Seiyuu Digest #66 – Shugo Nakamura

Shugo Nakamura is starting to make a case for himself. Although still trailing carefully as a seiyuu, Nakamura is a rising talent in the music industry that deserves your attention.

Welcome to another Seiyuu Digest!

Shugo Nakamura

KANJI: 仲村宗悟

BORN: July 28, 1988

OCCUPATION: seiyuu, singer-songwriter

HEIGHT: ?

Shugo Nakamura was born on July 28, 1988 in Okinawa, Japan and, as mentioned in an episode of IDOLMASTER Side M: 315 Pro Night!, he’s the youngest of 4 brothers.

His cheerful personality isn’t something he always had.

Nakamura once mentioned in an interview that, as a kid, he had a weak body and was a cry baby however, sick of that, he decided to be more open and bright, something that made his a lot of friends and has led to his warm and cheerful personality as an adult.

He grew up surrounded by a family who loved to sing, so music was always close to him. Naturally, he became interested in music, and when he was in the third year of middle school, he took over his father’s classical guitar and started playing it.

After completing high-school, and with the dream of becoming a singer, Nakamura moved from Okinawa to Tokyo.

In between part-time jobs, Nakamura was playing as a solo artist in a live house.

However, one day, when he was watching one of his friends playing on stage, he started to wonder how he’d act if was in his place. Nakamura mentioned before that this was the reason why he decided to be a voice actor.

Thus, he enrolled at R&A VOICE ACTORS ACADEMY, graduating from it in 2014 and joining Across Entertainment soon after.

However, even by seiyuu standards, Nakamura was making a late debut in the seiyuu industry. And while most seiyuu in the industry were debuting when they were around 18 – 19 years old, he was debuting as a 26-year-old.

Nakamura knew that debuting close to his 30s would make it for a difficult climb in the industry, but he was prepared for the challenge.

Without a headstart but with a lot of passion for acting and singing, Nakamura kicked off his career as a seiyuu in 2015.

Seiyuu

He debuted as a seiyuu in 2015, being represented by ACROSS ENTERTAINMENT.

2015 – 2017

Debut days, first leading characters

Shugo Nakamura made his debut as a seiyuu in 2015. Although his first year as a seiyuu was a complete blur, when 2016 kicked off, he started to show some consistency – even if that consistency consisted on voicing random and or minor roles in anime series.

His first roles were in anime were in Magi: Sinbad no Bouken, Strike the Blood II OVA, Fastening Days 2 and Uchuu Neko: Mardock no Bouken.

His voice acting in all 3 anime was done as minor roles – mostly characters without even a name -, however, out of the 4, 2 of these series had a good amount of exposure and featured highly talented seiyuu in the respective casts, which could serve as inspiration as well as motivation for Nakamura to improve and, later, get more exposure.

Nakamura’s first leading role came in 2017.

Although he had already been casted in the IDOLMASTER SideM franchise as the face of the franchise – in the role of Teru Tendo -, it was 2 – 3 years later so that he’d get the opportunity to reprise his role, now on the small screen.

And how important was this role for himself!

Teru Tendo is one of the most loved and popular characters in the IDOLMASTER SideM franchise and given how popular the franchise itself was, the buzz was all over the anime adaptation that premiered in 2017, Idolmaster SideM, as well as himself and his acting.

Teru Tendo is a former lawyer, passionate and a massive fan of tokusatsu shows. With the ambition of being a hero, he really shines within his group as well as among others units in the franchise.

From the puns, to having to make sure all members were on the same page as himself, to being a source of motivation for others, it is no wonder Tendo is a beloved character in the series.

Add to this Nakamura’s solid performance – that perfectly captured his passionate demeanor, as well the care he has for others, plus how much being an idol and inspiring others means to himself – and you get a performance that gave Nakamura his first ever Seiyuu Award at the 13th Seiyuu Awards.

Still in the same year, he reprised his role in the TSUKIPRO franchise as QUELL‘s Issei Kuga.

This was yet another role to which he had been doing for a year before the franchise was greenlit for an anime adaptation.

TSUKIPRO: THE ANIMATION premiered in 2017 riding on a big hype, or wasn’t this project one of the most interesting and with one of the best lineups among 2D idol franchises.

