| Shoko Nakagawa | |||||||||
| Native Name: | 中川 翔子 | ||||||||
| Native Name Lang: | ja | ||||||||
| Birth Name: | Shiyōko Nakagawa | ||||||||
| Birth Date: | 5 May 1985 | ||||||||
| Birth Place: | Nakano, Tokyo, Japan | ||||||||
| Years Active: | 1990–present | ||||||||
| Agent: | Watanabe Entertainment | ||||||||
| Father: | Katsuhiko Nakagawa | ||||||||
| Module: |
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is a Japanese media personality, singer, actress, voice actress, illustrator, and YouTuber. Also known by her nickname, she is best known as the presenter of Pokémon Sunday, and as the performer of the opening theme from the anime Gurren Lagann.
Born and raised in Tokyo metropolitan area to her father, Katsuhiko Nakagawa, actor and musician, and her mother Keiko Nakagawa, a great-granddaughter of Kazutaka Ito, who is known for introducing and promoting the salmon and trout hatchery business. Her father died of leukemia on September 17, 1994 when she was 9.[1] [2] Nakagawa found escape from bullies by connecting with Pokémon when she was in 5th grade. "When I was a kid, I didn't have friends, but I did have Pokémon."[3]
In the 2006 book, she wrote that her legal name was rather than, which she had been using for most of her life. At the time of her birth, she and her mother had to remain in the hospital, and her maternal aunt was left with registering her in the koseki. Her mother's intended name of was declined due to not being included in the list of jōyō kanji or jinmeiyō kanji that are approved for use in Japanese names. The aunt wrote in hiragana instead, but because she wrote very quickly, the small yo appeared larger than intended and the name was recorded as .[4]
She made her entertainment debut in 2001, winning the Grand Prix award at the Popolo Girl Audition[5] and representing Jackie Chan talent agency. Later, on the "Yume-Ga-Oka Residence" programme on SKY PerfecTV!, she was given Jackie Chan's photobook by Midorikawa Shobō, who were guests on the show. She commented "I thought he was an enemy of Bruce Lee's", apparently referring to Enter the Dragon.
In 2002, she was chosen as Miss Shōnen Magazine.[5]
Her official blog, Shokotan * Blog, opened in 2004, and by April 2006 it had received a total of 100 million hits. On February 2, 2008, the daily Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported that her blog had been accessed 1 billion times.
In 2004, she made a guest appearance in the 38th episode of Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, after having previously appeared as a child in Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman. She later appeared with Katsumura on Men B.
She appeared in a brief section of "Kangaeru Hito" ("People who think") on the Fuji TV network in 2004 as an illustrator, after which she appeared regularly on the later version of the programme which started with minor changes in early 2005, "Kangaeru Hitokoma" ("Thinking about one frame [of a cartoon strip]"). On the Fuji TV show Kangaeru Hitokoma, on which she is an occasional guest, she drew in the style of Kazuo Umezu.
For one year starting in May 2005, Nakagawa appeared as a regular on the TBS programme "Ōsama no Brunch". In July 2006, she released her debut single "Brilliant Dream". It entered the Oricon chart at number 29, with initial sales of 6313 copies. Nakagawa performed at Anime Expo 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Some of her work was shown on May 11, edition of Downtown Deluxe on Nippon TV network, Nakagawa was a member of the judging panel in the "Jump Damashii" section of the Shūeisha publication Weekly Shōnen Jump, starting from Jump number 13 of 2006.
On May 30, 2006, airing of Kasupe!, in the section entitled, "Fuji Bank Celebrity Evaluator", it was discovered that she liked the manga Kachō Shima Kōsaku, eliciting a comment from the host, Sayaka Aoki, that she had pretty "grown-up tastes".
In 2009, she opened a store called "mmts" with the theme of her hobby in Nakano Broadway.
In 2009–2010, she appeared in a series of commercials for Norton AntiVirus.[6] [7]
In March 2014, Nakagawa's book of autobiographical essays, Neko no Ashiato ("Cats' Pawprints"), was published by Magazine House.
