"I Don't Have a Great Voice," But What is Kappei Yamaguchi's Strength as the Voice of Ranma and Shinichi Kudo?

Translated by: Harley Acres

Junya Yoshida
September 26, 2025 12:15

Relay Opinions "To Be Continued"

Voice actor Kappei Yamaguchi-san is once again playing the lead role in the anime Ranma 1/2, which has been remade for the first time in over 30 years. Yamaguchi-san has been playing Shinichi Kudo from Detective Conan for over 20 years, as well as Usopp from One Piece, and he says, "My tone and acting have changed as I've gotten older." How does he perform in an anime where time flows more slowly than in reality?

He has played Ranma, Shinichi Kudo, and Usopp for over 20 years.

He played the main character, Ranma Saotome, in the anime Ranma 1/2, which began airing in 1989. "Last year, Ranma was remade for the first time in over 30 years, and I received an offer to play the role again, following on from the previous work. There's a generational change in voice actors, but I've worked hard to continue working as a voice actor up until now, so I felt like I'd received a reward in life.

Actually, I took a voice test. At the time, I was enthusiastic, thinking 'No one else can play Ranma but me,' but when it was actually decided that I was going to play the role, I was overcome with anxiety and wondered 'Can I really do it?' (laughs). ^[1]

I moved to Tokyo from Fukuoka at the age of 19 with the goal of becoming an actor, and after performing on stage as a member of a theater company for about five years, I was given the opportunity to be a voice actor. ^[2] When creating a character, I proceed by carving out what's inside me. That's why, regardless of the importance of the role or how many lines they have, every character is important to me. But Ranma was the first character with a name I ever played. He's a special character to me because he's also my roots. It's because of my encounter with Ranma that I'm still able to continue doing this job.

"The person who is experiencing a decline in their voice is the one who knows it best."

At first, I didn't think I could make voice acting my main job. The year after Ranma, I was given the lead role in another work, and I decided to make a living as a voice actor. It was hard to make ends meet, but I quit my part-time job straight away. ^[3] I was also married, so I felt like I would end up in limbo if I didn't make a decision.

In the previous adaptation [of Ranma 1/2], I was in my 20s. Because I was immature and childish, I was able to express the purity of Ranma, a high school student. In this incarnation, it was difficult to portray this purity. Thinking about my age makes me feel confused, so I tried not to think about it as much as possible. But I also rediscovered that there is still a part of me that can get excited about the romantic comedy aspects of Ranma.

I've been playing Shinichi Kudo in Detective Conan and Usopp in One Piece for over 20 years. I think my voice tone and acting have changed. I think that's a sign of my own growth, so I think this is okay.

Time in a story flows more slowly than in reality, so I used to feel pressured to maintain the same tone of voice throughout. But now I try to respond honestly to the other actors. I think I've become able to create characters in a natural way, rather than forcing myself to look cool.

In every movie version of Detective Conan, the line "I'm high school detective, Shinichi Kudo" appears. Looking back at the previous works, I think the change is clearly evident. One factor is his age, namely his young voice, but the main factor is that the character has shifted from being "a high school student who loves mystery" to being "a high school detective." I'm also reconstructing my role to fit the image that the public has of him.

When I was offered the role of Usopp, I had no idea what he was like. So I just tried everything I could think of. This may be the most free-spirited performance I've ever had. Worrying about creating a character is hard, but it's also the most fun part.

I'm not the type who's very skillful, and I don't have a wide variety of voices to use. I've never thought I had a good voice. But if you ask me whether I'm yin or yang, I'd say I'm yang. I guess my bright voice is my weapon.

I turned 60 in May. I'm the one who can best sense the decline of my voice. I'm trying to make up for it by developing techniques. I've had a lot of different experiences in life, and my way of thinking and approaching things has changed. And with that, the way I put together my lines has changed too.

There's no retirement age for actors, and no satisfying goal. I want to keep going as a voice actor for as long as I can. As I get older, I'm getting to play more roles that I couldn't when I was younger, so it's really fun.

I'd like to play the character I am currently working on until the final episode. I may be getting physically weaker, but I want to keep my sensitivity strong by keeping my antenna up and absorbing all kinds of things."

Kappei Yamaguchi
Born in 1965. His first audition as a voice actor was for the role of Tombo in the animated film Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). His books include Kappei Encyclopedia.

Junya Yoshida
Opinion Editorial Department

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Footnotes

• [1] Kappei Yamaguchi speaks in his interviews about the voice test, but in only one other interview did he share that after passing the voice test did he then feel nervous about his ability to play Ranma.
• [2] The 1989 adaptation of Ranma 1/2 was indeed Kappei Yamaguchi's debut role. You can read an early interview with him from the beginning of his career.
• [3] He is likely referring to the role of Arslan in The Heroic Legend of Arslan (アルスラーン戦記/Arusuraan Senki). Regarding his part-time job, he worked part-time at a supermarket for a year after the beginning of Ranma 1/2 according to page 14 of his book Kappei Encyclopedia.

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