My Hero Academia: Where You've Heard Star And Stripe's Voice Before
As the war between the heroes of Japan and the villainous All For One rages on in "My Hero Academia," a new key character has emerged. Star and Stripe, the United States' number one hero, disobeys her orders and heads over to assist in the battle and help out her former master All Might. Based on the character's official profile, it's not hard to see why she's considered the best of the best. Her quirk, "New World," allows her to bend reality itself, making certain things true just by stating them as a rule. That's one of the best quirks ever seen on "My Hero Academia" by far.
For those watching the original Japanese dub of "My Hero Academia," they may be surprised to find that Star and Stripe's voice actor sounds quite familiar. That's not too big of a surprise when considering that the character's actor, Romi Park, has had a long and storied career doing voice work on some of the biggest anime and video games out there. Here's just a few of her biggest credit highlights.
Naruto (2003)
One of Romi Park's earliest and most well-known credits came as part of the Japanese voice cast for the anime adaptation of "Naruto." Park joined the show early on, becoming a recurring cast member partway through the show's first season. She portrayed the young ninja Temari of Kazekage clan, who crosses paths with the Team 7 group during the Chūnin Exams arc. As time winds on, she becomes a valuable ally to the team and even sparks a heartfelt romance with Team 10's Shikamaru.
Through the decades since the original anime first hit the scene, Park has remained committed to being the main voice actor for Temari in most related media for the greater "Naruto" franchise. She similarly recurred in the sequel series "Naruto: Shippuden," and she has made regular appearances in the third show in the saga, "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations." She's also represented the character in various video games, such as 2016's "Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4."
Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)
Jumping onto one of the biggest shōnen anime out there in 2003 wasn't enough for Romi Park — she had to do it twice. Right around the same time that she first brought Temari to life on "Naruto," Park became the lead Japanese voice actor for the fantasy adventure series "Fullmetal Alchemist." She portrayed Edward Elric, the main adventurer and the older brother of Alphonse who leads the hunt for the Philosopher's Stone in a bid to restore their bodies to how they were prior to a tragic accident.
Park's rendition of Edward has proven to be arguably the most iconic voice for the character, thanks to Park once again committing to voicing the character for films and other additional media. She returned to lead the cast of 2009's "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood," an anime adaptation that hewed closer to the original manga. She's also lent her voice to video games like "Fullmetal Alchemist: To the Promised Day."
Persona 4 (2008)
It's been established that Romi Park is no stranger to video games, and her next voice acting highlight is a credit to that fact. Park is actually one of the main Japanese voice actors for one of the most beloved RPGs of all time, Atlus' "Persona 4," though only those who dump quite a few hours into the game will get to hear her voice extensively. In the game, Park plays the role of Naoto Shirogane, a teenage detective genius who comes to investigate the mysterious murders in the town of Inaba. The protagonist's mystery-solving group is initially at odds with a suspicious Naoto, but she eventually joins the player's party and becomes their trusted friend.
In keeping with the trend thus far, Park has continued to serve as the main voice of Naoto for subsequent projects beyond "Persona 4." She's returned as the character in the enhanced port "Persona 4 Golden," and she also earned credits working on the anime adaptations for both of these two versions. She's also been in many of the franchise's spin-offs, including "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax" and "Persona Q2: Shadow of the Labyrinth."
Kill la Kill (2013)
Romi Park also featured on the main cast for Studio Trigger's iconic anime "Kill la Kill," which centers upon the teenager Ryuko as she uses her magical clothing-related powers to search for her father's murderer. However, this particular anime had the voice actor in a considerably less heroic role than her aforementioned credits. Park portrays Ryuko's mother Ragyo over the course of the series, but the two are anything but lovey-dovey with one another. In fact, Ragyo actually emerges as the main villain of the series, weaponizing her magical clothing empire to seek world domination.
Following its acclaimed single season and OVA, there hasn't been much in the way of additional "Kill la Kill" media. However, when the series did receive a spin-off in the form of the 2019 video game "Kill la Kill the Game: IF," Park returned as Ragyo once again. If future spin-off projects are in the cards, fans can only hope that the voice actor continues playing "Kill la Kill's" biggest villain.
Attack on Titan (2014)
In keeping with this shōnen-heavy list, yet another one of Romi Park's biggest roles came in the form of the mega-popular post-apocalypse series "Attack on Titan." Park joined the series during the first season, and she's remained a regular member of the supporting cast all the way up through the show's fourth and final season.
Throughout the original Japanese dub of "Attack on Titan," Park voices Hange Zoë, a scientist dedicated to studying the cannibalistic Titans and keeping them at bay as part of the Survey Corps. Though she's initially allied with protagonist Eren Yeager in his plight to eliminate Titans from the world, the lead's startling shift in loyalties partway through the series results in the pair finding themselves on opposing sides of the battlefield. As such, the conclusion of Hange's character arc in Season 4 is just as emotional as fans might expect.
A bunch of other roles
If having major roles on some of the biggest anime and video games of all time wasn't enough, these credit highlights for Romi Park are really just the tip of the iceberg for her long and illustrious career. Park is also quite prolific on the side of video games, even outside of anime spin-offs and her role in the "Persona" franchise. To date, she's appeared in titles like "Dissidia: Final Fantasy," "Yakuza 5," "Pokkén Tournament," "Street Fighter V," "Overwatch," and "Fire Emblem Engage."
As far as other major anime franchises go, the voice actor has been involved in projects for "Pokémon," "Bleach," "Lupin III," "Detective Conan," "One Piece," and "Hunter x Hunter," and she's sure to continue making appearances in even more similar projects as time continues on. Suffice to say, "My Hero Academia" would have been hard pressed to find someone more well-suited and experienced for the role of Star and Stripe than Park.