spirit, so Murase-kun to Yashiro-kun is one of the times when we can listen to the seiyuu and his co-host talk about several problems.

Murase kun to Yashiro kun
Ayumu Murase, Aoi Shota (guest) and Taku Yashiro

In fact, one of their corners is about dieting and gaining weight, which by the way is, respectively, Murase and Yashiro’s problem, so if there is one thing this radio show gives off is a relaxed vibe.

IDOLMASTER SideM Radio 315Night! (2015-2017)

When it comes to IDOLM@STER’s radio show, the formula has been slightly unconventional. At first the show was hosted by Yashiro, Yuma Uchida and Shugo Nakamura, the members of DRAMATIC STARS.

IDOLMASTER SideM Radio 315Night
Taku Yashiro, Shugo Nakamura, Yuma Uchida, Kentarou Kumagai (guest) and Kento Hama (guest)

In 2016, however, it was decided that the hosts would change and therefore a sort of shuffle system between the franchise’s units was implemented. Since then, this formula has enabled the fans to have the opportunity to listen to their favorite units as well as different guests.

Wanderer – Mayoiga – “Narayura Village Plaza Public Relations Section (2016)

As Yashiro had been a part of the main cast of the thriller anime Mayoiga, it would made more than sense to bring him as a guest for the inaugural episode and consequently the last one.

Yuuka Aisaka, Koudai Sakai and Taku Yashiro

Yet, the hosts for the radio show were chosen every week in a random fashion so no one ever knew who would be hosting the show the following week. However, it certainly was interesting to note that the members hosting the first episode are coincidentally the members with more importance for the plot in the anime.

Taku Yatsushiro’s sports ○ ○ ranking! (2017-)

For those who know Yashiro, this radio show is nothing to leave mouths gaping. Although the seiyuu has mentioned some times that he wants to gain some weight, the fact is that he is ever so often active and playing the sports that he enjoys in his free time.

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Taku Yatsushiro’s sports ○ ○ ranking!

There have been times in which, Yashiro himself has mentioned that he has once played badminton for several hours which caused him to have muscle pain the following day, but one can notice just how passionate he is about sports.

ON8+1 (2018-)

Originally titled ON 8 this radio show has several different hosts throughout the days that it is broadcasted. Yashiro is in charge of hosting the show on Thursday.

8P Radio ~ Road to the New World ~ (2018-)

This radio show is hosted by Tasuku HatanakaSho NogamiTaku YashiroJunya EnokiArthur LounsberyAtsushi KousakaTakeaki Masuyama and Shoya Chiba. The main focus of this show is to challenge various things and to improve themselves as seiyuu.

Dubbing/Narration

When it comes to dubbing, Yashiro has not been that acting in this department as there is only one entry in his repertoire as Nat Wolf’s character in the 2016 movie Grandma. It certainly is no surprise that the seiyuu has not been more prolific when it comes to dubbing, specially when one takes into account that Yashiro has debuted at relatively not that long.

When it comes to narration, Yashiro has shown his talent a couple of times in several occasions. From television commercials to tv shows of fellow seiyuu, the seiyuu has been Yashiro has been spreading his wings and perhaps attempting to gain experience while working in different projects. Lady!? Steady,GO!! (2015) and Kongo no otomeitotaitoru tenkai no oshirase ~ Vol. 4 〜 Hasu ki Ken (2015) were just the starting point.

Drama CDs

Yashiro, much like some other seiyuu, are just beginning to extend their repertoire in the drama CDs department, and although, at the moment, he has yet to show more sides of himself playing other characters, that makes it all the more worth the wait.

dynamic chord love u kiss series vol 12 shinomune
Dynamic Chord love u kiss series vol.12 Shinomune

Despite him not have many entries in this category, Yashiro has certainly made one thing certain, he is not just your soothing and cute character, such as Tsubasa Kashiwagi from the The Idolm@ster SideM franchise. Other characters, such as the one he portrays in Ikemen Sengoku ◆ The Long Time Love as Yoshimoto Imagawa, Shokugeki no Souma, Five Star Prince, Liar Boyfriend, Mr. Kareshi, Given, MODS and Dynamic Chord are just some of his works.

Games

Being active in the seiyuu industry is something that now, more than even, is needed to stay relevant, and the gaming department is one of the departments one should not miss.

Yashiro has been extremely prolific in this part of the industry since 2014 and up until now he has been maintaining his momentum consistent every year.

Although his first roles were not of main characters, as with anything, it was an experience to the seiyuu, at the time rookie seiyuu. So some of his first roles were featured in games such as Ayakashi Gohan, After school Colorful step and Gold Rebellion.

As time passed, Yashiro‘s popularity had a huge boost with his casting in the currently popular franchise The Idolm@ster SideM as Tsubasa Kashiwagi, one of the members of the three men cell unit DRAMATIC STARS. If one could not understand his sudden boost in popularity, there are your facts.

