Mari Yaguchi

Yaguchi Mari (矢口真里) is a singer, actress, and TV personality. She is a former second generation member and leader of Morning Musume.

In 2009, she graduated, with the rest of the Elder Club, from Hello! Project. She has since released two solo singles and was a part of the OG member groups Afternoon Musume and Dream Morning Musume.

She is also the voice of [Panbachimon] in the Digimon series

Music Career
Yaguchi became a member of Japanese idol band Morning Musume during the second generation auditions in 1998. In her early years in the group, Yaguchi was often perceived as being "the short one," as she did not stand out a lot. However, by the time 4th generation members joined, she had become one of the most active members of the group. Her famous catchphrase is "Sexy Beam!,"[citation needed] one of her solo lines from Morning Musume's "Koi no Dance Site" single, and she was asked jokingly in "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari," "When will your real sexy beam come out?" The "Sexy Beam!" line has made its way around fans and fellow musicians alike.

Yaguchi resigned from the band suddenly in April 2005. Her stated reason was a desire to move on "as an adult"[citation needed] with her career. Yaguchi's TV show Yaguchi Hitori (やぐちひとり) continued as before, and she began to focus on Japanese variety shows rather than on a singing career.

Yaguchi's first solo recording, "Nigiyaka na Fuyu," a collaboration with Berryz Kobo, appears as the coupling track on Berryz Kobo's November 2005 single "Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai" for Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart the Movie 2: Friends of the Snow-Laden Sky. She and Berryz Kobo member Saki Shimizu made cameos in the film.

Yaguchi starred in the Japanese drama series Sentō no Musume!? (銭湯の娘!?) along with fellow Hello! Project member Mai Hagiwara.[1] Yaguchi was also one of the main actors in the Japanese daytime drama series Gal Circle (ギャルサー Garusaa). She co-hosted her show Yaguchi Hitori, and did MCing for Hello! Project concerts. From May 25, 2007 to June 6, 2007, Yaguchi performed in the musical Damn Yankees at the Tokyo Aoyama Theater.[2] In the summer of 2007, Yaguchi was recruited to host the Gyao internet TV show Midtown TV. Yaguchi and seven Hello! Pro Eggs appeared on the live-audience show Ciao TV.[citation needed]

Following the popularity of singles and an album released in conjunction with the Japanese variety program Quiz! Hexagon II (クイズ!ヘキサゴンII), Yaguchi released her debut solo single, "Seishun Boku/Seishun Ore", on March 25, 2009.

Yaguchi, together with the entire Hello! Project Elder Club, graduated from Hello! Project on March 31, 2009.[3] A graduation concert was held at Yokohama Arena on February 1, 2009.[4] In December, Yaguchi joined Dream Morning Musume alongside other former Morning Musume members.

In 2013, Yaguchi decided to retire from entertainment following scandal from her divorce with actor Masaya Nakamura.[5][6] She resumed making appearances on television in 2014.[7]

In 2018, she co-hosted the Netflix dating show Rea(L)ove alongside Atsushi Tamura.[8]

Digimon voiceover and design career
In 2011, Yaguchi designed a new character called Panbachimon which will appear in the television anime Digimon Xros Wars on February 1. Yaguchi also recorded the voice for the new character on January 19, the day before her birthday. Yaguchi said that she is a big fan of anime and wanted to try her hand at becoming a voice actress.