is a Japanese voice actress, narrator and singer who is currently affiliated with 81 Produce. She is also the main vocalist of Two-Mix and ES CONNEXION when it was active. Her uncle was former New Japan Pro-Wrestling managing director Hisashi Shinma.
Takayama is best known for her roles in Detective Conan as Conan Edogawa, Kiki's Delivery Service as both Kiki and Ursula, Ranma ½ as Nabiki Tendo, Moomin as Moomin, Yaiba as Yaiba Kurogane, Shaman King as Hao Asakura, Nintama Rantarō as Rantarō Inadera, Danganronpa series as Hajime Hinata/Izuru Kamukura, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood as Envy, and Honkai Impact 3rd as Fu Hua.
Career Early life and career From an early age, Takayama studied ballet, Japanese dance, and vocal music. When she was a child, her sense of justice was so strong that it was written on her report card. She wanted to become a police officer,人気の職業早わかり! マスコミ・芸能・創作の仕事 page 44, PHP Institute, Inc., 2011 which she thought she was suited for, and she thought that ventriloquism would be necessary for being a traffic safety guider, so she joined Himawari Theatre Group in 1978 when she was in junior high school, and stayed there for four years. In reality, however, Takayama's parents wanted her to enter the entertainment industry, and she felt as if she was being forced to follow the rails laid out for her, and the ventriloquism was just a reason for her to study acting, not something she came up with. When she was in high school, she won a radio disc jockey contest and thought about becoming a DJ because of her love of radio and fascination with free banter and voice work.
As a voice actress After graduating from Adachi Nishi High School in Tokyo, not knowing how to become a DJ, Takayama enrolled in the theater department of Nihon Kogakuin College to continue her acting career, but she became worried about her future and dropped out to stop acting altogether. At one point, she was working at an office, but when a caller praised her voice, she decided to become a voice actor at the age of 22. In 1985, she joined the voice acting division of Sun House Music, but after that, she met a manager who asked her if she wanted to work as a voice actress, and she joined 81 Produce, where she was told that if she didn't make any progress in two of her three years as a rookie, she should give up. She decided to try to bear fruit in one year.
Initially, Takayama auditioned for the role of the heroine, but even though she tried to read the lines in a cute way, she was told by different sound directors to "be more like a girl." After failing three times in a row, she consulted with her manager and decided to audition for the role of a boy, thinking that heroine might not be suitable for her. She made her debut in 1987 as a female student in Campus Special Investigator Hikaruon. After that, she started getting boy roles and got her first starring role as Youichi Ajiyoshi in Mister Ajikko the third time around.
In 1989, she was chosen to play both Kiki and Ursula in the animated film Kiki's Delivery Service, and the film was a hit. She tried to refuse the role because it was decided at short notice and she was too new to take responsibility, but Hayao Miyazaki told her not to worry because he would take responsibility. Despite this, there was a time when the only regular role she played was Nabiki Tendo in the Ranma ½ series, which depressed her, but she pulled herself together and started working part-time in her neighborhood. In the 1990s, she began to play the main and major characters in many works, mainly boys, such as Moomin (as Moomin), Magical Taruruto-kun (as Honmaru Edojō), and Yaiba (as Yaiba), and her popularity became firmly established. In particular, her leading roles as Rantarō Inadera in Nintama Rantarō and Conan Edogawa in Detective Conan have lasted for more than 30 years since they were first broadcast in 1993 and 1996, respectively, and Takayama's voice has become recognized by a wide range of generations. In 2005, she was chosen to play Suneo's mom in the renewed Doraemon anime, in 2007 she voiced Kitarō in the fifth series of GeGeGe no Kitarō, and in 2010 she voiced Taiki Kudō in Digimon Fusion.
Music career Takayama is also active in music as ES CONNEXION, Two-Mix, Miru Takayama with TWO-MIX, and M★TWO-MinaMiru-, a unit with her cousin Miru Takayama. She has sung the theme songs of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, and has also composed music. In the 81st episode of Detective Conan (broadcast on November 17, 1997), she appeared as a character with Shiina Nagano as TWO-MIX themselves, and also sang the opening theme song for the anime. In addition, in 2005, she brought in Joe Rinoie to work on the theme song for the anime Engage Planet Kiss Dum in 2007 as the unit II MIX⊿DELTA.
