First teased during theGenshin Impact Verion 1.5livestream, Yae Miko was now revealed officially atthe Twitch stream introducing Inazuma and2.0- Can you recognize these characters voiced by her seiyuu Ayane Sakura?
I’m not going to tell you Ayane Sakura voices mainstream characters like Ochaco inBoku no Hero Academia, or Gabi inShingeki no Kyoujin. That’s what all other outlets will do anyways. Instead, we’ll be focusing on niche roles Ayane Sakura did. That’s where the fun is at.
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Genshin ImpactYae Miko - Who is Ayane Sakura?
Born on June 17, 2025, Ayane Sakura made her major debut as a seiyuu in 2011, by voicing Merry Nightmare in theYumekui Merryanime. That show really sucked and you should read the manga instead. Ayane Sakura’s performance was particularly good though. After that, from 2012 to 2014, Ayane Sakura most notably voiced Ayami and Rinne in thePretty Rhythmfranchise, part ofPretty Series.
Pretty Seriesand Ayane Sakura
Pretty Rhythmand its sequelKing of Prismare quite unknown outside Japan. The series is often ridiculed a a simple chilren anime or idol anime. However, the series mixes several genres and themes together. MakingPretty Rhythm"an anime for everyone" as its staff often described it.
Pretty Rhythmhas a cult classic status among those who actually watched it. It’s one of my favorite anime. The series' director, Masakazu Hishida, also recently directedFairy Ranmaru, another peculiar series.
Pretty Seriesis also initially a rhythm arcade game franchise. Each series part ofPretty Series-Pretty Rhythm, PriPara, andKiratto Prichan- each has its own arcade game.PriParawill also receive a mobile game titledIdolland PriParainSpring 2022.
In October 2021,Pretty Serieswill be continuing with a new IP,Waccha PriMagi, getting an anime and a new arcade game. The anime is most notably written by Fumi Tsubota, who worked onPretty Rhythm. The executive director of the anime will beSailor Moon’s Junichi Sato. The director is Kousuke Kobayashi, who also worked onFairy Ranmaru.
Sakura Warsand Ayane Sakura
More recently, Ayane Sakura also voiced Sakura Amamiya inShin Sakura Taisenon PS4 ,and in its anime. Note that “Sakura” is Ayane Sakura’s family name, and it was actually a coincidence she ended up voicing Sakura Amamiya. But it’s a fun connection. Overall,Shin Sakura Taisenis a really good game, and a great reboot for the series. Play it if you haven’t yet.
Ayane Sakura - Yae Sakura inHonkai Impact 3rd
Similarly to how Miyuki Sawashiro is now voicing both Raiden Mei inHonkai Impact 3rd, and the Raiden Shogun inGenshin impact, Ayane Sakura already voiced Yae Sakura inHonkai. Yae Miko is clearly inspired from Yae Sakura, hinting at the links betweenGenshinandHonkai.
It’ll be interesting to see how the story of Inazuma unfolds, and what kind of role Yae Miko will play.
miHoYo will launch theGenshin Impact Version 2.0update on June 07, 2025. Keep in mind you can also reach out to me on Twitter@A_iyane07.To complain about any of my opinions or chat about seiyuu and anime.
