Seiyuu Digest #72 – Tasuku Hatanaka

Although undeniably one of the most talented male seiyuu of his generation, Tasuku Hatanaka is still working towards reaching the top in the industry.

Estimated reading time: 45 minutos

Tasuku Hatanaka

KANJI: 畠中 祐

BORN: August 17, 1994

OCCUPATION: seiyuu, singer

HEIGHT: 176cm

Tasuku Hatanaka was born on August 17, 1994 in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He is the son of popular Japanese actors, Hiroshi Hatanaka and Keiko Fukushima.

Since he was a little kid, his home was the house of actors, in which he couldn’t even tell apart if the conversations going on at home were normal or just his parents rehearsing their lines for their acting gigs.

When he was a kid, like most kids in Japan, he wanted to be Ultraman. Thus, when he was an elementary student, he told his parents that he wanted to be an actor.

On Nikkei Entertainment’s June 2020 issue, Hatanaka mentioned that his mother told him at that time that he “still had a long way to go” and asked him “Will you become a slim and ordinary actor or will you become a very fat and typecasted actor?” – Hatanaka was considered “fat” when he was an elementary student.

Although these are harsh words to give to a child, it was, in a way, what made Hatanaka change his focus from being an actor to choosing to be a voice actor instead.

He had his first leading role in anime in 2011, when he was 1st year in High-school.

After graduating from high school, Hatanaka enrolled in the private university, J F Oberlin University, College of Performing and Visual Arts in its Theater and Dance department.

His choice to enroll in this exclusive university – only 10 students per class, and only 1 class per department – was because he previously watched a play by the actor and playwright, Tatsuo Kaneshita, and was mesmerized.

Knowing that Kaneshita was an associated professor at J F Oberlin University, Hatanaka didn’t think twice and decided to enroll.

Hatanaka ended up majoring in Theatre with studies in Sociology and Psychology to further enhance his understanding of theatre.

Seiyuu

Before making his official debut as a voice actor under Ken Production in 2011, Tasuku Hatanaka already had done some voice acting work in 2006. His first voice acting role was in The Chronicles of Narnia as Edmund Pevensie.

He then dubbed in several Disney works. The sound director of some of those Disney works later invited Tasuku Hatanaka to audition for Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Zexal.

2011 – 2013

Kicking off his career with a leading role

Contrary to most seiyuu when they were rookies, Tasuku Hatanaka didn’t have to wait years until he got his very first leading role. Hatanaka’s official debut role in anime was his 1st leading role, a rare feat among seiyuu.

He voiced Yuuma Tsukumo in the kids’ anime, Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Zexal. Hatanaka mentioned that voice acting for this series was frustrating – as he wasn’t allowed to do many things when recording – and he cried almost every day after each session.

He still considers this experience to be valuable, but the shock he felt coming from dubbing to anime might have been what led him to put his career as a voice actor on hold for several years.

However, after such an important and unusual start of a career as a seiyuu, Tasuku Hatanaka disappeared from the public eye for 2 whole years, only returning to the industry in 2014.

2014 –

Getting back on track

After a 2 year hiatus, Tasuku Hatanaka was back, but he wasn’t met with the same luck he had in his rookie year. He was, unfortunately, experiencing the initial struggles of rookie seiyuu, trying to get minor roles to put his name on the map.

2014 proved to be a weak year, counting with only 4 minor roles in Gundam: G no Reconguista, Bakumatsu Rock, Ping Pong the Animation, and Tiger & Bunny Movie 2: The Rising.

2015 arrived and with it, Hatanaka nailed another leading role, this time in the action anime, Ushio to Tora.

Ushio Aotsuki is a straightforward and kind-hearted protagonist. His personality and increasing knowledge of yokai help unite them and humans in a fight against a powerful evil.

Hatanaka’s performance focused on giving off a youthful yet brave vibe to Ushio.

He did accomplish that in his portrayal, with many people pointing out that if not for this character, the series would have felt too dry. Hatanaka sure stood out among the rest of the cast with a solid performance in this series.

In the same year, Hatanaka was cast in the hit sports anime, Kuroko no Basket.

He voiced the calm and collected captain and shooting guard of Meiko Junior High, Reiji Mochida. In the few episodes, Mochida was present, he showed sportsmanship and calm in the face of stressful situations that impressed most.

Hatanaka’s performance fit his demeanor, being quiet yet showcasing a sense of responsibility and maturity that was a perfect fit for Reiji Mochida.

Hatanaka was then cast in the sci-fi and action anime, World Trigger. He voiced one of the supporting characters, Hisato Sasamori.

In 2016, Tasuku Hatanaka was back to voice leading characters.

He was cast as Ikoma in the horror and supernatural anime series, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri.

The anime was extremely well received in Japan and had mostly positive reviews despite some criticism about the over-the-top circumstances in which Ikoma tries, in the 1st episode, to stop the spread of a virus.

Additionally, there is a common mention as to how the series tries too much to be Attack on Titan but fails to present a threat that you can take seriously like in the latter.

All in all, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri presented Hatanaka with a rather solid spotlight to his acting. He may have not been the best anime series, but for those that enjoy zombies and “humanity on the brink of extinction” stories, it was extremely well received.

Still in the same year, Tasuku Hatanaka was cast in the baseball anime, Battery.

He voiced Gou Nagakura, a catcher that helps the series protagonist, Takumi Harada (voiced by Kouki Uchiyama), realize his own potential.

In 2016, Hatanaka would end up being cast in the popular action anime series, Boku no Hero Academia as the eccentric, Denki Kaminari.

Hatanaka has reprised his role as Denki Kaminari in the series’ 4 seasons, 2 movies, and 3 OVA series.

2017 kept Hatanaka’s flow of leading roles going. He was cast as the leading character in action and comedy anime series, Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism.

He voiced Fudou Nomura, a character whose appearance will give off the wrong impression. He may look like a thug but he is, in fact, an honest, caring, and friendly person that is pretty pacifist.

Still in the same year, Hatanaka was cast in the game/slice-of-life anime, Nana Maru San Batsu as Daisuke Inoue.

In 2018, Hatanaka was cast in the remake of the classic sports anime, Captain Tsubasa.

For this series, Hatanaka had several characters he was voicing however, it is his role as Yuzo Morisaki, the 2nd goalkeeper for Tsubasa’s team, that stands out the most. Hatanaka’s youthful performance gave life to the young goalkeeper.

Aside from this character, Hatanaka also voiced at least more 5 characters and minor, background roles.

Still in the same year, Tasuku Hatanaka was cast in the 3rd season of Attack on Titan as the supporting character, Flegel Reeves.

Hatanaka’s performance as Reeves impressed, as he made the talkative and straightforward character sound all the more intense but also, at times, show fear and cowardice in a pretty realistic way.

By the end of 2018, Hatanaka got a leading role in the ecchi, comedy anime, Ore ga Suki nano wa Imouto dakedo Imouto ja Nai.

He voiced the protagonist, Yuu Nagami. Unfortunately, the anime was met with a lot of criticism, both in Japan and overseas. The critics went from the clichéd story to the empty dialogue to the animation that is off quite a lot of times.

2019 kicked off pretty big for Tasuku Hatanaka, with him nailing several roles with a lot of exposure.

He voiced Joseph in Eiji Busujima in the short comedy and slice-of-life anime, Senryuu Shoujo. Busujima is a straightforward teen and a former delinquent that joins the series’ literature club.

Hatanaka went for a simple performance that captured Busujima’s naivety about love. The series ended up being praised for its story and voice acting performances.

He then reprised his role as Taiga Kogami in the anime adaptation of King of Prism, King of Prism: Shiny Seven Stars. This anime series fits after the 3 movies in the franchise released between 2016 and 2019.

He was also cast in the hit sports anime, Ace of Diamond Act II. He voices Hirofumi Asada, a pitcher in Seido’s team. He’s a bit nervous, quiet and introverted but has a big heart, trying his best to have everyone on the same page

Still in the same year, Tasuku Hatanaka was cast as Anya Kudou in the game and drama anime, Nakanohito Genome.

The anime wasn’t particularly well-received both domestically and overseas and his character, Kudou, despite being part of the main cast, had a limited bit of spotlight (the series has 8 main characters and only 12 episodes to touch on all of those stories).

In the 2019 Winter season, Hatanaka was cast in the sports anime, Hoshiai no Sora. He voiced Touma Shinjou, the captain of the boys’ soft tennis club at Shijo Minami Middle School.

Because his team had a poor performance, Shinjou was desperate to recruit new members and change things around until he encounters the transfer student, Maki.

Things change around and both end up playing together, being an impressive duo and taking the club back to positive results. Hatanaka’s performance in this series was a bit different from his previous roles – which were hot-blooded and less calm and collected -, showcasing a different side to his acting.

Hatanaka also reprised his role as Ikoma in the movie Koutetsujou no Kabaneri Movie 3: Unato Kessen.

2020 proved to be a quiet year for Tasuku Hatanaka, only getting 4 minor roles in anime such as Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga, Gal to Kyouryuu, Kitsutsuki Tanteidokoro, and Fire Force Season 2.

Other anime series he’s voiced characters in during this period include:

• Pac-World (2015),
• Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015),
• Gunslinger Stratos The Animation (2015),
• Akagami no Shirayuki-hime (2015),
• JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 4: Diamond wa Kudakenai (2016),
• Cheer Danshi!! (2016),
• Pokemon XY&Z (2016),
• Future Card Buddyfight X (2017),
• Neko to Mata (2017),
• BLAME (2017),
• EVIL OR LIVE (2017),
• Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou (2018),
• Mameneko (2018),
• Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Kaikou (2018),
• Dorei-ku The Animation (2018),
• Domestic na Kanojo (2019),
• Mob Psycho 100 II (2019),

For 2021, Hatanaka is confirmed to have roles in Project Scard: Praeter no Kizu and MARS RED.

