, known professionally as Go Shiina, is a Japanese music composer primarily known for his work in
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
. He joined
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
in 1997 and was best known during his time with the company for writing music for a number of games in the ''
Tales'', ''
Mr. Driller
is a puzzle video game franchise created by Yasuhito Nagaoka and Hideo Yoshizawa for Namco. The eponymous first game was released in 1999 for arcades and several home consoles, such as the PlayStation. Gameplay in the series consists of contr ...
'', and ''
God Eater'' franchises, He gained widespread recognition with his score for ''
Tales of Legendia
, is an action role-playing game that was developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 as the seventh main title in their '' Tales'' series. Originally released in Japan in August 2005, it was later made available in English in North A ...
'' in 2005. Since then, he has also contributed music for several titles in the ''
Tekken
is a Japanese Media mix, media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations.
The ...
'', ''
Ace Combat
is an arcade-style combat flight simulation video game franchise published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. Debuting in 1995 with ''Air Combat'' for the PlayStation, the series includes eight mainline installments, multiple spin- ...
'', and ''
The Idolmaster'' franchises. In addition to video games, Shiina has also composed soundtracks for various
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series and films, starting with the 2011 film ''Sakura no Ondo'' and ''
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge. It follows teenage Tanjiro Kamado, who strives to become a demon slayer after his family was slaughtered and his younger sister, Nezuko Kamado, Nezuko, turned into a ...
'', as well as composing and arranging songs for bands and other artists.
Shiina works is known for having strong and heavy, orchestral sounds. He left
Bandai Namco Entertainment
is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...
in 2017, and is currently a freelance composer. Despite being freelance, he has continued to work with the company for various other projects, including the ''God Eater'' series, as well as other games such as ''
Code Vein''.
Biography
Born in
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Japan, Shiina was taught how to play the
electronic organ
An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...
from his parents when he was growing up.
Although he was not a dedicated musician before becoming a composer, he was at one time a member of a
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
cover band who also played
J-pop
J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...
music. Shiina enrolled at Dokkyo Junior High School. After being rejected by 46 companies, including a jewelry company, a finance company, and a fast food company, he was hired by
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
(now
Bandai Namco Games
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are resp ...
); he had little prior experience with video games.
Creating music for old arcade releases using Namco's sound trackers felt more like computer programming than composing for Shiina, but he has said that the experience helped him out when he would have to use MIDI sounds in future games. The songs he composed for the first ''Mr. Driller'' were deemed unfitting for a puzzle game by some of the staff and they almost didn't make it into the final product.
Shiina's first solo project was ''Mr. Driller G''. He was given extensive access to live instruments and an incredible amount of creative freedom, setting the stage for his later work. The scores for future games in the ''
Mr. Driller
is a puzzle video game franchise created by Yasuhito Nagaoka and Hideo Yoshizawa for Namco. The eponymous first game was released in 1999 for arcades and several home consoles, such as the PlayStation. Gameplay in the series consists of contr ...
'' series would also be composed exclusively by Shiina.
When he began writing songs for ''
Tales of Legendia
, is an action role-playing game that was developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 as the seventh main title in their '' Tales'' series. Originally released in Japan in August 2005, it was later made available in English in North A ...
'', he originally tried to follow in the footsteps of the lead ''Tales'' series composer
Motoi Sakuraba
is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...
, but was later inspired to develop his own style for it.
Bandai Namco gave Shiina freedom to compose for anime projects during his later years with the company. In September 2017, Shiina announced that he had retired from Bandai Namco. He is currently a freelance composer.
Musical style and influences
Go Shiina's music is characterized by dramatic melodies and unusual arrangements. His soundtracks contain a wide range of musical styles, including jazz, orchestral,
fusion
Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole.
Fusion may also refer to:
Science and technology Physics
*Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
, and rock, and he often mixes different genres and instruments together for unique sounds. Many of Shiina's songs use live string sections,
slap bass
Slapping and popping are ways to produce percussive sounds on a stringed instrument. It is primarily used on the double bass or bass guitar. Slapping on bass guitar involves using the edge of one's knuckle, where it is particularly bony, to ...
, audio filter effects and artificial languages.
