Miyuki Kanbe

Miyuki Kanbe (神戸 みゆき Kanbe Miyuki?) (born May 7, 1984 — June 18, 2008) was a Japanese model and actress from Kanagawa Prefecture employed by the talent agency Rouge.

She is best remembered for her portrayal of Sailor Moon (in Japanese, Usagi Tsukino) in the Sailor Moon musicals ; other credits include Battle Royale II (2003), Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (theme songs, 2003), Kamen Rider Hibiki (2005–2006) and the related movie Kamen Rider Hibiki & The Seven Fighting Demons (2005).

Kanbe was chosen out of 500 women for the role. Most of her career involved roles that were physically demanding, and she was noted by both colleagues and superiors for going above and beyond that which was required of her. It is also noted that she accepted an offer to work with the production company responsible for Les Misérables upon recovery from the events of 2007.

As late as June 2008 Kanbe had been active and vocally expressing an interest in furthering her career. Aside from acting, she was known to have enjoyed vintage clothing and design, and in a meeting on the June 9, 2008, with Rouge president Masaki Honda, mentioned wanting to broaden her work to include fashion through the means of photography.

Kanbe was cast in the role of Eponine in the Japanese production of Les Misérables, but was forced to give it up due to poor health in February 2007. Since then, she had been in and out of the hospital until her death in Kawasaki City on June 18, 2008 at 4:08 am. The cause of death is cited as sudden heart failure.[1]

She received a private funeral in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture on June 21, 2008 and some celebrities such as her friend Shoko Nakagawa attended it.

According to Masaki Honda, president of the Rouge talent agency, Kanbe died in the presence of loved ones, and appeared to be at peace.

Contents

Filmography

Live-action TV serials

Anime

Animated TV series

Film

Stage

Discography

Single

  1. Taiyou no Rakuen ~Promised Land~ (太陽の楽園〜Promised Land〜) (released 16 April 2003, distributed by Pony Canyon)
  2. Rainbow Notes♪ (released 16 October 2003, distributed by Pony Canyon)

DVD

Photobooks

- Digital Photobook

References

External links

Preceded by
Fumina Hara
Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon in the Sailor Moon musicals
2000-2001
Succeeded by
Marina Kuroki