One of the most respected voice actors in the industry. An iconic voice with plenty of memorable performances to his name.
Estimated time of reading: 60 minutos
Jun Fukuyama
KANJI: 福山潤
BORN: November 26, 1978
OCCUPATION: seiyuu, narrator, singer, CEO
HEIGHT: 170cm
Jun Fukuyama was born on November 26, 1978, in Hiroshima.
Despite being born in Hiroshima, Fukuyama soon moved to Osaka, prefecture where he lived until moving to Tokyo in 1997. He’s the youngest of 2 kids.
Seiyuu
Fukuyama’s path to voice acting wasn’t the usual “it was my dream” that many voice actors mention when talking fondly about the reason they wanted to pursue such a career.
He had a simpler reason at its core: he wanted to become a voice actor because his girlfriend at that time was aiming to become a voice actress.
Both ended up working together and passed the audition together only for his girlfriend to soon dump him.
Eventually, Fukuyama ended up loving voice acting and turn into one of the best and most versatile voice actors. Loved by veterans and youngsters, he’s also one of the most respected voice actors currently active in the industry.
Let’s follow his journey.
1997 – 2001
First steps and leading roles
Freshly arrived from Osaka, Fukuyama made his debut as a voice actor in 1997, under BAOBAB production (Toshiyuki Morikawa, Ken Narita, Kazuhiko Inoue, etc. – names that today are no longer connected with the agency).
Fukuyama’s first leading role was as the passionate Akira Kamui in the mecha anime series Mutekiou Tri-Zenon.
Two years later, and after a couple of minor roles, Fukuyama was back with another leading role. He was cast as Koutaro Kobayashi in the comedy and sports anime, Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer.
This anime wasn’t remarkable but it proved to be a good opportunity for Fukuyama to showcase his voice acting skills by tackling comedy for the very first time.
Other anime series he’s voiced characters include:
- Yoshimoto Muchikko Monogatari (1998)
- Turn A Gundam (1999)
- Boogiepop wa Warawanai (2000)
- Seikai no Senki II (2001)
- HELLSING (2001)
- Offside (2001)
2002 – 2007
Getting on a groove
After getting his first leading roles early on in his career, Jun Fukuyama was working towards getting more opportunities to voice protagonists.
And he managed to pull that off consistently, with at least 1 main/leading character per year, which was impressive.
2002 was a strong year for him as he was cast as Haruto Sakaki, one of the main characters in the action and mystery anime series, Witch Hunter Robin.
Brash, hot-blooded and young, he’s a member of the STN-J, an organization of witch-hunters.
This was the very first role in what you’d call a “serious” anime, and would as well be the start of Fukuyama’s typecasting as hot-blooded characters.
Mysterious characters with a dark past started to pop up on Fukuyama’s repertoire thanks to his performance as Toga Tenkuji in the mecha anime, Choujuushin Gravion.
A year later and Fukuyama was cast to voice yet another protagonist in a military series. This time around he was cast as Susumu Oki in the Submarine Super 99.
In 2004, Fukuyama was cast in the fantasy anime Onmyou Taisenki. He voiced Riku Tachibana, the series’ protagonist.
Originally a scaredy-cat, Tachibana ends up growing throughout the series, something that Fukuyama was able to convey in his acting.
Still in the same year, Fukuyama was cast as Albert de Morcerf in Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo.
This was his very first impressive performance as a leading voice actor, showcasing his emotional depth and the attention to little details in his diction to add a bit more nuance and depth to the character.
Fukuyama’s first big role in a popular shounen anime series came with the eccentric, slightly vain, and borderline narcissistic Yumichika Ayasegawa in the action anime BLEACH.
This was a role that required Fukuyama to be serious, make others laugh, or even laugh himself.
Although far from being the main character in the series, Fukuyama made sure to leave a mark with a unique performance that fans of the franchise will easily remember.
Wrapping up the year was the leading role as Junna Touno in the harem/romance anime series W: Wish.
This wasn’t a remarkable performance nor anime series, and after such a strong year, it kind of went under the radar for many people.
In 2005, Fukuyama joined the cast of Cluster Edge as Beryl Jasper, one of the leading characters in what was a star-studded cast back then.
Beryl was the perfect student, good in academics as well as in everything physical-related.
Ambitious and driven, this was a character that arrived to calm down a bit the streak of hot-blooded characters that Fukuyama had been voicing in recent years.
Still in the same year, Fukuyama was cast as Takaaki Kouno in the romance/harem anime To Heart 2, an adaptation of a visual novel of the same name.
The anime itself wasn’t remarkable and many fans of the original material complained about how rushed the storylines were, cramming or removing altogether content that would flesh out the characters.
Kuono proved to be an almost empty protagonist, something that didn’t help make Fukuyama’s performance stand out.
2006 kicked off as strongly as the previous year, with Fukuyama getting another batch of leading roles in anime series.
He was cast as Keita Kawahira in the ecchi and romance anime Inukami!.
This ended up being an expected transition seeing how Fukuyama had been in the years previous to scoring this role, been getting lead/main character roles in romance and harem anime series.
It was announced that the popular otome games franchise Kiniro no Corda was greenlit for an anime adaptation.
Kiniro no Corda: Primo Passo premiered in 2006, with Fukuyama reprising his role as the soft-spoken cellist, Keiichi Shimizu.
Kimihiro Watanuki in xxxHOLiC is another role worth mentioning. This was a role that Fukuyama ended up reprising in the several installments in the series (2006 – 2008).
The anime’s direction and animation were a bit all over the place.
There were particular complaints by domestic and international fans of some of the seiyuu in the cast of how ridiculous and exaggerated the voice acting for this series was, quite possibly trying to make up for the fact that there wasn’t a single character with depth.
He was then cast as Tooru Kouno in the comedy and drama anime series Princess Princess.
