<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > in everyone's life, there must be a few anime works that mark the good times of the past. Sometimes not only the work itself, but even the songs included in it can become one of our memories. The singer I'm going to introduce today, she sang for the slam dunk master and detective Conan, and you can hear her voice in Dragon Ball and Xiaodang's home. Although an accident in 2007 took away this beautiful life, in the memories of many, she never left. </h1>
Sakai Izumizu, whose real name is Sachiko Kabuike, was born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1967. She had been learning piano since elementary school, and at first she didn't get much interest because she was often scolded by her teachers, until she heard Beethoven's "To Alice" played by others at a piano conference, and she felt for the first time that music was a beautiful thing.
When she was a student, Shei Izumi was a beautiful girl in the eyes of everyone, a model student, and an athlete. In everyone's eyes, she is a rather dazzling presence. After graduating from university, she started her first job in the long-awaited metropolis of Tokyo, becoming an OL of a real estate company. Two years later, she was discovered by star scouts and has since entered the show business circle. Izumi Sakai first debuted as a real name and model. Although she has participated in MVs and filmed photo albums, she is shy and does not like to do these things, what she really wants to do is music. In addition to the classical music foundation cultivated by studying piano, she also prefers the works of PINK LADY, Matsuda Seiko and others.
The British orchestra SADE, which influenced her the most, was the reason why she was determined to become a singer. In 1990, Izumi Sakai participated in the B.B.QUEENS Chorus Contest organized by Japan's most prestigious Being company. Although she was unfortunately unsuccessful, the company's president and producer, Daiyuki Nagato, discovered her potential and later invited her to form the ZARD Orchestra under the stage name Sakai Izumi when she was later commissioned to produce the theme song of the TV series "The Ideal and Reality of Marriage", and became a member of the Being Department. On February 10, 1991, Izumi Sakai successfully transformed from a model to a singer, leading ZARD to a bloody debut in the Japanese orchestra band with the single "Good-bye My Loneliness".
Although the first single won number nine on the Oricon chart, ZARD did not become popular, and the two consecutive singles released were mediocre. The following year, after the release of "Sleep れない夜を抱いて", the orchestra officially became popular. The 450,000-hit single drove the buy-out of his third album, HOLD ME, giving ZARD its first million sales. The glorious legend of the orchestra began, and it was their masterpiece that once again pushed their popularity to another peak, and at the same time the song that best represented Sakai Izumi, namely the 1993 single "Negative けないで".
Izumi Sakai once said, "I always cherish language and lyrics, and I hope that this can be conveyed to you (the listeners) through music." It is precisely because she knows the power of language that ALMOST ALL OF ZARD's songs are lyrically arranged by her, and most of her music transmits a positive attitude towards life to the listener through lyrics. And "negative けないで" shows the spirit of not admitting defeat and bravely chasing dreams. In the early 1990s, during Japan's bubble economy, the song inspired every frustrated Japanese and became known as Japan's second national anthem, and its significance can be seen.
The next advertising song "揺れる思い" produced by Hani Izumi and the fourth album that included the song, "揺れる想い", both achieved impressive results, but from this time on, ZARD was fully focused on music and was almost not exposed to the media, which was quite in line with the characteristics of the Being company they belonged to at that time.
In the mid-1990s, Tetsuya Komuro, a legendary producer, led many singers to usher in a brilliant era with the style of electronic dance music, and the Being department in the early 1990s was synonymous with the top Japanese music industry before the Komuro family. At that time, the Being artists could be said to dominate the Japanese music scene. Their common features are to keep a low profile, have a fairly high creative ability, and do not promote through variety shows and other advertising methods like ordinary artists.
ZARD is a low-key among the Being artists, known as the Ghost Orchestra, and have only performed publicly twice in their 15-year career. The first was on a luxury cruise ship in 1999, the second was on a "What a beautiful moment tour" tour in 2004, and Sakai Izumi was voted the most wanted person besides the Emperor of Japan. The former brilliance of the Being department has a certain relationship with anime works. At that time, many anime works often sought cooperation with Being, and they were arranged by them regardless of the opening, ending, and even interludes.
ZARD's 1996 dunk dunk master ending song "マイ フレンド", the 1997 Dragon Ball GT ending song "Don't you see!"" and the Seven Dragon Ball GT theme song "DAN DAN Heart Charm かれてく" written by Hani Izumi came out in this context. In addition to the previous two masterpieces, Hani Izumi has also contributed 9 times to "Detective Conan", "Luck Destiny のルーレット廻して" must also be one of the important memories of your youth! However, since 2001, Hani Izumi's physical condition has gradually deteriorated, when she suffered from diseases such as uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts, and applied for leave. When she made her comeback in 2002, many people had already found her to be less beautiful than before. Before the 2004 tour, Nagato Daiyuki advised Hani Izumi to concentrate on recuperating, but she insisted on continuing to sing for ZARD fans.
In 2006, after filming the MV of "ハートに火をつけて", Hani Izumi rushed to the doctor due to physical discomfort and was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She was immediately admitted to the hospital and underwent a hysterectomy. After the operation, the recuperating spring water continued to create, and she told Nagato Daiyuki that she was ready to make a comeback and wanted to hold a concert again. Just when everything seemed to be on track, at 5:40 a.m. on May 26, 2007, Hani Izumi accidentally fell from a staircase about 3 meters high in the hospital, and finally died of severe cerebral contusion and laceration at the age of 40. At the farewell ceremony, in addition to the artists of the Being department, more than 40,000 fans came to mourn.
At the end of the year, the late Hani Izumi was awarded the Special Merit Award at the 49th Japan Record Awards, and the 58th Red and White Song Battle also took everyone back to the sister of Izumizu who never accepted defeat in the form of a video a few days later. Her name will always shine on that glorious page in the Japanese music scene. "Thank you, Sakai Izumi," many people used to say goodbye to her. And I want to say, thank you for being there, thank you for your music is always inspiring. I will always remember you as your song says. I hope you will always be happy in heaven to write and sing songs.