Maaya Sakamoto

Maaya Sakamoto
Native name 坂本 真綾
Born March 31, 1980
Tokyo, Japan
Ethnicity Japanese
Occupation
  • Singer-songwriter
  • actress
  • voice actress
Years active 1988-present
Spouse(s) Kenichi Suzumura (2011-present)

Musical career

Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Labels
Associated acts
Website
www.jvcmusic.co.jp/maaya/

Maaya Sakamoto (坂本 真綾 Sakamoto Maaya, born March 31, 1980[1]) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actress, and voice actress[2] who made her debut as a voice actress in 1992 as the voice of Chifuru in Little Twins, but is better known as voice of Hitomi Kanzaki[3] in The Vision of Escaflowne. She released her debut single Yakusoku wa Iranai, in collaboration with Yoko Kanno under Victor Entertainment on April 24, 1996.[4]

She has also branched into singing, performing songs in both English and Japanese. As well as being a prolific voice actress, she has also had several successful releases; despite initially only modestly selling, her singles "Tune the Rainbow",[5] "Loop",[6] "Ame ga Furu",[7] and "Triangler"[8] have all reached the top 10 Oricon singles chart: "Triangler" in particular charted at number 3 and remained charting for 26 weeks. Her albums have had similar success, with Shōnen Alice[9] and Yūnagi Loop[10] both reaching the top 10 Oricon albums chart; and her album You Can't Catch Me, released on January 12, 2011, became her first release to ever reach number 1.[11] She held a concert at the Nippon Budokan on March 31, 2010, her thirtieth birthday.[12] She is also the Japanese voice dub-over artist for Natalie Portman.

Biography

Born in Tokyo, Sakamoto grew up in a family formed by her parents and her older brother.[13] She started working as a voice actress in a very early age, and the first leading role she was given was in the 1993 OVA Little Twins,[14]

In 1996, she was given the role of Hitomi Kanzaki, the leading role in the TV anime series The Vision of Escaflowne.[14] For this anime she also performed the opening theme, which was released as her debut single on April 24, 1996. The single was produced by Yoko Kanno, who was also in charge of the soundtrack for Escaflowne. Her first album, titled Grapefruit, was released on April 23, 1997. Since then, Sakamoto would perform theme songs for several anime series, including Clamp School Detectives (1997), Record of Lodoss War (1998) and Cardcaptor Sakura (1999). Since her very debut, all of her music was produced by Yoko Kanno and her music crew, which includes a selected number of musicians including Yūho Iwasato, Gabriela Robin, Shanti Snyder, and Tim Jensen. Since her debut, Sakamoto worked almost exclusively with Kanno and company for almost a decade. Apart from her work as a voice actress and singer, in October 1996 Sakamoto also debuted as a radio host presenting her own program, Sakamoto Maaya no Naisho-banashi, on radio station Nack 5.

In 2003, Sakamoto made her debut as an theatre actress on the Japanese version of the musical Les Misérables, playing the role of Éponine.[14] This year she also starred in her first TV drama Suekko Chounan Ane San-nin, and also played the leading role in the short film 03† directed by Hidenori Sugimori.[15] On the other hand, Sakamoto's 11th single "Tune the Rainbow", released on April 2, 2003, became her first Top 10 single in Japan, peaking at number 9 in the Oricon weekly charts. Her fourth album, Shōnen Alice, released on December 10, 2003, became her first Top 10 album on the Oricon charts and also her last record to be produced exclusively by Yoko Kanno; since this release Sakamoto would involve further in the music making process and production of her records.[16] Her fifth album, Yūnagi Loop, released on October 26, 2005, was her first co-produced by herself along with musician Mistuyoshi Tamura, whom she would continue working in her subsequent records. This album's lead single, "Loop" —opening theme for TV anime series Tsubasa Chronicle— peaked at number seven on the Oricon charts, also becoming her highest chart peaking single at that time.

In 2008, Sakamoto and worked once again with Yoko Kanno for her 15th single, "Triangler", which was used as opening theme for the TV anime series Macross Frontier.[16] "Triangler" became a big hit, peaking at the Top 3 single of the Oricon charts. The single ended up becoming Sakamoto's biggest selling single to date, with more than 90,000 copies sold. The song was later included in Sakamoto's sixth album, Kazeyomi, which was released January 2009 and also peaked within the Top 3. For promoting this album, Sakamoto began her first low-scale national tour, on which she held three concerts in Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo. The tour was later released as her first live DVD on August 11, 2011.

