Shinpachi Shimura’s voice actor in Gintama is Daisuke Sakaguchi in the Japanese version. In English releases, the role has had multiple official dub actors depending on the production, including Clay Cartland for the 2019 TV dub, Cole Howard for Gintama° and The Very Final, and Mark X Laskowski for the 2012 film dub.
For the original Japanese version, though, the answer is clear: Daisuke Sakaguchi is the defining voice of Shinpachi Shimura across the anime and wider franchise. Behind The Voice Actors lists Sakaguchi as the Japanese voice across the main Gintama entries, and Aoni Production’s official profile includes “Gintama series — Shinpachi Shimura” among his representative anime roles.
Japanese Voice Actor: Daisuke Sakaguchi
Date of Birth
October 11, 1973. Aoni Production’s official profile lists Sakaguchi’s birthday as October 11, and multiple public biographical sources give the full date as October 11, 1973.
About Daisuke
Daisuke Sakaguchi is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production. Public biographies and his agency profile identify him as a long-running seiyuu with major roles including Shinpachi Shimura in Gintama, Üso Ewin in Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, Yōhei Sunohara in Clannad, Leonardo Watch in Blood Blockade Battlefront, Satoshi Fukube in Hyouka, and Victor Licht in Fire Force.
For Gintama fans, Sakaguchi is especially important because Shinpachi is one of the three core Yorozuya members and the franchise’s straight-man anchor. Recent interview coverage from Oricon still centers the chemistry between Tomokazu Sugita, Daisuke Sakaguchi, and Rie Kugimiya as essential to Gintama, reinforcing how central Sakaguchi remains to the series’ identity.
Hometown
Kashiwazaki, Niigata, Japan. Public biographical sources list Sakaguchi’s birthplace as Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, while Aoni’s official profile gives Niigata Prefecture as his place of origin.
Career Highlights
Daisuke Sakaguchi’s most relevant highlight here is Shinpachi Shimura in Gintama. Aoni Production includes the Gintama series among his featured credits, and BTVA shows him as the Japanese voice attached to Shinpachi across the franchise’s TV, film, and game appearances.
Other major career highlights documented in public sources include:
- Üso Ewin in Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
- Yōhei Sunohara in Clannad
- Leonardo Watch in Blood Blockade Battlefront
- Satoshi Fukube in Hyouka
- Victor Licht in Fire Force
- Yuzuhiko Tachibana in Atashin’chi
What makes Shinpachi stand out is longevity. BTVA’s franchise page shows Sakaguchi voicing him across numerous Gintama titles, including TV series, films, and games, making Shinpachi one of the roles most consistently tied to his name.
Full Current Filmography
The list below reflects documented credits from Aoni Production’s official profile and major public biographical sources used for this article. Because neither source set provides a single definitive all-media master résumé in one place, this should be read as a documented-credit filmography and may not be exhaustive.
Television anime
- 1993 — Mobile Suit Victory Gundam — Üso Ewin
- 1997 — Crayon Shin-chan — Yoshirin Hatogaya
- 1998 — Mamotte Shugogetten — Tasuke Shichiri
- **1998 — Yu-Gi-Oh! **— Hamada Haiyama
- 2002–present — Atashin’chi franchise — Yuzuhiko Tachibana
- 2002 — Tokyo Mew Mew — Quiche
- 2003 — Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo — Halon Oni, Youngest Dynamite Brother
- 2004 — Paranoia Agent — Shōnen Bat / Makoto Kozuka
- 2004 — Ragnarok The Animation — Roan
- 2005 — MÄR — Jack
- 2006 — The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya — minor/related franchise credits appear in public filmography sources, but not as one of the main signature roles used here; omitted from major-role treatment for accuracy.
- 2006–2025 — Gintama franchise TV entries — Shinpachi Shimura
- 2007–2009 — Clannad series — Yōhei Sunohara
- 2012 — Hyouka — Satoshi Fukube
- 2015–2017 — Blood Blockade Battlefront — Leonardo Watch
- 2018–2019 — Fire Force — Victor Licht
- 2021 — Digimon Ghost Game — Kotarou Nomura
- 2023 — Synduality: Noir — Michael
- 2025 — Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider — Daisuke Sato
- 2026 — Digimon Beatbreak — Commandramon
Animated films
- 2006 — Paprika — Kei Himuro
- 2007 — The Garden of Sinners: Overlooking View — Keita Minato
- 2007–2010 — Tamagotchi film entries — Shiawaseenyotch / related credit listed in Aoni profile summaries
- 2010–2021 — Gintama film entries — Shinpachi Shimura
Video games
- God Eater series — Kōta Fujiki
- Dynasty Warriors 7 onward / Shin Sangokumusou series — Zhang Bao
- Xenoblade Chronicles X* — Tatsu
- Vitamin X series — Masaki Sanada
- Gintama franchise games — Shinpachi Shimura in titles such as Gintama Rumble, Gintama Sugoroku, Langrisser Mobile crossover, and Granblue Fantasy crossover appearances listed by BTVA’s franchise page
Television / radio / other documented work
- TV Asahi – Moero! Robocon — Robokero (voice), per Aoni profile
- **QR – Batosupi Daisuki Seiyū no Namahōsō! **— personality/host role, per Aoni profile
- Onsen web radio – Kekkai Sensen radio program — personality/host role, per Aoni profile
Critical Reception
The clearest public reputation around Daisuke Sakaguchi is that he excels at characters who balance earnestness, speed, and sharp comedic timing. In Gintama, that makes him ideal for Shinpachi, who often functions as the series’ reactive center and verbal counterweight to Gintoki and Kagura’s chaos. That characterization is partly an inference from Shinpachi’s role in the series, but it is strongly supported by recent Oricon coverage emphasizing the trio’s still-intact comedic chemistry.