Kuono is a transfer student at a prestigious all-boys school in which only a selected few can dress as Princesses. This is an odd premise for an anime series however the story and star-studded cast prove to be worth sticking around for.
However, the biggest role in Fukuyama’s career, the most iconic role he’s ever lent a voice to, was to come in the same year.
Fukuyama was cast as Lelouch Lamperouge in the military/mecha anime Code Geass.
His first appearance was in Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch (2006) but the series would end up getting a second season in 2008 (Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2).
This role took Fukuyama to stardom in the seiyuu industry, setting him on a path of success while establishing him as one of his generation’s most versatile voice actors.
Fukuyama’s impressive performance as Lelouch, going from a hero to an anti-hero mad with power and the little nuances in his performance that gave him a more natural tone, earned Fukuyama a win at the 1st Seiyuu Awards as Best Leading Voice Actor.
If you mention iconic characters in anime series, Lelouch will easily be there. And if you mention an iconic character in Fukuyama’s career, this is the one.
Still in 2006, Fukuyama was cast as the caring and courageous Kazuki Muto in the action and comedy anime series Busou Renkin.
This was an interesting entry in his repertoire, balancing comedy with action and a bit of somber twist in some episodes. Unfortunately, the anime went under the radar while airing at the same time as the big series of the year: Code Geass.
2007 was a quieter year in terms of getting new roles however, many of the big anime series Fukuyama had been cast in 2006 had long seasons spreading into 2007. One thing could be obvious, in 2007, he was everywhere.
And he was back with another leading role as Masayuki Nakajima in the psychological anime Shinreigari: Ghost Hound.
The anime had a more serious tone, focusing on supernatural entities, with its main cast of characters – in which Nakajima is included – trying to unravel what is happening around the town of Suiten.
In the same year, he was cast as the second-generation president of a rent-a-magician company called Astral, Itsuki Iba in the mystery and supernatural anime series Rental Magica.
He’s really smart, calm and collected, friendly and helpful to everyone around him.
The character starts off as a coward to all things supernatural, however, throughout the series he ends up gaining the courage to face his foes and solve any issues related to them.
Other anime series he’s voiced characters include:
- Full Metal Panic (2002)
- Detective Conan (2002)
- Crayon Shin-chan (2002)
- Princess Tutu (2002)
- PIANO (2002)
- Tokyo Underground (2002)
- Narue no Sekai (2003)
- Bouken Yuuki Pluster World (2003)
- Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito (2003)
- Kaiketsu Zorori (2004)
- Kyo Kara Maoh! (2004)
- Samurai Champloo (2004)
- Glass no Kamen (2005)
- Happy Seven: The TV Manga (2005)
- LOVELESS (2005)
- Shounen Onmyouji (2006)
- Ookiku Furikabutte (2007)
- Over Drive (2007)
- D.Gray-man (2007)
2008 – 2014
The go-to protagonist
Now established as one of the biggest stars in the seiyuu industry, Fukuyama got the opportunity to try voicing characters in different works.
What he did in this period of time was pretty interesting.
He kept voicing protagonists in series that had supernatural themes at their core – a big trend in the late 00s – but also added more comedic roles in the mix, showcasing that he’s not all about voicing anti-heroes or cold-blooded villains, he also has the range and technique to be a good comedic voice actor – like he had shown shades of early on in his career.
There were still roles in harem and ecchi series but those slowly started to take the backseat in his career.
To start off 2008, Fukuyama was cast in the supernatural anime series Amatsuki as Tokidoki Rikugou, the series’ protagonist.
He was then cast in fantasy and romance anime Spice and Wolf as Kraft Lawrence, a traveling peddler who goes from town to town buying and selling various things in order to make a living.
As far as memorable supporting roles in Fukuyama’s career, his performance as the eccentric Grell Sutcliff in the Black Butler anime series is right up there among his best.
Grell initially appears as a clumsy, inefficient butler to Madam Red. He gets easily flustered and scandalized with things around him, something that Fukuyama really made incredibly entertaining to see come to life through his performance.
However, there is more to this character than what meets the eye. He can horrify Sebastian with his advances – something that is not easy to achieve – and is actually quite powerful and important as a shinigami (a death god).
The perfect balance between comedy and serious scenes is present in this performance, easily making it one of Fukuyama’s best-supporting roles to date.
Still in the same year, Fukuyama voiced Kei Takishima in the romance anime Special A. Takishima is top of the school’s rankings, is a prodigy in all things academic, athletics and business.
On top of that, he’s got an impressive photographic memory, at the same time he loves to tease the series’ protagonist.
This was a character made for Fukuyama’s skillset as an actor. A character in which his smooth voice would fit like a glove, but also with a teasing side that brought forth his comedic skills.
Although extremely underrated, Special A is actually a good romance anime that even if it has its cliché moments – back in 2008, many of the said clichés weren’t actually ones – it had character development and its pacing wasn’t slow. To top it all off, Fukuyama’s performance is really good.
2009 kicked off with a role in the ecchi/romance anime series Akikan!. He voiced Kakeru Daichi, the series’ cocky, megalomaniac protagonist.
As far as anime series with weird premises go, Akikan takes the cake in 2009 as it was all about Daichi being a juice can collector and, by chance, one day attempt to drink a can of melon juice just for it to transform into… a girl.
A weird premise, an even weirder story but if you’re into these kinds of wacky stories, it’ll be interesting to check, if not, only for Fukuyama’s performance.
One of the most underrated romance anime series of all time Hanasakeru Seishounen, premiered in 2009, and with it came a star-studded cast, a unique story with a strong female protagonist and male characters (the potential husbands) all with a lot of depth and interesting stories to unveil.
From 2009 to 2010, the anime aired in Japan, and Jun Fukuyama showed how well equipped he was as a voice actor, tackling serious themes and scenes with a natural delivery, making the few goofy ones pretty enjoyable.
