Sayaka Kanda (Japanese: 神田 沙也加, Hepburn: Kanda Sayaka, October 1, 1986 – December 18, 2021) was a Japanese actress and singer. She was the only child of actor Masaki Kanda and pop singer Seiko Matsuda.

Sayaka Kanda
神田 沙也加
Sayaka Kanda in April 2021
Born(1986-10-01)October 1, 1986
DiedDecember 18, 2021(2021-12-18) (aged 35)
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Other namesSayaka
Occupations
Years active1999–2021
Spouse
(m. 2017; div. 2019)
Parents
Musical career
GenresJ-pop
InstrumentVocals
Formerly of
  • Trustrick
  • Alices
Websitewww.sayaka-kanda.net

Early life

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Kanda was born at Tokyo Teishin Hospital in Chiyoda, Tokyo. She was the only child of actor Masaki Kanda and Seiko Matsuda, a representative idol singer of the 1980s in Japan. Her paternal grandmother Teruko Asahi (1924–2001) was a former actress.[1]

Career

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In 1999, while a student at a Japanese school in Los Angeles, she appeared in Bean Cake, a short film that won the Palme d'Or du court métrage at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. She was quite active as an actress in movies and mostly on stage since her debut. She also wrote some lyrics for her mother Seiko Matsuda's songs.[2]

Kanda made her Kōhaku Uta Gassen debut in December 2011 singing "Ue o Muite Arukō" alongside her mother, Seiko Matsuda.[3]

In July 2012, Kanda debuted as a voice actress on TV animation Good Luck Girl!, which led her to be cast as Mary in The Muppets and Anna in the Japanese language dub of Disney's animated film Frozen.[4] She won the Best Lead Actress award for the role in the 9th Seiyu Awards.[5] In 2019, she voiced as Anna once again for Kingdom Hearts III.[6]

In April 2014, she formed the duo Trustrick with guitarist Billy.[7] They released their debut album, Eternity, on June 25 of the same year. They disbanded on December 17, 2016.[8]

Kanda appeared as a special guest in the Alan Symphony Concert from December 20, 2014, alongside Tibetan Chinese diva Alan Dawa Dolma, and together, they sang a music piece originally performed by Alan titled "Kaze no Tegami" (風の手紙, "Letter in the Wind").[citation needed]

Kanda released covers of Vocaloid songs on her YouTube channel.[9]

Personal life

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In May 2017, Kanda married actor Mitsu Murata.[10] Kanda announced their divorce in December 2019.[11] Up until her death, Kanda was in a relationship with actor Takahisa Maeyama after co-starring in the stage adaptation of Crest of the Royal Family in August 2021.[12] Kanda and Maeyama had planned to marry.[13]

Death

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On December 18, 2021, Kanda was found unconscious in the outer garden on the fourteenth floor of a hotel in Chūō ward, Sapporo. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital.[14] The cause of death was determined to be traumatic shock by the Sapporo Central Police Station, which also said that she had fallen from her room in the upper floors of the hotel.[15] Kanda's remains were cremated and her family kept her ashes at home. A report from Shūkan Bunshun claimed she committed suicide following vocal cord issues as well as issues with her relationship with Maeyama.[16]

Discography

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Singles

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  • "Ever Since" (2002)
  • "Garden" (2003)
  • "Mizu Iro" (2004)
  • "Jōgen no Tsuki" (2005)

with TRUSTRICK

Digital Singles

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  • "LUVORATORRRRRY!" (2018)
  • "Good Morning, Polar Night" (2019)
  • "Roki" (2019)

with TRUSTRICK

  • "On your marks!" (2014)

as Yuna from "Sword Art Online"

  • "Ubiquitous dB" (2017)
  • "delete" (2017)
  • "Break Beat Bark!" (2017)
  • "longing" (2017)
  • "smile for you" (2017)

Albums

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with TRUSTRICK

  • Eternity (2014)
  • TRUST (2015)
  • TRICK (2016)

Mini-Albums

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with TRUSTRICK

  • 未来系Answer E.P. (2015)
  • beloved E.P. (2016)

Cover Albums

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  • MUSICALOID #38 (2018)
  • MUSICALOID #38 Act.2 (2019)
  • MUSICALOID #38 Act.3 (2021)

