# Kana Hanazawa (花澤 香菜)
**Kana Hanazawa** (花澤 香菜, born 1989 in Tokyo) is a Japanese voice actress, singer, and former child actress affiliated with Office Osawa. She debuted as a voice actress in 2003 as Holly Mad-thane in the television anime *Last Exile*, began full-time voice work after playing Ryoko Kaminagi in *Zegapain* (2006), and launched a solo singing career in April 2012 with the single "Hoshizora☆Destination" (星空☆ディスティネーション).[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) Her official profile describes her as a nationally popular voice actress whose acting ability and clear, distinctive voice have earned strong support in Japan and abroad.[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Tokyo, Japan[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573928/) |
| Voice debut | 2003, Holly Mad-thane in *Last Exile*; full-time activity from *Zegapain* (2006)[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) |
| Solo debut | April 2012, single "Hoshizora☆Destination"[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) |
| Chart record | Her official profile describes her as the first voice actress to place four consecutive releases in the Oricon Top 10 after a solo debut; solo concert at Nippon Budokan in 2015[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) |
| Signature roles | Nadeko Sengoku (*Bakemonogatari*), Akane Tsunemori (*Psycho-Pass*), Mayuri Shiina (*Steins;Gate*), Mitsuri Kanroji (*Demon Slayer*), Ichika Nakano (*The Quintessential Quintuplets*), Red Blood Cell (*Cells at Work!*)[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) |
| Awards | Best Supporting Actress at the 9th Seiyuu Awards; Newtype Best Voice Actress in 2015, 2017, and 2018[3](https://kprofiles.com/hanazawa-kana-profile/) |
| Agency / label | Office Osawa; Pony Canyon for her singing career[4](https://osawa-inc.co.jp/women/hanazawakana/) • [5](https://www.koeitecmo.wiki/wiki/Kana_Hanazawa) |
## Early life and child acting
Hanazawa began performing as a child actress in kindergarten, making regular appearances on the variety program *Yappari Sanma Daisensei* and appearing in programs such as *Gakko no Sensei*.[3](https://kprofiles.com/hanazawa-kana-profile/) • [6](https://www.fashion-press.net/profiles/261/) According to her manager Matsuoka of Office Osawa, when her child-acting work began to decline, an audition notice for a child voice actor reached her agency by chance; he advised her that her voice had a special quality and that she should pursue voice acting.[7](https://realsound.jp/2016/09/post-9490.html/amp) She had received no formal microphone technique training, and during *Zegapain* she taught herself the craft with support from the people around her.[7](https://realsound.jp/2016/09/post-9490.html/amp)
## Voice acting career
Hanazawa's voice acting debut came in 2003 as Holly Mad-thane in *Last Exile*.[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) In 2006 she played the heroine Ryoko Kaminagi in *Zegapain*, which she credits as the start of her full-time voice acting career.[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) Her breakthrough roles followed through the 2010s: Nadeko Sengoku in the *[Monogatari](https://www.edgepedia.org/monogatari-series)* series, Kuroneko in *My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute*, Mayuri Shiina in *Steins;Gate*, Kanade (Angel) in *Angel Beats!*, Anri Sonohara in *Durarara!!*, and [Akane Tsunemori](https://www.edgepedia.org/akane-tsunemori) in *Psycho-Pass*.[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile)
Her later credits span major franchises: Mitsuri Kanroji in *Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba* (including the 2021 film *Jujutsu Kaisen 0* role of Rika Orimoto and the 2025 *Demon Slayer* Infinity Castle film), Ichika Nakano in *The Quintessential Quintuplets*, Red Blood Cell AE3803 in *Cells at Work!*, Rize Kamishiro in *Tokyo Ghoul*, Nagisa Kubo in *Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible*, Hinata Kawamoto in *March Comes in Like a Lion*, and Yukino in [Makoto Shinkai](https://www.edgepedia.org/makoto-shinkai)'s *The Garden of Words*.[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) • [8](https://www.tvguide.or.jp/db/cast/cast-208/) IMDb lists her among the cast of *Your Name.* (2016) and *Oreimo* (2010).[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573928/)
She also works in dubbing. She voiced the protagonist Xiaohai in the Japanese dub of the Chinese animated film *The Legend of Hei* (羅小黒戦記 ぼくが選ぶ未来), a performance reviewers singled out for its range of cries and youthful voices.[4](https://osawa-inc.co.jp/women/hanazawakana/) • [9](https://jcee.info/wp-content/uploads/JceeReport_2024.pdf) In a 2022 interview she discussed dubbing Wendy in a new recording of *St. Elmo's Fire*, noting that matching the breathing of the on-screen actor is a central difference from anime work.[10](https://sei-yu.net/archives-interview/20221122/)