In March 2015, the book was adapted as an anime series titled Omakase Mamitasu ("Leave It to Mamitasu") on NHK,[8] which featured characters based on Nakagawa's cat and her late father and grandfather.[9]
In 2018, Nakagawa returned to Anime Expo to perform as part of Anisong World Matsuri.[10]
In 2019, Nakagawa performed the song with Sachiko Kobayashi, which was used as the theme song to the theatrical film ; it is a cover of a song originally performed by Kobayashi, which was used as the theme song to the 1998 film .[11]
In 2020 following the temporary loss of work due to COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point, and she started distributing videos on YouTube, separate from the channel that distributes music videos set up by the office.[12] Since then, her blog has hardly been updated.
In 2021, she posted her swimsuit video on YouTube, and she became very popular with over 10 million views in two months.
On April 28, 2023, Nakagawa announced her marriage to a non-celebrity.[13]
In November 2023, Nakagawa announced that she legally changed her name to be the same as her stage name.[14]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Eyeshield 21 | Suzuna Taki | |
| 2012 | Saint Seiya Omega | Saori Kido / Athena | |
| 2013 | Oracle Fish | Film | |
| Majocco Shimai no Yoyo to Nene | Bahiku | ||
| 2015 | Oracle Fish | Film | |
| Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Season II | Diana | ONA Black Moon arc[16] | |
| Dragon Ball Super | Oracle Fish | ||
| 2016 | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal Season III | Diana | TV Anime Death Busters arc[17] |
| 2017 | Risa Deiba | ||
| 2021 | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie | Diana | 2-Part film Season 4 of Sailor Moon Crystal [18] |
| 2023 | Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre | Mayumi Santo | ONA[19] |
| Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie | Diana | 2-Part film Season 5 of Sailor Moon Crystal | |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Maki | |
| 2008 | Infy | |
| 2009 | Notched-Ear Pichu | |
| 2010 | Proof | |
| 2011 | Aude | |
| 2012 | Keldeo | |
| 2014 | Millis Steele | |
| 2015 | Mary | |
| 2016 | Racel | |
| 2017 | Nurse Joy | |
| 2018 | Riku | |
| 2020 | Karen | |
Shoko Nakagawa is signed to Sony Japan.
| Title | Release date | First week sales | Total sales | Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Brilliant Dream" | July 5, 2006 | 6,313 | 10,459 | Opening theme for Yoshimune | |
| February 14, 2007 | 10,023 | 15,784 | Theme for TBS's program Pokémon Sunday theme song and Wanagona theme song. | ||
| June 27, 2007 | 30,517 | 67,453 | Opening theme for Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann | ||
| "Snow Tears" | January 30, 2008 | 26,068 | 43,450 | Ending theme for Hakaba Kitaro | |
| "Shiny Gate" | August 6, 2008 | 13,564 | 20,316 | Theme song for Tokyo OnlyPic 2008 | |
| September 10, 2008 | 32,906 | 49,368 | Ending Song of the anime film Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Guren-hen | ||
| October 22, 2008 | 13,758 | 20,236 | Commercial song for Fujiya Look Royal Mode | ||
| April 29, 2009 | 23,383 | 38,932 | Ending Song of Gekijoban Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Lagann Hen | ||
| July 15, 2009 | 13,533 | 21,954 | Ending Song of .A special edition of the single features, an ending song for | ||
| October 14, 2009 | 12,407 | 15,027 | Contains the Ending Song of the Japanese Version of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ("Rainbow Forecast") and Shokotan's version of Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl second opening song ("Ame ni Kiss no Hanataba o"). | ||
| "RAY OF LIGHT" | April 28, 2010 | 12,977 | 22,637 | Fifth ending theme for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood | |
| August 18, 2010 | 13,217 | 17,729 | Opening theme for Occult Academy | ||
| April 6, 2011 | 6,506 | 9,006 | Original song | ||
| June 8, 2011 | 12,729 | 15,212 | Second ending theme for Beelzebub | ||
