Adult voice actor Kitaro Ushigaeru hops into the spotlight in his first English-language interview – a stimulating conversation that covers acting, eroge, BL, and more!
(Note: This interview was conducted online in August 2025. The author of this article is an independent contractor for Kagura Games, the publisher of the international release of Yoru ga Kuru! -Square of the Moon- Remastered. This article is not affiliated with or sponsored by Kagura Games.)
The expansive world of Japanese adult media is filled with games, animation, audio dramas, and other projects that frequently feature lush artwork, gripping stories, and red-hot eroticism, earning them devoted fanbases. Some Japanese developers of commercial adult games boast legacies spanning over decades, while in the indie doujin scene, a title becoming an overnight success could instantly introduce a tiny team of creators to thousands of new supporters. Though the individuals who bring these titles to life often stay out of the spotlight themselves, they’re all enthusiastic artists, writers, voice actors, and other creative professionals who have plenty of stories to tell.
If you’re a fan of Japanese adult games, also referred to as eroge, one voice actor whose work you might hear is Kitaro Ushigaeru. He’s most known for his roles as Kenichiro Kusanagi in Makura’s Sakura series, Spencer in the original 18+ PC release of Laplacian’s Cyanotype Daydream, and Shinazu in Alicesoft’s Dohna Dohna—a role that makes exquisite use of his lilting, native Kansai dialect. With his deep, bullfrog-like voice being his namesake, Ushigaeru splashed into X-rated voice acting in 2013 and has been in eroge, raunchy hentai anime (NTR fans might enjoy hearing him as a father-in-law up to absolutely no good in Hajimete no Hitozuma), and scintillating audio dramas ever since. Outside of the adult world, Ushigaeru also voice acts in all-ages media and occasionally performs as a stage actor.
If you’ve never heard him before, this safe-for-work, relaxing ASMR portion of a spicy audio drama featuring Ushigaeru does a great job of showcasing his silky-smooth voice! If Japanese ear cleaning sounds like your idea of a good time, give it a listen before diving into this exclusive interview!
You wrote on Twitter that you have been a fan of bishoujo games (romance games featuring female characters – some, but not all, are also eroge) like Ever17 and Mizuiro since before appearing in them as a voice actor. What first attracted you to them? How have your feelings toward bishoujo games changed since becoming involved with them as an actor?
Ushigaeru: The first voice acting agency I joined had a strong presence in that area of gaming, and I had been familiar with bishoujo games since I’d been a student. One thing led to another, and I ended up voice acting in them.
My feelings toward them haven’t changed that much. When I was younger, I enjoyed the games and liked their characters as a player, but now I look at their characters as someone who enjoys acting. I suppose it’s due to my work. When you’re immersed in games in that sense, your perspective shifts a bit.
Is there any type of character that you’d like to play in the future?
Ushigaeru: I’ve voiced a lot of composed, mature characters, so I’d love the chance to play a character who’s pushed around by others. For example, if I’m brought in to voice a father character, they might be the strict, no-nonsense type, but portraying a father who’s completely at the mercy of their child’s whims sounds like it would be fun.
The official English release of Alicesoft’s Yoru ga Kuru! -Square of the Moon- Remastered came out in May 2025. How was playing Takehito Shinkai? Any comments for English-speaking Alicesoft fans?
Ushigaeru: I played a lot of bishoujo games when I was around 18 or 19, and even then, Alicesoft was an established presence in the market. I haven’t had the time to play them at all recently, so seeing an Alicesoft title being re-released in 2025, and getting cast in said title felt pretty strange. When I told friends from back then that I’d be in the game, they were excited, and I was very happy myself. The fact that Alicesoft is still well-known and producing brand-new titles unlike those from any other developer is amazing.
Regarding Yoru ga Kuru!, I have a lot of things in common with Shinkai, so portraying him was a blast. In the course of my time as a voice actor, little by little, I’ve taken on mentoring roles of sorts. Whenever I have issues, I tend to try to resolve them with physical strength, so seeing that trait in Shinkai was relatable. I really enjoy the performances of Hazuki Hina, who voiced Izumi Kagura, and she’s someone I trust and respect. We all recorded for the game individually, but for the scenes where Shinkai shows his trust towards Izumi, it was very easy for me to imagine how he felt.
If you’re planning on trying the game out, whether it’s your first time playing or not, if you could keep that aspect of Shinkai and Izumi’s relationship in mind while you listen to the voice acting, I’d appreciate it.
Japanese adult content is popular all over the world, but what do you think makes Japanese adult content appealing to a global audience?
