Kumiko Nishihara

Kumiko Nishihara (西原 久美子 , Nishihara Kumiko , née Watanabe (渡辺 ) , born April 27, 1965) is a Japanese voice actress from Chigasaki, Kanagawa affiliated with Aoni Production also known for her work on the stage.

While a student at Wako University, Nishihara attended voice acting classes run by Kaneta Kimotsuki. When Kimotsuki established Theater Company 21st Century Fox (劇団21世紀FOX , Gekidan Niju Isseiki Fox ) in 1984, Nishihara went on to leave her undergraduate studies unfinished to become a founding member, taking numerous roles as a leading actress in several productions and appearing in the lead role of Alice from Alice in Wonderland three times. Theatre Company 21st Century Fox became known for producing numerous voice actors with a theatre background such as Kaneta, Nishihara, and Kappei Yamaguchi. Nishihara took on voice acting roles in anime starting with Little Memole and becoming known for major voice acting roles in anime such as Hello! Lady Lynn, Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, and s-CRY-ed, in addition to voice acting roles in a number of Japanese games. Nishihara is known for taking on voice acting roles involving high pitched female voices and a great deal of singing, leading to appearances on the Japanese music variety show Utaban aired by the Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation.

With her departure from 21st Century Fox in 2004 and transfer of her voice acting work to Aoni Production, Nishihara shifted emphasis from her previously prolific voice acting in anime and the Japanese gaming industry to her stage career. In 2006 together with Junko Okada, Nishihara founded the Liddel Project as an experiment in independent theatre. Nishihara went on to take roles with the newly established Blanc Chat (遊々団ブランシャ・ヴェール , Yuyudan Blansha Veru ) , appearing in their first production, Fractal and a production of Alice in Wonderland as the Black Queen. Nishihara continues to be active in contemporary Japanese theatre. Her most recent work with Blanc Chat is Final Week, their 14th production since establishment and she is scheduled to appear in a series of Liddel Project performances from November 2012 in Tokyo.