Gorō 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."{{cite web|url=http://www.dot-anime.com/tb/yamato/interviews/01_2.html|title=Space Battleship Yamato interview with Goro Naya: Part 2|last=Tori|first=Miki|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213161952/http://www.dot-anime.com/tb/yamato/interviews/01_2.html |access-date=24 July 2024|archive-date=2009-02-13 }} 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."{{cite web|url=https://www.superdramatv.com/alacarte/seiyuu/detail3.html|title=Super! Drama TV Voice Actor Dictionary: Goro Naya|access-date=24 July 2024}}

Before joining Theater Echo in 1959,{{cite web|url=http://www.dot-anime.com/tb/yamato/interviews/01_1.html|title=Space Battleship Yamato interview with Goro Naya: Part 1|last=Tori|first=Miki|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521120444/http://www.dot-anime.com/tb/yamato/interviews/01_1.html |access-date=24 July 2024|archive-date=2009-05-21 }} he acted at the children’s stage company Todo and at Ina no Kai,{{cite web|url= http://www.t-echo.co.jp/renmei/actor/naya.html |title=Goro Naya at Theater Echo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211211759/http://www.t-echo.co.jp/renmei/actor/naya.html |access-date=24 July 2024|archive-date=2011-12-11 }} 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."{{cite news|title=Sarai Interviews Gorō Naya|newspaper=Sarai|date=18 June 2009}} 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."{{cite web|url=http://video.foxjapan.com/library/fukikae/interview04.html|title=Kenichi Murakami - Interview with Goro Naya, Emperor of Dubbing|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016014449/http://video.foxjapan.com/library/fukikae/interview04.html |access-date=24 July 2024|archive-date=2012-10-16 }} 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,{{cite web|url=https://www.fukikaekingdom.com/%E7%B4%8D%E8%B0%B7%E5%85%AD%E6%9C%97%E3%81%95%E3%82%93%E3%82%92%E5%81%B2%E3%82%93%E3%81%A7/|title=Interview Kingdom - In Remembrance of Mr. Rokuro Naya|access-date=24 July 2024}} 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."{{cite press release|date=1995 |title=Farewell to Nostradamus flyer|url=http://waltherp38709.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-362.html|location=Japan|access-date=2024-07-24}} 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."{{cite journal|title=Ten Voice Actors Who Supported the Riders - Volume 10: Gorō Naya|journal=Kodansha Kamen Rider File Volume 7: Kamen Rider Stronger|pages=28|publisher=Kodansha|date=25 August 2004}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik4/2005-08-23/2005082301_02_0.html|title=58 Famous People from all walks of life expressed "I look forward to the breakthrough of the Japanese Communist Party."|access-date=24 July 2024}} 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."{{cite web|url=http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/entame/entertainment/120274/|title=The Will left by Zenigata's Pops|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316185659/http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/entame/entertainment/120274/ |access-date=24 July 2024|archive-date=2013-03-16 }} 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.

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111211211759/http://www.t-echo.co.jp/renmei/actor/naya.html Goro Naya] at Theater Echo

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Category:1929 births

Category:2013 deaths

Category:20th-century Japanese male actors

Category:21st-century Japanese male actors

Category:Japanese male voice actors

Category:Voice actors from Hakodate

Category:Deaths from respiratory failure

Category:Lupin the Third