Maaya Sakamoto Reflects on 30 Years and Fate/Grand Order in New Interview
Sakamoto's account reveals that her lyrics for "Shikisai" directly influenced the ending of Fate/Grand Order's Part 2, a rare case of a theme song shaping a game's narrative rather than merely accompanying it.
Key Facts
- Maaya Sakamoto released the Fate/Grand Order theme song best album "Yoin" on July 29.
- The album collects all six theme songs Sakamoto sang for Fate/Grand Order over 11 years, from "Shikisai" to "Toki."
- Fate/Grand Order's Part 2 story reached its grand finale at the end of December 2025.
- Sakamoto's 30th anniversary year concluded with a live at Ariake Arena in April.
- Sakamoto said her lyrics for "Shikisai" influenced Kinoko Nasu's ending for Fate/Grand Order's Part 2.
Reporting from 2 sources: Inside, Anime Anime.
Maaya Sakamoto, who has surpassed her 30th debut anniversary, released a best album of Fate/Grand Order theme songs on July 29. The album, titled "Yoin," collects all six theme songs she has sung for the smartphone RPG over its 11-year run, from the opening theme "Shikisai" to "Toki," which accompanied the story's grand finale at the end of December 2025. In a long interview published the same day, Sakamoto discussed her career and the creative process behind the songs, including her collaboration with writer Kinoko Nasu. She described how Nasu offered her the first theme song before the game's launch, telling her the planned ending in advance. She said her lyrics for "Shikisai" became fuel for Nasu, who made the ending link considerably to those lyrics. Sakamoto also reflected on her 30th anniversary year, which concluded with a live at Ariake Arena in April, and admitted she has been in an afterglow since, unable to move forward. She noted that she has never set long-term goals and does not know what the 35th anniversary will bring.
Sakamoto said the ending of Part 2, which shocked protagonist Fujimaru worldwide, was kept secret even from her until the reveal. She completed the song long before and waited for spoilers to be allowed. Midway through Part 2, she was asked to write a theme for the character Altria Caster and worried fans would forget "Gyakkou," but the story returned to it.
She described the collaboration as "making mochi together," with Nasu writing the story to mesh with her lyrics from "Gyakkou" onward. She noted that in anime, theme songs are usually made after the script is done, but Fate/Grand Order progressed simultaneously, allowing her lyrics to shape the narrative.
Sakamoto credited composer Yoko Kanno, who collaborated with her for the first nine years of her debut, as "the origin of everything." She said leaving Kanno's production led her to make the album Kazeyomi and pushed her to embrace live performances, which she initially feared.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.