高橋洋子

Yoko Takahashi (高橋 洋子, Takahashi Yōko, born August 28, 1966) is a Japanese singer. In 1995, she released the single A Cruel Angel's Thesis (残酷な天使のテーゼ, Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze), which was used as the opening song in the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. The song has received gold and platinum certifications, charted on the Oricon weekly chart numerous times, and has frequently been cited as one of the most influential songs used in anime. She has remixed and released several versions of the single, which has been met with the same commercial success. Takahashi began her career in 1991, and released her first album, Pizzicato, in 1992, which reached #28 on the Oricon weekly charts. In the following years, she released the albums Kugatsu no Sotsugyō which charted, and Watashi wo Mitsukete, which did not achieve the same success of her previous albums. In 1996, she released the album Living with Joy. Following her achievements with music, she continued to release singles and albums throughout the 2000s and 2010s, for which she was met with mixed success. Takahashi’s other works in anime includes performing an "acid bossa" version of "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Tamashii no Rufuran" (魂のルフラン, Tamashii no Rufuran, Refrain of Soul), the closing theme of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth. She also performed "Metamorphose," the opening theme to studio Gainax's 20th anniversary series, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World, the ending theme "Yoake Umarekuru Shōjo" (夜明け生まれ来る少女, The Girl who was Born at Dawn) for the anime Shakugan no Shana (灼眼のシャナ, Blazing-Eyed Shana) and the opening theme "Aoki Flamme" for Pumpkin Scissors (パンプキン・シザーズ, Panpukin Shizāzu).