Happy birthday to incredible Japanese voice actress Miyuki Sawashiro, who turns 39 years old today. Miyuki has built her career around voicing a specific type of strong female tomboy-esque characters, and fans love her unique voice. Let’s explore how her career unfolded, and rank her 11 best voice roles!
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Miyuki Sawashiro’s Road to Becoming a Voice Actress
Miyuki Sawashiro was born on June 2, 1985, in Nagano Prefecture. She first became interested in voice acting after receiving praise for her role in a school play. “I could never be the best at writing or sports,” she thought to herself at the time, “but perhaps I could be good at voice acting.” In 1999, she participated in a rookie voice actor audition and won a role in the Di Gi Carat anime without any acting experience.
She got many smaller roles over the years, but her big break came when she was selected to voice Suruga Kanbaru in the Bakemonogatari anime. This was a huge hit and made her voice a favorite with fans. In 2011 she was chosen to take over the role of iconic femme fatale Fujiko Mine.
Miyuki Sawashiro announced her marriage to a man outside of the seiyuu industry in 2014. She had her first child in 2018.
Her hobbies involve studying English, and when she was in high school she did a homestay in Pennsylvania. She’s close friends with fellow voice actress Nana Mizuki.
The Top 12 Voice Roles by Miyuki Sawashiro!
Let’s look at the most memorable voice roles by Miyuki, with YouTube clips!
Suruga Kanbaru from Monogatari Series
First up is her most famous role, the weird and wonderful Kanbaru Suruga from Bakemonogatari / The Monogatari Series. Athletic and sharp-witted, she always knows what to say to keep Arararagi-kun unbalanced and entertain viewers.
Himeko Inaba from Kokoro Connect
Another popular character voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro is Himeko Inaba from Kokoro Connect. This was a fun anime about a group of club members who were hit with a curse that caused them to swap bodies. Inaba was the most popular character because of her cool manner and strong persona. And because she’s also masturbated to us.
Shino Asada from Sword Art Online
Another character perfect for Miyuki’s voice, Shino is an expert marksman inside the virtual world of Gun Gale Online.
Saeko Busujima from HOTD
The anime we’d most like to get a second season of but never will featured Miyuki Sawajima as Saeko, the super-strong girl who’s adept at chopping up zombies with her samurai sword. Why are there no girls like this in the real world?
Another Iconic Miyuki Sawashiro Role: Mordred from Fate
Another character fans fell in love with was Mordred, aka Aka no Saber from the Fate/Apocrypha and Fate/Grand Order series. I’d love to have her as my servant.
Celty Sturlson from Durarara!!
Miyuki also played Celty from the Durarara!! series. She’s a Dullahan, like Nearly Headless Nick from the Harry Potter franchise. She rides a black motorcycle and is cool as hell.
Miyuki Sawashiro Also Voices Perinne H. Clostermann from Strike Witches
Although she’s famous for doing super strong female voices, she can also be sweet and feminine when the character calls for that kind of voice.
The Third Voice of Fujiko Mine
One of the most iconic characters in the history of anime is Fujiko Mine from the Lupin the Third series. Naturally, the original voice provided by Eiko Masuyama from 1969-2012 will always be my favorite. But I’ve really enjoyed Miyuki Sawashiro’s take on Fujko in such outstanding works as The Woman Naked Fujiko Mine and The Gravestone of Daisuke Jigen. Lupin III has never been better!
What are the best Lupin works you should watch? Read this blog post!
Kirari Momobami from Kakegurui
Of course, Miyuki’s unique voice would be perfect for the role of Kirari from the Kakegurui gambling anime. Every character in this series is over the top!
Izuna Hatsuse from No Game No Life
Who would have thought that the voice actress who could breathe life into characters like Mordred or Inaba could be so cute in the role of Izuna from NGNL?
Miyuki Sawashiro Is Also Kurapika from HUNTER x HUNTER
Her most famous role is one I fear many Western fans won’t be aware of because HUNTER x HUNTER feels like a show most fans will have watched as a dub. Which version of this series did you watch?
Shinku from Rozen Maiden
Finally, one of the most important roles in Miyuki Sawashiro’s career was Shinku from Rozen Maiden, the official anime of 4chan. Her deadpan delivery of every line is just wonderful in this anime!
Thanks for reading this blog post about the birthday of famed voice actress Miyuki Sawashiro. What is your favorite role by her? Tell us in the comments below!
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Happy New Year from your Friend in Japan, J-List! We hope 2026 is a year of happiness and peace for you. To get things off right, we’re having a huge site-wide New Year’s Sale through Jan. 6, giving you 15$ off all in-stock products. Start browsing now!
