Initially joining the SUEI simply due to his love of railways, Azuma is quickly promoted to the chief commander of the Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute due to his exceptional elite performance at some point following the disappearance of the institute's founder and original head, Isaburo Yatsushiro.

A group called the Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute was investigating a recent rash of monster attacks happening in Japan after the appearance of a mysterious Black Shinkansen. The SUEI had a major weapon for the fight - Shinkalions, bullet trains that can transform into giant mecha. One boy, Hayato Hayasugi, was a huge fan of trains and stumbled upon his father’s secret work for the SUEI. Surprisingly, Hayato soon became a Shinkalion driver! As perhaps Japan’s best chance of survival, Hayato and other kids take on the great responsibility of fighting otherworldly enemies. 

Now, a new giant enemy has come from space looking to conquer the planet. Although the SUEI have a new prototype Shinkalion known as the ALFA-X to take up the fight, Hayato’s father, Hokuto, disappears. A 9-year-old version of Hokuto leaps through time to the present to help fight the alien attackers and drives the ALFA-X! 

(Source: Tokyo Otaku Mode)

__Height:__ 176cm (5'9)

A Japanese actor, voice actor, singer and narrator from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment.

He was the manager of the Tagajou Senior High School basketball team before he made a name for himself. His voice acting debut was the OVA [Megazone 23](https://anilist.co/anime/1935/) as the motorcycle-riding [Shinji Nakagawa](https://anilist.co/character/56633/), while his television debut was the anime [Bosco Adventure](https://anilist.co/anime/3460/) as the cowardly Otter. His break-out role, however, was in the anime [Ranma ½](https://anilist.co/anime/210/), in which he played the dual role of [Hibiki Ryoga](https://anilist.co/character/2369/) and the [Jusenkyo Guide](https://anilist.co/character/58321/). In 1991, Yamadera joined forces with [Toshihiko Seki](https://anilist.co/staff/95129/) and [Noriko Hidaka](https://anilist.co/staff/95181/) to form the acting unit Banana Fritters, which disbanded in 1995. In October 1997, Yamadera became a host on the TV Tokyo children's variety show Oha Suta. In March 2016, after almost two decades, he announced his retirement from it.

Yamadera's also known for his versatile range, as shown in the video game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony where he voiced all five Monokuma Kubs, including Monophanie (female). According to the Danganronpa V3 official blog, Yamadera is the first person who came to mind as "the same person voicing multiple characters at the same time". No one has as much "multiple characters" experience as him. He was able to take the individual quirks of each of the Monokuma Kubs and make all of them unique.

Other notable examples of multiple voice acting include the Kingdom Hearts series where he voiced Donald Duck, Genie (Aladdin), Sebastian (The Little Mermaid), Beast (Beauty and the Beast), Mushu (Mulan), Jaq (Cinderella) and Stitch (Lilo and Stitch), and the [Japan Animator Expo](https://anilist.co/anime/20947/) series of 35 short films where Yamadera and [Megumi Hayashibara](https://anilist.co/staff/95014/) voiced all characters.

Yamadera was married to fellow voice actresses [Mika Kanai](https://anilist.co/staff/95029/) from 1993 to 2006, and to [Rie Tanaka](https://anilist.co/staff/95060/) from 2012 to 2018. On June 14, 2021, his marriage to singer and idol Robin Shoko Okada was announced.

__Trivia:__
- His nickname is Yama-chan.
- The official dub-over voice for Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey and Disney's Donald Duck.
- He didn't consider to do voice acting at first and was more interested in being either a live-action actor or a salesman.
- He is known as "the man with the seven-colored voice".
- In 2011 and 2017, TV Asahi conducted a poll among Japanese voice actors and actresses on "who they thought was really the most amazing person in their profession". Yamadera ranked first both times.

In the franchise's story, Hayato Hayasugi, the train-loving son of a train museum curator, accidentally stumbles into his dad's secret research lab one day. Inside he finds the E5 bullet train. As soon as he enters, he hears an announcement that a mysterious enemy, the Bachigami ("bee god"), is attacking the city of New Saitama. Luckily, with the touch of his father's Shinca ("evolve") card, the bullet train he's in transforms into a mighty robot — the Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa. 

In the anime's story, Hayato and other children will serve as conductors to pilot the Shinkalion. The children must work together with the adults of the "Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute" (SUEI) to defeat a monster that looks like a jet black bullet train.
 
(Source: Anime News Network)

Subaru Azuma