The Real Takemoto

February 3, 2007 | 27 Comments

During the original airing of Honey and Clover II, Kamiya Hiroshi, the original voice actor for Takemoto had a horrible accident which caused him to be hospitalised. Thankfully he survived the accident and the subsequent coma. However, his hospitalisation meant that Takemoto had to be voiced by someone else in the last episode of the series. The replacement ended up being a very capable Nojima Kenji. However, despite Nojima Kenji's good acting, I can't help but feeling that it's not Takemoto who's talking during episode 12. This is particularly bothersome during the monologue because Nojima Kenji used a mature, deep voice while Kamiya Hiroshi's version of Takemoto has lighter, youthful voice. There was a rumour (or wishful thinking) to some fans that Kamiya Hiroshi will redub Takemoto's voice for the DVD. Well, that is no longer a rumour or wishful thinking because volume 4 of Honey and Clover II features Kamiya Hiroshi as Takemoto.

As a side note, Kamiya Hiroshi's voice in the DVD completely replaces Nojima Kenji's version. That means, the only time you'll see Nojima Kenji's version is if you still have the copy of the original broadcast version. Now that Kamiya Hiroshi's version is here, I can't help but making comparison of the two voices. To be honest, prior to this incident, I rarely pay much attention to voice actors. This is the first time I felt first hand how important a voice actor is to a character. This is especially true for a character that you've seen for a long time. In Takemoto's case, his voice is even more important because he's always the one who delivers the majority of the monologues in the series. And some of these monologues are what make the series interesting and easy to identify. When I first heard Nojima Kenji's voice, I have to admit that I was shocked. The delivery was excellent but there's no denying that this is an entirely different voice.

Minoranakatta Koi (Kamiya Hiroshi/Nojima Kenji) - Download (2.7MB, for PSP/Quicktime)

This is the opening scene to the final episode in the series. In the scene, Takemoto wonders if there is a meaning to a love that is not reciprocated. Like I said before, I had no problem with the delivery of the lines in this scene but the voice style really bothered me. It's strange listening to his voice again now after I watch Death Note because I realise how similar Nojima Kenji's voice in this series to Yamaguchi Kappei's voice as L in Death Note. Anyway, I couldn't help but smile as soon as I heard Kamiya Hiroshi's voice as Takemoto. To begin with, the voice has that sense of familiarity about it. It feels as if I've heard the voice of an old friend whose face I haven't seen for awhile. The best thing about his voice is that I know right away that's Takemoto who's talking. Prior to this, I was a bit afraid that Kamiya Hiroshi would have forgotten how he used to voice Takemoto. Thankfully that's not the case here.

Soshite, Haru (Kamiya Hiroshi/Nojima Kenji) - Download (11.7MB, for PSP/Quicktime)

I remember the first time I watched the original broadcast version of this scene. I couldn't recognise the voice and originally thought that it's Morita who delivered the monologue. It's not until he started talking about Hagu that I realised the voice is supposed to be Takemoto's. Apart from the start, however, I had no problem with the rest of Nojima Kenji's dialogue as Takemoto. His voice while conversing with other character is a lot lighter and less deep for some reason. One thing that I do notice from the new, Kamiya Hiroshi's version is that Kamiya's Takemoto is a lot more upbeat in this version, especially when he said that he's cleaned up his room so it's now empty. I personally don't have a strong preference here. In other note, I almost forgot that Tomokazu Sugita (Yuuichi in Kanon) actually voices Mayama. I think this is because Sugita's voice as Mayama tends to be a lot more mature than his voice for Yuuichi/Kyon.

Takemoto-kun, arigatou (Kamiya Hiroshi/Nojima Kenji) - Download (17.3MB, for PSP/Quicktime)

It's a bit hard to choose which voice I prefer here because this is the part where I thought Nojima Kenji did very well. On the one hand, Kamiya Hiroshi's voice sounds a lot more casual and matches Kudou Haruka's quite well. On the other hand, I really like how mature and wise Nojima Kenji's Takemoto was when he was talking about Shuuji to Hagu. He really sounds like an older brother giving an advice to his younger sister. When I first saw the scene, I thought he would have been perfect as Takemoto if the character is older. However, during Takemoto's monologues about his old apartment, I felt that Nojima Kenji's voice was too deep and different. I did like the sense of nostalgia and sadness that permeates in Nojima's delivery. I think Kamiya Hiroshi is a little bit upbeat while delivering this monologue and I feel that Takemoto should feel a bit more nostalgic and sad about it. After all, he has a lot of attachment to the place.

