is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Early Wing. She debuted as a voice actress in 1997 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 Idolmaster (all related productions, except for Idolmaster: Xenoglossia), Kurisu Makise in Steins;Gate, Tsubaki Yayoi in BlazBlue, and Ayumi Shinozaki in Corpse Party. She along with Eri Kitamura formed the music unit Artery Vein which is also under the 5pb. label.
Biography 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 stated 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. In late April 2020, she uploaded her Youtube channel.
Career In 1998, Imai won the Grand Prize for the Voice Actress category at the 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.
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, she transferred to her current agency, Early Wing on December 1. She landed her first lead role as Kiiko Kawakami in the OVA Kuttsukiboshi in 2010. As she began expanding her singing career, she 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. Imai's song "World-Line" is used as the second ending theme to the 2018 anime series Steins;Gate 0. Her song "Believe in Sky" was used as the opening theme to the 2019 anime series Pastel Memories.
Filmography
Animation + List of voice performances in animation Year Title Role Notes Source Platinumhugen Ordian Nao Kozuki Touch: Cross Road Girl C Prétear Eiko Galaxy Angel Boy B Steel Angel Kurumi 2: Expression Junior, Student, Clerk Figure 17 Nanami Nakajima Mahoromatic Ando-san Pita-Ten Ken Shrine of the Morning Mist Kukiko Sonoda Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan Student, Reporter Petite Princess Yucie Student GetBackers Nurse Da Capo Students, Children Kaleido Star: New Wings Woman Bottle Fairy Fossil Director This Ugly Yet Beautiful World Woman Hanaukyo Maid Team La Verite Comiket customer Doki Doki School Hours Schoolgirl Midori Days Lovers Burst Angel Schoolgirl Desert Punk Daughter Lime-iro Ryūkitan X Shuro Naoe Hell Girl: Three Vessels Momota Masako –10 Kiss x Sis series Yūzuki Kiryū OVA and TV Fight Ippatsu! Jūden-chan!! Bloody Selica Needless Solva –10 Koihime Musō series Kakuka Shukufuku no Campanella Chelsea Arcot Yumeiro Patissiere SP Professional Gabriel Princess Jellyfish Classmate Megane na Kanojo Aya Ichinohe Steins;Gate Kurisu Makise Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi Orders manager The Idolmaster Chihaya Kisaragi, Yuu Kisaragi Sengoku Paradise Kiwami Hideaki Kobayakawa Place to Place Schoolgirl Sengoku Collection The Splendor Katakura Kojūrō Love, Election and Chocolate Michiru Morishita Senran Kagura: Ninja Flash! Ikaruga Also Estival Versus OVA in 2015 Sunday Without God Tanya Swedgewood Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation Noire / Black Heart Walkure Romanze Rena F. Avery BlazBlue Alter Memory Tsubaki Yayoi –15 Noragami series Mayu Also Aragoto in 2015 Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life Chihaya Kisaragi Guest appearance Puchimas! Petit Idolmaster Chihaya Kisaragi, Chihya Locodol Aoi Anan Momo Kyun Sword Kijigami Girl Friend Beta Yukie Yatsuka Granblue Fantasy The Animation Vira Steins;Gate 0 Kurisu Makise Afterlost Tsuki
Film + List of voice performances in film Year Title Role Notes Source Strait Jacket Rachel Hammond Hotarubi no Mori e Masked child (younger brother) Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryōiki no Déjà vu Kurisu Makise The Idolmaster Movie: Beyond the Brilliant Future! Chihaya Kisaragi
Live action Ultraseven X (2007): Soul of Light (ep 6.)