Overall, he made Carl Rosenthal sound like a genuinely good character that you could even end up rooting for to be chosen as Kajika’s husband.
2010 couldn’t have kicked off in a better way. Fukuyama joined the star-studded cast of the popular anime series Durarara!!.
He was cast as Shinra Kishitani, an underground doctor with a passion for studying interesting phenomena such as Celty’s whole situation and Shizuo’s otherworldly strength.
Although this was but a supporting role, Fukuyama’s performance impressed with a lot of depth, able to be serious, and, at times, slightly goofy for a very specific character in the series.
Fukuyama was back to voicing protagonists in ecchi/romance/comedy shows. One of his first roles of the year was as resident sadomasochist Taro Sado in the anime series MM!.
He joined the cast of Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto, mecha anime starred by Mamoru Miyano. He voiced the cold and intellectual Sugata Shindo, a member of the Midnight Fight Club.
The Summer 2010 season was big for Fukuyama, with him getting 3 main roles in 3 completely polarizing anime series.
He was cast as Rikuo Nura in the supernatural anime series Nurarihyon no Mago.
He’s the successor to the Nura Clan, having some Yokai blood that enables him to transform into one, with particular control over that transformation, during the night.
This was an interesting role that required Fukuyama to not only do a voice for a kid in their early teens but also of an important, powerful yokai. And once again, Fukuyama’s vocal range shone.
He voiced Ryner Lute in the adventure/fantasy anime series The Legend of the Legendary Heroes.
Despite initially being lethargic to others, always sleepy and unmotivated, Ryner is actually incredibly talented as a fighter and magic used and he’s really caring of others – to the point that he wants to avoid using his powers to not cause harm to anyone.
The story in this anime is worth sticking around for as it goes through many twists and turns, Ryner grows a lot as a protagonist that you want to root for and all characters have interesting grey areas in which you can never tell who’s friend or foe or even if their methods are truly bad or good.
Fukuyama delivered a balanced performance focused on making the viewers empathize with the character.
At the same time he starts to sound more and more reliable and determined along the way, good detail to add to all the character development going on in this series.
Then, the big slice-of-life anime series of 2010 premiered. Jun Fukuyama was cast as Souta Takanashi in the comedy anime series WORKING!!!.
Takanashi was recruited to work at a family restaurant and despite initially not wanting to join in, his love for cute things – including short people – led to him joining the staff of Wagnaria.
What ensues is him almost descending into madness due to the crazy shenanigans by the restaurant’s staff, falling in love yet not admitting he is, especially for someone that usually beats him when he greets them, and dealing with his equally crazy family that often comes to visit.
This series is peak comedy, and easily among the funniest Fukuyama has voiced characters in. You can’t help but laugh out loud at the weird, hilarious side stories going on, experiencing those from the eyes and ears of Takanashi as he gets along with his fellow co-workers.
The series’ anime adaptation was so popular that the anime got a total of 3 seasons spanning from 2010 to 2015.
2011 welcomed Fukuyama with another set of leading roles in popular anime series adaptations.
He was cast as the analytical, kind, calm and collected Yukio Okumura in the action anime series Ao no Exorcist.
He was then cast in Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon as the series’ incompetent leader and protagonist Toori Aoi.
The anime adaptation of the light novels brought a lot of comedy, romance, and some bits of seriousness to table, making this anime quite the mixed bag of genres.
Despite starting off on the wrong foot, the anime actually picks itself up in quite an interesting way, with a rich story going on, leading to this anime series being extremely entertaining to watch.
Fukuyama then joined the main cast of the action/mystery anime series Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle. He voiced the extremely competitive Gammon Sakanoue.
In 2012, Fukuyama joined the cast of Osomatsu san, classic anime series that was being remade from scratch. He voiced Ichimatsu Matsuno, the jokester of the family.
He shared the spotlight with a star-studded cast that included Takahiro Sakurai, Yuichi Nakamura, Hiroshi Kamiya, Daisuke Ono, and Irino Miyu.
He voiced Ei Sei in the popular military/historical anime series Kingdom.
Ei Sei is cold and detached from others, going by how he could kill other characters and not hesitate or show remorse. However, he holds the ones loyal to him really high and for those, he will do everything to protect them.
Fukuyama reprised this role on 2 extra occasions from 2012 to 2021: Kingdom 2nd Season (2013) and Kingdom 3rd Season (2020).
Although not a main or leading role, his role as Misaki Yata in the K Project anime is worth mentioning.
Yata is impulsive and easily irritable. In a way, this wasn’t a character far off of what Fukuyama can deliver in terms of performance, especially having voiced in the past characters that had some of those traits, however not all at the same time.
Due to serving as one of HOMRA’s raid captains, he’s extremely prideful and loyal to his own. His connections to some of the main characters in the series make Yata one of the more important characters in the series, helping to tie up some loose ends in the backstory.
Fukuyama reprised this role on several occasions – anime seasons and movies included – from 2012 up until 2015.
On a simpler and innocent note, Fukuyama was cast as Panda in the slice-of-life/comedy anime series Shirokuma Café.
Due to how clumsy, blunt, oblivious and lazy he is, Panda often gets into crazy shenanigans from his ambitions to get part-time work, go on road trips, to the most mundane things.
The series is consistently funny and the main cast – in which Panda is included – has a really solid chemistry that, allied with great comedic timing, simple gags, and voice acting made Shirokuma Café one of the most enjoyable series in 2012.
He was cast in Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! as Yuuta Togashi, the series’ protagonist. This series mixes melodrama with comedy in a genuinely interesting way.
The voice acting was top-notch making viewers go through a wide variety of feelings throughout its 12 intense episodes.
Still in the same year, he reprised his role as Libertà in the anime adaptation of the popular otome game La storia della Arcana Famiglia.
2013 proved to be a quieter year for Fukuyama in terms of getting leading/main roles in anime.
