This a Useful Notes page. |
---|
- This page is part of the "Names to Know" project.
Anime, as a medium,[1] has not only been around for a few decades, but it was quite self-contained for much of that period. It therefore has a select number of people who were extremely influential in its development. It is useful to know these people, as their personal style has formed the foundations of many Japanese Visual Arts Tropes found in this wiki.
Not to be confused with Essential Anime: that's about programs.
Directors and Producers[]
Those who are most famous for anime on TV and in OAV[]
- Osamu Tezuka — manga no kami-sama, responsible for anime and manga as we know them today.
- Osamu Dezaki—First to use the Pastel-Chalked Freeze-Frame. Directed Rose of Versailles, Ashita no Joe, the AIR and Clannad movies, the 90's anime version of Black Jack, Oniisama e... and Mighty Orbots.
- Leiji Matsumoto—Known for his distinctive art style, the single continuity where most of his works are set, and the unique Anachronism Stew which features, among others, literal trains in SPACE. He sadly passed away in 2023.
- Yoshiyuki "Kill 'Em All" Tomino—Worked from the beginning on storyboards for Tetsuwan Atom. Highly influential in creating the Real Robot genre with his series Mobile Suit Gundam, and its many sequels and Spin Offs. One of the foremost popularizers of Kill'Em All in anime; so much so, many online communities have made it his official nickname.
- Hideaki Anno—Co-founder for Studio Gainax and, later, Studio Khara; directed Gunbuster, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Kare Kano, and, perhaps most famously, Neon Genesis Evangelion; friend and protege of Hayao Miyazaki
- Shinichi Watanabe—aka "Nabeshin", director of Excel Saga and Puni Puni Poemi, among others; known for taking the Gag Series anime in a gonzo direction.
- Shinichiro Watanabe—Co-director of Macross Plus. Directed influential series Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. Skilled at mixing multiple genres. Often confused for the above.
- A special case is "Hajime Yatate"—actually a pseudonym for the Sunrise animation staff, often credited as an "original creator" in series like Mobile Suit Gundam, Outlaw Star, or Keroro Gunsou. "Izumi Todo" (Futari wa Pretty Cure) or "Saburo Yatsude" (Super Sentai, Metal Heroes, many Super Robot series) serves the same purpose for Toei.
- Akiyuki Shinbo—Director of Moon Phase, Pani Poni Dash!, Hidamari Sketch, the second Mahou Sensei Negima anime, and the smash hit Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Tends to include innumerable Shout Outs to just about everything, as well as some non-standard direction. Whether this guy is a genius of anime or a pedophile who found a safer way out in it is the subject of many jokes and arguments.
- Toshio Maeda—Writer of Urotsukidouji and as such one of the founders of the tentacle rape subgenre of Hentai.
- Junichi Sato—A director who mainly works in fairytale-influenced Shoujo series, and director of some of the best Magical Girl series out there. His credits include Mapletown, the first two seasons of Sailor Moon (which he continued to write for and direct episodes of afterwards), Prétear, Princess Tutu, Aria, and Kaleido Star.
- Chiaki Konaka—Writer of series that range between supernatural horror (Devilman Lady, Hellsing, Narutaru, Ghost Hound) and sci-fi thriller (The Big O, Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze). Best known, however, for his major role on Digimon Tamers.
- Masaaki Yuasa—Animation Director on Noiseman Sound Insect and some of the best episodes of Crayon Shin-chan, and the director of Mind Game, Kemonozume, Kaiba and a short in Genius Party. All of his work is known for having excellent, inventive animation, and having very unusual subject matter.
- Mitsuteru Yokoyama—Manga/anime writer best known for Tetsujin 28/Gigantor and Giant Robo. Also wrote Kamen no Ninja Akakage and Sally the Witch.
- Kunihiko Ikuhara—Anime director best known for Revolutionary Girl Utena and his work on Sailor Moon.
- Koichi Mashimo—Anime director best known for Noir, .hack//SIGN, and Madlax. Founder of studio Bee Train.
- Kazuya Tsurumaki—Anime director best known for FLCL; protege of Hideaki Anno
- Hiroyuki Yamaga—Co-founder of Studio Gainax and director of Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi.
- Toshio Okada—Co-founder of Studio Gainax and director of Otaku no Video
- Hiroyuki Imaishi—Animator and director whose work includes Dead Leaves, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt. Known for his colorful, surreal, ultra-stylized visuals, hyper-kinetic animation style, and wacky sense of humor.
- Yoshinori Kanada—Considered by many to have been the best Japanese key animator outside of Telecom Animation Film, and was highly influential on many animators, especially the aforementioned Hiroyuki Imaishi. He worked on many, many shows in his time, including Akira and Various Ghibli projects, certain stand-out episodes of various 70s mecha series (including Daitarn3, Gaiking and Zambot3, the wonderfully animated climax in the otherwise not particularly visually noteworthy Harmagedon, an outstanding sequence in the Galaxy Express 999 movie and the virtually plotless yet visually exciting and criminally underrated 80s OVA Birth, for which he was the animation director.
- Shoji Kawamori—The director of the whole canonical Macross series as well as the mechanical designer for Cowboy Bebop.
- Gen Urobuchi—Scenarist and screenwriter, very famous for his Darker and Edgier works, formerly working with Nitroplus on such Visual Novel projects as Saya no Uta. His favorite tropes include Break the Cutie, Crapsack World, Through the Eyes of Madness, and Downer Ending (or if you feel lucky, Bittersweet Ending). Made famous after his work on Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Also infamous as a Trolling Creator.
- Shinji Aramaki - Better known for his mechanical design work, Aramaki-san directed Genesis Surviver Gaiarth and Appleseed, and both wrote and directed MADOX-01.
- Kunihiko Yuyama - Best known as the executive director of the Pokemon anime franchise (which pretty much is all he's done since the late '90s), he's also directed GoShogun, Magical Princess Minky Momo (working with Pokemon head writer Takeshi Shudo), Plawres Sanshiro, Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yoko, Windaria, and Wedding Peach, and has been an episode director or storyboard artist on shows such as Maison Ikkoku and Sherlock Hound. He's also one of the founders of OLM, which produces the Pokemon anime.
Primarily known for working in films[]
- Hayao Miyazaki—Co-founder of Studio Ghibli, and the biggest name in modern anime. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, and Spirited Away are among his films.
- Isao Takahata (deceased)—Co-founder of Studio Ghibli and famed anime film director. His work, Grave of the Fireflies, is considered by some to be one of the greatest anime films ever made. He also worked in TV prior to
- Katsuhiro Otomo—Mainly a manga creator, but he directed the movie adaptation of his most famous work, Akira, which was considered the breakthrough title for anime in the West.
- Makoto Shinkai—Director and animator. Produced Voices of a Distant Star (alone!), The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and 5 Centimeters Per Second. His works are well known for their gratuitous Scenery Porn, and Voices was produced almost entirely as a solo project by Makoto, showcasing the power that modern computer animation gave to artists.
- Mamoru Oshii—Writer and director, known for his surreal, aesthetically breathtaking, intellectual style, and occasionally his offbeat humor. Signature works include Angel's Egg, Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (along with being the chief director for the first few seasons of the TV series) memorable episodes from the series), the Patlabor series and movies, and the two |Ghost in The Shell movies.
- Satoshi Kon—Director of Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika, Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and the TV series Paranoia Agent. Died from pancreatic cancer in 2010.
