Daisuke Namikawa vs. Taku Yashiro—Why Did Their “Seriousness Showdown” Turn Chaotic?! Scenes Where They’re Shocked by Showa-Era Voice Acting Industry Stories

The “Anime LIVE Channel” program “Say You To Yo Asobi Wednesday [Daisuke Namikawa x Taku Yashiro] #16” aired on ABEMA on August 27, 2025 (Wednesday) at 10:00 PM. In this broadcast, the regular segment “You’re Below Me! Namikawa & Yashiro—THE BATTLE,” where they compete in games using both physical and mental strength throughout the year, centered on a contest themed around “seriousness.” Daisuke Namikawa and Taku Yashiro challenged themselves to a “serious talk” with laughter sealed away, and also engaged in a battle against a “Rental Uncle.”

■Daisuke Namikawa Reveals Showa-Era Voice Acting Industry Stories—Taku Yashiro Says “It’s Inspiring”

At the beginning of the show, there was a segment where they answered prompts from the MCs of other days. This time, they tackled a prompt from Tomokazu Seki, the Friday MC, asking, “Tell us an outrageous industry urban legend!” Yashiro commented, “I’ve heard things from my seniors! Like grilling squid in the studio…” to which Namikawa instantly replied, “Ah yes, that really happened.” Yashiro reacted in surprise, “Wait, that wasn’t an urban legend?! That’s actually true?!”

Furthermore, Namikawa reflected on his own days as a child actor and shared stories about Showa-era industry practices: “I couldn’t see the projector screen because the studio was so filled with smoke from seniors’ cigarettes,” and “They’d cut the NG film reel and show it, saying ‘This is today’s NG part. Guess how much that costs?’” Recalling his experience, Namikawa said, “It was scary! I was just a 6th grader!” To this, Yashiro responded, “Hearing stories like that makes me think I can’t let myself slack off. It’s inspiring.”

Additionally, they discussed urban legends about the very senior Kenyu Horiuchi. Yashiro told the story of being late and explaining, “A rhinoceros beetle flew at me while I was cycling and got stuck in my helmet,” and Namikawa added, “There’s also a story where a rhinoceros beetle got angry and flew away, cage and all.” These comments brought laughter to the studio.