Chafurin

Chafurin (茶風林, born December 4, 1961 in Saitama) is a Japanese voice actor and narrator affiliated with Office Osawa. An alumnus of Toyo University with a degree in economics, he has been active in the dubbing industry since 1985.

Before taking on his Charlie Chaplin-inspired stage name, Hirotaka Shimasawa (島沢 弘隆, Shimasawa Hirotaka) had a rough childhood due to tongue cancer making him the object of ridicule in junior high. However, things turned around for him when he found his true calling in acting after reciting lines from ''Tsuraize! Boku-chan'' for the drama club.

After graduating from university, he attended a voice acting school sponsored by NHK and studied under the late sound director Masanobu Kasuga. He later developed an interest in stage acting which allowed him to indulge in his hobby of tap dancing from time to time. In August 8, 2016, the city of Matsue appointed him as their tourism ambassador.

Chafurin is often assigned roles comprised of large and middle-aged characters, some of whom are portrayed as villainous or eccentric. He has lent his voice to Takechi Henpeita in Gintama, Legato in Eternal Sonata, and Greedy Smurf in The Smurfs movie.

Works

 * Daisuke - Super Swing Golf: Season 2
 * Ubik - BERSERK and the Band of the Hawk
 * Dōsan Saitō - Butai Nobunyaga no Yabou
 * Torneco - Dragon Quest Heroes II