We know Mamaro Miyano as the voice of Light Yagami. But he's much more than that. Mamaro was just 23 years old when he landed the part that made him famous amongst fans of the Death Note anime. It's his voice speaking over all those sub-titles for those who disdained the dubbed versions. In 2008, he took the Best Voice Actor award - jointly for Light and Setsuna F Seiei in Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - at the Tokyo International Anime Fair. Time may have stood still, freezing him in 2006, as far as the Death Note fandom is concerned. But not for the actor himself. Mamaro went on to provide the anime voices of Hakugen Rikuson (Kōtetsu Sangokushi), Zero Kiryu (Vampire Knight), Death the Kid (Soul Eater), Tamaki Suoh (Ouran High School Host Club), Ling Yao (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood), Ultraman Zero (the Ultra Galaxy series), Oda Nobunaga (Nobunaga the Fool) and Dent - aka Cilan - (Pokémon). Short pause while everyone gets their heads around Dent and Light being one and the same, at least insofar as voices are concerned. He's also acted in front of the camera with roles in Tokusou Exceedraft and The Prince of Tennis. He reprised his part in the latter for a stage musical version. But running alongside this acting career is another one. Mamaro Miyano is quite the pop star in Japan. Are you ready to hear Light Yagami singing? |
His first two singles - Kuon and Fight - pretty much flopped, but then he sang the intro song Discovery for the PlayStation 2 game Fushigi Yūgi: Suzaku Ibun. Gamers took it to number 24 in the Japanese charts.
Mamaro's next single Soup was released as Setsuna F Seiei - his voiced character in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - and it entered the charts at number 18. As did To You, which followed in December 2008.
Since then, his popularity as a singer has gone from strength to strength in his native Japan, culminating in sell out concerts and a horde of screaming fans. Two of which were filmed for his latest live DVD.
Mamaro Miyano Special Live 2013 - Traveling! is a double disc DVD, with a Blu-Ray edition too. Disc 1 contains 24 songs performed live at Nihon Budokan, in Tokyo, on October 4th 2013. Disc 2 provides 17 songs from his Maihama Amphi Theater concert, in Chiba Prefecture, recorded on Mamaro's birthday - June 8th 2013.
Mamaro Miyano's concert DVD will be released on April 23rd 2014.