Popular anime starring Mayumi Tanaka

Important takeaways

• Known for voicing Luffy, Mayumi Tanaka has also portrayed iconic characters in Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon and Yu Yu Hakusho.
• Tanaka's versatile voice talents shine in roles such as Pazu from Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Turbo Granny from DanDaDan.
• From her early appearances in Urusei Yatsura to new roles as Phyllis in The Ancient Magus' Bride, Tanaka's career spans a variety of characters.

The main character in One Piece, Monkey D. Luffyis arguably one of the most recognizable anime characters in the entire world. This can be explained by several different reasons, one of them being his unique voice in the Japanese version, where he is portrayed by the legendary Mayumi Tanaka.

She is a talented and seasoned voice actress who has not only voiced Luffy for more than 27 years but also lent her voice to countless other characters in the past One Piece started broadcasting. It is most likely that One Piece fans have heard Mayumi Tanaka's voice in other shows, and the following performances are some of the most notable examples.

1 Dragon Ball

Like Krillin And Yajirobe

As extensive as her role as Luffy has been, it's not even what put Mayumi Tanaka on the map. Dragon Ball fans most likely remember her voice from two of her most important and iconic roles: The krill and Yajirobe. They are different but equally fun performances, and the voice she would later use for Luffy is heard a bit in both.

Needless to say, Tanaka has been extremely important to Dragon Ball franchise, as she has voiced these two characters for over 38 years, even longer than her tenure as Luffy (although she has not returned to voice Mini Krillin in Dragon Ball DAIMA).

2 Sailor Moon

Like Robert

Sailor Moon is another hugely popular and influential anime series that was animated by Toei Animation. However, although Mayumi Tanaka usually portrays main or secondary characters, this time she joined the voice Roberta boy who only appears in episode 143 of the show.

Regardless of his brief appearance, Tanaka still gave it his all. Robert is quite different from her usual masculine roles, as he is not as comical and simple minded as someone like Luffy or Krillin. At the end of the day, that means she managed to make appearances in three of Toei's biggest shows: Dragon Ball, Sailor Moonand One Piece.

3 Urusei Yatsura

As Ryūnosuke Fujinami

Most anime fans are familiar with the recent animated adaptation of the Urusei Yatsura which aired as early as 2022. However, given that the original manga came out in 1980, it should come as no surprise that it already received an earlier adaptation in 1981, voiced by Mayumi Tanaka. Ryūnosuke Fujinamione of the main characters of the series.

Her performance as Fujinami is particularly fascinating because it is completely different from the two types of characters she usually portrays: young boys and old women. Instead, Ryūnosuke Fujinami is a young woman, and she sounds like one, meaning it's most likely that Tanaka used her normal voice more often for her. After all, she would have been 26 at the time.

4 Yu Yu Hakusho

Like Koenma

Dragon Ball and One Piece is not the only classic action shōnen anime where Mayumi Tanaka got to show her talents. In 1992, she debuted as the character Koenma in Studio Pierrot's animated adaptation of Yu Yu Hakushoanother classic performance that cemented her as an icon among fans of the genre.

Koenma has two different forms: a baby form (which sounds like Luffy's Chibi Gear 3 form) and a teenage form (which sounds like a calmer version of Luffy). This is a fun character quirk that has allowed Tanaka to show off his extensive and impressive range. And since Koenma is the ruler of the spirit world, she was able to voice him for a very long time.

5 Laputa: Castle in the sky

Like Pazu

Of course, Mayumi Tanaka has excelled in voicing several iconic characters in several TV shows, but she has also worked on quite a few feature films (and not just adaptations of major series such as Dragon Ball and One Piece). One of her most important roles was Pazuone of the main characters in Hayao Miyazaki's second film, Laputa: Castle in the sky.

As always, Tanaka did an incredible job as Pazu, a young and energetic boy with a heart of gold. Given that she started voicing Krillin around the same time, it seems that both roles inadvertently defined Tanaka's career, and it could be said that she would never have voiced Luffy if it weren't for these two amazing performances.

6 Gegege no Kitaro

Like Sunakake-Babaa

Most of Mayumi Tanaka's non-Luffy roles happened earlier One Piece began airing, as this long-running and popular anime has most likely kept her extremely busy, especially when considering supplemental material (such as movies, video games, commercials, etc.). However, she has still managed to occasionally appear in other shows, with one of the most prominent being the 2018 version of Gegege no Kitarowhere she votes Sunakake-Babaa.

Since she is in her 60s now, Tanaka has taken advantage of her age and experience and started voicing older women. As a result, her performance as Sunakake-Babaa is both charming and funny. She stands out as this yokai who is also Kitaro's advisor and manager of the Yōkai Apartments. The animators even included a familiar straw hat right next to her in one scene, which is most likely a fun little nod to Tanaka's most iconic role.

7 Bride of the Ancient Magus

Like Phyllis

• Release date: October 7, 2017
• Genre(s): Dark Fantasy, Mystery, Supernatural
• Studio: Wit Studio, Studio Kafka
• Creator: Kore Yamazaki

These days, Mayumi Tanaka may specialize in voicing older women in anime, but that doesn't mean they always have to be comedic or light-hearted characters. Around the same time in 2018, she appeared in another popular modern show, Bride of the Ancient Maguswhere she voted Phyllis.

Phyllis is a faceless witch who is also the leader of an entire coven, meaning she's never been put in over-the-top comedic situations like Tanaka's other characters. With this surprising performance, Tanaka has proven that she can seamlessly switch to darker and more serious roles when required.

8 DanDaDan

Like Turbo Granny

DanDaDanpp Turbo grandma feels like the epitome of Mayumi Tanaka's entire career as a voice actress, as she simultaneously represents the two types of characters she always excels at. Turbo Granny is first introduced as a powerful vengeful spirit who manages to come across as very scary, despite her foul mouth.

But later in the show, Seiko Ayase seals her inside a stuffed cat doll, which is where the more comedic side of the character comes out. This new version of Turbo Granny sounds a lot more like Monkey D. Luffy, but Tanaka still managed to give it its own identity. Overall, Turbo Granny is definitely one of her best performances and it shows her incredible vocal range. In Episode 1, she shared the screen with Serpo Aliens, who is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka's colleague and Roronoa Zoro's voice actor, Kazuya Nakai.