Danica Davidson
September 27, 2024 
There is sad news coming out of Japan as we learn of the passing of singer-songwriter Sayuri. She passed away exactly a week ago, on September 20, and was only 28 years old.
The private funeral has already been held. An exact cause of death was not stated. However, her husband, musician Amaarashi, described it as a “chronic illness.” She and Amaarashi were married less than a year before her death.
Sayuri did mention in summer 2024 that she was dealing with functional dysphonia and was therefore taking a respite. She detailed that she was going to a vocal coach and speech therapist about it.
The University of Michigan Health site explained:
Dysphonia (diss-PHONE-nee-yah) is the medical term for disorders of the voice.
Functional dysphonia is poor voice quality without any obvious anatomical, neurological or other organic difficulties affecting the larynx or voice box. It is also referred to as functional voice difficulty.
Sayuri’s musical interests started early, and as a teenager she was known in her hometown for her singing and guitar work.
But things really got big in 2016, when 19-year-old Sayuri debuted her single “Mikazuki.” “Mikazuki” was the ending theme song for Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace. From there, she would do theme song performances for Edens Zero, ERASED, Fate/Extra Last Encore, Golden Kamuy, Lycoris Recoil, My Hero Academia, Scum’s Wish, and Sing “Yesterday” for Me.
Examples of her better-known theme songs include “Kokai no Uta” (translated as “Song of Regret”) for the fourth season of My Hero Academia; “Sore wa Chiisa na Hikari no yo na” (translated as “That Was Like a Small Light”) for ERASED in 2016; “Heikōsen” (translated as “Parallel Lines”) for Scum’s Wish in 2017; “Hana no To” (translated as “Tower of Flower”) for Lycoris Recoil in 2022.
Sayuri’s talents touched people around the globe who listened to her sing.
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
