Yurie Kozakai

Yurie Kozakai
小坂井 祐莉絵
Born (1995-07-06) July 6, 1995 (age 29)
Higashiura, Aichi, Japan
OccupationVoice actress
Years active2012–present
AgentCrocodile

Yurie Kozakai (Japanese: 小坂井 祐莉絵, Hepburn: Kozakai Yurie, born July 6, 1995) is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with the talent agency Crocodile. She began her career in 2012, after passing an audition for the role of Mirai Higashiura in Chita Musume., a multimedia project created to promote Chita Peninsula. Kozakai is also the Tourism Ambassador of Higashiura, a member of idol unit Guil Drops, and a ring announcer for World Wonder Ring Stardom.

Her notable roles in anime include Pekola in Dropkick on My Devil!, Yuki Yoshikawa in Horimiya, and Ichika Arima in Koikimo.

Biography

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Early life

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Kozakai was born in Higashiura on July 6, 1995.[1] Having been interested in music since childhood, she took piano lessons at an early age and later became interested in anime when she was in elementary school, influenced by children in her neighborhood.[2] During this time, she played flute in a marching band and was a member of a track and field team.[2] She started to play guitar due to her admiration for musician Yui and was aspired to become a voice actress after watching Bleach.[2] While in high school, she joined a light music club, stating that she wanted to carry a guitar to her school.[2]

Career

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Her career as a voice actress began in 2012 at the age of 16,[2] after passing an audition for the role of Mirai Higashiura in the multimedia project Chita Musume., which produced a series of anime shorts to promote her hometown.[3] She and her fellow actresses won Best Performance Group Award at Taipei International Travel Fair for three consecutive years for their roles in the project.[4] She was appointed the Tourism Ambassador of Higashiura in 2014,[5] and joined the talent agency Crocodile in 2017.[4][6]

She played her first major role as Pekola in the 2018 anime television series Dropkick on My Devil!, which she also performed the series' opening theme "Ano Ko ni Dropkick" (あの娘にドロップキック, Ano Ko ni Doroppukikku), along with her co-stars.[7] The same year, Kozakai became a member of the voice actress idol unit Guil Drops,[2][8] created by Riho Iida as part of BS Fuji's television program Japacon Project, titled Guild Friends ~Iida Riho no ! Sekai e? Honki Desu!,[8] and started to work as a ring announcer for World Wonder Ring Stardom.[1][2] She graduated from college in March 2019,[9] and received her first lead role as Ichika Arima in the 2021 anime series Koikimo.[10] In February 2023, Kozakai was featured in the magazine Weekly Playboy as a gravure model.[11]

Filmography

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Anime

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List of voice performances in anime
Year Title Role Notes Source
2017 Clione no Akari Nurse Ep.4 [12]
2018–2022 Dropkick on My Devil! Pekola Also seasons 2 and 3 [7]
2019 B-Project: Zecchō Emotion Yuzuki (child) Ep.9 [12]
2019 The Quintessential Quintuplets Announcer Ep.12 [12]
2019 Seaside-sou no Aquakko La Mer TV special [12]
2020 Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It Aya Ep.4 [12]
2020 22/7 Ayana Tachikawa Ep.9 [12]
2020 Super HxEros Student Ep.4 [12]
2020 Talentless Nana Kaori Takanashi [13]
2020 Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle Rus Ep.7 [14]
2020 Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata: Secret Story Film Kanami [12]
2021–2023 Horimiya Yuki Yoshikawa Also The Missing Pieces [15][16]
2021 So I'm a Spider, So What? Yana Ep.6 [12]
2021 Koikimo Ichika Arima [10]
2021 Edens Zero Shiki Granbell (child), Maria Slime [12]
2021 Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Dryas Ep.5-6, 10 [12]
2022 World's End Harem Maria Kuroda [17]
2022 Sasaki and Miyano Eimi Yokota Ep.8 [14]
2022 Suisei no Freyline: Prologue Wakaba TV special [12]
2022 Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department Karen Mizuki [18]
2022 Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Ms. Miyahira [19]
2022 Heroines Run the Show Negishi Ep.4, 9 [12]
2022 Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table Sora Ep.8, 11-12 [12]
2023 My Life as Inukai-san's Dog Usagi Tsukishiro [20]
2023 Summoned to Another World... Again? Ruri [21]
2024 My Hero Academia season 7 Maina Furasu Episode 148

