# Aya Hirano (平野 綾)
**Aya Hirano** (平野 綾; born 1987) is a Japanese actress, voice actress, and singer from [Aichi Prefecture](https://www.edgepedia.org/aichi-prefecture) who rose to fame as the voice of [Haruhi Suzumiya](https://www.edgepedia.org/haruhi-suzumiya) in *The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya* (2006) and has since worked across anime, musical theater, television drama, and pop music.[1](https://coemee.com/column/seiyuu/hirano-aya/) • [2](https://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/4010)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987, Aichi Prefecture, Japan[1](https://coemee.com/column/seiyuu/hirano-aya/) |
| Career start | Child actor from 1998; joined a Tokyo children's theater troupe at age 10[3](https://mantan-web.jp/article/20110426dog00m200035000c.html) |
| Voice debut | 2001, as Momo the monkey in *Angel Tales* (おとぎストーリー 天使のしっぽ), at age 14[4](https://www.crank-in.net/person/9963) • [3](https://mantan-web.jp/article/20110426dog00m200035000c.html) |
| Breakthrough role | Haruhi Suzumiya in *The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya* (2006)[2](https://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/4010) |
| Solo music debut | 8 March 2006; first new song in 11 years, "evolutions", released digitally 10 May 2025[5](https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/202103110000224.html) • [6](https://ayahirano.jp/) |
| Awards | New Actress Award at the 1st Seiyu Awards (2007) and a voice acting award at the 6th Tokyo Anime Award[4](https://www.crank-in.net/person/9963) |
| 2026 anniversaries | CD debut 25th, voice acting debut 25th, solo debut 20th, and musical debut 15th, marked by the COTTON CLUB anniversary live[7](https://ayahirano.jp/?p=2887) |
## Early life and start in entertainment
Hirano entered show business as a child. At age 10 she joined a Tokyo children's theater troupe and began appearing in television commercials and other child-actor work; her professional career is dated from 1998.[3](https://mantan-web.jp/article/20110426dog00m200035000c.html) • [8](https://shueisha.online/articles/-/257010) Her path into voice acting ran through a live-action role: appearing in director [Takashi Miike](https://www.edgepedia.org/takashi-miike)'s drama *Multiple Personality Detective Psycho*, she was told by people around her that her voice was interesting and that she should try a voice acting audition, which she passed.[9](https://www.joqr.co.jp/qr/article/113744/)
Her first anime role came in 2001, at age 14, as Momo the monkey in *Angel Tales*.[4](https://www.crank-in.net/person/9963) • [3](https://mantan-web.jp/article/20110426dog00m200035000c.html) Her second anime role, Lumiere in *Kiddy Grade* (2002), a character who looks 10 years old but has lived for centuries, convinced her of the appeal of voice acting, a craft in which a performer can build a character across age, gender, and ethnicity.[8](https://shueisha.online/articles/-/257010) Her label Lantis's biography gives 2003 as her voice acting debut year, a date that differs from the 2001 given by most Japanese film and television databases.[10](https://www.lantis.jp/artist/hiranoaya/bio.html)
## Breakthrough with Haruhi Suzumiya
In 2006 Hirano voiced the title character of *The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya*, the [Kyoto Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyoto-animation) adaptation that became an explosive hit and, with *[Lucky Star](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucky-star-manga)* the following year, helped fix the studio's reputation.[2](https://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/4010) • [11](https://reviewne.jp/contents/11161/ratings) She has said that without the role the person she is today would not exist.[3](https://mantan-web.jp/article/20110426dog00m200035000c.html) The production team's stated reason for casting her was the shock value of giving a role unlike Haruhi to the same actress.[12](https://shueisha.online/articles/-/257009) The show's dance to the ending theme "Hare Hare Yukai", performed by crowds in [Akihabara](https://www.edgepedia.org/akihabara) and spread through the then-new video posting sites, became one of the era's defining fan phenomena.[12](https://shueisha.online/articles/-/257009)
She followed the role with Konata Izumi in *Lucky Star* and work in *Death Note*, among many other anime credits.[2](https://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/4010) At the first Seiyu Awards in 2007 she won the New Actress Award, and the same year she received a voice acting award at the 6th [Tokyo Anime Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-anime-award).[4](https://www.crank-in.net/person/9963) In 2026, for the 20th Seiyu Awards, she was named ambassador of the ceremony in recognition of that first New Actress Award.[13](https://finance-frontend-pc-dist.west.edge.storage-yahoo.jp/disclosure/20260217/20260216563464.pdf)
