, also known by the stage name Asca (stylized in all caps), is a Japanese singer and musician signed to Sony Music and Sacra Music. She made her debut in 2013 after becoming a finalist at the 5th Animax All-Japan Anisong Grand Prix. After focusing on her studies, she resumed her music career in late 2016. Her songs have been featured in many anime series, such as Sword Art Online, Fate/Apocrypha, Darwin's Game, Edens Zero, and The Irregular at Magic High School.

Biography Early life Ōkura was born in Aichi Prefecture on September 5, 1996. She had aspired to become a musician since she was in elementary school, at which time she also become interested in anime music. She became interested in singing after listening to the song "I believe" by Ayaka, and songs by BoA and Dreams Come True. During her second year in junior high school, her older sister, who had begun taking music lessons, encouraged her to do the same. Afterwards, she started playing in a band, with herself on vocals and her sisters playing instruments.

Career At the encouragement of her music teacher, she decided to audition for the 5th Animax All-Japan Anisong Grand Prix in 2011. She became a finalist in the contest, which was eventually won by Konomi Suzuki. Although she did not win the contest, as a finalist, Ōkura was offered a one-year contract with music label Media Factory. After a year had passed and as the contract was about to expire, it was decided that she would make her music debut. She released her first single on March 11, 2013; the title song is used as the second ending theme to the anime television series The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. After the release of the single, she put her career on hold to focus on her high school studies.

After she graduated from high school, Ōkura resumed her music career in 2016. Her first post-comeback release was the mini-album Days, which was released digitally on December 21, 2016. The following year, she moved to the record label Sacra Music and began using the stage name Asca. Her next release was the song "Rust", which was included in the August 2017 issue of LisAni magazine. Her second single "Koe" was released digitally on November 12, 2017, and received a physical release on November 22, 2017; the title track is used as the second ending theme to the anime television series Fate/Apocrypha.

Asca's third single "Pledge" was released digitally on February 16, 2018, and received a physical release on February 21, 2018; the song is used as the ending theme of anime Record of Grancrest War Her fourth single was released digitally on May 4, 2018, and received a physical release on May 9, 2018; the song is used as the second opening theme of anime Record of Grancrest War She released three collaborated singles with Ayasa, with Kanon Wakeshima, and "Suspected, Confused and Action" with Boku no Lyric no Boyomi digitally on September 24, 2018, October 29, 2018, and November 30, 2018, respectively.

Asca's fifth single "Resister" was released digitally on January 13, 2019 and received a physical release on February 27, 2019; the song "Resister" was used as the second opening theme for the anime Sword Art Online: Alicization, while the song "Mirage" was used as the theme song for the VR game Tokyo Chronos. ASCA is featured on Hiroyuki Sawano's song "Unti-L", under the name "SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:ASCA"; the track appears on Sawano's album "R∃/MEMBER". Her sixth single "Rust/Hibari/Kōbō" was released on September 4, 2019. "Hibari" was released digitally on July 14, 2019, and is used as the ending theme to the anime series The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II, while "Kōbō" is used as the insert song of VR game Tokyo Chronos.

Asca released her first album titled on November 6, 2019. The album included her song that was used as the opening theme song in the game Sword Art Online: Alicization Rising Steel. Her seventh single "Chain" was released digitally on January 18, 2020 and received a physical release on February 26, 2020; the title track is used as the opening theme to the anime series Darwin's Game. She collaborated with Takanori Nishikawa in performing the song that was released on May 27, 2020; the song is used as the opening theme in the anime series White Cat Project: Zero Chronicle.

Asca's eighth single "Howling" was released digitally on October 4, 2020, and was released November 4, 2020; the title track is used as the opening theme to the second season of the anime series The Irregular at Magic High School. The single itself includes a cover of Garnidelia's second single "Grilletto," which was used as the second opening of the first season of the same anime. Asca also performed the ending theme song of the second season of the anime series Edens Zero; the song, "Rinne", was released as a single on April 2, 2023. Later that year, she sang the song , which was used as the opening theme to the anime series Butareba: The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig. In 2024 she sang the song , which was used as the third ending theme to the third season of The Irregular at Magic High School. She also performed the songs "Faceless" and , which were used as the opening themes to the anime series Bye Bye, Earth and Demon Lord, Retry! R respectively.

Discography As Asuka Ōkura Mini albums Title Details Days (Indies)Released: December 21, 2016 Format: Digital download

Singles Title Details Peak Oricon chart positions Released: February 27, 2013 40

As ASCA Albums Title Details Peak Oricon chart positionsReleased: November 6, 2019 Label: Sacra Music (VVCL-1525, VVCL-1527, VVCL-1529) Format: CD, CD+BD 11Released: January 27, 2021 Label: Sacra Music (VVCL-1812, VVCL-1815, VVCL-1817) Format: CD, CD+BD 23VividReleased: March 13, 2024 Label: Sacra Music Format: CD, CD+BD 38

Extended plays Title Details Peak Oricon chart positionsReleased: January 26, 2022 Label: Sacra Music (VVCL-1999, VVCL-2000, VVCL-1997) Format: CD, CD+BD 28

Singles Title Details Peak Oricon chart positions Album"Rust"Released: August, 2017— "KOE" (Voice)Released: November 22, 2017 33 "Pledge"Released: February 21, 2018 92 Released: May 9, 2018 44 "Resister"Released: February 27, 2019 14 Released: September 4, 2019 20 "Chain"Released: February 26, 2020 26 "Howling"Released: November 4, 2020 20 "Carpe Diem / Villain"Released: June 2, 2021 25 rowspan="3" "Rinne"Released: April 26, 2023 36 "Watashi ga Warau Wake ha"Released: November 15, 2023 43 "—" denotes releases that were ineligible to chart.

Digital singles Title Details Album (with Ayasa) Released: September 24, 2018 (with Kanon Wakeshima)Released: October 29, 2018 "Suspected, Confused and Action" (under the name ASCA VS Boku no Lyric no Boyomi)Released: November 30, 2018 Released: July 18, 2021 rowspan="4" Released: November 27, 2021 Released: January 1, 2022 Released: July 20, 2022

Collaboration singles Title Details Peak Oricon chart positions Album (with Takanori Nishikawa)Released: May 27, 2020 7 (with FictionJunction, Eir Aoi, ReoNa)Released: October 28, 2022 —

Guest appearances Title Year Album Artist "Unti-L" 2019 R∃/MEMBER SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]

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