Shoko Nakagawa

Biography

Shoko Nakagawa (中川 翔子, Nakagawa Shōko; born May 5, 1985) is a Japanese media personality, singer, actress, voice actress, illustrator, YouTuber, and cosplayer. Also known by her nickname Shokotan (しょこたん), she is best known as the presenter of Pokémon Sunday, and as the performer of the opening theme from the anime Gurren Lagann.

Biography

Born and raised in Tokyo metropolitan area to her father, Katsuhiko Nakagawa, actor and musician, and her mother Keiko Nakagawa, a great-granddaughter of Kazutaka Ito, who is known for introducing and promoting the salmon and trout hatchery business. Her father died of leukemia on September 17, 1994 when she was 9. Nakagawa found escape from bullies by connecting with Pokémon when she was in 5th grade. "When I was a kid, I didn't have friends, but I did have Pokémon."
In the 2006 book Shokotan Manual (しょこ☆まにゅ, Shoko Manyu), she wrote that her legal name was Shiyōko (しようこ) rather than Shōko (しょうこ), which she had been using for most of her life. At the time of her birth, she and her mother had to remain in the hospital, and her maternal aunt was left with registering her in the koseki. Her mother's intended name of "Shōko" (薔子) was declined due to 薔 not being included in the list of jōyō kanji or jinmeiyō kanji that are approved for use in Japanese names. The aunt wrote Shōko (しょうこ) in hiragana instead, but because she wrote very quickly, the small yo appeared larger than intended and the name was recorded as Shiyōko (しようこ).

Career

She made her entertainment debut in 2001, winning the Grand Prix award at the Popolo Girl Audition and representing Jackie Chan talent agency. Later, on the "Yume-Ga-Oka Residence" programme on SKY PerfecTV!, she was given Jackie Chan's photobook by Midorikawa Shobō, who were guests on the show. She commented "I thought he was an enemy of Bruce Lee's", apparently referring to Enter the Dragon.
In 2002, she was chosen as Miss Shōnen Magazine.
Her official blog, Shokotan * Blog, opened in 2004, and by April 2006 it had received a total of 100 million hits. On February 2, 2008, the daily Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported that her blog had been accessed 1 billion times.
In 2004, she made a guest appearance in the 38th episode of Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, after having previously appeared as a child in Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman. She later appeared with Katsumura on Men B.
She appeared in a brief section of "Kangaeru Hito" ("People who think") on the Fuji TV network in 2004 as an illustrator, after which she appeared regularly on the later version of the programme which started with minor changes in early 2005, "Kangaeru Hitokoma" ("Thinking about one frame [of a cartoon strip]"). On the Fuji TV show Kangaeru Hitokoma, on which she is an occasional guest, she drew in the style of Kazuo Umezu.
For one year starting in May 2005, Nakagawa appeared as a regular on the TBS programme "Ōsama no Brunch". In July 2006, she released her debut single "Brilliant Dream×Brilliant Dream5 July 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Brilliant Dream4:442CAT Life3:343Brilliant Dream (オリジナルカラオケ)4:454お江戸はカーニバル!3:455お江戸はカーニバル! (オリジナル・カラオケ)3:44". It entered the Oricon chart at number 29, with initial sales of 6313 copies. Nakagawa performed at Anime Expo 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Some of her work was shown on May 11, edition of Downtown Deluxe on Nippon TV network, Nakagawa was a member of the judging panel in the "Jump Damashii" section of the Shūeisha publication Weekly Shōnen Jump, starting from Jump number 13 of 2006.
On May 30, 2006, airing of Kasupe!, in the section entitled Fuji Ginkō Geinōjin Satei-Gakari (フジ銀行 芸能人査定係), "Fuji Bank Celebrity Evaluator", it was discovered that she liked the manga Kachō Shima Kōsaku, eliciting a comment from the host, Sayaka Aoki, that she had pretty "grown-up tastes".
In 2009, she opened a store called "mmts" with the theme of her hobby in Nakano Broadway.
In 2009–2010, she appeared in a series of commercials for Norton AntiVirus.