## Singing career
Hanazawa made her solo debut in April 2012 with the single "Hoshizora☆Destination".[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) Her official profile states that she became the first voice actress to place four consecutive releases in the Oricon Top 10 after a solo debut, and that she held a solo concert at [Nippon Budokan](https://www.edgepedia.org/nippon-budokan) in 2015.[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) Her albums include *Claire*, *25* (2014), *Blue Avenue*, *Opportunity*, *Koibase* (ココベース, 2019), *blossom* (2022), and *Tsuioku to Yubisaki* (追憶と指先).[11](https://contents.oricon.co.jp/prof/391223/products/) • [12](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kanahanazawa/)
Her music has been closely tied to her acting. The single "Dramatic ja Nakutemo" (ドラマチックじゃなくても), released February 1, 2023, served as the opening theme of the TV anime *Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible*, in which she played the lead role; it was her first time holding both the lead role and the theme-song artist position at once.[13](https://hanazawa-kana.com/discography/dramaticjanakutemo/) In interviews she has described how her relationship to music changed over her first decade as an artist: at the start she saw her voice as one component of songs produced for her, while by her second album *25* (2014) and her 2015 Budokan concert she began to treat music as a form of self-expression distinct from voice acting, where she follows a director's staging.[14](https://www.lisani.jp/0000206417/2/) • [15](https://thetv.jp/news/detail/101578/)
In 2024, marking the 20th anniversary of her voice acting debut, she held her first Zepp tour under the banner of an anniversary album.[1](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile) In September 2026, at her live event "HANAZAWA KANA Live 2026 \"Clematis\"" at KT Zepp Yokohama, she announced her eighth album *Michisu* (未知数), scheduled for release on February 24, 2027, in the year of her 15th anniversary as a voice-artist.[16](https://news.ponycanyon.co.jp/2026/09/125532) The album includes the opening theme "Yarenno? Endless" for the TV anime *[Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-ninja-and-an-assassin-under-one-roof)*.[16](https://news.ponycanyon.co.jp/2026/09/125532)
## Recognition
Hanazawa won Best Supporting Actress at the 9th Seiyuu Awards and was named Newtype's Best Voice Actress three times, in 2015, 2017, and 2018.[3](https://kprofiles.com/hanazawa-kana-profile/) A 2014 fan ranking of female voice actors placed her first, with respondents citing her calm character voices and her singing.[17](https://prtimes.jp/a/?c=9640&f=d9640-20140331-7826.pdf&r=2) An academic study of her audiobook reading of Dazai Osamu's *Joseito* notes that her voice is commonly described in terms of "healing" and "transparency".[18](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/showabungaku/71/0/71_15/_pdf)
## Personal life
Hanazawa married fellow voice actor [Kensho Ono](https://www.edgepedia.org/kensho-ono) in 2020.[3](https://kprofiles.com/hanazawa-kana-profile/) Sources disagree on the marriage's current status: Bulbapedia states the two divorced in 2025,[19](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Kana_Hanazawa) and IMDb describes Ono as a former spouse,[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573928/) while other profiles continue to list the marriage.[3](https://kprofiles.com/hanazawa-kana-profile/) In April 2022 her agency announced that she had recovered from COVID-19 and resumed activities on April 16 of that year.[20](https://osawa-inc.co.jp/news0015/)
## References
1. [PROFILE | 花澤香菜 オフィシャルサイト](https://hanazawa-kana.com/news/profile)
2. [Kana Hanazawa, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573928/)
3. [Hanazawa Kana Profile, Kpop Profiles](https://kprofiles.com/hanazawa-kana-profile/)
4. [花澤 香菜 – 大沢事務所](https://osawa-inc.co.jp/women/hanazawakana/)
5. [Kana Hanazawa, The Koei Tecmo Wiki](https://www.koeitecmo.wiki/wiki/Kana_Hanazawa)
6. [花澤香菜のプロフィール・経歴・出演映画, Fashion Press](https://www.fashion-press.net/profiles/261/)
7. [花澤香菜は声優＆アーティストとしてどう成長してきた？, Real Sound](https://realsound.jp/2016/09/post-9490.html/amp)
8. [花澤香菜, TVガイドWeb](https://www.tvguide.or.jp/db/cast/cast-208/)
9. [JCEE Report 2024 (viewer reviews of The Legend of Hei dub)](https://jcee.info/wp-content/uploads/JceeReport_2024.pdf)
10. [花澤香菜さんインタビュー, 日本声優事業社協議会](https://sei-yu.net/archives-interview/20221122/)
11. [花澤香菜の作品, ORICON NEWS](https://contents.oricon.co.jp/prof/391223/products/)
12. [花澤 香菜, ソニーミュージックオフィシャルサイト](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/kanahanazawa/)
13. [ドラマチックじゃなくても | 花澤香菜 オフィシャルサイト](https://hanazawa-kana.com/discography/dramaticjanakutemo/)
14. [花澤香菜、「駆け引きはポーカーフェイス」リリース！, リスアニ！](https://www.lisani.jp/0000206417/2/)
15. [花澤香菜の4thアルバム『Opportunity』インタビュー, WEBザテレビジョン](https://thetv.jp/news/detail/101578/)
16. [通算8枚目となる最新アルバム『未知数』のリリース決定, PONY CANYON NEWS](https://news.ponycanyon.co.jp/2026/09/125532)
17. [女性声優ランキング第1位は花澤香菜, PR TIMES](https://prtimes.jp/a/?c=9640&f=d9640-20140331-7826.pdf&r=2)
18. [花澤香菜が朗読する「女生徒」, J-STAGE](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/showabungaku/71/0/71_15/_pdf)
19. [Kana Hanazawa, Bulbapedia](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Kana_Hanazawa)
20. [花澤香菜 活動再開のご報告, 大沢事務所](https://osawa-inc.co.jp/news0015/)
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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 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