---
name: "Minami Takayama"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/minami-takayama"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "5 May 1964"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T13:13:22.883384+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Minami Takayama

Actor. Born 5 May 1964 in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 5 May 1964, Adachi, Tokyo, Japan
- **Active:** 1989–1995
- **Also known as:** Izumi Arai, 新井泉, TWO-MIX, II MIX ⊿ DELTA, 高山 みなみ, مینامی تاکایاما
- **Works often with:** Hayao Miyazaki, Takeshi Seyama

## Fi1m on Minami Takayama

> Minami Takayama's Kiki is eager and insecure without explaining herself at every turn. We value that restraint; her energetic boy leads suit her, though a recognisable voice can leave different characters sounding alike.

In *Kiki's Delivery Service* (1989), Minami Takayama lets us hear how much Kiki wants to do well. She makes that eagerness appealing, but leaves room for insecurity without stopping to explain each feeling. We were moved by how readily we recognised her awkwardness, because Takayama never turns it into an invitation to laugh at her. That matters in a film about finding the courage to get through an ordinary working day.

She voices Ursula as well as Kiki in Hayao Miyazaki's film, her breakthrough in 1989. The work that followed made the energetic young boy a recurring assignment: Rantarō Inadera in *Nintama Rantarō* (1993–) and Conan Edogawa in *Detective Conan* (1996–). Both parts have lasted for decades, demanding a kind of consistency that a single film cannot test. That is substantial work, though the length of a credit tells us little about how well an actor handles a scene.

Her voice remains recognisable across changes of tone and age, and that can leave different characters sounding too similar. Energetic, high-pitched delivery is useful for the boy leads; it does not by itself distinguish one from another. *Detective Conan* gives her a more particular task, separating the child's speaking voice from adult inner thoughts through vocal modulation. This is a useful way to listen to her work: for the adjustments within a familiar sound, rather than expecting an entirely new voice each time.

For the clearest evidence of what she does well, we return to Kiki and Rei Sakuma's Jiji. Sakuma supplies the drier humour, allowing Takayama to take Kiki's concerns seriously without making the film solemn. Miyazaki is kind to Kiki's awkwardness, and Takayama does not mistake that kindness for a reason to make her bland. We recommend the film warmly, with a reservation about its few over-tidy lessons. Start there if animated characters who announce every passing emotion have been trying your patience.

## Biography

Minami Takayama is a Japanese voice actress and singer. Born Izumi Arai on 5 May 1964 in Adachi, Tokyo, she made her debut in 1987 and is known for voicing both Kiki and Ursula in the 1989 film *Kiki's Delivery Service* and Teacher Kosaka in *Whisper of the Heart* (1995).

She has voiced Conan Edogawa in the series *Detective Conan* since 1996, as well as Nabiki Tendo in *Ranma ½* (1989) and Envy in *Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood* (2009). Takayama is the lead vocalist of the pop duo Two-Mix, formed in 1995. She was married to manga artist Gosho Aoyama from 2005 to 2007.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Kiki's Delivery Service* (1989), Fi1m 86, as Kiki / Ursula (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/kikis-delivery-service.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *Whisper of the Heart* (1995), Actor

## Also known for

- *One-Punch Man* (2015), Child Emperor (voice)
- *Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood* (2009), Envy (voice)
- *Ranma ½* (1989), Nabiki Tendo (voice)
- *ERASED* (2016), Sachiko Fujinuma (voice)
- *Detective Conan* (1996), Conan Edogawa (voice)
- *Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple* (2006), Kisara Nanjou (voice)
- *Shaman King* (2001), Hao Asakura
- *Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex* (2002), Kuroha (voice), Chai (voice)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/minami-takayama