Otanjoubi Omedetou, Kosugi Juurota-san!

Today's the birthday of Kosugi Juurota-san who is the seiyuu for the charismatic Hyotei coach, Sakaki! Kosugi-san also works as a narrator other than being a seiyuu and I've also heard his voice in Yakitate Japan where he plays the role of the King of Monaco. Looking at his photo, I don't get the feel that he was born in 1957 which makes him 48 this year. Maybe it's got to do with his youthful appearance. And the low tone of his voice makes it even harder for me to reconcile this with his looks.

Kosugi-san's hometown is in Kanagawa Prefecture's Yokohama City and his interests include golf and playing the guitar. His blood type is B and he graduated from Nihon University's broadcasting division under Faculty of Arts. He's married with a son and worked as a salaryman for 5 years in Shochiku's drive-in theatre before making his debut as a seiyuu.

Apparently, Kosugi-san also appeared in animes like Gankutsuou (Fernando Mortcerf), Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo (Kenmochi Isamu) and BLOOD+ (David). I've watched Kindaichi before but I didn't know about this until I did my research. As for Gankutsuou, I am only a few episodes into it so I didn't pay attention too. As for BLOOD+, I have yet to watch it yet. Besides these animes which I'm familiar with, he also appeared in others like NARUTO, Ueki no Housoku, Gundam, Saiyuki RELOAD, Conan, ONE PIECE, Rekka no Honou and Yu Yu Hakusho.

As Sakaki Taro in Tenipuri whose pet phrase is "Itteyoshi" (it's OK for you to go) and that signature pose of 2 fingers, he released a single titled, "Shosha no Seori" on 3 Nov 04. This makes him the only "coach/teacher" character to release a single where not even Ryuuzaki Sumire of Seigaku has achieved this. Well, Sakaki can be said to be the most popular teacher character among his peers. Even though he doesn't appear frequently, a lot of the fans are very much smitten with his mannerisms. I tend to giggle when I see his usual poses and can't help but shake my head when he wears suits all the time regardless of the weather. Doesn't he sweat at all in the heat while watching those matches?! Anyway, the most interesting thing about Sakaki could be the fact that he's actually a music teacher in Hyotei. Somehow, this just seems quite different from what you would expect from someone who dresses in this manner. And since Sakaki is not someone who talks a lot, the most repeated line by Kosugi-san should be "Itteyoshi". ^__^