In the middle of all the supporting roles he got in that year was his leading role as Yuusha in the fantasy anime Maoyuu Maou Yuusha.
In 2014, Fukuyama joined the main cast of the popular shounen anime Nanatsu no Taizai. He was cast as King, a member of the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Sin of Sloth.
Still in the same year, he was cast as the protagonist Naoto Takayama in the ecchi anime Rail Wars!.
Other anime series in which he voiced characters include:
- Vampire Knight (2008)
- Macross F (2008)
- Jewelpet (2009)
- Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo (2009)
- 07-Ghost (2009)
- Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru (2010)
- Togainu no Chi (2010)
- Battle Spirits: Heroes (2011)
- Ixion Saga DT (2012)
- Area no Kishi (2012)
- Natsuyuki Rendezvous (2012)
- Magi (2012)
- Red Data Girl (2013)
- Kakumeiki Valvrave (2013)
- Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist (2013)
- D-Frag! (2014)
- Noragami (2014)
- Hamatora The Animation (2014)
- World Trigger (2014)
2015 –
A reference in the voice acting industry
Now, considered a reference in the voice acting industry and with a rock-solid repertoire overflowing with interesting protagonists in some of the most buzzworthy anime series of all time, it was time to slow down a bit.
It had already been noticeable in 2013 and 2014, but roles as leading/main characters were slowly going from more than 6 per year to around 2 – 3 per year. And Fukuyama started to get more supporting roles than ever before.
This is a natural transition in a voice actors’ career, especially as they get closer to their 40s and the industry starts to focus more and more on the “young” talents joining in and showing their cards.
But Fukuyama slowing down a bit doesn’t mean he hasn’t been voicing interesting characters since then, it seems however that he’s been more careful about the roles he wants to audition for – and later on, passes those to get the role – instead of going for everything thrown at him.
And if there is an impressive performance in the last decade for Fukuyama it is as Koro-sensei in the anime action/comedy series Assassination Classroom.
This was Fukuyama’s return to voicing anti-heroes and he did so with an incredibly unique performance that made Koro-sensei likable and, at times, relatable in the themes he talked about even with full knowledge that he’s actually someone twisted that actually challenged his students to find a way to kill him.
The series was incredibly popular to the point that it spawned a 2nd season in 2016, as well as a live-action movie.
In 2017, Fukuyama was cast as the protagonist in the anime series Gin no Guardian. He voiced the hardworking Riku Suigin, character in a quest to save a girl he likes from within a game.
Still in the same year, Fukuyama was cast as the playful Victor Putin in the supernatural anime Chronos Ruler.
The show mixes magic with gambling, action, and a tragic story, and although it did sound promising it ended up being filled with plot holes that, by the time the series was wrapped up, were still not solved.
The anime wasn’t particularly well-received domestically nor internationally due to how bland everything about it was.
In 2018, an anime adaptation of the popular game Persona 5 was greenlit (after a special episode titled Persona 5 the Animation: The Day Breakers aired in 2016).
Jun Fukuyama reprised his role as the Protagonist, a transfer student at Shujin High School. For purposes of the anime series, the character needed a name, ending up being called Ren Amamiya.
Fans of the game expected the same stylish visuals, the elegant funky music that is a staple of the game as well as the returning star-studded cast.
However, the anime had poor animation, its pacing and storylines were a bit all over the place making it hard for newcomers to follow and making some fans of the franchise wonder why the anime series wasn’t more than 26 episodes, as it felt incredibly rushed.
So, despite the game’s popularity, the anime wasn’t received with the same enthusiasm, at least not after people watched the first episode of the series. Those issues ended up undermining the performances by the cast that were on the same or higher level than in the game.
He was then cast as Yuuma Nosaka in the sports anime series Inazuma Eleven: Orion no Kokuin.
The buzzworthy anime of 2018 was, undoubtedly, BANANA FISH. The action-packed anime adaptation was wildly popular that year, even resulting in a Best Leading actor award for its lead actor, Yuma Uchida.
Jun Fukuyama voiced Yut-Lung Lee, a master manipulator, ruthless in his approach to others and incredibly intelligent to the point that he can, with ease using other people’s emotions against them.
With a delicate appearance yet a ruthless personality harboring deep hatred, Yut-Lung Lee was perfectly cast with Fukuyama’s nuanced performance standing out.
2019 was a quieter year, with the only lead/main role as Arata Miyako in the supernatural anime Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin.
Miyako is a public servant assigned to the Nocturnal Community Relations Division, having the unique power of understanding what supernatural creatures are saying.
The anime ended up being quite underrated despite having an interesting story – for fans of supernatural stories à la Men in Black -, a top-tier cast, beautiful art and soundtrack.
The anime ended up being quite underrated despite having an interesting story – for fans of supernatural stories à la Men in Black -, a top-tier cast, beautiful art, and soundtrack.
In 2020, he was cast as Seri Koyuki in the comedy/slice-of-life anime series Boku no Tonari ni Ankoku Hakaishin ga Imasu..
2021 welcomed Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song, music anime series that was extremely well received by domestic and international fans.
Fukuyama was cast as Matsumoto, an AI (Artificial intelligence) that arrives with a mission of avoiding war between AIs and humans.
Wrapping up 2021 is a leading role as Draluc in the comedy anime Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu.
Aside from voicing the lead role, Fukuyama performs the opening theme song titled “DIES IN NO TIME”.
Other anime series he’s voiced characters include:
- Kuroko no Basket 3rd Season (2015)
- Ajin (2016)
- Sekkou Boys (2016)
- Yuri!!! on Ice (2016)
- Fukumenkei Noise (2017)
- Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2017)
- Black Clover (2017)
- Hashiri Tsuzukete Yokattatte. (2018)
- Meiji Tokyo Renka (2019)
- Karakuri Circus (2019)
- Ahiru no Sora (2020)
- Shokugeki no Souma: Gou no Sara (2020)
- Horimiya (2021)
- Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z the Animation (2021)
Awards
In 2007, Jun Fukuyama won the Best Leading Voice Actor Award for his performance as Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass) at the 1st Seiyuu Awards.