Hachimitsu to Clover (Kamiya Hiroshi/Nojima Kenji) - Download (16.2MB, for PSP/Quicktime)

Here's a pivotal scene in the series and I think this is where having Kamiya Hiroshi as Takemoto is important. After all, this is the culmination of all of his feelings for Hagu and his reaction to her response. When I was watching the original broadcast version, I felt that something was missing but I couldn't pinpoint what was wrong about it since the acting was actually really good. After hearing Kamiya Hiroshi's version, I realised that it was just a sense of familiarity. If this is a culmination of Takemoto's feeling for Hagu, then it's important that the monologues are delivered by the same person. I want to hear the monologues coming from the Takemoto who previously felt the happiness and sadness from falling in love with Hagu. Unfortunately Nojima Kenji was simply not there as Takemoto right from the start. As a result, his voice in the original broadcast version felt as if it came from an entirely different character.

Zutto, natsukashiku, mawari tsudzukerun da (Kamiya Hiroshi/Nojima Kenji) - Download (7.6MB, for PSP/Quicktime)

When Takemoto suddenly speaks during the last few minutes of the original broadcast version, I thought I heard the voice of an announcer talking about the next program on TV. This is mostly the editor's fault for making Nojima Kenji's voice a lot more pronounced than the background music. The problem still persist in the new version although to a lesser extent. Kamiya Hiroshi's voice also adds that sense of familiarity which I feel is a lot more important here than in the Honey and Clover scene. This is because Takemoto's self-discovery journey and his time with his friends were the ones that I can identify the most. Some of his monologues are simlar to the thoughts that I've had in my mind. I think part of the reason the monologues are good and easy to identify is because Kamiya Hiroshi did an excellent job in voicing the character. Hearing his voice in the DVD version saying "Zutto, natsukashiku, mawari tsudzukerunda" pretty much sums up my feelings for the series and my own experience with my friends.

Well, that's pretty much my thought of the comparison between the two VA. I'm sorry if I sound like I was criticising Nojima Kenji but that wasn't my intention. I think he just happened to have the thankless role of filling in for someone who's already entrenched in the mind of most viewers. If he had voiced Takemoto right from the start, I might have been more fond of him. Although after hearing Kamiya Hiroshi again, I understand why the producer casts him as Takemoto in the first place. Kamiya Hiroshi projects Takemoto's "Youth" really well. Anyway, I'm interested to know what other Honey and Clover fans think about the voices. I can't recall many people talking about how they feel about Nojima Kenji playing Takemoto and whether he did a good job in the role or not. If you want, you can pinpoint the role scene by scene like I did. As a final note, I hope VIZ cast a really good actor to voice the English version of Takemoto.

Posted by Garten

Comments

February 3, 2007 | Rane wrote:

I very much agree with all points you made! Am a big Va fan, so when I heard Nojima Kenji voice Takamoto, I hated it. It was like someone else.
But, I guess my wishful thinking got through, or all the fans prays really hard, that Kamiya Hiroshi would be okay and be able to voice that last ep.
Am thankful he was able to, and look forward to hearing him again in other animes/drama cds!

February 3, 2007 | TedFox wrote:

I've long felt that a VA makes or break a series, especially if you look at all the hardwork that they put in.

Thanks for doing the comparison... i really do feel the same way too.

February 3, 2007 | moonymoo wrote:

man. its kinda weird.
but in some weird way, i rewatched episode 12 so many times that now when I hear Kamiya Hiroshi, I feel all squishy inside. lol xD

I suppose I kinda got used to Nojima Kenji as Takemoto's VA but it sure feels good to have Kamiya Hiroshi back. =)

Both VAs did a lovely job but to be really honest, I really did like Nojima Kenji's rendition of Takemoto in the final episode. =)

February 3, 2007 | kuromitsu wrote:

This was a rather unfair comparision, and I really don't know why you thought it would be a good idea.

