My Take
I genuinely don't think the word "voice actor" is big enough for this guy. Kōichi Yamadera is the human Swiss Army knife of Japanese dubbing — he's the Japanese Donald Duck, the Genie in Aladdin, Stitch, Jim Carrey's go-to dub voice, and somehow none of those sound remotely like each other. They call him the "seven-colored voice," but honestly that undersells it; I've heard him flip from a cackling cartoon duck to a tender dramatic lead in the span of one scene. What gets me is the warmth underneath all that range. Pop on a morning kids' show and there he is, grinning like everyone's favorite big brother, that easygoing Shiogama-in-Miyagi friendliness just radiating off him. Making people laugh and cry with nothing but your voice? Almost nobody pulls that off. He's a national treasure and I'm only half joking.
Overview
Kōichi Yamadera is a Japanese voice actor, actor, singer, and radio personality born on June 17, 1961, in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University and has built a prolific career spanning acting, narration, and entertainment. He is widely recognized for his exceptional vocal range, earning him the nickname "Seven-Colored Voice." In 2009 he received the Tomiyama Kei Award, and in 2020 he won the Voice Actor Award for Best Foreign Film and Drama Performance.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kōichi Yamadera
- Name (Japanese)
- 山寺宏一
- Reading
- やまでら こういち
- Born
- June 17, 1961 (age 64)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Ox (丑)
- Origin
- Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 176 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Active years
- Unknown
- Occupation
- Actor / Singer / Talent / Narrator / Radio Personality
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Tohoku Gakuin University
- Debut
- Unknown
Awards & achievements
- 2020 — Voice Actor Award, Best Foreign Film and Drama
- 2009 — Tomiyama Kei Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.