Two years later, at the 3rd Seiyuu Awards won the Overseas Fan Award.
Radio
A couple of years after making his debut as a voice actor, Fukuyama got to try radio work, hosting and guesting on several shows over the years.
Funny shenanigans can ensure if someone close to him guests on his radio shows (alternatively when he guests on someone else’s shows) but you can also expect Fukuyama to be a good listener and extremely professional if the situation/show requires it.
His first credits in this field come from the Saint Beast radio (2003 – 2004 / 2004 – 2006). Fukuyama got to be the host for the 2 cour of this radio show before it bid its goodbye in 2006.
In 2005, Fukuyama co-hosted Radio S.S.D.S.Ai no Kaitai Shinsho with Show Hayami.
This would be the very first of various radio shows that S.S.D.S would have over the years and it’s one of the very first radio shows Fukuyama got to co-host.
In 2007, Jun Fukuyama teamed up with Ami Koshimizu for the radio show “Ami Koshimizu and Jun Fukuyama’s Okamic Radio“.
The show would wrap up its first run in 2008 however, in 2009 the follow-up “Ami Koshimizu and Jun Fukuyama’s Okamic Radio II” started to be broadcast on Animate TV.
As part of his solo debut under JCV Music, Jun Fukuyama held 2 special radio shows: Fukuyama Jun no Hitori Aiaigasa (2009), and Fukuyama jun no kibun wa Parisienne (2010).
In 2016, Jun Fukuyama hosted the radio show Persona 20th ANNIVERSARY Persona Radio (2016), and 2 years later, supporting the anime adaptation of Persona5, Fukuyama was chosen as the host of PERSONA5 the Animation Radio “Kai Talk!” (2018 – 2019).
In March 2021, Fukuyama started to host his stylish, “Kyoto-inspired” solo radio show “Jun Fukuyama Kyoto Niikezu“.
Other radio shows he’s hosted/co-hosted/guested include:
- BL Gakuen Broadcasting Club “Bell ☆ Radi” (2006)
- Princess Princess RADIO Fujimori Gakuen A to Z (2006)
- Code Geass Hangyaku no Yamayama (2006 – 2007)
- Radio Rental Magica (2007)
- Code Geass Hangyaku no Yamayama DX (2006 – 2007)
- Vampire Knight Kuronushi gakuen Hosoubu (2008)
- Code Geass His Ruru Kuru Station (2008)
- The Legend of the Legendary Hero’s Legendary Radio (2010)
- TAKAKING!!&TANEKING!! (2011)
- Familia Bar (2012)
- & CAST!!! Hour Love Nights! (2018 – 2020)
- Vivy -Flourite Eye’s Radio- (2021)
Games
In the same year, Fukuyama made his debut as a voice actor, he started voicing characters in games.
This is in and of itself, pretty impressive as there’s usually a natural transition between both fields not an almost simultaneous activity in both as a rookie.
Due to his versatility as a tenor – high vocal range for men – that gives him the ability to voice both what you’d traditionally call “manly” and “feminine” characters, as well as his natural talent for voicing cool, calm, and collected heroes and hot-blooded villains, Fukuyama is chosen to voice all types of characters in a wide variety of game genres.
There are plenty of RPGs, mecha, and fighting games in his repertoire, and, between the early 00s and late 00s, he was one of the most sought-after voice actors for otome games.
In recent years, Fukuyama has been lending his voice acting talents to action games and RPGs.
His first roles in games were in 1998 on “SuperLite1500 series UNO“, and “Langrisser V: The End of Legend“.
Below are some of the roles Fukuyama is best known for. Note that he has more than 100 roles in his repertoire when it comes to characters voiced in games thus, this digest doesn’t mention all.
Kyle Dunamis in Tales of Destiny 2 (2002)
In 2002 would arrive one of the very first major leading roles in games for Jun Fukuyama.
He was chosen to voice Kyle Dunamis in the popular and now long-running “Tales of” games franchise.
Kyle is a laidback and optimistic individual that aims at being a hero like his parents. Passionate and eager to impress, Kyle a character that fans quickly took a liking to.
His first appearance was in “Tales of Destiny 2” – in which he was the protagonist – but fans can also find the character in other iterations of the franchise such as “Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3” (2005), “Tales of The World Radiant Mythology 2” (2009), “Tales of VS.” (2009) and “Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3” (2011).
Keiichi Shimizu in Kiniro no Corda franchise (2003 – 2019)
Perhaps one of the most popular and beloved roles in Fukuyama’s repertoire is Keiichi Shimizu, the soft-spoken genius cellist in the otome game franchise Kiniro no Corda.
The character first made his appearance in “Kiniro no Corda” (2003) and on 5 other occasions “Kiniro no Corda 2” (2007), “Kiniro no Corda 2 Encore” (2007), “Kiniro no Corda 2f” (2009), “Kiniro no Corda 2f Encore” (2009) and “Kiniro no Corda 2 ff” (2017).
Shimizu is a “my pace” kind of character, often found sleepy, and he speaks in an extremely polite and soft way.
This is the longest-running role in games that Fukuyama has within his repertoire.
Kyoya Kisaragi in Kiniro no Corda franchise (2010 – 2019) / Ginga Ichinose (2021 -)
Fukuyama ended up being a beloved voice actor in the Kiniro no Corda franchise and in 2010, he was chosen to voice 2 other characters in the franchise.
He voices Kyoya Kisaragi, a passionate violinist with a rebel twist that doesn’t want to be in the shadow of his older brother.
This role was a polar opposite of Shimizu (that Fukuyama voiced in the “original” Kiniro no Corda games), something that showed yet again how versatile is Fukuyama’s voice, emotional range, and skillset.
