Recently I wrote a blog post about the State of the Anime Industry in 2023, giving my thoughts on what was healthy and what could use improvement in the industry. In the post, I mentioned that animator salaries had ticked up slightly in recent years, though the bulk of compensation for creating anime was still flowing toward A-list voice actors. I received a question about what defines a top-rank seiyu, so I thought we’d explore this subject together!
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How Does Japan’s Seiyu Industry Work?
One category of anime I love includes shows that explore the anime industry itself, casting light on both the good and the bad elements. Some examples are:
- The outstanding Shirobako, in which five girls come to Tokyo to realize their dream of becoming professionals in the anime world.
- Bakuman, about the manga industry.
- Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, a genius show that was an allegory about the three creators of Studio Ghibli.
- Seiyu’s Life, in which real voice actors appear in animated form and give advice to up-and-coming seiyu. The advice includes telling them how they must stand in the hallway as the director walks by and introduce themselves in the hopes of him one day remembering their name.
- Girlish Number, which explores the “shitty voice acting industry” (as one character puts it) from the point of view of a low-ranked voice actress frustrated at the lack of progress in her career.
Why is the seiyu world so shitty? Unless you’re one of the top dozen or so A-list voice actors, you make ridiculously low wages, and basically have to work for free for years before you can hope to make a living from voice acting work. In general, we expect that the world will work according to the 80-20 principle, with 20% of famous voice actors winning 80% of the roles and 80% of the money. But in the seiyu world, it might be closer to 95%-5%, thanks to the royalties top names receive for songs, live events, and so on.
So not only are the voice actresses on this list beloved by fans for their unique voice talents, they’ve also had to persevere through years of difficulty to get to where they are today. Oh, and in many cases, they gave up a normal high school life to attend a special voice training school. They’re all so dedicated!
Who Are the Most Famous Female Anime Voice Actors? Here’s the Ranking!
We’ll be ranking the top female Japanese voice actors in this list, according to their popular rating on MAL. Let’s get started!
Yui Horie. A superb voice actress who decided she wanted to do voice work professionally after watching Dirty Pair. She’s played so many legendary roles that it’s hard to pick a favorite. Read more about Yui in this blog post!
Aya Hirano. A name that exploded onto the scene as Haruhi Suzumiya, she’s also had some other amazing roles. She helped anime fans get through the COVID lockdown by encouraging us to do the Hare Hare Yukai dance together.
Ayane Sakura. Another talented voice actress from Japan, she’s voiced some extremely popular roles. Which one is your favorite?
Sora Amamiya. One of the most popular voices in anime today is Sora Amamiya, who has brought to life such characters as Chizuru Ichinose from Rent a Girlfriend, Aqua from Konosuba and even “best snek” Miia from Everyday Life with Monster Girls. We’ve got a post on her top roles here!
Inori Minase. Another amazing Japanese seiyu is Inori Minase, who voices popular characters like Rem from Re:Zero and Itsuki from Quintessential Quintuplets. Can you pick a favorite?
Ai Kayano. I’m often floored at the amazing range Japan’s voice actresses are capable of. Ai Kayano voices grown-up characters like Darkness from Konosuba and Utaha-senpai from Saekano. But she also breathes life into such pure characters as Menma from AnoHana and Shiro from No Game No Life.
Aoi Yuuki. She exploded on the scene with 2011’s Madoka Magica but has many other credits to her name. I’m especially fond of her amazing voice work in So I’m a Spider, So What? We’ve got a specific post for Aoi Yuuki here!
The Top 5 Anime Voice Actresses!
Miyuki Sawashiro. Another bright star in the voice acting industry, her husky voice has enabled her to play several strong female roles, including Mordred Pendragon from Fate, Kanbaru from Monogatari and Saeko from HOTD.
Rie Kugimiya. One of my all-time favorites, Rie Kugimiya is famous for defining the tsundere genre in shows like Toradora, Zero no Tsukaima and Shakugan no Shana. But she’ll always be Iori Minase from the OG Idolmaster to me. See Rie’s best roles in this blog post!
Rie Takahashi. Another wonderful voice actress who makes watching anime a joy, she’s famous for voicing Megumin from Konosuba, Emily-tan from Re:Zero and my favorite role of hers, Takagi-san. We have a blog post celebrating Rie Takahashi’s birthday here!
Saori Hayami. She got her start voicing the yandere Ayase from Oreimo, but since those days has really climbed in popularity, winning multiple roles each anime season. Recently she’s been playing some popular MILF characters, like Yor Forger from SPY x FAMILY and Tsuki Uzaki from Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! We have a post about her career here!
Kana Hanazawa. Finally, the Queen of Anime Voice Acting is Kana Hanazawa, who Mrs. J-List calls “the Tu-turu girl” because of her playing Mayuri from Steins;Gate. She’s played hundreds of roles, making it extremely hard to pick even a few favorites. Our birthday post celebrating Kana-chan is here!
Thanks for reading this blog post exploring the top A-list anime voice actresses. Which one is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!
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!