In March 2014, Nakagawa's book of autobiographical essays, Neko no Ashiato ("Cats' Pawprints"), was published by Magazine House.
In March 2015, the book was adapted as an anime series titled Omakase Mamitasu ("Leave It to Mamitasu") on NHK, which featured characters based on Nakagawa's cat and her late father and grandfather.
In 2018, Nakagawa returned to Anime Expo to perform as part of Anisong World Matsuri.
In 2019, Nakagawa performed the song "Kaze to Issho ni" (風といっしょに) with Sachiko Kobayashi, which was used as the theme song to the theatrical film Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution; it is a cover of a song originally performed by Kobayashi, which was used as the theme song to the 1998 film Pokémon: The First Movie.
In 2020 following the temporary loss of work due to COVID-19 pandemic was a turning point, and she started distributing videos on YouTube, separate from the channel that distributes music videos set up by the office. Since then, her blog has hardly been updated.
In 2021, she posted her swimsuit video on YouTube, and she became very popular with over 10 million views in two months.
In October 2023, Nakagawa released the single "65535", the title song of which was used as the opening theme to the anime series 16bit Sensation: Another Layer. The following day, she announced that she legally changed her name to be the same as her stage name.
In addition to announcing her pregnancy on May 5, 2025, she also announced the launch of her own agency, "miracle." She has a business partnership with Watanabe Entertainment.

Personal life

On April 28, 2023, Nakagawa announced her marriage to a non-celebrity man.
On May 5, 2025, on her 40th birthday, Nakagawa announced that she was pregnant with her first child. On October 1, 2025, she announced through her official social media account that she and her husband welcomed the birth of their first child, twin sons, on September 30.

TV

AX MUSIC-TV 00 (2003–2004)
Pokémon Sunday (ポケモン☆サンデー, Pokemon☆Sandē) (2006–2010)
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger (特捜戦隊デカレンジャー, Tokusō Sentai Dekarenjā) (2004) as Falupian Yaako (guest appearance) Episode 38
Isshukan no Koi (一週間の恋) (2006)
Hou no Niwa (法の庭) (2007)
Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi (ほんとにあった怖い話) (2007)
Shūmatsu no Cinderella Sekai! Dangan Traveler (週末のシンデレラ 世界!弾丸トラベラー, Shūmatsu-no-shinderera Sekai! DanganToraberā) (2007–2012)
Waraiga Ichiban (笑いがいちばん, Waraiga Ichiban) (2007–2010)
Anmitsu Hime (あんみつ姫) (2008)
Anmitsu Hime 2 (あんみつ姫2) (2009)
Pokémon Smash! (ポケモンスマッシュ！, Pokemon Sumasshu!) (2010–2013)
Pokémon Get TV (ポケモンゲット☆TV, Pokemon Getto Terebi) (2013–2015)
Gunshi Kanbei (軍師官兵衛) (2014) as Okita
Mare (まれ) (2015)
Meet Up at the Pokémon House? (ポケモンの家あつまる?, Pokémon no Uchi Atsumaru?) (2015–present)
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Michibikareshi 7-nin (勇者ヨシヒコと導かれし七人) (2016)
Anata no Koto wa sore hodo (あなたのことはそれほど) (2017)
Tokyo Vampire Hotel (東京ヴァンパイアホテル) (2017)

Films

Kabuto-O Beetle (2005)
Umezu Kazuo: Kyofu Gekijo – Zesshoku (2005)
Koala Kacho / Executive Koala (2005)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
X-Cross (2007)
Gothic Lolita Battle Bear (2013)

Pokémon films

Nakagawa also has voiced characters in every Pokémon movie since 2007 (except Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened and Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution):

Video games

Dragon Quest Heroes (2015) – Alena
Dragon Quest Heroes II (2016) – Alena
Toukiden 2 (2016) – Gwen
Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary (2017) – Alena
Kingdom Hearts III (2019) – Rapunzel

Live-action

Moon Geun-young
Innocent Steps – Jang Chae-min
My Little Bride – Bo-eun
Silent Hill (2006) – Alessa Gillespie (voice-over for Jodelle Ferland)
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) – Tessa Yeager (voice-over for Nicola Peltz)
Ra.One (2015) – Desi/Dawsal (voice-over for Priyanka Chopra)
Venom (2018) – Anne Weying (voice-over for Michelle Williams)
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) – Anne Weying (voice-over for Michelle Williams)

Animation

Tangled The Series (2017–2020) – Rapunzel
Tangled (2010) – Rapunzel
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) – Rapunzel
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2023) – Goldilocks

Other songs

"Moeyo Giza Mimi Pichū!" (Ending for Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl)
"Dori Dori" (Ending for Pokémon the Series: XY)
"Kaze to isshu ni" (Ending for Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution)
"Taipu: Wairudo" (Ending for Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon)