Megumi Hayashibara, possibly the hardest-working woman in
anime.
Although a
pop/rock performer of substantial fame and talent with an international following, this
former nurse is probably best known in the United States for the hundred or more roles she's played in various anime and video games; reading her resume is like reading a history of the best in Japanese animation.
Megumi Hayashibara was notably part of the wave of seiyuu, along with
Hekiru Shiina and
Mariko Kouda, that became popular in the 90s due to the large amounts of money provided by recording companies and the more multi-media approach to stardom developed at that time. Her debut was playing several bit roles in the anime
Maison Ikkoku which probably led to her role as girl type
Ranma.
Just to name a few of the characters she's voiced, she has been:
Any
one of these roles would be a career-making milestone for a voice actress, but as a
Woman Of A Thousand Voices, Hayashibara has had the talent and skill to win that kind of part again and again. She is such a major figure in anime that the character of Megumi Reinard in
Martian Successor Nadesico was actually based on her, partly as parody and partly as tribute. She is arguably one of the few seiyuu who isn't
set in a role.
When she has a part in an anime, she frequently performs its
theme song; she is also in demand to record themes for other animes as well, such as "Treat or Goblins" from
Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai and the Achika version of "Alchemy of Love", the theme song for the
Tenchi Universe film,
Tenchi Muyo! in Love.
As the seiyuu for girl-type Ranma in
Ranma ½, she has been a part of the singing group DoCo, and has participated in other anime-related "supergroups" as well.
She's even done Japanese dubbing for American animation, most notably as Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in
Batman The Animated Series, Diddy Kong in the
Donkey Kong Country TV series, Crysta in
Ferngully and Little Sneezer from
Tiny Toon Adventures.
She also authored (but didn't draw) the manga about her life biography, titled
Megumi-Toon
.
A reasonably complete listing of her credits can be found on her page in the Internet Movie Database,
here.
Her American equivalent is
Wendee Lee.
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