Misplaced Pages

Kumi Miyasato (Japanese: 宮里久美, Hepburn: Miyasato Kumi) is a former Japanese idol, singer and voice actress who was active in the mid-to-late 1980s.

Early life

Miyasato was born on October 1, 1969, in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, the oldest child to a younger sister (by one year) and a younger brother (by three years). She showed interest in music from a young age, during her Junior High School she said one of her favorite school subjects was music education, she had dreamed to become a singer (and alternatively a kindergarten teacher), and she idolized Momoe Yamaguchi.

Career

In 1984, she participated in a talent scout competition set up by Horipro and was one of the winners in the Tokyo Preliminary Tournament. She initially entered Horipro as a model, however she quickly showed interest in the Megazone 23 OVA project and decided to audition for the role of Tokimatsuri EVE. Her management and OVA producers were impressed by her singing abilities so much she passed the audition and received the role for EVE. Much of EVE's choreography (choreographed by Toru Miura) was video-taped by Kumi herself performing it, and the animators using the video as a reference. On February 5, 1985, she debuted as a singer with the single Senakagoshi ni Sentimental as a tie-in song to the Megazone 23 OVA that would release the month later starring herself. The release put her in line with the likes of other singer-seiyuu idols such as Mari Ijima. In October of that year, she released her first album Hitomi de Whispering (alternatively titled I Only Have Eyes For You).

References

1. "DJ Directory 1987" Sansai Books , February 15, 1987, page 149. NDLJP : 12276264/75 .
2. "Anime Information Bureau" December 1, 1984 (December issue) interview
3. "Anime V" June 1985 issue (first issue), pp. 64-65
4. "Oricon Weekly" March 1985, 3 interview, page 14
5. "Beppin" April 1985 interview, page 18
6. "The Anime" February 1985 issue, pp. 42-45
7. "Artmic Design Works B-CLUB Special 9" October 1987, 10

• 1969 births
• Living people
• Actresses from Kanagawa Prefecture
• Singers from Kanagawa Prefecture
• Anime musicians
• 20th-century Japanese actresses
• 20th-century Japanese women singers
• 20th-century Japanese singers