Norio Wakamoto

HARRO, EVERY-NYAN! HOW AH YOU? FAIN SANKYUU!

If there's one voice actor who is extremely pigeonholed, but is just so awesome at doing his pigeonholed job that it doesn't matter, this man is that voice actor. Norio Wakamoto was an anti-riot squad officer who saw action in the student protests in the 1960s/70s before he became a voice actor (we assume he just had to yell "HALT, CRIMINAL!" and they'd immediately stop while shouting "YES, YOUR MAJESTY!"), well known for his quality, grandiose voice as a villain. So if you want a menacing, great Big Bad (or any other villainous role), contact him. And his range of villain roles is also quite wide, from manipulating and scheming to The Berserker type. Whether it's of a high position or as an underling (as long as it's no Mook). Beware...they can become Ensemble Darkhorses or Magnificent Bastards greater than the Big Bad himself.

Villains, however, aren't his only forte (though it's undoubtedly what he's really good at). He is also capable of doing humorous, perverted roles or, rarely, heroic types.

Norio Wakamoto is an expert in martial arts, and he will kick your ass.

Also, thanks to his recent role as Social Darwinist and Emperor Charles of Britannia, he has reached a certain Memetic Badass status amongst Western anime fans (by that time, he'd already been considered one in Japan). There are people who state that any anime can turn instantly good if he is participating (or that any character he voices will always be perceived as Badass). It's even gotten to the point where, instead of having him "work his voice to fit a character", they work the character to fit his voice. The man is the Chuck Norris of Anime, with the voice of Brian Blessed^[1]

Not just amongst the fans, but he is also very well respected amongst the seiyuu circle, to the point that many have tried doing a 'Wakamoto impression'. For example, this one, as done by Tomokazu Sugita, Takahiro Sakurai, and Yuuichi Nakamura. In fact, there's going to be a competition in 2012 about imitating Wakamoto, to be judged by Wakamoto himself!

Is known as 'Neta ni Ikiru Otoko' on Niconico Douga.

A sample of his voicing can be found here

Norio Wakamoto...

...is now available in GPS form.
...is a regenerative nanotech suit ("Mashimam shpeedo!")
...sings the opening of Lucky Star.
...supports breasts (a parody of his first "ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!!!" speech, dialog taken from this 4koma).
...performs the Giga Drill Breaker.
... sings "Renai Circulation".
...even has his own theme music in Real Life. (Just don't let him play bowling.)
...wishes he were a bird! (and now he is!)
...is giving up the position of God (which we all knew he had).
...is a motorcycle.
...sings Taiyou Iwaku Moeyo Chaos.
...sings Squid Girl.
...sings Black★Rock Shooter.
...sings Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's PONPONPON and Tsukema Tsukeru.
...counts sheeps to help you sleep.

For his Western equivalent of villain roles, go see Steve Blum, Michael McConnohie, Tim Curry, and, occasionally, Crispin Freeman and Liam O'Brien.

