Sakamoto Maaya (坂本真綾) is an accomplished Japanese vocalist. Known for her clear voice, she is especially popular with anime . Working as a voice-over actress for foreign movies and TV commercials from the age of 8, her life reached a turning point at the age of 16 when she played in her first animated series The Vision of Escaflowne, as the lead female character, Hitomi. She also sang the opening song and many other insert songs for the series, as well as several others. In 2005, she voi