Mariko Shiga  

Mariko Shiga (志賀真理子) was a Japanese idol star and seiyū who was born in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. She graduated from Funabashi Municipal High School before attending the University of California, Riverside. While on a trip to Arizona in November 1989, Shiga tragically passed away in an accident near Flagstaff when she was thrown from the vehicle due to it rolling as it swerved to miss an animal. During her career, Shiga had several notable roles and achievements. She starred as one of the children answering questions on the NHK quiz show Donna Mondai Q TV from 1984 to 1985. In addition, she performed the song Yume no Naka no Rondo, which was used as the theme song for the July 1985 OVA Magical Princess Minky Momo La Ronde in My Dream. In 1986, Shiga played the role of Yumi Hanazono, the main character in Magical Idol Pastel Yumi. Her single Freesia no Shōnen was used as a theme song for the series and helped her gain popularity. This ultimately led to her official debut as an idol singer under Warner Pioneer. One of Shiga's songs, Freesia, is the only one of hers that appears on the Oricon Top 100 Weekly Rankings, reaching a high of #48 during the week of March 31, 1987. In 2001, she was posthumously awarded the "Natsukashi no Ongaku Daishō" at the 17th Annual OGUmen Awards for her song Rainy Day Hello.