is a Japanese actor and voice artist from the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
Career Voice acting Masuda's breakthrough came with voice director Takayuki Hamana's 2004 television adaptation of The Prince of Tennis. Cast as Masaharu Niō, a doubles specialist who "reads ten moves ahead", he quickly became a fan favourite and has reprised the character in original-video animations, feature films and stage recordings.
Parallel to his anime work he joined the Sonic games, debuting in Sonic Heroes (2003). A 2024 casting survey by specialist outlet Siliconera lists Masuda among the returning Japanese leads for Sonic x Shadow Generations, underscoring Espio's importance to the current franchise canon.
Other notable roles covered in the trade press include Ferb Fletcher in the Japanese dub of Phineas and Ferb, for which he supplied promotional comments during the Disney/Marvel crossover campaign.
Live-action and stage Masuda's highest-profile screen role remains Hiroshi Kuronaga, "Boy 9" of Class 3-B, in Kinji Fukasaku's dystopian thriller Battle Royale (2000). The Arrow Video archival booklet names him in the principal cast list for both the original theatrical cut and the director's edition.
On stage he has featured in several 2.5-dimensional musicals, among them the second Prince of Tennis live series, where reviewers singled out his chemistry with co-star Eiyū Tsuda for sustaining the franchise's comedic "trick play" routines.
Filmography
Anime 1992 The Little Twins (Tafuru) 2003 Sonic X (Espio) 2004 The Prince of Tennis (Masaharu Niou) Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Daichi Misawa) 2005 Idaten Jump (Masa) Ginga Legend Weed (Kyōshirō) 2006 Eyeshield 21 (Riku Kaitani) Kekkaishi (Yoshiro Takemitsu) Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry (Colin) Tokko (Ajiro) Musashi Gundoh (Kirigakure Saizō) Red Garden (Luke) 2007 Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Sune) 2008 Kure-nai (Tadashi Kunō) True Tears (Jun Isurugi) Persona: Trinity Soul (Watanabe) 2010 Angel Beats! (Fujimaki) Katekyo Hitman Reborn (G) Night Raid 1931 (Kiyoshi Mitani) Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (Breo) 2011 Kamisama Dolls (Fujima, Torimasa) 2012 The New Prince of Tennis (Masaharu Niou)
Original video animation The Prince of Tennis series (Masaharu Niō) Red Garden: Dead Girls (Luke)
Film animation Only Yesterday (Shuji Hirota)
Video games Angel Beats! 1st Beat (Fujimaki) Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (Charles VII of France) Sonic the Hedgehog series Sonic Heroes (Espio the Chameleon) Shadow the Hedgehog (Espio the Chameleon) Sonic Heroes (Espio the Chameleon) Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Espio the Chameleon) Sonic Colors (Espio the Chameleon) Sonic Generations (Espio the Chameleon) Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Espio the Chameleon) Sonic Forces (Espio the Chameleon) Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Espio the Chameleon) Sonic at the Olympic Games (Espio the Chameleon) The Prince of Tennis series (Masaharu Niou) Yu-Gi-Oh! Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 2 (Daichi Misawa) Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force 3 (Daichi Misawa) Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 6 (Breo) Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Tag Force Special (Daichi Misawa) Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links (Daichi Misawa)
Dubbing City of God (Bené (Phellipe Haagensen)) One Tree Hill (Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray)) Shameless (Lip Gallagher (Jeremy Allen White)) Untraceable (Owen Reilly (Joseph Cross))
Live-action Battle Royale (Hiroshi Kuronaga)
References
External links Official blog