If Hayashibara Megumi is your responsible older sister, then Mitsuishi Kotono is your carefree younger sister who sneaks out of the house through her bedroom window after curfew. Born on December 8th, 1967 in Saitama, Mitsuishi Kotono has always displayed an energetic exuberance that has yet to fade over the years. Always a little girl at heart, this perpetual teenager has a fondness for shopping, sleeping and eating... certainly not a dignified list of hobbies for one of the giants in the anime industry, but it has always been her quirky, girl-next-door qualities that have endeared her to her legions of fans.

Mitsuishi Kotono broke into the business as Tomoyo in Aim for the Ace! Final Stage. Success and a deluge of job offers followed shortly after with Okoto and Oishi in Samurai Pizza Cats and Etoile in Heroic Legend of Arslan... but it is without a doubt that her first big break (and the role that propelled her to the A-list) came as Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon in the Sailor Moon television series and its subsequent sequels.

Her uncanny ability to play the anti-hero (a neurotic underachiever with plenty to say but without a lot of thought behind those words) became her trademark, and the diverse cast propelled Sailor Moon to unprecedented popularity worldwide. At the same time, Mitsuishi Kotono portrayed Satsuki in Idol Defense Force Hummingbird, a mediocre anime but one that is regarded as having kicked off the idol-group-composed-of-seiyuu craze. The producers of Sailor Moon realized the Yen-making potential of having the seiyuu tour Japan as a legitimate pop group and sell albums with the anime's likeness featured on the cover, thus the group Peach Hips was formed. Though admittedly an unpolished singer, she gives a lot of energy into her songs, a trait that has won over fans of her anime roles.

Mitsuishi Kotono continued to ride the coattails of her whirlwind success to the tune of the lovable Mink in the hilarious medieval parody Dragon Half. Not wanting to be typecast is as important to a voice actor as it is for other types of actors, and her next role in Neon Genesis Evangelion proved she was capable of far more than the usual fast-talking ditz. Her powerful performance as the tough yet vulnerable Katsuragi Misato drew rave reviews and, along with Hayashibara Megumi's equally astonishing role as Ayanami Rei, served noticed to her followers that she could fit well in dramatic roles.

Mitsuishi Kotono and Hayashibara Megumi would pair up again in Anno Hideaki's live-action film Love & Pop, providing voice work. She is at her best in roles that require her to play the ying to another character's yang; it takes an equally adept seiyuu to make this delicious dichotomy work, but when such a pairing does indeed manifest itself, the resulting chemistry is magic. Take, for example, Mitsuishi as the mile-a-minute air head Excel and Koyasu Takehito as the cool, even-keel Il Palazzo in Excel Saga. The frenetic pace required for the title character combined with the enthusiasm with which she dove into the role made her an instant hit with a new "generation" of anime otaku who weren't around to ride the Sailor Moon wave half a dozen years prior.

Following the cult success of Excel Saga, Mitsuishi Kotono was pleasantly surprised to have won the title role of the chronically-pummeled Ebichu in Anno's Ebichu the Housekeeping Hamster, an anime adaptation of the risqué manga that she enjoyed reading in her spare time. She was reunited with fellow Peach Hip Tomizawa Michie. Tomizawa's Hino Rei/Sailor Mars and Mitsuishi's Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon had delighted viewers with their constant bickering and feuding, so it was only natural when Tomizawa was asked to play Ebichu's master. The two picked up right where they left off.

Even when the ushering of the 21st century meant producers were turning toward a new group of younger seiyuu to lead anime for the next decade, Mitsuishi Kotono's undeniable talent and popularity has kept her at the top of her profession. She heads a vaunted class of thirty-something's who refuse to give up the juicy roles to the new kids just yet; Mitsuishi has stayed just as busy as ever, with credits such as Asami Shouko in Angelic Layer, Ramiasu Maryu in Gundam Seed, Kanzaki Reimi in Great Teacher Onizuka and Mireille Bouquet in Noir. It doesn't look like she'll be relinquishing that spotlight any time soon.