Awards In 2011, Takayama won the Synergy Award at the 5th Seiyu Awards.
On January 9, 2017, she was picked 7th in the TV Asahi 3-hour special that voted 200 popular voice actors.声優200人が本気で選んだ「声優総選挙2017」結果発表 - Animate Times
Personal life Takayama was married to manga artist Gosho Aoyama on May 5, 2005 but they divorced on December 10, 2007. However, their relationship as "the author of the original story of Detective Conan and the lead voice actress" has continued to be good, and they are not estranged even now. Takayama has been keeping Aoyama's cat, Kite, which was given to her at the time of marriage, and she reports on Kite's good health on her blog.
During the opening speech of Detective Conan: Quarter of Silence an earthquake of magnitude 4 struck the stage. Takayama made a quick decision and said in Conan's voice, "Calm down, earthquakes! Don't worry, Conan is here." to calm the children.
Filmography TV dramas 2026Vivant (season 2) as AI Hayato (voice), a supercomputer under the service of the Beppan group
Television animation 1987 Mister Ajikko as Yōichi Ajiyoshi 1988 Little Lord Fauntleroy as Roy Oishinbo as Terue Yumemi 1989 Dash! Yonkuro as Aoi Hyūga Ranma ½ as Nabiki Tendo City Hunter 3 as Mei Asaoka 1990 Magical Taruruto-kun as Honmaru Edojō Tanoshii Moomin Ikka as Moomin 1991 Anime Himitsu no Hanazono as Colin Craven and Patty Holly the Ghost as Kaori 1992 Cooking Papa as Makoto Araiwa, Miyuki Araiwa Hime-chan's Ribbon as Shintarō Kobayashi, Ichiko Kamikura 1993 Kenyu Densetsu Yaiba as Yaiba Kurogane
Nintama Rantarō as Rantarō Inadera 1994 Magic Knight Rayearth as Ascot YuYu Hakusho as Mukuro 1996 - Ongoing Detective Conan as Conan Edogawa, Shinichi Kudo (Childhood), Minami Takayama (Herself, episode 81 and 82), Aoko Nakamori (episode 219, OVA 4) & Goro 1996 The Vision of Escaflowne as Dilandau Albatou, Celena Schezar, Chid Freid 1998 Berserk as Griffith (young) Gasaraki as Rin Ataka 1999 Jibaku-kun as Silver (young) Pocket Monsters as Hiroshi Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko as Yohko Yamamoto 2000 Android Kikaider as Chigusa Sakamoto Descendants of Darkness as Hijiri Minase Shinzo as Mushra, Mushrambo One Piece as Hamu 2001 Cyborg 009 as Artemis Project ARMS as Kei Kuruma Shaman King as Hao Asakura The SoulTaker as Mio Date Touch as Alice Kirby: Right Back at Ya! as Knuckle Joe 2002 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex as Kuroha Monkey Typhoon as Mion Pocket Monsters: Episode Gold & Silver as Hiroshi Case Closed as Aoko Nakamori 2003 Astro Boy as Shin'ichi Origami Warriors as Setsuna Inami Pocket Monsters Side Stories as Hiroshi 2004 Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG as Chai Kyo Kara Maoh! as Anissina von Karbelnikoff Maria-sama ga Miteru as Former Rosa Gigantea Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger as Assassinian Jingi (episode 41) 2005 Black Cat as Train Heartnet (younger) Digital Monster X-Evolution as Dorumon, Dorugamon, DoruGreymon, Alphamon Doraemon Mrs. Honewaka 2006 Jyu-Oh-Sei as Thor Majin tantei Neuro as aya asheia D.Gray-man as Anita Ghost Slayers Ayashi as Kyōsai Kawanabe Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple as Kisara Nanjō 2007 Claymore as Irene GeGeGe no Kitaro as Kitarō 2008 Megumi as Megumi Yokota Mobile Suit Gundam 00 as Kati Mannequin Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Second Season as Kati Mannequin and Red Haro Porphy no Nagai Tabi as Rebecca 2009 GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class as Sasamoto-sensei Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood as Envy Lupin III vs Detective Conan as Conan Edogawa 2010 HeartCatch PreCure! as Dark Precure Digimon Xros Wars as Taiki Kudou 2011 Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! as Luke Tales of Symphonia: The United World as Mithos