is a
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
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 ...
,
singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment.
Royalties
A lyricist's income ...
and
radio personality
A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...
from
Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office.
One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for her roles in ''
Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...
'', ''
Love Hina
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from October 1998 to October 2001, with the chapters collected into 14 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Kodansha. The ...
'', ''
Saber Marionette J
is a Japanese anime television series produced by Studio Junio. aired on TV Tokyo from October 1, 1996 to March 25, 1997. It is the first installment of the ''Saber Marionette'' franchise. The show was localized in North America by Ocean Pr ...
'', ''
Magical Princess Minky Momo
is a Japanese magical-girl anime franchise by Ashi Productions. The original series ran between 1982 and 1983 on TV Tokyo and inspired three OVAs between 1985 and 1987. A second television series, titled , ran on NTV between 1991 and ...
'', ''
Mashin Hero Wataru
is a mecha multimedia franchise originally created by Sunrise and Red Entertainment. The first series aired on April 15, 1988, replacing the 17:00–17:30 timeslot used for '' Transformers: The Headmasters''. Sunrise credited "Hajime Y ...
'', ''
Ranma ½
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected into 38 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shogakukan. The st ...
'', ''
Cowboy Bebop'', ''
Slayers
is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. The novels have been serialized in ''Dragon Magazine'' since 1989, before being published into individual volumes. They follow t ...
'', ''
Detective Conan
''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective fiction, detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' ...
'', ''
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of ...
'', ''
All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku'', ''
Video Girl Ai
''Video Girl Ai'', known in Japan as simply , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masakazu Katsura. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 1989 to April 1992. It was followed by a short seq ...
'', and ''
Shaman King
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takei. It follows the adventures of Yoh Asakura as he attempts to hone his shaman skills to become the Shaman King by winning the Shaman Fight. Takei chose shamanism as the ma ...
'' where she also performs the opening themes for the 2001 series, Over Soul and Northern Lights, as well as the 2021 adaptations theme Soul Salvation.
Biography
Hayashibara was born on March 30, 1967, in Kita Tokyo, Japan.
She studied at a
Catholic school
Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...
and at one point was bullied in fifth grade. She was an active club member and participated in the Badminton, Biology, Broadcasting, Drama and English clubs. She played the role of Alice in an English language production of
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
. Despite qualifying as a nurse, she has never been employed in a nursing position.
On March 30, 1998, Hayashibara married her unnamed company employee 3 years her junior after a five years' acquaintance. On January 10, 2004, Hayashibara announced on her radio show that she was pregnant with her first child. On June 28 of the same year, she gave birth to her daughter by via
caesarian section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
.
Voice acting
On the same day as submitting the application for
nursing school
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...
, Hayashibara went to a book store and found an advert offering free anime voice acting auditions at
Arts Vision
, stylized as ARTSVISION, is a Japanese talent agency based in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo that employs many high-profile voice actors. It was founded in 1984 by Sakumi Matsuda.
General information
Arts Vision was founded by former Tokyo Actor's Con ...
. Several months after submitting a demo tape, she received a confirmation of passing the first stage of the audition, and eventually decided to continue training as a nurse while doing voice acting. In 1986, after a year of voice actor training, Hayashibara was chosen to voice small roles on
Maison Ikkoku
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Big Comic Spirits'' from 1980 to 1987, with the chapters collected into 15 ''tankōbon'' volumes. ' ...
.
Initially, she had difficulty with her lines and had to redo many lines after the main recording sessions. Hayashibara later auditioned for ''
Ranma ½
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected into 38 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shogakukan. The st ...
'' expecting to be cast as
Akane Tendo
Akane (, ) is the Japanese word for 'deep red' (, ''Akane'', ''Rubia cordifolia'') and is associated with red (from the red dye made from its roots) and brilliant red. ''Akane'' (written in a variety of forms) is both a female Japanese given ...
, but was cast as the female half of
Ranma Saotome
is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the manga series ''Ranma ½'', created by Rumiko Takahashi. Ranma is a Japanese teenage boy who has trained in martial arts since early childhood. As a result of falling into an enchanted ...
instead. In 1993 and 1995, Hayashibara was a guest at Anime America. At the 1995 event, she decided to give a speech in English after believing the translation at the 1993 event did not reflect what she had said. In 1995, Hayashibara provided the voice of
Rei Ayanami
is a fictional character from the anime ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', created by Gainax. She is the First Child and pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 00. At the beginning of the series, Rei is an enigmatic figure whose unusual behav ...
in ''
Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...
