Rythem

Rythem stands out as a J-pop duo of two women whose reputation stems chiefly from placements on major anime soundtracks rather than from strong sales rankings of their own releases. Formed by high school friends Yui Nitsu and Yukari Kato, the pair share vocal and songwriting roles while Nitsu handles piano and Kato plays acoustic guitar. Their path opened in 2003 when Hitoritabi Syararuran prevailed at the Sony Music audition and earned them a contract with the label. Exposure through the Naruto series accelerated their breakthrough, beginning with the debut single Harumonia in 2003, which served as one of the show's theme songs. The next three singles posted modest chart results, yet Mangekyo Kirakira reached the Top 20 in 2004 after its link to the drama Hikari to Tomo Ni. Issued the same year, their first album Utatane climbed to number six on the Oricon chart and remains their strongest commercial showing. Houki Gumo, released in 2005, and Kokorobeedama, from 2006, both appeared in Yakitate!! Japan and later surfaced on the album Mugen Factory, which also included the track Negai used in the program Sukkiri. Single output ceased for the balance of 2006 while the duo toured acoustically, but they returned to recording in 2007 with Sakura Uta, featured in Deltora Quest, and completed their third album 23—named for the members' age at the time—which entered the Oricon Top 20 upon its 2008 release.