Marika Kōno

Biography

Kohno was born in Tokyo on February 22, 1994, the second of three sisters; her older sister Rina is a dancer. As a child she enjoyed reading aloud during elementary school classes, and her interest in voice acting grew from watching anime. Learning that Ikue Ōtani voiced both Pikachu in Pokémon and Chopper in One Piece inspired her to pursue voice acting. In high school she joined the voice acting club and also played basketball.

After graduating she enrolled in a training school operated by the Yoyogi Animation Academy, completing her studies in 2014 and affiliating with Mausu Promotion that same year. She began with minor roles in series such as Aikatsu!, Log Horizon, and Rail Wars!, and first performed a song in an anime for Chikasugi Idol Akae-chan. In 2015 she was cast as Rin Kohana in Seiyu's Life!, her first main role, and with co-stars Rie Takahashi and Yuki Nagaku formed the music group Earphones; she also became a member of the idol group Team Ohenro.

In 2017 she played Yua Nakajima in Hinako Note and Yumina Urnea Belfast in In Another World With My Smartphone, and was announced as the voice of Silence Suzuka in the multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby. The following year she voiced Sat-chan in Mitsuboshi Colors and reprised Silence Suzuka for the Umamusume: Pretty Derby anime series. On October 1, 2020, she transferred to Aoni Production. On February 24, 2020, she made her solo singer debut under Nippon Columbia with the single 'Yume Mitai, demo Yume janai'.

In November 2022 it was announced on her Twitter that she had been diagnosed with adjustment disorder in mid-October 2022, and her scheduled activities have been limited per advice from her agency to prioritize treatment.