When I came home today, I felt like I want to hear some of Kugyuu's voice acting. Fortunately, I have Zero no Tsukaima Drama CD, Sanzenin Nagi Character CD and Shakugan no Shana Drama CD so I had enough to choose from. When I was listening to Nagi Character CD I came up with the idea to gather some pictures and post Kugyuu-chan Gallery. If you have tried to look for some photos of Kugimiya then you know it's not easy to find any good big pictures with her. I mean, there are some but there are not many too choose from. Looking for photos of Hirano Aya or Mizuki Nana is a much easier task. Nevertheless, I have found some nice ones, there is even one from the 3rd Seiyuu Awards Ceremony in which Kugi-chan is wearing a kimono, so here they come!
The first time I heard Kugyuu was probably when I watched Shakugan no Shana. At least that's when I fell in love with her voice. Then, of course, I saw more of her roles such as Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Nagi from Hayate no Gotoku, or Taiga from Toradora. But these are only the tsundere roles which suit her voice very well. Apart from these, I like her non-tsundere roles too, and some of them are really good. Well, most of them. For instance, her voicing of Tsukuyomi from Wagaya no Oinari-sama had a strong atmosphere, or the pilot of Gundam, Nena Trinity, not to mention Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. She did a great job in all of these anime too, despite voicing non-tsundere characters or even boys.
Kugyuu-chan can also sing like many other seiyuus, but her singing tsundere voice is something that is unique. The most notable of her songs are most likely ending themes from Zero no Tsukaima where she still plays the role of short-tempered Louise. On the other hand, her character songs of glacial Shirayuki Mizore from Rosario to Vampire for example carry a special tone too.
There are some people who don't like Kugyuu because her voice is identical in all of her roles. That's not true, though. I admit that her voicing is very similar in many of her roles, but it's not identical. Let me listen to a record of one of her tsundere roles and I will tell you which one it is. And there is one more thing. The reason why she gets the roles of tsunderes in many series is her great tsundere-ish voice so she must do it in the tsundere-ish way, that's what everyone wants. So noone can blame her that her roles sound similar, because what directors want is her voice and she must give it to them, that voice that everyone knows. The voice of tsundere queen. I can't say anything else than that I have yet to see/hear a bad performance by Kugimiya Rie. And of course I hope it won't happen ^^
Sankaku Complex