He has said that he can write music in any genre, as long as he is motivated, and has also stated that "when I write a song, the time it takes me depends on whether I know the singer's natural voice. The genre doesn't matter..." Shiina feels that there are two types of compositions: "some tracks can stand alone as musical pieces, and some only work when you hear them in the game," and he often alters or leaves out certain songs when putting together albums. When composing vocal or instrumental tracks, he often sings the parts out loud.
For the soundtrack to ''
God Eater'', Shiina explained that the creative nature of the story pushed him to be creative with the music as well. He looked around for a variety of instruments from many countries, and some of the styles and instruments featured in the score include
Japanese traditional music
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
African rhythms
Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has described the many local approaches as consti ...
, and the Indian
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
.
He has also done string arrangements for bands.
Awards and honors
On 14 May 2021, asteroid
119846 Goshiina, discovered by American astronomer
Roy A. Tucker at the
Goodricke-Pigott in 2002, was in his honor by the
Working Group Small Body Nomenclature
In ancient times, only the Sun and Moon, a few stars, and the most easily visible planets had names. Over the last few hundred years, the number of identified astronomical objects has risen from hundreds to over a billion, and more are discovered e ...
.
Shiina was honored in the Sound/Music/Performance category at the 2022
Tokyo Anime Film Festival along with composer,
Yuki Kajiura
Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to:
Places
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan
* Y ...
. The two composers were also jointly nominated for Best Score at the
5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2021 and won at the
6th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2022 for their work on
''Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'' and ''Kimetsu no Yaiba'': ''Mugen Train Arc.'' The
film version
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
was also honored at the 2021
Japanese Academy Awards
The , often called the Japan Academy Prize, the Japan Academy Awards, and the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association (日本アカデミー賞協会, ''Nippon Akademii- ...
for Outstanding Score.
Works
Video games
* ''Hammer Champ'' (1998)
* ''
World Stadium
''World Stadium'' (full title: ), is a series of baseball arcade games that were released by Namco in the late 1980s and 1990s; they were spin-offs of the ''Family Stadium'' franchise, inspired by the 1986 Famicom game '' Pro Yakyū Family Stadi ...
98 EX'' (1998)
* ''
Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere'' (1998) – with various others
* ''Quick & Crash'' (1998)
* ''
Mr. Driller
is a puzzle video game franchise created by Yasuhito Nagaoka and Hideo Yoshizawa for Namco. The eponymous first game was released in 1999 for arcades and several home consoles, such as the PlayStation. Gameplay in the series consists of contr ...
'' (1999)
* ''
Mr. Driller 2'' (2000)
* ''
Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil'' (2001) – with Kanako Kakino, Eriko Imura, Katsuro Tajima, and Asuka Sakai
* ''Mr. Driller G'' (2001)
* ''
Taiko no Tatsujin 3'' (2002) – with various others
* ''
Mr. Driller: Drill Land'' (2002)
* ''
MotoGP 3'' (2003) – one track
* ''
Taiko no Tatsujin: Appare Sandaime'' (2003) – "MEKADON~Uchuu ni Kieta Meka Taiko"
* ''
The Idolmaster'' (2005) – "Taiyou no Jealousy" and "Aoi Tori"
* ''
Tales of Legendia
, is an action role-playing game that was developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 as the seventh main title in their '' Tales'' series. Originally released in Japan in August 2005, it was later made available in English in North A ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Tekken: Dark Resurrection'' (2005) – with various others
* ''
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology'' (2006) – with
Motoi Sakuraba
is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...
and Takuya Yasuda
* ''Pro Baseball Nechu Star 2006'' (2006) – opening theme
* ''
Kyou Kara Maoh! - Hajimari no Tabi'' (2006) – with various others
* ''
Tales of Fandom Vol.2
The ''Tales'' series is a Media franchise, franchise of fantasy role-playing video games published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco), and developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio until 2011 and presently by Bandai Namco Stud ...
'' (2007) – opening and ending theme
* ''
Tekken 6
is a fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco Games. It is the sixth main and seventh installment in the ''Tekken'' franchise. It was released in arcades on November 26, 2007, as the first game running on the PlayStation 3-based ...
'' (2007) – with various others
* ''
Taiko no Tatsujin 11'' (2008) – "Haikei, Gakkou nite..."
