is a Japanese

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

and singer.Doi, Hitoshi
"Kuwashima Houko"
''Seiyuu Database''. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2011. She is capable of playing a variety of roles, ranging from young boys to feminine women. She is affiliated with

Aoni Production is a Japanese talent agency representing a fair number of voice actors and other Japanese entertainers. Voice actors currently affiliated with Aoni All names are in Western order (given name followed by family/last name). *Mai Aizawa *Kenj ...

. Her first major role was as Yurika Misumaru in ''

Martian Successor Nadesico , sometimes referred to as simply , is a Japanese anime television series produced by TV Tokyo, Yomiko Advertising and Xebec and directed by Tatsuo Satō, with manga artist Kia Asamiya providing original character designs, Keiji Gotoh servin ...

''. She had lead or major roles as Sango in ''

Inuyasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...

'', Nakahito Kagura in '' Steel Angel Kurumi'', Marlene Angel in ''

Blue Gender ''Blue Gender'' is a Japanese anime television series created by Ryōsuke Takahashi, the creator of ''Armored Trooper Votoms'' and ''Gasaraki'', broadcast in Japan from 1999 to 2000 and spanning 26 episodes. ''Blue Gender'' was animated by th ...

'', Kenny in ''

Beyblade is a line of spinning-top toys originally developed by Takara, first released in Japan in July 1999, along with its debut series. Following Takara's merger with Tomy in 2006, Beyblades are now developed by Takara Tomy. Various toy companies ar ...

'', Quon Kisaragi in ''

RahXephon is a Japanese anime television series created and directed by Yutaka Izubuchi. The series follows 17-year-old Ayato Kamina, his ability to control a mecha known as the RahXephon, and his inner journey to find a place in the world. His l ...

'', Flay Allster in ''

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'', Stella Loussier in ''

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'', Sheila in ''

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'', Itsuki Myoudouin / Cure Sunshine in '' Heartcatch PreCure!'', Wendy Garret in ''

Gun Sword , is a Japanese anime television series animated by AIC A.S.T.A, written by Hideyuki Kurata, and directed by Gorō Taniguchi. Plot The story is set on the "Planet of Endless Illusion", a place where rogues of all sorts gather. The protagon ...

'', Shūrei Hong in ''

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'', Clare in '' Claymore'', Michru Kita in ''

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'', Fuyuki Hinata in ''

Sgt. Frog ''Sgt. Frog'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mine Yoshizaki. It was launched in ''Monthly Shōnen Ace'' in April 1999. The story follows the attempts of a platoon of frog-like alien invaders to c ...

'', Cirucci and Soifon in ''

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'', Shigure in '' Ninja Scroll: The Series'', Allison in ''

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'', and Uka in ''

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.'' In video games, she voiced Seshil Pound in ''

Money Puzzle Exchanger ''Money Puzzle Exchanger'' is a puzzle game created on January 17, 1997 by Japanese video game developer Face for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system. Athena Co. Ltd. ported it to the Game Boy on August 29, 1997, and the PlayStation on November 5, 1998 ...

'', Mei Ling and Para-Medic in ''

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'',

Seong Mi-na The following is a comprehensive list of characters from the ''Soulcalibur'' series of video games, beginning with ''Soul Edge'' (''Soul Blade'') in 1995. Overview The ''Soulcalibur'' series is a weapon-based fighting game franchise developed b ...

in ''

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'',

Kasumi Kasumi may refer to: Places * Kasumi, Hyōgo (香住), a former town in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan * Kasumigaseki (霞が関 "Gate of Mist"), a district in downtown Tokyo * Kasumi, Jajce, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina Other uses * Kasumi (gi ...

in '' Dead or Alive'', Presea Combatir in the ''Tales'' series, Tomoyo Sakagami in ''

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'', Isara Gunther in ''

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'' and Chizuru Yukimura in ''

Hakuoki is a Japanese ''otome'' video game series by Idea Factory, first released for the PlayStation 2 in 18 September 2008 and ported to many other platforms. It has been adapted into an anime series by Studio Deen; the first series was bro ...

''. On films, she had voice roles as the title character in ''

Princess Arete (also ''Princess Arite'') is a 2001 Japanese animated film written and directed by Sunao Katabuchi, animated and produced by Studio 4°C and distributed by Omega Entertainment. It is based on Diana Coles's 1983 story ''The Clever Princess''. Th ...

'', Yuki Mori in ''

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 ''Star Blazers 2199'', known in Japan as , is a 2012–2013 Japanese military science fiction anime television series that is a remake of the first ''Space Battleship Yamato'' television series created by Yoshinobu Nishizaki and Leiji Matsu ...

'', Rosé Thomas in '' Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa'', and Poko in '' Doraemon: Nobita in the Robot Kingdom''. She has performed songs for anime, such as , which was used as the opening theme to ''Blue Gender''.

Biography

Although a shy kid, she was interested in acting as an escapism from her real self, especially when she saw the musical and television dramas at the

Shiki Theatre Company is one of Japan's best-known and largest theatre companies. Shiki Theatre Company employs over 800 actors and staff, and stages about 2800 performances a year. Shiki Theatre Company operates nine theaters for their exclusive use. Originally, t ...

. Every time there were four seasons on local performances, it was almost like getting tickets for the parents and putting the heat that would go to see them in the family. While in elementary school, Kuwashima watched ''

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'' while dreaming to become a voice actress. She wrote in a graduation collection, saying: "I want to make the child's voices in the anime project of

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

." She learned that there is no drama club neither stage plays at the cultural festival at junior high school. At Iwate Prefectural Kurosawajiri North High School, she attended a correspondence course at Katsuta Voice Academy. The voice was blown to the cassette tape, and was corrected by voice actor

Hisashi Katsuta was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is best known for his voice-over portrayal of Professor Ochanomizu in three anime adaptations of the ''Astro Boy'' franchise, and also voiced Dr. Hoshi in ''Astroganger'' (1972–1973), Professor Tobishim ...

who was a director. However, attendance at the time of advancement was insufficient, and from the third year it was transferred to Iwate Prefectural Forest Mausoleum High school. After graduating, she moved to Tokyo. She entered Aoiso in 1994. In auditions after graduation, about 20 out of 71 people have passed the exam and belonged to

. She made her debut in the 1995 anime series ''

Sailor Moon S The third season of the '' Sailor Moon'' anime series, ''Sailor Moon S'' (originally released in Japan as , and later as ''Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon S''), was produced by Toei Animation and directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. It began broadcasting on ...

''. In 1996, in the anime series ''

'' she gained the role of heroine Yurika Misumaru and gained popularity, and before that, she voiced Necrokaizer in the OVA series adaptation of 1995 Technōs/

SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...

Neo Geo Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. The Neo Geo MVS was su ...

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer ''Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer'' is a 1995 superhero-themed head-to-head fighting game produced by Technos Japan Corp. for the Neo Geo arcade and home console. It was the companys second attempt at a fighting game, following the Neo Geo fighting g ...

''. The same year, her younger brother passed the University of Tsukuba. She played Shiro Bonn in ''

Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden , commonly abbreviated as or ''BBB'', is a ''CoroCoro Comic'' series created by Koichi Mikata, based on Bomberman and B-Daman. An animated television series was created and originally broadcast on Nagoya TV and TV Asahi at 17:00. It was a ...

'' and Maron Kusakabe in ''

Phantom Thief Jeanne is a magical girl ''shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by Arina Tanemura. The story is about the adventures of a high school girl, Maron Kusakabe, who is the reincarnation of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) and transforms into a pha ...

''. She was appointed a cultural ambassador of Iwate Prefecture.

Filmography

Animation

Film

Video games

Tokusatsu

Drama CD

Other dubbing

Notes

References

External links

Official agency profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuwashima, Hoko 1975 births Living people Anime singers Aoni Production voice actors Japanese women pop singers Japanese video game actresses Japanese voice actresses Musicians from Iwate Prefecture Voice actresses from Iwate Prefecture 20th-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese actresses 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers