, is a Japanese singer and actor. Under the stage name Showta (stylized as "SHOWTA."), he debuted as a singer with the song "Negaiboshi" in 2006 and released his first studio album, ''
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
'', in 2008. In 2009, he left his agency and briefly released music independently under the pseudonym .
After making his acting debut as Saki Hanajima in the ''
Fruits Basket
, sometimes abbreviated , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It was serialized in the semi-monthly Japanese manga magazine , published by Hakusensha, from 1998 to 2006. The series' title comes from ...
'' musical in 2009, Aoi has been involved in multiple
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
productions, including
Sakuya Shiomi in ''
Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade''. In 2011, he began voice acting and gained media attention after voicing Ai Mikaze from ''
Uta no Prince-sama
is a Japanese multimedia franchise by Broccoli. The original game of the same name was first released on the PlayStation Portable on June 24, 2010, and since its release, the game has spawned multiple sequels and rhythm game spin-offs. The seri ...
''. Since then, he has been recognized for roles such as Hideaki Tojo from ''
Ace of Diamond
is a Japanese baseball-themed manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Terajima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from May 2006 to January 2015. A sequel titled ''Ace of Diamon ...
'', Monet Tsukushi in the ''
Magic-kyun! Renaissance'' series, Rui Minazuki from the ''
Tsukiuta'' series, Louis Kisaragi from ''
King of Prism
''King of Prism'' is a Japanese media franchise produced by Avex Pictures and Tatsunoko Production. The series is a spin-off of the ''Pretty Rhythm'' multimedia series and focuses on the male characters introduced in ''Pretty Rhythms third anime ...
'' series, and Licht von Glanzreich from ''
The Royal Tutor
is a Japanese manga series by Higasa Akai. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Monthly GFantasy'' from November 2013 to May 2021. It has been collected in seventeen ''tankōbon'' volumes as of August 2021. Yen ...
''.
In 2013, Aoi relaunched his singing career under his new stage name with the extended play ''
Blue Bird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
B ...
'', followed by the release of "
Virginal
The virginals (or virginal) is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods.
Description
A virginal is a smaller and simpler rectangular or polygonal form of ha ...
" in 2014. In 2015, he released his first studio album, ''
Unlimited''. Since the relaunch of his music career, his music is produced by
Elements Garden
Elements Garden is a Japanese group of music composers, or a "music production brand" as they call themselves. They generally produce music for video games, anime and recording artists. They are attached to Aria Entertainment.
The group was for ...
.
Throughout his career, Aoi has been given titles such as "Archangel" and was praised for his "angelic" singing voice. He is known for his soft, high-pitched voice and androgynous appearance, allowing him to play female parts as well.
Early life
Aoi was born in
Fukui Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gi ...
, Japan. He has one older sister.
From elementary to high school, he played tennis and won many trophies.
As a child, he watched a lot of
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
and played video games, citing his interest in voice acting through
Akira Ishida's portrayal of Fish Eye from ''
Sailor Moon SuperS
The fourth season of the '' Sailor Moon'' anime series, ''Sailor Moon SuperS'' (originally released in Japan as , and later as ''Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon SuperS'') was produced by Toei Animation and directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. It adapts the ...
''.
In school, he was bullied for his high-pitched, feminine voice.
He credits his friends from junior high school for helping him regain his confidence after they complimented his performance of "
So Into You" by
Koda Kumi
, known professionally as , is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs.
After debuting with the single " Take Back" in December 2000, Koda gained fame in March 2003 when the songs from her seventh single, " Real Emot ...
during a karaoke outing.
In 2004, he competed in the Yamaha Teens' Music Festival under the name "Noboru Yanagawa" and won the Grand Prix for the
Tokai, Ibaraki region.
Initially, when he first auditioned, he had mistakenly believed it was an amateur karaoke competition.
[ ] He was a finalist at the national competition, along with
Ataru Nakamura, where he performed "
1000 no Kotoba" by
Koda Kumi
, known professionally as , is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs.
