is a Japanese

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

and singer from

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, F ...

Career

Kohara's interest in voice acting began in high school; growing up, she was a fan of manga and anime like ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

''. She later moved to Tokyo to pursue a music career, and graduated from ESP College of Entertainment, a

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

that specializes in electric guitar and basses. According to a high school friend, Kohara switched from vocals to guitar when her guitarist band mate asked to switch their position. While she was in vocational school, she studied under BURNY's guitarist Masanori Kusakabe, who is also from Gifu Prefecture. Therefore, Kohara inherited Kusakabe's playing style. In July 2011, Kohara became a member of The Sketchbook, a band based on a fictional group in the anime ''

Sket Dance ''Sket Dance'' (stylized as ''SKET DANCE'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenta Shinohara. The manga follows the adventures of the ''Sket-dan'', a high school club whose goal it is to help the students and teachers ...

''. She learned of the band hosting auditions while attending ESP College of Entertainment; although she had not played guitar in three months and was considering quitting, she passed her audition and won the guitarist position. Joined by Hiroshi Tada (vocal and bass) and Yuu Watanabe (drum), the three performed the opening, endings, and insert songs for the anime. The band disbanded in 2015 as the members wanted to focus on their own dreams. In 2014, one year prior to The Sketchbook's disbandment, Kohara debuted as a voice actress with her first role as a vegetable-hater boy in '' Soreyuke! Anpanman''. In 2018, Kohara was recruited by

Bushiroad is a Japanese entertainment company, producer of collectible card games and trading cards, publisher of mobile apps and games, promotional items and many other venues, which was founded in 2007 by Takaaki Kidani and is headquartered in Tokyo. ...

president

Takaaki Kidani is a Japanese video game developer and entrepreneur born in Kanazawa, Japan. He is the founder and representative director of Bushiroad. Kidani has also served as the chairman of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He continues to be involved with N ...

to join the music franchise ''

BanG Dream! ''BanG Dream!'', also known as , is a Japanese music media franchise owned by Bushiroad. Created by Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani in January 2015 with original story by Kō Nakamura, the project began as a manga before exp ...

'' after a fan sent a video of her performances to Kidani on social media. She joined the franchise's

backup band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such a ...

The Third (Beta) as guitarist during its first live on March 25, 2018 at Shimokitazawa Garden. The band was renamed to

Raise A Suilen Raise A Suilen (stylized as RAISE A SUILEN) is a Japanese all-female rock band that is part of Bushiroad's media franchise ''BanG Dream!''. Formed in 2018, the group's members portray fictional characters in the project's anime series and mobile ...

at the second live on July 17, and its members received their own in-universe anime and

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

characters at the BanG Dream! 6th☆Live on December 7. Kohara's character Rokka Asahi shares various traits with her voice actress, such as moving from Gifu to Tokyo, while her birthday is July 17. Kohara used to perform with a

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

, but switched to Strandberg after joining RAS.

Personal life

Kohara has an older sister.

Filmography

Television anime series

* ''

'' as Rokka Asahi/Lock ** ''BanG Dream! 2nd Season'' (2019) ** ''BanG Dream! 3rd Season'' (2020) ** '' BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Pico: Ohmori'' (2020) ** ''BanG Dream! Episode of Roselia II: Song I am.'' (2021) ** ''BanG Dream! Film Live 2nd Stage'' (2021) ** ''BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Pico Fever!'' (2021) ** ''BanG Dream! Poppin'Dream!'' (2022) * ''

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

'' as Lily * '' Phantasy Star Online 2 The Animation'' as Riko * ''

Idol Memories is a Japanese idol anime television series produced by Seven Arcs Pictures and Happy Elements. It is a "hybrid anime", where the first half of the show is a typical animation and the second half is a live-action segment featuring the anime's v ...

'' as Nanami Hoshi * ''

'' as Female Kid's Singer * ''Soreyuke! Anpanman'' as Nekomi, Vegetable-hater boy * ''Ice Kuritaro'' as Berry-chan * ''25-sai no Joshikōsei'' as Hasegawa * '' Persona 5: The Animation'' as female character * '' Senran Kagura Shinovi Master'' as Gekkō * ''Gifu no Tate ka Yoko'' as Tatekayoko * ''

Kandagawa Jet Girls is a multimedia project created by Kadokawa, Marvelous, and Egg Firm. An anime television series by TNK aired from October 2019 to January 2020. A racing game published by Marvelous and developed by its subsidiary Honey∞Parade Games was re ...

'' as Misa Aoi * '' The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?'' as Miliyama * '' Teppen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Laughing 'til You Cry'' as Mako Shirakabe

Video games

* ''Art Code Summoner'' as Gustave Courbet * ''

Azur Lane ''Azur Lane'' () is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up video game created by Chinese developers Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi, released in 2017 for the iOS and Android operating systems. Set in an alternate timeline of World War II, pl ...

'' as USS Richmond (CL-9) * ''

BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! also known as ''Garupa'' or ''Bandori'', is a mobile rhythm game developed by Craft Egg and published by Bushiroad for the Android and iOS platforms. Part of Bushiroad's ''BanG Dream!'' music franchise, it was released in Japan in March 2017, a ...

'' as Rokka Asahi/Lock * ''Hoshizora Tetsudō to Shiro no Tabi'' as Hanae * ''

'' as Misa Aoi * '' Shinobi Master Senran Kagura: New Link'' as Gekkō * ''Wonder Gravity'' as Pycno * ''Crash Fever'' as Noa * ''

Arknights ''Arknights'' () is a free-to-play tactical RPG/tower defense mobile game developed by Chinese developer Hypergryph. It was released in China on 1 May 2019, in other countries on 16 January 2020 and in Taiwan on 29 June 2020. ''Arknights'' ...

'' as Mulberry *Counter:Side as Lin Xien

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohara, Riko Living people Voice actresses from Gifu Prefecture Musicians from Gifu Prefecture Japanese video game actresses Japanese voice actresses 1990 births Anime singers 21st-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese women musicians