In 2010, Sakamoto celebrated her 15th anniversary in the entertainment industry, releasing on March 31 —day of her 30th birthday— her greatest hits album Everywhere, and also holding a concert at the Nippon Budokan.[14] In 2011, her seventh album You Can't Catch Me became her first album to reach the first stop of the Oricon charts.[17]

Her 2012 Mitsubachi tour concluded with an announcement at her New Year's Eve concert of a new full-length album of songs written and composed solely by Sakamoto, as well as a short concert tour to support it. The album, titled Singer Song Writer, featured two new versions of Sakamoto's previous compositions "Everywhere" and "Chikai", as well as eight original tracks.[18]

Collaborations

Sakamoto first teamed up with composer Yoko Kanno in her 1996 debut single, "Yakusoku wa Iranai" ("Promises Not Needed"), which was used as the opening theme for the anime series The Vision of Escaflowne. Kanno collaborated with Sakamoto up until her fifth album, Yūnagi Loop, which has no songs composed by Kanno. Sakamoto also performed three songs for the series Wolf's Rain, for which Kanno was the composer: "Gravity" (which is sung completely in English), "Tell Me What The Rain Knows" (with lyrics by Chris Mosdell) and "Cloud 9". She performed "Hemisphere", the opening theme of the series RahXephon, as well as two songs for the series' theatrical version RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio: "Tune the Rainbow" and "The Garden of Everything" (duet with Steve Conte). In 2008, Sakamoto and Kanno collaborated again for "Triangler", the opening theme song for the series Macross Frontier.[19] She also performed the song "cream" with HIDE, which was featured in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex mini album be Human. She was one half of the voice acting duo Whoops!!, alongside Chieko Higuchi.

Awards and nominations

In the 23rd Anime Grand Prix, she ranked tenth place under the voice actress category with 126 votes.[20]

In addition, in the first Seiyu Awards, she was nominated for "Best Actress in a leading role" for her portrayal of Haruhi Fujioka in Ouran High School Host Club as well as "Best Musical Performance" for Tsubasa Chronicle's ending theme Loop.[21]

Year Title Award Result
2008 Triangler 13th Animation Kobe Theme Song Award Won
2013 Daddy-Long-Legs 38th Kikuta Kazuo Theater Prize for Theater grand-prix[22] Nominated

Personal life

Sakamoto graduated from Toyo University with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology in spring 2002. On August 8, 2011, she married fellow voice actor and frequent co-star Kenichi Suzumura and announced their marriage on her official site five days later.[23]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Filmography

TV anime

Year Title Role Notes
1996 The Vision of Escaflowne Hitomi Kanzaki,[3] Hitomi's Grandmother
Mizuiro Jidai Natsumi Kugayama
1998 El-Hazard Qawoor Towles
Cowboy Bebop Stella Bonnaro
Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective Riho Yamazaki
Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight Leaf
1999 Omishi Magical Theater: Risky Safety Moe Katsuragi
Medabots Karin
2001 Ghost Stories Miyuki Watanabe
Kokoro Library June, Shuri
Geneshaft Beatrice Ratio
Case Closed Yuki Takeno
2002 Jing: King of Bandits Mimosa
Kanon Mishio Amano
Shin Megami Tensei D Children: Light & Dark Atenna
.hack//Sign Aura
Daigunder Petty
Barom One Noriko Kido
Petite Princess Yucie Aries
RahXephon Reika Mishima
2003 Wolf's Rain Hamona
.hack//Legend of the Twilight Aura
Heat Guy J Princess
2004 Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny Lunamaria Hawke, Mayu Asuka
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Motoko Kusanagi (young)
Fantastic Children Mel
Diebuster Lal'c Melk Mark
2005 Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Princess Tomoyo
Black Jack Yuko Mizuhara
2006 Ouran High School Host Club Haruhi Fujioka
Kanon Mishio Amano Remake
Sore Ike! Anpanman Princess Ocarina (third)
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Princess Tomoyo/Daidouji Tomoyo Season 2
Binbō Shimai Monogatari Kyō Yamada[24]
Mushishi Amane
Naruto Matsuri
2007 D.Gray-man Lou Fa
Death Note Kiyomi Takada
Sore Ike! Anpanman Princess Hatena
Naruto Shippūden Matsuri
2008 Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- Elizaveta
Black Butler Ciel Phantomhive
Soul Eater Crona
Sore Ike! Anpanman Leaf Yosei
Takane no Jitensha Takane Takasumi
Death Note: Rewrite: L's Successors Kiyomi Takada
Duel Masters Cross Shizuka
Birdy the Mighty: Decode Sayaka Nakasugi
Bamboo Blade Rin Suzuki
Macross Frontier Mei Ranshe
Sands of Destruction Machi
2009 Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02 Sayaka Nakasugi
Canaan Alphard[25]
2010 Arakawa Under the Bridge Nino
Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge Nino
Black Butler II Ciel Phantomhive
Cobra the Animation Secret
Star Driver Sarina Endō
Duel Masters Cross Shock Shizuka
The Tatami Galaxy Akashi
2011 Appleseed XIII Deunan Knute
Bunny Drop Masako
Suzy's Zoo: Daisuki! Witzy Narrator
Tiger & Bunny Tomoe Kaburagi
Blade Makoto
Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing Roshanak Babar
2012 Nekomonogatari (Kuro) Shinobu Oshino[26]
Nisemonogatari Shinobu Oshino[26]
Psycho-Pass Rikako Ōryō
2013 Monogatari Series Second Season Shinobu Oshino[26]
Magi: The Kingdom of Magic Scheherazade Season 2
Coppelion Shion Ozu
2014 Captain Earth Moco
Black Butler: Book of Circus Ciel Phantomhive
World Conquest Zvezda Plot Kaori Hayabusa
Tsukimonogatari Shinobu Oshino[26]
2015 Tokyo Ghoul √A Eto
The Heroic Legend of Arslan Falangies
Nanatsu no Taizai Merlin

