Shunsuke Kikuchi

Shunsuke Kikuchi (菊池 俊輔, Kikuchi Shunsuke, born November 1, 1931) is a prolific Japanese composer. He specializes in incidental music for media such as television and film. Active since the early 1960s, he has been one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working principally on tokusatsu and anime productions for children, as well as violent action films, jidaigeki and television dramas. Kikuchi has been inactive since 2017, when he stated that he was taking a break to be treated for an illness.[1]

For the footballer, see Shunsuke Kikuchi (footballer).
Shunsuke Kikuchi
菊池 俊輔
Born (1931-11-01) November 1, 1931
Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan
Alma materNihon University College of Art
OccupationComposer and arranger
Years active1961–2017

Career

After graduating from the Nihon University College of Art, he made his debut composing for the 1961 film The Eighth Enemy (八人目の敵).[2]

The Tō-Ō Nippō Press wrote that the contrast between the heroic opening theme and the melancholic ballad ending theme that Kikuchi composed for the 1969 Tiger Mask anime, "changed Japanese anime music."[2]

The Tō-Ō Nippō Press also wrote that the success of the TV drama Abarenbō Shōgun, which aired for 800 episodes from 1978 to 2008, had people say; "If Shunsuke Kikuchi is in charge of the music, the show will be a hit."[2]

In 1979 Kikuchi composed "Doraemon no Uta", the theme song of the Doraemon anime, which ran on TV for 26 years.[2]

Up-tempo works like those in Kamen Rider and Abarenbō Shōgun form the majority of Kikuchi's works, while his slow background music from long-running series have become some of his best-known works. Works that he composed for, such as anime and tokusatsu like Doraemon, Kamen Rider, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, jidaigeki such as Abarenbō Shōgun and Chōshichirō Edo Nikki, and TBS Saturday-night productions ranging from Key Hunter to G-Men '75 became long-running hit series.

The song "Urami Bushi" (怨み節) which he composed for the early 1970s Female Convict Scorpion series was included in the American film Kill Bill and on its soundtrack.

Awards

Kikuchi was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize for Music in 1983 for his work on The Gate of Youth and To Trap a Kidnapper.

He received an Award of Merit at the 2013 Tokyo Anime Awards.[3]

Kikuchi has won several annual awards from the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers based on the royalties he earned from his works in the previous year. He won the International Award, which is based on foreign income, in 1983 (UFO Robot Grendizer), 1989 (UFO Robot Grendizer), 2008 (Dragon Ball Z), 2010 (Doraemon), 2012 (Doraemon), 2015 (Dragon Ball Z), 2016 (Kiteretsu Daihyakka), 2018 (Dragon Ball Z), and 2019 (Dragon Ball Z). He came in second in overall royalties in 2004 (Dragon Ball Z).[4]

In 2015, he received a lifetime achievement award at the 57th Japan Record Awards.[5]

Selected works

References
  1. "昭和のアニメ音楽が再評価される理由". NHK. 2017-11-14. Archived from the original on 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  2. "第59回東奥賞". The Tō-Ō Nippō Press. 2016. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  3. "Wolf Children, Late Director Noboru Ishiguro Win Tokyo Anime Awards". Anime News Network. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  4. "Evangelion is #4 in Japanese Music Royalties in Last 30 Years". Anime News Network. 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  5. "『レコ大』司会、2年連続で安住アナ&仲間由紀恵 クマムシに特別賞" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  6. Patten, Fred (2004). Watching anime, reading manga: 25 years of essays and reviews. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-880656-92-1. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  7. Thomas, Brian (2003). VideoHound's dragon: Asian action & cult flicks. Visible Ink Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-57859-141-1. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  8. Thomas, Brian (2003). VideoHound's dragon: Asian action & cult flicks. Visible Ink Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-57859-141-1. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  9. Harris, Steve (1988). Film, television, and stage music on phonograph records: a discography. McFarland. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-89950-251-9. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  10. Spencer, Kristopher (2008). Film and television scores, 1950-1979: a critical survey by genre. McFarland. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-7864-3682-8. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  11. Young, R. G. (1 April 2000). The encyclopedia of fantastic film: Ali Baba to Zombies. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-55783-269-6. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  12. Thomas, Brian (2003). VideoHound's dragon: Asian action & cult flicks. Visible Ink Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-57859-141-1. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  13. Thomas, Brian (2003). VideoHound's dragon: Asian action & cult flicks. Visible Ink Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-57859-141-1. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  14. Thomas, Brian (2003). VideoHound's dragon: Asian action & cult flicks. Visible Ink Press. p. 419. ISBN 978-1-57859-141-1. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  15. Thomas, Brian (2003). VideoHound's dragon: Asian action & cult flicks. Visible Ink Press. p. 575. ISBN 978-1-57859-141-1. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  16. Thomas, Brian (2003). VideoHound's dragon: Asian action & cult flicks. Visible Ink Press. p. 609. ISBN 978-1-57859-141-1. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.