Video games + List of voice performances in video games Year Title Role Notes Source The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Muv-Luv Archery junior 1 PC adult gameAs Keiko Horikoshi Flame of Recca: Final Burning Kirito PS1/PS2 –present The Idolmaster (series) Chihaya Kisaragi, Yuu Kisaragi All except Xenoglossia Princess Maker 5 Hiroko Sakakibara PC Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka Minato Nagase PC adult game Lux-Pain Lil DS Luminous Arc 2 Fatima DS –10 Twinkle Crusaders Amyrina, Chelsea Akotto (Starlit Brave) PC adult gameAs Hikōkai To Love-Ru: Exciting Beach School Version Mei PSP –10 Koihime Muso Kakuka PC adult gameAs Namiko Yamazaki –10 Shukufuku no Campanella Chelsea Arcot PC adult gameAlso as Natsuki Miyagawa -present Puyo Puyo (series) Ringo Andou DS, PSP, Wii, 3DS, PS3 (since Puyo 7) –present Steins;Gate (series) Kurisu Makise Including other games in the SciAdv series, including Anonymous;Code BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Tsubaki Yayoi Arcade No Fate! Only the Power of Will Mutsuki睦月 PSP Prism Rhythm Caroline Marigold PC adult gameAs Mikage Haida Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland Cecilia Helmold PS3 –present Corpse Party (series) Ayumi Shinozaki 5pb. publisher –present Hyperdimension Neptunia (series) Noire / Black Heart Hyperdimention Neptunia Mk2 characters:* * Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō Chiaki PSP –12 Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi Minato Nagase (from Akaneiro) PC adult gameAs Hikaru Mizusawa Love, Election and Chocolate Michiru Morishita PC adult game as Riko InoharaAlso Portable in 2012 Disgaea 4 Emizel PS3Also Return in 2014 –present Senran Kagura (series) Ikaruga –12 Hakuisei Renai Shoukougun Sayuri Sakai PSPAlso Re:Therapy Ragnarok Tactics Cynthia PSP Walkure Romanze: Shōjo Kishi Monogatari Rena F. Avery PC adult gameAs Natsuki Hasegawa Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai!! S Jinchu Lee PC adult gameAs Maki Nishioka Nendoroid Generation Kurisu Makise PSPfrom Steins;Gate –13 Root Double: Before Crime * After Days Mashiro Toba Also Xtend edition in 2013 Borderlands 2 Lilith Girl Friend Beta Yukie Yatsuka JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle Sex Pistols PS3; succeeded by Kohsuke Toriumi in *R* remaster on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC Phantom Breaker: Extra Kurisu Makise from Steins;Gate –15 BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Tsubaki Yayoi / Izayoi Also Extend and 2.0 The Awakened Fate Ultimatum Jupiel Soraumi PS3 2014Granblue FantasyVira, FridayMobile / Browser / PC Toukiden: Kiwami Mio White Coat Love Addiction Kaede Ohara大原かえで Trillion: God of Destruction Levia Hero Must Die Angel Yulia PS Vita version Skullgirls 2nd Encore Valentine MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies Noire/Black Heart Mary Skelter: Nightmares Cinderella Girls' Frontline PSG-1, Welrod MkII BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle Izayoi 2018–presentAzur LaneNoire / Black Heart, HMS DrakeiOS, Android2019ArknightsLapplandiOS, Android2021Blue ArchiveSumireiOS, Android Artery Gear Margot, Alma iOS, Android
Drama CD + List of voice performances in drama CD Title Role Notes Source Aki Sora Sora Fullmetal Alchemist Elisaエリサ CD audio Kiss x Sis series Yūzuki Kiryū Metal Slader Glory Kisaragi Yayoi如月やよい CD audio Witch of the Kingdom of the time of the earth flower刻の大地 花の王国の魔女 Nanami Nakajima中島七海 CD audioDebut work Scrapped Princess Merchant町人 CD audio
Dubbing Live-action Borderlands (Lilith (Cate Blanchett)) Animation The Summit of the Gods (Ryoko Kishi)
Discography 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 "World-Line", released August 29, 2018 "Niji", released September 9, 2018 (Fan-club single) "Believe in Sky", releases January 30, 2019 "Kimi no Koe no Kazu dake ~Can be strong~", released August 26, 2020 (Fan-club single)
Mini-Albums "Flow of Time", released November 27, 2019
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, 2013 "little legacy", released November 26, 2014 "Words of GRACE", released February 24, 2016 "rinascita", released May 16, 2017 "Gene of the earth", released November 25, 2020 "Balancing Journey", released December 22, 2021
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 8, 2012
Albums Artery Vein, released March 7, 2012
References
External links
at 5pb records. at 5pb. records