Norio Wakamoto
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Norio Wakamoto (若本 規夫 Wakamoto Norio) (born October 18, 1945) is a veteran male seiyū and budō expert affiliated with Sigma Seven. He was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was raised in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University.
After graduation from Waseda University, Wakamoto initially found employment as a police officer assigned to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Anti-Riot Squad division before becoming a seiyū.
The quality of Wakamoto's voice is known for uniting astringency and sharpness, usually leading him to villain roles in dubbing work and games. Examples include Oskar von Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Johnny in the Guilty Gear series, Barbatos Goetia in Tales of Destiny 2, Charles zi Britannia in Code Geass, Black Shadow in F-Zero GP Legend, Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II, Oda Nobunaga in Devil Kings, Cell in Dragon Ball Z and GT, Dracula in Castlevania series, Bison in the Street Fighter series, Igniz and Omega Rugal in The King of Fighters series and many others. On adult works, like OVAs or dating sims he goes by the alias "Hiruma Kyounosuke".
He holds the rank of 3-dan in both Shorinji Kempo and Kendo.