Ushigaeru: Well, I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I’d imagine that it has to do with the nature of most Japanese people. Compared to people in other countries, I’d say that Japanese people tend to get shy easily and want to stick to societal rules. When you make adult content, you can step away from those rules a bit. You don’t have to necessarily focus on making a work that takes itself seriously or contains a deeper meaning or message. Adult content is a space where people come together to create freely, and people from overseas might be attracted to the passion that those creators exhibit.
I think the fans who purchase adult content place a lot of trust in creators to make works they’ll enjoy. In turn, creators know that if they make a high-quality work, it’ll receive feedback and attention. It’s a very solid, cyclical dynamic.
Sakura no Uta and Sakura no Toki are very popular works in Japan, and it’s been announced that they’ll both be officially localized into English and Chinese. In your opinion, why are they held in such high regard by eroge fans? What do you like about your character, Kenichiro Kusanagi?
Ushigaeru: Sakura no Uta and Sakura no Toki both focus on visual art as a main theme, and art competitions take place in the games. Normally, seeing two pieces of art and trying to compare them can be pretty tricky, right? The Sakura games are wonderful at depicting the different subtleties within works of art, and the competitions themselves are quite entertaining. Nowadays, there are more all-ages works that focus on visual art, but the fact that the Sakura series has been doing so since over a decade ago makes it quite innovative. That innovation and commitment to accuracy is what I’d say has brought the series so much acclaim.
Kenichiro Kusanagi is the father of the protagonist, Naoya Kusanagi, and I guess you could call him the “strongest” character of the series. He creates breathtaking pieces, and through his conversations and interactions with other characters, he causes them to have all sorts of realizations. He doesn’t really give out concrete advice, but his remarks steadily build upon one another and ultimately inspire others. I first portrayed him over 10 years ago, so it was honestly difficult for me to process everything he would think and say at times.
In Japan, the 10th anniversary edition of Sakura no Uta will be released in December, and there’s a new audio drama featuring Kenichiro Kusanagi that will be included with the game. Returning to the character a decade later, I feel like I finally understand more of what Kenichiro was trying to say. I think that deepened understanding comes in part from my own broadened life experience, but I also believe that I’ve been influenced by Kenichiro over the past 10 years. Maybe those bits of Kenichiro that linger inside me helped me to decipher more of him as a character. In my life as a voice actor, he’s ended up becoming an extremely important role to me, and part of me hopes that I can become someone like him.
You’ve been in both commercial BL works (one Omega Vampire drama CD) and doujin BL works (for circles/creators such as Shasei Shugi and Saka). I was also surprised to see that you had read Junichi Yamakawa’s gay manga prior to appearing in Junichi Yamakawa Collection. Are you personally a fan of BL media? What are your thoughts on BL as a whole?
Ushigaeru: I’m not sure whether my feelings are strong enough to call myself a BL fan outright, but I do like it a lot. The “Yaranaika?” scene from Junichi Yamakawa’s manga (originally from a short story called “Kusomiso Technique”) became a huge meme on video-sharing site Nico Nico Douga, and that’s when I found out about it. Back in my student days, a friend of mine told me about a game called Togainu no Chi (from the BL label of notable visual novel developer Nitroplus), and a bunch of voice actors who sounded oddly similar to the ones I’d heard in anime and all-ages games were in it. That made me realize just how broad the scope of voice acting as a profession was, and it influenced my own decision to pursue voice acting.
BL as a genre is extremely fun, and so many BL creators pack an immense amount of passion into their works. I guess it ties back to the nature of Japanese society, but in most stories, you have two men reflecting on their emotions and dealing with obstacles together, right? How they overcome those obstacles is often portrayed very beautifully, just as in any other genre. In my adult BL work, as well as my smaller roles in all-ages BL work, I always have fun recording. Rather than calling myself a BL fan… Hm, could I call myself a fan? I just love the fire behind BL content.
I believe that the nature of BL juxtaposes with Japanese tendencies to be shy or keep your true opinions to yourself rather well, and talking with fans of the genre, many of them started to get into it in their teenage years. For a lot of people, I think BL works become their first step into a more mature world of fiction and remain in their hearts for a long time.
For your roles with intimate scenes, how does your approach to acting change for female-oriented content vs. gay-oriented content?
Ushigaeru: Honestly, I’m not really conscious of things in that sense. In a recording session, a lot is decided while talking with the voice director. For example, if it’s a scene with two muscular male characters, there might be a strong bond between them, and their dynamic might be more intense. The director might ask me, “How are we going to do this?” or “Could you portray your character a little more like this?” Usually, I just go with the flow and say, “Ah, I see! OK!” In other words, I think from the perspective of the character and manage the horsepower of my performance accordingly, but I let the director take the wheel.