Tasuku Hatanaka’s career has taken a lot of twists and turns and, for the most part, has been pretty erratic.

That instability right in his first years as a seiyuu – critical years to make an impression – has, in a way, complicated his chances at nailing more main roles throughout the years, despite the talent he does have as a voice actor.

Radio

Hosting and guesting on radio shows is something that is not strange to Tasuku Hatanaka. Over the years he has hosted/co-hosted various radio shows, being consistently active since 2015.

His hosting style ranges from extremely professional to playful depending on who is paired with him on the show or the show’s tone.

Nariyuki NIGHT (2015 – )

His first radio show appearance was in 2015 on Nariyuki NIGHT alongside fellow male seiyuu and Ken Production talent, Tsubasa Yonaga.

This is actually the longest-running radio show. As of November 2020, the show is still active.

Hatanaka Tasuku no ima, mukattemasu!!! (2016 – 2018)

In 2016, Hatanaka got his own radio show, Hatanaka Tasuku no ima, mukattemasu!!!. According to the show’s synopsis, for this radio show, Hatanaka tackled various challenges.

Hatanaka Tasuku Yuta no Pon ☆ Kotsu Saisei Kojo (2017 -)

In 2017, Tasuku Hatanaka teamed up with sumo wrestler, Yuta Sasaki, for the radio show, Hatanaka Tasuku Yuta no Pon ☆ Kotsu Saisei Kojo.

The duo promotes the region of Tokai as well as featuring a counseling room corner for their listeners.

Idol DTI 〜 Hadaka Jio is-Bi 〜 (2017 – 2018)

Idol DTI 〜 Hadaka Jio is-Bi 〜 (アイドルDTI〜裸ジオ is 美〜) kicked off in 2017 and counted with the dynamic and energetic pairing – Daiki Hamano and Tasuku Hatanaka – as its hosts.

The show went on to complete 56 episodes before bidding their fans goodbye.

Kakihara Tetsuya Hatanaka Tasuku Bokura ga kimi o Shiawaseni suru Radio (2018 -)

In 2018, Tasuku Hatanaka teamed up with popular seiyuu Tetsuya Kakihara for the radio show, Kakihara Tetsuya ・ Hatanaka Tasuku Bokura ga kimi o Shiawaseni suru Radio.

The show was created to promote Voltage Inc.’s games.

Hatanaka Tasuku Lounsbery Arthur no ore ni kamawazu sakini ike! (2018 -)

Still in same year, Hatanaka teamed up with fellow male seiyuu, Arthur Lounsbery for the radio show, Hatanaka Tasuku Lounsbery Arthur no ore ni kamawazu sakini ike!.

Other radio shows he’s hosted/co-hosted / guested include:

• Kabaneri Tours (2016),
• KING OF PRISM Radio ~ Secret Rose Time ~ (2016 – 2017),
• My Hero Academia Radio All Might Nippon (2017),
• Unison! ~ Generation ~ (2018),
• 8P Radio 〜 Shin Sekai e no Michi 〜 (2018), between many more.

Games

When it comes to this medium of entertainment, Tasuku Hatanaka has quite a few roles.

He’s most commonly found in otome games but, so far in his career, he’s voiced characters in games genres such as action, RPG, fighting, and mecha.

Hatanaka’s 1st role in games was in Yu ☆ Gi ☆ King Zexal Duel Terminal in 2011. He reprised his role in the anime series as Yuma Tsukumo.

Some of his best-known roles include:

Subaru Jogasaki in Yumeiro Cast (2015 – 2019)

Subaru Jogasaki is one of the main characters in Yumeiro Cast. He is part of Yumeiro Company.

Subaru is the type to guide others with his actions. His passion for acting came from watching a Kabuki performance by one of Yumeiro Company’s members, Iori Fujimura.

Athletic, energetic, and straightforward, Subaru was a dear character to many playing the smartphone game.

Unfortunately, in 2019, SEGA announced the end of the distribution of the game. Months later, the game was sold to a Chinese company and is active only in Chinese territory, being region-locked by demanding the players to insert their social security number to access it.

Taiga Kogami in KING OF PRISM Prism Rush! LIVE (2017 – 2020)

In 2017, KING OF PRISM got its own smartphone game, KING OF PRISM Prism Rush! LIVE.

Tasuku Hatanaka voiced Taiga Kogami, a student at Kakyoin Academy of Edel Rose, known for his passion, delinquent vibe, and breakdancing skills.

Kumon Hyodo in A3! (2018 – )

In 2018, Tasuku Hatanaka joined the cast of the massively popular theatre-centric franchise, A3!. He voices Kumon Hyodo, younger brother of Autumn troupe’s Juza Hyodo (CV: Shunsuke Takeuchi).

