| Akino Arai | |
| Birth Date: | 21 August 1959 |
| Birth Place: | Tokyo, Japan |
| Instrument: | Vocals, piano |
| Genre: | J-pop, Anison |
| Occupation: | Singer, songwriter, lyricist |
| Years Active: | 1986 - present |
| Label: | Victor Entertainment, FlyingDog |
| Associated Acts: | Marsh-Mallow |
is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and lyricist for various anime theme songs and shows,[1] including Record of Lodoss War, Please Save My Earth, Macross Plus, Outlaw Star, Kaze no Stigma, Maoyu, and Aria The Origination.
Arai joined Victor Music Entertainment after graduating from university. She worked on collaborations with various artists there. Her first single, "Yakusoku" was released in 1986, and was used as an insert song for the anime Windaria.[2] She also released the album Natsukashii Mirai. In 1988 she left her agency. In 1992, she released the singles "Kaze to Tori to Sora ~reincarnation~" and "Kooru Suna" which were used as songs for the Record of Lodoss War anime and The Weathering Continent drama CD, respectively.[3] [4]
Her activity in anime continued with Please Save My Earth. In 1994, she sang "Voices" for the Macross Plus OVA, where she also was the singing voice for Myung Fang Lone and Sharon Apple.[5] She would later release her first compilation album Sora no mori in 1997. She wrote and performed the two ending songs for the 1998 anime Outlaw Star and contributed songs for Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight. In 1999, she released "Kanaete" for the Puppet Master Sakon anime. In 2001, she released "Hana no katachi" as a song for the Daichis - Earth Defense Family. "Kakusei Toshi" was released for Tokyo Underground in 2002, and "Natsukashii umi" was an opener song for .
In 2009, she performed the opening theme "Mitsu no Yoake" (蜜の夜明け) for the anime television series Spice and Wolf II in 2009, and the ending theme Unknown Vision for Maoyu in 2013.[6] In 2012, she provided music for Shibuya International's 10th anniversary short film called Birth.[7]
Arai has performed at many conventions, music festivals, and clubs. In 2005, she celebrated her 20th anniversary in her music career with the compilation album, Sora no Uta, and went on tour to France and Germany in 2006. On March 24, 2013, she performed at Hong Kong Polytechnic University as her first live concert appearance in Asia outside Japan.[8]
Arai has worked with many different music artists. In 1989, she joined Tomoko Tane on some of her albums. She also worked with Yuri Shiratori and composed tracks for the latter's album. In 1998, she and Yayoi Yula released the album Goddess in the morning. She joined a band called Marsh-mallow which released an eponymous album in 2001. In 2011, she worked with a new music group, releasing RuRu Chapeau.
Arai hosted a weekly hour-long radio show called Viridian House and has also named her website after that.
Older albums and singles were released by Victor (VDR, VICL, VIDL) label, later re-released under FlyingDog (VTCL) on April 25, 2012.
| Year | Title[9] | Catalogue Number (Japan) | Oricon[10] [11] < | -- ADD LATER IF AVAILABLE | Sales[12] --> | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak position | Weeks charted | |||||
| align=left | Natsukashii Mirai | VDR-1284 | 97 | |||
| align=left | Sora no Niwa | VICL-60043 VTCL-60152 | 71 | |||
| align=left | Furu Platinum | VICL-60549 VTCL-60153 | 32 | |||
| align=left | Eden (エデン) | VICL-61214 VTCL-60156 | 35 | |||
| align=left | Sora no Sphere (ソラノスフィア) | VIDL-30073 VTCL-60107 | 30 | 4 | ||
| align=left | Red Planet | VTCL-60301 | 39 | 3 | ||
| align=left | Blue Planet | VTCL-60302 | 38 | 3 | ||
| align=left | Little Piano Plus (30th anniversary) | VTCL-60430 |
| Year | Title | Catalogue Number (Japan) | Oricon< | -- ADD LATER IF AVAILABLE | Sales--> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak position | Weeks charted | ||||
| align=left | Sora no Mori: Arai Akino Best Album | VICL-60042 VTCL-60151 | - | - | |
| align=left | RGB | VICL-60869 VTCL-60155 | 35 | ||
| align=left | Sora no Uta 20th Anniversary Album | VICL-61797 VIZL-57 VTCL-60157 | 35 | 3 | |
| Year | Title | Catalogue Number (Japan) | Oricon< | -- ADD LATER IF AVAILABLE | Sales--> | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak position | Weeks charted | |||||
| align=left | VHMusic | |||||
| align=left | VHMusic2: the first euro tour |
| Year | Title | Oricon[13] < | -- ADD LATER IF AVAILABLE | Sales--> | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak position | Weeks charted | ||||
| align=left | "Yakusoku" (約束, Promise) | 97 | Natsukashii Mirai | ||
| align=left | "Chizu wo Yuku Kumo" (地図をゆく雲, A cloud which passes through the map) | 68 | Natsukashii Mirai | ||
| align=left | "Kaze to Tori to Sora ~reincarnation~" (風と鳥と空, Wind and birds and sky) Record of Lodoss War OVA image song | 64 | Sora no Mori | ||
| align=left | "Kōru suna" (凍る砂, Frozen Sand) | Sora no Mori | |||
| align=left | "Shounen no hane" (少年の羽, Feather boy) theme song | ||||
| align=left | "Hiru no Tsuki" (昼の月, Moon at Noon) Outlaw Star first ending theme | - | - | RGB | |
| align=left | "Tsuki no Ie" (月の家, House of the Moon) Outlaw Star second ending theme | - | - | RGB | |
| align=left | "Kanaete" (叶えて, Grant) Ayatsuri Sakon ending theme | 39 | RGB | ||
| align=left | "Hana no katachi" (花のかたち, Shape of flower) | 34 | RGB | ||
| "Kakusei Toshi" (覚醒都市, Awakening City) Tokyo Underground ending theme | 51 | Sora no Uta | |||
| align=left | "Natsukashii Umi" (懐かしい宇宙, Nostalgic Sea) Kurau Phantom Memory opening theme | 19 | Sora no Uta | ||
| align=left | "Kimi e Mukau Hikari" (キミヘ ムカウ ヒカリ) Zegapain opening theme | 31 | 5 | Blue Planet | |
| align=left | "Kin no Nami, Sen no Nami" (金の波 千の波) ARIA the Origination closing theme | 26 | 7 | Red Planet | |
| align=left | "Mitsu no Yoake" (蜜の夜明け) Spice and Wolf II opening theme | 41 | 4 | Blue Planet | |
| align=left | "Unknown Vision" Maoyū Maō Yūsha ending theme | 44 | 3 | ||
| Year | Title | Catalogue Number (Japan) | Oricon< | -- ADD LATER IF AVAILABLE | Sales--> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak position | Weeks charted | ||||
| Goddess in the Morning (with Yayoi Yura) | - | - | |||
| align=left | Marsh-mallow (with Yoko Ueno, Tamao Fujii, Megumi Maruo and Reichi) | - | - | ||
| RuRu Chapeau (with kiro, Hisaaki Hokari< | -- 保刈久明 -->, and Takashi Iwato) | VICL-63825 | |||