Susumu Chiba | |
|---|---|
千葉 進歩 | |
| Born | September 13, 1970 |
| Occupation | Voice actor |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Agent | Office Osawa |
| Height | 177 cm (5 ft 10 in) |
Susumu Chiba (千葉 進歩, Chiba Susumu, born September 13, 1970) is a Japanese voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Some of his major roles include Seiji Hayami in Cutie Honey Flash, Chiaki Nagoya in Phantom Thief Jeanne, Sai Fujiwara in Hikaru no Go, Chairman Muranishi in Kirarin Revolution, Isao Kondo in Gin Tama, Shō Sai in The Story of Saiunkoku, Hans in Nijū Mensō no Musume, Takuma Ichijo in Vampire Knight, Welkin Gunther in Valkyria Chronicles, and Ryuu Daikouji in Little Battlers Experience. He is currently affiliated with Office Osawa.
When Chiba was in college, he joined a production company because he was interested in acting and wanted to try something different from his baseball career.[3] At the production company, he studied basic theatrical skills, but rather than studying acting with the aim of becoming an actor, he was more interested in "having fun" with his friends. He was not satisfied with the lessons offered by the production company, and he began to organize study sessions with volunteers.[3] At this point, he was still thinking of acting and work as "separate things." It wasn't until he moved to Office Osawa, which handles a lot of narration work, that he became fully aware of voice acting as a profession.[3]
His first job involved narrating a commercial. The role that left the deepest impression on him was the role he played in the TV anime Hikaru no Go, as Fujiwara no Sai.[3] Since he had read the original manga, when he heard the news of the anime adaptation, he auditioned wondering who was going to play which role, later finding out he was going to play Sai, which felt strange for him. He was very enthusiastic about playing Sai, but on the other hand, he felt that it was not his role. Even when he watched reruns of the anime, he had the feeling that it wasn't his voice, and although Sai was the role of an insubstantial being, Chiba felt the same way about himself.[3]