The animation was well received by fans although it felt that the episodic formula left out too much story, turning off newcomers that suddenly found themselves lost in the few plot going on in this music / slice-of-life series.

Nakamura reprised his role as the older twin in QUELL, Issei Kuga. Shy and quiet, Issei is a complete opposite of his younger twin, Ichiru.

Because of that he gives off an aloof vibe or might even come off as anti-social at times however he tries his best to come off polite. From what has happened in QUELL’s drama CDs since 2016, it is known that Issei excels in observation, being able to learn almost everything by observation alone.

For Nakamura, this role presented itself as a complete opposite of his big role in the season – Teru Tendo -, quiet and not visibly passionate, this was a new challenge for himself as a voice actor. Although the twins only get one episode covering their back story – to an extent -, his performance was a perfect emulation of what he has been doing as Issei in the drama CDs.

2018 –

Boost in visibility, new opportunities

Due to the popularity of IDOLMASTER SideM, Shugo Nakamura was starting to be more visible.

He was starting to give interviews about the franchise, he was now ranking high in popularity polls – both himself as well as his character, Teru Tendo -, it was an overall amazing time for himself as a rookie seiyuu.

Despite that rise in popularity, 2018 was rather quiet for himself.

He grabbed some minor roles in anime such as Dame x Prince Anime Caravan, Takunomi., Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro, Grand Blue and Zombieland Saga.

He then reprised his role as Teru Tendo in the chibi anime, The iDOLM@STER SideM: Wake Atte Mini!.

2019 kicked off quietly as well, with Nakamura only landing two roles but out of those two, a main role.

He voiced Tomoki Takashima in the vocaloid song-inspired anime, Chuubyou Gekihatsu Boy. The anime was well received among fans of the vocaloid scene although, for more overseas fans and even some domestic fans, it went under the radar.

Tomoki Takashima is friendly young man that is often commended for his good looks but that even if girls love him, he only has eyes for a 2D girl, making his whole otaku self come to the spotlight. This is a rather quirky character, more on the louder side – which is something that Nakamura can capture pretty well without sounding annoying for the viewer/listener.

Still in the same year, Nakamura voiced a character in the adventure and action anime, Shoumetsu Toshi.

2020 has not been too kind on himself as Nakamura has yet to land a role – minor, supporting or leading but, with the talent his has and his drive to improve and be the best, it will be a question of time for him to land some roles this year as well as in the coming years.

Awards

At the 13th Seiyuu Awards in 2019, Shugo Nakamura shared the Best New Actor Award with fellow male seiyuu Kouhei Amasaki, Mark Ishii and Fukushi Ochiai.

Nakamura won the award for his role as Teru Tendo in IDOLMASTER SideM.

Radio

Radio has been one of the fields in which Shugo Nakamura has been the most consistent.

From stints on anime-related radio shows to co-hosting long-running music centric radio show, he has done a little bit of everything.

His gentle voice and usual friendliness make him as good a host as he is a guest.

He knows how to conduct interviews and how to handle well recordings with more than 3 people in the same place, showcasing a lot of discipline and professionalism. He seldom goes crazy on radio and is most likely found trying to calm down those that are too hyper.

Some of the radio shows he co-hosted or was a guest in include:

IDOLMASTER SideM Radio 315Night! (2015 – 2016)

Alongside fellow DRAMATIC STARS‘ members Yuma Uchida and Taku Yashiro, Nakamura hosted the radio show “IDOLMASTER SideM Radio 315Night!” from 2015 to 2016. This was his first ever radio show hosting gig.

The show focused on promoting SideM’s units and their music releases but it was also a place for a lot of fun conversations and crazy shenanigans.

Starting in 2016, each group from the SideM franchise has hosted the show for a whole month, with DRAMATIC STARS returning to the show as hosts in 2017.

Mensore Nakamuraya (2015 -)

Since 2015, Shugo Nakamura has been hosting his radio show on Nico Nico, めんそ〜れ！仲村屋 (Mensore! Nakamuraya). This is his longest running radio show that counts with multiple guests over the years including Yoshiki Nakajima, Yuma Uchida, Taku Yashiro, Koutaro Nishiyama and more.

The show even spawned its own variety DVD in 2018 titled Mensore! Nakamuraya Vol.1 Okinawa no Tabi.

