Kaoru Suzuki
Description
Kaoru Suzuki is a Japanese former voice actress and singer, born on February 28, 1976, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. She began her career in the entertainment industry in 1994 and was active until approximately 2012. Over the course of her career, she used several stage names, reflecting changes in her professional affiliations and personal circumstances. She was initially credited as Akiko Kawana, then as Midori Kawana, and briefly as Ka~na before adopting the stage name KAORI around the year 2000. In 2008, she began using the name Kaori Suzuki for her voice acting work, while continuing to use KAORI for her singing performances.
Her most prominent and defining role was as Haruka, known in English as May, the main female protagonist in the long-running anime series Pocket Monsters: Advanced Generation, which is part of the Pokémon franchise. She reprised this role for several Pokémon films, including Jirachi: Wish Maker, Destiny Deoxys, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. She later returned to voice the character in the subsequent series, Pocket Monsters: Diamond and Pearl, marking the first time she was credited under the name Kaori Suzuki.
Beyond her work in Pokémon, Suzuki voiced a variety of other significant anime characters. She played the role of Karin Mizuhara in the 1995-1996 television series Nurse Angel Ririka SOS. She also portrayed Nana Komatsu, one of the two lead characters in the popular drama Nana. Her other voice roles included Marin Asagi in Brigadoon: Marin & Melan, Milo in Kaleido Star, and Saki in Black Cat.
In addition to voice acting, Kaoru Suzuki was also a singer. She was a vocalist for the rock band SpunkyStrider and performed theme songs for anime and games. Her discography includes solo singles such as Tears Infection and albums like re;stratosphere.
Her career was impacted by health issues related to her voice. She began experiencing vocal problems around 2007 and was later diagnosed with focal task-specific dystonia and spasmodic dysphonia. As a result of these conditions, she stopped performing as a singer and voice actress in 2012.
Her most prominent and defining role was as Haruka, known in English as May, the main female protagonist in the long-running anime series Pocket Monsters: Advanced Generation, which is part of the Pokémon franchise. She reprised this role for several Pokémon films, including Jirachi: Wish Maker, Destiny Deoxys, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. She later returned to voice the character in the subsequent series, Pocket Monsters: Diamond and Pearl, marking the first time she was credited under the name Kaori Suzuki.
Beyond her work in Pokémon, Suzuki voiced a variety of other significant anime characters. She played the role of Karin Mizuhara in the 1995-1996 television series Nurse Angel Ririka SOS. She also portrayed Nana Komatsu, one of the two lead characters in the popular drama Nana. Her other voice roles included Marin Asagi in Brigadoon: Marin & Melan, Milo in Kaleido Star, and Saki in Black Cat.
In addition to voice acting, Kaoru Suzuki was also a singer. She was a vocalist for the rock band SpunkyStrider and performed theme songs for anime and games. Her discography includes solo singles such as Tears Infection and albums like re;stratosphere.
Her career was impacted by health issues related to her voice. She began experiencing vocal problems around 2007 and was later diagnosed with focal task-specific dystonia and spasmodic dysphonia. As a result of these conditions, she stopped performing as a singer and voice actress in 2012.
All Characters
- JapaneseAnime overview: Nurse Angel Ririka SOS