Naruto is one of the most popular anime series in Japan. It’s been running for nearly two decades and there are tons of movies, conversations spinoffs since then too. If you’ve asked around to find out what everyone else watches when it comes time for suggestions- this one is bound to come up 10 times over.
There are many Naruto fans in the West who have discovered this anime because of its popularity with an English dub. One thing that surprised them is how much work goes into each English dub to make sure all words and sounds come out correctly pronunciation-wise, but there has been one actor behind playing this main character for more than 15 years.
So, who is this naruto voice actor?
Who would have thought that the famous anime character Naruto was voiced by a woman? It turns out that Naruto’s Voice Actor was actually a woman. Maile Flanagan, an experienced voice actor for years has been playing the role of him since 2003 with every show and video game he’s in as well.
Maile has been in this field for decades, she’s been working since at least the late 1990s. She’s done voice roles on shows like The Mindy Project. In addition to her work with various video games such as Minecraft or Final Fantasy titles. She’s more than just an anime voice actor, she plays Geri on 3way and Connie from Shameless. In addition to that, she also voiced Principal Perry in a few Star Wars shorts.
The Japanese voice of Naruto
Maybe you may not know this, but over the years women have played male roles and in Naruto’s case he is voiced by two ladies. Besides Maile, an actress named Junko Takeuchi does so since 2002 on the Japanese version of anime. Naruto: Akaki Yotsuba no kurôbâ o sagase is Junko’s first time in the role. This short video details how Naruto must find and deliver Konohamaru’s wish-fulfilling crimson leaf clover so that he can give it to his crush.
Junko has a ton of big projects attached to her name, including other anime like Hunter x Hunter, Little Witch Academia, and Yu-Gi-Oh!. She’s been in the industry since 1986, and she has voiced several different characters. She played Mokuba Kaiba on Yu-Gi-Oh and Gon in Hunter x Hunter.
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