* ''
Mr. Driller Online'' (2008)
* ''
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2'' (2009) – with various others
* ''
Tales of VS.'' (2009) – with Motoi Sakuraba
* ''
The Idolmaster Dearly Stars
is a Japanese life simulation video game developed by Microvision and published by Bandai Namco Games. It was released on September 17, 2009 for the Nintendo DS. The game is a spin-off of '' The Idolmaster'' series and its timeline coincides b ...
'' (2009) – "ALIVE"
* ''
God Eater'' (2010)
* ''
Ace Combat: Joint Assault'' (2010) – with Kanako Kakino and
Inon Zur
Inon Zur ( he, ינון צור, ; born July 4, 1965) is an Israeli-American composer. Originally writing for movies and television, he later moved into composing for video games. He has been described as being "internationally recognized as one ...
* ''
Gods Eater Burst'' (2010)
* ''
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3'' (2011) – with Motoi Sakuraba, Takuya Yasuda, Kota Nakashima, and Kazuhiro Nakamura
* ''
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' is a sequel to the ''Tekken'' fighting game series. It was released for the arcades in September 2011. It received an update, subtitled ''Unlimited'', on March 2012. A console version based on the update was release ...
'' (2011) – with various others
* ''
Ace Combat 3D: Assault Horizon Legacy'' (2012) – with various others
* ''
Tales of the Heroes: Twin Brave'' (2012) – with Motoi Sakuraba
* ''
Tales of the World: Tactics Union'' (2012)
* ''
God Eater 2
is a video game developed by Shift and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment on November 14, 2013, in Japan for PlayStation Portable. It is a sequel to '' God Eater''. It features a new setting, as well as new protagonists, new monsters, and ...
'' (2013)
* ''
Golden Time: Vivid Memories'' (2014) – ending themes
* ''
The Idolmaster One For All
is a Japanese raising simulation video game in ''The Idolmaster'' series developed and published by Bandai Namco Games. It was released in Japan on May 15, 2014 for the PlayStation 3. The story in ''One For All'' is told from the perspective of ...
'' (2014) – "Saihyou"
* ''
Tales of the World: Reve Unitia'' (2014)
* ''
God Eater 2: Rage Burst'' (2015)
* ''
Tales of Zestiria
is an action role-playing game. It is the fifteenth main entry in the ''Tales'' series, developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was released in January 2015 in Japan on the PlayStation 3. For Western re ...
'' (2015) – with Motoi Sakuraba
* ''
God Eater Resurrection'' (2015)
* ''
Tales of the Rays'' (2017) – with Motoi Sakuraba, Eriko Sakurai, and Kazuhiro Nakamura
* ''
Tekken 7
is a fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is the seventh main and ninth overall installment in the ''Tekken '' series. ''Tekken 7'' was released to arcades in March 2015. An updated arcade version, ''Tekken 7 ...
: Fated Retribution'' (2017) – "DUOMO DI SIRIO 1st" and "DUOMO DI SIRIO 2nd"
* ''LayereD Stories 0'' (2017) – with Mitsuhiro Kitadani and Hiroyuki Fujita
* ''The Idolmaster Stella Stage'' (2017) – "Blooming Star"
* ''God Eater Resonant Ops'' (2018)
* ''
God Eater 3'' (2018)
* ''
Sound Voltex
is a series of music games by Konami
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines ...
Vivid Wave'' (2019) – "Unkai"
* ''Yume Utsutsu Re:Master'' (2019) – "Natsukashi Machi"
* ''
Code Vein'' (2019)
* ''
Various Daylife'' (2019)
* ''
Arknights
''Arknights'' () is a free-to-play tactical RPG/tower defense mobile game developed by Chinese developer Hypergryph. It was released in China on 1 May 2019, in other countries on 16 January 2020 and in Taiwan on 29 June 2020. ''Arknights'' ...
'' (2020) - "Towerfierce"
* ''9-nine-'' (2021) – "InFINITE Line"
* ''
Tales of Luminaria'' (2022)
* ''
Harvestella'' (2022)
Anime
* ''
The Idolmaster'' (2011) – "Happy Christmas"
* ''Sakura no Ondo'' (2011)
* ''
Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack'' (2012)
* ''
Kyōsōgiga'' (2013)
* ''
Majocco Shimai no Yoyo to Nene
is a 2013 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Takayuki Hirao, based on the ''Noroiya Shimai'' series of Japanese comics by Hirarin.
