is a Japanese

music composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and arranger. Known as one of the biggest names in the soundtrack world, he has worked on a wide range of mixed media productions, including anime, TV shows, films and video games. Among his credits are Toei's Kamen Rider Heisei Generations Forever, Tsui Hark's '' Seven Swords'' and '' Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon''; Wilson Yip's '' Ip Man''; Mamoru Oshii's films '' The Red Spectacles'', '' StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops'', ''Ghost in the Shell'', ''

Mobile Police Patlabor , also known as ''Patlabor'' (a portmanteau of "patrol" and "labor"), is a Japanese science fiction media franchise created by Headgear, a group consisting of manga artist Masami Yūki, director Mamoru Oshii, screenwriter Kazunori It� ...

'' and ''Avalon''; the anime adaptations of Rumiko Takahashi's ''

Ranma ½ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in '' Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected into 38 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shogakukan. The ...

'' and '' Maison Ikkoku''; the live-action adaptation of '' Gantz'' and Hideo Nakata's films ''Ring'', '' Ring 2'', '' Chaos'', ''Dark Water'' and ''Kaidan''. His nephew, Hidehiro Kawai, is a bassist in Fox Capture Plan, an instrumental band.

Career

After dropping out of a

nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of breaking down atomic nuclei (fission) or of combining atomic nuclei ( fusion), or with the application of other sub-atomic processes based on the principles of nu ...

program at

Tokai University is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae. It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai ...

, Kawai began studying music at Shobi Music Academy. However, he dropped out after half a year. With a few friends, he created the band Muse, playing fusion rock and participating in music competitions. Through competing in such contests, the band members became technically competent to enter the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, trai ...

and decided to part ways. After leaving Muse, Kawai began composing music for commercials in his home studio. While recording music for radio actor and voice actor Yūji Mitsuya, he met music director Naoko Asari, who advised him to compose anime soundtracks. Some of his work for anime soundtracks can be found in ''

'' and ''Ghost in the Shell''. According to Kawai, he is not good at creating music from nothing, as he draws sounds from the visuals of the works. In the majority of cases, the images of the anime are not yet created, so he creates music when referencing storyboard visuals. Following his success as an anime movies music composer, he became involved in live action movies. He contributed music to

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...

s: ''Ring'', '' Ring 2'', ''Dark Water'', Japanese-Polish science-fiction film ''Avalon'', the Hong Kong film '' Seven Swords'' and in the 2017 live action film ''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to May ...

''. Kawai has worked on several projects with director Mamoru Oshii (both

Headgear Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elemen ...

members) and has written scores for all of the Hideo Nakata's films. The most recent film featuring his music is 2009's ''

Assault Girls is a 2009 Japanese science fiction action live-action feature film written and directed by Mamoru Oshii. It was released in Japan on December 19, 2009. The movie was developed as a spiritual sequel to the '' Assault Girl: Hinako The Kentucky' ...

'' by director Oshii. Kawai's music has received the

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally d ...

and

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...

. In 2005, for ''Innocence: Kôkaku kidôtai'' ( ''Ghost in The Shell 2: Innocence'') he was nominated for an

. For the music found in ''Seven Swords'' and ''A Battle of Wits'' he was nominated for Best Original Film Score Awards at both the 25th and

26th Hong Kong Film Awards Ceremony for the 26th Hong Kong Film Awards was held on 15 April 2007 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and hosted by Bowie Tsang, Nick Cheung and Lam Chi-chung. Twenty-six winners in nineteen categories were unveiled, with film ''After This Our E ...

in 2006 and 2007.

Works

Anime/television

Film

Video games

Documentary

Awards and honors

* Asteroid 117582 Kenjikawai, discovered by

Roy A. Tucker Roy A. Tucker (born 1951 in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American astronomer best known for the co-discovery of near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis (formerly known as ) along with David J. Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi of the University of Hawaii. ...

in 2005, was named in his honor. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on January 9, 2020 ().

References

External links

* *
Kenji Kawai
at Media Arts Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawai, Kenji 1957 births 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Japanese male musicians 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century Japanese male musicians Anime composers Japanese conductors (music) Japanese film score composers Japanese guitarists Japanese male film score composers Living people New-age composers People from Shinagawa Video game composers