Tohru Furuya is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator born on July 31, 1953, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. He began his performing career at the age of five as a member of the Himawari Theatre Group, a children's acting troupe. His voice acting debut came in 1966 at the age of thirteen, when he voiced the protagonist Kid in the anime series Kaizoku Ōji (The Pirate Prince). He gained early prominence with his first leading role in a television anime as Hyūma Hoshi in the long-running sports series Star of the Giants (1968-1971). After focusing on his education, he returned to voice acting in the mid-1970s, joining the talent management firm Aoni Production in 1982, with which he is still affiliated.

Furuya's career is defined by a series of iconic leading roles in some of Japan's most successful and enduring anime franchises. His definitive breakthrough came in 1979 when he was cast as Amuro Ray, the introspective protagonist of the original Mobile Suit Gundam. This role established him as a foundational figure in the mecha genre, and he has reprised it numerous times over the decades in films, sequels, and video games. In 1986, he began voicing two other seminal characters: the desert bandit-turned-Z-Fighter Yamcha in the Dragon Ball franchise and Pegasus Seiya, the determined main character in Saint Seiya. His versatility was further showcased in the 1990s when he took on the role of the romantic lead, Mamoru Chiba, also known as Tuxedo Mask, in the globally popular magical-girl series Sailor Moon (1992-1997). He also lent his voice to the character Kyōsuke Kasuga in the romantic comedy Kimagure Orange Road.

In the 21st century, Furuya continued to take on major roles in flagship series. From 2012, he voiced the popular character Rei Furuya, also known as Tōru Amuro or Bourbon, in the long-running detective series Detective Conan. In 2014, he began voicing Sabo, the revolutionary brother of the protagonist, in One Piece. Furuya has also occasionally used the pseudonym Noboru Sōgetsu for specific roles, most notably for the character Ribbons Almark in Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Beyond these signature parts, he has an extensive filmography that includes leading roles in series such as Stop!! Hibari-kun! as Kōsaku Sakamoto, Video Warrior Laserion as Takashi Katori, and numerous film and original video animation (OVA) projects, including providing the Japanese dubbing voice for Hong Kong action star Yuen Biao.

Furuya's significant contributions to the voice acting industry have been recognized with several prestigious awards. He received the Kei Tomiyama Award at the 2nd Seiyu Awards in 2008 and the Best Supporting Actor award at the 13th Seiyu Awards in 2019. He also received the Synergy Award at the 4th Seiyu Awards in 2010.

In May 2024, Furuya publicly admitted to an extramarital affair, which led to significant professional repercussions. Following his admission, he stepped down from his roles in Detective Conan and One Piece, and his roles in other major franchises, including Yamcha in Dragon Ball and Amuro Ray in Gundam, were subsequently recast.