Original video animation (OVA)

Theatre animation

Web animation

DVD

Dubbing

Live-action

Animation

TV drama

Short films

Appearances in other media

Drama CD

Video games

Musicals

Radio

Webcast

Publications

Serialization

- A monthly column

Books

- An essay collection (out of print)

- A photo and lyrics book compilation

- An essay collection

References

  1. ↑ "Official profile" (in Japanese). Victor Artists website. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ Doi, Hitoshi. "Sakamoto Maaya". Seiyuu Database. July 5, 2010. Archived by WebCite July 8, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Cast list @ Bandai's Escaflowne Official Website" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  4. ↑ "Oricon past rankings for Yakusoku wa Iranai" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  5. ↑ "Tune the Rainbow Past Rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  6. ↑ "Loop Past Rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  7. ↑ "Ame ga Furu Past Rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  8. ↑ "Triangler Past Rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  9. ↑ "Shōnen Alice Past Rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  10. ↑ "Yūnagi Loop Past Rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  11. ↑ "Maaya Sakamoto earns first no.1 album on weekly chart". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
  12. ↑ "CDデビュー15周年を記念して、坂本真綾の武道館ライブが決定!!" (in Japanese). Famitsu. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2010-01-04. 2010年3月31日（水）、坂本真綾の誕生日当日に武道館でLIVEが開催される。
  13. ↑ "the id, March 2002" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 "坂本真綾のプロフィール・ヒストリーならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  15. ↑ オリジナルショートムービー 「０３ † 」(ゼロサンクロス). *- Victor artist web site 坂本真綾 【I.D.】 (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment Japan. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 ""坂本真綾×菅野よう子"が再び！TVアニメ『マクロスF』OPテーマがシングル・リリース" (in Japanese). CD Journal. March 5, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  17. ↑ 坂本真綾、デビュー15年目で初首位 (in Japanese). Oricon. January 18, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  18. ↑ "坂本真綾、8thアルバムは「シンガーソングライター」" (in Japanese). natalie.mu. January 1, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  19. ↑ "http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/maaya/triangler/index.html". Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  20. ↑ 第23回アニメグランプリ (in Japanese). Animage. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  21. ↑ 各部門ランキング　中間発表 (in Japanese). Seiyu Awards. Archived from the original on 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  22. ↑ 第38回菊田一夫演劇賞発表 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  23. ↑ みなさまにご報告させていただきます (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  24. ↑ スタッフ＆キャスト／貧乏姉妹物語 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  25. ↑ "超ハイクオリティーで描かれるテレビアニメ『CANAAN』マスコミ試写リポート！" (in Japanese). Famitsu. 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 スタッフ・キャスト [Staff & cast] (in Japanese). nisemonogatari-anime.com. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Hellsing IV". Hellsing Ultimate. Episode 4. October 11, 2014. Closing credits. Adult Swim.
  28. ↑ "Kemono to Chat's OVA official website" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  29. ↑ "Maaya Sakamoto to play new character in Evangelion 2.0 film". 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  30. ↑ キャスト - チョコレート・アンダーグラウンド (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  31. ↑ ぱんだ　ｄｅ　まふまふ　サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  32. ↑ 03＋ (in Japanese). Kinokuniya. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  33. ↑ "Character information: ジャンヌ・ダルク" (in Japanese). Level-5. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  34. ↑ "http://tekken-bloodvengeance.com/cast.html" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  35. ↑ "TwitLonger — When you talk too much for Twitter". TwitLonger. 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  36. ↑ "Vitamin M radio info @ Official Website" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  37. ↑ "Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta Radio Official Site @ TBS Radio" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  38. ↑ Maaya Sakamoto, Take, ufotable on Galactic Railroad Project - Anime News Network (September 13, 2010)
  39. ↑ "坂本真綾PHOTO&エッセイ集「アイディ。」発売！" (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  40. ↑ 地図と手紙と恋のうた (in Japanese). Kinokuniya. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  41. ↑ "坂本　真綾 ニュース @Victor Entertainment" (in Japanese). Victor Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-02-07.

External links