Nakamura Shugo no Anata no Shiranai Okinawa no sekai (2017)

Nakamura Shugo no Anata no Shiranai Okinawa no sekai gave listeners a closer look and knowledge about the sunny and friendly Okinawa prefecture. Despite the show’s entertaining and laidback vibe, it was wrapped up later in the same year.

MOZAIKU NIGHT (2018 – 2020)

In 2018, Nakamura started to co-host with Shoko Nagahiro, MOZAIKU NIGHT‘s Tuesday broadcast on bayfm.

This was a radio show that stepped aside from anything anime related and focused exclusively on promoting music in general. A show like this was necessary for Nakamura to showcase that his talents go beyond being a seiyuu as he can host a radio show just as well as professional radio jockeys.

Early in 2020, Nakamura stepped out of the show.

Nakamura Shugo and Machico no Raku-on (2018 -)

Nakamura has been co-hosting Nakamura Shugo and Machico no Raku-on with seiyuu and solo artist, Machico. The pair talks about music and, at times, holds live music sessions on it, which is rather different in comparison with the average seiyuu radio show.

Other radio shows he’s co-hosted or guested in include: SKY’S QUARTET (2017 – 2018), Jose and Shugo no Adult Boy (2019 – 2020), Washizaki Ken no yorunaito × yorunaito (2019) and Seiyuu NOTE (2019).

Games

Games have been an important entertainment medium that has enabled Nakamura with the possibility of voicing characters since his debut.

He’s often found voicing characters in otome and or music/rhythm games however, and it has already been showing in his repertoire, the addition of adventure, RPG and action games as well. Some of his best known credits include:

Teru Tendo in THE IDOLM@STER SideM (2015 -) and IDOLMASTER SideM LIVE ON ST@GE! (2017 -)

The character responsible for Nakamura’s boost in popularity is Teru Tendo in THE IDOLM@STER SideM franchise. Despite the game dating back to 2014, it only started featuring voice in 2015.

Teru Tendo is a former lawyer part of DRAMATIC STARS with a passionate personality and a want to be a hero. He’s the glue that holds together DRAMATIC STARS’ members and an inspiration to most members of other groups within the franchise.

This was the role and the franchise that started it all for Nakamura.

Issei Kuga in Tsukipara (2017 – 2020)

The Tsukipro franchise quickly rose in popularity and soon, a rhythm game app was released. Tsukipara launched in 2017 featuring the franchise’s main groups: SolidS, QUELL, Growth, SOARA, Procellarum and Six Gravity.

For this game, Nakamura reprised his role as Issei Kuga, even if the game featured little to no voice acting in the story sections.

Unfortunately, Tsukipara stopped distribution in 2020 after 5 years of great content – fantastic card designs – and exciting gameplay.

Haruto Tenjin in On Air! (2018 -)

In 2018, Nakamura joined the cast of the seiyuu-grooming smartphone game, On Air!. In the game, he voices Haruto Tenjin, member of Eme☆Kare. Tenjin is loud and energetic, mixing languages as he gets excited. He’s also known as one of the kindest students in Hoseki Gaoka.

This character shares a lot of its personality traits with some of Nakamura’s previous roles, which makes his performance sound pretty natural and entertaining – even with the character’s loudness and everything.

Other games he’s voiced characters in include:

• Valiant Knights (2015),
• Puyo Puyo!! Quest (2015),
• Boy to Hero (2015),
• Sangokushi monogatari (2016),
• Raishi – Konpeki no Sho – (2016),
• Maboroshi Tou Senki Griffon (2016),
• VIIDOG CODE (2016),
• Age of Ishtaria (2016),
• CARAVAN STORIES (2017),
• Caligula Overdose (2018),
• Atelier Online: Alchemists of Braceir (2018),
• Touken Ranbu (2019),
• Renshin Astral (2019)
• MILGRAM (2020)
• between many others.

Acting / Narration

These are two fields in which Nakamura has few roles. He got to do narration for Maji suka gakuen 5 in 2016.

However, when it comes to acting, particularly live recitation/reading, Nakamura has participated in quite some plays.

Some of his credits include participation in Otosan wa Mozart (2015), Kanata Another Performance “Kanata NEXT” (2016), Kanata NEXT Talk Session NIGHT (2016), HYPNAGOGIA (2017), LOVE×LETTERS (2018) and KOBE VOICE THEATER Tantei danshi = Dai 3 yoru = “Ore wa Omae no Papa Janai”.

