Thread: Aya Hirano - Overrated?

Originally Posted by Shinku no kage

As in response to tsurara-san's post: She's not the FIRST VA to be young and pretty. Theres been quite a few of them in the last few years. (atleast in my opinion)

I suppose it's a matter of opinion, in the end. But a majority of seiyuu seem to become seiyuu because they are not attractive enough to be actual actors, actresses or idols.

With a handful of idol/singer-first-->seiyuu second exceptions: most of the seiyuu magazines are full of heavily airbrushed photos of people who are normal-looking at best and Halloween-pumpkin toothed gargoyles at worst.

ANYONE who thinks Koyasu Takehito is a studmuffin needs an eye-exam.

As for accomplishments... I'm not sure being prolific is enough to be automatically deemed "talented" or "deserving". Uwe Boll is also prolific. His wikipedia article might give some the impression that he is an actual filmmaker. But we all know better.

Not to s**t on Aya, I think she's as good a seiyuu as anyone else out there now: but I don't really see voice-acting, singing in-character with heavy digital help, being an idol, or being pretty as something requiring a great deal of talent. SOME, yes. Is she a genius: no. Is she incredibly popular, in part, because she is pretty and young: ABSOLUTELY.

If 30 year-old women did -exactly- what Morning Musume does: no one would care. If maids served tea without their helium voices and magic spells: no one would care. If seiyuu are older people with bad teeth and only passable looks: they don't get as popular as Aya Hirano-- in spite of being just as talented, having just as many roles and quite a bit more experience.

It's part of the otaku obsession with moe.

[QUOTE=tsurara;571563] you've got a bunch of horny attic-monkeys who can't keep from drooling at her pictures.QUOTE]

Horny attic monkeys! I haven't heard anything that funny in a while. I'm going to have to remember that one! Thanks!

Originally Posted by tsurara

I suppose it's a matter of opinion, in the end. But a majority of seiyuu seem to become seiyuu because they are not attractive enough to be actual actors, actresses or idols.

With a handful of idol/singer-first-->seiyuu second exceptions: most of the seiyuu magazines are full of heavily airbrushed photos of people who are normal-looking at best and Halloween-pumpkin toothed gargoyles at worst.

ANYONE who thinks Koyasu Takehito is a studmuffin needs an eye-exam.

As for accomplishments... I'm not sure being prolific is enough to be automatically deemed "talented" or "deserving". Uwe Boll is also prolific. His wikipedia article might give some the impression that he is an actual filmmaker. But we all know better.

Not to s**t on Aya, I think she's as good a seiyuu as anyone else out there now: but I don't really see voice-acting, singing in-character with heavy digital help, being an idol, or being pretty as something requiring a great deal of talent. SOME, yes. Is she a genius: no. Is she incredibly popular, in part, because she is pretty and young: ABSOLUTELY.

If 30 year-old women did -exactly- what Morning Musume does: no one would care. If maids served tea without their helium voices and magic spells: no one would care. If seiyuu are older people with bad teeth and only passable looks: they don't get as popular as Aya Hirano-- in spite of being just as talented, having just as many roles and quite a bit more experience.

It's part of the otaku obsession with moe.

Tsurara's got a point there. Younger, attractive people usually fill the slots of employment in the entertainment world, simply because they're what the public eye wants to see (or rather what the otaku wants to see). I don't even think it's really about the otaku obsession with moe.

People who aren't otaku sit around and say things like, "If I was five/ten years younger," all the time. I think it's just what society wants to see. Look at the American "Idols". I bet if N'Sync had just came out, and they were like 45-50, but still had the same "singing skill" , they wouldn't get HALF the attention they did when they were popular (if you wanna call them that). Who would want to see an old, grey Justin Timberlake in concert?

So, I get what Tsurara's trying to say. With that point taken, it is safe to say that maybe Aya Hirano IS just slightly overrated. (Yeah, I'm eating my previous words, aren't I?)