Noriyuki Makihara

Making his way into the dense J-Pop scene in the early '90s, Noriyuki Makihara quietly bucked the trend of short and trendy artist lifespans, remaining in the scene for close to 20 years. After some major early hits with 1991's "Donnatokimo" and 1992's "Mou Koi Nante Shinai," Makihara began updating his sound to match the contemporary scene (though a fair amount of Casio keyboard-style synthesizers can be heard in the earliest pieces). Bit by bit, Makihara became a contemporary artist, and although his sales lagged for a time (temporarily highlighted by the use of "Ashioto" as...