Kumon has a brother complex – which leads to him following his brother’s steps and joining Mankai Company -, but it is his energy and earnestness that makes him a reliable member of the Summer Troupe.

Once again Hatanaka is found voicing an athletic, energetic character – something that, as years pass, has been turning into a sort of typecasting for him when it comes to games.

Rintaro Kizaki in I-Chu (2018 -)

Although I-Chu was already pretty well known since 2015, year in which the smartphone game was launched, Tasuku Hatanaka only joined the franchise in 2018.

He voices Rintaro Kizaki, F∞F‘s manager – and self-titled #1 fan of the group – as well as a member of MG9 (Manager 9).

Yuna Morishige in On Air! (2018 – 2020)

In 2018, he was cast in the seiyuu breeding game, On Air!. He voiced Yuna Morishige, the most respected member of MAISY that is known for doing everything flawlessly.

Hatanaka’s performance gave life to this perfectionist, making him sound friendly and helpful at all times but also showing his other side, the one when he is under pressure.

Kasuka Shibutani in DREAM!ing (2018 -)

Still in 2018, Tasuku Hatanaka joined the cast of DREAM!ing.

He voices Kasuka Shibutani, a quirky character that does divination for famous people and is quite intense in his self-hatred as well as the love for others – going as far as to worship them -, that makes him quite the oddball in the middle of the game’s cast.

Other games he’s voiced characters in include:

• 100 Sleeping Princes & the Kingdom of Dreams (2015)
• My Hero Academia Battle for All (2016)
• Kenka Banchou Otome (2016)
• White Cat Project (2016)
• World Cross Saga (2016)
• League of Legends (2016)
• R.E.D 〜RAGE EXTINGUISH DAY〜 (2017)
• Eternal Linkage (2017)
• New Minna no GOLF (2018)
• God Wars: Beyond Time (2018)
• PaniPani (2018)
• Langrisser Mobile (2019)
• Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions (2020)
• Kingdom Hearts III (2020)
• Paradigm Paradox (2021)

Acting

Although he was born into a family with strong ties in the industry – his parents are renowned actors -, aside from his hilarious stint in Bokukoe and a couple of reading play roles, the truth is, Hatanaka has few credits in this field.

Bokukoe (2017)

In 2017, Hatanaka joined the cast of the eccentric variety series, Bokukoe. This was his first iteration to acting.

With the series’ various stories and segments, he was featured as a member of the idol group BELLWETHER alongside fellow seiyuu Shunsuke Takeuchi, Toshiki Masuda, Koutaro Nishiyama, and Chiharu Sawashiro.

He also took part in other stories within the series as a supporting actor.

Seiyuu Rakugo Tenguren Matsuri 2020

In 2020, Tasuku Hatanaka joined the star-studded lineup for the Rakugo event, Seiyuu Rakugo Tenguren Matsuri.

Kagurazaka Kaikitan “Kai” (2020)

Still in the same year, Tasuku Hatanaka joined the cast of the reading play Kagurazaka Kaikitan “Kai”.

Narration

Tasuku Hatanaka has been pretty consistent in this field, racking up more roles than most of his 90s-generation peers.

He is the official Japanese dubbing voice for the Canadian actor, Noel Fisher.

As a result, Tasuku has dubbed movies and series such as Shameless, and several entries in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series in which Fisher is in the cast.

Some of his credits in narration include foreign movies and series such as 47RONIN, 20 Once Again, Bad Land: Road to Fury, Movie 43, Boyhood, Maze Runner (dubbing Dylan O’Brien), The Chronicles of Narnia, CSI: New York, GRIMM, Grey’s Anatomy, teen WOLF, between many more.

Drama CDs

A bit like acting, Hatanaka is not that active when it comes to drama CDs.

He does have a couple of credits in this field but, in comparison with most seiyuu, he has a really short number of entries.

He’s voiced characters in drama CDs such as Paradox Live, Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano Datta, Sennen Sensou Aigis: Gekka no Hanayome, and Hibi Chouchou.

He decided to branch out and, in 2018, he started to voice characters in BL – boys love – drama CDs.

His credits include: Koi to Sei to Mahou no Sayou and the Kashikomarimashita, Destiny series.

Music

Among the 90s generation of male seiyuu, Tasuku Hatanaka is one of the most talented singers. He’s the owner of a sweet singing tone that is primarily powerful in mid-to-high tones.

He’s really comfortable with falsetto and vibrato, with both being used naturally and with some frequency both in his solo work as well as character songs.

On stage, Tasuku Hatanaka is a bundle of energy, not missing a beat while singing and dancing at the same time.

Fellow male seiyuu and nikukai members, Soma Saito, Kaito Ishikawa, and Yoshiki Nakajima have previously mentioned that he impresses with his energy on stage.

Solo

Tasuku Hatanaka announced that he was going to make his debut as a solo artist in 2017 during KENPRO live.