Public biographical summaries also show that Sakaguchi’s career is not built on just one archetype. He has voiced leads, comic foils, sensitive supporting characters, and intense dramatic parts across decades, from Üso Ewin to Leonardo Watch. That versatility helps explain why Shinpachi remains one of his best-known roles: the performance is funny, grounded, and durable across many franchise entries.
Copy-paste-friendly sources:
Aoni Production official profile (https://www.aoni.co.jp/search/sakaguchi-daisuke.html)
Behind The Voice Actors – Shinpachi Shimura voices across the franchise (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Gintama/Shinpachi-Shimura/)
Behind The Voice Actors – Shinpachi Shimura in Gintama TV series (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv-shows/Gintama/Shinpachi-Shimura/)
Daisuke Sakaguchi – Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisuke_Sakaguchi)
Oricon interview coverage featuring the Yorozuya cast (https://us.oricon-group.com/news/7870/)
English Voice Actor: Cole Howard
Date of Birth
March 30, 1989. Behind The Voice Actors lists Cole Howard’s date of birth as March 30, and IMDb’s FAQ/biography pages give the full date as March 30, 1989.
About Cole
Because Gintama has had multiple official English dubs, there is not one single English actor for Shinpachi across every release. Behind The Voice Actors says Cole Howard has voiced Shinpachi the most times in English, while its voice-compare page notes that Mark X Laskowski voiced him in the 2012 film dub and Clay Cartland voiced him in the 2019 TV dub. That makes Howard the best single English-profile focus for this article.
IMDb describes Howard as an award-winning Canadian voice actor and performer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, with credits across animation, anime dubbing, commercials, and stage work. Behind The Voice Actors also identifies him as a performer known for roles such as Mega Man, Spider-Man / Peter Parker, and Lief, which helps place Shinpachi within a broader dubbing and animation career rather than as a one-off anime credit.
For Gintama specifically, Howard is associated with Shinpachi Shimura in Gintama° and Gintama: The Very Final, and BTVA’s franchise page counts him as the English actor who has played the character most often. That is the clearest reason to center his profile here even though other official English Shinpachi actors also exist.
Hometown
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is the clearest publicly documented birthplace I found for Cole Howard, while IMDb says he currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Career Highlights
For this query, the key highlight is Shinpachi Shimura in official English-language Gintama releases. BTVA’s Shinpachi pages show Howard voicing the character in Gintama° and Gintama: The Very Final, and also note that he is the English actor who has voiced Shinpachi the most times overall.
Outside Gintama, Howard’s best-known documented roles include Mega Man, Spider-Man / Peter Parker, and Lief, according to Behind The Voice Actors. IMDb also highlights broader work in projects such as Marvel Super Hero Adventures, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Ninjago, and LEGO Friends: The Next Chapter.
A notable point in his career is that he won the 2016 Leo Award for Best Performance in an Animation Program or Series for Bob in Bob’s Broken Sleigh, according to IMDb’s biography page. That gives his résumé some industry recognition beyond fandom-driven cast databases.
Full Current Filmography
The list below reflects documented credits I could verify from public sources used here, mainly IMDb and Behind The Voice Actors. Because I did not find a single official master résumé that itemizes every role across all media, this should be read as a documented-credit filmography and may not be exhaustive.
Television anime / animation / dubbing
- 2006–2007 — The Law of Ueki — Kōsuke Ueki.
- 2006–2007 — Deltora Quest — Lief.
- 2006 — Mega Man Powered Up — Mega Man.
- 2012–2013 — Little Battlers Experience — Van Yamano.
- 2017 — Gintama° — Shinpachi Shimura.
- 2018 — Marvel Super Hero Adventures — Spider-Man / Peter Parker.
- 2018 — My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic — Terramar.
- 2021 — Gintama: The Very Final — Shinpachi Shimura.
- 2020s — Ninjago / LEGO Friends: The Next Chapter — credited appearances noted in IMDb biography summary.
Other documented work
- Voice-over instruction — IMDb’s biography says Howard also works as a voice-over instructor at On The Mic Voiceover Training in Vancouver.
Related English Shinpachi casting in other releases
This is not part of Howard’s own filmography, but it matters for search accuracy: BTVA’s voice-compare page shows Mark X Laskowski as Shinpachi in Gintama: The Movie and Clay Cartland as Shinpachi in the 2019 TV dub.
Critical Reception
I did not find a large body of mainstream criticism focused specifically on Cole Howard’s performance as Shinpachi. The public record is much stronger on cast verification and career biography than on formal review coverage. The strongest defensible takeaway is that BTVA treats him as the English actor most associated with Shinpachi overall, which makes him the most representative single English answer for the character across currently documented dubbed releases.
More broadly, Howard’s public profile suggests he is respected as a versatile dubbing and animation performer rather than being known only for one franchise. His IMDb bio emphasizes range across stage, camera, commercials, and voice acting, while BTVA highlights several major recurring animation roles.
Copy-paste-friendly sources:
Behind The Voice Actors – Shinpachi Shimura voices across the franchise (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Gintama/Shinpachi-Shimura/)
Behind The Voice Actors – Voice compare for Shinpachi Shimura (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/voice-compare/Gintama/Shinpachi-Shimura/)
Behind The Voice Actors – Cole Howard profile (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/Cole-Howard/)
IMDb – Cole Howard (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2332594/)
IMDb – Cole Howard birth-date FAQ (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2332594/faq/?attribute=date-of-birth)
Social Media
I could not verify direct official social media handles and profile URLs for Cole Howard with enough certainty from the sources I checked, so I’ve omitted that section.
