Hidekatsu Shibata is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator, and director. Formerly the co-founder of Aoni Production, he is now the chairman of his own agency RME. He once married fellow voice actor Haruko Kitahama, but the two of them eventually divorced. His current spouse is Akiko Sekine. Shibata's own son Katsutoshi works as both an actor and sound director.
As the son of a scroll maker, Shibata had a stuttering problem that made it difficult for him to communicate with others. One time, he failed to tell the bus driver where his stop was while going home from school. He decided to overcome this issue by joining the drama club. There, he developed an interest in kabuki and studied it further in university. He even made it his major while spending time with the National Theater Study Committee.
Although Shibata managed to join a kabuki troupe, it later went bankrupt which left him without a job. He decided to try his luck with acting and eventually landed a leading role in 1960. When his friend Susumu Kubo wanted to create an agency that specialized in voice acting, he agreed to help him out. Their collective efforts resulted in the establishment of Aoni Production in 1969. Shibata himself became a voice actor and even got over his stuttering habit by drawing upon his kabuki rhythm exercises.
He runs a private bar in Tokyo called Toppuu which mostly caters to members of the animation and entertainment industries. During Shibata's depression over his kabuki troupe's disbandment, he bought a store in Shinjuku and converted it into a bar around the time he started taking acting roles. It used to be called Stand Bar TOP until Shibata was convinced to change it during its renewal.
Even during his prime, Shibata mainly voices villainous or elderly roles. He is well-regarded for his narration work, having overcome his speaking problem enough to voice documentary films with ease. A few of his roles are King Bradley in the Fullmetal Alchemist series, Kreacher in the Harry Potter films, and Kazuo Tengan in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School.
Works
The following roles listed below come from titles associated with Koei Tecmo and third party works distributed as part of a deal with other companies.
- Masayuki Sanada - Kessen
- Additional voices - Heir of Zendor ~The Legend and the Land~
- Shingen Takeda, Yoshimoto Imagawa - Kessen III
- The One? - Makai Kingdom: Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome
- Zedonius - Ninja Gaiden II (including Sigma 2 and Sigma 2 Plus)
- Igneel - Fairy Tail; reprise of his role in the anime