According to Hatanaka himself in an interview for Animate Times – now deleted from their website – he decided to kick off a solo career under Lantis after a producer in Yumeiro Cast extended him the invitation.

His debut single was released in 2017 and is titled STAND UP. Unlike most seiyuu making their debuts in the music industry during the crowded 2017, Hatanaka embraced a youthful yet danceable sound that was unique to himself.

Hatanaka showcased his talents as a singer. His vocals were the first thing to stand out, with his cadence and singing tone akin to Miyu Irino’s.

His falsetto and vibrato and a bit of showmanship make him a rather flashy performer in some songs and a really consistent and focused singer in other instances.

STAND UP proved to be a complete release that was ready to shake the core of his fans.

A year later, in the summer of 2018, Tasuku Hatanaka released Manatsu BEAT.

Manatsu BEAT was a different single. It perfectly created a summery soundscape meant to be enjoyed at any given time.

With dreamy instrumentals and groovy performances, Manatsu BEAT wasn’t necessarily an improvement compared to STAND Up, yet it was a consistent release that showcased yet more glimpses of Hatanaka’s talents as a singer.

2019 would be the year in which Tasuku Hatanaka would release FIGHTER, his 1st full-length album and easily one of the best pop albums coming from seiyuu in the past decade.

FIGHTER is an album overflowing with songs capable of being hits and exuding a maturity that his repertoire up until then lacked.

The choice of instruments and the vocals were tasteful. If that wasn’t enough, all songs exude a “hit song” vibe. Any song could have been used as a title track and it would still be a fantastic greeting card to this release.

This album added a bit of maturity and seriousness to his solo career, staying away from the peppy pop in previous releases, revamping it and going for a darker approach that worked pretty well.

When it come to the vocal performances, Tasuku Hatanaka showcased his talents performing high-tension pop songs, EDM, rock, ballads and R&B, once again putting emphasis on his versatility as a singer.

A couple of months later, it seemed like Hatanaka was taking a couple of steps back in his progression as a solo act. In July 2019, Hatanaka performed, for the first time in his career, the opening theme for an anime series.

not GAME was featured as the theme song for Naka no Hito Genome: Jikkyochu and it proved to be a weaker title track in comparison with previous entries of his.

Aside from the title track, the single counted with 2 engaging songs that, once more, showcased Tasuku Hatanaka’s versatility on the vocal end.

2020 kicked off and Tasuku Hatanaka went all in with his music, announcing the release of 3 singles.

HISTORY hit stores in the summer of 2020. This single still had the “traditional” leading track with a peppy pop sound, but what awaited his fans past that was something unexpected.

HISTORY is not what it looks like. On a first listen – especially because of the title track – it might seem like you’re in for a gentle, sweet, and relaxing time with Tasuku Hatanaka. Truth is quite different.

Tasuku Hatanaka’s HISTORY is a really unexpected single that might throw off some of his fans.

It starts off on a bright tone, then goes into the depths of darkness and tries to soften it up with a sweet, self-penned song.

This unpredictability of the release, and the experiments with creating more complex and extremely layered instrumentals, stood out for me and shed a different light on Tasuku Hatanaka’s career as a solo artist.

While HISTORY was still to be released, Lantis announced in sequence the releases of 2 additional singles still in 2020.

Tasuku Hatanaka released DYING WISH in October 2020, changing his sound a bit around to fit the anime series in which the song was going to be featured, Moriarty the Patriot.

This November, Tasuku Hatanaka is going to release his 6th single, Promise for the future.

Hatanaka finally made his dream come true, being cast as the voice of Ultraman Z in the TV action/tokusatsu drama, Ultraman Z.

To top it all off, he is also performing the ending theme with his single, Promise for the future.

Units/Groups

8P (2016 -)

Mixed media project, 8P kicked off in 2016, leading to a creation of a radio show, a variety series that has spanned several DVDs and even music, when the group decided to start releasing their own music.

8P consist on Tasuku Hatanaka, Sho Nogami, Taku Yashiro, Junya Enoki, Arthur Lounsbery, Atsushi Kousaka, Takeaki Masuyama and Shoya Chiba.

In 2018 the group released the album, CV, featuring subunit songs.

In 2019, 8P kicked off a solo series, with each member composing and or writing lyrics for a song of theirs. Tasuku Hatanaka composed the song Midsummer Octave’s Dream for his solo entry.

Later in the same year, 8P released the full-length album, Happy Glitter, featuring the solo tracks as well as a new group song.

Yumeiro Company (2016 – 2019)

Yumeiro Company consisted on the main cast of Yumeiro Cast. Ryota Osaka, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Yuto Uemura, Yuki Ono, Natsuki Hanae, Tasuku Hatanaka and Yu Hayashi performed several songs featured in game.

With a musical approach to their sound, Yumeiro Company released several songs during its 3 years of existence.