Video games

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List of voice performances in video games
Year Title Role Notes Source
2020 Monster Strike Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Windy [12]
2021 Azur Lane Gromky [22]
2021 Magia Record Hotaru Yura [12]
2021 Girls' Frontline Pekola [23]
2022 Heaven Burns Red Vritika Balakrishnan [14]
2022 The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II Flau [12]
2022 Smile of the Arsnotoria Peret [12]
2024 Seifuku Kanojo Mio Yahiro [24]

References

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  1. ^ a b 小坂井ゆりえ – スターダム✪STARDOM (in Japanese). World Wonder Ring Stardom. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 小坂井祐莉絵「みんな元気でいてほしくて、笑顔でいようと決めました」【声優図鑑】. Da Vinci (in Japanese). August 8, 2022. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  3. ^ Kisshi (December 30, 2012). 夢は努力してつかむもの――愛知県知多半島のご当地声優“知多娘。”による夢の東京ライブを徹底レポート!. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  4. ^ a b 小坂井祐莉絵 | 知多娘。公式WEBサイト. chita-musume.com (in Japanese). Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Kamiya, Akihiko (February 18, 2014). 声優アイドルユニット・ギルドロップス、初ステージでデビュー曲お披露目. kamiya-a.cocolog-nifty.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "平成28年度3月のトピックス". town.aichi-higashiura.lg.jp (in Japanese). April 4, 2017. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 24, 2018). "Dropkick on My Devil! Anime's Video Reveals Opening Song, July Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  8. ^ a b 声優アイドルユニット・ギルドロップス、初ステージでデビュー曲お披露目 (in Japanese). Oricon. July 21, 2018. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  9. ^ Kozakai, Yurie [@Kozakai_Yurie] (March 19, 2019). 私ごとなのですが...。 昨日大学を卒業しました (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved January 19, 2023 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ a b Kozakai, Yurie [@Kozakai_Yurie] (March 29, 2021). 初めての主演アニメ。凄く感慨深かったです。一花可愛かった...!!! (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved January 19, 2023 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ 【動画】小坂井祐莉絵『ひみつメモリーズ』メッセージ. Shueisha (in Japanese). February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Official agency profile" (in Japanese). Crocodile. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  13. ^ Loo, Egan (August 7, 2020). "Talentless Nana Anime Announces 16 More Cast Members". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "Yurie Kozakai (visual voices guide) - Behind The Voice Actors". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved January 24, 2022. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  15. ^ Loo, Egan (November 23, 2020). "Horimiya TV Anime Unveils 9 More Cast Members, More Staff, New Visual". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  16. ^ Loo, Egan (March 25, 2023). "New Horimiya -piece- Anime Premieres in July". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  17. ^ Loo, Egan (March 10, 2021). "World's End Harem Anime Announces 6 More Cast Members (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  18. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 12, 2022). "Miss Kuroitsu From the Monster Development Department Anime Reveals Cast for Original Characters, Narrator for Episode 2". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  19. ^ Loo, Egan (January 22, 2022). "Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Romantic Comedy Anime's Unveils More Cast, Song Artists". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  20. ^ Mateo, Alex (August 10, 2022). "My Life as Inukai-san's Dog TV Anime's 1st Promo Video Reveals Cast, Staff, January 2023 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  21. ^ Loo, Egan (February 4, 2023). "Summoned to Another World... Again?! Anime's 1st Full Promo Video Unveils More Cast, Maybe Me's Ending Song, April 8 Debut". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  22. ^ @crocodile_staff (February 20, 2021). 【出演情報】 アプリゲーム「アズールレーン」 駆逐艦 グロームキィ役を 小坂井祐莉絵が担当させて頂きました! 是非プレイしてくださいね♪ (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved January 19, 2023 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Chihiro (December 3, 2021). 「ドールズフロントライン」とアニメ「邪神ちゃんドロップキック’」のコラボが本日開始。邪神ちゃんら限定人形がゲーム内に登場. 4Gamer (in Japanese). Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  24. ^ 八尋実桜 | CHARACTER | エンターグラム新作恋愛ゲーム | 公式サイト. entergram.co.jp (in Japanese). Entergram. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
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