Minori Chihara

Minori Chihara (茅原 実里) is a voice actress who has had roles in several anime series, and a J-pop singer. As a seiyū, she works under the agency Avex Planning & Development, while in her musical career, she has been signed under King Records and is currently with Lantis. She was born in the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi and was raised in Saitama. Her blood type is B, and is the middle child of three siblings consisting of an older sister and younger brother.

She is affectionately referred to as "Minorin" (みのりん) by her fans.

Career

 * 2003
 * From April to September, served as the assistant to Mariko Kōda's radio program "Kōda Mariko no GM" through an audition. Coupled with her winning first place at the "Seiyū Grand Prix Club," acquired the right to work in the avex artist academy.
 * In October, was chosen as one of the top 4 finalists for Pony Canyon, Inc.'s "Voice Artist & Singer Audition「VSオーディション2003」" sponsorship contest, but did not win the grand prize. She expressed regret for not winning, but commented about further disciplining herself to reach her dream.
 * 2004
 * From April to September, debuted her voice acting career as Aya Natsume in Tenjho Tenge.
 * In December, begins her blog "minorhythm" and at the same time, releases her album Heroine under King Records.
 * 2005


 * In April, begins work as a host personality for the internet radio program Oshiyaberi Yattemasu along with Masaya Onosaka and Miyu Matsuki as the Thursday group.
 * In May, begins both radio programs Avex presents Chihara Minori no Makenai Radio and Avex presents Chihara Minori no Ikenai Radio.
 * 2006
 * Her blog book "minorhythm" is published in March.
 * From April to September, plays the role of Yuki Nagato in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This proves to be a breakout role for her, and raises her popularity substantially.
 * In July, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya's ending theme single "Hare Hare Yukai" sung with Aya Hirano and Yūko Gotō reaches gold status.
 * In November, receives the Radio Kansai Award along with Yūko Gotō (Aya Hirano was not present during the ceremony due to illness) for the Animation Kobe Theme Song Award during the 11th annual Animation Kobe for their single "Hare Hare Yukai".
 * 2007
 * On January 24, releases the single Junpaku Sanctuary, ending a two-year hiatus from her personal singing career.
 * On March 18, performs in the Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou concert.
 * In May, begins the radio program in conjunction to her blog called "radio minorhythm" on Wednesdays as part of the Lantis web radio lineup.
 * On June 6, releases the single Kimi ga Kureta Anohi, placing 20th on the Oricon charts.
 * From June 29 to July 2, appears at Anime Expo 2007 along with Aya Hirano and Yūko Gotō at Long Beach, California as a guest of honor.
 * On July 7, performs in the "Animelo Summer Live 2007「Generation-A」" concert.
 * On August 16, holds a press conference that is broadcast to 115 storefronts across Japan to announce three important news items: the release of her new album Contact on October 24, her tour Live starting its opening on November 18 as part of her birthday concert, and the release of her PV collection DVD slated for December 2007.
 * In December, releases the PV DVD Message 01. With it, a follow-up track to the album Contact titled "Contact 13th" is bundled with the DVD as an extra CD.
 * 2008
 * On March 26, releases the single Melty Tale Storage.
 * On April 1, her official fanclub "m.s.s. (Minori Smile Seasons)" is opened.
 * On August 6, releases the single Ameagari no Hana yo Sake, placing 17th on the Oricon charts.
 * On November 5, releases the single Paradise Lost, placing 15th on the Oricon charts.
 * On November 26, releases the album Parade, placing 16th on the Oricon charts.
 * On December 7, performs in the "Dream Stage" concert at the Fancy Frontier convention held in Taipei, Taiwan.
 * 2009
 * On March 29, performs in the Lucky Star Concert Called Lucky Star in Budokan -Anata no Tame Dakara- / らき☆すた in 武道館 あなたのためだから.
 * On June 3, releases the single Tomorrow's Chance.
 * On July 12, performs in her first ever South East Asian concert in DaiCon 「DaiCon-大コン-」, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya in Malaysia.
 * On December 23, releases the single Precious One.
 * 2010
 * On February 17, releases the album Sing All Love.
 * On October 9, performs her first ever American solo concert at New York Anime Festival in New York City.