In 2018, he was casted in 舞姫事件－鴎外輪舞曲－ (Maihime jiken – Ougai rondo –) which was held at Kinokuniya Theatre TAKASHIMAYA from 10/04/2018 to 15/04/2018 and counted with top stars in the seiyuu industry – Kaito Ishikawa, Soma Saito, Makoto Furukawa, Taku Yashiro – as well as respected veterans – Tsubasa Yonaga and Taishi Murata.

Drama CDs

Although with few credits in the field, Nakamura has already been showing his cards in both otome and BL drama CDs.

Some of his credits include: QUELL Drama vol.1 past, present, future, QUELL Drama vol.2 Matchless people, Otodoke no Fu〜CHRONICLE〜　Liberty, Mensore! Nakamuraya Vol.1 – 3, Mahoroba Days, Yokoso! BL Kenkyu Club e, Natsume-kun wa Nandemo Shitteru, Kobutsu wa Kossori Kakushite Hara no Naka, Honjitsu mo Pet biyori 2 Kota Uragaki and Hello Morning Star.

Music

Music is what brought young Shugo Nakamura from Okinawa to Tokyo. After years of playing in live houses and then a couple of months of training to be a seiyuu, he started to embrace work in music franchises within the seiyuu industry.

He is best known for his passionate performances as leader of DRAMATIC STARS as well as his stunning high notes as part of the power vocal quartet, QUELL.

However, what I bring you first is his solo debut, after all, this was a big dream of Nakamura’s.

In 2019, Lantis announced that Shugo Nakamura was now signed to them and would kick off his career as a solo artist.

He made his solo debut with the flawless single, Here comes The SUN.

His friendly, laidback and warm sound sure stood out from what is standard among Lantis’ artists – especially male seiyuu who debut as solo artists.

His simplicity, with guitar in hand, delivering a sweet acoustic pop-rock sound, captured the attention of his fans and casual listeners alike. His self-composed song, Yura Yura, is one of the best acoustic ballads of 2019.

From acoustic tunes to rock and funky pop, Nakamura made sure to showcase his talents in the best way possible in Here comes The SUN, ultimately releasing what THTFHQ considers to be the best debut release by a male seiyuu.

The single was well received, achieving #5 on Oricon’s Weekly Chart.

Earlier in 2020, Nakamura made a comeback with his 2nd single, Colorful.

Colorful was released in 2020 and was met with solid support, achieving a #10 on Oricon’s Weekly Chart.

The single counts with 3 songs, with 2 of those – the title track, Colorful, and imitation – featuring his lyrics and composition.

All of Shugo Nakamura’s solo repertoire (last updated in May 2020) is available on his official Spotify profile.

According to Lantis, Shugo Nakamura is, alongside Makoto Furukawa and Tasuku Hatanaka, one of the artists that will lead the next generation of the Lantis label.

Lantis even announced that a special live show featuring the 3 solo artists – Lantis MENS GIG “A・C・E” – was going to be held in May 2020 however, due to the spread of Coronavirus, it was impossible to hold the show and it was ultimately cancelled.

DRAMATIC STARS (2014 – )

The very first group that Nakamura joined was DRAMATIC STARS. Part of the male version of the insanely popular franchise THE IDOLM@STER, DRAMATIC STARS were announced as SideM‘s flagship group.

The lineup for DRAMATIC STARS includes Shugo Nakamura (as leader), Yuma Uchida and Taku Yashiro.

The trio is known for their explosive live performances and addictive on-record performances. Their music is, in the most part, upbeat, uptempo and thoroughly fun to listen to. Nakamura is the group’s leader full of charisma. When it comes to fan service, no one in DRAMATIC STARS beats him.

Up until now, the trio has released two singles, THE IDOLM@STER Sidem ST@RTING LINE-02 DRAMATIC STARS (2015) and THE IDOLM@STER SideM ANIMATION PROJECT 07「ARRIVE TO STAR」(2017). Aside from these singles, DRAMATIC STARS have participated in several cross unit and solo song projects within the franchise.

The trio has participated so far in three IDOLMASTER SideM stages: 1st STAGE 〜ST@RTING!〜 (2016), 2nd STAGE 〜ORIGIN@L STARS〜 (2017) and 3rd STAGE 〜GLORIOUS ST@GE!〜 (2018).