Compilation Albums

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as Yuna from "Sword Art Online"

  • Sword Art Online the Movie : Ordinal Scale (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2017)

Filmography

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Film

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Television drama

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  • Yankee Bokō ni Kaeru / Drop-out Teacher Returns to School (TBS, 2003) – Nanae Koga
  • 四分の一の絆 (TBS, 2004) – Maiko Nisio
  • Mito Kōmon (TBS, 2004, 2007) – Kozue, Osaki
  • たった一度の雪 〜SAPPORO・1972年〜 (HBC, 2007) – Chiho Shimomura
  • Omotesando Koukou Gasshoubu! (TBS, 2015) – Emiri Seyama

Theater Performances

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Japanese dub

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Theatrical animation

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Television animation

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Video games

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References

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  1. ^ 女優・神田沙也加 ミュージカルで13役に挑戦 葛藤越え野望に邁進(1/3ページ). インタビュアー:平松澄子. 産経ニュースwest.. オリジナルの2011-10-20時点によるアーカイブ
  2. ^ 神田沙也加、芸名を4回変えた過去「SAYAKA」「Lily」「上原純」". マイナビニュース (2013年6月28日).
  3. ^ "【紅白歌合戦】神田沙也加、松田聖子と親娘で出場 「心強いです」 ." Oricon News. November 30, 2011.
  4. ^ "神田沙也加、声優デビュー「念願かなった!」". SANSPO.COM. (2012年7月4日). オリジナルの2012
  5. ^ "第九回声優アワード授賞者発表". 声優アワード.
  6. ^ a b Loo, Egan (December 18, 2021). "Actress, Singer Sayaka Kanda Passes Away at 35". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  7. ^ "『アナと雪の女王』で話題の神田沙也加、新ユニット・TRUSTRICKデビュー!". マイナビ
  8. ^ "TRUSTRICKが活動休止を発表 神田沙也加「ここで一度節目を迎えます」". ORICON STYLE (oricon ME).
  9. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (August 7, 2019). "Sayaka Kanda Duets Vocaloid Song "ROKI" with Evangelion Shinji VA Megumi Ogata". Crunchyroll. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  10. ^ In, Natasha. "神田沙也加、俳優の村田充と結婚へ" [Kanda Sayaka to marry actor Murata Mitsu]. 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  11. ^ lnc, Natasha. "神田沙也加、村田充との離婚発表「彼を幸せにすることが出来ないと思いました」" [Kanda Sayaka announces divorce]. 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  12. ^ Takeshita, Yoshio (January 6, 2022). "前山剛久が芸能活動休止を発表 SNS上で炎上が収まらず「芸能界復帰」を危ぶむ声も". Aera (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  13. ^ "神田沙也加さんと結婚に向かっていた前山剛久、帰京し両親らつきっきりケア". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). December 23, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  14. ^ "Japanese actress Sayaka Kanda dies after apparent fall at hotel". Kyodo News. December 19, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "神田沙也加さんの死因を警察が発表、ホテル安全管理に問題なし...自室窓から転落か" [Police announce the]. December 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "急逝・神田沙也加 直前に5歳下恋人俳優とのトラブル". Shūkan Bunshun (in Japanese). Bungeishunjū. December 22, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  17. ^ Romano, Sal (July 16, 2019). "Atelier Ryza theme song trailer". Gematsu. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  18. ^ "Japan's NHK to Air Kids' Special with Ghibli Music". Anime News Network. May 2, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  19. ^ a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 1, 2018). "Sayaka Kanda Also Voices Ezomichi in Real Girl Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  20. ^ "シュガー・ラッシュ:オンライン". Fukikaeru. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  21. ^ "Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale Anime Film Casts Sayaka Kanda". Anime News Network. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  22. ^ Ressler, Karen (April 28, 2017). "Konbini Kareshi TV Anime Reveals Cast". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 22, 2020). "Idoly Pride Anime Reveals Visual, Winter 2021 Premiere, New Character". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Sayaka Kanda (visual voices guide) – Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  25. ^ "CAST|PlayStation®4用サバイバルアクションゲーム – Let It Die". letitdie.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved March 17, 2018.
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