Norio Wakamoto

Norio Wakamoto

Norio Wakamoto (若本 規夫, Wakamoto Norio) (October 18, 1945 - ) is a male seiyū and budo 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, The Emperor of Britannia in Code Geass, Black Shadow in F-Zero GP Legend, Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts II, Oda Nobunaga in Devil Kings, Nikita Dragovich in Call of Duty: Black Ops, Cell in Dragon Ball Z and GT, Dracula in Castlevania series and many others.

He is a third-level Shorinji Kempo artist and a second-level Kendo artist.

SNK Roles

• Igniz - The King of Fighters 2001
• Rugal Bernstein, Omega Rugal - The King of Fighters 2002 ~ present
• M. Bison - SNK vs Capcom: SVC Chaos
• Golba - Samurai Shodown Sen