When I saw the results of "MAAYA's BEST SONG" ( https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/maaya/30th/ ), a fan vote covering all 255 songs released over three decades, I was struck speechless. First place went to "Platinum," second to "tune the rainbow," fourth to "Yakusoku wa Iranai," fifth to "Hikari Are," and sixth to "Mameshiba"—five of the top six songs were composed by Yoko Kanno.
And in third place was "Be mine!" Composed and arranged by the band apart, this track bears no Yoko Kanno credit whatsoever. The fact that a collaboration with an artist other than Kanno has become one of the most beloved songs in Sakamoto's 30-year catalog—this single data point encapsulates the entire arc of Maaya Sakamoto as a musician.
"Yakusoku wa Iranai" — It All Began with Yoko Kanno
1996. Sixteen-year-old Maaya Sakamoto was cast as Hitomi Kanzaki, the heroine of the TV anime The Vision of Escaflowne (original work by Shoji Kawamori), and simultaneously made her debut as a singer with the opening theme "Yakusoku wa Iranai." Lyrics by Yuho Iwasato, composition and arrangement by Yoko Kanno.
According to her profile on Natalie Music ( https://natalie.mu/music/news/625122 ), Kanno's involvement with Sakamoto began through lyricist Yuho Iwasato, whom she had met during the production of a Miki Imai album. Kanno described Sakamoto's voice as "similar to Miki Imai's" and took on the role of her music producer.
For the next nine years, Yoko Kanno would architect Maaya Sakamoto's sound. "Yakusoku wa Iranai," "Platinum" (Cardcaptor Sakura OP), "tune the rainbow" (RahXephon ED), "Mameshiba"—the songs that dominate the fan poll were all born during this period.
I wrote about the extraordinary nature of Yoko Kanno's compositional talent in vol. 7 of this series, which covered her 30-year collaboration with director Shoji Kawamori. She crosses genres effortlessly, creating music that perfectly accompanies any visual world. And this same Kanno took a sixteen-year-old voice actress's voice as raw material and spent nine years "building" an artist from scratch. Sakamoto's early catalog is suffused with Kanno's aesthetic—crystalline melodies, meticulous arrangements, and structures designed to draw out every nuance of the singer's voice.
Be mine! — The Moment of Departure
So did Maaya Sakamoto spend 30 years as a Yoko Kanno "creation"? Not at all.
From the 2010s onward, names other than Yoko Kanno began appearing more frequently in Sakamoto's credits. the band apart, Shoko Suzuki, Katsutoshi Kitagawa (ROUND TABLE), h-wonder, Shin Kono, Shigeru Kishida (Quruli)—her collaborative horizons expanded dramatically.
The most symbolic moment came with "Be mine!," released in 2014 as the opening theme for the TV anime World Conquest Zvezda Plot. Composed and arranged by the band apart, the song features post-rock guitar work, bouncing rhythms, and Sakamoto's translucent voice—a texture completely different from Yoko Kanno's world, yet unmistakably a Maaya Sakamoto song.
Reportedly, "Be mine!" is currently used as the jingle for Sakamoto's 30th anniversary radio program. The very fact that this song was chosen to represent the milestone of 30 years, out of all 255 tracks in her catalog, speaks volumes about how far Sakamoto's musicality has grown since leaving Kanno's nest.
Two Bands Anchoring the 30th Anniversary
In April 2026, Maaya Sakamoto will hold a 30th Anniversary SPECIAL LIVE at Ariake Arena. According to reporting by Animate Times ( https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1758263746 ), the two-day concert will feature different band formations each night. Day one, Route A, will be led by Katsutoshi Kitagawa's band; day two, Route B, by Shin Kono's band.
Kitagawa, a member of ROUND TABLE, has contributed numerous songs to Sakamoto's catalog. Kono, likewise, has been a pillar of her recent music as arranger and keyboardist. In other words, this 30th anniversary concert is a performance of two versions of "Maaya Sakamoto today," led by the two musicians who have shaped her post-Kanno sound.
Naturally, Yoko Kanno's songs will not be absent from the setlist. "Platinum," the fan vote number one, and "Yakusoku wa Iranai" at number four will almost certainly be performed. But the fact that the bandmasters supporting the 30th anniversary stage are not Yoko Kanno—that quiet detail speaks to the journey of Maaya Sakamoto's 30 years.
When Talent Nurtures Talent, Then Lets Go
What I have been tracing throughout this series is the moment when music and talent meet on the stage of anime and spark a chemical reaction. Maaya Sakamoto's 30-year career presents the most beautiful form of that reaction.
She encountered the overwhelming talent of Yoko Kanno at age sixteen and spent nine years absorbing the fundamentals of music. Upon that foundation, she layered the post-rock of the band apart, the pop sensibility of Katsutoshi Kitagawa, the literary quality of Shigeru Kishida, the sophistication of Shin Kono—through successive encounters with diverse talents, she grew from "Yoko Kanno's voice" into "Maaya Sakamoto's music."
Talent nurtures talent, then eventually lets go. The one who was nurtured discovers her own music through encounters with new talents. Maaya Sakamoto is the artist whose growth has been documented in recordings over 30 years, watched over by fans every step of the way. Incidentally, according to Anisongs.jp data, Maaya Sakamoto has sung the most anime tie-up songs of any artist in the period from 2011 to 2026. The power of 30 years of unbroken continuity is reflected in the numbers as well.
The 30th anniversary best album M30: Your Best will reportedly include 15 fan-voted tracks plus "15 songs chosen by 15 musical companions." Having left Yoko Kanno's nest and walked alongside many musical friends for 30 years—the full picture of that journey is packed into this single album.
