Also known as: Sakurai Tomo · Tomoe Hatta · さくらい とも · 八田 友江 · 八田友江 · 桜井 智 · 桜井智 · 櫻井 智 · Hatta Tomoe
Biography
Tomo Sakurai, born Tomoe Hatta on September 10, 1971 in Ichikawa, was a Japanese voice actress and singer active from 1993. Originally a member of the idol trio Lemon Angel, she worked in idol kayō and J-pop before becoming one of the seiyuu singers of the 1990s, moving between voice acting, character songs, and pop releases. Her anime roles included Mylene Flare Jenius in Macross 7, Meimi Haneoka in Saint Tail, Makimachi Misao in Rurouni Kenshin, the title role in Super Doll Licca-chan, and Cynthia in Pokémon from Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl onward.
As a singer, she also performed "Tatta Ichido no Kiseki (たった一度の奇跡)," the ending theme of The World God Only Knows. After retiring from voice acting, she briefly returned near the end of her life to voice Kaede in the 2024 anime Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again. She died on August 16, 2025, about two years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
