Nakahara Mai’s TV Drama Awesomeness
Nakahara Mai makes an appearance on TV Tokyo’s new TV drama 女子アナ一直線 ！ (Joshiana icchokusen!) and wins new respect and awe.
Appearing as herself, Mai makes a cameo as the voice coach for the female announcers in training. Although her appearance is short, she gives a stunning (and hilarious) demonstration of just what she can do and gives rise to the notion that seiyuu can do as well in TV drama as anything else.
Not to be missed!
August 21st, 2007 at 11:26
I always forget how talented Nakahara Mai is and how varied her voice can be. Probably because most of the stuff I’ve been watching with her in it, she’s using her her more normal voice (Idolmaster, StrikerS).
August 21st, 2007 at 12:15
Wow. Great stuff. Cuts quite a figure, doesn’t she? Good to see others impressing the world with that ability to jump into another voice. I guess this was casting for a role she’d know, but there are several seiyuus I’d love to see given a chance to appear in dorama (and make some real money?)
August 21st, 2007 at 12:17
This was of AWESOMENESS and WIN! Definitely got a few laughs out of the small clip.
August 21st, 2007 at 14:36
@deftoned: Higurashi is an excellent showcase for profound voice change. All of the main characters have dual/bipolar personalities which calls for some excellent displays of range from nearly all of the seiyuu. Definitely worth checking out.
@hashihime: Incidentally Yamadera Koichi has successfully made the jump to TV and has been a few dramas to date. I’m really not sure the drama business is all that much better. The competition is greater and after all, seiyuus can do really well for themselves if they are popular.
@moyism: That clip is a favourite around here. Could not stop laughing at how awesome it is XD
August 22nd, 2007 at 17:04
I found myself literally laughing till tears came out of my eyes. XD
Hooray for Mai Nakahara!
That TV Tokyo is doing this may signal a change of mindset in the Japanese entertainment industry. Previously, seiyuus were largely confined to voice acting, but this may no longer be the case, if Aya Hirano’s photobook and Mai Nakahara’s cameo appearance in this drama are anything to go by.
August 22nd, 2007 at 17:43
That was cool, maybe she should have gone yandere like sent said. her voice acting is really top notch
August 22nd, 2007 at 18:10
@Julius:
I think it’s been trending towards more general acceptance for sometime but it’s a long, slow process. It’s probably an effect of older generation otaku growing up and remaining largely otaku and somehow raising the level of general just because there are more of them in society now. It also doesn’t hurt when a rash of female celebrities “come out” and declare they’re otaku. Maybe it’s part of the whole “Densha Otoko” craze.
As for seiyuu doing photo books, it’s been done before. The only difference with Aya (in anything that she does) is that they’re pushing down the idol road because she used to be one. It’s a strategy to widen their audience demographic . Whether it’ll pay off only time will tell.
August 25th, 2007 at 15:59
Well that was nothing short of amazing. Perhaps she pulled a bit from her Lovedol experience.
deftoned: For more Mai awesomeness, see the Mahoraba drama CD from a while back where she switched flawlessly back and forth between several roles for the same character. Due to the format, she couldn’t show off nearly as much as Satomi Arai did in the anime, but when Kojima Akira first heard Mai’s version, he claimed the performance was so perfect for his character that he was nearly moved to tears.
August 28th, 2007 at 18:36
Well, it probably helps that Nakahara Mai has more than decent looks. Do recall that it’s only been recently that they’ve been hiring Seiyuu with good looks as well as voice talent.
October 3rd, 2007 at 05:25
Oh heck. That was friggin’ awesome. Respect points +50.
Man, I can’t believe I missed this.
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