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The story
Oricon News reported that voice actor Fukushi Ochiai, cast as Ryotsu Kankichi in the new “Kochikame” anime, was grilled over the phone by his father, former baseball star Hiromitsu Ochiai, at 8 AM before the casting was officially announced — and played dumb rather than spill the news. On the thread, speculation flew that the information might have leaked through some other route, while plenty of commenters also reminisced about how Fukushi, once known for his delinquent behavior, worked hard to become a voice actor and ended up where he is today. Mixed in with lighter jokes like “the Three Great Ochiais,” the topic took off as a bit of a family affair.
Voice Actor Fukushi Ochiai Grilled by Father Hiromitsu Over Ryotsu Kankichi Casting — 8 AM Call Before Announcement | Oricon News
2026-09-05 13:02, Oricon News
New “Kochikame” Cast Unveiled
Source: oricon.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Asahiii Super Dryyy (a stretched-out, slurred riff on the beer brand's name — random meme non sequitur)
Minor info leaks happen all the time.
"A leaker," lol
Come on out, whoever you are!
Hiromitsu
Nobuko
Fukushi
Throw Eiji in there too (Eiji Ochiai — another well-known public figure sharing the surname)
That's way too hardcore baseball-otaku of you ("yakibuta" — slang mashing up "baseball" and "pig" for obsessive fans)
Honestly, it's kind of scary how none of you are questioning this story at all.
Ochiai spoils his kids, that's for sure.
I wanted to watch him stay a brat forever, but somehow he actually turned out fine.
If it were me, I'd panic thinking someone had died.
It was something he was keeping secret even from his own father — of course it shouldn't have leaked.
Reiko and Nakagawa are good though — "good" meaning they resemble their predecessors without being straight impressions, a nice balance.
Still, Fuji TV anime tends to be way better at picking replacement cast than NTV or TV Asahi, so I think this one will settle in fine too.
He's a voice actor, so comparing him to Kazushige is a bit off, but
think about Rakutaro's son, or Yoshihiko Takahashi's daughter, or Carp's Ogata's daughter — they're voice actors too but never really broke out, so maybe what Fukushi's done here is actually impressive.
Yoshihiko Takahashi's daughter,
and Ogata's daughter are voice actors too.
They're pretty cute.
Takahashi's daughter is more than just "pretty cute," I'd say.
Was this one guy recorded on a completely different mic or something?
Even though they can fix a lot in the mix afterward, even the volume itself feels off.
Back in the day people were saying he'd end up smacking Tsuneo Watanabe someday, lol (Watanabe — the famously hardline former Yomiuri Giants chairman)
Getting knocked down a peg probably changed him.
I bet this is who he really was underneath — he was just spoiled and full of himself before.
Apparently having a kid is what changed him.
He was basically a NEET up until then, then suddenly decided to become a voice actor, enrolled in a trade school, and studied from scratch to get where he is now.
Sounds like he wanted to show his kid that he actually has a job and works for a living.
Actually, among baseball players of his generation, it'd be rarer to find one who HASN'T read Kochikame.
I mean, do you really think some guy in his 70s would be among the first to get wind of a Kochikame anime adaptation?
That's great — after grinding through background roles all this time, he finally made it.
His actual first lead role was in "Gurazeni."
It aired on BS Sky PerfecTV, so it's a bit of a hidden gem only die-hards know about.
Background and Key Points
This episode is also a good example of just how tightly information gets locked down before an anime casting reveal. Voice actor casting is typically kept secret from everyone involved until the official announcement date — and family members are said to be no exception. Fukushi Ochiai is the son of former professional baseball player Hiromitsu Ochiai; known for delinquent behavior in his younger days, he decided to pursue voice acting after getting married and having a child, studying the craft from scratch at a vocational school. While the thread is full of talk about a “culprit” who leaked the information, it’s worth noting the article never actually confirms anyone deliberately leaked anything — that remains pure speculation. Some commenters also flagged inconsistencies in the recording’s audio quality, but these are just first impressions right after release and may not reflect the final finished product.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Voice Actor Fukushi Ochiai Grilled by Father Hiromitsu Over Ryotsu Kankichi Casting, Played Dumb — 8 AM Call Before Announcement.”
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