Nao Sakamoto
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 singer, a voice actress
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...

, and is an undergraduate school student of Tokyo University, one of the top-level research universities in Japan. Her real name is , and she is sometimes affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 fans.

She is a member of the singing group, New DUP, which was founded by BROCCOLI Inc.
Broccoli (company)
is a Japanese media company that publishes manga, anime, and video games through its various subsidiaries.- About :Broccoli is the parent company of Broccoli Music Publishing, Broccoli International USA, and Anime Gamers USA Inc...

 to promote its mascot characters, Dejiko
Dejiko
Di Gi Charat, usually shortened to Dejiko or Digiko, is the main character of the manga and anime of the same name created by Koge-Donbo. She is a princess of a planet that is also called Di Gi Charat. She is a catgirl which is highlighted by the fact that she ends each sentence with the cat sound...

, Usada and Puchiko (from the anime Di Gi Charat
Di Gi Charat
is a Japanese anime and manga series created by Koge-Donbo. The series follows a catgirl named Di Gi Charat "Dejiko" who was adopted as the mascot of Broccoli's retail chain store, Gamers. The original anime series and its original video animations are set in a Gamers store. There are twenty ...

), where Minakami is the voice actress for Puchiko.

New DUP hosts a radio show called , and it comprises three Japanese voice actresses: Satomi Akesaka
Satomi Akesaka
is a Japanese voice actress represented by Space Craft Produce.- Television :* Koi Kaze , Futaba Anzai* Suzuka , Miho Fujikawa* Mushi-shi , Nami...

, Yasawa Rieka, and Minakami.

Biography

Nao Minakami was born in Kagoshima, Japan. As a child, she was a huge fan of the anime series Di Gi Charat
Di Gi Charat
is a Japanese anime and manga series created by Koge-Donbo. The series follows a catgirl named Di Gi Charat "Dejiko" who was adopted as the mascot of Broccoli's retail chain store, Gamers. The original anime series and its original video animations are set in a Gamers store. There are twenty ...

and has later stated that the series was her first inspiration to become a voice artist.

As 2008 is the tenth anniversary of the series Di Gi Charat
Di Gi Charat
is a Japanese anime and manga series created by Koge-Donbo. The series follows a catgirl named Di Gi Charat "Dejiko" who was adopted as the mascot of Broccoli's retail chain store, Gamers. The original anime series and its original video animations are set in a Gamers store. There are twenty ...

, BROCCOLI Inc.
Broccoli (company)
is a Japanese media company that publishes manga, anime, and video games through its various subsidiaries.- About :Broccoli is the parent company of Broccoli Music Publishing, Broccoli International USA, and Anime Gamers USA Inc...

 decided to recast actress of main characters of series Di Gi Charat
Di Gi Charat
is a Japanese anime and manga series created by Koge-Donbo. The series follows a catgirl named Di Gi Charat "Dejiko" who was adopted as the mascot of Broccoli's retail chain store, Gamers. The original anime series and its original video animations are set in a Gamers store. There are twenty ...

. Minakami's career as a voice actress started when she won the audition for a character from the forementioned series, Puchiko, in January, 2008. She was chosen for the role among over a thousand candidates. In the same month, the new cast of Degiko, Puchiko and Usada, who are Satomi Akesaka
Satomi Akesaka
is a Japanese voice actress represented by Space Craft Produce.- Television :* Koi Kaze , Futaba Anzai* Suzuka , Miho Fujikawa* Mushi-shi , Nami...

, Nao Minakami and Rieka Yazawa respectively, founded New DUP, a J-Pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...

 group, to promote series Di Gi Charat
Di Gi Charat
is a Japanese anime and manga series created by Koge-Donbo. The series follows a catgirl named Di Gi Charat "Dejiko" who was adopted as the mascot of Broccoli's retail chain store, Gamers. The original anime series and its original video animations are set in a Gamers store. There are twenty ...

and to help launch the voice actresses' careers.

External links

http://www.broccoli.co.jp/dejiko/ http://minakaminao.blog37.fc2.com/
  • http://www.broccoli.co.jp/radio/dejikoradio/
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