Norio Wakamoto can be heard in these works as the villain role

Renvolt Magashi in Phantasy Star Universe
Cell in Dragonball Z.
- It's said that while he was doing the voice of Cell, he would practice his lines at home. Children in the neighborhood would hear him, go up to his door, and yell "Cell, come out and fight us!", and in response, he would open his front door and shout "Who is that? Who wants to be drained?"
Vicious in Cowboy Bebop. Sort of playing against type, as, while certainly a villain, he's the icy, stoic type, rather than a Large Ham.
Alexander Anderson in Hellsing Ultimate, replacing the deceased Nachi Nozawa (RIP). (If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accused! O Lord, come! Ahhhhhmeeennn!)
- Although, to note, despite being considered an antagonist, due to the series' nature, Alexander can overlap as a sympathetic Hero Antagonist.
Emperor Charles zi Britannia in Code Geass and Super Robot Wars Z 2: Saisei-Hen. Probably his most Memetic Badass role in the West.
Oda Nobunaga in Sengoku Basara. Singularly the most Obviously Evil villain in anime and gaming history. (WARE WA DAI ROKU TEN MAOU, ODA NOBUNAGA NARRRRIIII!!!!)
Taishakuten in RG Veda
Dracula in the Castlevania series (from Symphony of The Night onward). This role utilizes his famous Evil Laugh better than most.
- He has a VARIETY of them in Dracula X Chronicle, depending on battle stage and how much Richter is going to get demolished if the attack connects.
Igniz in The King of Fighters 2001. In 2002, he did Rugal Bernstein, but in 2002 Unlimited Match, Rugal's voice was reprised by the original actor, Toshimitsu Arai.
M. Bison/Vega (Dictator) in the Street Fighter series (Darrined the role from Tomomichi Nishimura).
Barbatos Goetia in Tales of Destiny 2 (AITEMU NAZO! TSUKATTEN JA!! NNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!).
Shapiro Keats in Dancougar. (First major villain role)
- Moon Will in Dancougar Nova. He voices Earth Will as well, but only Moon Will is a villain.
Tekkaman Omega in Tekkaman Blade.
Denpa Shogun in Myself Yourself, the Big Bad of a sentai Show Within a Show.
Overlord Zenon in Disgaea 2.
- The narrator for the opening crawl in the original. "There exists a place they say is blacker than any darkness, deeper than any ocean..."
Gene in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.
- Which explains why he has a Compelling Voice.
Hol Horse in the OAV of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
- He also voices Dio Brando in the obscure radio drama version.
T-Bag (Robert Knepper) in the Japanese dub of Prison Break.
Imran Zakhaev in the Modern Warfare series.
Here's one for you: Victoream. Yes, that one.
- Before Victoream, he was a minor Canon Fodder villain, but was still awesome.
Mr. Sinister in the Japanese dub of X-Men.
Kagato in Tenchi Muyo! and Tenchi Universe.
Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts.
Neue Regisseur in Super Robot Wars Original Generation and Super Robot Wars Impact. Rather Hilarious in Hindsight, since both Kyosuke and Blade are voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa.
- He also did Maier V. Branstein. The episode preview hung a Lampshade Hanging on this.
Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy
- Also, Rubicante in the DS version of Final Fantasy IV.
Golba in Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny.
Shredder (James Saito) in the Japanese dub of the first two live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies.
Black Shadow in F-Zero Legend of Falcon/GP Legend (WATASHI WA SHINEN! SHINEN ZUU!!!)
Gntarl in the TV remake/expansion of Munto.
Geist in MD Geist (the original cut). "BURYAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Shurara in Keroro Gunsou. The resonance ritual has never been this creepy.
Conrad Viscuess in Infinite Ryvius.
Makuta Teridax in the Japanese dub of the Bionicle movies.
(I kid you not) Vince McMahon in the Japanese-dubbed WWE. "MATASHI WA VINCE MCMAHON, DAMN IT!"
Gambino from Berserk.
He was Marller's sidekick, the Large Ham God of Poverty, Senbee, in Ah! My Goddess. "SHAKKIN!"
Megatron in the Japanese dub of Transformers Animated. "All Hail Megatron" indeed...
- Movieverse Megatron in the video games based on the Transformers movies. (In the movies themselves, he's voiced by Kotaro Nakamura...)
The Owl in Wolf's Rain. Yes, it was an evil owl. And yes, it was the most awesome character in the entire anime.
Masaomi Houzuki in Sharin no Kuni.
Sekidousai in Inukami!
The Umibozu sea monster from episode 3 of Mononoke.
A recent guest voice in the role of Zeibu of the Mummy in Tensou Sentai Goseiger, a MotW whose plan is to mummify the world, with a TV broadcast. I kid you not.
Scarl in Cyborg 009 (2001 series).
Sou-Banchou, alias Kaoru Ichimonji, in Tokimeki Memorial 2. Although, rather than a villain, he's a Worthy Opponent antagonist, and a Knight Templar Big Brother, if his sister Akane is your love target.
Mitsunari Ishida in Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams
Both Arc Kivat and Rey Kivat in the Kamen Rider Kiva movie
Biagio Busoni in A Certain Magical Index II
Youzou Torii in Oh! Edo Rocket
Manfred von Karma in a promotional trailer for Gyakuten Kenji 2
Nikita Dragovich in the Japanese dub of Call of Duty Black Ops
Vampire Lord Zaharl and masked superman Gyallandou, in a little known Nihon Falcom game called Zwei 2.
Zeikfried in Wild Arms Alter Code: F
Dragless in Lightning Legend Daigo no Daibouken
General Bat in Shin Getter Robo Vs. Neo Getter Robo and Super Robot Wars GC
Mumkhar in Xenoblade Chronicles.
The Yakuza with the white suit and sunglasses, in Yarudora series vol.3: Sampaguita.