Nojima is as good a seiyuu (or even better, he's certainly quite versatile) as Kamiya. If his performance as Takemoto is not as convincing in as Kamiya's, it's because he had to jump into a role that he didn't really know and had no emotional investment in, unlike Kamiya who'd been playing Takemoto for a long time. You can hardly fault Nojima for his performance not being at par with Kamiya's. Not to mention that this is a role that YOU (and the audience in general) have a lot of emotional investment in, so you're OBVIOUSLY biased against Nojima. As you would be against Kamiya if the situation was reversed and Kamiya had to stand in for Nojima.

I always liked your blog and respected your opinions, so in order not to be disappointed I'll just think that this comparison is the result of a sudden bout of fanboyish urges. Or something.

February 3, 2007 | Karin wrote:

When the final episode aired in Japan, I was on the live discussion thread on 2ch and I remembered a lot of people remarking that had Nojima done the whole series, he might be a better Takemoto. I also recalled a lot of people saying in the beginning that Kamiya Hiroshi's voice was too high for the role. I personally think that Nojima has a nice voice and it seems like Takemoto on the surface. However, I also think that Nojima's voice is a bit ... too... I don't know ... mature and soft? He might not fit the role in the beginning, especially on the journey for the search of youth. I don't know.

As for the part where Takemoto-kun, arigatou, I wonder if Kamiya would have voiced it differently had he not had the accident. I think a life-and-death experience would change the way you look at things... the way you part with things and so forth. It's because he had nearly parted with the world once that made him feel parting with an apartment not as sad? Anyway, I think Nojima's version present a more mature and deep Takemoto whereas Kamiya's version is a more cheerful and forward looking Takemoto. Which version is better depends on which type of Takemoto you like really.

February 3, 2007 | Os wrote:

Hm, I haven't downloaded the comparisons yet, but I wasn't quite a fan of Nojima as Takemoto simply because of the reason stated above: I'm biased for Kamiyama. That's not to say I think Nojima was bad as a sudden stand-in, I'm just not a fan of change. I hope I can get my hands on this new version. I guess I'll have to go buy it.

February 3, 2007 | hashihime wrote:

Thanks for the comparisons. I'm glad Kamiya is back for the DVD just for consistency. I read recently that the accident was on his motorcycle, and not only has he now quit riding, but his friend Sugita Tomokazu has quit, too. His first reappearance last fall was when he sent a message to Sugita's birthday celebration. Supposedly -- according to ja.wikipedia anyway -- he said on a show (hosted by Takahashi Mikako, i.e. Ayu, and Ueda Kana) -- that he went into cardiac arrest at one point after the accident. He was in hospital for a month.

February 3, 2007 | Garten wrote:

Kuromitsu, I'm sorry for making you upset with the comparison but as I said in my post, the intention wasn't really to put down Nojima Kenji's ability as a VA. It's just to ask which version viewers prefer. In fact my post more or less states that I'm biased to Kamiya due to the emotional investment that I have to his voice as Takemoto so I wonder if other people can look beyond that or not.

So yeah, this is definitely a bout of fanboyism. As much as I'd try to, I can't possibly be objective all the time when writing an entry. At any rate, I'm glad that you mentioned your objection and hope others who prefer Nojima's version of Takemoto would do the same since that's the point of this in the first place.

February 3, 2007 | asonta wrote:

It's so nice to finally hear Kamiya Hiroshi as takemoto. =D I've been waiting for a moment like this.

Garten, do you think you can put up "Futari no Kage" again? The old file link doesn't work anymore and I missed my chance the first time around. If you have time, please consider this (since I can't use Bittorrent)

February 3, 2007 | chanpon wrote:

Thanks for the comparison. Got my goodies from AmazonJP yesterday and this was the first thing I did - break out my dvd to watch episode 12. I haven't rewatched the tv version for comparison, but my immediate feelings were "It's Takemoto again!" There was a nice comfort in hearing Kamiya-san's voice.