- Yoshiaki Kawajiri—One of the best directors of dark, gritty, flashy and sexy action movies, best known for Wicked City, Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, as well as classic Cyberpunk OAVs such as Cyber City Oedo 808 and Goku: Midnight Eye. Also worked in the X 1999 TV series.
Studios[]
See the main article at Category:Anime Studios.
Manga-ka[]
The following manga writers, while not always directly involved in anime, have provided the basis for a large number of essential anime:
- Akira Toriyama—Writer of the famous Dragon Ball series, as well as Dr. Slump. Renowned video-game visual designer (Chrono Trigger and the Dragon Quest series have both benefited from his input).
- Arina Tanemura—Primarily works on shojo manga. Wrote Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Full Moon o Sagashite, and Time Stranger Kyoko.
- Tetsuya Chiba - Many of his works have been animated, most notably Ashita no Joe, Notari Matsutaro, Ashita Tenki ni Nare and Akane-chan. A pilot film of his Yuki no Taiyou (Yuki's Sun) in 1972 was also the directorial debut of one Hayao Miyazaki.
- CLAMP—A team of Shojo and Shonen manga authors who have provided some of the genre's defining works; among them, Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, X and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle/xxxHolic.
- Eiichiro Oda—Creator of the long-running shounen series, One Piece, which is currently the number one best selling manga in Japan (and, after Osamu Akimoto's Kochikame, is the oldest manga running in Shonen Jump, for 14 years). Jokingly referred to as the Jesus of shonen manga, with Akira Toriyama being God. Known for his wacky and imaginative character designs and use of clever plot twists.
- Fujio Akatsuka - Creator of Osomatsu-kun and the first Magical Girl manga, Himitsu no Akko-chan.
- Not to be confused with the duo Fujiko-Fujio (Motoo Abiko and Hiroshi Fujimoto), who created Doraemon and Ninja Hattori-kun (some sources do confuse them).
- Go Nagai—Innovator in several manga/anime genres. Wrote Mazinger Z, which popularized the Humongous Mecha genre, along with Cutey Honey, Getter Robo, and Devilman. Known for breaching taboos in writing and art.
- Keiko Takemiya—The creator of Kaze to Ki no Uta and Toward the Terra. She is one of the members of the Year 24 Group, a group of female mangaka that helped revolutionize shoujo manga and one of the pioneers of the Boys Love Genre.
- Ken Akamatsu—Creator of A.I. Love You, Love Hina, and Mahou Sensei Negima.
- Kenichi Sonoda—Writer of Gunsmith Cats and Cannon God Exaxxion; also the character designer on several influential productions, including Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force, and Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (Studio Gainax's first major project).
- Kiyohiko Azuma—Creator of Azumanga Daioh and Yotsuba&!.
- Koge-Donbo—Famous for her ultra-cute style and one of the first popular "Moe" manga-ka. Series she has written include Di Gi Charat, Kamichama Karin and Pita-Ten.
- Kosuke Fujishima—the original creator of Ah! My Goddess and You're Under Arrest, who has been lead character designer on the Tales (series) for over a decade.
- Kozue Amano—Creator of the Aqua and Aria manga series.
- Masami Kurumada—Creator of Saint Seiya as well as a number of other titles.
- Masashi Kishimoto—Creator of the extremely popular series Naruto.
- Mitsuru Adachi—Creator of Touch, H2, Cross Game and many other sports manga, he is one of the most well-known Shonen authors in Japan. His works have sold over 200 million copies and he actually owns his own baseball team.
- Mohiro Kitoh: Creator of such inspiring works as Bokurano and Narutaru.
- Monkey Punch—Creator of widely acclaimed and adapted manga series Lupin III.
- Moto Hagio—The creator of the work The Heart of Thomas and They Were Eleven. She is also a member of the Year 24 Group and along with Keiko Takemiya, is a pioneer of the Boys Love Genre.
- Naoki Urasawa—Creator of Monster, Pluto, Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, and 20th Century Boys. His work is known for its suspense and critical acclaim. He also released a rock album.
- Naoko Takeuchi—Creator of Sailor Moon as well as ex-girlfriend to Kosuke Fujishima and wife to Yoshihiro Togashi.
- Nobuhiro Watsuki—The mangaka behind the hit series Rurouni Kenshin and Busou Renkin, and a failed (but still pretty cool) attempt at a western, Gun Blaze West. Is currently hard at work on Embalming. Known for his love of late nineteenth/early twentieth century fashion and architectural styles.
- Riyoko Ikeda—Creator of Rose of Versailles and Oniisama e.... She is also one of the members of the Year 24 Group.
- Rumiko Takahashi—Creator of Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma ½, and Inuyasha, among others. One of the most published authors on the entire planet (literally hundreds of million of volumes sold) and one of the richest women in Japan because of it. Sometimes referred to by American otaku as "The Goddess".
- Satoko Kiyuduki—Increasingly popular illustrator and character designer who works entirely by herself, without the help of any assistants. Creator of GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class and Shoulder a Coffin Kuro, but best known for her work on the Dept. Heaven game series. All of her manga are Yonkoma.
- Satoru Akahori — Light Novelist and manga writer; created or co-created Saber Marionette J, Sorcerer Hunters, Sakura Taisen, Maze Megaburst Space, M0use, the Lamune & 40 series, Mon Colle Knights, Akahori Gedou Hour Rabuge, and many other series.
- Shirow Masamune—Creator of Ghost in The Shell, Dominion Tank Police, Appleseed, and Black Magic M-66.
- Shotaro Ishinomori—Protege of Osamu Tezuka, and an instrumental figure in the henshin (transforming) superhero genre. Created Cyborg 009, the first superhero team in Japan, as well as Kamen Rider. He also kickstarted the Super Sentai genre by writing Himitsu Sentai Goranger for TV (which later got a manga sequel).
- Suzue Miuchi - His Glass Mask has been running for nearly 50 years, and has been adapted into both anime and live-action work. The '80s anime was particularly popular in Europe.
- Tatsuo Yoshida—Anime pioneer who created Mach Go Go Go, better known as Speed Racer in the English-speaking world. Later, with his brothers Kenji Yoshida and Ippei Kuri, he founded the anime studio Tatsunoko Productions.
- Tite Kubo: Creator of the popular long running series Bleach. Also highly regarded as a Troll in the fandom.
- Waki Yamato - Her best known work is Haikara-san ga Toru, but it has been turned into either anime or live action film on several occasions.
- Yoshihiro Togashi—Author of Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter X Hunter. Married to Naoko Takeuchi and a Real Life case of the Incurable Cough of Death, which tends to cause Schedule Slip for him.
- Yoshitoshi ABe—Creator of Haibane Renmei, but mostly known for his artwork and character design for Serial Experiments Lain.
- Yuu Watase—Creator of Fushigi Yuugi and Ayashi no Ceres, among others.
- Mitsuteru Yokoyama - Creator of many seminal works of the '60s and '70s, including Tetsujin 28-go (aka Gigantor), Sally the Witch (which became the first Magical Girl anime), Babel II, and Giant Robo.
- Mamoru Nagano—Best known for his work in the field of Humongous Mecha. Worked with Real Robot king Yoshiyuki Tomino as a mechanical designer on three occasions, first on his debut work Heavy Metal L-Gaim & then later on Zeta Gundam, where he was responsible for some of the most visually distinctive mobile suits in the show & perhaps in all of Gundam. The two also teamed up once more over a decade later when Nagano provided mecha designs for Brain Powerd. Creator the long-running manga series The Five Star Stories, a Spiritual Successor to L-Gaim, the first story-arc of which was made into an anime film. Married to seiyuu Maria Kawamura, who has worked both L-Gaim & Z Gundam and is probably best known as the voice of Asuka's crazy mom.
