Houko Kuwashima is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is capable of playing a variety of roles, ranging from young boys to feminine women. Kuwashima is currently affiliated with Aoni Production. Her first major role was as Yurika Misumaru in Martian Successor Nadesico. She had lead or major roles as Sango in Inuyasha, Nakahito Kagura in Steel Angel Kurumi, Marlene Angel in Blue Gender, Kenny in Beyblade, Quon Kisaragi in RahXephon, Flay Allster in Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Stella Loussier in Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny, Sheila in Tweeny Witches, Itsuki Myoudouin / Cure Sunshine in Heartcatch PreCure!, Wendy Garret in Gun Sword, Shūrei Hong in The Story of Saiunkoku, Clare in Claymore, Michru Kita in Zombie-Loan, Fuyuki Hinata in Sgt. Frog, Cirucci and Soifon in Bleach, Allison in Allison and Lilia, and Uka in Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha. In video games, she voiced Mei Ling and Para-Medic in Metal Gear Solid, Seong Mi-na in Soulcalibur, Kasumi in Dead or Alive, Presea Combatir in the Tales series, Tomoyo Sakagami in Clannad, Isara Gunther in Valkyria Chronicles and Chizuru Yukimura in Hakuoki. On films, she had voice roles as the title character in Princess Arete, Yuki Mori in Space Battleship Yamato 2199, Rosé Thomas in ', and Poko in '. She has also performed songs for anime, such as "Tokihanate!", which was used as the opening theme to Blue Gender.
Biography
Though being depressed, she was interested with her career, when she saw the musical and television dramas at the Shiki Theatre Company. Every time there were four seasons on local performances, it was almost like getting tickets for the parents and putting the heat that would go to see them in the family. While in elementary school, Kuwashima watched Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind while dreaming to become a voice actress. She wrote in a graduation collection, saying: "I want to make the child's voices in the anime project of Hayao Miyazaki." She learned that there is no drama club neither stage plays at the cultural festival at junior high school. At Iwate Prefectural Kurosawajiri North High School, she attended a correspondence course at Katsuta Voice Academy. The voice was blown to the cassette tape, and was corrected by voice actorHisashi Katsuta who was a director. However, attendance at the time of advancement was insufficient, and from the third year it was transferred to Iwate Prefectural Forest Mausoleum High school. After graduation, she moved to Tokyo to become a voice actress. She entered Aoiso in 1994. In auditions after graduation, about 20 out of 71 people have passed the exam and belong to the Aoni Production's agency profile. She made her debut in the 1995 anime series Sailor Moon S. In 1996, the anime series Martian Successor Nadesico gained the role of heroine Yurika Misumaru and gained popularity. The same year, her younger brother passed the University of Tsukuba. She played Shiro Bonn in Bomberman B-Daman Bakugaiden and Maron Kusakabe in Phantom Thief Jeanne. In 2010, Kuwashima was appointed as a cultural ambassador of Iwate Prefecture.
