Miyuki Ichijo

Ichijo voiced the character Anastasia in the original Japanese version of Cowboy Bebop, applying the seasoned vocal presence she had built across decades of anime and dubbing work. Her casting came during a long stretch of her career in which she moved between animated roles, foreign-language dubs and children's programming, giving her performance a grounded, experienced quality.

Born in Mizusawa, Iwate, and trained at the Shochiku Music and Dance School, she joined the variety program Stage 101 in 1970 before departing two years later. A puppetry segment on the children's show Okaasan to Issho later steered her toward voice acting, and her anime credits include Jody Rockwell in Yawara! and Jodie Starling for Case Closed, while she also played Julie Braun on Julie the Wild Rose and voiced Misa Takatsuki in Project ARMS. She also served as the standard Japanese dub voice for Marge Simpson on The Simpsons and recorded extensively for early childhood education programs. She died in October 2023 at age 74.