Screenwriters[]
Many of the above mentioned directors also made their mark as screenwriters. A few additional names of note for writing screenplays, though not serving as animators or directors, include:
- Yoji Enokido - Evangelion, Sailor Moon, FLCL
- Keisuke Fujikawa - Space Battleship Yamato, Cutey Honey, Mazinger Z, 1984 Glass Mask; co-creator of Sasurai no Taiyou
- Hiroyuki Hoshiyama - Mobile Suit Gundam, Dirty Pair, Urusei Yatsura
- Toshiki Inoue - Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball, Death Note
- Kazunori Ito - Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, .hack
- Takao Koyama - Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, Slayers
- Keiko Nobumoto - Cowboy Bebop, Wolf's Rain
- Akiyoshi Sakai - Gatchaman, Sally the Witch, Time Bokan series, Cyborg 009
- Noboru Shiroyama - Candy Candy, Hana no Ko Lunlun, Lupin III
- Takeshi Shudo - Magical Princess Minky Momo, GoShogun, Pokemon
- Katsuyuki Sumizawa - Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, Inuyasha
- Yoshitake Suzuki (alias Fuyunori Gobu) - Astro Boy, Zambot 3, Ulysses 31
- Sukehiro Tomita - Macross, Space Runaway Ideon, Sailor Moon
- Masaki Tsuji - Astro Boy, Princess Knight, Devilman, Urusei Yatsura, Detective Conan. Now in his early 90s and still active!
- Yoshio Urasawa - Fushigi Yugi, Ranma 1/2, Lupin III, Sonic X
- Shigeru Yanagawa - a planner and writer for many Tatsunoko works in the '70s and early '80s, and later a writer for Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Touch and Urusei Yatsura among many others
- Michiko Yokote - Cowboy Bebop, Ranma 1/2, Rurouni Kenshin
- Yoshiaki Yoshida - Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Dog of Flanders, Kyojin no Hoshi
- Shunichi Yukimuro - Himitsu no Akko-chan, Candy Candy, Dragon Ball, co-creator of Ohayo Spank
Musicians and Composers[]
The following music performers and composers have made their name in anime history:
- Choro Club: A musical trio with an acoustic, slightly Latin-American sound, mostly known for their work for Aria and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.
- Eri Kawai: Contributed many songs for anime productions as well as video games, both as a composer and a singer. Some of her more well known works include music for Aria, [[Sketchbook Full Colors|Sketchbook full color'S]] and Utawarerumono.
- Ive Sound: A joint venture of various producers and performers, contributing opening and ending themes to many anime series. Best known for KOTOKO.
- Isao Sasaki: This deep-voiced singer has done more Humongous Mecha theme songs then you can shake a stick at. However, he has also done non-mecha themes too (such as Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999) - and not only he's still active, but he's still kept his powerful voice despite his age (listen to "Midnight Dekaranger" for proof). Also acts, played Joe the Condor in Gatchaman and Go in Aishite Knight, and did several live action roles, guesting in shows such as Kamen Rider and Juspion. Is the voice of Superman in the first 4 Superman films. No, really.
- JAM Project: This rock band consists of some of the most popular singers in anime. Their stock in trade is Hot-Blooded songs for Humongous Mecha shows and games, including Super Robot Wars.
- Joe Hisaishi: Composer for nearly all of Hayao Miyazaki's movies. Known for using full orchestra to set the moods of the films. Big fan of American music producer Quincy Jones.
- Jun Maeda: Composer and partial performer most of the music for the games of Key Visual Arts and their derivative works.
- Takeo Watanabe: Composer for Attack No. 1, Cutey Honey, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Mobile Suit Gundam and Candy Candy among many others. His career was sadly cut short when he died in 1989 at the young age of 56.
- Mitsuko Horie: Has been doing theme songs since she was 12 years old. She has often done themes for shojo (and otherwise "soft") anime, but has also done a few themes for shonen anime as well. She as even done theme songs for live action (non-Tokusatsu) TV dramas, such as a duet with Sasaki for Himitsu Sentai Goranger (although she has also done tokusatsu as well)! She's also a prolific seiyuu and had a live action acting role in the Stealth Parody tokusatsu Uchuu Tetsujin Kyodaine.
- Kumiko Osugi: Often referred to as "the Queen of Anime Song," she, like Horie, started her professional career as a pre-teen. She was most active during the 1970s. Most of her theme song work, like Horie, has been for shoujo or kids' shows, with credits including Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Doraemon, Attack No. 1, and Dog of Flanders.
- savage Genius: A two-person band contributing many anime theme songs and being highly successful in the charts with them.
- Yuki Kajiura: Composer known for her work in Noir, MADLAX, the .hack series and the Hime meta-series. Her work tends to include Ominous Latin Chanting and One Woman Wailing. Also known by her musical projects in which she is/was involved, such as See-Saw, her Fiction Junction collaborations (with people as Yuuka Nanri, Kaori Oda, Keiko Kubota, between others), and more recently, Kalafina.
- Yoko Kanno: Composer for many highly rated series including the heavily music-inspired Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, and Darker than Black.
- May'n: Singing voice of Sheryl Nome with around twenty songs to that name alone. She also did the well-received theme song to Shangri-La.
- Tenmon: Makoto Shinkai's friend, ex-colleague at Nihon Falcom and frequent collaborator in every project he's been involved. Very fond of classical instruments (especially violin and piano) and poignant music, and the combination of said elements has become his mesmerizing signature style.
- Toshihiko Sahashi: Very prolific composer with a long list of contributions to anime-series, games and drama CDs.
- Masato Shimon: Active during the heyday of Humongous Mecha anime, Masato Shimon is probably best known for being the king of Hero Songs, singing many tokusatsu themes as well as Gatchaman's theme song. He is the singer of the infamous Jet Jaguar song. After 1993, claimed to hate humanity and vanished until 1998, when he sang Seiju Sentai Gingaman's OP and ED. Fluent in English. A Real Life invoker of I Have Many Names, as he has gone through many Stage Names when performing, probably most famously Akira Tani and Kouichi Fuji. Had a Funny Afro.
- Ichirou Mizuki (aka Aniki). Probably best known for Mazinger Z 's songs. Has acted in Jikuu Senshi Spielban, Choujin Barom 1, and Gaoranger.
- Koorogi 73 usually were backing singers on things such as Denshi Sentai Denjiman or Voltes V's theme songs, but sometimes took lead on things like Akuma-kun's OP. Also did a number of Villain Songs.
- Masatake Ookura, leading member of Koorogi '73 who also did some things on his own such as a cover of Ai wo Torimodose from Fist Of the North Star, the ending of Daimos, and several insert songs in Kinnikuman.
- Columbia Yurikago Kai (Columbia Cradle Club), a children's choir who sang backups to Gatchaman and 70's Super Robot anime theme songs such as Great Mazinger, Raideen as well as several Toku shows like Kamen Rider and live-action children's shows.
- Michiaki Watanabe. Composer for the 70s entries in the Mazinger Z franchise, and eventually became a tokusatsu composer primarily, though he still dabbled in anime like Machine Robo Revenge Of Chronos and Video Senshi Laserion. Still composing music for Super Sentai to this day.
