Levy McGarden in Fairy Tail is voiced by Mariya Ise in the Japanese version and Kristi Kang in the English dub. Both actresses bring a warmth and intellectual brightness to the role that suits Levy’s identity as Fairy Tail’s resident language mage — a soft-spoken but fiercely capable member of Shadow Gear whose love of books is central to her character.
Mariya Ise (Japanese Voice Actor)
Date of Birth
September 25, 1988
About Mariya
Mariya Ise (伊瀬 茉莉也) is a Japanese actress and voice actress born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. She is affiliated with Across Entertainment and has been active in the industry since 2002, making her debut as a teenager in a TV anime adaptation while still in high school. Her early inspiration for pursuing acting came from watching the 1997 film Princess Mononoke during elementary school, which sparked a lifelong passion for performance. After graduating high school, she attended Toho College of Drama and Music to further develop her craft.
Ise’s vocal range is one of her most notable attributes, allowing her to portray characters across a wide emotional and tonal spectrum — from the fierce and combative to the gentle and introspective. Her breakthrough came with the role of Killua Zoldyck in the 2011 adaptation of Hunter × Hunter, a performance that earned her widespread recognition in the anime community. As Levy McGarden, Ise channels a quiet earnestness and intellectual curiosity that makes the character feel grounded and genuine, even amid the fantastical backdrop of the Fairy Tail guild.
Over the course of more than two decades in the industry, Ise has accumulated nearly 300 credited roles across television anime, films, and video games. She has voiced lead and supporting characters in some of the most celebrated anime titles of the 2010s and 2020s, and continues to take on new projects. In April 2015, she announced her marriage, and she welcomed a son in September of that year.
Hometown
Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Career Highlights
- Levy McGarden – Fairy Tail
- Killua Zoldyck – Hunter × Hunter (2011)
- Ray – The Promised Neverland
- Reg – Made in Abyss
- Midari Ikishima – Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler
- Stocking – Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
- Urara Kasugano / Cure Lemonade – Yes! PreCure 5
- F.F. / Foo Fighters – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
Full Current Filmography
The following list reflects documented credits and may not be exhaustive.
Anime (Selected, Chronological Highlights)
- (2004) Aishiteruze Baby – unnamed debut role
- (2006) Air Gear – Ringo Noyamano
- (2007) Yes! PreCure 5 – Urara Kasugano / Cure Lemonade
- (2008) Macademi Wasshoi! – Tanarotte
- (2011) Fairy Tail – Levy McGarden, Levy (Edolas), Romeo Conbolt
- (2011) Fairy Tail OVA – Levy McGarden
- (2011) Hunter × Hunter – Killua Zoldyck
- (2011) Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt – Stocking
- (2011) Tiger & Bunny – Huang Pao-Lin / Dragon Kid
- (2013) Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess – Levy McGarden
- (2015) Durarara!! – Mika Harima
- (2016) Pokémon the Series: XY – Eureka / Bonnie
- (2017) Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry – Levy McGarden
- (2017) Made in Abyss – Reg
- (2017) Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – Midari Ikishima
- (2018) Black Clover – Dorothy Unsworth
- (2019) The Promised Neverland – Ray
- (2021) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean – F.F. / Foo Fighters
- (2022) Chainsaw Man – Himeno
- (2022) One Piece – Kikunojo
- (2024) Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest – Levy McGarden
Video Games (Selected)
- (2011) Fairy Tail: Clash at Kardia Cathedral! – Levy McGarden
- (2012) Fairy Tail: Zeref’s Awakening – Levy McGarden
- (2020) Fairy Tail (RPG) – Levy McGarden
- (2024) Fairy Tail 2 – Levy McGarden
Critical Reception
Mariya Ise’s portrayal of Levy McGarden has been consistently praised by fans of the series for its sincerity and expressiveness. The role is considered one of her signature performances alongside Killua Zoldyck, and her sustained involvement across all nine Fairy Tail titles — from the original 2011 TV series through the 2024 continuation — speaks to the enduring association between Ise and the character. Fans and critics on platforms such as MyAnimeList frequently cite her as a key part of what makes Levy a beloved supporting character in the franchise.