After debuting with the single " Take Back" in December 2000, Koda gained fame in March 2003 when the songs from her seventh single, " Real Emot ...
.
Career
2006-2010: Musical debut, ''Eve'', and indies activities
Aoi debuted under the name Showta with the single "Negaiboshi" on July 26, 2006 under
King Records, which charted at #119 on the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
Weekly Singles Chart. On November 22, 2006, he released his second single, "Trans-winter (Fuyu no Mukōgawa)", which served as the theme song to the live-action television adaptation of the manga ''Damens Walker''.
His third single, "
Hito Shizuku
is a song by Japanese singer Showta, released as his 3rd single on April 4, 2007.
Background and release
"Hito Shizuku" is a mid-tempo ballad composed by Hideya Nakazaki, with lyrics written by Taiyo Morito and Juli Shono. The single was rele ...
", a mid-tempo ballad, was released on April 4, 2007. His fourth single, "Kimi ni, Kaze ga Fukimasu You ni" was released on July 27, 2007 as the ending theme song to ''Ichiteru''. For his fifth single, he released a cover of
Yoshie Kashiwabara
is a Japanese popular pop singer-songwriter and actress, who gained her popularity as a teen idol in the early 80s.
Biography
Born in Osaka, Yoshie Kashiwabara took part in, and won, the "Star Tanjo" contest in 1979, and rose to fame in 1980 ...
's 1983 song "
Haru na no ni" on January 23, 2008.
Aoi released his first studio album, ''
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
'', on March 5, 2008, which charted at #115 on the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
Weekly Albums Chart. His sixth single, "
Hikaru no Gen-chan", was released on April 23, 2008 for
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
's ''
Minna no Uta
, literally ''Everyone's Songs'' (English title: ''Songs for Everyone''), is a five-minute NHK TV and radio program which is broadcast several times daily. The program started on April 3, 1961. It is one of NHK's long-running programs.
The pr ...
'' segments during the months of April and May. In 2009, Aoi contributed the song "Ekubo" to the movie soundtrack of ''Kanna-san Daiseiko Desu! the Movie'', which was released as a promotional digital single. He made his first acting appearance as Saki Hanajima in the ''
Fruits Basket
, sometimes abbreviated , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It was serialized in the semi-monthly Japanese manga magazine , published by Hakusensha, from 1998 to 2006. The series' title comes from ...
'' stage play adaptation.
In 2010, Aoi left King Records, citing his desire to become a voice actor and
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
performer. He began releasing music and performing independently under the name Noboru Ryugaki. He was a featured artist in the song "Oji-sama to Cheek" on Kenzo Saeki and Boogie the Mach Motors' collaboration album, ''21-Seiki-san sings Harlmens''. During this time, he also performed in independent
musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
and stage productions.
2011-2016: Voice acting debut and stage activities
Aoi signed onto S Inc. in 2011 for voice acting and debuted under the name Shouta Aoi, making his first appearance as Kanshiki in the game ''Black Robinia''.
He performed "Ai no Sasameki Goto" as the first song released under his new stage name, which served as the theme song to the drama CD series ''Sangokushi Lovers''.
In October, he voiced Ryunosuke Matsushita in the anime ''
Kimi to Boku'' and also performed the songs "Sora", "Tomorrow" and "Over" for the show's soundtrack.
In 2012, Aoi was cast as Ai Mikaze in the ''
Uta no Prince-sama
is a Japanese multimedia franchise by Broccoli. The original game of the same name was first released on the PlayStation Portable on June 24, 2010, and since its release, the game has spawned multiple sequels and rhythm game spin-offs. The seri ...
'' media franchise, where he performed and sang several songs for the character in the game and anime soundtracks.
After gaining recognition from the success of his role, Aoi released his first extended play, ''
Blue Bird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
B ...