- Akira Kushida, aka Kussy. Known for his soul music in addition to his anime works. Actually sang onstage with The Temptations. Best known for singing Kinnikuman's themes.
- Yukio Yamagata, a voice actor and anime singer best known for Ginga Reppu Baxinger, Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger and Makyou Densetsu Acrobunch's opening songs.
- Yoko Takahashi, vocalist of Neon Genesis Evangelion's opening theme, "Cruel Angel's Thesis."
- MIQ, a gal known for singing Hot-Blooded giant robot themes for things like Aura Battler Dunbine and Heavy Metal L-Gaim. Speaks fluent English.
- Takayuki Miyauchi, known for his extremely authoritative midrange to deep voice. Debuted in 1983 with Brocken Jr.'s theme(Red Rain Of Berlin, with Koorogi '73) in Kinnikuman. Also did several sentai songs, Kamen Rider Black RX's theme and Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin 's theme.
- Taku Iwasaki, known for his work on the Rurouni Kenshin OVA's, Read or Die, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
- Shiro Sagisu, composer for several Studio Gainax projects including Neon Genesis Evangelion, His and Her Circumstances and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, as well as Bleach, Kimagure Orange Road and a couple of non-Pillows background tunes in FLCL. Pre-Gainax, he also worked on Attacker You!.
- Kenji Kawai, a composer whose body of work includes Ranma ½, Vampire Princess Miyu, Fate/stay night, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and every Mamoru Oshii film.
Seiyuu[]
Major Figures[]
The following seiyuu (voice actors) are either extremely significant presences in anime, or have had a major influence in the history and development of the medium:
- Ai Maeda
- Ai Orikasa
- Akemi Okamura
- Akiko Hiramatsu
- Akiko Kimura
- Akiko Yajima
- Akira Ishida
- Akira Kamiya
- Akio Nojima
- Akio Ohtsuka
- Asako Dodo
- Atsuko Enomoto
- Atsuko Tanaka
- Atsuko Yuya
- Aya Hisakawa
- Ayako Kawasumi
- Banjo Ginga
- Bin Shimada
- Chafurin
- Chieko Higuchi
- Chieko Honda
- Chiemi Chiba
- Chiharu Tezuka
- Chikao Ohtsuka
- Chika Sakamoto
- Chinami Nishimura
- Chisa Yokoyama
- Chiyoko Kawashima
- Daiki Nakamura
- Daisuke Namikawa
- Daisuke Sakaguchi
- Eiji Takemoto
- Eriko Hara
- Eri Miyajima
- Etsuko Kozakura
- Fujiko Takimoto
- Fumihiko Tachiki
- Fumi Hirano
- Goro Naya
- Haruhi Terada
- Haruna Ikezawa
- Hekiru Shiina
- Hidekatsu Shibata
- Hideo Ishikawa
- Hideyuki Hori
- Hideyuki Tanaka
- Hikaru Midorikawa
- Hiroaki Hirata
- Hiroki Tochi
- Hiroko Emori
- Hiroko Kasahara
- Hiroko Konishi
- Hiroshi Ito
- Hiroshi Tsuchida
- Hiroya Ishimaru
- Hiro Yuki
- Hisao Egawa
- Hisako Kyoda
- Hochu Otsuka
- Houko Kuwashima
- Hozumi Gouda
- Iemasa Kayumi
- Ikue Ohtani
- Isshin Chiba
- Jin Yamanoi
- Joji Nakata
- Jouji Yanami
- Junichi Kanemaru
- Junko Iwao
- Junko Minagawa
- Junko Noda
- Jurota Kosugi
- Kae Araki
- Kaori Aso
- Kappei Yamaguchi
- Katsuji Mori
- Katsumi Suzuki
- Katsuyuki Konishi
- Kaya Matsutani
- Kazue Ikura
- Kazuhiko Inoue
- Kazuki Yao
- Kazuko Sugiyama
- Kazuya Ichijou
- Kazuya Nakai
- Keaton Yamada
- Keiichi Nanba
- Keiichi Noda
- Keiji Fujiwara
- Keiko Han
- Keiko Toda
- Keiko Yokozawa
- Kenichi Ogata
- Kenichi Ono
- Kenji Utsumi
- Kenjiro Tsuda
- Ken Narita
- Kentaro Ito
- Kenyuu Horiuchi
- Kikuko Inoue
- Kiyoshi Kobayashi
- Kiyoyuki Yanada
- Kiyomi Asai
- Koichi Hashimoto
- Koichi Tochika
- Koichi Yamadera
- Konami Yoshida
- Kosuke Toriumi
- Kotono Mitsuishi
- Kouji Ishii
- Kouji Tsujitani
- Kozo Shioya
- Kozue Yoshizumi
- Kujira
- Kumiko Nishihara
- Kumiko Watanabe
- Kunihiko Yasui
- Kyoko Hikami
- Maaya Sakamoto
- Makio Inoue
- Mami Kingetsu
- Mami Koyama
- Maria Kawamura
- Mariko Kouda
- Masako Nozawa
- Masaya Onosaka
- Masaki Terasoma
- Masashi Ebara
- Masashi Hirose
- Masami Kikuchi
- Masako Katsuki
- Masayo Kurata
- Maya Okamoto
- Mayumi Asano
- Mayumi Iizuka
- Mayumi Tanaka
- Megumi Hayashibara
- Megumi Matsumoto
- Megumi Ogata
- Michie Tomizawa
- Michiyo Yanagisawa
- Michiko Neya
- Minami Hokuto
- Minami Kuribayashi
- Minami Takayama
- Minori Matsushima
- Mina Tominaga
- Mika Doi
- Mika Kanai
- Miki Nagasawa
- Miki Ito
- Misa Watanabe
- Mitsuaki Madono
- Mitsuo Iwata
- Mitsuru Miyamoto
- Miyoko Aso
- Motoko Kumai
- Mugihito
- Nami Miyahara
- Naoko Matsui
- Naoko Takano
- Naoko Watanabe
- Naoya Uchida
- Naozumi Takahashi
- Narumi Hidaka
- Natsumi Yanase
- Nobuo Tobita
- Nobutoshi Canna
- Nobuyuki Hiyama
- Noriko Hidaka
- Norio Wakamoto
- Nozomu Sasaki
- Omi Minami
- Rei Igarashi
- Reiko Takagi
- Rei Sakuma
- Rica Matsumoto
- Rihoko Yoshida
- Rika Fukami
- Rikako Aikawa
- Rikiya Koyama
- Rio Natsuki
- Rokuro Naya
- Romi Park
- Rumi Shishido
- Ryotaro Okiayu
- Ryo Horikawa
- Ryusei Nakao
- Ryuzou Ishino
- Ryuzaburo Ohtomo
- Sachiko Sugawara
- Saeko Shimazu
- Sakiko Tamagawa
- Sakura Tange
- Satomi Koorogi
- Satsuki Yukino
- Sawa Ishige
- Seizo Kato
- Sumi Shimamoto
- Shigeru Chiba
- Shigeru Nakahara
- Shinichiro Miki
- Shinobu Adachi
- Shinji Kawada
- Shino Kakinuma
- Show Hayami
- Showtaro Morikubo
- Shozo Iizuka
- Shuichi Ikeda
- Susumu Chiba
- Taeko Kawata
- Taiki Matsuno
- Taiten Kusunoki
- Takako Honda
- Takashi Nagasako
- Takaya Hashi
- Takaya Kuroda
