Minori Chihara

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Minori Chihara 茅原実里

Background information
Birth name	茅原実里 (Chihara Minori)
Also known as	みのりん (Minorin)
Born	November 18 1980 (1980-11-18) (age 27) Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
Genre(s)	J-pop
Occupation(s)	Seiyū, J-pop singer
Years active	2004-present
Label(s)	King, Avex, Lantis
Website	chiharaminori.jp

Minori Chihara (茅原実里, Chihara Minori^?, born November 18, 1980) is a seiyū who has had roles in several anime series, and a J-pop singer. In her musical career, she has been signed under King Records, Avex Trax, and is now currently with Lantis.^[1] She was born in the city of Utsunomiya, Tochigi and was raised in Saitama. Her blood type is B, and is the middle child of three siblings consisting of an older sister and younger brother.^[2] She is affectionately referred to as "Minorin" (みのりん) by her fans.

Summary

Career

2003

From April to September, served as the assistant to Mariko Kōda's radio program "Kōda Mariko no GM" through an audition. Coupled with her winning first place at the "Seiyū Grand Prix Club," acquired the right to work in the avex artist academy.^[3]
In October, was chosen as one of the top 4 finalists for Pony Canyon, Inc.'s "VOICE ARTIST&SINGER AUDITION「VSオーディション2003」" sponsorship contest, but did not win the grand prize. She expressed regret for not winning, but commented about further disciplining herself to reach her dream.^[4]

2004

From April to September, debuted her seiyū career as Aya Natsume in Tenjho Tenge.
In December, begins her blog "minorhythm" and at the same time, releases her album HEROINE under King Records.

2005

In April, begins work as a host personality for the internet radio program "Oshiyaberiya Temasu" along with Masaya Onosaka and Miyu Matsuki as the "Thursday" group.
In May, begins both radio programs "avex presents Chihara Minori no Makenai Radio" and "avex presents Chihara Minori no Ikenai Radio."

2006

Her blog book "minorhythm" is published in March.
From April to September, plays the role of Yuki Nagato in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This proves to be a breakout role for her, and raises her popularity substantially.
In July, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya's ending theme single "Hare Hare Yukai" sung with Aya Hirano and Yūko Gotō reaches gold status.
In November, receives the Radio Kansai Award along with Yūko Gotō (Aya Hirano was not present during the ceremony due to illness)^[5] for the Animation Kobe Theme Song Award during the 11th annual Animation Kobe for their single "Hare Hare Yukai."

2007

In January, releases the single Junpaku Sanctuary, ending a two-year hiatus from her personal singing career.
On March 18, performs in the Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou concert.^[6]
In May, begins the radio program in conjunction to her blog called "radio minorhythm" on Wednesdays as part of the Lantis web radio lineup.
In June, releases the single Kimi ga Kureta Anohi, placing 20th on the Oricon charts.
From June 29 to July 2, appears at Anime Expo 2007 along with Aya Hirano and Yūko Gotō at Long Beach, California as a guest of honor.^[7]
On July 7, performs in the "Animelo Summer Live 2007「Generation-A」" concert.^[8]
On August 16, holds a press conference that is broadcast to 115 storefronts across Japan to announce three important news items: the release of her new album Contact on October 24, her tour Live starting its opening on November 18 as part of her birthday concert, and the release of her PV collection DVD slated for December 2007.^[9]
In December, releases the PV DVD Message 01. With it, a follow-up track to the album Contact titled "Contact 13th" is bundled with the DVD as an extra CD.^[10]

2008

A new single is tentatively scheduled to be released on March 26.