For circles like Shasei Shugi, I’m recording together with my castmates using a binaural head-shaped microphone, so even if someone wants to try something a bit outside of the box or bring their volume down a bit, we’re all acting in the same space, so we can play off of each other.
In Saka’s case, he might record my audio first, and then the other character’s audio separately afterwards. We trust each other a lot, so Saka can send a hard-hitting role my way and expect that I’ll know how to handle it. It’s like we’re playing catch, but he’s throwing a 100-mile-an-hour ball at me.
You became a freelance voice actor in 2025, but has your work or mindset concerning acting changed since doing so?
Ushigaeru: When I left my former agency, I was prepared for the possibility that work would dry up completely. Thankfully, I didn’t lose work, and if anything, I gained more work and new clients. I mean, I’m sure this interview happened because I went freelance. In general, the scope of my work has widened.
In regards to my acting, when you’re agency-affiliated, you end up looking for your own niche within the agency. For example, there might be another actor in my agency with a deep voice like mine, but if I think their voice might suit rougher, bigger characters, I might choose to peg myself as the actor with the deep, elegant voice or aim for slightly younger characters. However, once you go freelance, none of that matters. I can put what I want to do and what I enjoy at the forefront of my career. My former agency had never told me to do so, but I realized that I’d always been following rules I’d made up for myself, so I think my acting is a little different now that I’ve left.
This would be outside the realm of my career as Kitaro Ushigaeru, but I’d like to act on-camera and be in a movie someday. I’d always been in voice acting agencies, and I had never been explicitly forbidden from performing outside of voice acting, but something just kept me from branching out. Now that my circumstances have changed, I’d love to give it a shot.
What’s the most enjoyable part of your work?
Ushigaeru: When you’re voice acting, what you can do isn’t limited by your age or physical appearance. When I’m acting as Kitaro Ushigaeru, I might be voicing a slimmer, younger character. On the other hand, when I’m acting under my other name, I could be voicing another character that requires me to use deeper tones. In a single day, I could have two or three recording sessions where I play completely different characters, which is fantastic.
I also sometimes get more enjoyment out of watching other performances. Hearing others perform during recording sessions, an actor might make a mistake or do something unplanned, but those moments can turn into little miracles. I think they’re wonderful. Being able to witness things like that is an achievement in itself, I’d say. Watching actors totally unlike myself perform onstage is also such a joy.
Any advice for voice actors working on adult content for the first time?
Ushigaeru: I’m not sure if I’m the best person to be giving advice, but going back to how a lot of Japanese adult content pushes boundaries, as well as how it gives Japanese people an opportunity to take a step back from societal rules, I’d encourage others to relish the freedom of adult work. I originally voiced Kenichiro Kusanagi three years after I debuted as a voice actor. For an all-ages title, entrusting such an important character to a voice actor with only three years of experience under their belt would never happen, so I was very lucky to have been selected for the role. This industry can be pretty chaotic, but just enjoy yourself. Lots of titles, including doujin projects, are making waves in the adult space, so you’ll have opportunities to be in all sorts of content.
Can you share any funny moments that happened during a recording session?
Ushigaeru: That’s a tough question. As for one experience I’ve never forgotten, before my first recording session for an 18+ project, I was told to think of an alias that differed from the name I use for my all-ages work. Since I had already played eroge that featured actors using aliases, I wanted my own alias to be a totally weird one. Even back then, my voice was rather deep. A mentor of mine had told me that I sounded like a bullfrog, so I decided to call myself Kitaro Ushigaeru (“ushigaeru” means bullfrog in Japanese). The director at that first session flipped out and said, “There’s no way a newbie can give themselves a name like that! You’d have to be at least moderately well-known first!”
I ended up using that name anyway, and I’ve kept on using it ever since. Going back to the previous question, if you’re going to be in an adult project, go on and give yourself a crazy alias!
Any final words?
Ushigaeru: This work has given me opportunities to grow as an actor. Through the titles I’ve performed in and the people I’ve met, I can sense that my values as an individual have changed. I’d appreciate it from the bottom of my heart if people kept on supporting me. I think I’ll be appearing in a lot of titles from here on out, so I’ll do my best to keep bringing new things to the table. Thank you!
Thanks to Kitaro Ushigaeru for his riveting, ribbiting answers! For more updates on his work, feel free to follow him on X (formerly Twitter)! His demo reel can be accessed on YouTube. Booking inquiries can be sent to him in Japanese via this Google form.
