English voice actors often don’t get the credit they deserve from anime fans, even those with the most roles in the business. It’s not an easy task to not only take on a character with a fan-favorite original voice, but put on a unique performance that makes that character your own. However, many of the best actors in the business have hundreds of roles in their experience.
These are actors who have voiced anime characters for decades, witnessing and often shaping a changing industry. Many are also involved in writing the script, directing the ADR, and several other aspects of the production. Whether they’re famous for a specific, unforgettable voice or for their incredible vocal range, there are some good reasons why they’ve earned so much credit on Behind the Voice Actors, a website dedicated to recording music. every voice acting role played by an actor. in television, games, movies, etc.
10 Colleen Clinkenbeard (301)
When former stage actress Laura Bailey helped Colleen Clinkenbeard audition for her first voice acting role, both Clinkenbeard’s life and the world of anime voice acting changed forever. Since 2004, she has mainly worked for Funimation and voiced famous characters such as One Piece’s Monkey D. Luffy, Fullmetal Alchemist’s Riza Hawkeye and Fairy Tail’s Erza Scarlet.
Anime isn’t the only place Clinkenbeard voices powerful heroes and heroines. Not only has she reprized many of her roles in their anime video game adaptations, but her voice can also be heard in some of the original titles. These include Borderlands, BloodRayne and Tales of Luminaria.
9 Wendee Lee (316)
Wendee Lee has experience in dance, theater, makeup, and directing. However, what most anime fans know best about her is her over forty years of working in the field of anime voice acting. One of her first voice acting roles was as Anna in The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island, a 1981 anime based on classical literature.
She will go on to voice some truly iconic roles. These include Bulma in Dragon Ball (before Monica Rial took on the role years later), Yui in Fushigi Yuugi, and Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop. Horror movie fans may also recognize her as the voice of Rumi, a friend of Mima who isn’t at all what she portrayed in Satoshi Kon’s 1999 film Perfect Blue.
8 Kyle Hebert (338)
Kyle Hebert’s energetic voice can be heard throughout the shounen anime. His most famous roles include Kamina in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Son Gohan in Dragon Ball and Kiba Inuzuka in Naruto. (Video game fans can also catch him as Ryu in Street Fighter.) His characters always excite viewers with action sequences that shake the world.
However, Hebert is naturally not limited to playing feisty young heroes. Bleach fans are still chilled to the bone by the voice of Sosuke Aizen, one of the most charismatic villains in anime. As the Arc of the Thousand Years of Blood raged and Aizen officially reappeared, Hebert helped bring him to the climax of the story.
7 Jamie Marchi (340)
Jamie Marchi has the quintessential heroine voice. However, it is not always possible for fans to recognize her in all her roles and this works in her favor. From Rias Gremory’s lofty tone in High School DxD, to Junko Enoshima’s brutal enjoyment in Danganronpa: The Animation, her performance is impressive and fun to watch.
Like many of the best voice actors, Marchi is also noted for making supporting characters as memorable as heroes and villains. For instance, fans still fondly think of Liz Thompson in Soul Eater, whose fear of ghosts and resentment towards her older sister and younger sister is a great relief for the comics, but who is always can be relied on to become serious in battle. Most recently, Marchi can be heard as Anka Rheinberger at the end of Attack on Titan.
6 Brittney Karbowski (341)
Brittney Karbowski excels in both male and female roles, often filled with energy and determination. From Black Star’s eager voice in Soul Eater to alien Migi’s mini speech in Parasyte, she brings something new and exciting to every character. Most recently, she could be heard as Chuchu in the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury dub.
While much of Karbowski’s work is voice acting for anime, she has also expanded into other media. Starting off in musical theater, where she was first discovered by an anime director, she had roles in Chris Evans’ 2011 horror film Puncture and 2014 horror film Atrocity. She has also voiced several video games, such as Citranne in Fire Emblem Engage.
5 Kirk Thornton (395)
Kirk Thornton’s gruff, gruff performances are known to many anime and video game fans. He has been voicing Shadow the Hedgehog since 2010 and voicing Saïx and Isa in the Kingdom Hearts series. Furthermore, he was the narrator of Bleach from 2006 to 2013.
However, his standout performance comes from the evil villains and reluctant heroes he voices in the anime. These include the harsh but eager growl of Kisame Hoshigaki, a member of the fearsome Akatsuki in Naruto, and the silent threat of Askeladd in the Vinland Saga. If Blue Exorcist continues for a third season, fans can expect his performance as Shiro Fujisaki to add more depth to the story of Rin and Yukio’s adoptive father.
4 John Swasey (396)
The powerful voice of his father John Swasey has been the highlight of many recent and older dubs. He’s played some of the greatest fathers in anime, including Lord Death in Soul Eater, Van Hohenheim in Fullmetal Alchemist, and Kumatetsu in Makoto Shinkai’s The Boy and the Beast (and a few of the worst, specifically possibly Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion).
Naturally, his voice is also suitable for playing villains like My Hero Academia’s biggest threat, All For One. The confidence and playfulness in the voices of his heroes easily turned into arrogance and evil pleasure in the voices of the villains. While it’s exciting to hear him play a villain, it’s also a relatively rare occurrence for his fans.
3 Christian Lamps (450)
If you’re looking for a capable actress, look no further than Luci Christian. Her first lead role was as Kaname Chidori in 2003’s Full Metal Panic! Since then, she has played brave heroines, fun kids, and truly brutal villains with unrelenting enthusiasm.
From Medusa’s seductive, deep voice in Soul Eater to Mitsukuni “Honey” Haninozuka’s high-pitched squeal in Ouran High School Host Club, Christian’s voice can rise and fall with seemingly perfect ease. As My Hero Academia fans prepare to release season 7 in 2024, they may be excited to hear her voice the beloved student Ochako Uraraka.
2 Monica Rial (512)
Monica Rial’s first voice acting role was in the mid-’90s, as the voice of a murmuring mob in Nadesico’s Martian Successor. Since then, she has voiced hundreds of strong and brave heroines throughout the decades of shounen and shoujo anime. These include Tsubaki Nakatsukasa from Soul Eater and May Chang from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Rial was introduced to voice acting at an early age, when she translated the Spanish dub episodes of Dragon Ball Z—a series in which she later starred as Bulma—for her siblings. when they watch. Formerly a theater student, she now delivers amazing performances behind the microphone. Her high-pitched voice helps her play a variety of creatures and characters.
1 Christopher Sabat (749)
If you think you’ve never heard the voice of Christopher Sabat before, you’re wrong. His deep, resonant voice has given an unforgettable intensity to some of the most powerful anime characters of all time for over 25 years. Some of his most notable roles include Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z and more, Alex Louis Armstrong in Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Son Hak in Yona of the Dawn and All Might in My Hero Academia.
He has also voiced characters in video games, such as Garland in Dissidia Final Fantasy and Duessel in Fire Emblem Heroes. But the majority of his roles come from the anime’s English dubs. Most recently known for playing Vim Jeturk in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury and taking on the roles of Zoro, Vegeta and Piccolo in Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special, he’s still in development. strong.