Ako Atarashi is a first-year high school student at Achiga Girls' Academy in Nara Prefecture and a protagonist in the spin-off manga "Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A". She is an elementary school friend of Shizuno Takakamo and Nodoka Haramura. She was the third best player in Achiga's mahjong club as an elementary school student. When the club disbanded, she attended a different middle school in order to continue playing and intended on entering mahjong powerhouse Bansei High School. When Shizuno re-established the club, she decided to return to the school.   ~! Ako likes to play fast and has a good sense for the flow of the game. Ako is the most skilled player on the Achiga team but is overlooked because of the upperclassmen's special abilites. !~

Saki's never been a big fan of mahjong. A lifetime of being forced to play with family at holidays (and losing her money as a consequence...) has left a foul taste for the game in her mouth. When she's convinced, though, to play a game with her classmates, she discovers that not only has fending off her family left her with an uncanny ability for the game but, more surprisingly, that it can even be fun!
 
Is this revelation enough to cleanse Saki's distaste for the game? Can her classmates convince her to join their club, or is there just too much baggage to make it worth her while?
 
(Source: Yen Press)

The Achiga Girls' Academy in Nara once defeated regional mahjong powerhouse Bansei High School. It advanced into the national team semifinals but lost to the eventual champion, and the mahjong club was later disbanded. 
Six years later, elementary school student Shizuno Takakamo befriends transfer student Nodoka Haramura. The two eventually enter Achiga Girls', but Nodoka transfers out of the school in the second year. 
When Shizuno sees Nodoka on television the following year as the national middle school individual mahjong champion, she decides to revive Achiga's mahjong club.

__Height:__ 152 cm
__Agency:__ Intention 

[Artist Profile](https://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/flyingdog/-/Profile/A023615.html) | [Official Site](http://toyamanao.com/) | [Official Club](http://fc.toyamanao.com/) | [Blog](https://lineblog.me/toyamanao/) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/naobou_official) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/naobou_official/) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/c/naobou_channel) | [Wiki (EN)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nao_T%C5%8Dyama) | [Wiki (JP)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%B1%E5%B1%B1%E5%A5%88%E5%A4%AE)

__Radio Programs:__
- (2014-2017) Touyama Nao's Dream * Theater
- (2017-) Touyama Nao's Radio @ Living

__Awards:__ 
- (2019-03-09) Best Supporting Actress Award at the 13th Annual Seiyuu Awards
- (2019-03-09) Game Award at the 13th Annual Seiyuu Awards

__Early Life & Education__
She was born in Tokyo on March 11, 1992. Her father had spent 9 years abroad and was fluent in English, which allowed her to develop fluency in the language. From an early age she had an interest in anime, in particular the series _Ojamajo Doremi_ and _Sailor Moon_. However, it was the anime series _Fullmetal Alchemist_ that was the first to inspire her to become a voice actress. At the time, she was impressed that the series' protagonist Edward Elric was voiced by a female actress, [Romi Park](https://anilist.co/staff/95082/Romi-Park).

In junior high school and high school, she became part of a chorus club to help her overcome her tone deafness. It was also during this time she decided to pursue a voice acting career as she had interacted with schoolmates who had similar interests. Her parents approved of her decision, provided that she pass her university entrance exams. 

__Voice Acting Career__
While in high school, she began attending the Japan Narration Acting Institute. After 3 years of training, she passed her audition and joined the agency Arts Vision. At the same time, she also passed her entrance exam and began studying at Waseda University. She debuted as a voice actress in 2010 and later that year she played her first main role in the anime series _The World God Only Knows_. Throughout her 4 years in University, she continued to work as a voice actress, successfully managing both her work and school responsibilities. She graduated in March 2014 and left Art Vision shortly after on April 1. On May 1, 2014, she transferred to the agency Intention and is currently affiliated with them today.

__Music Career__
Her music career began when she released songs for _The World God Only Knows_ under her character name Kanon Nakagawa. In 2013, she became part of the music group Rhodanthe*, which performed theme songs for the _Kiniro Mosaic_ series. After having been cast in 2015, she has also released singles as her Idolmaster character Mizuki Kawashima. In 2016, she voiced a member of the in-universe music group Walküre, which performed songs for the anime series _Macross Δ_.

In 2017, she made her solo debut as a singer on February 1 with the release of her single "True Destiny" / "Chain the World" under the Flying Dog label. Later that year, her second single "Ima Koko" / "Tsuki ga Kirei" was released on May 24 as well as her first album _Rainbow_ on October 25. In 2018, she held her first solo live event at the Nippon Budokan on February 3 and released her third single "Tomoshibi no Manima ni" on May 30. In 2019, she released her second album _Gunjou Infinity_ on April 3. During the months of August and September, she held her first tour live event performing in the cities of Osaka, Nagoya, and Yokohama as well as cities outside of Japan like Taipei and Shanghai. In 2020, her fourth single "Aruite Ikou!" is set to release on February 5.

__Non-Anime Roles:__
- Misono Mika in "Blue Archive" (VG)
- Mualani in "Genshin Impact" (VG)
- Juna Crawford - The Legend of Heroes Series (VG)

After their success in the regional tournament, the Kiyosumi High School mahjong team faces off against a whole new level of competition at the National Tournament in Tokyo. (Source: Anime News Network)

The final 4 episodes of Saki: Achiga-hen - Episode of Side-A.

The Achiga Girls' Academy in Nara once defeated regional mahjong powerhouse Bansei High School. It advanced into the national team semifinals but lost to the eventual champion, and the mahjong club was later disbanded. Six years later, elementary school student Shizuno Takakamo befriends transfer student Nodoka Haramura. The two eventually enter Achiga Girls', but Nodoka transfers out of the school in the second year. When Shizuno sees Nodoka on television the following year as the national middle school individual mahjong champion, she decides to revive Achiga's mahjong club.

Side stories of the "Saki" manga in 4-koma format. 

Note: Chapter count includes 7 omake chapters, 1 from each Volume.

Special chapters of Saki Biyori serialized in Big Gangan.

Special episode included with the limited edition of the Blu-ray.