- Takayuki Sugo
- Takehito Koyasu
- Takeshi Kusao
- Takumi Yamazaki
- Tetsu Inada [1]
- Tetsu Shiratori
- Tetsuya Iwanaga
- Tessho Genda
- Tohru Furusawa
- Tohru Furuya
- Toru Ohira
- Tohru Ookawa
- Tomoe Hanba
- Tomokazu Seki
- Tomoko Ishimura
- Tomomichi Nishimura
- Tomo Sakurai
- Tomoyuki Dan
- Toshiko Fujita
- Toshio Furukawa
- Toshihiko Seki
- Toshiyuki Morikawa
- Tustin Gilmer Macafee
- Tsutomu Kashiwakura
- Unsho Ishizuka
- Urara Takano
- Wakana Yamazaki
- Wataru Takagi
- Yasuhiro Takato
- Yasunori Masutani
- Yasunori Matsumoto
- Yoko Asada
- Yoko Honna
- Yoko Ogai
- Yoko Soumi
- Yoku Shioya
- Yoshiko Sakakibara
- Yoshino Takamori
- Yoshito Yasuhara
- Yosuke Akimoto
- Yui Horie
- Yui Sakakibara
- Yuji Kishi
- Yuji Mitsuya
- Yuji Ueda
- Yuka Imai
- Yukana
- Yuki Masuda
- Yukitoshi Hori
- Yuko Kobayashi
- Yuko Minaguchi
- Yuko Miyamura
- Yuko Nagashima
- Yuko Sasaki
- Yumi Kakazu
- Yumiko Kobayashi
- Yumi Takada
- Yumi Touma
- Yuri Amano
- Yuriko Fuchizaki
- Yuriko Yamaguchi
- Yuriko Yamamoto
- Yuri Shiratori
- Yusaku Yara
- Yuu Asakawa
- Yuu Mizushima
- Yuu Sugimoto
- Yuuto Kazama
Recent seiyuu[]
Seiyuu that are beginning to rise in popularity in recent years (though this is subjective):
- Ai Kayano
- Ai Nonaka
- Ai Shimizu
- Akemi Kanda
- Akeno Watanabe
- Aki Toyosaki
- Ami Koshimizu
- Aoi Yuuki
- Arisa Ogasawara
- Asami Asakura
- Asami Imai
- Asami Sanada
- Asami Shimoda
- Asuka Tanii
- Atsushi Abe
- Aya Endo
- Aya Hirano
- Ayahi Takagaki
- Ayaka Saitou
- Ayana Taketatsu
- Ayumi Fujimura
- Ayumi Tsunematsu
- Chiaki Omigawa
- Chiaki Takahashi
- Chie Nakamura
- Chihiro Suzuki
- Chiwa Saitou
- Daisuke Hirakawa
- Daisuke Kishio
- Daisuke Ono
- Emiri Katou
- Eri Kitamura
- Eri Sendai
- Eriko Nakamura
- Fumie Mizusawa
- Fumiko Orikasa
- Fuyuka Ooura
- Go Inoue
- Halko Momoi
- Hana Takeda
- Haruka Tomatsu
- Harumi Sakurai
- Hidenobu Kiuchi
- Hiro Shimono
- Hirofumi Nojima
- Hiroki Takahashi
- Hiroki Yasumoto
- Hiroko Emori
- Hiromi Hirata
- Hiromi Konno
- Hiroshi Kamiya
- Hiroshi Shimozaki
- Hiroyuki Yoshino
- Hisako Kanemoto
- Hisayo Mochizuki
- Hitomi Nabatame
- Iori Nomizu
- Jun Fukuyama
- Junichi Suwabe
- Junji Majima
- Junko Takeuchi
- Kanako Mitsuhashi
- Kanako Sakai
- Kana Asumi
- Kana Hanazawa
- Kana Ueda
- Kanae Ito
- Kaori Fukuhara
- Kaori Mizuhashi
- Kaori Nazuka
- Kaori Shimizu
- Kaoru Mizuhara
- Kazusa Murai
- Keikou Sakai
- Kei Shindou
- Kenichi Suzumura
- Kenji Akabane
- Kenji Hamada
- Kenji Nojima
- Kenji Nomura
- KENN
- Kenta Miyake
- Kissho Taniyama
- Koji Yusa
- Kouki Miyata
- Kouki Uchiyama
- Kumi Sakuma
- Mai Aizawa
- Mai Goto
- Mai Kadowaki
- Mai Nakahara
- Makiko Ohmoto
- Mamiko Noto
- Mamoru Miyano
- Maria Yamamoto
- Marina Inoue
- Mariya Ise
- Masakazu Morita
- Masaya Matsukaze
- Masami Iwasaki
- Masumi Asano
- Megumi Nakajima
- Mayumi Yamaguchi
- Megumi Takamoto
- Megumi Toyoguchi
- Mie Sonozaki
- Mika Kikuchi
- Mikako Takahashi
- Minako Kotobuki
- Minori Chihara
- Minoru Shiraishi
- Misato Fukuen
- Mitsuhiro Ichiki
- Mitsuki Saiga
- Miyu Irino
- Miyu Matsuki
- Miyuki Sawashiro
- Momoko Saito
- Motoki Takagi
- Nana Mizuki
- Nao Takamori
- Nao Tōyama
- Naomi Shindo
- Naomi Wakabayashi
- Natsuko Kuwatani
- Nobuhiko Okamoto
- Noriaki Sugiyama
- Noriko Shitaya
- Reiko Kiuchi
- Rie Kugimiya
- Rie Tanaka
- Rika Morinaga
- Rina Hidaka
- Rina Sato
- Risa Hayamizu
- Risa Mizuno
- Ryo Hirohashi
- Ryohei Kimura
- Ryoka Yuzuki
- Ryoko Shintani
- Ryoko Shiraishi
- Saeko Chiba
- Saki Fujita
- Saki Nakajima
- Sakura Nogawa
- Saori Goto
- Satomi Akesaka
- Satomi Sato
- Satoshi Hino
- Sawa Ishige
- Sayaka Aoki
- Sayaka Ohara
- Sayuri Yahagi
- Sanae Kobayashi
- Saori Hayami
- Satomi Arai
- Seiko Yoshida
- Shigenori Yamazaki
- Shiho Kawaragi
- Shizuka Hasegawa
- Shizuka Ito
- Soichiro Hoshi
- Takahiro Mizushima
- Takahiro Sakurai
- Takashi Kondo
- Takayuki Kondo
- Takuma Terashima
- Takuya Eguchi
- Tatsuhisa Suzuki
- Tetsuya Kakihara
- Tomokazu Sugita
- Tomoko Kaneda
- Toshiyuki Kusuda
- Toshiyuki Toyonaga
- Tsubasa Yonaga
- Yasuyuki Kase
- Yoji Ueda
- Yoko Hikasa
- Yoshihisa Kawahara
- Yui Makino
- Yuka Iguchi
- Yuka Inokuchi
- Yuka Nanri
- Yukari Fukui
- Yukari Tamura
- Yuki Matsuoka
- Yuki Kaida
- Yuko Kaida
- Yuko Sato
- Yuko Sanpei
- Yūko Gotō
- Yumi Hara
- Yuu Kobayashi
- Yu Shimamura
- Yuuichi Nakamura
- Yuuka Nanri
- Yuuki Kaji
- Yurika Ochiai
RIP[]
Unfortunately, seiyuus are also humans, some gained fame, and then died. Here's some famous seiyuus that have passed away, but have contributed a lot in the anime business:
- Daisuke Gouri
- Eiko Masuyama
- Emi Shinohara
- Eri Kawai
- Fuyumi Shiraishi
- Ginzo Matsuo
- Hiromi Tsuru
- Hirotaka Suzuoki
- Junpei Takiguchi
- Kaneto Shiozawa
- Kazuyuki Sogabe
- Kei Tomiyama
- Kohei Miyauchi
- Koji Totani
- Machiko Soga
- Michiko Hirai
- Minori Matsushima
- Nachi Nozawa
- Noriko Ohara
- Osamu Ichikawa
- Reiko Kondo
- Sayuri Yamauchi
- Shiho Niiyama
- Shun Yashiro
- Takeshi Aono
- Takeshi Watabe
- Tomoko Kawakami
- Yasuo Yamada
- You Inoue
- Yuko Mizutani
American Dub Voice Actors[]
Here's a list of noteworthy American dub voice actors. Voice actors are usually not exclusive to one studio or region—this list is separated by where they are based.