'', a role referred to as "innovative casting".
In addition to voicing Musashi/Jessie of Team Rocket in ''Pokémon'', Hayashibara has also voiced Ash's Pidgeotto and Pidgeot, May's Skitty, Whitney's Miltank, Clair's Dratini and Dragonair, Latios, Latias, and Anabel's Espeon in both the Japanese and English-language versions of the anime. She also provides the voice for Ai Haibara in the ongoing anime series, Detective Conan.
While Hayashibara rarely voices male characters, she voiced as Shuichi Saihara in ''
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony'' due to her deep and vast experience connected to detective characters. She has actually helped the team on making Shuichi more detective-like.
In 2001 Hayashibara was cast as
Anna Kyoyama
is a fictional character created by manga author Hiroyuki Takei. She appears in '' Shaman King'' as a primary character, while an alternate character with the same name and similar appearance appears in ''Butsu Zone'', and ''Itako no Anna'', a on ...
In the anime adaptation of the Shonen series
Shaman King
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takei. It follows the adventures of Yoh Asakura as he attempts to hone his shaman skills to become the Shaman King by winning the Shaman Fight. Takei chose shamanism as the ma ...
while also performing the opening themes Over Soul and Northern Lights. Twenty years later she reprised her role as Anna in the
2021 remake and performed the first opening theme Soul Salvation and the first ending theme #Boku no Yubisaki. Over Soul was used as the credits song for episode 5. Hayashibara's 2010 song Osorezan Revoir would also be used as the ending theme of episode 33: which concluded the Osorezan Revoir arc of the story.
DJ
While at nursing school, Hayashibara started a temporary job as a DJ at a local ice skating rink. After becoming better known as a voice actress, she was given her own radio show, ''Heartful Station''. After 17 shows, the broadcasting station cancelled the show and other anime related programming to concentrate on traditional music. However, six months later, Hayashibara started a new radio show at another broadcaster.
Writing
Hayashibara wrote a series of manga for ''Anime V'' magazine, with artwork by
Sakura Asagi
is a Japanese animator, illustrator, and manga artist.
She contributed her character design for the series ''Shōnen Onmyōji'' and ''Saint Beast''. Apart from illustrating for the novel series ''Shōnen Onmyōji'', she also authors the manga, w ...
. The comics, known as "
Megumi-Toons", talked about her personal life and career. The individual chapters were collected into the book , which has been reprinted several times. Hayashibara has also contributed two columns to ''
Newtype
is a monthly magazine publication originating from Japan, covering anime (and to a lesser extent, tokusatsu, manga, Japanese science fiction, seiyuu, and video games). It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, with i ...
'' magazine; ''Aitakute Aitakute'', and ''Speaking in Character''. ''Aitakute Aitakute'' is a series of interviews conducted by Hayashibara with people from all walks of life. Three compilations of the column have been published. ''Speaking in Character'' has been translated into English for ''Newtype USA''.
In February 2021,
Yen Press
Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...
announced the release of Hayashibara's memoir ''The Characters Taught Me Everything: Living Life One Episode at a Time'', in which she examines her career and the ways the characters she portrayed in various anime series affected it. The book is currently available for digital release, with the physical release slated for August 2021.
Filmography
Television animation
Original video animation (OVA)
Anime films
Video games
Dubbing roles
Drama CD
Discography
Albums
Singles
Substitutes
*
Akiko Hiramatsu
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Ken Production.Doi, Hitoshi.Hiramatsu Akiko. ''Seiyuu Database''. June 11, 2010. Accessed June 28, 2010.
Filmography
Anime
OVA
Movies
Video Games
Dubbing
*''Bootmen'' (Linda (Sophie Lee))
*''C ...
—''
Pokemon: Advanced Generation'': Musashi
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashibara, Megumi
1967 births
Living people
Anime singers
Japanese women pop singers
Japanese women rock singers
Japanese women singer-songwriters
Japanese radio personalities
Japanese video game actresses
Japanese voice actresses
King Records (Japan) artists
Singers from Tokyo
Universal Music Japan artists
Voice actresses from Tokyo
20th-century Japanese actresses
20th-century Japanese women singers
20th-century Japanese singers
21st-century Japanese actresses
21st-century Japanese women singers
21st-century Japanese singers
Arts Vision voice actors