Akari Nibu Japanese Actress From Tochigi Prefecture

Early life

Akari Nibu is a Japanese actress, YouTuber and radio personality. She was born on 15 February 2001 in Tochigi Prefecture and has two older brothers. As a child she lived in Gunma Prefecture before her family moved to Saitama Prefecture. She holds a third dan rank in kendo and took part in prefectural tournaments while she was in middle school.

Career

Nibu became interested in becoming an idol after hearing the Keyakizaka46 song "Silent Majority", and she auditioned for Hiragana Keyakizaka46, the subgroup of Keyakizaka46. On 15 August 2017 she was introduced publicly as a second-generation member. The subgroup was spun off and renamed Hinatazaka46 in March 2019, and she stayed with the group until 2024.

In October 2020 she and fellow members Miku Kanemura and Miho Watanabe voiced characters in an animated miniseries based on Pickles the Frog. In November 2020 the three were inducted into the Saitama Support Group, also known as Kobaton Club, a community of entertainers from Saitama Prefecture who promote the region in the media. She had a supporting role in the Hinatazaka46 drama Dasada (2020) and co-starred in Koeharu! (2021), in which she played an aspiring voice actress.

Her feature film voice debut came in 2021 with Deemo: Memorial Keys. Executive director Junichi Fujisaku said he treated her the same as the other voice actors, and her co-star Ayana Taketatsu said the performance did not sound like a first-timer's. In April 2022 she voiced the main character, Mami, in Minna no Mameo, a series of four-minute animated shorts shown as a segment of the TV Asahi variety show Onegai! Ranking and also released on YouTube. The series grew out of a one-shot manga, Mameo, which had its original concept from her.

Her first photobook, Yasashī Kankei, was published by Gentosha on 26 July 2022. It sold 46,000 copies in its first week and ranked first on the weekly Oricon photobook chart. A keen gamer, she appeared at events such as the Sony Creative Cup featuring Fortnite and took part in The Gaming Days Valorant Series in 2022. She co-hosted the esports programme Choten on TV Tokyo and is a recurring guest on the gaming show Ariyoshieeeee!

On 19 April 2023 Hinatazaka46 released its ninth single, "One Choice", with Nibu as the center, or lead performer. In 2024 she appeared in her first two live-action feature films, a pair of sequels in the Bayside Shakedown detective series that follow the character Shinji Muroi. The producer and screenwriter had considered casting her after watching her on a video game television programme, and director Katsuyuki Motohiro said her idol experience helped her respond well to his direction.

On 6 August 2024 she announced that she would leave Hinatazaka46 once promotion for the group's twelfth single, released on 18 September, had finished. Her graduation events took place at Pia Arena MM on 30 November, with a competitive gaming day featuring the esports teams Zeta Division and Crazy Raccoon, and on 1 December, with a concert. Her final concert with the group was held on 26 December at the Tokyo Dome. She remains represented by Seed & Flower, the group's management agency.

In April 2025 she launched an official website and a YouTube channel focused on gaming, and she began a solo radio programme, Akari Nibu Happy Caravan, on TBS Radio. She starred in the stage play Hula Girls: Dance for Smile, which ran from 22 May to 2 June 2025. In February 2026 she played the lead in Steal the Voice!, an intermission drama miniseries for the live sketch comedy show Conton vol.8 at Tokyo Sōgetsu Hall, alongside the former Hinatazaka46 member Miho Watanabe. Her YouTube channel had about 110,000 subscribers in May 2026.

Personal life

Nibu is a fan of the singer Aimyon. She has attended one of Aimyon's concerts and received a signed album from her.