Social Media
Mariya Ise is active on X (formerly Twitter) at @Ma_ri_ya_i and on Instagram at @mariya_ise.
Kristi Kang (English Voice Actor)
Date of Birth
March 24, 1984
About Kristi
Kristi Lynn Kang (née Bingham) is an American former voice actress born in Dallas, Texas. She attended the University of Texas at Arlington and began her career in English-language anime dubbing in 2007, working primarily with Funimation Entertainment. She is perhaps best known to Western anime audiences for her long-running portrayal of Levy McGarden across multiple seasons and films of Fairy Tail, a role she held from 2011 through 2019. Notably, her early credits on the series listed her under her maiden name, Kristi Bingham, before she transitioned to Kristi Kang from Fairy Tail DVD Part 2 onward.
Kang brought a gentle, bookish quality to Levy that complemented the character’s design and narrative role within Fairy Tail’s ensemble cast. Her voice work extended across Funimation’s broader catalog during the 2010s, with recurring roles in several notable series alongside her flagship performance. She was active in the industry from 2007 to 2019, at which point she stepped away from voice acting to pursue a career as a power yoga instructor in the Arlington and Mansfield, Texas area.
Though she has retired from professional voice acting, Kang’s work on Fairy Tail remains her most recognized contribution to the medium. Her portrayal of Levy McGarden spanned the original TV series, both theatrical films produced during her tenure, and the final arc of the original anime run, making her the definitive English voice of the character for an entire generation of fans.
Hometown
Dallas, Texas, USA
Career Highlights
- Levy McGarden – Fairy Tail
- Irina Shido – High School DxD (New, BorN, Hero)
- Maria Takayama – Haganai
- Miharu Shimizu – Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts
- Kyoka Kanejo – B Gata H Kei: Yamada’s First Time
- Yuzuki Fuwa – Assassination Classroom
- Kinuho Wannai – A Certain Scientific Railgun
Full Current Filmography
The following list reflects documented credits and may not be exhaustive.
Anime (Voice Acting)
- (2007) Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone – Additional voices
- (2009) Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance – Additional voices
- (2009) Mnemosyne – Yuria Takimoto
- (2010) B Gata H Kei: Yamada’s First Time – Kyoka Kanejo
- (2010) Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts – Miharu Shimizu
- (2011) Fairy Tail – Levy McGarden
- (2011) Rideback – Shoko Uemura
- (2011) Rosario + Vampire – Tonko Oniyama
- (2011) Sekirei – Yomi
- (2012) Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo – Additional voices
- (2012) Haganai – Maria Takayama
- (2013) Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess – Levy McGarden
- (2013) Freezing – Cathy Lockharte
- (2013) High School DxD New – Irina Shido
- (2014) Psycho-Pass – Kagami Kawarazaki
- (2014) Red Data Girl – Mayura Souda
- (2015) A Certain Scientific Railgun – Kinuho Wannai
- (2015) Assassination Classroom – Yuzuki Fuwa
- (2015) Kantai Collection: KanColle – Atago
- (2016) Dimension W – Ichigo Yurizaki, Kiyomi Kato
- (2016) My Hero Academia – Female Reporter
- (2016) One Piece Film: Gold – Lepre
- (2017) Black Clover – Lou
- (2017) Chaos;Child – Uki Yamazoe
- (2017) Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry – Levy McGarden
- (2018) Fairy Tail: Final Series – Levy McGarden
- (2019) Ace Attorney – Vega Mytonbred
Critical Reception
Kristi Kang’s English performance as Levy McGarden is widely regarded as her career-defining role, accounting for nearly half of all fan votes on her Behind the Voice Actors profile. Fans of the Funimation dub have praised her ability to convey Levy’s intellectual warmth and emotional sincerity throughout a role that spanned nearly a decade of the franchise. Her consistency across multiple seasons and two films gave the English dub’s version of Levy a coherent and recognizable presence, and her performance remains a fond memory for viewers who grew up watching Fairy Tail in English.