In 2021, Fukuyama would return to voice yet another character in the Kiniro no Corda franchise, this time around in “Kiniro no Corda Starlight Orchestra“.
This time around he voices Ginga Ichinose, a talented conductor aiming to create the best orchestra in the world.
Libertà in La storia della Arcana Famiglia- (2011 – 2015)
In 2011, Fukuyama was back as part of the main cast of an otome game. He voiced the energetic and slightly childish Libertà in the mafia/romance game “La storia della Arcana Famiglia“.
The game ended up being extremely popular even being greenlit for an anime adaptation and having 4 additional games (fandiscs released in 2012).
Protagonist in Persona 5
Easily the most popular game character that Jun Fukuyama has voiced is the Protagonist (it is purposely unnamed) in the worldwide hit game, Persona 5.
Calm and collected, with a bit of a cool edge to himself, the Protagonist is the stylish leader of the Phantom Thieves.
As far as protagonists go in the Persona franchise, this protagonist was the one that impressed the most and due to how engaging the game was – with its gameplay being praised worldwide -, it is the character that fans quickly recognize as synonymous with the Persona games.
Other games he’s voiced characters include (list not exhaustive):
- FAVORITE DEAR (1999)
- BLACK/MATRIX+ (2000)
- Memories Off 2nd (2001)
- Gakuen Heaven BOY’S LOVE SCRAMBLE! (2002)
- Tales of Destiny 2 (2002)
- Granado Espada (2004)
- Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (2005)
- BLEACH (2005 – 2015)
- Cluster Edge (2006)
- Heart no Kuni no Alice: Wonderful Wonder World (2007)
- Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (2007)
- DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY (2008)
- Linebarrels of Iron (2009)
- Starry☆Sky 〜in Summer〜 (2009)
- Lucian Bee’s RESURRECTION SUPERNOVA (2009)
- Sengoku Basara 3 (2010)
- Lucian Bee’s JUSTICE YELLOW (2010)
- Inazuma Eleven GO (2011 – 2013)
- Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (2012)
- Meiji Tokyo Renka (2013)
- Gakuen K -Wonderful School Days- (2014)
- Nanatsu no Taizai Shinjitsu no Enzai (2015)
- Osomatsu-san series (2016 – 2019)
- World Trigger Smash Borders (2017)
- Fate/Grand Order (2018)
- Op8♪ (2019)
- Code: D-blood (2020)
- ARGONAVIS from BanG Dream! AAside (2021)
Acting
Aside from his work as a voice actor, Jun Fukuyama has a couple of acting credits in live-action series and TV dramas.
In 2009, the talented seiyuu had a guest role as himself (alongside fellow seiyuu and DABA member Satoshi Hino) in the live-action adaptation of the romantic comedy, “My Girlfriend’s a Geek“.
From 2014 up until 2016 (3 editions), Jun Fukuyama participated in AD-LIVE, the popular yearly stand-up/unscripted theater show created in 2008 by Kenichi Suzumura.
For all 3 participations, Fukuyama showcased impressive comedic timing, adapted extremely well to the unpredictability of the lines taken from the bag at random moments, and improvised along the way, giving life to unique characters in hilarious settings.
In 2018, Fukuyama was cast in the live-action series and movie “My Brother’s Friend“.
Fukuyama plays the role of Hinosuke Tachibana, “Happy Dogs” café shop manager.
The character is a specialist in giving love advice. This is an original role created specifically for the live-action adaptation.
Fukuyama surprised everyone in 2018 by featuring on Mitsubishi Motors’ air-conditioner commercial.
The commercial also featured the rising star seiyuu Yuma Uchida and had a comedic, short drama-like twist to it.
In 2021, Fukuyama had a guest role as an announcer in 科捜研の女 -劇場版- (Kasouken no Onna theatrical version), a movie in the universe of the long-running mystery TV series Kasouken.
Narration / Dubbing
When it comes to narration, Fukuyama is pretty active, having lent his talents to several TV and radio commercials as well as done voice over for TV shows of all styles.
From idol to morning shows, documentaries, and games commercials, Fukuyama has done a little bit of everything since 2013 (when he kicked off work in narration), counting with more than 40 credits in this field.
As far as dubbing goes, he’s often dubbed movies featuring Lucas Grabeel (Highschool Musical 1 – 3, Alice Upside Down, and College Road Trip).
You can also find Fukuyama’s dubbing in movies/series such as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Game of Thrones, The Fate of the Furious, The Karate Kid, Toy Story 3, The Flash, ARROW, Super Girl, GRIMM and more.
Drama CDs
Most of Fukuyama’s work in drama CDs is closely connected to tie-ups with games – anime, action, and others – or anime series.
Some of the drama CDs he was cast include:
- 07-Ghost
- Kiniro no Corda
- Fruits Basket (with the cast from the original anime series)
- Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden
- LOVELESS
- Heart no Kuni no Alice
- Issho ni Gohan
- Ixion Saga DT
- K (K Project)
- Honeymoon vol.3
- La storia della Arcana Famiglia
- Persona 5: The Night Breakers
- Shiki
- Shirokuma Café
- xxxHolic
- Vampire Knight
- Vie Durant 3
- CHiRAL CAFE e Yokouso
- SAMURAI DEEPER KYO
between many more.
When it comes to Bl CDs, Fukuyama used to be extremely active, having more than 30 credits to his name in this field, including roles in CDs such as LOVE SEEKER, SUPER LOVERS, Hybrid Child, FLESH&BLOOD, and more.
Music
When it comes to his career in the music industry, Fukuyama actually had 2 solo debuts, a minor in 2009 and a major in 2017.
As far as work in 2D music projects goes, Fukuyama is not often cast in those and when he happens to be cast, he’s not with a singing role within those projects.
As such, aside from his solo career, Fukuyama is actually a seiyuu that is not that known among fans of 2D music, still, he’s got credits in a couple of interesting projects.
In terms of singing technique, Fukuyama has grown a lot since he first started to work as a solo artist. He’s a tenor with a really wide high range however when he first started singing, he lacked control and consistency.
With time, he honed his skills, added more control, and started to sound a bit more natural.
His singing tone is an acquired taste – as is his music (EDM pop mostly) – but you can’t deny he’s gone a long way towards presenting a polished, exciting, and quality self as a singer to impress his fans.
Let’s first talk about his solo career.
Solo career
Fukuyama made his minor solo debut in 2009 under FlyingDog with the music + reading drama CD “Ramanteki Sekai 31” (2009).
He would end up releasing 3 music + reading drama CDs after that one – Ai o Utau! (2011) and Love Letters 3: Matsuri no Kuni de (2013) – before putting his solo career to a halt.
It wasn’t until 2017 – 4 years later – that Fukuyama would announce his major solo debut under PONY CANYON.
The solo debut coincided with Fukuyama’s 20th anniversary as a voice actor.
Upon changing music labels, Fukuyama released his debut single “KEEP GOING ON” in 2017. As a solo artist, Fukuyama embraced a danceable sound, with EDM playing a big role in shaping his sound.
A couple of months later, Fukuyama released his first full-length album “OWL“.
The album will also contain a mix of music with narration (featuring Takahiro Sakurai).
Fellow seiyuu Showtaro Morikubo wrote the lyrics to “TORPEDO” and Fukuyama‘s previous single “KEEP GOING ON!” made the cut and is featured on this album.
A year later, Fukuyama held his first live show “Hitori no Bocchi Show“.
Still in 2018, Fukuyama released his 2nd single “TIGHTROPE“.
The sound was more intense than ever, with Fukuyama bringing in ELEMENTS GARDEN’s Yusuke Takeda for the composition of the title track.
Fukuyama also wrote lyrics for the title track.
In 2019, Fukuyama released his 3rd single “dis-communicate“.
The title track was featured as the opening theme for the fantasy/supernatural anime Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin, marking the very first time Fukuyama performed a song for an anime series.
A year later, his 2nd full-length album “P.o.P -PERS of Persons-” was released.
For this album, Fukuyama went to Taiwan to record the music video and shoot all the photos used for promotional purposes (and even the 1st artist book released in 2020).
Fukuyama co-wrote lyrics for 5 songs in this album and featured his 1st ever collaboration with the popular rapper KEN THE 390.
To successfully wrap up this series of CD releases, Fukuyama held his 2nd live show “Jun Fukuyama Hitori no BOCCHI SHOW 2020“.
Fukuyama would return with new music in 2021. He released his 4th single “DIES IN NO TIME” and it was met with a lot of excitement by his fans.
The title track was featured as the opening theme for the anime series “Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu“ in which Fukuyama voices the main character.
This single also marked the first time Fukuyama wrote lyrics to all songs within an album. A Halloween-themed music video for “DIES IN NO TIME” was released.
Full Throttle4 (2018 -)
Although Full Throttle4 was announced as part of the HoneyWorks universe in 2018, Fukuyama was only officially cast for his role as MEGU in 2020.
Full Throttle4 consists of Soma Saito (as YUI), Yuma Uchida (as RIO), Tetsuya Kakihara (as MEGU), and Toshiki Masuda (as DAI). Jun Fukuyama voices the group’s manager and DJ, IV.
The group is described as a high school dance and vocal unit. So far, the song GOOD BYE was released (featuring Soma Saito and Yuma Uchida on vocals).
Fantôme Iris (2019 -)
Fantôme Iris consists of Arthur Lounsbery (on vocals), Wada Masaya, Jun Fukuyama, Tsubasa Yonaga, and Taiyo Ayukawa.
Fukuyama only participates in the drama parts as part of the band.
Photobooks
In 2020, Jun Fukuyama released his first photobook “Jun Fukuyama 1st photo book JUN” in collaboration with Junon.
Books
In 2020, Fukuyama released his first artist book Fukuyama Jun Artist Book “Tenbo-roku”.
The artist book includes an interview, special corners on Fukuyama’s recommended books and music, a new photoshoot (photos taken in Taiwan), unreleased cuts from his photoshoot in Taiwan for P.o.P -PERS of Persons-, between many corners tailored for his fans.
In 2021, Jun Fukuyama released his 1st essay book “Fukuyama Jun Professional Talk”.
This book stems from Jun Fukuyama’s serialization corner for the seiyuu magazine Seiyuu MEN.
Fukuyama sat with people involved in making works using “words”.
There are dialogues with language professionals who are active in various fields such as Yoshiyuki Tomino, Yuki Iwai, and Hisanori Yoshida, as well as a special interview with Fukuyama.
Variety
In whichever variety show Jun Fukuyama guests or hosts, you may be well ready for him to impress you either with his wits or physical abilities.
He’s got a friendly demeanor at all times, making everyone around feel welcomed – something you can tell whenever rookie or lesser-known seiyuu are in the same variety shows as himself -, and he makes sure everyone participates without pushing others to do so.
In physical variety shows, Fukuyama shows how much he loves to exercise and how active he is, often impressing fellow seiyuu. When it comes to games/variety shows that require thinking and logical skills, he also shows how smart and quick-witted he is.
Fukuyama is, easily, a seiyuu you’d want to invite to whichever variety show because he’d easily turn into its ace. Also expect a lot of goofiness, especially if he is around close friends in the voice acting industry.
Below are some of the variety shows – list not exhaustive – that Fukuyama has guested in or hosted in the last couple of years.