For his non-villainous roles, here's a bit of his portfolio

The shapeshifter Nagamimi in Kyogoku Natsuhiko Kosetsu Hyaku Monogatari.
Johnny in Guilty Gear X and XX.
Al-Cid Margrace in Final Fantasy XII.
Coach Ohta in Gunbuster.
- In what has to be a shout-out to this role, he plays look-alike rugby coach Akira Fuwa in the second episode of Madonna
Chiyo-chichi (the yellow cat...thing) in Azumanga Daioh.
- "I wish I were a bird."
The Narrator/Voice of Heavens in Hayate the Combat Butler.
Onsokumaru in Ninin ga Shinobuden — a role which must have been written with him in mind. He's given license to steal the show, and does it with gusto.
Shigemichi Morimoto in Soul Link.
Woodchuck in Record of Lodoss War (but note that Wood ends up a victim of a Karla-induced Grand Theft Me).
Diao Chan in Koihime Musou.
- Er...
  - How can you say that? My lord is too cruel!! UWAAAA AAAANNNNNNNnnnn...!
Matsudaira Katakuriko, the violent nutcase director of the Shinsengumi in Gintama.
Lando Calrissian (yes, Billy Dee Williams) in the Japanese dub of the 2004 DVD Recut of Star Wars. Also the narrator of the Japanese dub of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
King Drake the Third in Makai Kingdom.
- In the Disgaea 3 cameo, if you talk to him, he'll say "There's only one voice actor in the universe that can voice me!"
Mechazawa in Cromartie High School.
- "Such a sober voice!"
General Winters Socalo in D.Gray-man.
In Sailor Moon, he played a softspoken Nice Guy (bwuh?) named Yusuke Amade. He worked as a jazz artist and was in love with his co-worker, Akiko Yanagi, but was too shy to tell her. As Naru and Usagi attempted to get to know him more, since Naru was a major fangirl of him, Amade became a target of the youma and Sailormoon had to save him. His sexy voice (and piano playing) attracted all da ladies.
Gargoyle the dog statue from Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas.
Ooshima, the Kuroda group's second-in-command in Gokusen. He's very funny.
He voiced the minor hero character Shuren in Fist of the North Star, though not for long, since storyline reasons demanded Shuren's failed Heroic Sacrifice against Raoh. He also did Raoh for a very short time in his silhouette debut.
- He is also a narrator for Hokuto Musou.
Duke Duffau in Chrono Crusade, leader of the demon pursuers. Interestingly, the character was an antagonist of sorts in the manga (although he mostly ignored the heroes and went straight for Aion), but in the anime adaptation, he got upgraded to an uneasy ally with the Magdalene Order.
Non Human Sidekick Chew Toy Koujun from Ryofuko-chan.
Oskar von Reuenthal in Legend of Galactic Heroes, one of his earliest (and best) roles.
Yoshimitsu in Soul Calibur IV, replacing Nobuyuki Hiyama. This has cemented Yoshimitsu's status as an Ensemble Darkhorse.
The voice of the nanosuit OS in the Japanese version of Crysis. No, really. And in very good Engrish, as well.
Gustave St. Germain of Baccano!.
Taisou from Giant Robo.
The unnamed father of protagonist Mito Yuuri, in Tayutama.
Ashlay Barnbalt in Star Ocean: First Departure
Gigalt Gangaragash in Planetes.
The Nabuu brothers in Ga-Rei Zero.
Raiden (Christopher Lambert) in the first Mortal Kombat movie.
The narrator of Seijuu Sentai Gingaman
Transformers Galaxy Force's Flame Convoy, Scourge in TF Cybertron.
Did the voice of Hiroshi from Family Project under a pseudonym.
Amagumo, aka Rain Spider, in Desert Punk. More a rival than a villain, and pretty much everyone in that series is utterly reprehensible anyway.
The Stellar Spirit King in Fairy Tail.
Commander Paul Radhabinod in Muv Luv Alternative
Narrator of the "Go-Driller" anime's previews in Tokimeki Memorial 2
"Big" Ed Hurley in the Japanese dub of Twin Peaks. Betcha' didn't see this one coming, did ya?
The bartender "Master" in Catherine
- Another bartender only referred to as "Master" in Maison Ikkoku, one of his earliest roles.
The Ancient One/Kaosu in Yoroiden-Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors.
Edwyn Black in Taimanin Asagi.
Enma Daimaou-sama in Dororon Enma-kun Meramera
Bontenmaru/Date Masamune in Samurai Deeper Kyo
General Godwin in Dog Days
Gawn Brawdia in Wild ARMs 4
Various characters in Sazae-san
CV-Wakamoto in MUGEN. Essentially, an original character that copies various voice clips and moves from Wakamoto's more famous roles.
Eternity Sword Wisdom in Eien no Aselia.
Robert T. Sturgeon, the Special Forces operative from the Ninja Gaiden series, gets voiced by him in the OVA.
Chu in Yu Yu Hakusho, a Badass Drunken Master and Boisterous Bruiser who fights Yusuke and befriends him.
A Neutral role as Deus from Mirai Nikki (which makes the above Watchmen quote Hilarious in Hindsight).
The Principal, aka Shining Saotome, in Uta no Prince-sama
The Former Prime Minister in Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!, who looks suspiciously like him. Very subtle, Minato Soft.
Oko San, the high school track team captain and a pudding-obsessed bird, in the Hatoful Boyfriend Drama CD. This fulfills his wish to be a bird!
Wooden Cubes in Nichijou
Philip Hughes in Mobile Suit Gundam: the Blue Destiny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB6o6FAgVyIv

