Yui Horie (堀江 由衣, Horie Yui, born September 20, 1976 in Tokyo) is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with VIMS and Starchild. She used to be associated with Arts Vision, but left the agency in 2007 and became freelance for a time. Her fan nicknames are Hocchan and Yui-chan.
In her younger years, Horie was a latchkey kid who mostly stayed home alone due to both of her parents working full-time. Despite joining a volleyball club in junior high, she was unable to enjoy it much. She did however keep herself preoccupied by watching anime and acting out her favorite scenes using a cassette player.
During Horie's first year of college in 1995, she learned from an ad that Arts Vision was offering voice-over scholarships for attendees who passed their auditions. She decided to join and became one of 5 participants who were chosen out of 3,000. While going through 4 years of training, Horie gained several roles that helped solidify her popularity with fans whom she cultivated a strong relationship with. By the time she graduated, her name was attached to many well-known works in the 2000s, even winning Best Supporting Actress during the 4th Seiyu Awards.
For her music career, Horie published several albums independently and even performed solo in large venues like the Nippon Budokan in 2009. Even before doing live concerts, she often sang the opening and ending theme songs for some of the anime shows she starred in.
Another one of her singing activities involved establishing a music group called Aice⁵ which comprised of her, Akemi Kanda, Chiaki Takahashi, Madoka Kimura, and Masumi Asano. Although the group disbanded on Horie's 31st birthday, they ended up reuniting in 2015. As of right now, she and the group are currently signed under the Evil Line Records label. Horie also hosted a weekly radio show called Horie Yui no Tenshi no Tamago which ran for a total of 740 episodes.
Horie's voice is often described as beautiful and clear, though she herself deems it nothing out of the ordinary. Admired by fans for her cute heroine performances, she has recently taken more supporting roles that are less cheerful and soft. She is credited for voicing Hanyū Furude in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series, Chie Satonaka in Persona 4, and Anne in Shokugeki no Soma.
Works
- Female Sanzang - Saiyuki: Journey West
- Hitomi - Dead or Alive series
- Chun Lei, Baihe Tongzi - Fengshen Yanyi 2
- Nepgear - Hyperdimension Neptunia
- Carla - Fairy Tail; reprise of her role in the anime
- Alisa Reinford - The Legend of Heroes: Akatsuki no Kiseki