Masachika Ichimura Explained

Masachika Ichimura
Native Name:	市村 正親
Native Name Lang:	ja
Birth Date:	28 January 1949^[1]
Birth Place:	Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan
Occupation:	Actor
Years Active:	1973–present

is a Japanese actor. He was born in Kawagoe, Saitama and studied at the Theater Art College in Tokyo after graduating high school. He is best known to anime fans as the voice of Mewtwo.

Career

In 1973, he made his debut as an actor with Jesus Christ Superstar and became one of top actors of Shiki Theatre Company since then. He appeared in various musical plays as West Side Story, Equus, Cats, Evita and The Phantom of the Opera. Besides he played the role of Shylock of The Merchant of Venice.

In 1990, he left the company and now signs up for Horipro. In 2013, he played the role of Tokugawa Ieyasu in "Anjin: The Shogun and The English Samurai" in London.^{[2] [3]}

In 2014, he cancelled the performance in Miss Saigon because of initial stomach cancer but in November of the year, he finished the treatment and returned to the theatre industry.^[4]

Filmography

Films

• The Hotel Venus (2004) - Venus
• Thirteen Assassins (2010) - Kitō Hanbei
• A Ghost of a Chance (2011) - Tsukutsuku Abe
• The Floating Castle (2012) - Toyotomi Hideyoshi
• For Love's Sake (2012) - Shōgo Saotome
• Thermae Romae (2012) - Hadrian^[5]
• Thermae Romae II (2014) - Hadrian
• The Kodai Family (2016) - Shigemasa Kōdai Jr.
• The Stand-In Thief (2017)
• (2021) - Honda Kakuan^[6]
• And So the Baton Is Passed (2021)^[7]
• Daughter of Lupin the Movie (2021)^[8]
• Bushido (2024) - Chōbei^[9]
• A Conviction of Marriage (2024) - Kannami^[10]

Television dramas

• Shishi no Jidai (1980) - Okonogi Kyōhei
• Furuhata Ninzaburō (1999) - Nao Kuroikawa
• HR (2002) - Masachika Jin'no
• Mayonaka no Andersen (2002)
• Suna no Utsuwa (2004) - Yuzuru Asō
• Order Made (2004)
• My Boss My Hero (2006) - Kichi Sakaki
• Bambino! (2007) - Tekkan Shishido
• Hatachi no Koibito (2007) - Fūta Suzuki
• Gō (2011) - Akechi Mitsuhide^[11]
• Young Black Jack (2011) - Dr. Jotaro Honma
• Beppinsan (2016) - Shigeo Asada
• Ieyasu, Edo wo Tateru (2019) - Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Everyone's Demoted (2019) - Hideki Fujita
• Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon (2019) - Nicholas Tange
• Nakamura Nakazo: Shusse no Kizahashi (2021) - Ichikawa Danjūrō IV^[12]

Musicals

• Jesus Christ Superstar - King Herod
• West Side Story - Bernardo
• Equus - Alan
• A Chorus Line - Paul
• Carousel - Jigger Craigin
• She Loves Me - Georg Nowack
• Cats - Rum Tum Tugger
• The Phantom of the Opera - Erik, The Phantom of the Opera
• Tanz der Vampire - Professor Abronsius
• Miss Saigon - The Engineer
• Candide - Dr. Pangloss/the narrator Voltaire
• Two Gentlemen of Verona - Thurio
• Fiddler on the Roof - Tevye
• You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Snoopy
• Evita - Che
• Never on Sunday - Ilya
• Kiss of the Spider Woman - Molina
• - Cyrano de Bergerac
• Scrooge - Scrooge
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Freddy Benson
• Sweeney Todd - Sweeney Todd
• La Cage aux Folles - Albin/Zaza
• Love Never Dies - Erik, the Phantom of the Opera
• Oliver - Fagin
• Mozart! - Leopold

Plays

• The Merchant of Venice - Shylock
• - Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Yukio Ninagawa's Macbeth - Macbeth^[13]