I actually prefer Nojima Kenji as a voice actor overall to Kamiya Hiroshi; I agree with others that his voice is much more versatile - sounding high and youthful when needed and deeper for serious moments. That Takemoto does represent the youthful and naive element in this series is what makes Kamiya-san so perfect for this role. I don't know if my experience was colored by my emotions at the time of watching this, but there were certain scenes where I preferred Nojima-san's readings. The scenes that were tinged with sadness for me (like leaving his room for the last time, etc.) I liked the gravitas that Nojima-san's deeper voice brings. For me, listening to Kamiya-san's version again was like slipping into a warm and familiar bed, but I connected better emotionally at certain points with the original version aired on tv. Whether this was just because of the impact of seeing the ending for the first time, or how much it relates to my opinion of Nojima-san being a better seiyuu, I guess l can't say. I do wonder how much not being in the same room as the other actors may have affected the emotions Kamiya-san could read into his lines, and maybe that's why they sometimes didn't hit me as hard. But I really did like both performances.

And on a different note, am I the only one who thought that the extras on these dvds were kind of weak, compared to those of the first series? I at least expected something a little more grand for the finale, but all they could muster up for v. 4 was another recording session? Where's my seiyuu gathering to talk about the experience of the show as a whole?? :-(

February 3, 2007 | yumeko wrote:

Thank god!

February 4, 2007 | Haesslich wrote:

I think that, for me, the redubbing is pleasant, just because it feels more 'familiar' this way - if Nojima had been Takemoto from the start, I might feel differently about Ep 12 than I did now after listening to the redone versions... and unlike George Lucas, this wasn't about redoing the whole story and the way things happened (a la Special Edition), so much as just redoing the lines with the original actor for continuity of voice.

The changeover of VA's at the end meant that... well, Nojima is Nojima, and Kamiya is Kamiya. They're bound to read the lines differently, being different people... although in my opinion, Takemoto's voice shouldn't have any real 'gravitas' to it, even if he has matured somewhat over the course of the two series. He's still a young man, and even towards the end was unsure of himself... but he finally came to accept who he was, the fact his love for Hagu would remain unrequited, but that she did accept his feelings even if she couldn't return them the way she would for Morita.

To kuromitsu: this is fanboyism to a great degree... but at the same time, I don't know if the impact of the show would've been the same if Nojima had voiced it the whole way. His Takemoto seemed more mature overall than Kamiya's... and part of the draw of the series for me was that Kamiya's Takemoto was NOT mature at all. He started off relatively helpless, ran away from his problems, started gaining some self-assurance during his journey, then continued to grow throughout the course of H&C 2.

I think I'd have preferred Nojima for one of the more adult roles in the series, myself; the gravitas than Chanpon mentioned just wouldn't have fit in as well with Takemoto as it would with another character.

February 4, 2007 | Chanpon wrote:

One thing I didn't mention that plays into why Nojima-san's voice resonated with me is because I've always felt the narrative bits from Takemoto were done with a rear-view perspective. Maybe because of the tone set in Ep 1 with Takemoto looking back at the time on the bike. I always thought that while he's describing his feelings at that moment, that it was the voice of a Takemoto who may be a bit wiser now (whenever that may be). I think Nojima-san's voice really made things sound more bittersweet at those moments where presumably Takemoto would feel the same too. I guess I felt Takemoto's finding a place for himself and learning that loving someone does not require she love you in return showed me that he did grow a lot during the 2 shows.

I do agree with Haesslich that Takemoto is still young and has a lifetime of decisions in front of him, which can be said of all the other characters too. I know others who wanted a more conclusive end to the relationships in the finale, but I prefer it this way where they are expected to continue to struggle with those decisions as they grow.

February 4, 2007 | Garten wrote:

Futari no Kage for those who still need it.

February 4, 2007 | kuromitsu wrote:

>Garten
Nah, I'm sorry if I sounded rude, but I felt that the comparison was just too unfair. I actually agree that Kamiya is Takemoto, but it's simply because we've grown used to Takemoto talking on his voice and not someone else's. Nojima is in a similar situation as, say, the seiyuu who voiced Yang Wen-li (of LoGH) after Tomiyama Kei died. He may have done a great job but he simply wasn't Tomiyama, he wasn't Yang. These are situations when one is just naturally biased against the replacement, simply because he's a different person.

