Macross Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Macross Wiki
1,196
pages
Maaya

Maaya Sakamoto (坂本 真綾 Sakamoto Maaya), otherwise known as Maya, is a female Japanese voice actor, actress, singer, narrator, radio personality and essayist. She was born March 31, 1980 in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo and is married to voice actor Kenichi Suzumura.[1] She is best known known as the voice for Princess Tomoyo in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell: Arise and Hitomi Kanzaki in The Vision of Escaflowne. She is also known for voice dubbing foreign films, often those starring Kirsten Dunst, Jessica Alba and Natalie Portman.

A longtime collaborator with composer Yoko Kanno, with two notably working on Triangler, the theme to Macross Frontier. She appeared on Flying Dog's 10th anniversary event, “InuFes”, where she openly lamented Kanno's absence. It has been said that she has a career unparalleled among other voice actors of her generation. Her blood type is A.

Career[]

Born in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Sakamoto began working at the tender age of eight,[2] singing for commercials and dubbing minor roles in foreign films for films such as Dune, Lethal Weapon 2 and Friday the 13th Part 6. In 1992, she starred in her first major television animation role as a Chifuru in the 1992 Little Twins.

In 1996, she was given the leading role of Hitomi Kanzaki for the Shōji Kawamori-directed anime The Vision of Escaflowne. In addition, she sang the opening theme song "Yakusoku wa Iranai", marking her first collaboration with the composer Yoko Kanno. Her iconic role in Escaflwone made her a famous voice actress, being cast in roles for CLAMP anime adaptations and many others. At the same time, she became a regular host of her first radio program A Story without Maaya Sakamoto on the radio station Nack 5. She also had a very successful singing career, with many of her albums ranking well on the Oricon music charts.

In 2003, she began pursuing acting and was cast as the role of Eponine in the musical Les Miserables. She also starred opposite actor Junichi Okada on the drama Suekko Chounan Ane San Nin (The Eldest Son and Three Sisters) for her television acting debut. She published her first set of essays in 2005. At this point, she had a successful singing career with regular collaborator Yoko Kanno but decided to leave her company to become an independent artist.

However, the pair would again collaborate in 2008 on "Triangler", the opening theme song for Macross Frontier. By April 2008, the song placed third on the Oricon music chart and was selling extremely well. It won the 13th The Kobe Animation Award, the highest acclaim for the "Theme Song Award" category. Sakamoto herself starred in Frontier, and she also worked on the lyrics for several insertion songs besides the opening theme.

By 2007, she was regularly performing in small venues for her live events, but decided to go on her first major live tour in 2009, "Maaya Sakamoto LIVE TOUR 2009". In 2010, Sakamoto celebrated her 15th anniversary in the entertainment industry, releasing her greatest hits album "Everywhere", and also holding a concert at the Nippon Budokan. In 2012, she performed a record of twelve venues and fourteen performances for her “Maaya Sakamoto LIVE TOUR 2012".

In 2011, she debuted her first independent album "You Can't Catch Me", where it ranked #1 on the Oricon music chart, a first for the voice actor. In February of that same year, she also published her first feature essay "From Everywhere", which was about her month-long solo trip to Europe. In August, she announced that she married fellow voice actor Kenichi Suzumura.

In 2018, she performed on Flying Dog's 10th anniversary event, “InuFes”, where she openly lamented Kanno's absence, signalling the level of camaraderie the two shared, and her comfort in performing live on stage. In 2019, she performed in Macross Crossover Live 2019.

Notes & Trivia[]

  • Sakamoto is a big Oasis fan.
  • She played the role of Eponine in the Les Miserables musical from 2003 to 2009.
  • Minori Suzuki is a major fan of Sakamoto's work, and became an inspiration for why she pursued singing and voice acting.

See Also[]

References[]

