j1m0ne’s blog

Bizarrely, this post began life as a profile on Matsuki Miyu but I lost the plot halfway through ^^; I wasn’t gonna label this a profile cos to be honest; it’s mostly made up of random videos and mostly useless stuff but what the hell. I’m still stuck on two I’ve been working on for the last month so I’ll just get this one up to hold the fort.

Let’s just say off the bat, that I find Kaneda Tomoko’s voice about as appealing as eating a piece of gorgonzola that’s been lying at the back of the fridge for 5 years. I think she’s really a 10-year old kid trapped in a 34-year old’s body - though you probably couldn’t tell Kaneda was that old, she’s just 146cm…. which is probably the height I was when I was 10-years old >_>

The problem with her voice? I’m sure most people would’ve watched her role as the loveable Chiyo-chan in Azumanga Daioh and thought Oh she sounds cute! It’s one thing to hear that voice coming from a 10-year old kid genius but to hear it coming from a person who’s old enough to be Chiyo’s mother is another thing. I find it pretty disconcerting that she always sounds like that be it when voice acting or talking normally - but as Kaneda herself says ‘The seiyuu world would be a poorer place without somebody like me‘ ^^;;;

Vital Stats
Name: 金田朋子 (Kaneda Tomoko)
Date of Birth: 29th May 197?
Hometown: Kanagawa, Japan
Agency: Aoni Production
Height: 146cm/4′7”
Weight: unknown
Blood Type: B
Key Roles: Mihama Chiyo in Azumanga Daioh, Marie in Onegai Teacher/Twins, Yamada Asu in Binbou Shimai Monogatari

Random Facts
1*Kaneda actually graduated from Kanto Gakuin University (the same uni as the members of Asian Kung-Fu Generation) with a degree in Architecture, Engineering Department.
2*Kaneda only became a seiyuu on her sister’s suggestion; she used to work in a bank (cos she loves money lol) and took night classes at Aoni Production’s school. She actually only debuted in her late 20s, which is pretty much a dinosaur these days. Her age has never been officially confirmed, estimates range from 32 to 34.
3*Released a single with Matsuki Miyu under the name SD★Children which was used as the Ryusei Sentai Musumet ending theme. And yes, SD stands for Super Deformed (or déformer in French as they call it). Unfortunately Kaneda appears to be a bit confused about the concept of SD and had to have an exasperated Matsuki explain it to her (see random links below, SD Children interview).

Even if I find Kaneda’s voice acting (mostly) incredibly irritating, there is no doubt she is one of the most entertaining individuals around. Kaneda’s what I’d call ‘mad as a box of frogs’ - I may not care much for her voice acting ability, but watching or listening to her is comedy gold. Just stick her in a room with a bottle of sake and off she’ll go. Like in the video below….
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VQfOpHEK1Y]
I think Kaneda has more or less developed a pretty ‘famous’ reputation in the seiyuu world, I’ve seen/heard her voice & mannerisms being mimicked countless times. I was rather amused watching a recent episode of ClubAT-X where Yanagino Reiko was interviewing the two main seiyuu in Sola, Noto Mamiko & Nakahara Mai. They were talking about how unique each of the characters in the show was, and Yanagino asked them ‘What do you mean by, or how do you define unique?‘ and the two of them looked at each other, then dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Nakahara then said ‘Maybe it’s the people who are doing the voices that are unique’ and Mamiko quickly agreed. Yanagino then read from her script - ‘Like Kaneda-san?’ which sent Mamiko into another giggling fit. And Nakahara replies ‘Yes, she’s extremely unique!’ to which Noto says ‘Tomo-chan Saiko desu! (Tomo-chan’s the best)’Work
Anime

My first taste of Kaneda was in Hanaukyo Maid Tai as the silent schizo Cynthia/Grace but I guess most would know her best for Chiyo-chan and Marie in the Onegai series. Or maybe Bonta-kun ^_^ She functions best when all she’s required to do is stand around and act cute, anything that requires more than 3 consecutive sentences is just annoying. Renge from Air Master in particular was VERY.ANNOYING. Though there are some of her roles lately that I’ve found pretty tolerable - Gretel in Black Lagoon, Asu in Binbou Shimai Monogatari & Mayuko in sola. But Kaneda’s voice is so distinct it’s incredibly easy to spot her no matter the size her role - she only had fleeting cameos in 12Kokki and AIR but she stood out like a sore thumb ^^;

Radio/TV

She appears to be a much sought after radio personality - probably due to her spontaneity and tendency . A lot of her shows descend into chaos, and there are rumours that various colleagues had to quit cos they couldn’t stand working with her ^^; She had a 1 1/2-year stint presenting AT-X’s Yappari Anime ga Suki! alongside Azumanga colleagues Asakawa Yuu & Matsuoka Yuki, and also did shows with the likes of Matsuki Miyu, Nakahara Mai and the rest of DROPS.

DROPS

She was part of the Aoni Production seiyuu group DROPS who were probably most famous for their cover of TOM★CAT’s Furare Kibun de Rock’n'Roll which was used as the Sensei no Ojikan ending theme. Amusingly, in DROPS (the other seiyuu involved are Kouda Marika, Shiraishi Ryoko, Nonaka Ai & Kanda Akemi) each member was assigned a ‘family role’ based on their personality & age. For example, Kouda was the ‘eldest daughter’, Kanda was the ‘okan’ (Kansaiben for mother), Shiraishi the ’second daughter’, Aipon the ‘youngest child’ and Tomo-chan was….’the pet’. Thankfully they didn’t let her sing too much, for the safety of the otaku populations’ eardrums.

After wading through tons of downright strange Kaneda-related media I’m think I’m actually starting to like her now. Oh dear. Goes to show how personality can make up for shortfalls in talent (and vice versa). So if you can’t sing/act etc. just act like a buffoon, it might win you a lot of fans. Just ask Sanjaya Malakar ^^;

Other random rubbish
http://blog.aniuta.jp/index.php?e=265 A video featuring bizarre impressions by Tomo-chan of random stars (including KimuTaku), alongside a bemused Kano Yui.
Kaneda Tomoko no Mini Mini Micro ni Ke ga Haeta - Website for radio/TV etc
Kaneda Tomoko no Mini Mini Denshi Youchien - Internet radio
Animate Interview with SD Children - Absolutely hilarious interview. Kaneda manages to piss Matsuki off by describing her role in Musumet (she plays an adult) as a ‘casting miss’.
Loads of Videos on NicoNico Douga - Requires registration - the best vid is http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm125936 where she does imitations of, amongst others, Hard Gay & a rather impressive ’sound that Mario (mustachioed fat plumber) makes when he’s jumping’
DROPS’ Furare Kibun de Rock’n'Roll PV
DROPS’ Furare Kibun de Rock’n'Roll live - Painful. Aipon, shut up!
Agency profile

Posted on June 18th, 2007 under profile, seiyuu • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback