Yui Makino (牧野 由依) is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer, and pianist. She is best known for her work in the anime Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle where she voices Sakura and some of the theme songs for the Aria anime series. She is associated with Amuse, Inc. One of her earliest voice acting performances was the character "Sister" in a short-anime movie Bavel no Hon when she was 10. She married singer Yutaro Miura in 2020.

Musical history

Makino took up piano at the age of four. The film director Shunji Iwai discovered her talent for playing the piano when she was seven years old and from the age of 8 to 17. She played piano solos for three of his films: Love Letter, All About Lily Chou-Chou and Hana and Alice. She graduated from Tokyo College of Music as a piano major with the top score in her senior year. She made her debut as a singer in 2005 with "Omna Magni," produced by Yoko Kanno. It was used as the ending theme song for the anime Sousei no Aquarion. In the April of the same year, she also debuted as a voice actress, starring as heroine Sakura in Tsubasa Chronicle and recording several songs for its soundtrack. She released "Amrita", the ending song for the Tsubasa Chronicle film, as well as "Undine", the opening theme for the TV Tokyo anime Aria the Animation, coupled with its inserted song "Symphony". It achieved No. 25 on the Oricon chart. In 2006, Makino released two songs from another TV Tokyo anime, Aria the Natural, the theme song "Euphoria" and an insert song, "Amefuribana." They were released on one product and achieved No. 18 on the Oricon chart. In addition, she released her debut album, Tenkyū no Ongaku on 6 December 2006. In 2007, she was invited to represent Japan at the Japan-China cultural exchange event. She also released two singles for the programmes Sketchbook and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. On 23 January 2008, Makino released her seventh single, "Spirale," as the opening theme of Aria the Origination. Coupled with the anime's insert song, "Yokogao," the single reached No. 20 on the Oricon chart. She also performed her first solo concert at the Fuchuno Mori Geijutsu Gekijo Wien Hall in Tokyo, where she sang and played the piano accompaniment for each song. She released her eponymous second album, Makino Yui in March 2008. It reached No. 22 on the Oricon chart. She graduated from Tokyo College of Music as a piano major in the same month. She held her Holography concert at SHIBUYA-AX in 2011. In March 2013, Makino was hired to sing and be the "Hungry Zombie Francesca" voice in a national campaign to promote the Hokkaido region throughout Japan.

Overseas guest appearances

Filmography

Anime television series

OVA and ONA

Anime films

Video games

Drama CDs

Live stage

Radio

Discography

Singles

Albums

Awards

She was nominated for "best young voice actress" for her outstanding portrayal of Misaki Nakahara from Welcome to the N.H.K.

Other