Personal

When auditioning for her role in Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny, she sought help from her guitar teacher to learn how to better speak the kansai dialect required for her character.
The release of Junpaku Sanctuary not only ended her singing hiatus (outside of anime) since the release of HEROINE, but also prompted the start of her "Re:Birth tour."^[11]
Although her role as Yuki Nagato in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya propelled her popularity, long-time fans have seen her perform with her guitar on the streets of Akihabara. According to her blog, the last time she performed this way was on April 9, 2006.^[12]
One of her hobbies includes playing her acoustic guitar, which she named "Go-kun" (ゴー君).
She is good at playing catch, as her father was a baseball coach, and she was a center fielder for her junior high school team. She wanted to play as an outfielder by any means, because she feared the danger presented to infielders from high-velocity, low-batted balls. She was also attracted to the charm of being able to catch fly balls. Coincidentally, her character Yuki Nagato in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya also played center in the episode "The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya."
She is a lover of Tirol-Choco candy (especially the kinako-covered mochi kind). Her favorite types of food include salmon, squash, avocados, and shrimp. She likes to post news items about shrimp-related cuisine on her blog.
She is a big fan of Yutaka Ozaki and collected many of his albums before his untimely death. She also enjoys the group B'z, as they have often become the topic of her blog. Additionally, she admits to having belonged to a fan club of Hiroshi Inaba. She is also a fan of Miyuki Nakajima.
Although admittedly not good at cooking, she is proud of her curry.

Performance

Leading roles in bold.

Anime

Minori in an episode of Lucky ☆ Star.

2004

Tenjho Tenge (Aya Natsume)
Samurai Gun (Ohana)

2005

The Law of Ueki (Memory, Tamako Hanamura in Ep. 3)
Major (2nd Season) (Ayane)

2006

Lemon Angel Project (Erika Campbell)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Yuki Nagato)
Binbō Shimai Monogatari (Unnamed girl)
Humanoid Monster Bem (Remake) (Mitsuki Kisaragi)
Lovedol ～Lovely Idol～ (Hina Hōjō)

2007

Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny (Chouhi Ekitoku)
Venus Versus Virus (Sumire Takahana)
Wellber no Monogatari ～Sisters of Wellber～ (Rio)
Over Drive (Takeshi Yamato's little sister)
Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! (Band leader in Ep. 11)
Saint October (Seiran in Ep. 6)
Claymore (Awakened Claymore in Ep. 12)
Shinkyoku Sōkai Polyphonica (Matia Machiya)
Lucky ☆ Star (Minami Iwasaki, Herself in Ep. 12, Waitress Yuki Nagato in Ep. 16)
D.C. II ～Da Capo II～ (Shirakawa Nanaka)
Dragonaut -The Resonance- (Toa)
Minami-ke (Chiaki Minami)
Major (3rd Season) (Ayane)

2008

Minami-ke 〜Okawari〜 (Chiaki Minami)
D.C. II S.S. ～Da Capo II Second Season～ (Shirakawa Nanaka)

OVA

Space Symphony Maetel～Galaxy Express 999～ (Arena)
Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight (Aya Natsume)
Kyo no Gononi (Tsubasa Kawai)
Tenkuu Danzai Skelter+Heaven (Ayaka Matsumoto)
Mars of Destruction (Kurita Aoi)
Murder Princess (Unnamed girl)
My-Otome 0 (Raquel Mayol)

Games

Tenkuu Danzai Skelter+Heaven (Ayaka Matsumoto)
Mars of Destruction (Kurita Aoi)
Memories Off #5 encore (Ichijō Akina)
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku (Yuki Nagato)
Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi (Yuki Nagato)
Lucky ☆ Star: ～Ryōō Gakuen Ōtōsai～ (Minami Iwasaki)

Drama CD

Lovedol ～Lovely Idol～ (Hina Hōjō)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Sound Around (Yuki Nagato)
My-HiME Destiny (Mayo Kagura)

Radio

Kōda Mariko no GM (April to September 2003)
avex presents Chihara Minori no Makenai Radio (Ended)
avex presents Chihara Minori no Ikenai Radio (Ended)
SOS Dan Radio Shibu (Ended)
Oshiyaberiya Temasu Thursdays (Graduated)
Chihara Minori radio minorhythm^[13] (Still running)
Chihara Minori's fans Contact (A&G Super RADIO SHOW 〜AniSuper〜: October 6, 2007 to October 27, 2007)

Television

pam!TV (Navigator)

Drama

Cross Chord (Mika)

Live Events

Debut 1st Anniversary Commemoration Event ～minorin★Spring Celebration 2005～ (April 10, 2005)
Birthday Event ～minorin★Birthday Celebration 2005～ (November 20, 2005)
Debut 2nd Anniversary Commemoration Event ～minorin★Spring Celebration 2006～ (April 22, 2006)
LOVE LIVE 2006 ～Minori Chihara Birthday～ (November 18, 2006)
i melody 〜Minori Chihara Birthday Live 2007〜 (November 18, 2007)