Granted that he has always been working hard since his debut, but it was definitely this game, alongside with other factors that made Yashiro rise to popularity as soon as he has, though some might still argue that the seiyuu is still not quite their in comparison to others.

Dynamic Chord feat. Kyohso
Dynamic Chord feat. Kyohso

On the same year, Yashiro took on another character in a game related to the music industry, this time around impersonating the drummer of the popular and somewhat veteran band in the Dynamic Chord world called Kyohso.

That was perhaps one of the moments in which Yashiro surprised the fans for his almost unrecognizable performance.

Not only did Sumiya Shinomune appear to be a little wild due to his demeanor, his voice did not betray those expectations as Shinomune has a manly and grown-up voice as the character is the oldest in the band.

So, needless to say, Yashiro‘s performance while having that raspy voice was not only, and certainly difficult for the seiyuu as his “normal” voice is far from being that, but it also made the fans all the more excited as the quality delivered had been above expectation.

Other of his roles include names such as Stand My Heroes (2016) as Maki Keita, Ikemen Vampire (2017) as Osamu Dazai, Knight Blood (2017) as Yuri Kamonosuke, King of Prism (2017) as Kakeru Juuouin, Final Fantasy XIV Crimson’s Liberators (2017) as Magny and Killer and Strawberry (2018) as Amon.

Music

With the way the seiyuu industry has evolved it is nowadays more rare to find a seiyuu that does not sing than one who does. Yashiro, as a seiyuu that has debuted in this industry at a moment when 2D units are all the rage could not escape this fever and so he has been casted as a member of several units throughout the years.

Kyohso

kyohso

The popular 4 four men band consisting of Showtaro Morikubo (vocal), Tachibana Shinnosuke (guitar), Kaito Ishikawa (bass), Yashiro Taku (drums) debuted in 2014 when the game Dynamic Chord feat. Kyohso came out.

Needless to say, Yashiro does not sing in this unit, though for all intents and purposes he is a member of the group. Up until the moment the unit has released three singles and one mini-album.

Dramatic Stars

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DRAMATIC STARS

DRAMATIC STARS are one of the most popular units in the The Idolm@ster SideM franchise. The unit consists of Taku Yashiro, Shugo Nakamura and Yuma Uchida and since their debut in 2014 the unit has been gaining more and more popularity be it for the anime adaptation or for the live performances.

KiLLER KiNG

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The B-Project franchise has several units and among them there is KiLLER KiNG. Scheduled to be featured on the next season of the anime, this unit’s members are Koutarou Nishiyama, Taku Yashiro, Takuya Eguchi, Chiba Shoya. Having debuted in 2015 the unit has released Glitter Smile, Hungry Wolf, Break it down and the amazing single Phantom of Love.

M4

M4 at Aikatsu Stars
M4

The M4 debuted in 2016 and the members include Taku Yashiro, Yuto Uemura, Shun Horie and Arthur Lounsberry. This is one of the units that were created from the story of an anime, in this case because of Aikatsu Stars!. The story behind this unit is that the members are the 4 best male students in the school.

4+U

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One of the units of the rhythm game StarRevo, 4+U were a unit that had a lot of potential, yet due to the game’s failure to prevail in this industry flooded by units they have disbanded in 2017. The members consisted of Yuuya Nakada, Atsushi Tamaru, Taku Yashiro, Makoto Furukawa.

7Colors

7Colors

One of the units created from the game Anidol Colors is 7Colors, with members such as Yuto Suzuki, Taku Yashiro, Junta Terashima, Yamaya Yoshitaka, Yusuke Shirai, Shunichi Toki and Junya Enoki. Having debuted in 2017, the unit is still up and running.

8P

8p 1

This unit includes the members of the radio show ON 8+1, namely Tasuku Hatanaka, Sho Nogami, Taku Yashiro, Junya Enoki, Arthur Lounsbery, Atsushi Kousaka, Takeaki Masuyama and Shoya Chiba. At the moment, the unit has released a mini-album called “CV” and in 2019 there have already been scheduled some releases of solo song series.

E-lements

e lements e1520520751614 1

This unit is to debut and will perform dance-pop/EDM pop music. The members consist on Taku Yashiro, Yuto Uemura, Yusuke Shirai and Junta Terashima.

Variety

Otomate Channel (2014-2018)

Otomate Channel
Otomate Channel

One of the first appearances the seiyuu made on a variety show was on Otomate Channel. The show was hosted by Showtaro Morikubo and the guests. In this show they cooked with the host Morikubo.

IDOLMASTER SideM Ryu Atte! (2015 – 2016)

sidem ryu atte 2016 dramatic stars

IDOLMASTER SideM Ryu Atte! was one of the first shows that Taku hosted, and what a better way to do so than with the members of the unit. For a whole year, DRAMATIC STARS were the resident hosts of this variety show created to promote SideM’s activities – game, music releases, merch, etc.