Los Angeles[]
- Zach Aguilar
- Hannah Alcorn (based in Houston until 2016)
- Chris Jai Alex
- Jon Allen
- Mark Allen Jr.
- Jennifer Alyx (largely left voice acting in 2012 to focus as a writer, but slowly making a return since 2015)
- Laura Bailey (based in Dallas until around 2007; mostly does union work, moreso in video games and western animation than in anime)
- Ryan Bartley
- Tom Bauer
- Brian Beacock
- Christopher Bevins (based in Texas until 2017)
- Jamison Boaz
- Reba Buhr
- Beau Billingslea (Works mostly on union dubs, though occasionally still does non-union work)
- J.B Blanc (mostly does union work moreso in video games and western animation, but still does non-union work on occasion)
- Steve Blum (does Union-only work in anime)
- Johnny Yong Bosch (occasionally works with Funimation; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Edward Bosco
- Gina Bowes (mostly does union work, though occasionally still does non-union work)
- Kira Buckland (has done some work in Dallas)
- Griffin Burns
- Christine Marie Cabanos (has done some work in Dallas and in Houston)
- Richard Cansino
- Jalen Cassell (has done work in Dallas)
- Chris Cason (based in Dallas until 2013; divides his time between LA and Dallas)
- Alex Cazares
- Ray Chase (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Sean Chiplock (has done work in Dallas)
- Greg Chun (has done some work in Dallas)
- Allegra Clark (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- David W. Collins (former LucasArts voice director/sound designer)
- Kevin M. Connolly (based in Dallas until 2012)
- Sara Cravens
- Khoi Dao
- Skyler Davenport (Based in Dallas until 2017; divides her time between LA and Dallas)
- Robbie Daymond (has performed in both union and non-union dubs)
- John DeMita
- Mari Devon
- Ben Diskin (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Lucien Dodge (based in New York until 2011. Did some work in Dallas)
- Marc Diraison (worked in New York until 2013)
- D.C. Douglas (was once involved in a Hajime no Ippo special before he stopped doing dub work in the early 2000s, but has been slowly making his return to anime since 2014.)
- Jake Eberle
- Richard Epcar (has done some work in Dallas; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Doug Erholtz
- Dorothy Elias Fahn
- Jonathan Fahn (slowly making his return to anime since 2018.)
- Melissa Fahn (seems to mostly do union work, but still does some non-union work on occasion)
- Tom Fahn
- Erin Fitzgerald (worked in Vancouver, Canada until early 2000s. She also has done some voice work in Dallas)
- Sandy Fox
- Crispin Freeman (worked in New York until 2002; does Union-only work in anime)
- Katelyn Gault
- Jessica Gee
- Grant George
- Barbara Goodson
- Darrel Guilbeau
- Todd Haberkorn (based in Dallas until 2011; divides his time between LA and Dallas and has done some work in NY; works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Chris Hackney
- Erika Harlacher
- Kyle Hebert (based in Dallas until 2005; still works with Funimation occasionally; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Marieve Herington (based in Toronto, Canada until 2008; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Kate Higgins (mostly does union work, but still does non-union work occasionally)
- Bridget Hoffman (does Union-only work in anime)
- Megan Hollingshead (based in New York until 2004; seems to mostly do union work, but still does some non-union work on occasion)
- Xanthe Huynh
- Taliesin Jaffe (occasionally works for Funimation)
- Carrie Keranen (worked in New York until 2010. Did some voice work in Dallas)
- Erik Kimerer
- Brianna Knickerbocker
- William Frederick Knight
- Steve Kramer
- Lauren Landa (Frequent regular of Funimation since 2014)
- Lex Lang (seems to mostly do union work, but still does some non-union work on occasion)
- Cassandra Lee (aka Cassandra Morris; worked in New York until late 2000s. Did some voice work in Dallas)
- Mela Lee (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Wendee Lee (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Cherami Leigh (based in Dallas until 2012; divides her time between LA and Dallas)
- Ben Lepley
- Rachael Lillis (worked in New York until 2013)
- Erica Lindbeck (works in both union and non-union dubs; has done some work in Dallas)
- David Lodge (seems to mostly do union work nowadays, but still does some non-union work on occasion)
- Yuri Lowenthal (seems to mostly do union work, though occasionally still does non-union work)
- Julie Maddalena
- Dave Mallow
- Austin Lee Matthews
- Mona Marshall (seems to mostly do union work nowadays, but does some non-union work on occasion)
- Faye Mata
- Erica Mendez (has done some work in Dallas)
- D.W. McCann
- Kyle McCarley (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Michael McConnohie
- Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (has done some work in Dallas; seems to mostly do union work nowadays, but does some non-union work on occasion)
- Danielle McRae
- Matthew Mercer (has shown up in some Funimation titles since 2014; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Vic Mignogna (based in Texas until around 2007; still works with Funimation in Dallas often, Houston on occasion, and has done some work in New York)
- Amanda Céline Miller
- Marianne Miller
- Kayli Mills
- Max Mittelman (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Xander Mobus
- Casey Mongillo (based in New York until around 2016/2017)
- Chris Niosi (aka Kirbopher; based in New York until 2014; has done some work in Dallas)
- Liam O'Brien (worked in New York until around 2003/2004; seems to mostly do union work nowadays)
- Colleen O'Shaughnessey (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Joe Ochman
- Tony Oliver
- Brina Palencia (based in Dallas until 2016; divides time between LA and Dallas; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Bryce Papenbrook (Frequent regular of Funimation since 2014; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Chris Patton (based in Houston until around 2017; still divides his time between Houston often, and some work with Funimation in Dallas on occasion.)
