After making her debut as a voice actress, Suzuko Mimori began to rapidly develop and build strength in her career. It was refreshing to hear “μ’s” performance last year on NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, the female idol unit from the anime “Love Live!”

It was announced this year that Suzuko Mimori is perform at “Anime Festival Asia Thailand”, the biggest J-POP culture event in South-East Asia. Let’s take a look at Suzuko’s charm, and how her musical activities are spreading not just within Japan, but around the globe.

Out from her discouragement and onto her favourite path
Suzuko made her voice actress debut by performing the role of Sherlock Shellinford in the anime “Tantei Opera Milky Holmes” back in 2009. Until that time she was an actress in musicals, but left that part of her on stage in order to follow the dream she had held close to her since her schooldays.

Suzuko began learning ballet in elementary school and so was already used to performing in stage. But her turning point came in middle school. She was yearning for a place in Takarazuka Revue and had even studied the music for it, but she was unaccepted. But she decided that Takarazuka Revue isn’t the only place for musical theatre, and so after reorganising her feelings, she turned it around and began aiming to become a musical actress.

She joined the Musical Club during her time at high school and absorbed herself in music, commuting to jazz dance and tap dance schools, as well as vocal lessons, and headed straight for the musical world after graduating. However, every day was a fight, and she was unable to attain the rank of a principal dancer.

What kept her going during those times was her willingness to continue persevering and working hard, and her personality who hated losing. But even more than that was her simple love of musicals.

The path of guidance taught to her by her fans
When the fruits of Suzuko’s efforts finally sprouted and she was able to acquire a lead role in a musical, she reached her second turning point. And that was an offer from the president of a production company who attended the performance, who asked her “Do you want to try out being a voice actress?” It was a kind of destined encounter.

Although confused and puzzled by the offer, Suzuko thought it might provide useful study to her acting. Although she boldly decided to try challenging herself, taking on roles within nothing but anime and games, she has re-experienced days of distress as a result of entering into a completely different new world.

The voice acting she performs for the unit “Milky Holmes” within the anime “Tantei Opera Milky Holmes” is something completely different from being an idol or a musical female actress. It’s an entirely different stage presence, like she has invited a situation where she is unable to follow her feelings from what she has cultivated in her career up to now.

However, because it’s Suzuko’s nature to keep fighting and persevering, the number of fans she has for the same unit has increased greatly, and she was able to make her CD debut. Since then, she has continued to perform at “Animelo Summer Live” every year, and even performed at the Nippon Budokan for the first time in 2012 with the rest of the unit. By accomplishing great achievement after great achievement, the charm from Suzuko’s heart has begun to be felt from her work in voice acting.

Herself as a new Suzuko Mimori
Suzuko had great success in April 2013 where she made her solo debut with her single “Aitai yo… Aitai yo!” In the same year she announced her second single “Yakusoku Shite yo? Issho da yo!” for July, made her first anime main theme song “Univer Page” in October, and then released her first album “Suki” the following year in April. In 2014, she successfully performed two consecutive days at Saitama Super Arena as Sonoda Umi from the unit “μ’s” in “Love Live” and even held her live tour “1st LIVE TOUR 2014 Daisuki”.

It’s clear to see that Suzuko’s powerful performances and singing ability she attained during her time in musicals has blossomed, and not just as a voice actress. Year after year Suzuko has borne fruit, and it’s something only she can do.

This year, in 2016, she is to embark on her first nationwide tour “Mimori Suzuko Live Tour 2016 Grand Revue”, which will end with a performance at the Nippon Budokan on the final day. Moreover, in addition to her 6th single “Xenotopia”, she will release her 3rd album “Toyful Basket” on September 7th.

Then comes “Anime Festival Asia Thailand 2016”, for which Suzuko has promised to demonstrate herself to the fullest as Japan’s representative artist. “Anime Festival Asia” began in 2008 in Singapore. Last year, an estimated 90,000 people attended the festival in Singapore, an event which has grown more and more to span out to other countries to deliver the culture of J-POP.

The event, which boasts its enormity throughout South-East Asia in name and reality, will see Suzuko attending for the second time as a solo artist, continuing on from her attendance last year. She does not intend to let her influential music stop there as she heads to the festival again for 2016. Suzuko Mimori has given rise to many roles in her career, within voice acting, as an actress and as a singer. Let’s keep watching her from afar to see what kind of girl she will become or what she will announce next – perhaps something we have yet to see.

Original Text: Naoko Sugita

Suzuko Mimori Official Website: http://mimorin.com/