fripSide is a Japanese indie pop band that formed in 2002 with vocalist nao and composer/synthesizer player Sat (Satoshi Yaginuma) as its core members, supported by various additional musicians over the years.
The nao era and transition
Nao stepped away in March 2009 to pursue a solo career, marking a major shift for the project. Sat stayed on to lead fripSide into what he called THE NEXT PROJECT phase, while the band recruited voice actress Yoshino Nanjo as the new vocalist.
Yoshino's run
Yoshino's debut with the band came through "only my railgun," which became the opening theme for the anime To Aru Kagaku no Railgun—her biggest association with the group. She remained the face of fripSide until announcing her graduation on October 31, 2021.
Current lineup
At Yoshino's final live performance, the band introduced two new vocalists to move forward: Mao Uesugi, a singer from Osaka with a solo career history as MAO/mAO, and Hisayo Abe.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