| January 11, 2012 | 8,156 | Theme song for TV show Uchikuru!? | |||
| June 5, 2013 | – | Theme song for game Sennen Yusha: Tokiwatari no Tomoshibito | |||
| December 11, 2013 | – | "Sakasama Sekai" as theme song for game Puzzle & Dragons Z and "Once Upon a Time (Kibō no Uta)" as the opening for the Japanese broadcast of Once Upon a Time | |||
| February 18, 2015 | 16,180 | Ending theme for Pokémon XY anime | |||
| "Blue Moon" | November 28, 2018 | 19,183 | Second ending theme for Zoids Wild | ||
| "Furefure" | September 9, 2020 | 3,275 | Second ending theme for Genie Family 2020 | ||
| "I like you just the way you are."(君のまんまがいいんだよ) | March 9, 2022 | Movie Shimajiro "Shimajiro and Kirakira Oukoku no Oujisama" theme song |
| Title | Release date | First week sales | Total sales | Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 10, 2013 | Theme song of Uchikuru!? Featured artist with Hideyuki Nakayama | ||||
| January 22, 2014 | – | For the movie Gothic Lolita Battle Bear Featured artist with Tokusatsu | |||
| July 23, 2014 | – | For the movie Featured artist with angela | |||
| "PUNCH LINE!" | April 29, 2015 | 15,838 | 22,754 | Collaboration with Dempagumi.inc. Opening theme for Punch Line[29] | |
| October 28, 2015 | 11,958 | Collaboration with Sachiko Kobayashi. Theme song for game Mugen Knights | |||
| "Magical Circle" | November 17, 2017 | – | – | Collaboration with Technoboys Pulcraft Green-Fund. Second Ending Song for the third series of Magical Circle Guru Guru. | |
| November 7, 2018 | – | – | Featuring artist CHiCO with HoneyWorks | ||
| July 10, 2019 | – | – | Collaboration with Sachiko Kobayashi. A theme song for the anime movie Pokémon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION |
| Title | Release date | First week sales | Total sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2007 | 12,579 | 31,501 | |
| September 19, 2007 | 17,836 | 23,964 | |
| March 10, 2010 | 15,343 | – | |
| October 12, 2011 | |||
| October 12, 2011 | |||
| September 24, 2014 | |||
| Title | Release date | First week sales | Total sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 15, 2012 | 7,775 | ||||
| UCHI-SHIGOTO, SOTO-SHIGOTO! | January 9, 2013 |
| Title | Release date | First week sales | Total sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2012 | 14,203 | ||||
| Super Shokotan Best(超！しょこたん☆べすと――(°∀°)――! | ) | February 22,2023 |
| Title | Release date | First week sales | Total sales | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Bang!!! | March 19, 2008 | 32,612 | 45,793 | |
| Magic Time | January 1, 2009 | 26,197 | 40,015 | |
| Cosmic Inflation | October 6, 2010 | 14,453 | 21,459 | |
| 9lives | April 2, 2014 | – | – | |
| RGB ~True Color~ | December 4, 2019 | – | – |
| Title | Issue date | Publisher | ISBN | Photobook information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewel Box | April 1, 2004 | Ascom | First photobook | |
| July 25, 2005 | Second photobook | |||
| April 15, 2007 | Third photobook | |||
| November 25, 2008 | Shufu-to-Seikatsu-sha | Guide on how to use cosmetics/dress up doll | ||
| January 23, 2010 | A collection of illustrations by Shoko Nakagawa | |||
| July 16, 2010 | Kodansha | A manga about the life of Shoko Nakagawa from her childhood. The limited edition contains an extra book with pictures and a pencil box. | ||
| January 28, 2011 | Wani Books | Second collaboration with Mika Ninagawa. | ||
| May 30, 2012 | Kodansha | |||
| January 25, 2013 | Enterbrain | Contains Interviews from the beginning of her career until 2013 and many pictures. | ||
| July 10, 2013 | Shogakukan | |||
| Title | Issue date | Publisher | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 10, 2005 | Goma Books | Entries from November 2004 to August 2005 | ||
| November 10, 2006 | Goma Books | Entries from September 2005 to August 2006 | ||
| January 25, 2008 | Kadokawa Group Publishing | Entries from October 2006 to December 2007 | ||
| January 16, 2010 | Kadokawa Group Publishing | Entries from March 2008 to October 2009 | ||