More often than not, whenever voice actress Mizuhashi Kaori appears in an anime I am amazed by her talent. Not only is she a very good actress capable of playing a variety of roles and personalities, but despite her being the seiyuu of Ogiue Chika it often takes me quite a while to realize that it’s Mizuhashi behind the role.
Ogiue Chika (Genshiken), Miyako (Hidamari Sketch), Rosetta Passel (Kaleido Star), Shimada Minami (Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu)
It’s usually when her voice deepens just slightly that I’m able to recognize her. Then when I go back and listen to the character again, I’m astonished that I wasn’t able to catch on. Mizuhashi’s like the best of both worlds when it comes to voice acting; her voice has distinct features to be sure, but she also has a capacity for variation between roles.
In short, she’s a pleasant surprise whenever she appears.
Now I don’t have the vocabulary or familiarity with voice acting to actually explain to you what I think makes her a good voice actor, so I recommend you check out any of her roles, or listen to her voice acting sample on her official profile.
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January 21, 2010 at 2:10 pm
omo
I agree, she is one of the underlooked voice acting talents that have that chameleon power. Although I think her best roles tend to fall somewhere between the voices of Laharl, Yuuno and Miyako, her more girly performances are great too.
January 21, 2010 at 4:31 pm
kadian1364
I had mentally made the connection between Yuuno and Miyako before, but I didn’t realize that was Ogiue too! That dialect must’ve thrown me.
January 21, 2010 at 6:28 pm
TheBigN
I’m usually able to pinpoint Mizuhashi’s voice in works that I watch that she’s in, but I do like how it can take a couple of listens for me to make sure that I’m correct. She has a nice enough range that she can place nice spins on to the same “overall” voice that she has, I guess.
January 21, 2010 at 8:12 pm
21stcenturydigitalboy
Mizuhashi is awesome. I remember watching Kaleido Star and going to look up the voice and being completely shocked to find it was the voice of Miyako! And she’s great in BakaTest, too. Just a damn good actress.
January 23, 2010 at 1:56 am
2DT
I loved her as Rosetta. She does have a certain distinctiveness (I almost want to say a nasal quality, but without the bad connotations), but you’re right that it’s hard to spot. Ogiue, huh? Would’ve never guessed!
July 14, 2011 at 3:24 pm
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