Rie Takahashi is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated by 81 Produce. She had a leading role in the anime seriesSeiyu's Life!, where she became part of the musical unit Earphones. She is known for voicing Megumin in KonoSuba, Emilia in , Takagi in Teasing Master Takagi-san, Mash Kyrielight in Fate/Grand Order, and Mirai Asahina/Cure Miracle in Witchy PreCure!. She performed theme songs for the same series. She won the Best Female Newcomer at the 10th Seiyu Awards.
Biography
Takahashi was born in Saitama Prefecture. From an early age, she had an interest in anime, particularly after watching anime series such as Ojamajo Doremi during her childhood, and Higurashi When They Cry and Soul Eater during her junior high school years. While in junior high school, she noticed that many male characters were voiced by female voice actors; as this fact interested her, she decided to pursue a career in voice acting. She joined her school's broadcasting club during her third year of high school, and she also won a special citation for voice acting at the 4th High School Animation Fair. During her third year of high school, Takahashi participated in an audition sponsored by the voice acting agency 81 Produce. She passed the audition, and after graduating from high school in 2012, she began attending 81 Produce's training school, 81 Actor's Studio. While continuing with her lessons, she became part of the voice actor unit Anisoni∀, alongside Reina Ueda, Chiyeri Hayashida and Kayoto Tsumita. After graduating from the 81 Actor's Studio in 2013, she formally joined 81 Produce. In 2013, she played background or supporting roles in each series, such as Stella Women’s Academy, High School Division Class C³, Driland and Aikatsu. She also played the role of a student in a voiced comic stream of the online manga Pokémon Card Game XY: Yarouze!. In 2015, she played her first lead role as Futaba Ichinose in the anime television series Seiyu's Life!. Takahashi, together with Seiyu's Life! co-stars Marika Kouno and Yuki Nagaku, formed the musical unit Earphones. That same year, she was cast as the characters Miki Naoki in School-Live! and Kaon Lanchester in Comet Lucifer. She and fellow School-Live! co-stars Inori Minase, Ari Ozawa, and Mao Ichimichi, performed the series' opening theme "Friend Shitai". In March 2016, Takahashi received the Best Newcomer Award at the 10th Seiyu Awards. She was then cast as the character Megumin in the anime series KonoSuba; she and co-stars Sora Amamiya and Ai Kayano performed the series' closing theme "Chiisana Boukensha". She also voiced the roles of Noct Leaflet in Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle, OL in ', Mirai Asahina in Maho Girls PreCure!, and Code Omega 00 Yufilia in Ange Vierge. She then played the role of Emilia in the anime series '; Takahashi also performed the series' second closing theme "Stay Alive". Later that year, she was cast as the character Mash Kyrielight in the mobile phone gameFate/Grand Order, replacing Risa Taneda who had gone on hiatus earlier that year. In 2017, Takahashi reprised the role of Megumin in the second season of KonoSuba, where she, Amamiya and Kayano performed the series' closing theme "Ouchi ni Kaeritai". She also played the roles of Aqua Aino in Love Tyrant, and Ernesti Echevarria in Knight's & Magic. In 2018, she played the role of Takagi-san in the anime series Teasing Master Takagi-san, where she also performs the series' closing themes. She also played the roles of Tsubasa Katsuki in Comic Girls and Sagiri Ameno in Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs. In 2019, she played the role of Nozomi Makino in Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka. and reprised her role as Takagi-san in Teasing Master Takagi-san, where she also performs the series' closing themes.