Personal

 * While auditioning for her role in Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny, she sought help from her guitar teacher to learn how to better speak the Kansai dialect required for her character.
 * The release of Junpaku Sanctuary not only ended her singing hiatus (outside of anime) since the release of Heroine, but also prompted the start of her "Re:Birth tour."
 * Although her role as Yuki Nagato in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya propelled her popularity, long-time fans have seen her perform with her guitar on the streets of Akihabara. According to her blog, the last time she performed this way was on April 9, 2006.
 * One of her hobbies includes playing her acoustic guitar, which she named "Go-kun" (ゴー君).
 * She is good at playing catch, as her father was a baseball coach, and she was a center fielder for her junior high school team. She wanted to play as an outfielder by any means, because she feared the danger presented to infielders from high-velocity, low-batted balls. She was also attracted to the charm of being able to catch fly balls. Coincidentally, her character Yuki Nagato in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya also played center in the episode "The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya".
 * She is a lover of Tirol-Choco candy (especially the kinako-covered mochi kind). Her favorite types of food include salmon, squash, avocados, and shrimp. She likes to post news items about shrimp-related cuisine on her blog.
 * She is a big fan of Yutaka Ozaki and collected many of his albums before his untimely death. She also enjoys the group B'z, as they have often become the topic of her blog. Additionally, she admits to having belonged to a fan club of Hiroshi Inaba. She is also a fan of Miyuki Nakajima.
 * Although admittedly not good at cooking, she is proud of her curry.

Performance
Leading roles in bold.

Anime

 * 2004
 * Samurai Gun (Ohana)
 * Tenjho Tenge (Aya Natsume)
 * 2005
 * The Law of Ueki (Memory, Tamako Hanamura in Ep. 3)
 * Major (2nd Season) (Ayane)
 * 2006
 * Binbō Shimai Monogatari (Unnamed girl)
 * Humanoid Monster Bem (Remake) (Mitsuki Kisaragi)
 * Lemon Angel Project (Erika Campbell)
 * Lovedol: Lovely Idol (Hina Hōjō)
 * The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Yuki Nagato)
 * 2007
 * Claymore (Awakened Being in Ep. 12)
 * D.C. II: Da Capo II (Shirakawa Nanaka)
 * Dragonaut -The Resonance- (Toa)
 * Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! (Band leader in Ep. 11)
 * Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny (Chouhi Ekitoku)
 * Lucky Star (Minami Iwasaki, Herself in Ep. 12, Waitress Yuki Nagato in Ep. 16)
 * Major (3rd Season) (Ayane)
 * Minami-ke (Chiaki Minami)
 * Over Drive (Takeshi Yamato's little sister)
 * Saint October (Seiran in Ep. 6)
 * Shinkyoku Sōkai Polyphonica (Matia Machiya)
 * Venus Versus Virus (Sumire Takahana)
 * Wellber no Monogatari: Sisters of Wellber (Rio)
 * 2008
 * D.C. II S.S.: Da Capo II Second Season (Shirakawa Nanaka)
 * Ga-rei -Zero- (Kagura Tsuchimiya)
 * Ikki Tousen: Great Guardians (Chouhi Ekitoku)
 * Major (4th Season) (Ayane)
 * Minami-ke: Okawari (Chiaki Minami)
 * Wellber no Monogatari: Sisters of Wellber (2nd Season) (Rio)
 * The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk (Coopa)
 * 2009
 * Minami-ke: Okaeri (Chiaki Minami)
 * Needless (Kuchinashi)
 * Saki (Tōka Ryūmonbuchi)
 * The Tower of Druaga: The Sword of Uruk (Coopa)
 * The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) (Yuki Nagato)
 * Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Sakutarou)
 * 2010
 * Chu-Bra!! (Nayu Hayama)
 * The Qwaser of Stigmata (Teresa Beria)
 * Ikki Tousen: Xtreme Xecutor (Chouhi Ekitoku)

Web Anime

 * 2009
 * Nyoro~n Churuya-san (Yuki Nagato)
 * The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya-chan (Yuki Nagato)

OVA

 * Kyo no Gononi (Tsubasa Kawai)
 * Lucky ☆ Star OVA (Minami Iwasaki)
 * Mars of Destruction (Kurita Aoi)
 * Murder Princess (Unnamed girl)
 * My-Otome 0~S.ifr~ (Raquel Mayol)
 * Space Symphony Maetel: Galaxy Express 999 (Arena)
 * Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight (Aya Natsume)
 * Tenkuu Danzai Skelter+Heaven (Ayaka Matsumoto)

