Koichi Yamadera

Koichi Yamadera
山寺 宏一
Born (1961-06-17) June 17, 1961 (age 63)
Other namesYama (やまちゃん, Yama-chan)[1]
Bazooka Yamadera (バズーカ山寺)[1]
Occupations
Years active1985–present
AgentAcross Entertainment
Height176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Spouses
  • (m. 1993; div. 2006)
  • (m. 2012; div. 2018)
  • Robin Shoko Okada
    (m. 2021)

Koichi Yamadera (山寺 宏一, Yamadera Kōichi, born June 17, 1961) is a Japanese actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture.[1][2] He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society.[1]

He is known for his roles in Cowboy Bebop (as Spike Spiegel), the Yakuza videogame series (as Shun Akiyama), Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū (as Sukeroku), Ghost in the Shell (as Togusa), Neon Genesis Evangelion (as Ryoji Kaji), Gintama (as Shoyo Yoshida / Utsuro), Ninja Scroll (as Jūbei Kibagami), Dragon Ball Super (as Beerus), Anpanman (as Cheese), Ranma ½ (as Ryōga Hibiki/P-chan and the Jusenkyō Guide), Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (as Aberdt Desler), Pretty Cure All Stars DX 3 (as Black Hole) and Lupin III (as the official voice of Koichi Zenigata since 2011).[3] He's been in every Pokémon film to date, though always in different roles, the exception being movie 22, in which he reprised his role as Mew from the first movie, of which movie 22 is a remake. He also voiced Mew in some collateral projects. For Disney, he is the official dubbed voice of Donald Duck, Genie and Stitch (among others) in Japanese.

In the live action field, he is the official dub-over artist of Will Smith (Yamadera met Smith several times[4][5][6]), Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey.[7][8] He is also known for voicing Chris Tucker, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Robin Williams, Mike Myers, Stephen Chow, Brad Pitt, Charlie Sheen, Michael Keaton, Michael J. Fox, Will Ferrell, Chris Pratt and Jon Hamm in the Japanese language releases of their respective films.[9]

  1. ^ a b c d "山寺 宏一". Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  2. ^ "山寺宏一 PROFILE". Oricon. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
  3. ^ Alicia Keys Plays Free Show in Tokyo, Japan Entertainment News – November 30, 2007
  4. ^ "ウィル・スミスの吹き替え声優・山寺宏一 感激とホロ苦の初対面". 東スポWeb. May 16, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  5. ^ "ウィル・スミス、江原正士&山寺宏一のWウィル吹替に感服". シネマトゥデイ. October 17, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference yamaderaandsmith was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "山寺宏一の忘れられない現場、オーディションでようやく勝ち取った役とは?". radiko news. June 24, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference yahoomovies was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "実写映画『アラジン』キャスト、吹替声優まとめ ─ アラジン、ジャスミン、ジーニーやジャファーを演じたのは". THE RIVER編集部. May 21, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2022.