Who is Sayuri? From Erased to My Hero Academia, the late singer's contribution to anime explored

Modified Sep 30, 2024 16:31 GMT

Who is Sayuri? From Erased to My Hero Academia, the late singer's contribution to anime explored (Images via A-1 Pictures, www.sayuri-official.com, and BONES)

Friday, September 27, 2024, saw the official X account of Sayuri, known for her theme song contributions to My Hero Academia, Erased, and other anime, announce her passing. Sayuri passed away on Friday, September 20, 2024, at age 28, with her relatives and close associates holding a private funeral. Musician Amaarashi, her husband, shared via his X account that she had been fighting a chronic illness.

Her passing is incredibly tragic and has rocked the general anime community and the various fandoms within given how shocking and unexpected this news was. Likewise, many are now reflecting on the singer’s life, especially her contributions as a singer-songwriter to the beloved anime medium.

Sayuri’s history as an artist and contributions to My Hero Academia and more, explained

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Sayuri’s career as a musical artist first began in her teenage years. She was a very active member of her hometown Fukuoka’s local music scene, specifically as a singer-guitarist. She eventually formed the musical duo LONGTAL. As part of LONGTAL, she performed in local small venues as well as on the street and in other public places. Her first major solo debut came when she was 19 years old, via the single Mikazuki.

Mikazuki was released in August 2016 and also served as the ending theme song for the Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace anime series. From here, Sayuri went on to have a very successful music career where she performed many other opening and ending anime theme songs.

Some of her most popular contributions to the anime medium include Hana no To, or Tower of Flower, for 2022’s Lycoris Recoil, Heikosen, or Parallel Lines, from 2017’s Scum’s Wish, Sore wa Chiisa na Hikari no yo na, or That was Like a Small Light, from 2016’s ERASED, and lastly, Kokai no Uta, or Song of Regret, from the fourth season of My Hero Academia in 2019. Additional contributions include:

Reimei (Dawn) for Golden Kamuy season 2 in 2018
Tsuki to Hanataba (Moon and Bouquet) for Fate/Extra Last Encore in 2018
Sekai no Himitsu (World Secret) for EDENS ZERO in 2021
Aoibashi for Sing Yesterday For Me in 2022

As of this article’s writing, these are all of her contributions to the anime medium in terms of theme songs. While it’s possible that there are pending posthumous releases for the artist that could be used in future series, this information is unconfirmed as of this article’s writing and purely speculative.

Sayuri’s career outside of anime

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While her contributions to My Hero Academia and other anime series are likely how anime fans know her best, the singer-songwriter also had a very successful career outside of the medium. She released two albums, the first being Mikazuki no Koukai (Crescent Moon Voyage) in May 2017, and the second being Sanketsu Shojo (Hypoxia Girl) in August 2022. Each peaked at 3 and 4, and 13 and 8 on the Oricon Albums Chart and Billboard Japan Hot Albums, respectively.

She also released a hikigatari album, or an album featuring her singing to her own accompaniment, in between her two studio albums in June 2020. This album, titled Me, peaked at 3 and 2 on the Oricon Albums Chart and Billboard Japan Hot Albums charts, respectively. Sayuri also had additional singles not used for anime, such as 2016’s Ru-Rararu-Ra-Rurararu-Ra- and Furaregai Girl, and 2018’s Koukai no Uta.

Sayuri’s presence both in the general Japanese music industry and the anime medium specifically was incredibly significant. She leaves behind a dedicated fanbase in both communities who are actively mourning her passing and celebrating her life on social media and elsewhere.