Aoni Production Co. Ltd. (株式会社青二プロダクション, Kabushiki-gaisha Aoni Purodakushon) is a Japanese talent agency in charge of managing voice actors and entertainers. Often abbreviated as Aoni Pro, its main headquarters is located at Minato, Tokyo with Kenjiro Takeuchi serving as the current president of the company. Their corporate slogans include "Our assets are trust and confidence" and "A good voice actor is also a good actor".
History
Founded in April 1, 1969 by Susumu Kubo, Aoni Production was the first entertainment agency that specialized in managing voice actors. Kubo, who had been involved with Toei Animation, sought to establish a business that would help the company obtain the necessary talent for their own works. In time, Aoni Production began to provide casts for other businesses such as Koei and Tecmo.
The agency's name was said to have been inspired bythe name of Aoyama, an affluent neighborhood within Minato, though some theories counteract that claim. It was initially a limited liability company, but then became a stock company instead in September 1976 due to restructuring efforts. In time, Aoni Production further refined its public image by becoming a member of the Japan Entertainments Management Entrepreneurs' Association and Japan Merchandising Rights Association.
In the second half of 1979, 16 members of Aoni Production left and formed their own agency called Production Baobab. Despite the appearance of a rival group, the remaining members pressed on and later opened a training school called Aoni Jyuku in in September 1982. This move was done to deal with the proliferation of inadequate voice acting schools that had been hampering the industry at the time.
Aoni Jyuku teaches its students the fundamentals of acting before they can become voice actors. The entrance exam is incredibly stringent and the school's training courses are said to be the most rigorous even among its contemporaries. Two schools are located in Tokyo and Osaka, though the former is considered more preferable for people who wish to graduate as quickly as possible. Those who graduated and passed auditions would then start out as junior trainees before becoming full-fledged members.
Although Aoni Production has a strong focus on voice acting, recent years have seen the company expand to other fields like narration work, announcements, and radio jockeying. It also has a partnership with AION studio which offers recording rooms for voice acting.
Voice Actors
While Aoni Production is affiliated with more than 300 different talents, this list will only include voice actors who have worked in titles developed or published by Koei Tecmo.
Current Members
Former Members
Includes voice actors who are freelance, retired, tied to another agency, or have already passed away.