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| “ | My joy at being involved with a series I love is stronger than any feelings of pressure. |
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Sayaka Kanda (神田 沙也加 Kanda Sayaka October 1, 1986 – December 18, 2021) was a Japanese actress and singer.
She performed as Mukuro Ikusaba and Junko Enoshima in the Danganronpa 1 (2014 and 2016), Danganronpa 2 (2015 & 2017), and Danganronpa 3 stage plays. She also sung the stage play themes, World's End Curtain Call and Good Bye School Dayz.
In 2016, Kanda sang the opening and ending theme of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future Arc with her band, TRUSTICK.
She was the Japanese voice of Kaede Akamatsu in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. In the English dub, Kaede's voice is provided by Erika Harlacher[1].
Kanda died on December 18, 2021, aged 35, in Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Casting in Danganronpa V3
Kanda was revealed as the voice of Kaede Akamatsu on September 13th, 2016 at the 2016 PlayStation Press Conference in Japan. A trailer was released debuting Kanda as the voice of Kaede, and Kanda recorded a short message introducing herself.
Personal experience on Danganronpa
| The following is taken from a Famitsu interview translated by @jinjojess on Tumblr |
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Kanda was initially asked to play Kaede at the Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE 2016 production announcement, although she did not learn that Kaede was to be the protagonist of Danganronpa V3 until after reading the script and noticing that the lines were very protagonist-esque. She felt less pressure playing Kaede than she did playing Junko in the stage plays, because Kaede is a new character with no expectations behind her. Kanda's impression of Kaede is that she is positive and thinks of others before herself, but is also very intimidating when she goes too far. She tried to make sure that Kaede had a voice unique to her, rather than boring fans with the same voice they were used to from the stage plays. Kanda's favorite character from Danganronpa V3 is Maki Harukawa, and Kanda is a particular fan of the bonus art for pre-ordering the game from GEO which features Maki and Kaede together.
Kanda was depressed when she learned that Kaede would be a false protagonist, and refused to believe that Kaede killed Rantaro in Chapter 1, hoping he would still be alive and be revealed later in the game. Because the cast of Danganronpa V3 were only allowed to know their own scripted lines in order to keep the story secret, Kanda did not know who the survivors were at the time of the interview, and predicted the survivors would be Tenko Chabashira, Maki Harukawa, Shuichi Saihara, and Rantaro Amami. As a fan of Hikaru Midorikawa, Kanda was hoping to hear more of his voice acting as Rantaro.
Megumi Toyoguchi sent Kanda a personal message to help her feel more confident playing Junko on stage. The message, in-character as Junko, said: "I've been waiting! I've been waiting all this time, for a person who could perfectly replicate my speech to appear! Sayaka Kanda, do your best today." Whenever she listens to the message, Kanda overcomes her nerves and finds the courage to go onstage, but sometimes gets a little overexcited at Toyoguchi saying her name.
In the official Artbook Character Profile, Kanda said that she was a bit nervous in her first recording because that was her first time to take part in Danganronpa games. To her, Kaede is as adorable as she looks and she is very glad to voice her, saying that she played her with so much energy as much spirit of character who wants to pull the group closer to her.[2]
Work on Danganronpa
As Junko Enoshima
As Mukuro Ikusaba
| Role | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
 Mukuro Ikusaba 戦刃 むくろ |
Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE (2014) |
2014 |
| Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE 2016 |
2016 |
As Kaede Akamatsu
| Role | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
 Kaede Akamatsu 赤松 楓 |
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version) | 2016 |
| Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony | 2017 | |
| Identity V collaboration (posthumous, archival recordings) | 2023 |
As a musician
| Title | Details | Year |
|---|---|---|
| World's End Curtain Call | Ending song of Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE (2014) | 2014 |
| Good Bye School Dayz | Ending song of Super Danganronpa 2: Sayonara Zetsubō Gakuen THE STAGE (2015) | 2015 |
| REBORN AT CAUTION AREA | Ending song of Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE 2016 | 2016 |
| DEAD OR LIE | Opening theme for Danganronpa 3: Future Arc | 2016 |
| Recall THE END | Ending theme for Danganronpa 3: Future Arc | 2016 |
| PSYCHO POP CANDY GIRL | Ending theme of Super Danganronpa 2: Sayonara Zetsubō Gakuen THE STAGE 2017 | 2017 |
Other Roles
Some of her credited roles include:
Film
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Theatrical Performance
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Animation
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Trivia
- Kanda's ex-husband, Mitsu Murata, is the stage actor of Mondo Owada in Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE 2016.
- Kanda is the only actress to appear in every Danganronpa stage play.
External links
English:
- English Wikipedia: Sayaka Kanda
- Anime News Network: Sayaka KANDA
- Behind the Voice Actors: Sayaka Kanda
- IMDB: Sayaka Kanda
- MyAnimeList: Sayaka Kanda
Japanese:
- Japanese Wikipedia: 神田沙也加
- Ameblo.jp: 神田沙也加 Official Blog
- Official Instagram: @sayakakanda
- Official Twitter: @sayakakanda
- Official Website: SAYAKA KANDA Official
References
- ↑
Erika Harlacher: "Excited to announce that I play Kaede Akamatsu in Danganronpa v3 😊🎼🎹 Come get autographs and see us on a panel tomorrow at AX!!!" (Image of tweet) (1 July 2017)
- ↑ Official Artbook Character Profile: Translated by @Kaibutsushidousa on tumblr.
