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About Maaya Sakamoto
Maaya Sakamoto is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and voice actress. She was born on March 31, 1980, and currently lives in her hometown of Tōkyō. At the age of eight she enrolled in the Komadori Group, a theatrical and voice talent agency, through which she received work in voice acting and singing jingles for TV commercials. Her debut as a singer came at 15, when she paired up with composer Yōko Kanno in 1995 to sing “I Don’t Need a Promise”, the opening theme to the TV animation “The Vision of Escaflowne”. In the 15 years since then she has released several albums and numerous singles while also exercising her talents in other areas, such as the stage (most notably as Éponine in the Japanese version of “Les Misérables” from 2003 to 2009), voice acting, writing (both essays and serial columns), and radio (her current show, “Vitamin M”, has aired weekly since 2002).
About this site
Although Maaya has gained a significant following beyond Japan’s borders thanks to her countless roles in TV and theatrical animations, news and release information is often limited to Japanese-only sites and publications. This site exists for the international Maaya fan, and aims to provide quality, timely translations of as much of this material as is possible. News considered relevant to fans outside of Japan is generally translated within a day, and other items (magazine articles, interviews, and essays) are translated as time allows.
Here’s what’s in the translation queue (dates are approximate):
- early July
- “the id” 69 from Maaya Sakamoto's Official Site
- late October
- The last part of “Bedtime Story” (continuing weekly up to this point) from Maaya Sakamoto's Full Moon Recital Hall
About the translator
Derek lives in Dallas, TX, USA, where he does tech support for a local college. His true love, however, is studying Japanese, which has captured his fascination since 2001. His current dream is to get into graduate school and obtain an M.A. (or perhaps even a Ph.D.) in Japanese language. When he’s not working or translating, he enjoys reading, walking, and brushing up on the finer points of Japanese grammar. He updates his blog on an irregular basis with random thoughts on translation; the last entry he wrote is entitled “Congratulations” and was posted 202 days ago.