Mari Iijima
{{short description|Japanese actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mari Iijima
| image = Mari Iijima at Tekkoshocon 5 talking cropped 2.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Iijima at Tekkoshocon in 2010
| native_name = 飯島 真理
| native_name_lang = ja
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|5|18}}
| birth_place = Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan
| education = Kunitachi College of Music
| occupation = {{hlist|Actress|singer}}
| years_active = {{start date|1982}}–present
| notable_works = The Super Dimension Fortress Macross as Lynn Minmay
| website = {{Official URL}}
| module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background = solo_singer
| genre = {{hlist|J-pop|pop|city pop|synthpop}}
| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|piano|keyboards}}
| years_active = {{start date|1983}}–present
| label = Marimusic/BounDee
}}
}}
{{Nihongo|Mari Iijima|飯島 真理|Iijima Mari|born May 18, 1963}} is a Japanese actress and singer. She writes and produces most of her own music, and plays the piano and other instruments. After being signed to JVC Victor in 1982, Mari first became known for her voice-acting role as Lynn Minmay in the anime Macross. Her debut original album, Rosé, was released in 1983, which was produced by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
Life and career
File:Mari Iijima at Tekkoshocon 5.jpg
Iijima was born in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki. Her original demo tape was picked up by JVC Victor in 1982 and she was signed to the record company as a singer-songwriter. Soon afterward, she was asked to audition for the role of Lynn Minmay in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross by the label and the producers chose her to play the role. The series quickly became a mega hit and brought Iijima to stardom. Her debut album, Rosé, containing no Macross tracks, had lyrics and music written by her.{{cite news | last1=Ohanesian | first1=Liz |title=Mari Iijima: Anime Idol | url=https://www.laweekly.com/news/mari-iijima-anime-idol-2170535 | issue=People Issue 2011 | work=LA Weekly | date=May 19, 2011 | accessdate=September 25, 2018}} It was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who used the new Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer (released the same year) while producing her album.{{cite web |title=Sakamoto and Yamaha Synthesizers |url=https://usa.yamaha.com/products/contents/music_production/synth_50th/anecdotes/011.html |website=Yamaha |access-date=28 February 2025}} Rosé debuted at number 10 on the charts in September 1983, and she started her career as a singer-songwriter.
Iijima moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to expand her music career.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} That same year, she appeared as a guest vocalist on Van Dyke Parks' album Tokyo Rose. It was around this time that she married James Studer, who had been her producer on her 1988 album Miss Lemon.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/master/1330807-%E9%A3%AF%E5%B3%B6%E7%9C%9F%E7%90%86-Miss-Lemon|title=飯島真理* – Miss Lemon|date=1988 |publisher=Discogs}} The couple had two children, Andy and Ryan, before separating in 2001.{{cite AV media |date=2006|title=On Stage with Mari Iijima|type=DVD|language=English|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-CWGPx8y70|publisher=ADV Films}}
After releasing her first independent (and first English language) album, No Limit, she was nominated for the 2000 Los Angeles Music Awards' Best Pop Artist for the album and she was in the final four for the award.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} She won the best Asian song for her track Unspoken Love from the album Wonderful People at the Just Plain Folks Awards in 2006 and performed as a guest performer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpfolks.com/MusicAwards/2006/Winners/Song.htm|title=2006 Just Plain Folks Music Awards Song Winners|date=2006|website=Just Plain Folks Music Organization|access-date=September 25, 2018|archive-date=February 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214041848/http://www.jpfolks.com/MusicAwards/2006/Winners/Song.htm|url-status=dead}}
In 2006, she reprised her role as Lynn Minmay in ADV Films' English-language release of Macross,{{cite web |title=Cast List |url=http://www.advfilms.com:80/titles/macross/cast_txt.html |website=ADV Films |accessdate=September 25, 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514061338/http://www.advfilms.com/titles/macross/cast_txt.html |archivedate=May 14, 2007 |page=en |date=2007 |url-status=live }} which made her the second Japanese voice actor to reprise her role in an English anime dub (following only Miyuki Sawashiro).{{cite web |last1=Macdonald |first1=Christopher |title=Mari Iijima on Macross Dub |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-10-22/mari-iijima-on-macross-dub |website=Anime News Network |accessdate=September 25, 2018 |language=en |date=October 22, 2005}}{{cite web |last1=Huff |first1=Jason |title=The Anime Review |url=http://www.theanimereview.com/reviews/macrosstvdub.html |website=theanimereview.com |accessdate=September 25, 2018 |language=en |date=January 16, 2006}}{{cite web |last1=Macdonald |first1=Christopher |title=Correction: First Japanese VA on an English Dub |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-10-24/correction-first-japanese-va-on-an-english-dub |website=Anime News Network |accessdate=September 25, 2018 |language=en |date=October 24, 2005}} She dedicated her performance in the ADV dub to Arihiro Hase, the Japanese voice actor of Hikaru Ichijo in Macross and a close friend of Iijima. She maintained good relations with Hase's mother after his death by suicide in 1996.{{cite AV media |date=2006|title=Becoming Minmay - An Interview with Mari Iijima |type=DVD|language=English|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpz298XHrxw|publisher=ADV Films}}
Iijima released her twenty-first studio album, called Echo, in August 2009. The title was taken from the nymph character Echo that appears in Echo and Narcissus. The album's theme is unrequited love.{{cite web |author1=Andrew |title=Mari Iijima Interview |url=https://www.j-popworld.com/Interviews/Mari_Iijima.php |website=J-Pop World |accessdate=September 25, 2018 |language=en |date=August 16, 2009 |archive-date=October 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031105637/http://www.j-popworld.com/Interviews/Mari_Iijima.php |url-status=dead }}
She has continued to perform into the 2020s, both live and in videos, but a Tokyo concert planned for August 2020 was postponed to January 11, 2021 (then to August 28, 2021), due to the COVID-19 crisis. Iijima stated on her website that she "likes the ring of '1.11'" as a sign for the future.
