Wakana Yamazaki

Wakana Yamazaki (山崎 和佳奈, Yamazaki Wakana) is a Japanese voice actress who works for Aoni Production, known for voicing mature and feminine characters.

She voices Ayane in the Japanese voice cast of the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden games, as well as for some of Ayane's non-Dead or Alive related appearences, such as Tecmo Koei's Warriors Orochi series. She has provided the voice of Ayane since the character's first appearence in the PlayStation version of Dead or Alive, released in 1998.

She is also noted as the voice of Sophia Forrester in Last Exile, Ran Mouri in Detective Conan, and Mystina from Valkyrie Profile.

Training
Yamazaki attended Doshisha University for a degree in engineering and participated in the small theatrical group, Gekidan Sotobakomachi, while still enrolled in college. She graduated with a Class II Information Technology Engineer Examination degree and worked at a Omron store in Kyoto after her graduation. Finding that she could continue pursuing her interest in the performing arts, however, she attended Aoni Jyuku (Aoni Production's educational program) in Osaka. When she passed the program, she made her professional debut as a voice actor in the early nineties. Yamazaki's other talents aside from voice acting include social dancing, stage fighting, and Tai chi chuan.