miHoYo held on November 12 theGenshin Impact 2.3stream, most notably revealing Takanori Nishikawa is the Japanese voice actor (seiyuu) of new playable character Arataki Itto.
You definitely already heard the voice of Takanori Nishikawa if you’re an anime fan, even if you haven’t heard the name before. Perhaps T.M. Revolution, his stage name, rings a bell instead. Takanori Nishikawa is a legendary music artist and one of the most popular singers from Japan.
Who is Takanori Nishikawa voicing Arataki Itto inGenshin Impact?
Most anime fans outside Japan learnt of Takanori Nishikawa with the release ofGundam Seedin 2002, where he handled several theme songs. Including first OP theme songInvoke, and insert theme songMeteor, played during Kira’s iconic comeback scene while piloting the Freedom Gundam for the first time.
Nishikawa is in fact a hugeGundamfan and a huge otaku in general, as shown by his participation on theFinal FantasyNHK poll. Nishikawa also voiced side characters inGundam Seedbut he’s a singer first and seiyuu second.
Arataki Itto fromGenshin Impactwill be one of the very rare characters in anime and games voiced by Takanori Nishikawa. Another recent role he did is Là ng Wū Yáo inThunderbolt Fantasy. The series is written by Gen Urobuchi (Phantom of Inferno, Saya no Uta,Madoka Magica) so you should definitely try it out.
Takanori Nishikawa was born on July 11, 2025 (51 years old) in Yasu, Shiga in Japan. Nishikawa officially started his career back in 1996 and has been incredibly popular since. In particular, his singleWhite Breathin October 1997 topped the charts, and sold over a million copies.
Later on, Takanori Nishikawa also handled theme songs for theSengoku Basaraseries by Capcom,D-Gray ManandSoul Eater. You’ve definitely already heard his voice if you’ve been watching anime for a few years.
T.M. Revolution teased Itto on Twitter
Interestingly, right after the Arataki Itto voice reveal, Nishikawa tweeted “Did you notice I was teasing it?”. During his Best Hits 2021 concert on November 11, Nishikawa wore belts on his chest, similarly to Itto.
Nishikawa also jokingly mentioned “Itto’s Vision isn’t Anemo, but I’m still super happy to voice him”. This is a joke regarding how T.M. Revolution is often seen dancing against the winds and storms in his music videos. Especially in the video for iconic songHot Limit, which I detailed further below.
In fact, seeing miHoYo doesn’t do auditions and designs characters with their seiyuu in mind (Tomoaki Maeno / Zhongli confirmed so) it’s very likely Arataki Itto’s character design was a reference to TMR andHot Limitin the first place.
Takanori Nishikawa is also an experienced producer
Chiyomaru Shikura, the creator of popular seriesSteins;Gate, and Takanori Nishikawa aka T.M. Revolution have beenworking together for years nowonB-Project. Itâs amale idol franchiseby Mages started in 2015, and produced by Nishikawa.B.Projectalready got a rhythm game, multiple anime and stage play adaptations, and tons of CD releases. AB-ProjectNintendo Switch game is also in development.
Right now, I’d personally say the most popular seiyuu inGenshin ImpactisKenjiro Tsuda, nicknamed Tsudaken by fans, who voices Dainsleif. However, with the addition of Takanori Nishikawa to the cast, the balance has tipped and he’s definitely the biggest name in the game now. And shows miHoYo really plans to makeGenshin Impactinto the ultimate anime otaku gacha JRPG.
I bet miHoYo will definitely end up adding aHot Limitinspired Skin / costume for Arataki Itto.Hot Limitis one of the most popular songs from Nishikawa, most notably because of the flamboyant bondage-like costume he wore during its music video. WhileHot Limitreleased in 1998, the costume became a meme in the early 2010s, appearing in several anime or used as a costume for figures.