Discography
=Original albums=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title |
|---|
| 1983
| Rosé |
| 1984
| Blanche |
| 1985
| Midori |
| 1985
| Kimono Stereo |
| 1987
| Coquettish Blue |
| 1988
| Miss Lemon |
| 1989
| My Heart in Red |
| 1990
| It's a Love Thing |
| 1991
| Believe |
| 1993
| Different Worlds |
| 1994
| Love Season |
| 1995
| Sonic Boom |
| 1996
| Good Medicine |
| 1997
| Europe |
| 1998
| Rain & Shine |
| 1999
| No Limit |
| 2001
| Right Now |
| 2003
| Silent Love |
| 2004
| Wonderful People |
| 2006
| Uncompromising Innocence |
| 2009
| Echo |
| 2012
| Take a Picture Against The Light |
| 2014
| Sharp As A Knife, As Sweet As Strawberries |
| 2016
| Awakening |
| 2018
| Chaos and Stillness |
| 2022
| Being Myself |
=Compilation albums=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title |
|---|
| 1984
| Variée |
| 1993
| The Classics |
| 1995
| Best of the Best |
| 2004
| Gems |
| 2005
| Mari picks "The Ultimate Collection" (1983–1985) |
| 2005
| Mari picks "The Ultimate Collection" (1987–1999) |
| 2007
| palette |
| 2019
| G |
=EPs=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title |
|---|
| 2011
| 2 Seconds of Infinity |
| 2013
| Dancing with Minmay |
| 2018
| Anger is The New Sadness |
| 2020
| Honto No Ai |
| 2023
| For Lovers Only II |
=Singles=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title |
|---|
| rowspan="2"|1983
| Yumeiro no Spoon |
| Kitto Ieru |
| rowspan="2"|1984 |
| 1 gram no Shiawase |
| 1985
| Cecile no Amagasa |
| 1986
| Harukana Hohoemi -Koudo Kougen- |
| 1987
| People! People! People! |
| rowspan="2"|1988
| Kagami yo! Kagami (I wanna marry you) |
| Blue Christmas |
| rowspan="2"|1989
| Still |
| Secret |
| rowspan="3"|1990
| Nichiyobi No Date |
| Sayonara Wa Ienai |
| Bokura wa Tenshija Nai |
| 1991
| Love is a miracle |
| 1992
| Kirai |
| 1993
| Ai Oboete Imasu ka (re-release) |
| 1994
| Don't fade out!/Sunset |
| 1995
| Is There Anybody Out There? |
| 1996
| Forever Young |
| rowspan="2"|1997
| Mikazuki no Canoe |
| Friends |
| 2002 |
| 2003 |
| 2009
| Iki Wo Shiteru Kanjiteiru |
| 2012
| Churiru Churira/Anata No Hana Ni Naritai/The Unconventional |
| 2013
| Eternal Forest/Sky's Dance |
| 2020
| Tomei Na Kaze |
| 2021
| I'm Not In Love |
=Soundtracks=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title |
|---|
| 2002
| Lorna Doone The Soundtrack |
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1982
| The Super Dimension Fortress Macross | Voice actress and singer |
| 1984
| Macross: Do You Remember Love? | Voice actress, singer, and songwriter for "Tenshi no Enogu" |
| 1999
| Kiko | Season 5 – episode 12 "God's Gift" |
| 2001
| Soraya | Episodes 1&2 |
| 2001
| Composer | (2001 re-release of 1922 film) |
| 2004
| Green Tea-r | Yoko | Lead actress and songwriter |
| 2006
| The Super Dimension Fortress Macross | ADV Films' 2006 English Dub |
Video games
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !Notes |
|---|
| 2002
| Theme song performance | "Eternal love ~Hikari no Tenshi~", "Tenshi-tachi no Kyuusoku" |
| 2003
| Galaxy Angel: Moonlight Lovers | Theme song performance | ''[[Galaxy Angel#Theme Songs|"Eternal love 2003", "Tenshi-tachi no Kyuusoku"]]'' |
| 2004
| Cy-Girls | Aska (voice) | |
| 2013
| Macross 30: The Voice that Connects the Galaxy | |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://ameblo.jp/mari-iijima/ Official blog] {{in lang|ja}}
- {{Official website}}
- {{Official website|https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/-/Artist/A000283.html}} (Victor Entertainment)
- {{ANN|people|4127}}
- {{IMDb name|0959933}}
- {{AnimeCons name|id=340}}
- {{Cite magazine |last=Barder |first=Ollie |date=June 22, 2017 |title=Mari Iijima on Music, 'Macross' and Minmay |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2017/06/22/mari-iijima-on-music-macross-and-minmay/ |magazine=Forbes |access-date=October 29, 2019}}
{{Macross series}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iijima, Mari}}
Category:Japanese emigrants to the United States
Category:Japanese radio personalities
Category:Japanese television actresses
Category:Japanese video game actresses
Category:Japanese women pop singers
Category:Japanese women singer-songwriters
Category:Japanese women record producers
Category:People from Tsuchiura
Category:Singers from Ibaraki Prefecture
Category:Victor Entertainment artists
Category:Voice actresses from Ibaraki Prefecture
Category:Warner Music Japan artists
Category:20th-century Japanese actresses
Category:20th-century Japanese women singers
Category:20th-century Japanese singers
Category:21st-century Japanese actresses