Aya Hirano



Probably the best known female rookie voice actor of the 2000s, "Aya-chan" was born in in 1987. In 2006, she rocketed to fame as the voice of Haruhi Suzumiya, but fans of Kiddy Grade (2002) would have said, "I told you so." With her role as Layla in Nana, Misa in Death Note, and Konata in Lucky Star, she sealed her reputation as a Seiyuu with many voices. Contrary to what you might expect considering her roles -- in which she often uses a deep, mature female voice -- her actual speaking voice is quite high and squeaky.

Winner of Best New Seiyuu at the First Annual Seiyuu Awards and both Best Female Seiyuu and Best Singer at the second annual awards. Really cute in Real Life, and short. Mamoru Miyano, her Death Note co-star and fellow winner in the 2nd Seiyu Awards, easily towers over her. As well as voice acting, she sings and models as well. In fact, she's performed the openings and endings of some animes she worked on, most notably "Bouken, Desho? Desho?", "Super Driver", and the extraordinarily popular "Hare Hare Yukai" as well as insert songs, notably "God Knows" and "Lost my Music". Her hobbies include guitar, piano, reading, drawing, and calligraphy.

Her guilty pleasures include the music of Avril Lavigne. Oh, and she tends to go out in public wearing t-shirts with charming slogans like "Did you cum twice too?" Whether she actually is aware of what these phrases mean is up for debate.

In an attempt to branch out further for her career (which may or may not have been triggered by the above issue), she is slated to play Catherine in a stage musical adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

In November 2010, Aya revealed on her Twitter account that she has harbored a pituitary adenoma since her junior high school days. To date, she has held off on surgery to remove the tumor because the procedure would alter her nasal cavity and thus permanently modify her voice. In April 2011, possibly in connection to her health problems, she reported that she was under orders that prohibit her from acting in new anime until further notice, although she will still be able to play her current roles. She officially went in semi-retirement by the end of May 2011. Finally fed up with how her agency treated her like shit over the past year concerning her health issues and scandals (as well as the colossal failure of Dragonaut: The Resonance), she voluntarily resigned from the agency effective August 20, 2011. Starting on August 21, she is now an official member of Grick and has officially returned from semi-retirement as a seiyuu, but there are doubts over whether or not she'll continue working on Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star or Fairy Tail. She has also signed with UMG, thus officially moving out of semi-retirement altogether. Add to that her aforementioned health problems, and she may very well be on her way to becoming the Michael Jackson of seiyuu.

Notable roles by Aya Hirano.

 * The eponymous character of Haruhi Suzumiya
 * Lumiere in Kiddy Grade (her first lead role)
 * Misa Amane in Death Note
 * Konata Izumi in Lucky Star
 * Pachira in Magical Pokaan
 * Kaoru Akashi in Zettai Karen Children
 * Mena Roshan in Macross Frontier
 * Kahlua (Tequila) Marjoram in Galaxy Angel Rune
 * Mamori in Eyeshield 21
 * Momo the Monkey in Angel Tales (her first anime role)
 * Mahiro Mutou in Busou Renkin
 * Nanael in Queen's Blade
 * Kim Na Na in the Japanese dub of The City Hunter.
 * Reira/Layla in Nana
 * Ume Kurumizawa in Kimi ni Todoke
 * Yoko Sasakura in School Rumble (2nd season)
 * Rukia's "Young Sister" in Bleach Fade to Black - I Call Your Name
 * Dende in Dragon Ball Kai (also a blatant example of Stunt Casting)
 * Bulma (Emmy Rossum) in the Japanese dub of Dragon Ball Evolution
 * Supposedly cast as the tiny vampire Shinobu in Bakemonogatari. "Supposedly" because even after the entire TV series, Shinobu has not made a single sound. While she did get a few lines on the drama CD, Aya Hirano did not reprise her role in the Kizumonogatari movie; the role was played by Maaya Sakamoto instead.
 * Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail
 * Shikimi in Himawari!
 * Neon in Sigma Harmonics
 * Polka in the Japanese dub of Eternal Sonata
 * Minato Nagase in Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka
 * Katja in Seikon no Qwaser
 * Hannah in Black Butler
 * Cristina Vespucci in the Japanese version of Assassin's Creed 2
 * Prishe in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Duodecim
 * Femina Novum in Amuri in Star Ocean
 * King from Nichijou.
 * Sasha/Athena in Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas
 * Hana in Yakuza 4
 * Nobume in Gintama
 * Hiyoko in The Asylum Session