Seiyuu Kai Suzume-o kettei-sen! J-1 Grand Prix vol.2 (2009)
In 2009, Fukuyama joined Shinji Kawada, Hiroaki Miura, Hideo Ishikawa, Daisuke Namikawa, Tsuyoshi Koyama and more in the mahjong variety show 声優界雀王決定戦！ J-1グランプリ vol.2 (Seiyuu Kai Suzume-o kettei-sen! J-1 Grand Prix vol.2).
Fukuyama loves to play mahjong and for this variety show, he put his skills to the test, impressing everyone with rounds after rounds of victories.
DABA (2009 – 2020)
Fukuyama was a member of Shinnosuke Tachibana‘s 1978 born seiyuu group, DABA alongside fellow seiyuu Satoshi Hino, Daisuke Ono, Shinnosuke Tachibana, Hisayoshi Suganuma, Takayuki Kondo, and Junji Majima.
Jun Fukuyama is one of the most analytical members and definitely the strongest in the team, proving to be perfect for any kind of challenge that was thrown at him.
A lot of branch projects stemmed from this variety group. There were plenty of good ones however, the most entertaining were Cops and Robbers, Realistic Escape, and Horse Life Game.
The SABA unit, which mainly focuses on Tachibana, Satoshi, and main guest Fukuyama (plus other guests) playing survival games (i.e. paintball), and also the ROBA (Tachibana & Fukuyama) unit that will be in charge of a cooking show, were some of the side projects within the DABA unit.
Banpresto (2014)
In 2014, Jun Fukuyama was a guest on Banpresto, popular variety show hosted by Kenichi Suzumura and Ryota Osaka.
He brought his wits and comedic timing for this episode, quickly making the hosts cry with laughter with his stories.
At the same time, Fukuyama showcased his drawing “skills” as well as his acting skills for a couple of rounds of charades.
Fukuyamuscle! (2015)
In 2015, Jun Fukuyama kicked off his own sports variety show “Fuyamuscle!“. Known as an athletic seiyuu, this was a really natural show for him to head.
In this variety show, Fukuyama invited a couple of close friends in the seiyuu industry to try a wide variety of sports and exercise a bit to break their daily routine.
The cast included Kenji Nojima, Hirofumi Nojima, Yuuki Ono, and Jun Fukuyama, just to name a few, Eguchi did several sports, and in several cases proved that he has some talent.
He played several sports, from basketball 3×3, bouldering, keirin, yoga, kabaddi, dodgeball, and futsal.
Some of them revealed to be more of a struggle for him than others, however, in all, Fukuyama showed that he quickly learned the rules and easily turned into the ace whenever there were team sports involved.
Jun Fukuyama ・ Kaito Ishikawa GAMING! (2018 -)
Fukuyama not only is passionate about acting but he’s also about gaming.
In 2018, and alongside fellow seiyuu Kaito Ishikawa, Ishikawa started co-hosting the gaming-centric TV show, 福山潤・石川界人 GAMING! (Jun Fukuyama ・ Kaito Ishikawa GAMING!) on Nittele PLus.
Still in the same year, Fukuyama was a guest on “Seiyuu Camera Tour” (声優カメラ旅), a variety show produced by dTV channel.
According to dTV channel, “Seiyuu Camera Tour” is a travel program in which popular voice actors walk through their chosen cities, documenting the cities’ charms through their own cameras and with their own sensitivity.
This is a healing show in which viewers will get to know the charms of those cities, get to know the memories some locations hold for those seiyuu, and, at the same time, will have seiyuu talking about how they deal with their work life.
Jun Fukuyama was the third guest for this show. He visited Kagurazaka, Tokyo neighborhood known for having been located at the outer edge of Edo Castle.
This is one of the most traditional neighborhoods in the middle of modern Shibuya, close to Waseda University and Tokyo University of Science. Bookstores, traditional restaurants, and stores make this location one of the most popular in Tokyo.
According to Fukuyama, this is a location that brings him memories of his time living in Osaka.
Facts
Would love to live a life without meaningless possessions
On a radio show, Fukuyama mentioned that he’d love to live his life without meaningless possessions. He explored the topic adding that he doesn’t have a refrigerator at home because he feels like that will make him not leave home and walk, get to know new places, and basically live an active lifestyle.
This is something that shocked the staff on the radio show because not having a refrigerator would mean he’d always be outside of home.
Practical as he is, Fukuyama added that he’d decide on the spot where and what to eat, purchases only the basic things he needs for the day after and, in that way, he avoids cluttering his home with what he deems meaningless possessions.
Incredibly smart and quick witted
Fukuyama has shown more than once his smarts, however, it was with DABA that he got to shine.
Whenever there were word associations and complex math exercises that required a lot of logic, the team could always count on Jun Fukuyama as well as Shinnousuke Tachibana.
As soon as Fukuyama went quiet observing the clues he’d gotten, you knew that he’d easily come up with a solution
In other DABA variety games, Fukuyama got away from issues with a mix of luck, quick wit, and a lot of strength (required for Cops and Robbers, for example).
Loves taking care of his body
Fukuyama has shown plenty of times how much care he puts on his body.
He’s really active, enjoys playing a wide variety of sports – as shown on Fukuyamuscle! -, and goes frequently to the gym for body conditioning.
For years, prior to becoming a voice actor, he practiced judo.
Favorite choice for CLAMP’s original works
Over the years, Fukuyama’s hard work has stood out for those in the animation industry.
CLAMP, popular mangaka group known for creating Code Geass, xxxHOLiC, Blood-C, between many other manga/anime series loves his work and often invites him to join the cast of their works which would therefore bypass an audition for Fukuyama.
However, in 2011, in an interview for Mynavi News (article has been long taken down from their website), Fukuyama said that he still wanted to audition for those roles to confirm if he really was the right voice actor. The last thing he wanted was for those roles, that were being handed to him, to be miscast.
With this, THTFHQ wraps up another Seiyuu Digest. In the meantime, don’t forget to check past Seiyuu Digests (some of those recently updated) – HERE.
