Ayahi Takagaki

About this playlist

Ayahi Takagaki trained as a vocal-music major at Musashino Academia Musicae — a real conservatory background, not hobbyist classical interest — and her solo catalog runs in two parallel registers: classical-crossover melodia covers and pop singles. Alongside that is the four-member idol unit Sphere, a third career track that started in April 2009, over a year before her solo debut. Three lines, all real, running in parallel.

Where to start listening: track 12 — 縁 (En) from the 2018 Premio × Melodia Bunkamura concert — because it’s the one track that holds her whole identity at once: her own composition, performed in the classical-orchestral context she trained for.

Two catalogs, both real

Takagaki trained at Musashino Academia Musicae as a vocal-music major — the real-deal conservatory background, not hobbyist classical interest. Her own career retrospective in Natalie uses the line “クラシックは自分の パーソナリティ” — “Classical is my personality.” The melodia cover-album series runs four volumes across seven years (2011, 2013, 2016, 2018), and the 2018 Premio × Melodia concert release from Bunkamura Orchard Hall treats classical repertoire as primary material, not a garnish. Two melodia covers appear in this playlist at slots 3 and 7 because hiding her classical work would misrepresent her.

But classical alone is incomplete. Her Sphere era — the four-member idol unit she co-founded with Minako Kotobuki, Haruka Tomatsu, and Aki Toyosaki — is the parallel track of her career, not a side project. Sphere debuted 2009-04-22, over a year before her solo debut; her unit and solo identities formed in parallel rather than one orbiting the other. That’s why slot 9 here is Future Stream, Sphere’s debut single — one unit track, with the rest of the unit catalog waiting for a companion playlist.

A catalog that needs more than twelve slots

The default essay length on this site is twelve tracks. Takagaki’s runs to fifteen because her catalog carries four distinct identity-level modes — solo tie-up singles, solo albums, Sphere unit work, classical covers — plus character-song output, and twelve slots cannot honestly hold anchors plus coverage across that much territory. Sphere, a seventeen-year career, the melodia series across two decades, and five seasons of Symphogear continuity earn the extra room.

Three collaborators, not one

• Shinya Saito (齋藤真也) — the melodia-series arranger (verified for volumes 1 and 2 via Wikipedia JP). The classical-crossover through-line: without him, melodia would not have its consistent arrangement voice.
• Suemitsu Atsushi (末光篤) — the original-side ballad composer. “たからもの” (2011 single; re-released on relation, 2013) and “私の時計” (individual, 2015) are both his. Narrower partnership than Saito’s but deeper per-track — her two most emotionally load-bearing original ballads are his work.
• Fujita Junpei (藤田淳平) / Elements Garden — composed her solo debut single “君がいる場所” (2010, Occult Academy ED) plus “Walking On Sunshine” on individual (2015). Elements Garden also composed all five Symphogear ED themes Takagaki performs — those aren’t here (they belong to the Symphogear sub-playlist embedded below), but they make the Fujita-Takagaki relationship the largest cluster of her catalog in existence.

A thesis sentence that names one collaborator would get Takagaki wrong. All three deserve the dedication.

Five Symphogear endings, all routed elsewhere

Nana Mizuki sings all five Symphogear TV openings. Takagaki sings all five endings: Meteor Light, Next Destination, Rebirth-day, Futurism, Lasting Song. She is the ED voice of Symphogear as much as Mizuki is the OP voice. Saving those five for the Symphogear sub-playlist means the five most commercially successful singles of her solo career — including Rebirth-day (Oricon weekly peak #10, her highest-charting solo release) — sit outside this playlist.

This matters. For Nana Mizuki, excluding Synchrogazer is big but ETERNAL BLAZE (Oricon #2) remains available as a substitute. For Takagaki, her best non-Symphogear single — 君がいる場所 — peaked lower than Rebirth-day ever did. This playlist has to work harder because her biggest hits belong on the Symphogear side of the divide.

The consequence: her classical identity and her Sphere era both carry more weight in this playlist than they would if Rebirth-day were available. The anchors are built from a combination of debut-single nostalgia (君がいる場所), composer cachet (月のなみだ with Nobuo Uematsu), and classical-crossover identity (Quel Guardo Il Cavaliere). The substitution forces a more honest portrait of who she actually is, rather than a greatest-hits shape.

The fifteen tracks, in detail

1. 君がいる場所 (Kimi ga Iru Basho, 2010)

Her solo debut single, July 2010, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin ending theme, composed by Fujita Junpei / Elements Garden. In a catalog where her five Symphogear EDs aren’t available as anchors, this debut is the opener: the track that introduced “Takagaki Ayahi: solo artist” to Japanese music audiences. It also establishes the Elements Garden collaborator thread that recurs at slot 8 and across the excluded-but-acknowledged Symphogear ED corpus.

2. 月のなみだ (Tsuki no Namida, 2012)

The Jūsan Shien’yōki PSP game opening theme. The commission came from Nobuo Uematsu — Final Fantasy composer, genre-defining for Japanese game-music audiences for forty years. Uematsu writing for a then-mid-career voice actress is a pedigree marker near the top of the validation ladder. Mid-tempo, orchestral, builds to an anthemic payoff. The second recognition anchor; the Uematsu weight carries.