## Music career
Hirano debuted as a solo singer on 8 March 2006, and her singing career ran in parallel with her voice work through the late 2000s.[5](https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/202103110000224.html) Her ninth single, "Super Driver", used as an anime opening theme, entered the Oricon weekly singles chart at number 3.[14](https://anime.eiga.com/person/10167/) She has written that as a young singer she loved singing but could not sing well and had a complex about her own voice, and that sustained effort eventually let her enjoy music freely.[5](https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/202103110000224.html)
**Reinvention from 2011 onward.** From 2011 she centered her work on the stage, and her singing career went quiet for years.[10](https://www.lantis.jp/artist/hiranoaya/bio.html) The 2024 live tour *AYA HIRANO LIVE TOUR 2024 "RE:BOOT"*, her first tour in eleven years, held in five cities nationwide, marked the full restart of her singing career.[15](https://www.mizuhobank.co.jp/release/pdf/20240301release_jp.pdf) • [10](https://www.lantis.jp/artist/hiranoaya/bio.html) Her first new song in eleven years, "evolutions", was released digitally on 10 May 2025.[6](https://ayahirano.jp/)
## Stage, screen, and recent work
Hirano's stage career includes leading musical roles such as Eponine in *Les Misérables*, the title role in *Lady Bess*, and roles in *Mozart!*, and she has appeared in television drama and variety programs as well.[16](https://osaka-ca-fes.jp/2022/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/harukasoyoka.pdf) • [4](https://www.crank-in.net/person/9963) In anime film she voiced [Marie Antoinette](https://www.edgepedia.org/marie-antoinette) in MAPPA's *The Rose of Versailles* and reprised the role with a full orchestra in the film's symphonic concert in 2026.[17](https://www.hankyu-hanshin.co.jp/release/docs/ad48741f55baeb8fe5b82128094495e85f3bd9e4.pdf) • [18](https://spice.eplus.jp/featured/0000006305/articles)
**2026 anniversary year.** Four career anniversaries fall together in 2026: 25 years since her CD and voice acting debuts, 20 years since her solo debut, and 15 years since her musical debut. She marked them with *AYA HIRANO ANNIVERSARY LIVE 2026 ~COTTON CLUB~*, her first performances at the Tokyo jazz club COTTON CLUB, held on 15 and 29 September 2026, with a program she described as themed on the songs that raised her in each genre.[7](https://ayahirano.jp/?p=2887) • [19](https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_geinou/articles/900199745.html) The same year she appeared in the stage play *Chainsaw Man the Stage* Reze arc in Tokyo and Kyoto, voiced Vesna in *Genshin Impact* from version 7.1, guested twice on BS11's *Anison Days*, and was announced for the 2027 revival of the musical *9 to 5* as Doralee Rhodes.[6](https://ayahirano.jp/)
## References
1. [平野綾（ひらの あや）のプロフィール, coemee](https://coemee.com/column/seiyuu/hirano-aya/)
2. [今年25周年の平野綾、表現者として歩み続けた歴史, Billboard JAPAN](https://www.billboard-japan.com/special/detail/4010)
3. [平野綾：「ハルヒ」を語る「演じなければ今の私はいなかった」, MANTANWEB](https://mantan-web.jp/article/20110426dog00m200035000c.html)
4. [平野綾：プロフィール・最新ニュース, クランクイン！](https://www.crank-in.net/person/9963)
5. [平野綾、ソロ歌手デビュー15周年「表現者として幸せ」, 日刊スポーツ](https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/202103110000224.html)
6. [平野綾 Official Web Site](https://ayahirano.jp/)
7. [AYA HIRANO ANNIVERSARY LIVE 2026 〜COTTON CLUB〜一般予約受付開始！, 平野綾 Official Web Site](https://ayahirano.jp/?p=2887)
8. [〈平野綾ソロ歌手デビュー20周年〉インタビュー, 集英社オンライン](https://shueisha.online/articles/-/257010)
9. [「自分の天職だと思った」平野綾、声優を始めるきっかけを語る！, 文化放送](https://www.joqr.co.jp/qr/article/113744/)
10. [平野綾 | Lantis web site bio](https://www.lantis.jp/artist/hiranoaya/bio.html)
11. [らきすたの評価/評判, レビューンアニメ](https://reviewne.jp/contents/11161/ratings)
12. [「内向的な私になんでこの役が…？」, 集英社オンライン](https://shueisha.online/articles/-/257009)
13. [『声優アワード』第20回 アンバサダー就任リリース](https://finance-frontend-pc-dist.west.edge.storage-yahoo.jp/disclosure/20260217/20260216563464.pdf)
14. [平野 綾 : 声優情報, アニメハック](https://anime.eiga.com/person/10167/)
15. [平野綾さん パーソナリティ担当日, みずほ銀行リリース](https://www.mizuhobank.co.jp/release/pdf/20240301release_jp.pdf)
16. [はるかそよかの音楽に恋して コンサート資料](https://osaka-ca-fes.jp/2022/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/harukasoyoka.pdf)
17. [NEWS RELEASE, 阪急阪神](https://www.hankyu-hanshin.co.jp/release/docs/ad48741f55baeb8fe5b82128094495e85f3bd9e4.pdf)
18. [平野綾 | SPICE](https://spice.eplus.jp/featured/0000006305/articles)
19. [平野綾、四つの節目にアニバーサリーライブ, テレビ朝日ニュース](https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_geinou/articles/900199745.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Voice performers › Japanese voice performers › Surnames symbols to M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license