Legendary voice actress Megumi Ogata recently won the Best Voice Actor award at the Seiyu Awards, an annual ceremony recognizing voice acting in Japan. At first, Ogata considered declining the award, but decided to accept the honor to make a bigger statement about gender, identity, and voice acting.
Ogata is best known for voicing Shinji Ikari Neon Genesis Evangelion and Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon. The voice actor also plays the protagonist Yuto Okkotsu in it Jujutsu Kaisen 0 the movie.
The speech that followed was not a typical acceptance game. Rather, Ogata used the platform to make bigger and more important statements about the importance and craft of voice acting. Ogata asked the crowd, “Are you sure I should get the best voice actress award?”
“Seventy percent of the roles I’ve played are boys, and I don’t really consider myself an actress,” Ogata continued (via a translator Mishima Kitan). “Are you sure I should be best voice actress? There is so much talk about being genderless these days and there are voice actors in the industry who have come out [as queer].”
Ogata added that there are people who, like the famous voice actor, go about their daily lives and don’t consider themselves women.
“Compared to actors who have to show their face in the media, I think it’s the voice actors who can advocate for going beyond gender and putting aside the labels ‘male actors’ and ‘actresses’.” Ogata suggested removing the gender labels for the next film Seiyu Awards.
“At first I thought a bit about turning down this award, but I decided to accept it for people who created the titles with me,” Ogata continued. “In the Japanese anime industry, actresses my age are not allowed to play the protagonists. Being in such an industry, I figured my price acceptance could have a positive impact, so I decided to accept it. I’m sorry for sounding arrogant. I’m really happy about that.”
We are so fortunate to have such a monumental and important talent as Ogata.
