Hinako Yoshino
Description
Hinako Yoshino, also known by her former stage name Hinako Kanamaru, is a retired Japanese voice actor born on August 17, 1966, in Tokyo, Japan. She was active in the voice acting industry from 1986 until her retirement in December 2008, and was affiliated with the talent agency Aoni Production for the duration of her career. Over nearly two decades, she contributed to numerous anime series, original video animations, and video games.
Yoshino began her career in 1986, and her debut anime role came in 1987 as the character Cross Angel in the television series Seima Taisen. This early role marked the start of a prolific period that would see her voice a wide variety of characters across many popular series. She is perhaps best known internationally for her long-running role as Yaito Ayanokoji, also known as Yai, in the MegaMan NT Warrior franchise, which is based on the Rockman.EXE video game series. She voiced this character across the multiple series of the franchise, including MegaMan NT Warrior, Rockman.EXE Axess, Rockman.EXE Stream, Rockman.EXE Beast, and Rockman.EXE Beast+, as well as in the video game Mega Man Network Transmission. Her credit in this role appears under both Hinako Kanamaru and, from episode 46 of the first series onward, Hinako Yoshino.
Beyond her work in the MegaMan franchise, Yoshino had many other significant voice roles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Her major anime roles include Hibari Koganei in Chibi Maruko-chan, Mami Shimura in the Graduation series, Tamami Tama in Genki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger, and Hiroko Tanizawa in the long-running series Crayon Shin-chan. She also provided voices for prominent series such as Sailor Moon R, where she played several minor characters, Cardcaptor Sakura as Hanako Kurokawa, and The Transformers: Victory as Pipiro. Her work extended to video games, where she voiced Ray the Flying Squirrel in the 1993 arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog and was the original voice of the character Donko in the Taiko no Tatsujin series. Yoshino was considered a pioneer of a certain high-pitched vocal style, sometimes referred to as ultrasonic voice, in the anime industry.
Throughout her career, Yoshino established recurring working relationships with several other voice actors. She frequently appeared in projects alongside Hiromi Tsuru, with whom she co-starred in seven different works, including Idol Project and the Bikkuriman series. She also worked with Kumiko Nishihara and Yumi Touma on seven and six projects respectively, often within the same popular franchises. Her notable achievements include a career that spanned over twenty years and encompassed a wide range of anime genres, from magical girl and mecha series to comedy and action shows. Her performance as Cross Angel in the Bikkuriman franchise was her first major recurring role, a character for which she expressed deep fondness. After a long and varied career, Hinako Yoshino retired from the voice acting industry in 2008.
Yoshino began her career in 1986, and her debut anime role came in 1987 as the character Cross Angel in the television series Seima Taisen. This early role marked the start of a prolific period that would see her voice a wide variety of characters across many popular series. She is perhaps best known internationally for her long-running role as Yaito Ayanokoji, also known as Yai, in the MegaMan NT Warrior franchise, which is based on the Rockman.EXE video game series. She voiced this character across the multiple series of the franchise, including MegaMan NT Warrior, Rockman.EXE Axess, Rockman.EXE Stream, Rockman.EXE Beast, and Rockman.EXE Beast+, as well as in the video game Mega Man Network Transmission. Her credit in this role appears under both Hinako Kanamaru and, from episode 46 of the first series onward, Hinako Yoshino.
Beyond her work in the MegaMan franchise, Yoshino had many other significant voice roles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Her major anime roles include Hibari Koganei in Chibi Maruko-chan, Mami Shimura in the Graduation series, Tamami Tama in Genki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger, and Hiroko Tanizawa in the long-running series Crayon Shin-chan. She also provided voices for prominent series such as Sailor Moon R, where she played several minor characters, Cardcaptor Sakura as Hanako Kurokawa, and The Transformers: Victory as Pipiro. Her work extended to video games, where she voiced Ray the Flying Squirrel in the 1993 arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog and was the original voice of the character Donko in the Taiko no Tatsujin series. Yoshino was considered a pioneer of a certain high-pitched vocal style, sometimes referred to as ultrasonic voice, in the anime industry.
Throughout her career, Yoshino established recurring working relationships with several other voice actors. She frequently appeared in projects alongside Hiromi Tsuru, with whom she co-starred in seven different works, including Idol Project and the Bikkuriman series. She also worked with Kumiko Nishihara and Yumi Touma on seven and six projects respectively, often within the same popular franchises. Her notable achievements include a career that spanned over twenty years and encompassed a wide range of anime genres, from magical girl and mecha series to comedy and action shows. Her performance as Cross Angel in the Bikkuriman franchise was her first major recurring role, a character for which she expressed deep fondness. After a long and varied career, Hinako Yoshino retired from the voice acting industry in 2008.
All Characters
- JapaneseAnime overview: MegaMan NT Warrior