21 years old. Firefighter. A trusted team member with a strong sense of righteousness. Physically dextrous and seemingly able to take on anything, but always put in extra effort.
~!He dies from saving someone in winter and appears to Hinako in water every time she sings their song.!~

Upon entering university, Hinako moves to a coastal town. She loves surfing, and when she's on the waves she's fearless, but still feels uncertain about her future. When a fire wreaks havoc in the town, Hinako encounters young firefighter Minato. As they surf and spend more time together, Hinako feels drawn to someone like Minato who devotes himself to helping other people. Hinako also holds a special place in Minato's heart. (Source: Toho)

[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/6RexcbImnLm1O83WNPzZV2) | [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ryota-katayose/957661806) | [Instagram](https://instagram.com/ryota_katayose__official) | [Weibo](http://weibo.com/ryotakatayoseoffical)

Ryota Katayose is a singer, performer, actor and model. He belongs to the J-pop group GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE under the talent agency LDH JAPAN.

Having music teachers as both his grandfather and father, he grew up playing the piano. He performed mostly as an accompanist at choir contests, and didn't have any thought of becoming an entertainer. But after being fascinated by the performance of the well-known J-pop group EXILE in a live concert that his mother invited him to, he considered the idea for the first time. Spurred on by his penchant for singing and compliments for it at karaoke, he decided to go for it in high school. His budding dream of becoming an artist grew slowly as he was further inspired by the passionate fellow auditionees, and the words of EXILE's vocalist ATSUSHI to him. So despite not being selected after reaching the final of a major vocal audition, he seriously began taking lessons with scholarship at EXPG — a school of performing arts from LDH. A year later he became a candidate member of the group GENERATIONS, and another year later, in 2012, he made his debut with the group as an official member.

Besides his position as mainly a vocalist and also a performer (dancer), he wrote lyrics for his group a few times as well. Additionally, he's quite active as a model and actor. The protagonist's role in the live-action adaptation of the manga "Ani ni Aisaresugite Komattemasu" earned him a breakthrough in his career. Since then, he has acted in several J-dramas and movies, including "Gozen 0-ji, Kiss Shi ni Kite yo" — a live-action adaptation of another manga. In 2019, he did his debut voice acting for the protagonist Minato Hinageshi from the anime movie "Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara." He also sang the movie's theme song Brand New Story as one of the vocalists of GENERATIONS. As of September 2021, he has released two solo singles as a part of shows he starred in.

Ryota is the first Japanese male celebrity to be selected by Variety as one of the most promising stars of Asia's next generation, winning one of the "8 Asian Stars: Up Next" awards at Macao's 4th International Film Festival & Awards. He also attained the Popular Artist Award at WEIBO Account Festival in Japan 2018, which became a testament of his vast popularity in China alongside his homeland.

[Twitter](https://twitter.com/JoeyRichter/)

He is the son of the German actor and voice actor [Michael Schwarzmaier](https://anilist.co/staff/139851/Michael-Schwarzmaier). He first worked as a voice actor at the age of five. His career gained wider popularity in 2001 when he was hired for the title role in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets".
His sisters [Caroline Schwarzmaier](https://anilist.co/staff/167398/Caroline-Schwarzmaier) and [Katharina Schwarzmaier](https://anilist.co/staff/137355/Katharina-Schwarzmaier) are also active as voice actors.

[Synchronkartei](https://www.synchronkartei.de/sprecher/628/2)

New college student Hinako, who moved to a small seaside town to surf and have fun, finds herself falling in love with firefighter Minato after he saves her from a fire. Their young romance comes to an abrupt end when Minato drowns…but in her grief, Hinako discovers that singing a song they used to perform as a duet summons Minato into the nearest body of water–be it a puddle, glass, or bathtub. Will Hinako be able to reach Minato again?
 
(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

Music video for the song Brand New Story by GENERATIONS from Exile Tribe.