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Mari Iijima

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Mari Iijima
飯島 真理
Iijima at Tekkoshocon in 2010
Born (1963-05-18) May 18, 1963 (age 61)
Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan
EducationKunitachi College of Music
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active1982 (1982)–present
Notable workThe Super Dimension Fortress Macross as Lynn Minmay
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
Years active1983 (1983)–present
LabelsMarimusic/BounDee
Websitewww.marimusic.com Edit this at Wikidata

Mari Iijima (飯島 真理, Iijima Mari, born May 18, 1963) is a Japanese actress and singer. She writes and produces most of her own music, and plays the piano and other instruments. After being signed to JVC Victor in 1982, Mari first became known for her voice-acting role as Lynn Minmay in the anime Macross. Her debut original album, Rosé, was released in 1983, which was produced by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

Life and career

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Mari Iijima live at Tekkoshocon 5, April 14, 2007
Mari Iijima Live in Tokyo at the Hakuju Hall on July 31, 2010

Iijima was born in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki. Her original demo tape was picked up by JVC Victor in 1982 and she was signed to the record company as a singer-songwriter. Soon afterward, she was asked to audition for the role of Lynn Minmay in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross by the label and the producers chose her to play the role. The series quickly became a mega hit and brought Iijima to stardom. Her debut album, Rosé, containing no Macross tracks, had lyrics and music written by her. It debuted at number 10 on the charts in September 1983, and she started her career as a singer-songwriter.[1]

Iijima moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to expand her music career.[citation needed] That same year, she appeared as a guest vocalist on Van Dyke Parks' album Tokyo Rose. It was around this time that she married James Studer, who had been her producer on her 1988 album Miss Lemon.[2] The couple had two children, Andy and Ryan, before separating in 2001.[3]

Mari Iijima Live in Tokyo at the Hakuju Hall on July 31, 2010

After releasing her first independent (and first English language) album, No Limit, she was nominated for the 2000 Los Angeles Music Awards' Best Pop Artist for the album and she was in the final four for the award.[citation needed] She won the best Asian song for her track Unspoken Love from the album Wonderful People at the Just Plain Folks Awards in 2006 and performed as a guest performer.[4]

In 2006, she reprised her role as Lynn Minmay in ADV Films' English-language release of Macross,[5] which made her the second Japanese voice actor to reprise her role in an English anime dub (following only Miyuki Sawashiro).[6][7][8] She dedicated her performance in the ADV dub to Arihiro Hase, the Japanese voice actor of Hikaru Ichijo in Macross and a close friend of Iijima. She maintained good relations with Hase's mother after his death by suicide in 1996.[9]

Iijima released her twenty-first studio album, called Echo, in August 2009. The title was taken from the nymph character Echo that appears in Echo and Narcissus. The album's theme is unrequited love.[10]

She has continued to perform into the 2020s, both live and in videos, but a Tokyo concert planned for August 2020 was postponed to January 11, 2021 (then to August 28, 2021), due to the COVID-19 crisis. Iijima stated on her website that she "likes the ring of '1.11'" as a sign for the future.

Discography

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Original albums

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Year Title
1983 Rosé
1984 Blanche
1985 Midori
1985 Kimono Stereo
1987 Coquettish Blue
1988 Miss Lemon
1989 My Heart in Red
1990 It's a Love Thing
1991 Believe
1993 Different Worlds
1994 Love Season
1995 Sonic Boom
1996 Good Medicine
1997 Europe
1998 Rain & Shine
1999 No Limit
2001 Right Now
2003 Silent Love
2004 Wonderful People
2006 Uncompromising Innocence
2009 Echo
2012 Take a Picture Against The Light
2014 Sharp As A Knife, As Sweet As Strawberries
2016 Awakening
2018 Chaos and Stillness
2022 Being Myself

Compilation albums

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Year Title
1984 Variée
1993 The Classics
1995 Best of the Best
2005 Mari picks "The Ultimate Collection" (1983–1985)
2005 Mari picks "The Ultimate Collection" (1987–1999)
2004 Gems
2007 palette
2019 G

EPs

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Year Title
2011 2 Seconds of Infinity
2013 Dancing with Minmay
2018 Anger is The New Sadness
2020 Honto No Ai
2023 For Lovers Only II

Singles

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Year Title
1983 Yumeiro no Spoon
Kitto Ieru
1984 Ai Oboete Imasu ka
1 gram no Shiawase
1985 Cecile no Amagasa
1986 Harukana Hohoemi -Koudo Kougen-
1987 People! People! People!
1988 Kagami yo! Kagami (I wanna marry you)
Blue Christmas
1989 Still
Secret
1990 Nichiyobi No Date
Sayonara Wa Ienai
Bokura wa Tenshija Nai
1991 Love is a miracle
1992 Kirai
1993 Ai Oboete Imasu ka (re-release)
1994 Don't fade out!/Sunset
1995 Is There Anybody Out There?
1996 Forever Young
1997 Mikazuki no Canoe
Friends
2002 Eternal love ~Hikari no Tenshi~
2003 Eternal love 2003
2009 Iki Wo Shiteru Kanjiteiru
2012 Churiru Churira/Anata No Hana Ni Naritai/The Unconventional
2013 Eternal Forest/Sky's Dance
2020 Tomei Na Kaze
2021 I'm Not In Love

Soundtracks

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Year Title
2002 Lorna Doone The Soundtrack

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1982 The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Lynn Minmay Voice actress and singer
1984 Macross: Do You Remember Love? Lynn Minmay Voice actress, singer, and songwriter for "Tenshi no Enogu"
1999 Pacific Blue Kiko Season 5 – episode 12 "God's Gift"
2001 Spyder Games Soraya Episodes 1&2
2001 Lorna Doone Composer (2001 re-release of 1922 film)
2004 Green Tea-r Yoko Lead actress and songwriter
2006 The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Lynn Minmay[5] ADV Films' 2006 English Dub

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 Galaxy Angel Theme song performance "Eternal love ~Hikari no Tenshi~", "Tenshi-tachi no Kyuusoku"
2003 Galaxy Angel: Moonlight Lovers Theme song performance "Eternal love 2003", "Tenshi-tachi no Kyuusoku"
2004 Cy-Girls Aska (voice)
2013 Macross 30: The Voice that Connects the Galaxy Lynn Minmay

References

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  1. ^ Ohanesian, Liz (May 19, 2011). "Mari Iijima: Anime Idol". LA Weekly. No. People Issue 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  2. ^ "飯島真理* – Miss Lemon". Discogs.
  3. ^ On Stage with Mari Iijima (DVD). ADV Films. 2006.
  4. ^ "2006 Just Plain Folks Music Awards Song Winners". Just Plain Folks Music Organization. 2006. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Cast List". ADV Films. 2007. p. en. Archived from the original on May 14, 2007. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  6. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (October 22, 2005). "Mari Iijima on Macross Dub". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  7. ^ Huff, Jason (January 16, 2006). "The Anime Review". theanimereview.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  8. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (October 24, 2005). "Correction: First Japanese VA on an English Dub". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  9. ^ Becoming Minmay - An Interview with Mari Iijima (DVD). ADV Films. 2006.
  10. ^ Andrew (August 16, 2009). "Mari Iijima Interview". J-Pop World. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
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