It’s time to celebrate the birthday of another iconic Japanese voice actor and singer. This time it’s the talented Rie Tanaka, who’s been working in the industry constantly since debuting back in 1997. She turns 45 years old today.
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Rie Tanaka was born on January 3, 1979 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. In elementary school, she was in the school book club. There she enjoyed performing kami shibai, a play done with paper cut-outs illustrating the story while she narrated it to the younger children of her school. One day she bought a Dragon Quest drama CD and realized this was the job she wanted to do.
After graduating from high school, she moved to Tokyo and enrolled in the voice acting class at Yoyogi Animation Academy. Her parents were dubious at first but agreed to support her for a year while she tried to make a go of her new career.
She started getting small roles around 1999, but her career really took off after winning the role of Chii from the hit Chobits, as well as the role of Lacus Clyne in Gundam SEED. The role of Sugintou from Rozen Maiden in 2004 was another big role that won fans over.
In 2012, she announced on Twitter that she had married Koichi Yamadera, who voiced Spike in Cowboy Bebop and Kaji from Evangelion.
What Are Japanese Seiyu Rie Tanaka’s Best Roles?
Chi from Chobits. The girl who taught us all the word pantsu might be Rie Tanaka’s most famous voice role. It’s certainly the point where she got on my radar as a fan.
Sugintou from Rozen Maiden. Another big role was Sugintou, the antagonist of the series at first. She’s obsessed with making sure others know she’s not “junk.”
Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke from Strike Witches. Another great voice role for Rie Tanaka is Minna from Strike Witches. Minna hails from Karlsland and is one of the top-ranking officers in the 501st.
Neptune from Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation. Another hugely popular character she voices is Neptuna. Compare the Japanese and English voices above, and decide which one you like better!
Elinalise Dragonroad from Mushoku Tensei II. In 2023 fans were happy to see the return of Rudeus Greyrat and lots of other friends with Mushoku Tensei Part 2. Elinalise’s curse compelled her to have sex with many partners, so she became a fan favorite.
Lacus Clyne from Gundam SEED. While I wasn’t that into Gundam SEED at the time because I felt the creators were trying to push moe in the Gundam universe, it was an awesome show many fans loved. Rie Tanaka did great in her second starring role.
Akira Yamamoto from Space Battleship Yamato 2199. When you update a classic anime like Yamato, you need to meet the expectations modern fans have. This was done by adding many female characters, so fans could enjoy sexy camera angles and romantic plots (and buy anime figures). Fighter pilot Akira Yamamoto was one of the characters who got switched into a sexy female for the reboot, and I’m just fine with that.
What are some amazing shows that prove anime is timeless? Read this blog post!
Maria from Hayate no Gotoku! Another fun anime was Hayate the Combat Butler, which featured great voice performances by some of my favorite anime seiyu, including Rie Tanaka as Maria.
Yuri Koigakubo from Toradora! The teacher from Toradora! was awesome, with the perfect balance of cynical comebacks about why she didn’t have a date for Christmas Eve. Not everything goes smoothly in life, you know!
Koyomi Mizuhara from Azumanga Daiou. One Rie Tanaka role English-speaking fans might not be familiar with is Koyomi from Azumanga Daiou. This is because the English dub of the show became extremely popular. So, many fans wouldn’t have watched it in Japanese with subtitles. Which version did you watch?
Mitsuru Kirijou from Persona 3. Rie also played Mitsuru from the Persona 3 animated films, another big role fans might not know. Did you associate this character with Rie’s voice?
Thanks for reading this blog post about the birthday of Rie Tanaka. What’s your favorite voice role by her? Tell us in the comments below!
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We have great news for everyone: a big sale on all 2024 anime, traditional photo, and sexy JAV calendars! You can get 25-60% off all the calendars you want on your wall or desk in 2024, but be aware that we are down to a single copy of many of the calendars, and they’ll be removed from the site as soon as they sell out. Browse all our calendars here!
