Junko Takeuchi

Junko Takeuchi is a Japanese performer and voice actress affiliated with the agencies Ogipro The Next Co. Inc. and BQMAP. Born on April 5, 1972, she has built a prominent career in the voice acting industry. She frequently provides voice work for energetic, eccentric, and youthful male characters across various animated media.

Growing up as the youngest of three siblings, Takeuchi pursued artistic hobbies during her youth, practicing both ballet and piano for over seven years. In 1991, she began attending the College of Art at Nihon University, though she departed the institution after two years. Prior to establishing her acting career, she held jobs as a shoe salesperson and provided private piano instruction in Tokyo, having initially envisioned a career in banking.

Takeuchi entered the performing arts industry in 1996 by joining the BQ MAP Theater Company, where she performed in several theatrical productions. Over time, she transitioned into voice work, securing major roles across numerous major franchises. Her most recognized role is voicing the lead character Naruto Uzumaki in the hit anime series Naruto.

Throughout her voice acting career, Takeuchi has portrayed a wide array of notable characters. Her major roles include Gon Freecss in the original 1999 adaptation of Hunter × Hunter, Mamoru Endō in Inazuma Eleven and its sequel Inazuma Eleven GO, Takuya Kanbara in Digimon Frontier, Rin Natsuki (Cure Rouge) in Yes! PreCure 5, and Metabee in Medabots. In addition to anime, she has lent her voice to Japanese localizations, voicing GingerBrave in Cookie Run: Kingdom and providing the Japanese dub voice for MrBeast.

In her personal life, Takeuchi met fellow voice actor Kenji Hamada in 1999, and the pair married in 2006. She gave birth to their first child in 2012, followed by their second child in 2017.