generasia:Featured article for 2009 week 45

Sakamoto Maaya

Sakamoto Maaya (坂本真綾) is a well-known seiyuu and Japanese pop singer-songwriter under flying DOG, a sub-label of Victor Entertainment. She made both her musical and voice actress debuts at the age of 15 with the anime Tenkuu no Escaflowne. She is known for her longtime collaborations with composer Kanno Yoko, from 1996 to 2003. During that time, she also started to write lyrics for her songs. With Kanno, Sakamoto released a lot of songs which are still favored by both artists' fans today, notably "Kiseki no Umi" and "Hemisphere". Sakamoto also appears in musicals and is known for her role as Éponine in the Japanese adaption of Les Misérables.

In the year 2003, Sakamoto and Kanno announced their breakup after Sakamoto's fourth album "Shounen Alice". Two years later, she released her first non-Kanno produced single and began to collaborate with other composers to have more creative control in her singing career. On November 11, 2009, she will release her seventeenth single, "Magic Number" which is currently used as the opening theme for the anime Kobato., marking her ninth theme song contribution to an anime adapted from CLAMP's works. Along with "Magic Number", she also announced a special live at Budokan to celebrate her 30th birthday and a special single for her 15th anniversary in 2010.