Clarity (2017 – )

During the summer of 2017 (July), 7Colors were announced as one of the two new units to debut part of a new smartphone game, “Anidol Colors“.

Clarity consists of Nakazawa Masatomo, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Tasuku Hatanaka, and Shuuta Morishima.

The group has released 3 singles since their debut: Trip x Trap (2017), TEMPTATION‘S KISS (2018), and Coup d’état (2020).

BELLWETHER (2017)

In 2017, alongside Shunsuke Takeuchi, Koutaro Nishiyama, Toshiki Masuda and Chiharu Sawashiro, Hatanaka performed as BELLWETHER, a special unit created specifically for Boku Koe‘s musical segment.

The songs were a bit “different” in comparison with the typical idol songs – BELLWETHER‘s were more on the parody side -, with themes ranging from bad puns to nipples.

The unit served its purposed within the show and isn’t active anymore.

Kenpro Live (2017 -)

In 2017, Hatanaka participated in the recording of KENPROROCK 2017‘s theme song “VOICE FOR YELL“. A music video was later released on Ken Production’s YouTube channel.

KENPROROCK is a music festival counting only with Ken Production’s talents, some of its talents include: Kisho Taniyama (GRANRODEO), Mitsuki Saiga, Atsushi Abe, Tsubasa Yonaga, Yuu Hayashi (SCREEN mode), Takuya Sato, Tasuku Hatanaka, Katsuyuki Konishi (Seki to Konishi) and more. It is held annually.

Summer Troupe (2018 – )

In 2018, Tasuku Hatanaka joined the cast of A3!. He voices Hyodo Kumon, a lively and nervous actor part of the Summer Troupe.

The Summer Troupe comprises Takuya Eguchi (leader), Shunichi Toki, Yoshitaka Yamaya, Daisuke Hirose, Ren Ozawa and Tasuku Hatanaka.

So far they have released 3 EP series: First (2017), Blooming (2017), and VIVID (2018).

MG9 (2018 – )

In 2018, Tasuku Hatanaka joined the cast of the rhythm game, I-Chu. He voices Rintaro Kizaki, F∞F‘s manager and a member of MG9 (Manager 9).

MG9 comprise Tasuku Hatanaka, Taishi Murata, Tomohito Takatsuka, Atsushi Abe, Fujii Kohei, Masatomo Nakazawa, Takato Nagata and Junta Terashima.

The group released their debut single in 2018 titled Nice to Meet You! ~ We are MG9! ~.

BRBRookies! (2018 -)

In 2018, and related to his addition to the A3! cast, Hatano joined BRBRookies!, a unit consisting of the seiyuu to all 4 new characters in the series.

The complete lineup for this group includes Wataru Hatano, Tasuku Hatanaka, Seiya Konishi and Satoshi Hino.

They released the jazzy “GOLDEN ENCORE!“ in June, single that skyrocketed its way to the top spots on Oricon Daily during its first week of sales.

Surprise Star (2018 – 2019)

In 2018, Hatanaka joined the lineup for the ambitious RPG-meets-2D idols smartphone game, IDOL FANTASY. He was part of Surprise Star, group that was added to the franchise a bit after the game’s launch.

The group consisted of Chiharu Sawashiro, Tasuku Hatanaka, Junya Enoki, Katsufumi Yachi and Ryo Hakateyama.

Odin;s (2018 -)

Still in 2018, Hatanaka joined another music project with a twist, GANG×ROCK.

GANG×ROCK is a music project created by Techno Art mixing “delinquents” and “bands” in the same place. Hatanaka is part of Odin;s, rock band that consists on KENN, Shunichi Toki, Tasuku Hatanaka and Kenji Roa. 

The band released their first single, Kike, Waga Raimei wo! in 2018.

DREAM!ing (2018 -)

In 2018, Hatanaka joined the cast of DREAM!ing, a smartphone game that features music as one of its selling points.

The game counts with a fantastic cast that includes:

• Natsuki Hanae,
• Makoto Furukawa,
• Nobunaga Shimazaki,
• Shouta Aoi,
• Toshiyuki Toyonaga,
• Yuma Uchida,
• Shunichi Toki,
• Toshinari Fukamachi,
• Shinnosuke Tachibana,
• Tetsuya Kakihara,
• Yusuke Kobayashi,
• Yoshiki Nakajima,
• Yoshiki Nakajima,
• Shunsuke Takeuchi,
• Naru Hamano,
• Yuto Suzuki, and
• Tomohiro Yamaguchi.

In 2020 he performed SEESAW FRIENDS, song included in the single, DREAM!ing Yume Live CD side BLACK. In this song, he performed alongside Yoshiki Nakajima.

Nacht (2018)

It was announced early in 2018 that Hatanaka would be joining the lineup of the idol raising game Maou sama wo Produce. Hatanaka was to be part of the main idol group Nacht.

