Hōchū Ōtsuka

Hōchū Ōtsuka (大塚 芳忠, Ootsuka Houchuu, born May 19, 1954 in Tsuyama, Okayama) is a Japanese voice actor and narrator affiliated with Crazy Box. Active in the dubbing industry since 1976, he was married to fellow voice actor Kazuko Yanaga before her passing on November 1, 2014.

During his youth, Ōtsuka would often share his passion for manga by reading them aloud to other children in the neighborhood. After graduating from high school, he moved to Tokyo and worked in customer service. He later met a TV producer who invited him to audition for a role. This helped pave the way to his voice acting career as he joined several agencies like Arts Vision and Dojinsha Production.

Ōtsuka had also been mentored by the late Takeshi Aono who was his senior at the time. He took over some of Aono's roles after the latter's death in 2012. 5 years later, he won the award for best supporting actor at the 11th Seiyu Awards. Aside from manga and acting, Ōtsuka's other interests include cats, baseball, golfing, and biking.

Fans adore Ōtsuka for his distinct baritone voice which he has used for many memorable performances. These days, most of his roles comprise of older male figures with gruff traits. According to one interview, he personally prefers roles that require soft but deep vocal pitches. He has lent his voice to Christopher Columbus in Fate/Grand Order, Pipimi in Pop Team Epic, and Sakonji Urokodaki in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Works

 * Yoshimori Ise - Yoshitsune ~Ouka no Omoukage~ drama CD
 * Robert Lindow - Enigma
 * Yazan Gable - Dynasty Warriors: Gundam series; reprise of his original role in Zeta Gundam
 * G. Schmidt - The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie
 * Egg of the Perfect World - BERSERK 2016 TV series
 * Shiki - Toukiden 2
 * Koji Kashin, Otakemaru - Nioh 2