Utada Hikaru, who is also known as Hikaru Utada and the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter and producer. Born in the United States to Japanese parents, record producer Utada Teruzane and enka singer Keiko Fuji, Utada began to write music and lyrics at an early age and often traveled to Tokyo as a result of her father's job. Eventually, a recording contract with Toshiba-EMI was signed and, under the stage name Cubic U, Utada released her English-language debut album Precious in early 1998, but it was a commercial failure. In the following year, heavily influenced by R&B and dance-pop, her Japanese-language debut First Love was released and became an instant success. Backed by the massive success of singles "Automatic", "Time Will Tell", and "Movin' On Without You", the album sold two million copies in its first week in Japan, topped the Oricon charts for six non-consecutive weeks and went on to sell six million more throughout the rest of 1999. First Love eventually became the country's best-selling album of all time.
Arashi is Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and made their debut CD on November 3, 1999. The group was initially signed to Pony Canyon and released one studio album and six singles—beginning with their 1999 eponymous debut single before moving to the Johnny's subsidiary label J Storm in 2001, which was initially set up for their succeeding releases. While their debut single sold close to a million copies, the group took a mixture of pop and alternate/contemporary approach to its music which attracted core followers, but subsequently faced commercially slow sales.
Maria-sama ga Miteru, often shortened to Marimite (マリみて), is a Japanese light novel series written by Oyuki Konno with illustrations by Reine Hibiki. Originally written as a short story in 1997, Shueisha published 39 light novel volumes from April 1998 to April 2012. The story focuses on a group of teenage girls attending the Catholic Lillian Girls' Academy in Tokyo, Japan. Its storyline largely revolves around the lives and close relationships of the school's student council known as the Yamayuri Council.
Kotoko is a Japanese J-pop musician, singer and songwriter from Sapporo, Hokkaido. Kotoko began her singing career as a member of I've Sound in 2000, and was later signed to Rondorobe under Geneon from 2004 to 2010. Kotoko left Geneon in 2010, left I've Sound and signed to Warner Home Video in 2011. She composes and writes lyrics for numerous other song collections. She has contributed songs to numerous anime and video games including Please Teacher!, Maria-sama ga Miteru, Hourglass of Summer, Hayate the Combat Butler, Kannazuki no Miko, Shakugan no Shana, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, To Love-Ru, Accel World, Phantasy Star Online and Argevollen, among others.
Marina Inoue is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo, Japan. She is affiliated with Sigma Seven. She was signed into Aniplex until 2007. She was chosen out of 2,000 people from the "Gonna be a star" auditions for the title role in the OVA Le Portrait de Petit Cossette.
Hayate the Combat Butler is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenjiro Hata. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine from October 2004 to April 2017. Shogakukan released 52 volumes in Japan from February 2005 to June 2017. Viz Media publishes an English edition in North America. The manga is about a boy who starts a new job as a butler and the events he experiences with his employer. The style of the manga has a comedic gag with a slight harem feel and constantly breaks the fourth wall. The series includes numerous references to other anime, manga, video games, and popular culture.
Maria was an all female Japanese pop band signed onto Sony Music Japan. The band consists of six members. They released their first single on March 8, 2006, titled "Chiisa na Uta". This song is used as the 3rd opening song of the anime Yakitate!! Japan. Also, their single Tsubomi is used as the theme song of Naruto the Movie 3: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, and their single Heartbeat was used as an opening theme song of the anime Deltora Quest.
Lia is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She has performed various video game and anime theme songs, such as for Key's visual novels, Air, Clannad, and Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life, the opening theme for Angel Beats!, as well as theme songs for RF Online and Initial D Fourth Stage under Avex Trax. The Vocaloid IA was recorded with Lia's voice, and was released on January 27, 2012.
A Certain Magical Index is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, which has been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint since April 2004. The plot is set in a world where supernatural abilities exist. The light novels focus on Tōma Kamijō, a young high school student in Academy City who has an unusual ability, as he encounters an English nun named Index. His ability and relationship with Index proves dangerous to other sorcerers and Espers who want to discover the secrets behind him and Index, as well as the city.
Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōji Kumeta. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from April 2005 to June 2012 and the chapters collected into 30 tankōbon volumes. The series follows Nozomu Itoshiki, a teacher who takes all aspects of life, word, and culture in the most negative light possible. It satirizes politics, media, and Japanese society. In 2007, the manga received the 31st Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category. The manga has been adapted into three anime television series and two sets of OVAs animated by Shaft between 2007 and 2010.
Maria†Holic is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Minari Endō, the author of Dazzle. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive on June 27, 2006, and is published by Media Factory. The manga was initially licensed by Tokyopop in North America and picked up by One Peace Books in 2016 after Tokyopop lost the license in 2011. It has also been released digitally by BookWalker, Kadokawa's online digital shopfront. The first anime adaptation animated by Shaft aired in Japan between January and March 2009. A second anime season, Maria†Holic: Alive, premiered on April 8, 2011. Both seasons of the anime series have been licensed by Sentai Filmworks.
Alan Dawa Dolma, known professionally as Alan, is a Chinese singer of Tibetan ethnicity. Alan is known for her signature "Tibetan wail", often incorporated into her music. She is a graduate of the PLA Academy of Art, majoring in vocal music and erhu, which she has played since childhood.
No Sleeves was a subunit from idol group AKB48's original Team A, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group is commonly referred as no3b, a stylized version of the group's name, which is a wasei-eigo term for sleeveless clothes.
A Certain Scientific Railgun is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Motoi Fuyukawa, which began serialization in the April 2007 issue of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Daioh magazine. The manga is a spin-off of Kamachi's A Certain Magical Index light novel series, taking place before and during the events of that series. The manga is licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment, who began publishing the series from June 2011. An anime television series adaptation by J.C. Staff aired in Japan between October 2009 and March 2010, followed by an original video animation released in October 2010. A second season titled A Certain Scientific Railgun S aired between April and September 2013. A third season titled A Certain Scientific Railgun T aired between January and September 2020. The anime is licensed in North America by Funimation.
The Voice is Kokia's sixth studio album, released in February 2008. It is the first of four album releases in 2008 celebrating her 10th anniversary as a singer.
Risa Oribe, better known by her stage name LiSA, is a Japanese singer, songwriter and lyricist from Seki, Gifu, signed to Sacra Music under Sony Music Artists.
Masayuki Ishikawa is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture and Maria the Virgin Witch; both of which were adapted into anime television series.
Maria the Virgin Witch, subtitled Sorcière de gré, pucelle de force, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masayuki Ishikawa. Kodansha USA licensed the manga and released the first volume on February 24, 2015. An anime adaptation aired from January to March 2015.
Garnidelia (ガルニデリア) is a Japanese pop rock duo, consisting of singer Mai Mizuhashi, better known by her stage name MARiA and Vocaloid record producer Yoshinori Abe, better known by his stage name toku.
Miho Karasawa is a Japanese singer from Tokyo who was previously signed to Horipro and is currently signed to Lantis. Since 2014, she has performed under the stage name True. She has performed theme songs for Violet Evergarden, Buddy Complex, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Maria the Virgin Witch, and Sound! Euphonium, among others. Karasawa made her debut in 2000 with the release of the song "Anytime, Anywhere".
