Quick Facts
Biography
Ai Maeda (前田 愛, Maeda Ai, born 4 October 1983 in Tokyo) is a Japanese actress, singer and model.
Biography
Maeda is notable for performing Shiori Kitano in the 2003 film Battle Royale II: Requiem, as well as for voicing the title role in the anime series Kino's Journey (for which she also performed a theme song to the series, "The Beautiful World"). Her younger sister is Aki Maeda. Ai Maeda came into the spotlight when she was only 8 years old, appearing in a McDonald's commercial. From there her career started off. She modeled along with her sister Aki Maeda when they were young until she was 16/17 years old, when she starred in many movies and TV series.
Maeda is skilled in the piano, Tate (fighting battles on the movie set) and the English language (Ai studied abroad in Canada for a year in 2000). She starred in the 3-D Ghost horror film Shock Labyrinth 3D, which was directed by Takashi Shimizu.
She is a graduate of Aoyama Gakuin University (Faculty of Economics, International Politics and Communications).
In 2009, Maeda married Kabuki actor Nakamura Kankurō VI.
Career
- 1993: Debuted in a McDonald's commercial together with her sister Aki. She was in her fourth year of primary school.
- 1994: Ai and Aki joined the manager firm "Crayon".
- 1994 April: Became a regular cast of the show Appare-Sanma Sensei.
- 1997: Changed manager to "Granpapa".
- 1997: Formed the group "Pretty Chat" with Maya Hamaoka, Yuuka Nomura and Ayako Omura, releasing a single album "Wake up girls".
- 2003: On her 20th birthday she voiced her first anime Kino no Tabi.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Toire no Hanako-san | Natsumi Sakamoto | |
| 1998 | Belle Epoque | ||
| 1998 | Shinsei Toire no Hanako-san | Satomi Kurahashi | |
| 1999 | Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris | Ayana Hirasaka | |
| 2000 | Battle Royale | Shiori Kitano | Voice role |
| 2001 | Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack | Twin girl | |
| 2003 | Battle Royale II: Requiem | Shiori Kitano | |
| 2003 | Gūzen nimo saiaku na shōnen | Female college student | |
| 2004 | Kino's Journey: In Order to Do Something –Life Goes On– | Kino | Voice role |
| 2005 | Azumi 2: Death or Love | Chiyo | |
| 2005 | Gokudō no onna-tachi: Jōen | ||
| 2006 | Death Note 2: The Last Name | Ayako Yoshino | |
| 2006 | God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand | Yoshiko | |
| 2006 | Kamyu nante shiranai | Kiyoko Hisada | |
| 2006 | Nihon Chinbotsu | Nurse | |
| 2006 | Taitei no Ken | ||
| 2007 | Kino's Journey: Country of Illness -For You- | Kino | Voice role |
| 2007 | Saiban'in -Eraba re, soshite miete kita mono | Emi Onuma | |
| 2007 | The Yakiniku Movie Bulgogi | Yakiniku Battle Royale Reporter | |
| 2009 | Asahiyama Zoo Story: Penguins in the Sky | Makoto Ogawa | |
| 2009 | The Shock Labyrinth | Rin | |
| 2010 | King Game | ||
| 2010 | Nanase Futatabi: The Movie | Mayumi Ruri | |
| 2010 | Wakiyaku Monogatari | Sakura |
Discography
Mini-albums
- Night Fly [2005.03.16]
Singles
- the Beautiful World
The title track was used in Kino's Journey ending theme