Asami Imai

Asami Imai (今井 麻美, Imai Asami, born May 16, 1977 in Tokyo) is a female Japanese voice actress and singer who affiliated with Early Wing. She debuted as a voice actress in 1999 and as singer in 2009 by releasing her first single "Day by Day / Shining Blue Rain" under the 5pb. Records label. She is also well known for giving voices to Chihaya Kisaragi in THE IDOLM@STER (all related productions, except for IDOM@STER: Xenoglossia), Kurisu Makise in Steins;Gate, Tsubaki Yayoi in BlazBlue and Ayumi Shinozaki in Corpse Party. She also coupled with Eri Kitamura and formed the music unit Artery Vein which is also under the 5pb. label.

Early life

Born in Tokyo in 1977, Imai moved from Shibuya to Tokuyama City (currently Shūnan City) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, when she was eight years old. However, it is stated in her official profile that she was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture. She has once revealed that she graduated from Tokuyama High School, was vagabond for around a year, before entering Meiji University's School of Arts and Letters, majoring in Drama and Theatre Arts.

Career

In 1998, Imai won the Grand Prize for the Voice Actress category in ENIX Anime Awards (エニックスアニメ大賞) while she was still studying. Subsequently, she debuted in the following year in the drama CD Toki no Daichi〜Hana no Ōkoku no Majo〜. In 2001, she was chosen as an assistant of the radio show, Tomokazu・Miki's Radio Big Bang. At one point of time in 2006, Imai once thought of giving up her job as a voice actress, but could not bear to leave the voice acting of her role as Chihaya Kisaragi in The Idolmaster to others.

Following an internal scandal, Imai left her agency ArtsVision on April 5, 2007. She then free-lanced under the agency Kaleidoscope for 7 months. On April 22, 2009, Imai released her first major debut single, "Day by Day / Shining Blue Rain" under the 5pb. Records label. In the same year, Imai transferred to her current agency, Early Wing on December 1. Imai landed her first lead role as Kiiko Kawakami in the OVA Kuttsukiboshi in 2010. As she began expanding her singing career, Imai held her first solo live concert on December 25, 2010, and has since held concerts around the period of her birthday in May, as well as December.

On April 18, 2012, Imai was awarded the Best Female Character Voice award at the Famitsu Awards in 2011.

Imai is one of two members of the musical duo Artery Vein, along with Eri Kitamura. The unit mainly performs theme songs for the Corpse Party series.

Anime

Film

Tokusatsu

• Ultraseven X (2007): Soul of Light (ep 6.)

Video games

Drama CD

Asami Imai during an episode of the web-broadcast program "Imai Asami no Niconico SSG"

Asami Imai

Solo Singles

• "Day by Day /Shining Blue Rain", released April 22, 2009
• "Strawberry 〜Amaku Setsunai Namida〜", released October 21, 2009
• "Horizon", released April 21, 2010
• "Shangri-La", released July 22, 2010
• "Frame Goshi no Koi", released February 23, 2011
• "Enrai", released May 25, 2011
• "Hana no Saku Basho", released August 3, 2011
• "Hasta La Vista", released April 25, 2012
• "Limited Love", released July 25, 2012
• "Dear Darling", released March 27, 2013
• "Hoshikuzu no Ring", released June 26, 2013
• "Shikkoku no Sustain", released March 26, 2014
• "Tsuioku no Itoguruma", released July 30, 2014
• "Venus no Harmonia", released August 27, 2014
• "Asayake no Starmine", released June 3, 2015
• "BABYLON 〜 before the daybreak", released July 22, 2015
• "Sabaku no Ame", released July 27, 2016
• "Reunion -Once Again-", released October 26, 2016

Solo Albums

• "COLOR SANCTUARY", released November 23, 2010
• "Aroma of happiness", released November 30, 2011
• "Precious Sounds", released November 28, 2012
• "Kono Kumo no Hate", released November 27, 2012
• "little legacy", released November 26, 2014
• "Words of GRACE", released February 24, 2016

ARTERY VEIN

Singles

• "Confutatis no Inori", released August 25, 2010
• "Last Judgement", released April 20, 2011
• "Pandora no Yoru", released August 24, 2011
• "Kagerou", released August 08, 2012

Albums

• "ARTERY VEIN", released March 7, 2012