MARI IIJIMA
The Voice of Minmay

Ms. Iijima is the original speaking and singing voice of Minmay from the classic MACROSS television series, as well as the MARCOSS-DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE movie and the MACROSS-FLASHBACK 2010 special. MACROSS is often remembered as being part of the ROBOTECH series that ran on American TV. Mari is also an accomplished singer, songwriter, and actress. She has been featured on MTV, the former USA Network series Pacific Blue, and does lots of work in radio including the broadcasting of Dodgers baseball. She has an English album called "No Limits" which you can get through her website.

MARI'S CREDITS

Macross(Robotech), Macross-Do You Remember Love(Clash Of The Bionoids), Macross-Flashback 2010

Interview taken over the internet. (March 2001)

• HOW DID YOU FIRST GET CAST IN THE ROLE OF MINMAY?
  JVC Victor discovered me. One of the A&R liked my demo. I was going to sign a deal with JVC as a singer & songwriter. And then a record company's staff asked me to go to this Minmay audition. I sang my original songs with piano and did a few lines. A few days later, I got a phone call: 'You Got It!'. I heard that 500 people tried for the Minmay part. I had no idea what MACROSS was...what Minmay was. Then suddenly...I became kinda famous for Minmay. Life is a mystery sometimes.
  
  
• HOW DID YOU TRY TO MAKE THE MINMAY FROM THE TV SERIES DIFFERENT FROM THE MOVIE VERSION?
  I didn't really think about it too much. I did it naturally. I felt she was more mature in the movie though.
  
  
• DID YOU COME UP WITH THE SONGS YOU DID IN MACROSS?
  I wrote 2 songs for the movie DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE. The ending song is one of them. It's called 'Angel's Paint'.
  
  
• HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT SONGWRITING?
  I have been writing songs since I was about 10. I don't think about it. It's a gift that I got from somewhere. I never struggle writing songs. Lucky me!
  
  
• WHAT ACTING HAVE YOU DONE OUTSIDE MACROSS?
  I starred in the show 'Pacific Blue'. I'll appear on MTV' s new soap opera 'Spyder Games' early this summer.
  
  
• DO YOU LIKE WORKING IN RADIO OR TELEVISION BETTER?
  I like performing in front of people the best.
  
  
• HAVE YOU ENJOYED YOUR PART IN THE ANIME COMMUNITY AND ATTENDING CONVENSIONS?
  Yes, I am enjoying it. Thanx.
  
  
• WHAT ARE YOUR FEELING ON PLAYING AN ICON CHARACTER AS MINMAY?
  I used to dislike being typecast. But now Minmay is actually helping career. I'm thankful for that.
  
  
• ABOUT YOUR 'NO LIMIT' ALBUM, WAS THIS YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT AN ALL ENGLISH RELEASE?
  Yes.
  
  
• WHAT FUTURE PLANS DO YOU HAVE?
  I'll keep working on my acting career here in USA. I started to make my brand new album. There will be many many new things. I am planning to release it before summer.

MARI'S WEBSITE
MARI'S E-MAIL