Iori Saeki (佐伯 伊織, Saeki Iori, born July 22, 1994),[1] also known by the stage name NU-KO, is a Japanese singer and voice actress affiliated with Swallow.[2] Beginning her activities as a dōjin (self-published) musician in 2012, she began voice acting activities in 2018. She is known for her roles as King Halo in Uma Musume Pretty Derby, Kimie "Tanpopo" Kamata in Oresuki, Vanilla in Nekopara, Ashley in Lapis Re:Lights, and Yashiro Chikama in Adachi and Shimamura.
Biography
Saeki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on July 22, 1994.[1][2] She grew up in a family that was fond of playing video games such as a fighting game in the Saint Seiya series.[3] While in elementary school, she became interested in anime after watching the series Neon Genesis Evangelion and developing a fondness for the character Shinji Ikari and his voice actor Megumi Ogata.[3] She also became a fan of Nana Mizuki, and was impressed by how Mizuki was able to find success both as a singer and as a voice actress.[3] Although she initially wanted to pursue a career in voice acting, she decided to start out as a singer instead.[3]
In 2012, Saeki learned of an audition to perform songs for the arcade game series Pop'n Music. Under the name NU-KO, she applied for the audition, and after passing, performed the song "Ren'ai Kansoku" (恋愛観測) for the series.[2] She would continue singing songs for Pop'n Music, including "Katate Dokusho" (カタテ読書), "Aka to Ao no Rampage" (朱と碧のランページ), and "Sing a Song Sigh".[2] She would also release several more dōjin songs under the NU-KO alias.[4][5]
In 2017, Saeki decided to start a voice acting career, and trained at a school run by the talent agency Swallow.[3] After finishing her training, she became affiliated with Swallow in 2018 and made her voice acting debut as a maid in the anime television series Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles.[2] She was then cast as King Halo in the multimedia franchise Uma Musume Pretty Derby.[6] Later that year, she was cast as the characters Maiko Kurashiki in the mobile game Hachigatsu no Cinderella Nine and Mitsuki Gero in the mixed-media project Onsen Musume, replacing Yurika Endō who had announced her retirement from voice acting.[3][7] In 2019, she reprised the role of Maiko for the anime television series adaptation of Hachigatsu no Cinderella Nine,[8] and played the role of Kimie "Tanpopo" Kamata in Oresuki.[9] In 2020, she played the role of Vanilla in Nekopara,[10] played the role of Kozue Kasugai in Rebirth,[11] reprised the role of Ashley for the anime television series adaptation of Lapis Re:Lights,[12] and played the role of Yashiro Chikama in Adachi and Shimamura.[13] In 2021, she played the role of Kei Ayamine in Muv-Luv Alternative.[14] In 2022, she played the role of Menou in The Executioner and Her Way of Life,[15] and played the role of Moe Yanagida in Tokyo Mew Mew New.[16]