'', on January 13, 2013, which contained theme songs he performed for
Broccoli
Broccoli (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''italica'') is an edible green plant in the cabbage family (family Brassicaceae, genus ''Brassica'') whose large flowering head, stalk and small associated leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Broccoli is cla ...
drama CDs. On January 15, 2014, Aoi released his first single, "
Virginal
The virginals (or virginal) is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods.
Description
A virginal is a smaller and simpler rectangular or polygonal form of ha ...
", under his stage name, as the ending theme song to ''Break Out'', which was then followed by his first concert, ''Shouta Aoi 1st Live: Virginal''.
On August 6, 2014, he released his second single, "
True Hearts." Alongside of singing and voice acting, Aoi continued participating in stage productions, including playing
Sakuya Shiomi in the ''
Persona 3: The Weird Masquerade'' musicals.
In late 2014, Aoi was cast as Ayumu Tamari in the
OVA
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
''This Boy Suffers From Crystallization'', his first leading role in animation.
He also provided the theme song, "Glitter Wish", which was later released as the B-side to his third single, "
Himitsu no Kuchizuke", on December 3, 2014. In 2015, he released his first studio album, ''
Unlimited'', which charted at #7 on the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
Weekly Albums Chart. Aoi's fourth single, "Murasaki", was released on September 2, 2015, serving as the theme song to the stage musical ''
Prince Kaguya
is a Japanese musical based on the fictional prose narrative, ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter''. It was premiered on November 28, 2015, at the Hakuhinkan Theater in Tokyo, where its functions were held until December 6. Between December 12 and 1 ...
'', which he also starred in as the title character. On February 3, 2016, he released the single "Zessei Stargate" as the opening theme song to ''
Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation'', in which he also voiced the character Itsuki Tachibana.
2016-present: Label change
Aoi returned to King Records in 2016.
During that year, both B-green and King Records released compilation albums of his previous works, ''S'' and ''Showta Best''. After changing labels, Aoi released his sixth single, "Innocent", as the opening theme song to ''
First Love Monster
or ''Hatsukoi Monster'' is a Japanese '' shōjo'' manga series written by Akira Hiyoshimaru and published in Kodansha's ''Aria'' magazine. An anime television adaptation aired from July to September 2016.
Plot
The story follows 15-year-old ...
'' on July 27, 2016, in which he also played Renren. His seventh single, "DDD", was released October 19 as the theme song to ''
Future Card Buddyfight DDD'', a series in which he also played recurring character Gaito Gurenzo. On January 25, 2017, Aoi released the song "Flower", which was the ending theme song for the variety show ''King's Brunch'' for the month of January. On October 11, 2017, he released his second studio album, ''Zero'', which sold 11,361 copies within its first week.
On May 9, 2018, Aoi released the song "Eclipse" as the opening theme song to ''
Devils' Line'', in which he also appeared in as Kenichi Yoshii.
In 2019, he provided the narration to ''
Dimension High School'' and later appeared in the show as Shiro Oide, his first role in live-action television.
On April 10, 2019, Aoi released his ninth single, "Tone", as the opening theme song to ''
Kono Oto Tomare! Sounds of Life
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Amyu. The series began publication in Shueisha's ''Jump Square'' magazine in August 2012. It has been reported that over 5.5 million copies of the manga have been sold. An anime televisio ...
'', in which he was also cast as Mio Kanzaki. On May 3, 2019, a set of 24 voiced stickers featuring Aoi for the messaging application
Line was released, based on his radio show ''Shouta Aoi: Hungry Night''. In September 2019, Aoi appeared in the live-action television drama ''Real Fake'' as Akane.
On October 10, 2022, Aoi released "Psycho:Logy" as a digital single, which was used as the opening theme of the second season of ''
Pop Team Epic
is a Japanese four-panel surreal comedy webcomic and digital manga series written and illustrated by Bkub Okawa (alternatively romanized as "Bukubu Okawa"), which started serialization on Takeshobo's ''Manga Life Win'' website in August ...
''. On October 15, 2022, Aoi announced that he has left his management company S and will be working freelance.
