No Seiyuu No Life: Rie Kugimiya

When you’ll be reading this post I will probably be lazing around in a beach in Okinawa (or not, because I can bet there’s going to be a typhoon involved. I’m that lucky.)

And you are lucky too because you get to read about Rie Kugimiya today, isn’t it great?

Known for: Kagura (Gintama), Karen Kurosaki (Bleach), Happy (Fairy Tail), Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

My favorite: Kagura (Gintama), Taiga Aisaka (Toradora)

You might have guessed from this little introduction but Kugimiya’s work has been massive. She has been a lead character in so many anime that you can’t really count anymore. I will be honest with you, I didn’t like her at first. To me she was just another annoying little brat who was always screaming. It didn’t help that she was mostly always voicing the mandatory tsundere character. You can see it mostly in Toradora (which ended up being really cute) and also in The Familiar of Zero in which she is voicing the infamous Louise. I didn’t see the latter but from what I read about it, Kugimiya’s tsundere act was top-notch.

I can’t say I ever really fell in love with her because it does feel like she is always using the same type of voice in absolutely every anime she appears in and that I watched. Somehow, I feel like getting into Fullmetal Alchemist just to know how she sounds as Alphonse because if there is any role in which she could be different it’s this one. unfortunately I didn’t watch it but I always admire girls who perform as boys, especially when said boys are main characters of a series.

The good thing about her always using the same voice is that she is instantly recognizable which might be part of why she has been getting so many roles. It might be a good thing as it helps identifying a character and its type right away, it really is a great help to the viewer. That being said it might also be why she keeps on getting stuck in tsundere roles. I always think it’s a shame when a seiyuu always gets the same type of roles over and over as it keeps them from really showcasing all of their talents (or lack thereof).

As for Kugimiya her favorite role of hers is Gintama’s Kagura. Kagura talks a lot and she has helped giving Kagura her distinctive way of talking. Of course Kagura is yet another tsundere but somehow, I think voicing Kagura gives Kugimiya a nice way of showcasing different kind of voices than she usually does.