It is also known in English as ''Magical Sisters Yoyo and Nene'', ''Little Witches Yoyo & Nene'', or ...
'' (2013)
* ''
In Search of the Lost Future
, subtitled ("In search of the lost future" in French), sometimes abbreviated as , is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Trumple and released for Windows on November 26, 2010. The title is derived from '' In Search of Lost Time'', ...
'' (2014) – arrangement with Tomoki Kikuya and Akito Matsuda
* ''
Tales of Zestiria: Dawn of the Shepherd'' (2014) – with Motoi Sakuraba
* ''
God Eater'' (2015)
* ''
Dimension W
''Dimension W'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūji Iwahara. It was published in Square Enix's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Young Gangan'' from September 2011 to November 2015 and later in '' Monthly Big Gangan'' fr ...
'' (2016) – with Yoshiaki Fujisawa
* ''
Tales of Zestiria the X
is a Japanese anime television series based on both ''Tales of Zestiria'' and ''Tales of Berseria'' video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and tri-Crescendo, and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It is produced by Ufotable, direc ...
'' (2016) – with Motoi Sakuraba
* ''
Juni Taisen: Zodiac War'' (2017)
* ''LayereD Stories 0'' (2017)
* ''
Fate/Grand Order x Himuro's World: Seven Most Powerful Great Figures Chapter'' (2017)
* ''
Today's Menu for the Emiya Family
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by TAa. The series has been serialized on Kadokawa Shoten's ''Young Ace Up'' website since January 26, 2016, and has been collected in eight ''tankōbon'' volumes as of August 26, 2022. Th ...
'' (2018)
* ''
Million Arthur
is a Japanese media franchise created by Square Enix, consisting primarily of a series of video games. The first release was an online free-to-play card battle game titled , which was released for iOS and Android in 2012. A sequel ga ...
'' (2018)
* ''
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge. It follows teenage Tanjiro Kamado, who strives to become a demon slayer after his family was slaughtered and his younger sister, Nezuko Kamado, Nezuko, turned into a ...
'' (2019) – with
Yuki Kajiura
Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to:
Places
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan
* Y ...
* ''
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train'' (2020) – with Yuki Kajiura
* ''
Eien no 831
is an original Japanese animated television film written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with animation production by Craftar.
It premiered on television on Wowow on January 30, 2022. It was later released in theaters in Japan on March 18, ...
'' (2022)
Other works
* ''THE iDOLM@STER RADIO Utahime Rakuen'' (2006) – "Gekkasai ~la festa sotto la luna~"
* ''Egoist'' (2006) – "ardore"
* ''THE iDOLM@STER MASTER ARTIST 07 Azusa Miura'' (2007) – "Tonari ni..."
* ''
Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment'' (2008) – arranged "Eradicate and Evolve"
* ''THE iDOLM@STER MASTER ARTIST 2 -FIRST SEASON- 05 Chihaya Kisaragi'' (2010) – "Nemurihime"
* ''THE iDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 004 Kaede Takagaki'' (2012)
* ''Hasta La Vista /
Asami Imai
is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Early Wing. She debuted as a voice actress in 1999 and as singer in 2009 by releasing her first single "Day by Day / Shining Blue Rain" under the 5pb. Records label. She is also well known f ...
'' (2012) – "Hasta La Vista"
* ''Dear Darling / Asami Imai'' (2013) – "Tabibito"
* ''little legacy / Asami Imai'' (2014) – "little legacy"
* ''Words of GRACE / Asami Imai'' (2016) – "Aurora no Oto"
* ''THE iDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER KOI KAZE -SAI-'' (2018)
* ''THE iDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS MASTER SEASONS SPRING!'' (2018) – "Mikansei no Reikishi"
* ''Flow of time / Asami Imai'' (2019) – "Kodoku na Ginga"
* ''THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 055-057 Mirei Hayasaka, Hajime Fujiwara, Riamu Yumemi'' (2020) – "Arakane no Utsuwa"
References
External links
*
*
Discography at VGMdb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiina, Go
1974 births
Anime composers
Crunchyroll Anime Awards winners
Japanese composers
Japanese film score composers
Japanese male composers
Japanese male film score composers
Japanese music arrangers
Living people
Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture
Musicians from Yokohama
Tales (video game series) music
Video game composers