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.

QUELL (2016 -)

Nakamura is a member of QUELL, unit part of Tsukino Production‘s fictional talent agency.

QUELL are known for their pure and delicate sound, giving off a feeling of being underwater. Unique and showing a versatility that most units within the SQ and ALIVE franchises didn’t have, the unit debuted in 2016, impressing everyone with stunning vocals and a fresh sound.

The unit has more than a couple of singles under their belt, including solo songs (X Lied and Kachofugetsu series).

As a group, QUELL are known for their powerful vocals – from thunderous bass vocals from Takeuchi to Nishiyama‘s round notes and stunning combo of high notes from Nakamura and Nogami -, plus unique instrumentals.

Rock, pop, dance, electronica, minimalistic electronica and ballads, QUELL have managed to put their finger in almost every music genre and 90% of those attempts were successful.

On a live setting, Nakamura performs his songs with passion. He’s not the most energetic individual on stage – much due to the fact that it is not required of QUELL‘s members to do so – and is very consistent on the vocal end since the group’s first live performance. In 2019, the group performed on their first ever solo live, S.Q.P Ver.QUELL.

Since early on – Beliver – Inori – – Nakamura showed everyone his vocal skills.

He has a lot of control over his singing, as well as a rich and colorful range that enables him to tackle with the same comfort songs in that demand either and or both higher and lower registers.

His first solo performance as Issei was for Kachofugetsu series

His performances in 星空 (Hoshizora) – the preview below does not do just those high notes of his in the bridge, but this was a fantastic greeting card as it was Issei’s first solo track – and those massive high notes in 水性のクローバー (Suisei no Clover) – showcased how jaw dropping some of his performances are and how essential he is for QUELL to be a power vocal unit.

Nakamura then performed Anata no Hana for the Kachofugetsu series in 2018, the song was slightly different from others from the group, embracing a traditional Japanese sound in which shamisen was king.

With the group his performances tend to stand out most times. His performance alongside Shunsuke Takeuchi in the classy Diamond Dust as well as with QUELL in Angel’s Ladder, stand out as some of the best performances of his.

GOALOUS5 (2019 -)

The group consists of Kentaro Kumagai, Junta Terashima, Shugo Nakamura, Shohei Komatsu and Toshinari Fukamachi.

Their concept is “that of a dark hero who tries to win the world by using his voice” Additionally, each member dons a different “color”.

GOALOUS5 ends up being a mixed project as the group tackles variety on their official youtube channel as well as release music.

In 2019, the quintet released their theme song, GO5! GOALOUS5!.

Photobooks

Although with only 5 years working as a seiyuu, Shugo Nakamura has already picked up a few photobook gigs of his own.

His first ever solo photobook was released in 2019 and, in 2020, he modeled for an urban apparel brand, participating in that brand’s 9th anniversary celebrations.

Shugo (2019)

Shugo Nakamura released his first photobook in 2019. Titled Shugo, the photobook features a total of 96 pages of content that includes a long interview, photoshoot in his hometown, between many interesting bits.

Nakamura Shugo x LEGENDA PhotoBook (2020)

In 2020, Shugo Nakamura collaborated with urban apparel brand, LEGENDA, and modeled for the brand’s photobook, only available for those that made instore purchases over a certain threshold.

Variety

When it comes to variety, Shugo Nakamura has been incredibly active since his debut. Often casted to participate on Marine Entertainment’s variety franchises such as Jinro Battle and Futsal Seiyuu, Nakamura has build a solid repertoire in variety hosting and participation.

When he is a host, Nakamura is most often found following the script closely, all in a very professional yet friendly way. Now, as a guest, Nakamura shifts between being a calm and quiet guest to being a bundle of fun.

Although most people might know him from the IDOLMASTER SideM Nico Nico live streams that were going on in 2015 up until 2016, Nakamura has had plenty of shows and variety DVDs of his own which, for most seiyuu with a short career as his (only 5 years), is quite the impressive feat.

IDOLMASTER SideM Ryu Atte! (2015 – 2016)

Shugo Nakamura kicked off his co-hosting in variety shows with IDOLMASTER SideM Ryu Atte!. Alongside fellow DRAMATIC STARS‘ members Yuma Uchida and Taku Yashiro, Nakamura promoted SideM’s activities – game, music releases, merch, etc.