Yggdrasill Digimon Xros Wars: Toki wo Kakeru Shounen Hunter-tachi as Taiki Kudou 2012 Senki Zesshō Symphogear as Kanade Amō Pretty Rhythm: Dear My Future as Yong Hwa 2014 Magic Kaito 1412 as Conan Edogawa 2015 One-Punch Man as Child Emperor 2016 Erased as Sachiko Fujinuma Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School as Hajime Hinata/Izuru Kamukura 2017 Little Witch Academia as Nelson 2019 I'm From Japan as Hinomoto One-Punch Man 2 as Child Emperor 2021 Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House as Kenta Shaman King (2021) as Hao Asakura Zombie Land Saga Revenge as Light Oozora 2022 Tomodachi Game as Manabu-kun 2024 Ranma ½ as Nabiki Tendō 2025 Yaiba: Samurai Legend as Yaiba Kurogane 2026 Red River as Yuri's mother (episode 1) Star Detective Precure! as Conan Edogawa (episode 18)
Anime films 1989 Kiki's Delivery Service as Kiki, Ursula 1997 Detective Conan: The Time-Bombed Skyscraper as Conan Edogawa 1998 Detective Conan: The Fourteenth Target as Conan Edogawa 1999 Detective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century as Conan Edogawa 2000 Detective Conan: Captured in Her Eyes as Conan Edogawa Escaflowne as Dilandau Albatou 2001 Detective Conan: Countdown to Heaven as Conan Edogawa Princess Arete as Ampule 2002 Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street as Conan Edogawa 2003 Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital as Conan Edogawa 2004 Detective Conan: Magician of the Silver Sky as Conan Edogawa Konjiki no Gash Bell: 101 Banme no Mamono as Gash's Mother 2005 Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths as Conan Edogawa Digital Monster X-Evolution as Dorumon 2006 Detective Conan: The Private Eyes' Requiem as Conan Edogawa Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 as Suneo's Mama 2007 Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure as Conan Edogawa Highlander: The Search for Vengeance as Joe 2008 Detective Conan: Full Score of Fear as Conan Edogawa GeGeGe no Kitaro: Nippon Bakuretsu as Kitaro 2009 Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser as Conan Edogawa 2010 Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky as Conan Edogawa Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: Awakening of the Trailblazer as Kati Mannequin 2011 Detective Conan: Quarter of Silence as Conan Edogawa 2012 Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker as Conan Edogawa 2013 Detective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea as Conan Edogawa Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie as Conan Edogawa Little Witch Academia as Nelson 2014 Detective Conan: Dimensional Sniper as Conan Edogawa Expelled from Paradise as Veronica Kulikova 2015 Detective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno as Conan Edogawa Love Live! The School Idol Movie as Female Singer 2016 Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare as Conan Edogawa 2017 Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter as Conan Edogawa2018Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer as Conan Edogawa2019Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire as Conan Edogawa2021Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet as Conan Edogawa2022Lonely Castle in the Mirror as Masamune Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween as Conan Edogawa2023Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine as Conan Edogawa2024Nintama Rantarō: Invincible Master of the Dokutake Ninja as Rantarō Inadera Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram as Conan Edogawa
OVA 1987 Gakuen Tokuso Hikaruon as Student 1991 Slow Step as Minatsu Nakazato 1994 Cosmic Fantasy as Yū 1995 Elementalors as Saori 1997 Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko as Yohko Yamamoto 1998 Psychic Force as Emilio Michaelov