Nacht comprised Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Daisuke Namikawa, Daisuke Hirakawa, Tasuku Hatanaka, Takuya Sato, Daisuke Hirose and Junichi Suwabe. They are going to debut in May with the single “Shoot the Stars“.

Akkan Yatsura (2019 -)

The biggest and most hyped project he joined in 2019 was, undoubtedly, PARADOX LIVE.

Alongside Takayuki Kondo, Shima, Shunichi Toki and Shogo Yano, Tasuku Hatanaka is part of the afrobeat/Latin rap team, Akkan Yatsura.

The team’s debut song, BAD BOYZ – Akkan Yatsura Underground- was released in 2020 as part of the franchise mini-album, Paradox Live Opening Show.

Akkan Yatsura then went to take part in the Stage Battle series, counting with entries in the JUSTICE and FAMILY battles.

VS AMBIVALENZ (2021 – 2022)

VS AMBIVALENZ is a 2D music project by NIZISTA (best known for HANDEAD ANTHEM).

It was launched with a unique survival show format in which only 7 out of the 14 members would make it to the final group.

The cast includes Shintaro Asanuma, Makoto Furukawa, Chiaki Kobayashi, Reiou Tsuchida, Tasuku Hatanaka, Kengo Kawanishi and Ayumu Murase.

All seiyuu lend their voice to 2 characters in this franchise. And 1 of the characters that each seiyuu voiced would not make it to the final group.

Tasuku Hatanaka voiced LION and KAZU. Both characters explored different acting styles as one of the characters was more mature than the other. This ended up reflecting in the way he used his tenor vocal range.

The group made its debut in 2021 with “Go My Own Way”.

They arrived with a sound that was nothing like what you’d listened to up until then from 2D idol groups.

The care for quality music and technical performances was there. The balance between vocals was insane. Their sound was upbeat and tasteful while the soundscapes were aesthetically pleasing.

The highlight of this release was “Restart“, a song that, despite featuring everyone’s vocals, ended up putting the spotlight on Ayumu Murase, Reiou Tsuchida, and Makoto Furukawa’s vocals who stepped up immensely for this performance.

“Restart” is pretty much flawless on all fronts, not to mention insanely catchy.

Still, in the same year, the franchise released its 2nd CD in the 1st season (out of 2 to decide who were the 7 members making it to the final lineup).

VS AMBIVALENZ’s “PreOrder” was not a perfect entry, especially when its first CD was quite impressive, but it still had its awesome moments, more quality on the vocals, and music almost for all tastes.

You have trap music, hip-hop, and R&B in the electrifying “PreOrder”, enka, Eurobeat, and pop in “Ai no Uta” and then an emotional EDM-meets-hip-hop tune in “Fight-or-Flight”.

Team 80s‘ LION and KAZU (CV: Tasuku Hatanaka), TAIYO, and SUBARU (CV: Reiou Tsuchida) brought energetic enka and eurobeat with “Ai no Uta“.

Hatanaka is a raspy tenor and Tsuchida has a raspy edge to his baritone vocals. Both are pretty skilled when it comes to hitting high notes and riffing and what you get in this performance is really good.

Hatanaka almost took over the song as his, Tsuchida not only kept up with Hatanaka’s energy and technique but also showed a snippet of his smooth baritone vocals and skilled ear for harmonizations.

2022 arrived and with it came the 2nd and last CD season for this 14-member lineup.

In “VSA Musical”, the franchise tackled songs that felt like a musical, showcasing a more intense and dramatic side to each performer.

VS AMBIVALENZ “VSA Musical” is, just like its title, all about its musical sound. The first two songs are presented in a way that it feels like you’re watching a musical play unfold.

You have different acts within each song, the songs progress through a mix of talk parts and singing and the cast made sure to deliver performances with a lot of drama.

However, as interesting as each song is, I feel like when you listen to both tracks (over 7 minutes long each), many things are lost in translation and would fare better when performed on stage rather than on sound only. Highlights on the vocal end belonged to Makoto Furukawa, Tasuku Hatanaka and Ayumu Murase.

The three were relentless on the vocal end, fitting perfectly with the technically dramatic style of singing that was required in all songs.

Later in 2022, the 14-member group wrapped up its activities with the release of “Still On Journey”.

After this, in a final vote, the fans decided who would end up being a member of the 2D idol group, XlamV.

XlamV (2023 -)

After a full year of activities to determine the final 7-member lineup for VS AMBIVALENZ, fans made their choice.

The once 14-member lineup – with seiyuu voicing two characters representing a color – turned into the 7-member unit XlamV (read: Kranve) ready to shine.

“XlamV” is a word that combines “climb” and the Roman numeral “XIV” (meaning 14), meaning those of have won the audition but also paying homage to everyone that participated.

The “V” in the name also means “VICTORY”, including the vow to surprise the world and aim to become an idol group that will reach the top.

