| Gorō Naya | |
| Native Name: | 納谷悟朗 |
| Birth Date: | 17 November 1929 |
| Birth Place: | Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan |
| Death Place: | Chiba, Chiba, Japan |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Occupation: | Actor, voice actor, narrator, theatre director |
| Years Active: | 1951–2012 |
| Spouse: | Kachiko Hino |
| Relatives: | Rokurō Naya (brother) |
was a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Hakodate, Hokkaidō. He was part of Theatre Echo all his career, and was the older brother of actor and voice actor Rokurō Naya.
Gorō Naya was born on 17 November 1929 in Hokkaidō. At the age of 15 he joined the Kamikaze, believing "My life is to die for His Majesty the Emperor."[1] Afterwards he thought he lost "things that take youth", and then attended Ritsumeikan University, becoming a dialect coach, specialising in that of Kyoto and finding himself interested in acting: "Eventually, I started thinking, "Hey, maybe you should do this." That's what started it. Until then, I had never thought about acting at all."[2]
Before joining Theater Echo in 1959,[3] he acted at the children’s stage company Todo and at Ina no Kai,[4] and performed in radio drama, gaining an affinity for narration. He also developed a love of the stage, saying "Even if the content is the same, the atmosphere, including the play, will differ depending on the reaction of the audience. It’s only for one day." When he joined, new actors were selected for dubbing foreign-language films for TV. "There weren’t many actors who could dub the voices, so I was really busy." The transition was easy for him, as "I felt the same as if I had been given a role on stage. The only difference was that there was no audience in front of me."
Naya became the official Japanese dubbing voice of actors Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Lee Van Cleef and John Wayne after Akiji Kobayashi dropped out. On whether his voice would be better than Kobayashi’s he said "I just did it because I was told to do it, and whether my performance was good or not is a matter for later.The evaluation was made by the audience, so there was no 'good' or bad."[5] Despite his prolific voice work, he did not like being referred to as a voice actor (or ateshi), claiming "I'm not proud of using it, but it wasn't a word I didn't like that much." Naya got his younger brother Rokurō into voice acting while he was dubbing Conrad Philips in The Adventures of William Tell,[6] requesting he, with a similar voice to his own, dubbed Tell’s impostor.
In 1969 Naya began his association with Lupin the Third with the Pilot Film, voicing Goemon Ishikawa, a role subsequently taken by Makio Inoue. In 1971 he began voicing Koichi Zenigata, gaining a passion for his character. "I like the single-minded devotion to chasing after Lupin. This innocence (?) makes me very envious of someone like me, who has a lot of troubles in life."[7] He was best friends with Yasuo Yamada, voice of Arsène Lupin III until his death in 1995, having lived in a rented beach house with him. Naya suggested to him "Let's keep chasing Lupin and Zenigata even if we both get old and wrinkled."
Also in 1971 he became the voice of the Great Leader in Kamen Rider. He would reprise the role many times over his career, saying "There are more jobs that are said to be, and I am doing it because I am grateful." In 1974 he became the voice of Juzo Okita in Space Battleship Yamato He was initially angry about being involved. "Why do I have to play such an old man?". Later he regretted the voice he chose for the character, believing "If you're an active captain, you're in your 50s, so I should have done it younger."
Naya was a fan of the Hanshin Tigers, once commentating on a game as "Hanshin Crazy Goro Naya", and supported the Japanese Communist Party.[8] In 1985 he underwent surgery for a stomach ulcer, which hindered his physical and vocal ability. He lamented "I've been out of breath since the late 90s, and my physical condition has gotten worse. I was frustrated because people around me said, "I don't have a smooth tongue" behind my back."[9] At Yamada’s funeral he said "Hey, Lupin, who should I chase from now on? If you're dead, who will I chase now?"