Film

 * 2010
 * The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (Yuki Nagato)

Game

 * Avalon Code (Neaki)
 * Busou Shinki BATTLE RONDO (Strarf)
 * étude prologue ～Yureugoku Kokoro no Katachi～ (Asami Hagiwara)
 * Haruhi Suzumiya series as Yuki Nagato:
 * The Promise of Haruhi Suzumiya (PSP)
 * The Perplexity of Haruhi Suzumiya (PS2)
 * The Excitement of Haruhi Suzumiya (Wii)
 * The Series of Haruhi Suzumiya (NDS)
 * The Parallel of Haruhi Suzumiya (Wii)
 * 'Ikki Tousen series as Chouhi Ekitoku''':
 * Ikki Tousen: Shining Dragon (PS2)
 * Ikki Tousen: Eloquent Fist (PSP)
 * Lucky ☆ Star: Ryōō Gakuen Ōtōsai (Minami Iwasaki)
 * Lux-Pain (Natsuki Venefsukja)
 * Mars of Destruction (Aoi Kurita)
 * Memories Off #5 encore (Akina Ichijo)
 * Shōkan Shōjo -ElementalGirl Calling- (Uzuki)
 * Summon Night X: Tears Crown (Phara Mir Celestia)
 * Tenkuu Danzai Skelter+Heaven (Ayaka Matsumoto)
 * The Kōshōnin (Lina Hanashita)
 * Blaze Union: Story to Reach the Future (Eater, Lapis)
 * Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (Sofia)

Drama CD

 * B Gata H Kei (Kyouka Kanejyou)
 * Franken Fran (Veronica Madaraki)
 * Lovedol: Lovely Idol (Hina Hōjō)
 * The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Sound Around (Yuki Nagato)
 * My-HiME Destiny (Mayo Kagura)
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (Tanikawa Yuzu)

Radio

 * Kōda Mariko no GM (April to September 2003)
 * avex presents Chihara Minori no Makenai Radio (Ended)
 * avex presents Chihara Minori no Ikenai Radio (Ended)
 * SOS Dan Radio Shibu (Ended)
 * Oshaberi Yattemasu Thursdays (Graduated)
 * Chihara Minori radio minorhythm (Still running)


 * Chihara Minori's fans Contact (A&G Super RADIO SHOW 〜AniSuper〜: October 6, 2007 to October 27, 2007)
 * Ga-rei -Zero- Supernatural Disaster Countermeasure Radio Room (Lantis web radio: October 18, 2008)

Television

 * pam!TV(Navigator)

Drama

 * Cross Chord (Mika)

Live events

 * Debut 1st Anniversary Commemoration Event ～minorin★Spring Celebration 2005～ (April 10, 2005)
 * Birthday Event ～minorin★Birthday Celebration 2005～ (November 20, 2005)
 * Debut 2nd Anniversary Commemoration Event ～minorin★Spring Celebration 2006～ (April 22, 2006)
 * Love Live 2006 ～Minori Chihara Birthday～ (November 18, 2006)
 * i melody 〜Minori Chihara Birthday Live 2007〜 (November 18, 2007)
 * Starchild Presents ～Starchild Collection～
 * Minori Chihara 1st Live Tour 2008 ～Contact～ (March 9, March 16, March 22, March 23)
 * Minori Chihara's radio minorhythm Sound Recording Release (September 13, 2008)
 * Minori Chihara Live Tour 2009 〜Parade〜 (February-March 2009)
 * Minori Chihara Live at DaiCon (Malaysia) 「DaiCon-大コン-」 (July 11-12, 2009)
 * Minori Chihara Live 2009 "Summer Camp" (August 1-2, 2009)
 * Minori Chihara Live 2010 "Invasion Tour" at NYAF/NYCC (October 10, 2010)

Additional work

 * Blister Pack V♀ices


 * True Love: Winter Best Songs (Commercial narration)
 * True Love: Spring Memorial Songs (Commercial narration)
 * Natsu Monogatari: Summer Best Songs (Commercial narration)

DVD

 * Message 01, released December 26, 2007
 * Minori Chihara 1st Live Tour 2008 Contact DVD, released June 25, 2008
 * Message 02, released February 4, 2009
 * Minori Chihara Live Tour 2009 Parade DVD, released June 24, 2009
 * Message 03, released April 10, 2010

Book

 * Minorhythm, published March 30, 2006