After being signed to JVC Victor in 1982, Mari first became known for her voice-acting role as Lynn Minmay in the anime Macross.

Her debut original album, Rosé, was released in 1983, which was produced by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Her original demo tape was picked up by JVC Victor in 1982 and she was signed to the record company as a singer-songwriter.

[citation needed] That same year, she appeared as a guest vocalist on Van Dyke Parks' album Tokyo Rose.

[6][7][8] She dedicated her performance in the ADV dub to Arihiro Hase, the Japanese voice actor of Hikaru Ichijo in Macross and a close friend of Iijima.