The full lineup is as follows:

• Jintaro (CV: Chiaki Kobayashi)
• Nagomu (CV: Shintaro Asanuma)
• 39YEAH↗ (CV: Makoto Furukawa)
• Issei (CV: Kengo Kawanishi)
• Lion (CV: Tasuku Hatanaka)
• Auguri (CV: Ayumu Murase)
• Subaru (CV: Reiou Tsuchida)

The group announced the release in April 2023 of their debut digital single “From me“.

Photobooks

Bungo Nostalgia Ryunosuke Akutagawa x Tasuku Hatanaka (The Spider’s Thread) (2019)

In 2019, Tasuku Hatanaka was featured in Bungo Nostalgia‘s 3rd photobook collection featuring seiyuu. This volume is inspired by The Spider’s Thread, a well-known short story by the Japanese author, Ryunosuke Akutagawa.

Tasuku Hatanaka’s 2021 SEASON’S GREETINGS (2020)

In 2020, Hatanaka announced the release of the special SEASONS GREETINGS.

In it comes a unique photobook with photos taken on Guam, an island on which he recorded the music video for HISTORY.

Variety

In variety, Tasuku Hatanaka seems to always get the running gag role.

He is quite often teased by fellow seiyuu which, at times, leads to hilarious situations. He’s always friendly with everyone – and does not tease his elders, although he gets revenge at times (TSK with Toshiki Masuda).

He puts genuine effort into his variety appearances, sometimes that genuine effort that goes down the drain because of changes of rules in the show or just because he was so much into something that he forgot he didn’t have to take it so seriously.

Tokimeki Recipe (2016)

In 2016, Tasuku Hatanaka and Arthur Lounsbery teamed up for Tokimeki Recipe‘s cooking variety DVD.

Tokimeki Recipe was a variety show in which two seiyuu would be paired up and work together to cook several dishes with available ingredients.

The duo had to tackle cooking with game corners midway through to earn clues or tips on how to cook the dishes they were tasked with creating.

Due to their close friendship, the recording is filled with good vibes, with both looking and acting naturally and comfortably around each other.

Maou Sama Produce (2018)

Alongside his kouhai and fellow Ken Production talent Takuya Sato, Tasuku Hatanaka hosted Maou Produce, a YouTube show broadcasted live once a month.

The show was created to promote the android and iOS game Maou wo Produce, a game that featured several demons trying to make their breakthrough as idols.

The show didn’t get to develop much past the first episodes. However, it counted with a variety of corners in which the fun banter between senpai Sato and kouhai Hatanaka shone.

Masuda Toshiki to Hatanaka Tasuku no TSK (2018 – 2020)

Toshiki Masuda and Tasuku Hatanaka teamed up to co-host 増田俊樹と畠中祐のTSK (Masuda Toshiki to Hatanaka Tasuku no TSK), a variety show that has the duo doing what they want.

Episodes focus on various activities – making a table, purchasing a used kotatsu, selling old things at a recycle shop, buying presents for each other – all with a really low budget to spend.

There are episodes that focus on a particular seiyuu and others on the duo. When working together, Hatanaka was constantly teased by Masuda, but he often got his revenge leading to comedy gold coming from the duo.

The show aired on Nico Nico with recaps or digests released monthly on TSK GEKKO’s official YouTube channel.

DREAM!ing Live Broadcast (2018)

In 2018, Hatanaka guested on DREAM!ing Live Broadcast, show launched with the aim of reporting and promoting the smartphone game released in the same year.

The show is hosted by fellow male seiyuu Yuto Suzuki and Yoshiki Nakajima.

VART (2020 -)

In 2020, Tasuku Hatanaka joined the seiyuu racing project founded by Shinichiro Miki, VART.

Founded by seiyuu, narrator and cars enthusiast, Shinichiro Miki, VART – short for Voice Actors Racing Team – is a seiyuu racing project that will spawn a variety show on ANIMAX as the team, consisting of Masafumi Mima (team director), Shinichiro Miki (captain/driver), Daisuke Namikawa (vice-captain/driver), Kaito Ishikawa and Tasuku Hatanaka, train for the well-known touring car 7-hour endurance race JOY耐 (JOY Endurance), that took place at Twin Ring Motegi in June 2020.

Facts

Nikukai member

Tasuku Hatanaka is part of the well-known group of friends – and friendly rivals – Nikukai (Soma Saito leads the way and Yoshiki Nakajima is the one that plans and arranges the outings to fit the members’ schedules).

Nikukai is a group of male seiyuu that usually hang out outside of work that comprise Soma Saito, Yoshiki Nakajima, Yuma Uchida, Kaito Ishikawa, Tasuku Hatanaka, Taku Yashiro, and Yuichiro Umehara.

Really physical

This is well known among his fans and his friends in the voice acting industry always point this out: Tasuku Hatanaka loves exercising. He’s always active and plays a variety of sports.

He is particularly fond of basketball, karate, long walks, and loves dancing. As pointed out by many of his peers, Hatanaka seems to always be full of energy to spend.

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.