In addition, she also provided the voice of Misa Amane in Death Note, Konata Izumi in Lucky Star, and Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail.

In 2010, Hirano began transitioning her acting career to television and stage plays, starring in Konna no Idol Janain!?

[6][7] After starting her acting career, Hirano began to appear in commercials and received her first role as a voice actress at 14 years old in the 2001 anime series Angel Tales.

[11][14] She also won in the Voice Acting category at the 2007 Tokyo Anime Awards for her role as the lead character in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

[19] In 2007, she continued to enjoy great success in her career, landing the role of Konata Izumi in the anime version of Lucky Star.

[13] In 2008, at the second Seiyu Awards, she won for Best Lead Actress, and also for Best Singing along with cast members of Lucky Star for the series' opening theme "Motteke!

[23] Days later, on August 27, she posted a message on her Twitter account, confirming that she had resumed new voice acting roles in anime.

[24] In 2016, after a stint in the musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood in Tokyo, Hirano spent four months studying English and voice in New York.

[30] Hirano's first solo single under the record label Lantis was "Breakthrough", which was released on March 8, 2006; the title track was used as the opening theme of the visual novel Finalist.

[39] Hirano released her seventh single "Unnamed World" on April 23, 2008; the title track was used as the ending theme to the anime series Nijū Mensō no Musume.

[43] She then released her ninth single "Super Driver" on July 22, 2009; the title track is used as the opening theme of the second season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

[53] This was followed by the song "Zutto Kitto" (ずっと きっと) which was released on August 15, 2012;[54] the title track is used as the ending theme to the anime film Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess.

[66] Once The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya broadcast in 2006, Hirano received widespread media attention and popularity, which led her to be known as a "super idol" in the voice acting industry.

[70] Beginning in 2010, Hirano drew criticism from her anime otaku fanbase when she openly discussed her dating and sex life on the variety show Goût Temps Nouveau,[71][72] as well as the implication that she was abandoning voice acting in favor of a career in mainstream entertainment.

[73][74][75] In early 2011, an acquaintance of a Lantis employee leaked that Hirano had sexual relations with three of her band members, leading to the dismissal of all four of them; in August 2011, Japanese magazine Bubka published photos of their affair.

[76] The incidents caused several fans to destroy her merchandise, create petitions to remove her from her role in Kizumonogatari,[76] and send death threats.