Akane Kimidori in Dr. Slump is best known in Japanese as being voiced by Kazuko Sugiyama. In English-language releases connected to Dragon Ball broadcasts and related dub credits, Akane has also been credited to Laura Bailey and Carol Anne Day, but the original and most iconic performance for the character is Sugiyama’s long-running Japanese portrayal.

Kazuko Sugiyama is one of the veteran performers most associated with classic anime of the 1970s and 1980s, and Akane Kimidori sits alongside major roles such as Heidi in Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Ten in Urusei Yatsura, Jun the Swan in Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, and Korosuke in Kiteretsu Daihyakka. That broader body of work is a big reason Akane’s voice remains recognizable to longtime anime fans.

Japanese Voice Actor: Kazuko Sugiyama

Date of Birth

Kazuko Sugiyama’s birth date is commonly reported as April 9, 1947. Her official Aoni Production profile publicly lists April 9 and confirms her agency affiliation, while secondary reference sources supply the year 1947.

About Kazuko

Kazuko Sugiyama is a Japanese actress and voice actress affiliated with Aoni Production. Her official profile presents her as a long-established performer with credits across anime, games, foreign-film dubbing, commercials, and television drama, reflecting a career that spans well beyond a single signature role.

For Akane Kimidori specifically, Sugiyama’s performance helped define the character’s mischievous, sharp-tongued energy in Dr. Slump Arale-chan. Because she also voiced other memorable characters in foundational TV anime, her casting carries extra historical weight for viewers tracing the evolution of anime voice acting.

Hometown

Her official agency profile lists her hometown as Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Career Highlights

Sugiyama’s most notable documented credits include Akane Kimidori and Kinoko Sarada in Dr. Slump Arale-chan, Heidi in Heidi, Girl of the Alps, Ten in Urusei Yatsura, Jun the Swan in Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Korosuke in Kiteretsu Daihyakka, Dante in Fullmetal Alchemist, Bokomon in Digimon Frontier, and Bomberman in Super Bomberman. These are the roles most consistently highlighted on her official profile and major reference pages.

She also received a Merit Award at the 4th Seiyu Awards, and the Tokyo Anime Award Festival later recognized her with an Achievement Award, underscoring her status as a veteran voice actress with major historical impact on the medium.

Full Current Filmography

The list below reflects documented credits from Kazuko Sugiyama’s official Aoni Production profile, organized by medium in roughly the same source order. Because agency profiles are curated highlights rather than always a complete database, this should be treated as a documented current credit list from cited public sources, not necessarily an exhaustive career-complete filmography.

Anime

  • Heidi, Girl of the Alps — Heidi

  • Urusei Yatsura — Ten

  • Dr. Slump Arale-chan — Akane Kimidori, Kinoko Sarada

  • Gu-Gu Ganmo — Ganmo

  • Kiteretsu Daihyakka — Korosuke

  • Fullmetal Alchemist — Dante

  • Science Ninja Team Gatchaman — Jun the Swan

  • Digimon Frontier — Bokomon

  • Mahō no Mako-chan — Mako-chan

  • Haikara-san ga Tōru — Ranmaru

  • Cyborg 009 — 003

  • Himitsu no Akko-chan — Moko

  • Magical Tarurūto-kun — Rui Ichikawa

  • Yes! Precure 5 — Desparaiah

  • B-Densetsu! Battle B-Daman Fire Spirits! — Bidamajin, Ababa

  • Fushigiboshi no Futagohime — Camelot

  • Full Moon o Sagashite — Fumizuki Kouyama

  • Yattokame Tanteidan — Matsuo Namikawa

  • Amaenaideyo!! — Jōtoku Kawahara

  • Romance of the Three Kingdoms — Shūran

  • Makoto-chan — Makoto Sawada

Foreign Film Dubbing

  • East of Eden — Julie Harris role

  • Bonjour Tristesse — Jean Seberg role

  • Rosemary’s Baby — Mia Farrow role

  • Goodbye, Emmanuelle / listed Japanese title Saraba Utsukushiki Hito — Charlotte Rampling role

  • Little Women / listed Japanese title Wakakusa no Koro — Judy Garland role

  • Kansas City Bomber — Jodie Foster role

  • Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner — Katharine Houghton role

  • Singin’ in the Rain / listed Japanese title Utae! Dominiku — Debbie Reynolds role

  • Helen of Troy — Brigitte Bardot role

TV Drama

  • Ōke no Monshō — Isis

Games

  • Super Bomberman — Bomberman

Commercials

  • Pampers — Pampers-kun

  • Calbee Brown Sugar — Charlie Brown

Other

  • Takara Licca-chan Telephone Service — first-generation Licca-chan

Critical Reception

Kazuko Sugiyama is generally discussed as a foundational veteran of TV anime voice acting, especially in retrospectives covering the growth of anime in the 1970s and 1980s. A recent long-form interview and retrospective on Urusei Yatsura described her as a renowned actress who supported the growth of early TV anime, while official award bodies have recognized her long-term contribution through industry honors rather than single-role popularity alone.