- Paul St. Peter
- Tara Platt (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Laura Post (has done some work in Dallas)
- Jamieson Price
- Derek Stephen Prince (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Ben Pronsky (based in Houston until late 2000s)
- Douglas Rye
- Sam Riegel (worked in New York until around 2004/2005; seems to mostly do union work nowadays, but still does some non-union work on occasion)
- Cindy Robinson (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Rachel Robinson (worked in LA until early 2012/2013, and in Dallas until 2017; currently divides her time between LA and Dallas)
- Bill Rogers (based in New York until around 2015; divides his time between LA and New York)
- Sandy Rojas
- Nicolas Roye
- Michelle Ruff (has done some work with Dallas; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Philece Sampler
- Tara Sands (aka Tara Jayne; worked in New York until 2004)
- Sean Schemmel (based in Dallas until 2003 and in New York until 2013; still does work with Funimation particularly for the Dragon Ball Z franchise)
- Patrick Seitz (frequent regular of Funimation; has performed in both union and non-union dubs)
- Stephanie Sheh (occasionally works with Funimation; does both union and non-union dubs)
- Brianne Siddall
- Keith Silverstein (works in both union and non-union dubs)
- Michael Sinterniklaas (Based in North Carolina until early 90's, and New York until around 2006/2007; has done some work for Funimation)
- Christopher Corey Smith (has performed in some Funimation titles; seems to mostly do union work, but still does some non-union work on occasion)
- John Snyder
- Michael Sorich
- Spike Spencer (based in Houston until around 2005/2006)
- Laura Stahl
- Steve Staley
- Skip Stellrecht
- Doug Stone
- Karen Strassman (has performed in both union and non-union dubs; has done some work in Dallas)
- Kim Strauss
- Kaiji Tang (has done some work in Dallas)
- Julie Ann Taylor (does both union and non-union dubs)
- Veronica Taylor (worked in New York until around 2014/2015)
- Chris Tergliafera
- Joe J. Thomas
- Bobby Thong
- Kirk Thornton (has performed in both union and non-union dubs)
- Josh Tomar
- Abby Trott
- Cristina Valenzuela (aka Cristina Vee; has done some work in New York and Dallas; has performed in both union and non-union dubs)
- Brad Venable (based in Dallas until around 2016/2017)
- David Vincent (has performed in some Funimation titles)
- Kari Wahlgren (does Union-only work in anime)
- Ezra Weisz
- Mark Whitten
- Cedric Williams
- Imari Williams
- Sarah Williams
- Travis Willingham (worked in Texas until 2008 and occasionally flew back to do a few roles for Funimation; nowadays mostly does union work, more in western animation and video games than in anime)
- Dave Wittenberg (does Union-only work in anime)
- Dan Woren
- Joe Zieja
Canada[]
- Michael Adamthwaite
- Emilie Claire Barlow
- Lisa Ann Beley
- Nicole Bouma
- Gary Chalk
- Ted Cole
- Alyson Court
- Richard Ian Cox
- Anna Cummer
- Trevor Devall
- Brian Dobson
- Michael Dobson
- Paul Dobson
- Brian Drummond
- Matthew Erickson
- Andrew Francis
- Ron Halder
- Saffron Henderson
- Maryke Hendrikse
- Matt Hill
- Janyse Jaud
- Andrew Kavadas
- David Kaye
- Gabe Khouth
- Michael Kopsa
- Julie Lemieux
- Lalainia Lindbjerg
- Scott McNeil
- Jillian Michaels
- Brent Miller
- Brenna O Brien
- Nicole Oliver
- Ron Pardo
- Susan Roman
- Kelly Sheridan
- Rebecca Shoichet
- Tabitha St Germain
- Chantal Strand
- Brad Swaile
- Venus Terzo
- Robert Tinkler
- Lee Tockar
- Andrew Toth
- Samuel Vincent
- Cathy Weseluck
- Alex Zahara
Texas[]
Primarily works in Dallas/Ft. Worth:[]
- Felecia Angelle
- Bryn Apprill
- Tia Ballard (has done work in Houston and Los Angeles)
- Dawn M. Bennett
- Justin Briner
- Kate Bristol
- John Burgmeier
- Clifford Chapin
- Leah Clark (has done work in New York)
- Colleen Clinkenbeard
- Justin Cook
- Amber Lee Connors
- Cynthia Cranz
- Aaron Dismuke
- Jason Douglas (worked in Houston until 2010; briefly does some voice work in Houston from time to time)
- Kara Edwards
- R Bruce Elliott
- Ricco Fajardo
- Morgan Garrett
- Caitlin Glass (has done work in Los Angeles and New York)
- Natalie Hoover (based in LA until 2015; divides her time between Dallas and Los Angeles)
- Chuck Huber
- Jerry Jewell
- Marissa Lenti
- Jason Liebrecht
- Lydia Mackay
- Jamie Marchi (has done work in Houston)
- Bryan Massey
- Elizabeth Maxwell (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Robert McCollum
- Joel McDonald (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Mike McFarland (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Trina Nishimura
- Wendy Powell
- Whitney Rodgers
- Michelle Rojas
- Christopher Sabat (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Lindsay Seidel
- Ian Sinclair (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Micah Solusod
- Sonny Strait
- J. Michael Tatum (has done work in Los Angeles and New York)
- [[Austin Tindle
- Alexis Tipton (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Jeannie Tirado
- Eric Vale (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Alison Viktorin
- Maxey Whitehead
- Sarah Wiedenheft
- Kent Williams
- Linda Young
- Stephanie Young
Primarily works in Houston:[]
- Chris Ayres (occasionally works with Funimation)
- Clint Bickham (does ADR script writing with Funimation)
- Shelley Calene-Black (does some work with Funimation)
- Jessica Calvello (worked in Texas until 2002 and in New York until 2013; does some work with Funimation)
- Jessica Boone (briefly did some voice work even after moving to the Czech Republic)
- Rozanne Curtis
- Kira Vincent-Davis (did some work with Funimation)
- Shannon Emerick
- Maggie Flecknoe
- Caitlynn French
- Scott Gibbs
- Tiffany Grant (does some work with Funimation)
- Kara Greenberg
- Hilary Haag (did some work with Funimation for a short time)
- Corey Hartzog
- Jay Hickman
- Allison Keith
- George Manley
- Kelly Manison
- Cynthia Martinez
- Andy McAvin
- Margaret McDonald
- Emily Neves (does some work with Funimation)
- Nancy Novotny
- Molly Searcy
- Blake Shepard (does some work with Funimation)
- Genevieve Simmons
- Juliet Simmons
- Allison Sumrall
Works in both Ft. Worth/Dallas and Houston:[]
- Greg Ayres
- Luci Christian
- Josh Grelle (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Brittney Karbowski (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Andrew Love
- David Matranga (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Carli Mosier
- Monica Rial (has done work in Los Angeles)
- Jad Saxton (has done work in Los Angeles)
- John Swasey
- David Wald
- Brett Weaver
Primarily works in Austin:[]
- J. Shannon Weaver
New York City[]
- Greg Abbey
- Emily Bauer (a.k.a. Emily Jenness; worked in LA until 2003/2004)
- Sam Black
- J. David Brimmer
- Kevin T. Collins
- Shannon Conley (a.k.a. Vibe Jones)
- Michael Crouch
- Daniel J. Edwards
- E. James Ford
- Wayne Grayson
- Dan Green
- Jason Griffith
Graham Halstead Melissa Hope Laurie Hymes Carol Jacobanis Eva Kaminsky Michele Knotz Christopher Kromer
- Brittany Lauda (has done work in Dallas)
- Eddy Lee
- Ted Lewis
- Michael Liscio Jr.