3. Quel Guardo Il Cavaliere (melodia, 2011)

An aria by Gaetano Donizetti from the opera Don Pasquale (1843). Takagaki performs in Italian; Shinya Saito arranges. Placing a nineteenth-century Italian opera aria at track 3 is deliberate — three tracks in (debut pop single → game OP → opera aria), the frame is set and the listener can’t mistake her for just another anison singer.

4. 光のフィルメント (Hikari no Filament, 2010)

Her second single, November 2010, Legend of Legendary Heroes ED, composed by Hajime Kikuchi. Chronologically close to slot 1 — both from late 2010 — to ground the early-career identity before the playlist moves through eras. Kikuchi isn’t Elements Garden or Suemitsu or Saito, so the collaborator picture diversifies before the next slots return to the signature producers.

5. 記憶の湖 (Kioku no Mizūmi, 2015)

From her solo album individual (2015). The track interpolates Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1 — a classical-inside-original move that Natalie’s career retrospective singled out. Her classical identity manifesting inside her own original writing, not just in covers.

6. たからもの (Takaramono, 2011)

Her third single, composed and produced by Suemitsu Atsushi. The defining collaborator slot — Suemitsu’s ballad voice working with Takagaki’s classically-trained soprano in a pop-ballad arrangement. Natalie’s retrospective identifies this as one of the two or three tracks “that define how Takagaki sounds when she’s singing from her own emotional register” rather than in-character or in-unit.

7. Time to Say Goodbye (melodia, 2011)

The Andrea Bocelli / Sarah Brightman classical-crossover anthem — a standard test-piece for classical-crossover singers. The second cover adds the Western-classical recognition that the Donizetti aria doesn’t carry for most listeners. It’s here as more than decoration: for classical-crossover identity, covers are the catalog, not an occasional exception.

8. Walking On Sunshine (2015)

From individual, composed by Fujita Junpei / Elements Garden. The album-centerpiece track — non-tie-up, Elements Garden-composed, the answer to “if Takagaki weren’t singing Symphogear EDs, what would Elements Garden write for her?” This is what they write. The Fujita thread stays alive in the playlist, not just in the excluded pool.

9. Future Stream (Sphere, 2009)

Sphere’s debut single, April 2009, Hatsukoi Limited opening. One Sphere track anchors Takagaki’s solo playlist because her unit identity wasn’t an afterthought — it started over a year before her solo debut. The remaining 22 singles and 6 Sphere albums route to the Ayahi Takagaki · With Sphere companion. Listeners who connect this track to Minako Kotobuki’s playlist pick up the cross-cast moment: Sphere and Symphogear share two voice actresses.

10. 夢のとなり (Yume no Tonari, 2013)

From relation (2013), composed by Tabuchi Tomoya of UNISON SQUARE GARDEN. Takagaki herself cited this track as “uniquely suited to her voice” in Natalie’s ten-keyword interview — when a singer picks one track to showcase her voice as an instrument, the choice carries weight.

11. ソプラノ (Soprano, 2013)

From relation, composed and lyricized by Ishikawa Chiaki — the anison-rock singer of See-Saw and Uninstall from Bokurano. Giving a classically-trained seiyuu an Ishikawa Chiaki track is the deliberate genre-stretch the playlist needs. By track 11 the listener has heard Donizetti, Bocelli/Brightman, Suemitsu-ballad, and Elements Garden; slot 11 lands in an entirely different emotional register. A fan who only knew her melodia side would be startled she can deliver this.

12. 縁 (En) — Premio × Melodia, 2018

Composed for individual (2015) as Takagaki’s first-ever self- composition. The Spotify-realized version is the 2018 classical-orchestral concert recording from Bunkamura Orchard Hall — her own song re-arranged for the context her primary identity was built for. The body of the playlist ends here because this combination answers “who is she?” more completely than an anthem closer would.

13. Ave Maria (melodia 4, 2018)

A third cover — melodia 4 (2018) is the most recent volume, and Takagaki herself has identified Ave Maria as the definitive track of the series. The fifteen-track length earns a third cover where twelve tracks would have to stop at two — and her classical identity is dense enough that two would under-represent it.

14. Live & Try (2017)

A 2017 single using the Pachelbel Canon motif as its structural spine — another classical-inside-original move, connecting her melodia identity to her original-solo voice seven years after her debut. Proves the catalog extends past the peak years and the style has matured. Natalie’s retrospective singled out this track in particular.

