Natsume (夏芽, Natsume, born 20 July) is a Japanese drummer and voice actress. She is a member of the bands Shazna and Raise A Suilen, the latter as part of the BanG Dream! franchise, for which she voices the character Masuki "Masking" Satō.
Biography
Natsume, a native of Tokyo, was born on 20 July.[1] She began drumming in high school after being invited to perform with the school band, and later attended the vocational school ESP Gakuen where she formed a band with her classmates.[2]
She provided live support at a 2005 fan club event for the band Arashi.[1] In 2006, she became part of the band Claddagh Ring.[1] After she left the band in 2012, she provided live support for Arashi, Barbars [ja], Cyntia, The Marcy Band, Yōichi Hirose [ja], Maki Ōtsuki [ja], Raychell, and Shinkū Horō [ja].[1] In 2012, she released a training DVD named Issho ni Hatakeru: Drum Rhythm Training (一緒に叩ける ドラム・リズムトレーニング, Issho ni hatakeru doramu rizumu torēningu, lit. "Play Them Together: Drums and Rhythm Training").[1] In 2017, Natsume joined the band Shazna following the band's resumption of activities.[1]
After playing in the backup band for the festival A-Nation,[3] Natsume performed at Bushiroad's tenth anniversary concert and was recruited by Takaaki Kidani to join Bushiroad's BanG Dream! multimedia franchise.[4] As part of BanG Dream!, Natsume became a member of the band Raise A Suilen, serving as its drummer;[5] she had previously been a part of Raise A Suilen's precursor band, The Third.[6] She voiced the character Masuki "Masking" Satō, the drummer of Raise A Suilen's fictional counterpart of the same name, in the second and third seasons of the franchise's anime television series.[7][8] When she first portrayed Masuki for the second season, Natsume spoke in a lower tone under the impression that her character suppresses her emotions, but became more expressive in the third season as Masuki's character develops.[9] In 2020, she began voicing the character in BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! Pico, the franchise's chibi short anime spinoff,[10] and in Film Live 2nd Stage, the franchise's animated concert film.[11] In 2022, she reprised the role in the BanG Dream film Poppin'Dream!.[12]
In 2023, Natsume's affiliation with Ace Crew Entertainment ended.[13]
^Raychell; Natsume. "RAISE A SUILEN" (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Miyazaki, Daiki. Billboard Japan. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
^Kidani, Takaaki (6 November 2018). "ブシロード 木谷高明が語る、『バンドリ！』プロジェクトの軌跡と未来 「何十年も続く作品にしたい」" [Bushiroad's Takaaki Kitani talks about BanG Dream!'s project trajectory and future: "I want to make a work that will last for decades"] (Interview) (in Japanese). Interviewed by Sunaga, Kenji. Real Sound. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
