Portrait of Koichi Yamadera

Birthday profile

Koichi Yamadera

Kōichi Yamadera, Japanese actor and singer

Born
June 17, 1961
Age in 2026
65
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1961

About Koichi Yamadera

Koichi Yamadera (山寺 宏一, Yamadera Kōichi; born June 17, 1961) is a Japanese actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. He is known for his roles in Cowboy Bebop (as Spike Spiegel), the Yakuza videogame series (as Shun Akiyama), Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū (as Sukeroku), Ghost in the Shell (as Togusa), Neon Genesis Evangelion (as Ryoji Kaji), Gintama (as Shoyo Yoshida / Utsuro), Ninja Scroll (as Jūbei Kibagami), Dragon Ball Super (as Beerus), Anpanman (as Cheese), Ranma ½ (as Ryōga Hibiki/P-chan and the Jusenkyō Guide), Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (as Aberdt Desler), Pretty Cure All Stars DX 3 (as Black Hole) and Lupin III (as the official voice of Koichi Zenigata since 2011). He's been in every Pokémon film to date, though always in different roles, the exception being movie 22, in which he reprised his role as Mew from the first movie, of which movie 22 is a remake. He also voiced Mew in some collateral projects. For Disney, he is the official dubbed voice of Donald Duck, Genie and Sebastian (among others) in Japanese. In the live action field, he is the official dub-over artist of Will Smith (Yamadera met Smith several times), Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey. He is also known for voicing Chris Tucker, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Robin Williams, Mike Myers, Stephen Chow, Brad Pitt, Charlie Sheen, Michael Keaton, Michael J. Fox, Will Ferrell, Chris Pratt and Jon Hamm in the Japanese language releases of their respective films. Yamadera's also known for his versatile range, as shown in the video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony where he voiced all five Monokuma Kubs, including Monophanie (female).

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Koichi Yamadera was born

Koichi Yamadera was born in 1961. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1961

  • #1 song"Tossin' and Turnin'" – Bobby Lewis
  • Top movieWest Side Story
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookCatch-22 – Joseph Heller

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRoger Maris hits 61 home runs, breaking Babe Ruth's record
  • Top headlineYuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space
  • Technology milestoneYuri Gagarin becomes first human in space
  • Defining fadSurfing culture
  • Notable inventionValium
  • World population3.08 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJohn F. Kennedy
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population183.7M

1961 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Koichi Yamadera's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19612026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,500$435,000
Average income$7,600$67,500
Minimum wage$1.15$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population183.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.