15. Beyond Days (2025, with Minako Kotobuki)

Credit: 寿 美菜子 & 高垣 彩陽. The 2025 Sphere-anniversary duet with Minako Kotobuki — two Music Ray’n label-mates, two Sphere co-members, two Symphogear cast members (Takagaki as Chris Yukine, Kotobuki as Saint-Germain) recording a fifteen-years-since-solo-debut duet. Kotobuki’s playlist closes on the same track at her slot 14; both playlists mirror the anniversary across both artists’ on-site presence, and the cross-cast Symphogear crossovers companion leans on this track as its centerpiece. 風になる (Kaze ni Naru, Jūsan Shien’yōki 2 OP 2014) was the alternate candidate for this slot — a cross-era bridge back to slot 2’s Uematsu game-OP — but slot 2 is strong enough to stand alone as the Uematsu pedigree anchor, and the Sphere-anniversary duet is the more earned closing statement.

Her Symphogear contribution

Takagaki voices Chris Yukine — introduced in S1 as a vengeance-driven antagonist, recruited across that season into the three-wielder SONG core, and present in every season since. She sings all five Symphogear endings (Meteor Light, Next Destination, Rebirth-day, Futurism, Lasting Song) — the ED voice of the franchise in the same way Nana Mizuki is the OP voice. Rebirth-day charted Oricon weekly #10, her highest-charting solo release. She also records thirteen-plus Chris Yukine character songs across S1/G/GX/AXZ/XV, credited to 雪音クリス (CV: 高垣彩陽).

The Symphogear-songs sub-playlist for Chris Yukine covers the franchise-side representation of her catalog — the tracks this playlist can’t carry because they ARE Symphogear. It embeds below this one on the page.

What was considered and left out

Excluded because they’re Symphogear

• All five Symphogear ED singles by Takagaki: Meteor Light (S1), Next Destination (G), Rebirth-day (GX, Oricon #10), Futurism (AXZ), Lasting Song (XV). Artist-credited to her, but the songs themselves are Symphogear — all five move to the Symphogear sub-playlist. The largest concentrated exclusion of any artist on the site.
• All thirteen-plus Chris Yukine character songs, credited to 雪音クリス (CV: 高垣彩陽) across S1/G/GX/AXZ/XV. Same rule.

Considered and cut (not franchise-related)

• Sphere tracks beyond Future Stream — Super Noisy Nova, Now Loading… SKY!!, Non stop road, High Powered, Pride on Everyday, Kasukana Hisokana Tashikana Mirai, best friends, and fifteen-plus more singles. All available for the With Sphere companion.
• Additional melodia tracks — Memory (CATS), Seasons of Love (RENT), You Raise Me Up, All I Want For Christmas Is You, Dvořák’s Largo. All strong candidates for a dedicated melodia companion.
• Tari Tari and Kaminomi character songs — ひかりと風にのせて, 続くメロディ, 潮風のハーモニー, DIVE into the SKY, Care-filled Heart Beat!, Unyielding Wish. Character-credited tracks route to a separate Character Songs companion.
• 風になる (Kaze ni Naru, 2014) — Jūsan Shien’yōki 2 PSP game opening. An alternate slot-15 candidate, working as a cross-era bridge back to slot 2’s Uematsu game-OP. With Beyond Days now at slot 15, 風になる moves to a game-tie-ups companion.

Companion playlists

• Ayahi Takagaki · With Sphere — 22 singles + 6 albums of unit material.
• Ayahi Takagaki · melodia — 7–10 additional covers across melodia 1–4 plus the 2018 Bunkamura concert.
• Ayahi Takagaki · Character Songs — Tari Tari (Sakai Wakana) + Kaminomi (Yui Goidō) + other anime character-song work.

This is the densest companion lineup of any artist on the site — three companions all carrying load-bearing material the playlist can’t hold. Together they recover the catalog this one doesn’t have room for.

Final listen sequence

 1. 君がいる場所 (Kimi ga Iru Basho)  (2010)  · Occult Academy ED         · Fujita / EG
 2. 月のなみだ (Tsuki no Namida)      (2012)  · Jūsan Shien'yōki game OP · Uematsu Nobuo
 3. Quel Guardo Il Cavaliere          (2011)  · melodia                   · Donizetti (Saito arr.)
 4. 光のフィルメント                   (2010)  · Densetsu no Yūsha ED      · Kikuchi Hajime
 5. 記憶の湖                           (2015)  · individual                · Debussy interpolation
 6. たからもの (Takaramono)            (2011)  · 3rd single                · Suemitsu Atsushi
 7. Time to Say Goodbye                (2011)  · melodia                   · Bocelli/Brightman (cover)
 8. Walking On Sunshine                (2015)  · individual                · Fujita / EG
 9. Future Stream (Sphere)             (2009)  · Hatsukoi Limited OP       · Sphere unit debut
10. 夢のとなり                         (2013)  · relation                  · Tabuchi (UNISON)
11. ソプラノ (Soprano)                 (2013)  · relation                  · Ishikawa Chiaki
12. 縁 (En) — Premio × Melodia         (2018)  · classical concert         · self-composed (2015)
13. Ave Maria                          (2018)  · melodia 4                 · Saito arranged
14. Live & Try                         (2017)  · single                    · Pachelbel Canon motif
15. Beyond Days (w/ Kotobuki)          (2025)  · Sphere-anniversary duet   · cross-cast closer