Akino Arai

Akino Arai (新居昭乃, born 21 August 1959 in Tokyo) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and lyricist active since 1986. Her music moves between J-pop and ambient pop, and her singing and songwriting often center on melody, texture, and emotional detail. She made her major debut with the theme song "約束" for the animated film "ウインダリア" and released her first album "懐かしい未来" the same year. After that early period, she continued working in live performance, recording, commercial music, and anime music. In 1997, she returned to solo albums with "空の森" and "そらの庭". Her solo catalog also moves through soft pop and ballad-driven arrangements, and it has been associated with FlyingDog. Anime has remained a central part of Arai's career. She has written and performed music for titles including Record of Lodoss War, Please Save My Earth, Macross Plus, Outlaw Star, Kaze no Stigma, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, and Aria. Among those songs are the Outlaw Star endings "Hiru no Tsuki (昼の月)" and "Tsuki no Ie (月の家)", "Kin no Nami Sen no Nami (金の波 千の波)" for Aria, "Mitsu no Yoake (蜜の夜明け - Honey Dawn)" for Ookami to Koushinryou, "Unknown Vision" for Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, and "Tsukiagari no Monologue (月明かりのMonologue)" for Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai deshou!. In 2006 she held her first overseas concerts in Berlin and Paris. In 2025, her own label announced AREA 61, and in 2026 she marked her 40th debut anniversary with Akinosphere, her first self-cover album.