- Sarah Natochenny
- Michele O'Medlin
- Suzy Myers
- Karen Neill
- Michelle Newman
- Lisa Ortiz (has done work in LA and Texas)
- Amy Palant
- Haven Paschall
- Mike Pollock (has done work in LA)
- Debora Rabbai
- Scottie Ray
- Sean Reyes
- Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld
- Carrie Savage (worked in LA until 2007, in Texas until 2011, and LA again until 2015; still works with Funimation occasionally)
- Erica Schroeder
- Ryan Shanahan
- Matt Shipman
- Eileen Stevens
- Billy Bob Thompson
- Bill Timoney
- Georgette Timoney
- Marc Thompson
- David Wills
- Pete Zarustica
- Meredith Zeitlin
- Jimmy Zoppi
RIP[]
Much like their Japanese counterparts, English voice actors are only human. Some have died. Here be a list of the dearly departed.
- Maddie Blaustein
- Peter Fernandez
- Michal Friedman
- Cassandra Hodges
- Kirby Morrow
- Bob Papenbrook
- Billie Lou Watt
- Barry Stigler
Retired[]
Others, while still very much alive, have either retired or changed careers, such as:
- Tristan Mac Avery: original English dub voice of Gendo Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion, retired from voice-acting after a falling-out with ADV. Now enjoying a career in writing.
- Dameon Clarke: Started out at FUNimation as the voice of Cell and Scar, moved to Los Angeles and now only does live-action TV and a few video games. Although he recently returned to reprise his role as Cell for Dragonball Z Kai.
- Ceyli Delgadillo: Had a brief stint working at Funimation as the voice of Goku (in the second and third movies), Dende (dubbed over by Laura Bailey on the remastered DVD releases), and the little boy that Yusuke sacrificed himself to save. Left Funimation circa 2001, and is now living in New York City.
- Mark Gatha: English dub voice of Domon Kasshu in G Gundam, who has now become a doctor.
- Lia Sargent: English dub voice of Chun-Li, R. Dorothy Wayneright and Milly Thompson (and ADR director for the latter two shoes), as well as providing voices and/or ADR scripts for Rurouni Kenshin, Wolf's Rain, and Planetes. Mostly retired from voice acting in 2006, but has done a few video game roles since then, such as Natsume from .hack GU and Shion in Xenosaga, as well as a couple minor anime roles, such as the redub of Ghost in the Shell 2.0 and the Dantes Inferno animated movie.
- Andrew Rannells: He retired from voice acting to start a career on Broadway.
- Joshua Seth: English dub voice for the likes of Tai Kamiya (Taichi Yagami), Shoubu, Hige and Tetsuo Shima, is now a Comedy Hypnotist.
- Jason Gray Stanford: Had a good history in doing voicework in Canada during the 90's in roles such as Raditz, Joe Higashi, and Donatello. In the early 2000's he moved to California and in 2002 he became Lt. Randall Disher in the TV Series Monk and that's what he is mainly known for today.
- Eric Stuart: retired from voice acting just after recording for the newest Slayers series, and moved from New York to Tennessee to focus on his music career and family.
Other[]
And others occasionally get involved in Anime voice acting even though they aren't really regulars in the industry, such as:
- Bob Bergen, now known for being the voice of Porky Pig since Mel Blanc's death, was the voice for Lupin III in the original English dubs of the first two films, produced by Carl Macek's Streamline Pictures.
- Genre-favorite Claudia Black of Farscape and Stargate SG-1 fame did the opening of Steel Angel Kurumi, as well as the voice of Steel Angel Michael. ADV Films got her to do the role while she was in studio recording some extra features for their DVD release of Farscape.
- After her Stargate stint, Claudia seems to have gone into voice acting full time, with roles in God of War, Project Sylpheed, and several BioWare games, most notably Dragon Age as Morrigan.
- Benjamin Diskin, known primarily for his American animation roles, played Kai on Blood+, as well as a couple of roles on Naruto and Bleach, one of them being Sai in Naruto Shippuden.
- Maile Flanagan, who typically works as an on-screen actress, is best known as the voice of Naruto Uzumaki in the Naruto and Naruto Shippuden dubs.
- David Hayter, former Guyver lead star and X-Men and Watchmen film series Screenplay writer, is known primary for his role as Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid series, but he also did plenty of anime dubs such as Tamahome in Fushigi Yugi, Bernard Wiseman in Gundam 0080, and the title role in Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro.
- Even Samuel L. Jackson himself worked in anime, which he's a fan of, as the voice of the titular character of Afro Samurai.
- Danielle Judovits, who also works primarily in western animation, and has very few anime roles, her most famous one being Tenten on Naruto.
- Alessandro Juliani, a Canadian actor known for portraying Felix Gaeta on Battlestar Galactica Reimagined, also worked on Death Note as the voice of the world's greatest detective, L. (He did do voice work before such as Pit in Captain N, Prince Toma in one of the Ranma ½ movies and Gambit from X-Men Evolution and the like, but his voice work was never considered all that memorable until L came along)
- Janice Kawaye, who does mostly American voice acting, for example Jenny in My Life as a Teenage Robot, has also worked on Bleach as the voice of Ichigo's sister Yuzu Kurosaki.
- Tom Kenny, who's strictly a Western Animation voice actor known for being the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants and a large number of other characters, has lent his voice to anime such as Rave Master and IGPX.
- Patricia Ja Lee, known primarily for her role as Cassie Chan in Power Rangers Turbo and In Space, played Afura Mann in El Hazard, Mika Iwakura in Serial Experiments Lain, Megumi Kurogane in Gate Keepers and most recently, Patricia Martin (Yes, we noticed) in Lucky Star. She also portrayed Haruhi Suzumiya in a series of live-action promotional videos launched by Bandai Entertainment to announce the R1 license of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Before the series' English cast was announced, it was speculated that she might be the voice of Haruhi as well (the role would instead be played by Wendee Lee). Patricia would play one of the members of ENOZ in the episode "Live Alive".
- Hynden Walch, who normally works in American cartoon voice acting (she's best known for playing Starfire in Teen Titans) has also worked on a few anime, like Nia from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (before having to leave 2/3 of the way through due to family issues), Yutaka from Lucky Star, and Emiri Kimidori from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
- Wally Wingert, who also mostly does American animation voice acting, works on the Bleach dub as the gang's Sixth Ranger Renji Abarai. In addition, he was Brago from Zatch Bell and Tallest Red from Invader Zim.
- Note that this sub-list does not include the many celebrities and Western Animation VA's that Disney has gotten to play parts in their dubs of the Studio Ghibli films.
- Reuben Langdon, famously known as Dante in Devil May Cry, though more known in video game voicings (mostly Japanese-based that many anime fans will recognize), has once lent his voice for the animated adaptation of the game himself and had a minor role in Monster
- Ali Hillis, AKA Dr. Liara T'soni, Lightning, is more known for video game voices, but at least she also did the anime version of Emma Frost and Karin.
- D. C. Douglas was once involved in a Hajime no Ippo Special as Ippo Manokuchi himself, but on the other hand, like Ali Hillis above, he's more known for his video game roles such as Legion and Albert Wesker.
Latin-American Dub Voice Actors[]
Here's a list of noteworthy Latin-American dub voice actors. Voice actors are usually not exclusive to one studio or region, and several countries have their own studios - this list is separated by country.
Mexico (Mexico DF)[]
- Eduardo Garza
- Gerardo Reyero
- Irwin Daayán
- Jesús Barrero
- Jose Gilberto Vilchis
- María Fernanda Morales
- Mónica Manjarrez
- Patricia Acevedo
- René García
- Rossy Aguirre
RIP[]
Much like their Japanese and English counterparts, voice actors are only human. Some have died. Here be a list of the dearly departed.
- ↑ But what else could it possibly be?