NANAOAKARI (Akari Nanawo)

Overview

Nanaoakari (ナナヲアカリ, also romanized Akari Nanawo) is a Japanese pop singer, artist and YouTuber born on November 12, 1995 in Abeno-ku, Osaka. Signed to Sony Music Artists, she goes by nicknames such as Akarin, Tenshi ("Angel") and nana. Working in J-POP with strong ties to Vocaloid culture and anime songs, she made her major debut in 2018 with the opening theme of the anime Happy Sugar Life.

Career

Early life and indie years

Akari was interested in music from a young age. In junior high she mainly listened to anison and Vocaloid music and became a major fan of dōjin producer Deco*27. Hearing BUMP OF CHICKEN and discovering YouTube inspired her to become a singer.

She began band activities in 2011, performing at live shows across Japan while attending a local university, but the band eventually broke up. She started a solo career in 2014, sending demo recordings to various places, and passed Sony Music Artists' "Bocchi" audition, beating more than 5,000 other participants, which led her to move to Tokyo.

In January 2016 she became the second host of TV Tokyo's Rock Brothers, graduating on June 21 of the following year after a year and a half. In June 2016 she uploaded her first song as Nanaoakari, "Happy ni Naritai", to YouTube, and in October she made her live debut at Shimokitazawa THREE with the event "Shiawase Paarinai?". She also released her indie mini-album Nekuraroid no Tsukurikata that year. Her popularity grew quickly on Niconico: by March 2018 her videos had been viewed at least 9 million times, and she collaborated with dōjin artists including Deco*27.

Stage work

In 2017 she was cast as Mash Kyrielight in Fate/Grand Order THE STAGE – Shinsei Entaku Ryōiki Camelot, and reprised the role in Zettai Majū Sensen Babylonia (2019) and Kani Jikan Shinden Solomon (2020).

Major debut and beyond

After announcing her major debut at a Tokyo live show in March 2018, she debuted on August 22, 2018 with the single "One Room Sugar Life / Nantoka Narukunai? / Ai no Uta Nante". "One Room Sugar Life" served as the opening theme of Happy Sugar Life; the single peaked at No. 33 on Oricon's weekly chart and charted for nine weeks. Her first major album, Flying Best: Shiranaino? Chimata de Uwasa no Dame Tenshi, followed on October 3, 2018.

Her second major single, "Turing Love feat. Sou / Piyo", was released on February 5, 2020, with "Turing Love" used as the ending theme of the anime Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It. Her third, "Higher's High", arrived on October 21, 2020, as the opening theme of Warlords of Sigrdrifa.

In 2022 she produced the fashion brand "Internet Boy Meets Girl" and co-created the short film "Nichiyōbi to Mermaid" with Yura Korosu, also appearing as herself. That year she gave her first overseas performance at Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2022. She has also appeared at events including Lisani! LIVE 2022, SANRIO Virtual Festival 2023, JOIN ALIVE 2024 and a PREMIUM LIVE at Universal Studios Japan in November 2024, and has hosted radio programs such as Nanaoakari no Tenkai Housou (2018, ABEMA RADIO) and segments on FM802's 802 Palette (2022).

On February 27, 2025, she and The Oral Cigarettes bassist Akira Akirakani announced their marriage. On April 11, 2025 she made her first appearance on THE FIRST TAKE (episode 537), performing "Turing Love feat. Sou" with Sou; the video passed one million views within two days. She returned in episode 541 on April 23 to perform "Ashita no Watashi ni Sachi Are" with its writer, composer and arranger Tamaya 2060% (Wienners). Her songs "Love Brain" and "Good Luck to Me Tomorrow" are included on Gacha City Radio, the in-game radio station of the 2026 video game Forza Horizon 6.

Musical style

Her music is J-POP shaped by anime songs, Vocaloid culture and dōjin music. A signature element is "poetry": spoken-word passages she writes herself for song interludes, credited separately from the lyrics. She performs live with her band Engels (drums: Taihei, guitar: Katorīnu, bass: Tsuyopon, VJ: Norainu). Among her favorite anime are Fate/Zero and Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.