The Japanese singer Maon Kurosaki, who dedicated her life to performing songs for various anime properties, has died at 35 years old.
The star’s official Twitter account recently released the news that the singer had passed away on Feb. 16, 2023. She was rushed to hospital after collapsing during a live stream and underwent surgery for epidural hematoma, characterized as bleeding between the skull and the brain’s protective membrane. She would eventually succumb to the condition, which was the result of a chronic illness. Her family chose to host a small funeral for her soon afterward outside of the public eye.
Kurosaki was born in Tokyo on Jan. 13, 1988, and quickly gained aspirations of becoming a performer. She soon started to pursue a career as a singer. She began performing at the Dear Stage bar, a popular nightspot in Akihabara known for catering to anime fans, which she strongly identified as. A producer from Geneon Universal Entertainment — now known as NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan — soon took note of her talent and scouted her for the company. It was there she would take the next step in her career. The up-and-coming singer soon combined her love for animation with her vocals and began performing songs for various anime titles.
Her debut album, titled H.O.T.D, was released in 2010. It contained all the ending songs she provided for the anime High School of the Dead, including “Color me Dark,” “Fuss Fuzz,” “The Place of Hope,” and more. Kurosaki also provided a voice cameo for the series as a character named Yatsura in episode 12. After this debut, she would release the singles “Magic∞World” and “Memories Last,” which would become the ending songs in A Certain Magical Index II.
Over the coming years, she would produce songs for various shows outside H.O.T.D including OPs for Strike the Blood, The Fruit of Grisaia, Danganronpa 3 and Accel World, as well as EDs for Drifters, Gamers!, Gakkougurashi! and Hellsing Ultimate. Kurosaki would also step outside of her singing career and into the world of acting by playing the role of Michiru Arisugawa in Blood-Club Dolls 1 & 2, a live-action adaptation of the Production I.G. anime Blood-C.
Her most recent credit was the song “More Strongly,” which acted as the ending theme song to the anime Reincarnated as a Sword. She leaves behind a lasting legacy in the anime music industry.
Source: Oricon via Crunchyroll
