Sayaka Kanda (神田沙也加) was a Japanese actress and singer. News of her passing was published just a few days ago on December 19, 2021 and shocked many of her fans. She was only 35 years old according to the reports.
Sayaka Kanda was the daughter of actor Masaki Kanda and singer Seiko Matsuda. She debuted her acting career in 2001.
Acting Roles
Sayaka Kanda performed as both stage actress and voice actress.
Anime/Games
- Yuna from Sword Art Online Movie: Ordinal Scale
- Mana Nagase from Idoly Pride
- Kaede Akamatsu from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Other
- Anna from Frozen (Japanese dub)
- Junko Enoshima from Danganronpa The Stage
- Sora from Kamen Rider Den-O: Final Countdown
- Maetel from Galaxy Express 999 The Musical (2022)
Music
She also released music under her own label and as a duo called TRUSTRICK. Kanda’s music was used in series such as Sword Art Online, Danganronpa, and My Love Story!!. Her most mainstream role is Anna from the Japanese dub of Disney’s Frozen.
Modeling
Sayaka Kanda became a reader model for KERA! and Gothic & Lolita Bible under the model name Lily starting in 2005. She chose the name Lily to represent her “dreamy world view.” She also appeared in Eternita, Miel, and Larme magazines. In 2015, she released her first style book titled Dollygirl.
As a fan of lolita fashion, she used to model for Angelic Pretty frequently. She and her former TRUSTRICK bandmate BILLY walked in a few of the Angelic Pretty annual fashion shows.
Clothing Brand
Sayaka Kanda was the director of Maison de FLEUR Petite Robe canone, a sublabel of Japanese girly fashion brand Maison de FLEUR. She started the label in 2019.
All of the brand’s products were modeled by her. The brand collaborated with popular franchises such as Sanrio and Cardcaptor Sakura.
Memorable Works
I wanted to showcase her J-fashion modeling since I mostly see her anime work being highlighted in the overseas fandom. For fashion, I don’t think many people had realized it was her since she went by Lily for modeling. She had a sweet and classic image, so often she would model for lolita fashion brands Angelic Pretty and Innocent World. Later on, she did some modeling for Swankiss.
When KERA! announced they would stop publishing physical magazines in 2017, she tweeted about how grateful she was to model for them and how she looked forward to the digital version.
KERA…寂しいです。Lilyという名前で読モをやらせていただいていました。
— 神田沙也加 (@sayakakanda) March 29, 2017
成人してもずっと大好きで読んでいました。読者モデルになりたい！という夢を叶えてくれた特別な場所です。
私が読モなのは永久にKERA!だけ。
本当に本当にありがとうございました！
デジタル版も楽しみです。
Even though I’m not the biggest Angelic Pretty fan myself, every time I see the photos of her wearing AP’s Castle Mirage, it gives me a warm feeling. Her Angelic Pretty Cinema Doll ad for KERA! also lives rent free in my head. To put it simply, I think she added a touch of elegance to really sweet styles.
May she rest in peace.