>Haesslich
Well, we don't know what the show would've been like with a different voice actor as Takemoto (or anyone else for that matter). It would've been different, sure, but that doesn't necessarily mean worse. It's impossible to know from this one episode how Nojima would've played Takemoto had he done the role from the start - he's actually very good at doing young and immature, so he wouldn't have had problems with expressing the maturing of the hero and all that. But we'll never know - Kamiya got the role, after all, and he's done a wonderful job at bringing the character to life.

That said, I liked Nojima's take on Takemoto, too, for same reasons Chanpon mentioned, and it made me very curious of how he would've played the character. In my ideal world, there would be a "Nojima version" and "Kamiya version" of Hachikuro, but sadly that's just a dream. :)

February 4, 2007 | Dan wrote:

Crap.

I thought I was mostly over H&C, but just after reading some of this post and looking at the images, I almost started tearing up again.

February 4, 2007 | Haesslich wrote:

kuromitsu: As I said with my first sentence, part of the pleasantness of having Kamiya as Takemoto was just because he was familiar and what we were used to. We don't know how things would've went with Nojima... although if he could've made his Takemoto voice a little less sure than it was in Ep 12, that MIGHT have made it more 'Takemoto' for me than he was at the end. He may not have had problems expressing the maturing of the main character, but I do wonder if he'd have been able to do the whiny Takemoto of Eps 1 and 2. :D We know Kamiya was able to do it, just because he played it. We don't know if Nojima would've had the same 'feel' as Kamiya did, and we never will.

However, one idea that came up would've been to have TWO people as Takemoto; the younger one who we hear day to day, and the one who was reflective, and spoke in the narrator's role at the star of H&C 1 (during the biking in the rain bit) and at various points in the series, where he's obviously reflecting on the past from some distant point in the future. In that area, Nojima did a pretty bang-up job, IMO - and he probably would've been a great 'mature Takemoto' for those bits.

February 5, 2007 | UnnamedPlayer wrote:

Heh. Sadly I haven't seen H&C whole yet, but Nojima is one of my favorite voice actors. Although it's only because of his "badass" roles.

Now it feels weird when I think that the man who gave his voice to Nanaya Shiki has voiced Takemoto too...

February 5, 2007 | Pica wrote:

Thank you so much for the clips! I'm glad the rumors are true. >w

February 6, 2007 | setsumei wrote:

Speaking of Honey and Clover. I rented the live action movie on DVD last night. I'm telling you this because I was pleasantly surprised by the additional of English subtitles. Thought this bit of info
might interest those of you who want to buy/see the movie but don’t understand Japanese.

February 13, 2007 | nina_hiromi wrote:

Sorry for interrupting. But i just wanna know what is Garten exactly doing? I mean ur job? U seem to have so much time working on reviews on anime. I wonder....

February 17, 2007 | Chara wrote:

You probably know... the Honey and Clover Complete Best CD was just released, with the piano versions of the opening and ending songs sometimes used in the TV series. I remember you wondering if they'd release those... since they weren't in the soundtracks.

July 30, 2007 | Haesslich wrote:

Good news, for those who think of it this way - Viz Media has H&C's license now... which I would've thought would be unheard of here, but apparently they got the show.

November 5, 2007 | khareen wrote:

i really like your site!
and i really love HOney and Clover! ;)

August 9, 2008 | Ruben wrote:

Hey Garten,

I was wondering if you knew whether or not the Hachikuro Cafe is still open?

On the official website, when you click the cafe link it takes you to a page in Japanese that looks like it might be a 'cafe is now closed' message.

I'm in Japan in October and really want to go, but fear it's shut.

Hope you can shed some light on this, thanks for all your hard and great work blogging my favourite series ^_^

Ruben :D

August 13, 2008 | yaaya wrote:

honey and clover is the best!!! ihope there are more episodes of honey and clover

November 9, 2008 | tarelyn wrote:

hallo! love yr site! love HnC! haha i'm watching it for the 7th or 8th time, i lost count...i'm a little confused but eh whr's the spin-off that u mentioned in HnCII ep6?