Minami Kuribayashi, born on June 11, 1976 is a Japanese singer, songwriter, lyricist and voice actress. Hailing from Shizuoka Prefecture, she gained recognition not only for her artistic talents but also for her involvement in the game and anime industries. Her notable contribution to the game and anime Kimi ga Nozomu Eien was a pivotal moment in her career. Here, she not only lent her voice to the character Haruka Suzumiya but also composed the theme songs and other related music for the series. This endeavour propelled her into the spotlight, with her single "Precious Memories" gaining widespread acclaim as the opening theme song for the animated adaptation of the series. This success was reflected in its impressive performance on the Oricon charts, achieving a peak ranking of 17th place and remaining in the charts for 14 weeks. Continuing to gain momentum, Kuribayashi contributed to anime series such as Muv-Luv, Chrono Crusade, My-HiME, My-Otome and Kure-nai, achieving success with tracks like "Precious Memories" (2003) and "Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line” (2004) which both came in at number 17 as well as "Kimi no Naka no Eiyū “(2011) and “True Blue Traveler,” (2013) which also charted in the top 20. Kuribayashi also released seven original albums released between 2006 and 2018, most notably passage (2006) which climbed to number 12 on the charts, as well dream link (2008) and miracle fruit (2011), both which charted in the top 30. After a hiatus, she returned in 2023 with Leap, which entered the Top 100 albums chart at number 85.
