Minori Chihara

Minori Chihara (茅原実里; born November 18, 1980) is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Utsunomiya, Japan. Active since 2004, her career combines voice performance with anime music, insert songs, character songs, and solo releases. She is known for voicing Yuki Nagato in "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu", a role linked to songs including "Hare Hare Yukai (ハレ晴レユカイ)", "Tomare! (止マレ!)", and "Yasashii Boukyaku (優しい忘却)". Her music is rooted in j-pop and ranges from ballads to upbeat anime theme songs, and she has released work through King Records, Lantis, and Avex Trax. Chihara made her voice-acting debut in 2004 and released the album "HEROINE" that December. After resuming her singer activities in 2007, she went on to perform themes such as "Paradise Lost" for "Ga-Rei", "Kyoukai no Kanata (境界の彼方)" and "Aitakatta Sora (会いたかった空)" for "Kyoukai no Kanata", "Kono Sekai wa Bokura wo Matteita (この世界は僕らを待っていた)" for "Suisei no Gargantia", and "Michishirube (みちしるべ)" and "Amy" for "Violet Evergarden". In 2010 she received the Singing Award at the Seiyu Awards for "Yasashii Boukyaku (優しい忘却)", and in 2021 she announced that she would suspend her singing activities at the end of the year.