Kikuko Inoue (井上 喜久子, Inoue Kikuko, born September 25, 1964 as 井之上 喜久子 (pronounced identically) in Yokosuka, Kanagawa) is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She has been part of the singing groups DoCo and Goddess Family Club, among others, and is the manager of her voice-acting company, Office Anemone. Inoue tends to play the "perfect girlfriend" or "motherly" role in many series, but she has also played more sultry and provocative roles. She is married and has one daughter. Her current family name is Kumagai.

Biography

Inoue's vocal roles are usually female characters characterized as dignified, reserved, beautiful, kind, regal, mature or domestic. For example, Belldandy, a goddess who is kind, compassionate and skilled at domestic tasks. Kasumi Tendo is an older sister who has taken over domestic duties after the death of her mother, and who acts as a counterbalance to the more rambunctious members of her family. Notably, both Kasumi and Belldandy are almost parallels of each other due to their roles as domestics in a home which could explode into chaos at any moment. She also plays Rune Venus in El-Hazard, a princess and leader of her country; as well as Kazami Mizuho in Please Teacher!, a sensible, strong-hearted alien agent in charge of observing humanity that ends up falling in love with an earthling.

She occasionally takes on roles which are more sultry, such as Corvette, a curvaceous dancer who flirts quite intensely with Mimu, the young heroine. In the hentai OVA Ogenki Clinic she provides the voice of a sex-crazed nurse. Also, as Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, she was an antagonist the main characters have to contend with more than once. On very rare occasions she takes male roles, such as Tsubasa Oozora from Captain Tsubasa ROAD to 2002, as she has stated that these roles allow her to shout, which she finds "liberating".

She is referred to as "Onee-chan" ("big sister" in Japanese) and stayed with the title on her official site and a few albums because of her role as Kasumi Tendo in Ranma ½; this is confirmed in her online profile. She believes that in her past life she was a fish and therefore uses fish as her trademark. She made a guest appearance at the 2007 Animazement anime convention in Durham, North Carolina for an autograph and Q&A session. When asked her age, she often responds that she is only 17. At an Otakon 2009 panel, she explained that the number 17 was an aesthetic choice. After voice acting Belldandy from the Ah! My Goddess anime, subsequent chapters of the manga used Inoue's distinctive style as the basis for Belldandy's character.

She won Best Supporting Voice Actress in the 4th Seiyu Awards.