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

For this show, Nakamura would compose songs and play those – all originals – with guests or by himself. This was a great outlet for him to let his singer-songwriter skills be put to test and, at the same time, show his fans – or potential fans – his talents when it came to music.

Fellow IDOLMASTER SideM talent, Kento Ito, appeared on the show twice, first for a live broadcast and then for a special live event, playing guitar alongside Nakamura.

Nao ON AIR (2017)

Shugo Nakamura was a guest on Yoshiki Nakajima’s なうON AIR (Nao ON AIR) variety DVDs. Nao ON AIR stems from Nakajima’s radio show Nakajima Yoshiki no Fuburaji.

In this DVD, fans got a closer look at the recording for Nakajima’s radio show featuring Shugo Nakamura, all through an eye-level camera in both parties.

Jinro Battle (2017 -)

Shugo Nakamura is a regular presence on Marine Entertainment’s Cop and Robbers’ style variety, Jinro Battle. Nakamura has participated in 4 editions of this variety show. Those are the following:

• Jinro VS Mahotsukai (2017)
• Jinro VS Spy (2018)
• Jinro VS Kaito (2018)
• Jinro Battle lies and the truth 2019 AUGUST (2019)

Being a regular, Nakamura is already well familiarized with the game system and with some of the seiyuu cast that has managed to feature in the same editions as himself. Witty and crafty, Nakamura is a solid player of the game.

Seiyuu Bowling Grandprix Vol.1 (2018)

In 2018, Shugo Nakamura participated in the first edition of the bowling variety DVD series, Seiyuu Bowling Grandprix.

He was featured in the 1st volume alongside fellow IDOLMASTER SideM talents, Tomohito Takatsuka and Hiroshi Watanabe.

Seiyuu Bowling Grandprix was created by Seiyuu Grandprix, well known seiyuu magazine, and it counts with a pretty unique concept: a bowling tournament with punishments, skill challenges and free talk corners.

Mensore! Nakamuraya Vol.1 Okinawa no Tabi (2018)

Shugo Nakamura visited his native Okinawa for a special variety DVD released in 2018, Mensore! Nakamuraya Vol.1 Okinawa no Tabi.

Karaoke MAX (2018 -)

Shugo Nakamura often guests on Karaoke MAX, popular variety show that airs on Nico Nico.

As the name of the show indicates, seiyuu are invited to for this show seiyuu to challenge songs on karaoke. Nakamura has impressed time and time again with his versatility, delivering various unique and tasteful performances of J-pop classics.

Chaos Pie (2018)

In 2018, Nakamura joined the cast of the variety TV show, Chaos Pie.

The show parodied Greek gods and re-imagined if they had been born in Japan. Nakamura played as Artemis. The cast counted with Shugo Nakamura, Toshiyuki Someya, Chiharu Sawashiro, Yuichi Jose, Adachi Yuto, Masaya Adachi and Yukihiro Takiguchi.

GO5 Channel (2019 -)

GOALOUS5 consist of Kentaro Kumagai, Junta Terashima, Shugo Nakamura, Shohei Komatsu and Toshinari Fukamachi. Their concept is “that of a dark hero who tries to win the world by using his voice“.

Their youtube channel, GO5 Channel, kicked off in 2019 and features a wide variety of entertaining videos.

Okawa Nakamura no Game Indoor Derby (2019)

In 2019, Nakamura teamed up with fellow seiyuu Genki Okawa to co-host RakutenTV’s variety show, Okawa Nakamura no Game Indoor Derby.

The duo often counted with special guests – some of those included Shunichi Toki, Yoshitaka Yamaya, Kento Ito and more – to play video games all in good fun, even if, at times, there some competitive bouts from either the guests or the hosts.

Seiyuu Hyakunen Shokudo vol.1 (2019)

In 2019, Nakamura joined fellow seiyuu and IDOLMASTER SideM talent, Yusuke Shirai in the variety DVD, Seiyuu Hyakunen Shokudo.

For this DVD, the duo dressed traditionally and tasted regional food and rode horses, between many other activities and candid talk corners.

Seiyuu to yo Asobi 2nd season (2019, as a guest)

Still in 2019, Nakamura was invited by Seiyuu to yo Asobi‘s Monday hosts – Hiroki Yasumoto and Takuya Eguchi – to guest.

