Welcome
to my humble little page on A Tribute to Noriko Sakai!
Noriko
Sakai [ 
] is a very popular J-pop singer and actress in Japan. Born with
a pretty face and beautiful voice, she has a very strong fan followings
in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Her career started in 1985, not as
a singer, but as an actress in one of the long japanese drama serial called
" ",
or "Spring Breeze Number One!". She was only 14 years old and it was in
this serial that she got her teenage image name, "Nori-P [ 
]".
Her
singing career began in 1987, when she performed her debut song " "
which means "Want to become a boy" during a public performance in Osaka,
Nanba. This song achieved 6th rank in the music ranking chart that same
year in Japan, bringing about instant fame and soaring popularity.
 Although
all was not smooth sailing, she worked with perseverance and diligence
through the many ups and downs. She has also successfully shed her teenage
image, though not her teenage name, "Nori-P" name, to carry on with a fresh
adult image.
One
of the most significant success she had in recent years must have been
the Japanese drama serial, in which she acted as Aya Kuramoto [ 
] in " ",
or "Heaven's Coins" in 1995. Besides being one of the most highly rated
drama serial in Japan, the theme song in which she sang in, "Aoi Usagi
[ 
]" was ranked 18 out of the "Top 100 songs which have impressed Japan in
the 20th century" by the NHK-BS channel in Japan.
Noriko
has sung numerous songs, and her contribution to the Japanese animation
(or anime in short) music industry
must not be overlooked.
 The
song "Yumebouken", which means "Dream
Adventure", is the opening theme to the anime series "Anime
San-Juushi", or "Anime Three Musketeers". This song hit the 4th in
the Japanese music ranking chart in 1987, the same year in which her CD
singles was released. This song was also used as the contingent marching-in
theme song for the 60th High School Baseball Championship meet the following
year.
 Next
in the line-up in 1988 for Noriko was a top rated anime series titled "Gunbuster:
TOPPU o Nerae!", or "Gunbuster: Aim for the Top!". She sang the opening
theme, "Active Heart", as well as
the ending theme, "Try Again...!",
for this anime. Coincidentally (or intentionally?), 3 Norikos came together
into the making of this anime. Noriko herself, "Noriko" Takaya, the heroine
character, and "Noriko" Hidaka, the seiyuu (voice) actress for Noriko Takaya.
One will probably think that is this supposed to be a gimmick to boost
the sales for this anime?
 Noriko
was also involved in another popular anime series called "Den'ei Shoujo",
or more commonly known in English as "Video Girl
Ai". She sang the opening theme titled "Ureshi
Namida", which means "Happy Tears". Her CD singles, "Karui Kimochi
no JURIA", which comes with this song, was ranked 19th in the Japanese
music CD singles sales chart in 1992.
If
you like to find out more about Noriko Sakai, I will recommend you visit
Parabola's
Noriko Sakai Resources Centre. This is an excellent portal site which
does site reviews, and links to some of the best websites dedicated to
this J-pop star.
October 27, 1998
Revised on February 13,
2ooo
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