Yevgeniya Ivanovna Davidyuk (Russian: Евгения Ивановна Давидюк, born March 22, 1981),[1] known professionally as Jenya (Japanese: ジェーニャ, Hepburn: Jēnya), is a Russian voice actress, singer, and radio personality based in Japan.[2]

Jenya
ジェーニャ
Born
Yevgeniya Davidyuk (Russian: Евгения Давидюк)

(1981-03-22) March 22, 1981 (age 43)
Other namesItsuki Akiba (秋葉いつき)
Alma materNovosibirsk State University of Economics and Management
Occupations
  • Voice actress
  • singer
  • radio personality
Years active2009–present
Height161 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Spouse
unknown
(m. 2016)
Children1
Musical career
InstrumentVocals
Years active2002–present

Early life

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Yevgeniya Davidyuk was born at Novosibirsk, Soviet Union on March 22, 1981, and spent most of her childhood at Gorky.[3][4] Her father was a military officer who taught his subordinates the ideologies of the Communist Party. She has a younger brother.[5] At the age of eight, her family moved to Czechoslovakia for a five-year stay due to her father's work, but they returned to the Soviet Union a year later and lived in Kaliningrad for almost two years before moving back to Novosibirsk.[6][5] At the age of 16, she became interested in voice acting after watching the Japanese animated series Sailor Moon in 1997, which she described as the "anime that changed my life". She majored in information technology at Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management in 1998. While studying, she frequently visited the Siberia-Hokkaido Cultural Center where she founded an anime club and learned Japanese.[5] She moved to Japan in 2005, where she worked part-time in Akihabara.[4]

Career

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Jenya created an anime fan website (kawaii.otaku.ru)[5] in 2000, where she posted anime songs she performed in Japanese.[7] She became known as "the Russian anime singer who sings in Japanese" in 2002 and was invited by the Japanese broadcast channel Mondo2 (now Mondo TV) to appear on a show. She arrived in Tokyo for the first time with her father for a week to be filmed.[8][7] In 2007, she was hired as a Russian language coach for anime productions,[8] including Black Lagoon.[9] She made her voice acting debut as an operator at NERV's Bethany Base in the 2009 anime film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.[7]

In 2013, Jenya was a finalist for CanCam's model audition.[10] In 2014, she returned to Russia to host and sing in a Game Symphony Japan concert, where an orchestra performs music from games and anime, after an invitation from conductor Kenichi Shimura.[7] She performed again with the orchestra in Tokyo in July 2016,[11] in Russia in April 2018,[7] and in Yokohama in November.[12]

In 2015, she was announced as the voice of Klara, an original character specifically created by director Tsutomu Mizushima for her,[7] in Girls und Panzer der Film.[13] She met Mizushima after the production team found her tweet stating her lack of role in Girls und Panzer despite the appearance of Russian-based characters in the series.[8]

Jenya is currently a freelancer. She previously worked under Media Force [ja] (September 2008–September 2010),[14][15] 81 Produce (November 2010–May 2014),[16][17] K Hive (March 2015–2018),[18] Wave Master [ja] (July 2018–October 2020),[19][20] and New Gate Tokyo (January 2021–July 2022).[21][22]

Personal life

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Jenya passed the N1 Japanese-Language Proficiency Test and scored 935 points on the TOEIC.[3] In 2016, Jenya announced on her blog that she had married and was pregnant.[23] On March 20, 2017, she gave birth to a girl.[24]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Network Note
2007 TV Champion 2 Herself TV Tokyo Variety show; finalist in "King of Foreign Otaku" segment[25]
2009 Cheburashka Arere? Rariska TV Tokyo Voice in anime
2014 Mysterious Joker Lady Doubt Kids Station Voice in anime; second season[3]
2015 Fūfu Japan Herself Fuji TV Regular[3]
2015 Nandemo World Ranking Nepu & Imoto no Sekai Bantsuki Herself NTV Variety show regular[3]
2015 World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman Elena Arshavina TV Tokyo Voice in anime (Russian dialect only)
2016 Yuri on Ice Woman D TV Asahi Voice in anime; Russian language supervisor[3]
2017 Russia-go Suki? Herself NHK E-TV Regular[3]
2017 Hina Logi: from Luck & Logic Additional voices Tokyo MX Voice in anime; Russian language supervisor[3]
2022 Akiba Maid War Zoya Tokyo MX, BS11, KBS Kyoto, SUN Voice in anime[26]

Anime films

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List of voice performances in anime films
Year Title Role Ref.
2009 Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance NERV's Bethany Base operator [7]
2015 Girls und Panzer der Film Klara [13]
2017 Girls und Panzer das Finale: Part 1 [27]
2021 Girls und Panzer das Finale: Part 3

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Kud Wafter TASA spokesperson [3]
2012 Time Travelers Female friend of Mikoto, Yulia [3]
2015 Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 Desna [28]
2022 Girls' Frontline AK74M [29]

