It’s time for another blog post celebrating the birthday of the amazing Eri Kitamura, who’s brought us some of the best and most beloved anime characters. She turns 36 years old today!
Eri Kitamura was born on August 16, 1987 in Tokyo. Her mother enjoyed watching anime, and Eri would watch episodes of Sailor Moon together with her mother, calling out the famous lines from the show. At the age of 8, after watching a TV program featuring young voice actors, she decided that she wanted to become a seiyu, although she had to start out as a child actress because there was an age limit for voice acting work. Her debut finally came in 2004, singing the opening theme to Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch and getting a voice role in the same show.
Her big break came in 2005 when she was selected to play the lead role in BLOOD+. This led to important roles like Rin from Kodomo no Jikan, Ami Kawashima from Toradora and the popular boyish idol Makoto Kikuchi from the OG Idolmaster. In addition to voice work, she’s been active as a singer, doing opening theme songs for anime as well as more mainstream music.
Happy Birthday to Eri Kitamura? Let’s Look At Her Most Famous Voice Roles!
Sayaka Miki from Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. Eri Kitagawa plays Sayaka in the influential “post-modern” magical girl anime. What an epic role for her.
Karen Araragi from Monogatari Series. Another amazing voice role was Karen Araragi, who has a fiery personality.
Ami Kawashima from Toradora. Perhaps the best-executed romantic comedy in anime history, Toradora is the story of unrequited love. Ryuji loves Minori, while Minori’s best friend loves Yusaku. Added to the mix is popular model Ami, whose heart is slowly won over by Ryuji as the show progresses.
What are the best voice roles by Yui Horie? Blog post here!
Yui from Angel Beats. An anime from Jun Maeda, who loves to destroy his fans with highly emotional endings. Did you get through Angel Beats with dry eyes?
Mina Ashido from My Hero Acdemia. Yet another amazing voice role for Eri Kitamura is Mina from My Hero Academia.
Rin Kokonoe from Kodomo no Jikan. One of her most important early roles was Rin from Kodomo no Jikan, an anime about an elementary school girl who’s obsessed with…having sex with her teacher? In reality, the show is about a girl looking for an adult to save her from an abusive relationship with her stepfather, making use of certain themes to tell a unique story. This anime has a rockin’ ending theme, which you can listen to here.
Miu Takanashi from Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! An excellent anime about a university student who must raise the three daughters of his older sister when the plane she’s on with her husband goes missing. Considering the comedic lolicon elements in the show, it’s obvious that the producers chose Eri Kitamura to voice Miu to bring in Kodomo no Jikan fans. It’s free real estate!
Ranko Honjou from My First Girlfriend is a Gal. Wow, talk about having an amazing range as a voice actress! I didn’t realize Eri Kitamura voiced Ranko until writing this post.
Makoto Kikuchi from Idolmaster. I’ll always be a fan of the original Idolmaster anime, and one of my favorite characters is Makoto. Naturally, Eri is able to bring the perfect tomboy tone to the character every time.
Darjeeling from Girls und Panzer. One of the most financially successful anime ever, Girls und Panzer is about girls discovering the Way of the Tank.
Saya Takagi from Highschool of the Dead. Another great role is the spunky Saya from HOTD.
Keqing in Genshin Impact. If you play Genshin in Japanese language mode (and why wouldn’t you?), you’ll be happy to hear the sweet voice of Eri Kitamura voicing Kequing.
Mitty from Made in Abyss. Finally, one of the most tragic characters we can think of, Nanachi’s best friend Mitty from Made in Abyss. Spoiler warning for the video above!
What’s so good about Made in Abyss? Read this blog post and find out!
Wow! That’s a lot of epic voice roles. I could have kept going, since Eri Kitamura has been voice acting for so long, and done so many roles. Like Mahiro from Haiyore! Nyaruko! Or Yachiyo from Working! Or professional lesbian software developer Shizuku in New Game! The list goes on and on…
Thanks for reading this post celebrating the birthday of Eri Kitamura. What’s your favorite voice role by her? Tell us in the comments below!
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