Forum - View topicWhy do people use aliases and pen names?
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kk
 Posts: 109 Location: Edmonton, Alberta |
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OK, this has been bugging me a little bit lately and the answer may seem a little obvious to some, but why do voice actors use a name other than their real names? I guess this would also go for mangakas who use pen names. Do they use aliases as a privacy thing like we use our usernames or what?
If anyone answers this, I thank you in advance! 
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Kazuki-san
 Posts: 2251 Location: Houston, TX |
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As far as VAs go, they often use aliases because the work they are doing is non-union, which would cause a bit of a problem is they were associated officially with a series. That's one of the reasons (if not the main) that ANN respects that, and you will find listings in the encyclopedia where most people know who the VA really is, but it will still be credited to an alias.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11434 Location: Frisco, TX |
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U.S. voice actors are part of a Union, and I suppose they have to sign contracts under their real names. In order for them to do other voice work outside of the Union, they have to make up aliases or fake names so as to not breach their contracts.
I'm not too familiar with how the Union stuff actually works, though, so don't quote me on that  .
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Kazuki-san
Posts: 2251 Location: Houston, TX |
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It's also so the studio doesn't have to pay the union rate.
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Unlike the union issue for many American voice actors, in the case of Japanese seiyuu the major reason for using pseudonyms is roles for 18+ titles (both anime and games). Some voice actresses have up to ten different pseudonyms. Here is a good site telling you who's who (very useful when you hear a familiar voice moaning...
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Haiseikoh 1973
 Posts: 1590 Location: Waiting for the Japanese 1000 Gunieas. |
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And you know this HOW.....? |
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abunai
Old Regular
 Posts: 5463 Location: 露命 |
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Whoa, dude! Satsusa Rumiko is really Aoki Sayaka? ヤレヤレ
- abunai |
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ShellBullet
 Posts: 1051 Location: I hit things, with my fist. |
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You also need to rememeber that some names just don't sound right. Take, for example, Bob Dylan. The name evokes the perfect image of a rebel musician playing good ol' rock and roll. Would Robert Zimmerman make the same effect? I think not. Another example, would anyone think of Julia Jean Mildred Frances Turner as a sex symble? Doubtful, but Lana Turner, there's a name with a nice ring to it! For anyone born with a name that doesn't match their public image, a fake name is the only way to go.
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quincyarcher
 Posts: 164 Location: Age of Paranoia |
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Well, some of it's to protect their family. Fans can be kinda weird.
And besides, I wouldn't want to publish anything with my real name on it. There's too many people I've met in my life that have remembered my name for too long. I wouldn't want someone to attach my name to a work that I might someday later become embarassed about. I still read papers from high school I thought were so amazing at the time that now I'm positively certain I want to burn and pray that no one that knows me ever reads. Besides, it's hard to go back home and have everyone know that you've published something, even if they've never read it. There was a women's manga artist from the eighties who lived a few blocks away from me in Okayama and everyone would always mention that she was there, even though no one had ever even bothered to pick up her books. |
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linlinchan
Posts: 286 |
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That's a really large reason for it in Japan. Most people want to create a name with an effect, which isn't really possible when your name is "Yamamoto Keiko," "Tanaka Yuuko," "Watanabe Kouichi" or such, because everyone has these names are names that everyone has. People want something strange that people will remember, like they do the character's names, which is why people change their names to cuter/more interesting names. |
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