Real Treasure Hunt in Yokohama (2017)

1st guest: Natsuki Hanae

Yashiro is no stranger to the variety shows and there is a reason for that. In 2017, the seiyuu participated in the Marine Entertainment’s Real Treasure Hunt in Yokohama.

Paired with Natsuki Hanae, Yashiro was witness to cheating and other schemes Hanae seemed fit to implement in order not to lose the game, though ultimately they got caught and their efforts were for naught. 

Takuya Eguchi, Taku Yatsushiro’s “San Taku !!!” – San Taku Variety – (2017)

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Takuya Eguchi, Yoshiki Nakajima, Taku Yashiro and Shoya Chiba

If there is one variety show that is hilarious, “San Taku !!!” is the way to go.

When you combine Eguchi and Yashiro in the same place there is no way this could get better.

Eguchi is known for his goofy attacks and punchlines delivered with a straight and oftentimes innocent face when he knows better than anyone that he did something wrong; whereas Yashiro frequently is the one being laughed on as he perhaps makes it easy for others to be made the joke. But, fear not, Yashiro’s variety sense does not stop there.

On the show, guests have to somehow incorporate “Taku” to their names and the result is Chiba being called “Chitakun”.

Seiyu Collection – Futari no Code SHOW – Morikubo Shotaro x Yashiro Taku (2018)

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Taku Yashiro & Showtaro Morikubo

This variety show is relatively new and in fact it is the first of this kinda for Yashiro to be a part of. “Seiyu Collection” is Pony Canyon’s latest variety show in which Yashiro and Morikubo will be given a theme and then battle among them to see who has the best fashion sense.

SAITO SOMA NO WAGOKORO WO KIMI NI 1st season (2018)

Souma Saito Taku Yashiro
Souma Saito & Taku Yashiro

Yashiro is one of the seiyuu that one ought to be cautious around when inviting him to a tv show. It is no secret that he can be slightly air-headed and sometimes even absentminded but when he becomes serious there is not stopping him. The prime example of that was Saito’s show Saito Soma no Wagokoro wo kimi ni 1st season in which Yashiro was quite far from being his usual goofy self. All in all, Yashiro got himself get to focused on showing his talent, so to say.

Jinro Battle – Jinro VS Kaito –  (2018)

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Jinro Battle – Jinro VS Kaito –

Jinro Battle is one of the variety shows that never fails to amaze one. It is precisely in this type of shows that one is able to notice a seiyuu’s true personality. In Yashiro’s case, this lead him to be outed really quickly in the game as others believed he was being too secretive and strangely nervous, so the members decided that he was the bad guy but truth is that Yashiro was simply nervous while he was being cornered by the others and could not protect himself.

Sokuboku Piece (2018)

Sokuboku Piece1
Sokuboku

In 2018, Yashiro was invited alongside Daiki Hamano to appear on the variety show hosted by Koutaro Nishiyama. After playing sports for a while the members went for a delicious meal.

Serialization corner

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Taku Yashiro and Taichi Ichikawa 

Recently Taku Yashiro and Taichi Ichikawa began an online serialization corner at KIKI-VOICE called ” 市か八か!” where they talk about new things that they had tried.

Facts

Designed clothes and modeled for LIVERTINE AGE

yashirosan livertine age
Taku Yashiro x LIVERTINE AGE

Many have been the seiyuu that have been chosen to design clothes and model for LIVERTINE AGE. Yashiro was one of the first.

Won the prize of New Seiyuu in 2018

taku yashiro seiyuu awards 1

In 2018, Taku Yashiro was awarded with the prize of New Seiyuu, with his role as Tsubasa Kashiwagi, alongside fellow seiyuu Koutaro Nishiyama and Shun Horie.

Loves sports

Sokuboku piece
Sokuboku

It has not been once, but several times that Yashiro has mentioned that he loves practicing sports, and while one  would not believe him when looking at the seiyuu himself since he is really frail looking and what one would mention as thin, truth is that he is so into sports that he may lose himself while doing so. One of those cases was when he mentioned that he’d been playing badminton for three hours the day before, so he had muscle pain. 

Lefty

Perhaps not many have noticed that population, so to say, of lefties in the seiyuu industry is rather shy, other than fellow Toshiyuki Morikawa there are not many, aside from Yashiro himself.

Nikukai member

The Nikukai members
The Nikukai members

Fellow seiyuu Yoshiki Nakajima has mentioned numerous times that there is a seven group of seiyuu that hang out like friends, outside of work.

As per the words of Soma Saito, Yoshiki Nakajima is the one in charge of planning their outings outings and the members are Yuma Uchida, Kaito Ishikawa, Soma Saito, Taku Yashiro, Yuichiro Umehara and Tasuku Hatanaka.

And that’s it for this month’s Seiyuu Digest.

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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