Celebrating her debut single "Yakusoku wa Iranai"
Written by Ross Locksley on 24 Apr 2025
Popular voice actress, singer, songwriter and essayist Maya Sakamoto today marks the 30th anniversary of her debut single, Escaflowne's opening "Yakusoku wa Iranai" in 1996. To celebrate her incredible career, a new website has been launched to celebrate, and you can even vote for which of her songs is your favourite!]
She has played iconic anime heroines across the last 30 years, including Hitomi Kanzaki in Escaflowne, Leila Malcal in Code Geass: Akito the Exiled, Jeanne D'Arc in Fate/Apocrypha, Shinobu Oshino in Monogatari, Merlin in Seven Deadly Sins, Lunamaria Hawke in Gundam SEED Destiny and Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell: Arise. Phew!
If you'd like to learn more about this multi-talented artist, check out the Maaya Sakamoto 30th Anniversary Website. There's even a poll where you can vote for your favourite Maaya Sakamoto song. Much of her catalogue is available on streaming services like Amazon, so now might be a good time to re-acquaint yourself.
Check out this amazing live performance featuring Yoko Kanno - the audience participation is fantastic!
Ross founded the UK Anime Network waaay back in 1995 and works in and around the anime world in his spare time. You can read his more personal articles on UKA's sister site, The Anime Independent.
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