Maile Flanagan '87 Featured in NY Times for voicing anime character, Naruto.

If you’re under 30, Monkey D. Luffy, the zany captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, in the Japanese manga and TV show “One Piece,” and the ninja leader Naruto and his adolescent son, Boruto, from a different series, probably rank among your favorite animated characters. If you’re over 30, they’re the stars of the biggest franchises you’ve never heard of.

Their worldwide popularity is staggering. Since Eiichiro Oda began “One Piece” in 1999, more than 430 million books have been sold and 848 episodes of the television series have been broadcast. The two “Naruto” TV show ran for 720 episodes.

Fewer people know that the English voices of these rambunctious males are supplied by women: Maile Flanagan, 53, plays Naruto; Amanda Miller, 31, is Boruto; and Colleen Clinkenbeard, 38, is Luffy.

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Source: The New York Times, Anime’s Teen Boys and the Women Who Voice Them