Credits
Companies
Artdink | Artland | Atelier Musa | Atelier Platz | Bandai Visual | BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment | Big West | FlyingDog | SANKYO | Satelight | Studio Nue | Tatsunoko Production | Victor Entertainment
Musicians / Singers
Akino Arai | Haruka Chisuga | Melody Chubak | Mika Doi | Yoshiki Fukuyama | Kuniaki Haishima | JUNNA | Kentarō Haneda | Mari Iijima | Chie Kajiura | Hiroko Kasahara | Kazuhiko Kato | Yoko Kanno | Mina Kubota | Ami Koshimizu | May'n | Megumi Nakajima | Nozomi Nishida | Minori Suzuki | Maaya Sakamoto | Saeko Suzuki | Nao Tōyama | TOMISIRO | Kiyono Yasuno
Voice Actors
Arihiro Hase | Shô Hayami | Mika Doi | Eri Takeda | Akira Kamiya | Run Sasaki | Nobutoshi Canna | Tomo Sakurai | Aya Endo | Ami Koshimizu | Yuuma Uchida | KENN | Asami Seto | Akiko Nakagawa
Directors
Tetsurō Amino | Noboru Ishiguro | Ichirō Itano | Shōji Kawamori | Yasuhito Kikuchi | Shinichirō Watanabe | Kenji Yasuda
Mechanical Designers
Kazumi Fujita | Shōji Kawamori | Studio Nue | Kazutaka Miyatake | Shigeru Morita | Koichi Ohata | Kunio Okawara | Hidetaka Tenjin
Character Designers
Risa Ebata | Katsumi Enami | Majiro | Hirotaka Marufuji | Haruhiko Mikimoto
Other Staff
Masahiro Chiba | Tsuneyuki Enomoto | Ukyō Kodachi | Akira Inoue | Iso Mitsuo | Koji Morimoto | Toshizo Nemoto | Noriyoshi Ohrai | Hiroshi Ônogi | Thomas Romain | Yoshiyuki Takani | Sukehiro Tomita
TV Series Super Dimension Fortress Macross | Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again | Macross 7 | Macross Frontier | Macross Δ
Events Unification Wars | Space War I | Sharon Apple Incident | Protodeviln War | Vajra War
Movies The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? | Macross Plus Movie Edition | Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: The Movie | Macross Frontier Movie: The False Songstress | Macross Frontier Movie: The Wings of Goodbye | Macross FB7 Galaxy Flow Soul: Listen to My Song! | Macross Δ Movie: Passionate Walküre | Macross Δ Movie: Absolute Live
OVA The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 | Macross Plus | Macross 7: Encore | Macross 7 the Movie: The Galaxy's Calling Me! | Macross Dynamite 7 | Macross Zero
Books Misa Hayase: White Reminiscences | My Fair Minmay | Macross Ace | Macross Dynamite 7: Mylene Beat | Shōji Kawamori Macross Design Works | Macross Chronicle | Macross 7: Trash | Macross Plus: TAC Name | Macross The Ride | Macross 7th Chord | Super Dimension Fortress Macross The First | Macross F ~Secret Visions~ | Macross Δ Manga | Macross Δ Gaiden: Macross E | Macross Δ: Kuroki Tsubasa no Shiro Kishi | Macross Δ: Ginga wo Michibiku Utahime | Variable Master File | Macross Δ: Girl of Al Shahal
Video Games Super Dimension Fortress Macross (Arcadia 2001)| Super Dimension Fortress Macross (Famicom) | Super Spacefortress Macross | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross 2036 | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Eternal Love Song | Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II (Arcade) | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Remember Me | Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Skull Leader | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Love Stories | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Skull Leader Complete Pack | Macross Plus (Arcade) | Macross Digital Mission VF-X | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? (Game) | Macross VF-X2 | Macross 7 -Shake the Heart of the Galaxy- | Macross Plus Game Edition | Macross M3 | The Super Dimension Macross: Aiuchi Typing Valkyrie | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross | Macross Ace Frontier | Macross Triangle Frontier | Macross Ultimate Frontier | CR Fever Super Dimension Fortress Macross | My Boyfriend is a Pilot 2012 | Macross 30: The Voice that Connects the Galaxy | Macross Card Fighter | Pachislot Macross Frontier | Macross Δ Scramble | Uta Macross Sma-Pho De-Culture | P Fever Macross Δ
ONA / Short Film All That VF - Macross 25th Anniversary Air Show | Macross 7 Plus | Macross Fufonfia | Delta Mini-Theater
Concerts Macross One Night Stand | Mylene Night | Macross 25th Anniversary Live: Minmay meets Fire Bomber | Macross Crossover Live A.D. 2009x45x49 | Macross Crossover Live 30 | Fire Bomber 2014 Basara Explosion | ANIME SYMPHONY JAPAN PREMIUM CONCERT MACROSS 35th × Macross F 10th Anniversary | Macross Crossover Live 2019
Drama / Character Album The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Vol. III MISS D.J. | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Vol. IV Distantly Fading Memories | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Vol. V Rhapsody In Love | Macross 7 Docking Festival | Macross 7 CD Cinema 1: Mellow Heart Beat | Macross 7 CD Cinema 2: Melodious Illusion | Macross 7 CD Cinema 3: Galaxy Song Battle | Macross Generation | The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Inside Story~Macross Classic | Macross Frontier Drama CD◎Nyan Dra Dra1 | Macross Frontier Drama CD◎Nyan Dra Dra2 | Macross Frontier Drama CD◎Nyan Dra Dra3 | Macross Frontier Drama CD◎Nyan Dra Dra4
Others Macross 15th Anniversary | Macross 30th Anniversary Project | Macross: The Museum | Macross The Musicalture | Macross: The Museum ver.2.Δ | Macross Modelers | Macross Blue Moon Show Case in Tokyo SkyTree | Macross: The Art 1982-2018 | Macross Bakuon Film Festival | Macross Boys | All Macross Big Voting | Macross Won’t Stop | Shoji Kawamori Expo
Advertisement