Norio Wakamoto provides examples of the following tropes:

Badass: See Crowning Moment of Awesome on the YMMV page.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: That YMMV page also proves that he's definitely this.
- According to Kappei Yamaguchi in the Giant Robo commentary, the man does a couple hundred push-ups a day despite being in his 60s. Definitive badass.
- Badass Baritone
Cool Old Guy: Is one of the more favored old generation seiyuus in business.
Evil Sounds Deep
Gratuitous English: In Azumanga Daioh, Code Geass, Hellsing, and probably others.
Guttural Growler
Hilarity Ensues: If he's not being the bad guy and, instead, is landed with comical roles...this is guaranteed to happen.
Large Ham
Lemony Narrator: In the Hayate the Combat Butler anime.
Meaningful Name: The name "Norio" means "Man of Law" in Japanese, a rather fitting name for a former policeman.
Pigeonholed Voice Actor: Pigeonholed, yes, but he is, to put it simply, the best there is at what he does, and what he does is AWESOME.
Rated "M" for Manly
Roll Your Rs
Sure Why Not: Which explains why he supports boobs.
Villain: Whether it's Big Bad, The Dragon, or anything listed there.

ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!!! ALL HAIL OPPAI!!!

↑ though Toru Ohira (Brian Blessed's Japanese dub voice on Boss Nass in Star Wars the Phantom Menace) could contend with the latter, seeing as Brian Blessed, for one, isn't much of a Guttural Growler Rated "M" for Manly type...

[1] though Toru Ohira (Brian Blessed's Japanese dub voice on Boss Nass in Star Wars the Phantom Menace) could contend with the latter, seeing as Brian Blessed, for one, isn't much of a Guttural Growler Rated "M" for Manly type...

[1]