Yusaku Yara is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator. He was born on March 15, 1948, in Tokyo, Japan. His real name is Susumu Kawabe, and he was formerly known by the stage name Tetsu Kurobe. He is currently affiliated with Aoni Production.

Yara has been active in the entertainment industry since 1975, building a prolific career spanning television animation, original video animations, theatrical films, video games, and dubbing roles for live-action foreign media. He is particularly recognized for his deep and versatile voice, which has allowed him to portray a wide range of characters, from wise mentors and powerful villains to narrators and comedic fathers.

Among his most iconic and long-running roles are Sagittarius Aiolos in the long-running Saint Seiya franchise, a role he has reprised multiple times across various series and films from 1986 to 2024, and Hiroshi Sakura, the father in the enduringly popular anime Chibi Maruko-chan, which he has voiced since 1990. He also succeeded the late Kenji Utsumi as the voice of Senbei Norimaki, the quirky inventor in the. Slump, a role he continued in crossover projects like Dragon Ball Super. His work as the narrator in the epic space opera Legend of the Galactic Heroes and its related series is also highly notable.

In addition to these signature roles, Yara has portrayed a vast array of characters in major anime productions. His later career includes roles such as Rod Reiss in Attack on Titan Season 3, Merlin Wolford in Wise Man's Grandchild, Brantack Lyngstad in The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?, Tecchin Tecchikawahara in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, and Satan in the 2023 original net animation Akuma-kun. His filmography also includes earlier roles like Great in Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, Ryuuji Toramaru in Sakigake!! Otokojuku, and various characters in the Doraemon film series.

Beyond anime, Yara has a significant body of work in video game voice acting, with performances as Gillian Seed in Snatcher, Python in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, and Barry Burton in the Japanese dubs of the Resident Evil Revelations 2 and Resident Evil remaster. He was also the first Japanese dubbing voice for actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in his early films, providing voices for characters in Hercules in New York, Commando, Predator, and Total Recall, among others. His dubbing work also extends to numerous Hollywood actors, including Samuel L. Jackson, Steven Seagal, and Laurence Fishburne.