Voice actor Sakurai Takahiro will be making his Japanese drama ‘debut’ following the recent announcement that he has been cast to voice Matsubara, the male protagonist in the live-action TV series adaptation of the romance manga, Koe Koi. A veteran in the seiyuu (voice-acting) industry, Sakurai has brought many popular characters to life, with roles like Suzaku of Code Geass, Cloud of the famed Final Fantasy VII series, Shibuya of Kyou Kara Maou, Miyuki of Ace of Diamond, Makishima of Psycho-Pass, Kurosawa of Suki tte Ii na yo, etc. (it is a truly extensive and impressive list…).
Koe Koi tells the tale of two high school students – Matsubara, a “kind boy with a wonderful voice”, and Yuiko. Their quirky relationship begins after Yuiko, who first hears Matsubara over the telephone (whose voice set her heart aflutter), meets him at school only to discover that he wears a paper bag over his head. Odd? Very. However, it was, in essence, love at first listen for Yuiko, which is no wonder at all considering that the title of the manga, Koe Koi, literally translates to ‘voice love’ (i.e. a love that starts with a voice).
On being casted as Matsubara, Sakurai has joked about this being his live-action debut, and mentioned that while this is all very new to him, he is very much looking forward to such an opportunity.
News of Sakurai’s casting has sparked a frenzy amongst fans, with many agreeing that he was the perfect choice to be cast as the character with “a wonderful voice”. Even Koe Koi author Doruru expressed much surprise and eagerness upon having found out about Sakurai being chosen as the voice of Matsubara, and further commented that Sakurai would be able to charm not only Yuiko but also the audience/listeners with his voice.
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Being rather familiar with Sakurai’s works (come on, he is practically in every other series out there), this fangirl begrudgingly admits that the producers have made the most ideal choice in casting Sakurai as the voice of Matsubara, because his voice is pretty much the definition of lovely. Me thinks he will be using his Kurosawa (of Suki tte Ii na yo) register. But don’t just take my word for it of course; tune in to find out! The live-action TV series adaptation of Koe Koi is scheduled to air Fridays, from 8 July 2016.
Source: animatetimes