Public image
Since the beginning of his career, Aoi has been recognized for his soft, high-pitched voice and has been given nicknames such as "archangel" and "angelic singing voice."
He is also branded as being a "genderless singer" due to his androgynous voice and appearance,
which allowed him to play female roles. In a survey conducted by ''Anime! Anime!'', 50% women and 50% men in the questionnaire ranked him as #2 as the voice actor with the most "angelic" voice. Aoi himself became an
Internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
following his appearance in ''
Pop Team Epic
is a Japanese four-panel surreal comedy webcomic and digital manga series written and illustrated by Bkub Okawa (alternatively romanized as "Bukubu Okawa"), which started serialization on Takeshobo's ''Manga Life Win'' website in August ...
'', in which the studio responded by releasing exclusive merchandise of him.
In 2018, Aoi was the second most-followed voice actor on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
in Japan.
Other ventures
Endorsements
Aoi has appeared in commercials for
CyberStep
CyberStep, Inc. is a Japanese global online video game developer and publisher. The company was founded on April 1, 2000.
History
CyberStep is a developer and publisher of online video games. Headquartered in Japan, CyberStep has local branc ...
Toreba 2D. In 2016, Aoi appeared and sang in the commercial for
Lotte's Lady Borden ice cream along with
Yuki Kaji
Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to:
Places
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan
* Yuki, ...
and
Kenshō Ono
is a Japanese voice actor, actor and singer. His most well-known characters are Tetsuya Kuroko, the titular protagonist in the anime series '' Kuroko's Basketball'', Giorno Giovanna in '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'', Slaine Troyard in '' Aldnoah. ...
.
Collaborations
In 2017,
Denon produced a collaboration headphone set with Aoi, and he also starred in their commercial. In April 2018,
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
released a fashion collaboration line with Aoi and
Little Twin Stars
This is a list of characters from Sanrio, a Japanese company specialized in creating kawaii (cute) characters. Sanrio sells and licenses products branded with these characters and has created over 450 characters. Their most successful and best kno ...
, featuring a character based on himself named "Shoutan" and Tamutamu, a character Aoi personally designed. The character line ranked #5 in the 2018 Sanrio Character Ranking in the collaborations category. Sanrio distributed a mini album for the Shoutan character performed by Aoi himself, titled ''Twinkle Star''.
Discography
As Showta
;Studio albums
* ''
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
'' (2008)
;Compilation albums
* ''
Showta Best'' (2016)
As Shouta Aoi
;Studio albums
* ''
Unlimited'' (2015)
* ''Zero'' (2017)
;Mini albums
* ''
Blue Bird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
B ...
'' (2013)
;Compilation albums
* ''S'' (2016)
Filmography
Theatre
Anime
Films
Video games
Drama CD
Original video animation (OVA)
Live-action and variety shows
Tours
* ''Shouta Aoi 1st Live: Virginal'' (2014)
* ''Shouta Aoi 2nd Live: Unlimited'' (2015)
* ''Shouta Aoi LIVE: 2016 WONDER lab. 〜Bokutachi no (僕たちの) sign〜'' (2016)
* ''Shouta Aoi LIVE: 2017 WONDER lab. 〜prism〜'' (2017)
* ''Shouta Aoi LIVE: 2017 WONDER lab. Ø'' (2017)
* ''Shouta Aoi LIVE: 2019 WONDER lab. I'' (2019)
* ''Shouta Aoi LIVE: 蒼井翔太 ONLINE LIVE at 日本武道館 うたいびと'' (2021)
References
External links
Official blog
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aoi, Shouta
1987 births
Living people
Male voice actors from Fukui Prefecture
Actors from Fukui Prefecture
Japanese male musical theatre actors
Japanese male stage actors
Japanese male pop singers
Japanese male video game actors
Japanese male voice actors
Musicians from Fukui Prefecture
21st-century Japanese singers
21st-century Japanese male actors
21st-century Japanese male singers