He criticised the modern voice acting industry, claiming "There are too many voice actors who think that they should just give their voices. They don't think they have a customer in front of them." In 2010 he stepped down from voicing Zenigata, the reason being "Zenigata never gets old, but I get older year by year, so it's a little bit difficult to match." He died on 5 March 2013, at age 83, due to chronic respiratory failure.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Invasion of Astro-Monster | Councilman | Voice only[10] | |
| 1969 | Goemon Ishikawa | Voice only | ||
| Flying Phantom Ship | Ghost Captain | Voice only | ||
| 1970 | 30,000 Miles Under the Sea | King Magma VII | Voice only | |
| 1971 | Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | Goro | Voice only | |
| 1972 | Kamen Rider vs. Ambassador Hell | Great Leader of Shocker | Voice only | |
| 1973 | Kamen Rider V3 vs. Destron Mutants | Great Leader of Destron | Voice only | |
| 1974 | Prophecies of Nostradamus | Kazuo Ota | ||
| 1978 | Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato | Juzo Okita | Voice only | |
| The Mystery of Mamo | Koichi Zenigata | Voice only | ||
| 1979 | Galaxy Express 999 | Dr. Pan | Voice only | |
| Aim for the Ace! | Chairman Ryuzaki | Voice only | ||
| The Castle of Cagliostro | Koichi Zenigata | Voice only | ||
| 1982 | Future War 198X | Tono | Voice only | |
| 1983 | Crusher Joe | Kowalsky | Voice only | |
| Final Yamato | Juzo Okita | Voice only | ||
| Leonard Dawson | Voice only | |||
| 1984 | Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | Lord Yupa | Voice only | |
| 1985 | Night on the Galactic Railroad | Dr. Bulganillo | Voice only | |
| Legend of the Gold of Babylon | Koichi Zenigata | Voice only | ||
| Kuramoto and Narrator | Voice only | |||
| 1986 | Bongo | Voice only | ||
| 1995 | Farewell to Nostradamus | Koichi Zenigata | Voice only | |
| 1996 | Koichi Zenigata | Voice only | ||
| 1997 | Noiseman Sound Insect | Professor Franken | Voice only | |
| 2003 | Wirepuller of Smart Brain | |||
| 2004 | Casshern | Narrator | ||
| 2007 | Great Leader | Voice only | ||
| 2011 | Great Leader | Voice only |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-1967 | Kimba the White Lion | Clave | 52 episodes | |
| 1966-1968 | Yuusei Kamen | Hoihensu | 39 episodes | |
| 1967-1968 | Princess Knight | Sir Nylon | 52 episodes | |
| 1968-1969 | Dororo | Kagemitsu Daigo Tanosuke | 26 episodes | |
| 1968 | Star of the Giants | President Hidaka | Episode 7 “Ball of Vanity” | |
| Humanoid Monster Bem | Prison Director | Episode 4 | ||
| 1970 | Akakichi no Eleven | Narrator | 18 episodes | |
| 1971-1972 | Ryu the Primitive Boy | Kiba | 22 episodes | |
| Lupin III | Koichi Zenigata | 17 episodes | ||
| 1971-1973 | Kamen Rider | Great Leader of Shocker (voice) | 98 episodes | |
| 1972 | Mirrorman | Invaders | 4 episodes | |
| Henshin Ninja Arashi | Majin Sai (voice) | 23 episodes | ||
| 1972-1973 | Ultraman Ace | Ultraman Ace (voice) | 52 episodes | |
| Warrior of Love Rainbowman | Narrator | 50 episodes | ||
| 1973-1974 | Kamen Rider V3 | Great Leader of Destron | 52 episodes | |
| Karate Master | Tatsu Todd Wakamatsu | 11 episodes | ||
| Casshan | Narrator | 35 episodes | ||
| 1974-1975 | Kamen Rider Amazon | Narrator | 24 episodes | |
| Space Battleship Yamato | Juzo Okita | 26 episodes | ||
| 1975 | Kamen Rider Stronger | Great Leader (voice) | 6 episodes | |
| 1976 | Combattler V | Dr. Nanbara | 3 episodes | |
| The Kagestar | Dr. Satan (voice) | 24 episodes | ||
| 1976-1977 | Ninja Captor | Narrator | 43 episodes | |
| Chojin Bibyun | Gulver (voice) | 15 episodes | ||
| 1977 | Jetter Mars | Dr. Yamanoue | 27 episodes | |
| 1977-1980 | Lupin the 3rd Part II | Koichi Zenigata | 155 episodes | |
| 1978 | The Petit Prince | Grandpa | Episode 16 “Sea of Flying Gulls” | |
| 1978-1979 | Uchū Majin Daikengo | Narrator | 26 episodes | |
| 1979-1980 | Kamen Rider (Skyrider) | Great Leader (voice) | 7 episodes | |
| 1980-1981 | Space Battleship Yamato III | Narrator | 25 episodes | |
| 1981-1982 | Six God Combination Godmars | Emperor Zuul | 33 episodes | |
| 1982 | White Fang Story | Weedon Scott | TV movie | |
| 1984 | Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! | Generalissimo of Badan (voice) | TV special | |
| 1984-1985 | Lupin III Part III | Koichi Zenigata | 19 episodes | |
| 1989-2010 | Lupin III TV specials | Koichi Zenigata | 22 specials | |
| 1989 | Kamen Rider Black RX | Emperor Crisis (voice) | 3 episodes | |
| 1989-1990 | Blue Blink | Haruhiko Shiki | 11 episodes | |
| 1998 | Master Keaton | Shou | Episode 11 “Special Menu” | |
| 2000-2003 | The Big O | Gordon Rosewater | 6 episodes | |
| 2001-2008 | One Piece | Crocus | 5 episodes | |
| 2004 | Monster | Blind Old Man | Episode 5 |