Asami Shimoda (voice of Kagamine Rin/Len)
Asami Shimoda (born January 30, 1986) is a Japanese voice actor, stage actress, and singer. She belongs to the Arts Vision talent agency. Born in Tottori City, Tottori prefecture, her most popular works include "IS
Career
In 2006, Shimoda passed the "Arts Vision Free Rookie Audition" held annually and became a member of Arts Vision as a 17th term special student through the Japan Narration Institute.
Her debut in 2005 was for the roles of Ami Futami and Mami Futami in the video game "THE IDOLM@STER".
In June 2009, Shimoda released her first solo album "Prism". In conjunction with this, she created her Nico Nico Douga channel on April 27, 2009.
In 2007, Shimoda provided the voice data for the voice synthesis software VOCALOID2 for the twin characters Kagamine Rin and Len.
On July 13, 2013, she was appointed the "Tottori Furusato Ambassador" in her hometown of Tottori.
On December 26, 2017, she announced her marriage.
Traits
Shimoda gave herself the nickname "Asapon" when she appeared as a guest on a radio program. Other nicknames include "Aasaa", "Gettan", and "Ponchan".
As a high school student, she entered into a voice actor training school. She lived in Tottori and Tokyo, traveling once a week by night bus. This was discovered by NHK Tottori Broadcasting Station.
Her song "Agent Yoru o Yuku" in the video game "THE IDOLM@STER" became a hot topic among fans and was incredibly popular on video uploading websites.
Voice Acting Roles
Since 2008, Shimoda has appeared in over 20 anime series including Seitokai Yakuindomo, Dragonar Academy, and Attack on Titan. She also appears in The Idolmaster TV series and original video animation (OVA).
She has also provided the voice for such games as THE IDOLM@STER, Killer Is Dead, and Azur Lane. Her work as a standalone voice actor has been praised by many in the voice acting community.
Shimoda continues to work with regular releases of THE IDOLM@STER and was announced as a guest for the "MR ST@GE!!" and "SideM Producer Meeting 2020" live concert events, however both events have since been canceled due to the global Coronavirus threat.
Vocaloid
Shimoda provides the voices for Vocaloid characters Kagamine Rin and Kagamine Len. The role would make her a household name among Vocaloid fans and she will often attend Vocaloid events to meet with her fans. Shimoda was cast for the role because, at the time, she was singing for the game characters Ami and Mami Futami from THE IDOLM@STER and Crypton took immediate notice. They told her that her voice gave them a "yellow" impression.
Shimoda believes that recording for the Kagamine twins required far more concentration than that of regular voice acting. They recorded for about 4 hours a day, 5 days a week and she would often get sleepy having to repeat the same words over and over again for a long time.
In earlier Hatsune Miku concerts, Shimoda would appear on-stage as a special guest and have question-and-answer time with the audience, as well and talk with fellow Vocaloid voice actors on various topics such as the process behind-the-scenes, and how being the voice of a Vocaloid has affected their lives.
Her reaction to the popularity of Vocaloid was surprising at first as she was unaware of how the technology would be received due to how new it was. Within months of the Kagamine software being released, she saw hundreds of songs pop up with her voice and felt grateful. Among the songs that appeared was Signal-P's "Rin Rin Signal" which she enjoyed so much that she provided a cover of it. She now regularly checks for new songs and says that it makes her heart "go aflutter" so even now she will sing popular songs at events.
When watching past events, Shimoda gets very emotional from seeing the impressive layout of the stage and also the fan participation and feelings they express during songs.
Links
公式プロフィール
下田麻美 Special Website
あさぽんの小屋（本人によるブログ） - The web service has since been discontinued
下田麻美 (@shimoda_asami) - Twitter
下田麻美ちゃんねる（niconico channel）