Today is the 33rd birthday of Nao Tōyama, the lovely voice actress who has brought life to many of our favorite anime characters. Let’s take a look at her amazing career and try to pick out which voice roles are her best ones!
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How Did Nao Tōyama Become a Voice Actress?
Nao Tōyama was born March 11, 1992. At a young age, she loved anime series like Ojamajo Doremi and Sailor Moon. But when Fullmetal Alchemist started airing, she got the idea that she might be able to one day work as a seiyuu and “move fans’ hearts with her voice.” While still in high school, she enrolled in the Japan Narration Acting Institute, beginning three years of voice training.
Her first break came when she won the role of Kanon Nakagawa in The World God Only Knows. But the character that put her on the map with foreign fans was the half-Japanese, half-British Karen Kujou from Kin’iro Mosaic. Her penchant for speaking Japanese with a “gaijin” accent was a big hit in my household, and my son would go around talking like her until it got annoying. Nao would later carry this unique accent over to the character of Kongou, the British-made battleship from Kantai Collection.
Nao’s father is Japanese, but he lived abroad for many years when he was young. Since he spoke English at home, this allowed Nao to pick up English growing up. She’s always been the kind of person to face her problems head-on. When she learned she was tone-deaf, she countered this by joining the school’s chorus club, which gave her the ability to address her vocal challenges. This apparently worked out well, since she has a successful singing career today.
Growing up, Nao was just 149 cm or 4’11” tall. Since she was also as skinny as a stick, this earned her the nickname Nao-bou, which is used by her official Twitter account.
Nao Tōyama is close friends with Saori Hayami, as they entered the industry together.
What Are Nao Tōyama’s Best Voice Roles?
Let’s look at the most impressive roles by Nao-bou together!
Kanon Nakagawa from The World God Only Knows
Nao’s big break came with her winning the role of the Kanon from The World God Only Knows. Since this character is an idol, the role allowed her to record some songs that were added to the anime’s CD collection.
Clair from Gleipnir
Gleipnir might be a largely forgotten anime today, but damn, it was such a wonderful mind-fuck for fans back when it was airing.
Tomoe Koga from Seishun Buta Yarou
A fun anime about a guy who needs to solve several girls’ supernatural problems so he can get back to dating his straight-haired kuudere girlfriend. No, not that one, the other one.
Yui Yuigahama from Oregairu
Another hugely popular character voiced by Nao Tōyama was Yui Yuigahama from My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU. Nao must wonder why her characters keep having to defend their virginity!
Chitoge Kirisaki from Nisekoi
Another important role Nao received was Chitoge from Nisekoi. Which team were you on back when this show was airing?
Ruka Sarashina from Rent A Girlfriend
Nao won fans’ hearts with the character of Ruka from Kanojo, Okarishimasu. Which girl are you supporting in this series?
Rin Shima from Yuru Camp
I associate Nao Tōyama with her more flamboyant roles so much, I forgot she’s also great at voicing deadpan characters like Rin from Yuru Camp. Damn it! This video is making me want to rewatch the entire series again.
Karen Kujou from Kin’iro Mosaic
The role that made me an instant fan of Nao was Karen from KinMoza. A super cute show that could be described as “Lucky Star with Japan/British cultural jokes,” it was the story of Alice and her half-Japanese friend Karen who moved from the UK to Japan.
Kongou from Kantai Collection
I say Kongou, but in reality, Nao Tōyama voiced all of the “Kongou Sisters” including Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima, too. She actually voiced twelve different characters in the original Kantai Collection browser-based game and six in the KanColle movie.
Thanks for reading this blog post about the amazing career of Japanese voice actress Nao Tōyama. What’s your favorite role by her? Tell us in the comments below!
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Great news! J-List is having an Early Spring sale to celebrate the arriving of Spring. You can get an awesome 10% off all in-stock products shipping from Japan, with no code to enter. Browse all our in-stock anime figures, new manga and doujinshi, photobooks, and naughty products here!
