Kaori (voice actress)

Japanese voice actress

Voice actress
singer

Years active1994–2012Notable workPocket Monsters: Advanced Generation as HarukaWebsitespunkystrider.jugem.jp

KAORI. (川奈翠 Kawana Midori born 28 February 1976) is a freelance Japanese voice actress and singer from Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. She was previously employed by Contemporary Music Society and Aksent.

Career

Until around 1999, KAORI. worked under the stage name Kawana Akiko (川菜明子) and then Kawana Midori (川菜翠) at an entertainment agency, but due to a merger with the agency she belonged to, she couldn't use "Kawana Midori" anymore, so she worked under the stage name Ka~na (か〜な) for a brief period. The stage name KAORI., which she used since 2000, is a portmanteau of Kawana Midori. In 2008, when she appeared in Pocket Monsters: Diamond and Pearl, she changed her stage name to Suzuki Kaori (鈴木カオリ), though she continued to use "KAORI." when singing.

She is also a member of the rock band Spunky Strider, in which she was a vocalist.

As of 2012, she has stopped singing, either as a solo artist or with a band, due to vocal cervical dystonia (spasmodic dysphonia).^[1] She had signs of vocal problems starting in 2007, prior to her return as Haruka (May in English version) in Pocket Monsters: Diamond and Pearl.^[2]