Rie Kugimiya

Kugimiya voices Juuzou Suzuya, the erratic, scissor-wielding investigator who works under the CCG in Tokyo Ghoul, the Studio Pierrot series adapted from Sui Ishida's manga about ghouls concealed within modern Tokyo. It's a departure from the many spirited teenage heroines she is best known for, showcasing a different, more unsettling register in her range. The role has carried across the franchise's sequels alongside her wider body of anime work.

Her breakout came through small, sharp-tempered characters: Alphonse Elric in the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise, plus the tsundere staples Shana from Shakugan no Shana and Taiga Aisaka from Toradora!, the role that earned her the nickname. Kugimiya has additionally voiced Kagura on Gintama and Happy on both Fairy Tail and Edens Zero. Video games have called on her too, casting her as Haruka Sawamura in the Yakuza series and Rise Kujikawa in Persona 4. That Toradora! performance brought her Best Actress at the 3rd Seiyu Awards, two years after she and fellow actress Mitsuki Saiga shared a Best Supporting Actress prize at the ceremony's second edition.