Useful source links:

English Voice Actor: Laura Bailey

Akane Kimidori does not have just one widely documented English dub performer. Public voice-credit databases list Laura Bailey and Carol-Anne Day for Akane in English-language Dragon Ball material, reflecting different dub/version crediting rather than a single definitive English actor across all releases.

Date of Birth

Laura Bailey was born on May 28, 1981.

About Laura

Laura Bailey is an American voice actress whose career spans anime dubbing, Western animation, and major video games. Her official website and Critical Role profile describe her as an award-winning performer with hundreds of credits, and she is especially well known for anime fans as an early Funimation-era actor.

For Akane Kimidori, Bailey is one of the English voices publicly credited in Dragon Ball crossover-related listings. That makes her relevant to the character’s English-language search history, even though Akane is much more strongly associated with her original Japanese Dr. Slump performance history.

Hometown

Laura Bailey is publicly described in major biographies as being from Mississippi, United States. A specific hometown is not consistently documented in the sources I could verify here.

Career Highlights

Bailey’s most recognizable anime and game roles include Kid Trunks in Dragon Ball Z, Tohru Honda in Fruits Basket, Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Maka Albarn in Soul Eater, Keiko Yukimura in Yu Yu Hakusho, Abby Anderson in The Last of Us Part II, Kait Diaz in Gears 5, and multiple Marvel and DC roles including Black Widow, Mary Jane Watson, Catwoman, and Supergirl. Her Critical Role biography also notes that she won the BAFTA Games Award for Best Performer in a Leading Role and The Game Award for Best Performance for The Last of Us Part II.

Full Current Filmography

The list below reflects documented public credits visible from Laura Bailey’s official site, Critical Role bio, and major public databases used for voice-acting reference. Because Bailey’s full career is extremely large and spread across anime, animation, and games, this is a documented current credit list from cited sources and should not be treated as exhaustive.

Anime / Dubbed Animation

  • Dragon Ball — Akane Kimidori

  • Dragon Ball Z — Kid Trunks

  • Fruits Basket — Tohru Honda

  • Fullmetal Alchemist — Lust

  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood — Lust

  • Soul Eater — Maka Albarn

  • Yu Yu Hakusho — Keiko Yukimura

  • Shin Chan — Shin Chan

  • Blue Gender — Marlene Angel

  • Gunslinger Girl — Henrietta

Western Animation

  • Avengers Assemble — Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff

  • Marvel’s Spider-Man — Gwen Stacy

  • Rick and Morty — credited roles listed by Critical Role bio

  • Pickle and Peanut — credited roles listed by Critical Role bio

  • Guardians of the Galaxy — credited roles listed by Critical Role bio

  • RWBY — credited roles listed by Critical Role bio

  • The Powerpuff Girls — credited roles listed by Critical Role bio

  • The Legend of Vox Machina — Vex’ahlia

Video Games

  • The Last of Us Part II — Abby Anderson

  • Gears 5 / Gears of War franchise — Kait Diaz

  • World of Warcraft — Jaina Proudmoore

  • inFAMOUS series — Fetch / Abigail Walker

  • Injustice 2 — Supergirl

  • Middle-earth: Shadow of War — Eltariel

  • Saints Row 3 and 4 — The Boss

  • Batman: The Telltale Series — Catwoman

  • Tales from the Borderlands — Fiona

  • Persona 4 — Rise Kujikawa

  • Fire Emblem Awakening — Lucina

  • Marvel’s Spider-Man games — Mary Jane Watson

Critical Reception

Laura Bailey is one of the most decorated English-language voice actors working today. Her performance as Abby in The Last of Us Part II earned major industry recognition including BAFTA and The Game Awards honors, while her long-standing anime work gave her a strong reputation among dub fans well before her game and Critical Role fame became mainstream.

Useful source links:

Social Media

X: @LauraBaileyVO (https://twitter.com/LauraBaileyVO)

Date of Birth

Carol-Anne Day was born on March 26, 1986.