Theatrical animation

• Jack and the Beanstalk (1974) - Jack
• A Journey Through Fairyland (1985) - Michael
• (1998) - Mewtwo
• Giovanni's Island (2014) - Tatsuo Senō^[14]
• (2015) - Ikaros
• (2019) - Mewtwo
• Birthday Wonderland (2019) - Hippocrates

Television animation

• (2000) - Mewtwo
• Pocket Monsters (2020) - Mewtwo

Original video animation (OVA)

• (2005) - Red XIII

Video games

• Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) - Mewtwo
• Kingdom Hearts (2002) - Jack Skellington
• (2004) - Jack Skellington
• Kingdom Hearts II (2005) - Jack Skellington
• Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (2011) - Bronev Reinel
• (2013) - Patrick Redfield
• Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (2013) - Bronev Reinel
• Nioh (2017) - Tokugawa Ieyasu

Dubbing

• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - Jack Skellington^[15]
• Strings (2004) - Kahro
• The Man Who Invented Christmas (2018) - Ebenezer Scrooge^[16]
• (2022) - Wild Knuckles^[17]
• (2024) - Helm Hammerhand^[18]

Puppetry

• Sherlock Holmes (2014) - Jonathan Small

Honors

• Medal with Purple Ribbon (2007)
• Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2019)^[19]

External links

• • • Masachika Ichimura at GamePlaza-Haruka Voice Acting Database
• Masachika Ichimura at Hitoshi Doi's Seiyuu Database

Notes and References

1. Web site: 市村正親 のプロフィール . allcinema . 2010-11-04.
2. http://www.news-digest.co.uk/news/features/9983-masachika-ichimura-interview.html 俳優 市村正親 インタビュー　英国ニュースダイジェスト
3. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/9842738/Anjin-The-Shogun-and-the-English-Samurai-Sadlers-Wells-review.html Anjin: The Shogun and the English Samurai, Sadler's Wells, review-Telegraph
4. http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp.e.ck.hp.transer.com/e_news/entertainment/entry/24924.html Stage return "wants to affect expectation" through Masachika Ichimura, stomach cancer medical treatment
5. [Thermae Romae#Cast]
6. Web site: 燃えよ剣. May 10, 2021. eiga.com.
7. Web site: そして、バトンは渡された. April 19, 2021. eiga.com.
8. Web site: 劇場版 ルパンの娘. September 9, 2021. eiga.com.
9. Web site: 草なぎ剛×白石和彌「碁盤斬り」に清原果耶、中川大志、斎藤工、小泉今日子、國村隼ら. September 25, 2023. Natalie.
10. Web site: 夏目アラタの結婚. June 5, 2024. eiga.com.
11. Web site: 江 姫たちの戦国. 24 September 2024. Haiyaku Jiten.
12. Web site: 中村勘九郎がNHKドラマで"伝説の歌舞伎俳優"中村仲蔵に、共演に上白石萌音ら. July 20, 2021. eiga.com.
13. Web site: NINAGAWA Macbeth. www.lincolncenter.org. 2018-07-25.
14. Web site: Full Trailer for I.G's Hand-Drawn Anime Film Giovanni's Island Posted. 2013-12-18. 2013-12-21. Anime News Network.
15. Web site: ナイトメアー・ビフォア・クリスマス. August 16, 2020. Star Channel.
16. Web site: Merry Christmas!～ロンドンに奇跡を起こした男～. June 13, 2021. Fukikaeru.
17. Web site: ミニオンズ フィーバー －日本語吹き替え版. June 29, 2022. Fukikaeru.
18. Web site: 2024-08-23 . The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Film Reveals Japanese Dub Cast, December 27 Opening in Japan . 2024-08-23 . Anime News Network . en.
19. Web site: 旭日小綬章・市村正親さん(70) 元気すぎる70歳の「源は観客」. April 26, 2024. Sankei Shimbun.