Ali Project is a Japanese band with a strong Japanese Aristocrat-style image, consisting of
Takarano Arika (vocals & lyrics) and
Katakura Mikiya (music & arrangement).
They made their indie debut in the charts in 1988 as Ari (Ant) Project (蟻プロジェクト) with their album Gensou Teien (幻想庭園). The album was later included in Tatsumi Takayuki's book Philosophy of Progressive Rock (プログレッシヴ・ロックの哲学), which led to the band being classified under the progressive rock genre.
Four years later in 1992 they changed their name and made their major debut with their single Koi-seyo Otome (恋せよ乙女).
Most of their records are released by
Toshiba-EMI,
Victor Entertainment and
Tokuma Japan. The band is notable in the anime community for having their songs featured in several anime opening and ending sequences, most notably in the series
Noir,
Rozen Maiden,
Linebarrels of Iron, and
Code Geass. Additionally, Katakura Mikiya has also provided the soundtrack to several anime series, such as
Kaibutsu Oujo and
Avenger.