Dubbing

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References

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  1. ^ "My favorite things!". kawaii.otaku.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on February 7, 2002. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Kosuge, Misato (April 15, 2016). "Behind the Voice". NHK World Japan. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j ジェーニャ (Jenya). Wave Master (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Davidyuk, Yevgeniya (December 25, 2021). ソ連は「進撃の巨人」の壁内 声優ジェーニャさんが見た崩壊「前夜」 [The Soviet Union is within the walls of Attack on Titan and the "eve" of the collapse as seen by voice actress Jenya] (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Kazuhiro Sekine. The Asahi Shimbun. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Davidyuk, Yevgeniya (December 25, 2021). ソ連は娯楽少なく…声優ジェーニャ「アニメは二つ。チェブラーシカとヌー・パガジー」 [The Soviet Union has little entertainment... voice actor Jenya "Two cartoons. Cheburashka and Well, Just You Wait!"] (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Kazuhiro Sekine. The Asahi Shimbun Globe+. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Sekine, Kazuhiro (January 18, 2022). エヴァ声優ジェーニャ「ソ連は進撃の巨人の壁内」人生変えたアニメ [Eva voice actress Jenya: "The Soviet Union is within the walls of Attack on Titan", the anime that changed my life]. The Asahi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Russian "Seiyu" Puts Heart into Spreading Love of Anime". JapanGov. Government of Japan. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Kuwahara, Rika (October 31, 2019). "Jenya: A Russian Voice Actor in Japan". Power News. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022 – via Nippon.com.
  9. ^ Jenya (March 19, 2007). 声優を目指して日本へ - ロシアのオタク親善大使、ジェーニャ嬢 [Going to Japan to become a voice actor - Miss Jenya, Russia's Otaku Goodwill Ambassador] (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Tomohiro Noguchi. MyNavi News. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Jenya (November 13, 2013). CanCamオーディション、2次審査を通過しました! [CanCam audition, passed the second round!] (in Japanese). Retrieved June 18, 2019 – via Ameba.
  11. ^ Inamoto, Tetsuya (July 19, 2016). 「Game Symphony Japan 17th Concert SEGA Special 2016」が開催。今年はメモリアルイヤーを迎えた名作の楽曲をオーケストラが演奏 [Game Symphony Japan 17th Concert SEGA Special 2016" was held. This year, the orchestra will perform the music of the masterpieces in the memorial year of the game]. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  12. ^ PSの名曲を贅沢にオーケストラコンサートで聴く。“JAPAN Studio音楽祭2018”をレポート [Listen to PS masterpieces in a luxurious orchestral concert. Report on "Japan Studio Music Festival 2018"]. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). November 21, 2018. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Loo, Egan (October 28, 2015). "Girls & Panzer Film's Trailer, New TV Ad Posted". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  14. ^ Jenya (September 10, 2008). メディアフォース事務所に入りました! [I'm in the Media Force office!] (in Japanese). Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Ameba.
  15. ^ Jenya (September 30, 2010). 大事なお知らせ [Important Notice] (in Japanese). Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Ameba.
  16. ^ Jenya (November 1, 2010). 本日から、81プロデュースです! [Starting today, it's 81 Produce!] (in Japanese). Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Ameba.
  17. ^ Jenya (June 6, 2014). お知らせ [Notice] (in Japanese). Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Ameba.
  18. ^ ジェーニャ [@jenya_jp] (March 9, 2015). ジェーニャ来日10周年記念ライブで発表しましたが、3月1日付けで株式会社ケイハイブに所属しました。福井裕佳梨さんをはじめ、先輩方と一緒に新しい事務所でお仕事を頑張ります!事務所HPへのプロフィール掲載は、もう少々お待ちください。http://khive.co.jp/talent/ [As announced at the 10th anniversary live of Jenya's arrival in Japan, I have joined K Hive Inc. as of March 1. I will work hard with Yukari Fukui and other senior members at my new office! Please wait a little longer for the profile to be posted on the office website.] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Jenya (July 2, 2018). 「ウェーブマスター」に移りました!&明日テレビ出演「ウチのガヤがすみません!」 [We've transferred to "Wave Master"! & Tomorrow's TV Appearance Uchi no Gaya ga Sumimasen!] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Line Blog.
  20. ^ ジェーニャ [@jenya_jp] (October 31, 2020). 本日を持ちまして、所属していた事務所、ウェーブマスターを辞めることになりました。長い間お世話になった皆さん、ありがとうございました。これからも声優、歌手、タレントとして、日本で頑張って行きますので、応援よろしくお願いします。 [As of today, I am resigning from my firm, Wave Master. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me over the years. I will continue to do my best as a voice actor, singer, and talent in Japan, so please support me.] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Jenya (January 4, 2021). NEW GATE TOKYOに所属しました [I belonged to New Gate Tokyo] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Line Blog.
  22. ^ Multiple sources:
  23. ^ "『ガルパン』ロシア人声優・ジェーニャ 結婚&妊娠発表". Oricon (in Japanese). November 14, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  24. ^ "『ガルパン』ロシア人声優・ジェーニャが第1子女児出産「感動一生忘れない」". Oricon (in Japanese). March 21, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  25. ^ Loo, Egan (May 11, 2007). "TV Tokyo Program Crowns King of Foreign Otaku". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  26. ^ ゾーヤ (CV:ジェーニャ) (in Japanese). Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  27. ^ "Cast". girls-und-panzer-finale.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  28. ^ "「蒼き雷霆 ガンヴォルト 爪」のボスとして登場するグリモワルドセブンのメンバー「テンジアン」「ニケー」「ニムロド」の情報が明らかに". 4gamer (in Japanese). July 19, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  29. ^ ドールズフロントライン公式 [@GirlsFrontline] (September 8, 2022). 【CV実装予告】下記の戦術人形に、 豪華声優陣による魅力的なボイスを「9月9日(金)メンテナンス後」より実装いたします。AK74M:ジェーニャ 動画も用意しましたので是非お聞きください!▼高画質版はYouTubeにて https://youtu.be/HBbQ6szf6dU #ドルフロ #声優 [[CV implementation notice] The following tactical dolls will be equipped with attractive voices by a splendid voice cast from "September 9 (Friday) After Maintenance". AK74M: Jenya We've even prepared a video for you to listen to! ▼High-quality version on YouTube https://youtu.be/HBbQ6szf6dU #Dolflo #Seiyū] (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ "トランスフォーマー/ダークサイド・ムーン". Fukikaeru. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  31. ^ "X-MEN:ファースト・ジェネレーション". Fukikaeru. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
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