Production Credits

Aim for the Ace! II - Tomoyo
Aim for the Ace! Final Stage - Tomoyo
Ajimu Kaigan Monogatari - Kyoko
Angelic Layer - Asami Shouko
Angelique: Shiroi Tsubasa no Memoir - Rosaria
Anpan-man - Maron-kun
Babel II - Juju
Birdy the Mighty - Birdy
Blue Seed - Sawaguchi Koume
Blue Seed OVA - Sawaguchi Koume
Brother, Dear Brother - student A, student b, theater student
Bucket de Gohan - Mint
Buttobi CPU - Quadra Nackintosh
Card Captor Sakura - Matsumoto Maki
Card Captor Sakura: The Movie - Matsumoto Maki
Choudendou Robo Tetsujin 28 Gou FX - Ranfa
Compiler - Nerima Queen
Corrector Yui - Freeze
Crayon Shin-chan: The Movie - Ageo sensei, Oiroke
Cyber City Oedo 808 - woman
Cyber Formula - Sugou Asuka
Da! Da! Da! - Kijou Akira
Dark Side Blues - Mai
Dark Warrior - Pamela
Dennou Sentai Voogie's Angel - Rebecca
Detective Conan - Konno Yuri
Digimon Tamers - Uehara Minami
Digimon Tamers: The Adventurers' Battle - Uehara Minami
Dokkoida?! - Sayuri, Hyacinth
Dragon Half - Mink
Ebichu the Housekeeping Hamster - Ebichu
Excel Saga - Excel
E.Y.E.S. of Mars - n/a
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture - Shiranui Mai
Fatal Fury: The New Battle - Shiranui Mai
Flame of Recca - Kage Houshi, Kagero
Fruits Basket - Souma Kagura
Fullmetal Alchemist - Gracia Hughes
Future GPX Cyber Formula 11 - Sugou Asuka
Future GPX Cyber Formula Saga - Sugou Asuka
Future GPX Cyber Formula Sin - Sugou Asuka
Future GPX Cyber Formula Zero - Sugou Asuka
Future GPX Cyber Formula: Early Days Renewal - Sugou Asuka
Gakkou no Kaidan - Miyanoshita Kayako
Gall Force The Revolution - Rabby
GEAR Fighter Dendoh - Kusanagi Orie, narrator, announcer
Genji Tsuushin Agedama - Ibuki
Gensou Maden Saiyuuki - Shunfaa
Ginga Sengoku Gun'yuuden Rai - Shimon
Great Teacher Onizuka - Kanzaki Reimi
Hana no Mahou Tsukai Maribell - Ribbon, Tap
Hare Tokidoki Buta - Kazuko
Hareruya II Boy - Kanou Sayaka
Haunted Junction - Haruto's mother
Heroic Legend of Arslan - Etoile
Hi! Akko desu - Store Clerk
Hidamari no Ki - Oaki
High School Mystery: Gakuen 7 Fushigi - Kawai Yukari, female student B
Himitsu no Akko-chan - Mirufiiyu
Hyper Police - Phonne
Idol Defense Force Hummingbird - Toreishi Satsuki
Irresponsible Captain Tylor - Kim Kyung Hwa
Irresponsible Captain Tylor OAV - Kim Kyung Hwa
i-wish you were here- - Mitsuki
Jankenman - Chokkin
Jungle no Ouji Taa-chan - Helen
Kaleido Star - Kathy
Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne - Matsubara Saki
Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo - Mori Kyouka
King of Jungle Tar-chan - Helen
Kinkyuu Hasshin Saver Kids - reporter
Kirara - Kirara
Kishin Heidan - Fay
Kounai Shasei Final - girl A, Chami
Lamune & 40 - girl 1, Mountain Dew Silver
Legend of Galactic Heroes - Karin
Legend of Momotarou - Chiya Girl
A Little Snow Fairy Sugar - Ginger
A Little Snow Fairy Sugar: Summer Special - Ginger
Maboroshi Mabochan - Tsubaki-chan
Madlax - Margaret's Mother
Maguu Senjyou - Pamela
Makeruna! Makendo - Tsurugino Mai
Mary Bell - Ribbon
Maze - Maze
Maze OVA - Maze
Miracle Girls - Motoki Mai
Mobile New Century Gundam X - Toniya Malme
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed - Ramiasu Maryu, narrator
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny - Ramiasu Maryu, narrator
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Special Edition - Ramiasu Maryu, narrator
Monster Farm - Pixy
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Katsuragi Misato
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth - Katsuragi Misato
Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion - Katsuragi Misato
Nineteen - girl in disco
Nintama Rantarou - Yamaguki
Noir - Mireille Bouquet
Ordian - Nitro
Paranoia Agent - Chouno Harumi, Maria
Phantom Quest Corp. - Rokugou Nanami
Pokémon - Metamon
Pokémon: Lugia Bakutan - girl on boat
Pokémon: Mew Two Ware ha Kokoni Ari - Domino
Power Dolls II - Yao Fei Lun
Puni Puni Poemi - Itsue
Revolutionary Girl Utena - Arisugawa Juri
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie - Arisugawa Juri
Sailor Moon - Tsukino Usagi, Chibi Chibi
Sailor Moon R: The Promise of the Rose - Tsukino Usagi
Salior Moon S: Hearts in Ice - Tsukino Usagi
Sailor Moon Super S: Ami-chan's First Love - Tsukino Usagi
Sailor Moon Super S: Black Dream Hole - Tsukino Usagi
Samurai Pizza Cats - Okoto, Oishi
Saver Kids - reporter
Sentimental Journey - Serizawa Kotone
Sequence - female student A
Shin Megami Tensei - Yagami Saki
Sousei Seiki Devadasy - Minakushi Amara
Space Travellers the Animation - Gold Papillon
Spiral - Narumi Madoka
Steam Detectives - Aishii
Steel Angel Kurumi II - Kagura Misaki
Tales of Eternia - Ekusushia
Those Who Hunt Elves - Cercia Marieclaire
Those Who Hunt Elves II - Cercia Marieclaire
Thunder Jet - Shimon
Tsuyoshi Shikkari Shinasai - Watanabe Yumi
U-Jin - Brand Tomoko
Variable Geo - Takeuchi Yuka
Watashi no Ashinaga Ojisan - customer, lady, nurse, student
Wedding Peach - Potamos
Weiss Kreuz - Noi
Weiss Kreuz Glühen - Asuka
X/1999 - Yatouji Satsuki
Yaiba - Mine Sayaka
Yajikita Gakuen Douchuuki - student
Yamato 2520 - Maki
Youseiki Suikoden - Suga Kiyomi
Ys - Lilia