About Carol-Anne

Carol-Anne Day is a Canadian voice actress, actress, and musician best known for English-dubbed anime and game work, especially projects associated with Blue Water Studios. Public biographies and press coverage describe her as someone who entered voice acting very young through children’s theater and built a steady dubbing career in Calgary-based productions.

For Akane Kimidori, Day is the other publicly documented English dub credit attached to the character in Dragon Ball listings, which is why her name often appears alongside Laura Bailey when people search for Akane’s English actor.

Hometown

Her publicly documented hometown is Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Career Highlights

Day is especially known for Misaki Tokura in Cardfight!! Vanguard, Four Murasame in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam game and dub-related credits, Marino in Mega Man X: Command Mission, and a broad run of Blue Water-era anime dubbing that includes Dragon Ball, Deltora Quest, My-Otome, Future Card Buddyfight, and Gintama°. Behind The Voice Actors and interview coverage also connect her career to Dragon Ball and Gundam work recorded in Calgary.

Full Current Filmography

The list below reflects documented public credits from Behind The Voice Actors, IMDb, and other publicly indexed biographies available in search results. Because no comprehensive official master credit list was available in the sources I could verify here, this should be treated as a documented public credit list and may not be exhaustive.

Anime / TV

  • Dragon Ball — Akane Kimidori, Teenage Chi-Chi, Cookie, Julie, Nurse, Old Woman, and additional voices

  • Dragon Ball GT — Valse

  • Cardfight!! Vanguard — Misaki Tokura, Mai Tobita, Aichi’s Mother

  • Cardfight!! Vanguard: Asia Circuit — Misaki Tokura

  • Cardfight!! Vanguard G — Misaki Tokura, Misae Anjou

  • Future Card Buddyfight — Paruko Nanana, Gummy Slime Ninja Leaper, Sarutobi Medusa, Misaki Tokura cameo

  • Future Card Buddyfight Hundred — Paruko Nanana Dynamis, Lightning Speed Tsukiusagi

  • Gintama° — Asaemon Ikeda

  • World Trigger — Kyoko Sawamura, Mother, Mirai Hatohara

  • LBX: Little Battlers eXperience — Marie Yamano

  • Scan2Go — P.E.L

  • The Little Prince — Rosetta, The Roses

  • Viper’s Creed — Sakurako Kariya

  • Deltora Quest — Sharn (young) / public summaries also list Gla-Thon in some databases

  • Hunter × Hunter (1999 version dub listing) — Menchi

  • Di Gi Charat Nyo! — Rabi~en~Rose / Hikaru Usada

  • My-Otome — Mai Tokiha

  • My-Otome Zwei — Mai Tokiha

  • Tide-Line Blue — Josie / BTVA truncates the listing in search preview, while public databases identify the role as Josie

  • Fancy Lala — Chisa Shinohara

  • Flame of Recca — Yanagi Sakoshita

  • D.I.C.E. — Marsha Rizarov

  • Doki Doki School Hours — Minako Tominaga

  • Mobile Fighter G Gundam — Allenby Beardsley

  • Strawberry Marshmallow — Nobue Itou

  • Zoids: Chaotic Century — Fiona / Alisia Lennette

  • Zoids: Guardian Force — Fiona / Alisia Lennette

Movies

  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00: A Wakening of the Trailblazer — Presidential Press Secretary

  • Micropolis — Onin

Video Games

  • Mega Man X: Command Mission — Marino

  • Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 — Four Murasame

  • Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 — Four Murasame

  • A Hat in Time — Nomads, Cruise Seals

  • Inuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask — Kaname Kururugi

  • Mega Man Powered Up — Additional Voices

  • We Love Golf! — Yuki

Critical Reception

Carol-Anne Day is typically discussed less through award coverage and more through long-running fan and industry recognition within English-dub anime communities. The most consistent commentary around her career emphasizes her importance to the Calgary dubbing scene, her youth-start in the profession, and her memorable work in franchises such as Dragon Ball, Gundam, Cardfight!! Vanguard, and Mega Man.

Useful source links:

Social Media

No verified official social media account with a directly confirmable public handle-and-profile URL was reliably verifiable from the sources I checked, so I’m omitting that section for accuracy.

Published by Limarc Ambalina

Limarc Ambalina is the founder of Japan Bound, a website covering all things Japan — from travel and culture to anime, manga, and pop culture. He is also the Director of Content at ISNation and the former VP of Editorial at HackerNoon. Based in Japan, he has been writing about Japanese life and entertainment since 2019, growing the site to over 2.4 million views.

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