is a Japanese actress and singer. Sakurai was a member of

I'm Enterprise is a voice talent management firm in Japan. Members Female * Hikaru Akao *Saori Hayami * Hiromi Hirata * Kaede Hondo * Yuko Iida * Momoko Ishikawa *Rie Kugimiya * Rin Kusumi *Natsuko Kuwatani *MAKO * Ayano Matsumoto *Maria Naganawa * Mai Nak ...

but later became freelance until her retirement. She previously announced her retirement on September 1, 2016, but on June 1, 2019, she announced that she would return to the entertainment industry. She is currently affiliated with .

Career

Debut

At 14, Sakurai debuted as a sub-member for "Kiss Fairlies," a group that worked as campaign girls for the local Kijima Motorcycle Racing Team. All members were over 15 years old, aside from Tomo.

Lemon Angel

At 17, she joined the idol-pop unit, Lemon Angel, a counter project of

Cream Lemon is an early hentai series. The first ''Cream Lemon'' OVA was released in August 1984, though ''Cream Lemon'' was not the first hentai OVA. The first was '' Lolita Anime'', released earlier in February 1984. Patrick W. Galbraith writes t ...

coordinated by the same company that produced "Kiss Fairlies". The project contained comic, animated, and idol pop units. The unit played themselves in Midnight Anime Lemon Angel. She released 5 albums during her time at Lemon Angel.

After Lemon Angel

Sakurai joined a new video game idol unit and released one album with this unit. After leaving, she focused her career mainly on voice acting work.

Retirement

On September 1, 2016, Sakurai announced her retirement from her professional voice acting and singing careers on her official blog post titled "Arigato/Thank You." She explained: "I used to have a strong vocal cord that couldn't be broken and became stronger even after singing for hours. But recently, I have realized it's becoming more and more difficult for me to use my important voice as an actress. I know it's a natural thing as time goes by, but I can't accept the change, then I understand it's almost time to retire."

Return

On June 1, 2019, Sakurai announced that she was returning to the entertainment industry.

Filmography

Television animation

* '' Cream Lemon: Lemon Angel'' (1987), Tomo * ''

Akazukin Chacha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Min Ayahana. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Ribon'' from 1992 to 2000 and collected in 13 bound volumes. The series is loosely based on the fairy tale Lit ...

'' (1994), Marin * ''

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'' (1994), Mylene Jenius * ''

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'' (1995), Shayla Shayla * ''

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'' (1995), Meimi Haneoka/Saint Tail * ''

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'' (1996),

Makimachi Misao , in the Media Blasters dub, is a character from the fictional ''Rurouni Kenshin'' universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Misao is a 16-year-old girl and the youngest member of the ninja group called Oniwabanshū. She leaves her home to find ...

* ''

Super Doll Licca-chan is a Japanese anime television series based on the Licca-chan fashion doll, which ran on TV Tokyo in 1998–1999. Kodansha also serialized a manga based on the anime series in its monthly manga magazine ''Nakayoshi''. The story follows an o ...

'' (1998), Doll Licca * ''

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'' (2005), Chigusa Sakai * ''

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'' (2005),

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* '' Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX'' (2006), Mizuchi Saio * '' Idolmaster: Xenoglossia'' (2007), Azusa Miura * '' Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl'' (2007),

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/Shirona * ''

Gintama is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to September 2018, later in '' Jump Giga'' from December 2018 ...

'' (2009), Hinowa * ''

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'' (2010), Asuka Sora * ''

Kuromajo-san ga Toru!! ''Here Comes the Black Witch!!'' (黒魔女さんが通る!!) is a Japanese children's novel series written by Hiroshi Ishizaki and illustrated by Kaori Fujita. The series was launched on Kodansha's ''Aoi Tori Bunko'' imprint between July 2005 ...

'' (2012), Choco's Mother * '' Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes! 2'' (2012), Cynthia/Shirona * '' Pocket Monsters'' (2021), Yoshino, Cynthia/Shirona * ''

Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kagiri Araido. It began serialization on the author's Twitter and Pixiv accounts in October 2019 and ended in June 2024. It later received parallel serialization on Media Factory's ''Month ...

'' (2024), Kaede

Theatrical animation

* '' Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture'' (1994), Sulia Gaudeamus

Original video animation

* ''

Shamanic Princess is a six episode OVA series developed by the Princess Project creative collective and produced by Animate Film in association with Triangle Staff starting in June 1996 and continuing over a two-year period. Central Park Media licensed the se ...

'' (1996), Sara * ''

Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer ''Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer'' is a 1995 superhero-themed fighting game produced by Technos Japan Corp. for the Neo Geo arcade and home console including Neo Geo CD. It was the companys second attempt at a fighting game, following the Neo Geo fig ...

'' (1996), Karin Son * '' Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc'' (2011), Makimachi Misao

Video games

* ''

Samurai Shodown III ''Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood'' is an arcade fighting game developed by SNK and released on November 15, 1995. While it is the third game in the main ''Samurai Shodown'' series, it is the first part of a two-chapter story that is chronol ...

'' (1995), Rimururu * '' Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no Mokushiroku'' (1997), Yumemi * ''

The Super Dimension Fortress Macross is a Japanese science fiction anime television series. It is the first part of the ''Super Dimension'' trilogy and the ''Macross'' franchise. The series aired in Japan from October 1982 to June 1983. According to story creator Shoji Kawam ...

'' (2003), Emma Granger

Audio drama

* ''

'',

Kamiya Kaoru , known as Kaoru Kamiya in the Media Blasters English-language dub and Kori Kamiya in the English Sony ''Samurai X'' dub, is a fictional character in the ''Rurouni Kenshin'' manga created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. In the story Kaoru is the instruct ...

Dubbing

Live-action

*''

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'', Portia Nathan (

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

) *''

The City of Your Final Destination ''The City of Your Final Destination'' is a 2009 American romantic drama film directed by James Ivory and starring Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Omar Metwally, Hiroyuki Sanada and Norma Aleandro. It was written by Ruth Pra ...

'', Arden Langdon (

Charlotte Gainsbourg Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg (; born 21 July 1971) is a British and French actress and singer. She is the daughter of English actress and singer Jane Birkin and French singer Serge Gainsbourg. After making her musical debut with her father on the ...

) *'' Dragon Blade'', Parthian Queen ( Lorie Pester) *'' The Monkey King'', Chang'e (

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) *''

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'', Ma Qinglian (

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) *''

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'', Julia Weiss (

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) *''

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'', Gemma (

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) *'' Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon'', Yin Ruiji (

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)

Animation

*''

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'', Kiki * ''

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'', Codemaster Amzen * ''

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'', Flapjack

References

External links

Tomo Sakurai
at GamePlaza-Haruka Voice Acting Database
Tomo Sakurai
at Hitoshi Doi's Seiyuu Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurai, Tomo 1971 births Living people I'm Enterprise voice actors Japanese female idols Japanese video game actresses Japanese women pop singers Singers from Ichikawa, Chiba Voice actresses from Chiba Prefecture 20th-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese actresses 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese singers 20th-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese women singers