Seiyuu to yo Asobi is a variety show created and distributed by AbemaTV. It airs on week days with pairs of seiyuu assigned to each day, each pair of co-hosts following their own unique themes and formats.

This is primarily a talk show that may or may not include special guests. There are challenges and funny corners as well as quiet sections with seiyuu just hanging out in a pretty laidback way.

Between the usual laidback mood that Monday’s show had, he brought his acoustic guitar and played a bit on the show, something that further enhanced the laidback, late night feeling of the show.

Futsal Seiyuu (2019 -)

In 2019, Nakamura joined the cast of Marine Entertainment’s sports variety, Futsal Seiyuu.

He’s participated in the 1st edition in 2019 – Futsal Seiyuu Section 1 – alongside fellow male seiyuu Shoya Chiba, Yoshitaka Yamaya, Taichi Ichikawa, Reona Irie, Takeru Kikuchi, Kodai Sakai, Yusuke Shirai, Yusuke Nagano, Daiki Hamano, Toshinari Fukamachi and Takuya Masumoto.

He then participated in the 2nd edition, Futsal Seiyuu 2019 SEPTEMBER, which counted with Yoshitaka Yamaya, Taichi Ichikawa, Reona Irie, Shimoduru Naoyuki, Kodai Sakai, Tetsuro Noda, Akihiro Arai, Sho Karino, Yuki Shin, Tomoki Atsuta, Yusuke Nagano, Daiki Hamano, Toshinari Fukamachi and Takuya Masumoto.

Seiyuu to yo Asobi 3rd season (2020 -)

A  year after guesting on it, Shugo Nakamura joined the cast of the popular online TV show, Seiyuu to yo Asobi.

He is teamed up with veteran seiyuu Hiroki Yasumoto, with both being in charge of making Mondays even more dynamic and entertaining.

Facts

Multi-talented singer-songwriter

It is well know his passion for music. From having a band while in junior high to going to Tokyo to be a solo artist, Shugo Nakamura seems to have always tried to chase this dream. Although it took him a bit, he was much faster than most seiyuu in the industry to make his debut.

Some might say that it was due to the smash hit anime, IDOLMASTER SideM, others because he has shown everyone time and time again that he is a great singer.

But there is more to Nakamura than meets the eye. He loves to compose music as well as writing lyrics and has done so for himself a couple of times.

In 2019 however, he was credited in Santaku‘s – Takuya Eguchi and Taku Yashiro – theme song CD SUN TAG, as producer, putting his singer-songwriter skills to good use to help others in the industry.

An active man with lots of passions

When Nakamura was in middle school he used to play handball. Things changed as he entered high-school, then being in charge of vocals and guitar for a band.

His special skills include anything sports – he’s not only a big fan but he also practices a lot -, songwriting, playing guitar, voice percussion (mainly mimicking others).

His hobbies include good old eating, playing games and drawing.

Due to his job previous to being a seiyuu, Nakamura has a 2nd grade social worker assistant licence.

Designer

In 2018, Shugo Nakamura collaborated with Japanese apparel brand, LIVERTINE AGE. For this brand he made a couple of t-shirt designs which he then modeled for promotion on social media.

A year later, he collaborated with the brand again, this time with backpack designs.

First ever solo magazine cover

In 2018, Shugo Nakamura graced his first ever cover on a magazine. He was featured on the back cover of Seiyuu Grandprix NEXT Boys‘s vol.2, that hits stores in Japan in August 2018.

Before having his first ever cover, Nakamura was already being featured in some magazines with interviews about the popularity of IDOLMASTER SideM.

He then had a back cover in Ani-Pass #05 in 2019, in which he was interviewed about his debut single, Here comes The SUN.

Still in the same year, Shugo Nakamura got his 1st ever main cover in TV Guide Voice Stars vol.12. The issue counted with a long interview (over 10.000 characters) plus a special photoshoot, all to promote + celebrate the release of his debut single, Here Comes The SUN.

Multiple features on magazines have followed for him, especially now that he is a solo artist and all eyes are on him as one of the 3 big Lantis talents for the future.

With this we wrap up another Seiyuu Digest. In the meantime, don’t forget to check past Seiyuu Digests (some of those recently updated) – HERE.