Photo: テリー土屋のくるまの話【公式】 / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
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.
Story
The Man of Seven Voices: How Kōichi Yamadera Carries So Many Lives at Once
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 65)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Ox (丑)
- Origin
- Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
- Height
- 176 cm
- Occupation
- Actor / Singer / Talent / Narrator / Radio Personality
2. Background
- University
- Tohoku Gakuin University
Awards & achievements
- 2020 — Voice Actor Award, Best Foreign Film and Drama
- 2009 — Tomiyama Kei Award
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Kōichi Yamadera born?
Born June 17, 1961 (age 65).
Where is Kōichi Yamadera from?
Kōichi Yamadera is from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
What does Kōichi Yamadera do?
Kōichi Yamadera works as Actor, Singer, Talent, Narrator, Radio Personality.
How tall is Kōichi Yamadera?
Kōichi Yamadera is 176 cm.
Actor — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.