, better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

, was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

s for

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

and

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game 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 generate visual fe ...

. He was referred to by fans and fellow performers alike as the of the ''

anison is a genre of music originating from Japanese pop music. Anime songs consist of theme, insert, and image songs for anime, manga, video game, and audio drama CD series, as well as any other song released primarily for the anime market, includin ...

'', or anime music genre. He produced the singing duo

Apple Pie An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...

since 1990 and created the

Anison is a genre of music originating from Japanese pop music. Anime songs consist of theme, insert, and image songs for anime, manga, video game, and audio drama CD series, as well as any other song released primarily for the anime market, includin ...

band

JAM Project JAM Project ("JAM" standing for "Japan Animationsong Makers") are a Japanese Music in Japanese animation, anison band founded on July 19, 2000, by anison singer Ichirou Mizuki. The band is composed of many vocal artists well known in the anime mu ...

in 2000.

Biography

Career

Mizuki was born in

Setagaya is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orchid, and its tree is the '' Ze ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in January 1948. He signed to the

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

label and released his first single called "Kimi ni sasageru Boku no Uta", composed by Kanae Wada, in 1968. In 1971, Mizuki recorded the song which was used as the opening theme for ''

Genshi Shōnen Ryū Genshi may refer to: * Fujiwara no Genshi (1016–1039), Empress consort (''chūgū'') of Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan * Genshi (templating language) Genshi is a template engine (web), template engine for XML-based vocabularies written in Python ( ...

''. This began his foray into recording well over 1200 songs for various soundtracks as well as original singles and albums. Other early songs sung by Mizuki include the themes to '' Chojin Barom 1'', ''

Mazinger Z is a Japanese super robot manga written and illustrated by Go Nagai. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from October 1972 to August 1973 and Kodansha's ' from October 1973 to September 1974. ''Mazing ...

'', ''

Babel II is a Japanese 1971 manga series by Mitsuteru Yokoyama. It was translated into an animated format in 1973 as a television series, in 1992 as an original video animation series and in 2001 as a thirteen-episode television series. Yokoyama ...

'', ''

Robot Detective is a tokusatsu superhero TV series. Created by Shotaro Ishinomori, the series was produced by Toei Company Ltd., and broadcast on Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō reg ...

'', ''

Kamen Rider X is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It was broadcast in 1974 on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET, now known as TV Asahi. It is the third entry in the Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu shows. It starred Ryo Hayami in the ...

'', ''

Great Mazinger is a Japanese anime television series and manga comic book created by Go Nagai and Dynamic Productions. The story is a sequel and direct continuation of '' Mazinger Z'' series after its initial success. The series was aired on Japa ...

'', ''

Ganbare!! Robocon is a Japanese tokusatsu comedy family robot television series created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei. It ran from October 4, 1974, to March 25, 1977, on NET TV. ran from January 31, 1999 (a week after the finale of '' Tetsuwan Ta ...

'', ''

Kamen Rider Stronger is a Japanese Tokusatsu television show. It is the fifth entry in the Kamen Rider Series, the show was broadcast on TBS and MBS from April 5, 1975 to December 27, 1975. ''Stronger'' production of Toei Company, and was created by Shōtarō Ishin ...

'', '' Tekkaman'', '' Steel Jeeg'', '' Akumaizer 3'', ''

Chōdenji Robo Combattler V ''Combattler V'', full name , is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Toei Company and animated by Bandai Namco Filmworks, Soeisha (later renamed as Nippon Sunrise) that aired from 1976 to 1977. It is the first part of the ''#R ...

'', ''

Astroganger is a Japanese Super Robot anime series created by Knack Productions. It consisted of 26 episodes and originally aired from October 4, 1972, to March 28, 1973. Plot An alien woman named Maya crash-lands on Earth. Her homeworld was destroyed ...

'' and ''

Space Pirate Captain Harlock , also titled Captain Harlock, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto. It was serialized in Akita Shoten's ''Play Comic'' from January 1977 to June 1979, with the chapters collected into five volumes. The ser ...

''. His extensive discography in the 1970s led to his dubbing as and the , with whom

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, Voice acting in Japan, voice actress and singer from Yamato, Kanagawa. She is known as the . Horie has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Shadow Galactica#Sailor Galaxia, Sailor Galaxia in ''Sailor ...

is the "Queen" and

Hironobu Kageyama is a Japanese musician, singer and composer. He is best known for his work on anime, video game and ''tokusatsu'' soundtracks. Kageyama first rose to prominence as a teenager in the 1970s as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. Following their br ...

is the "Prince". Mizuki was also part of the judging panel at the Animax Anison Grand Prix, with Horie and Yumi Matsuzawa. Mizuki performed theme songs throughout the 1980s and 1990s, for shows such as ''

Beast King GoLion is a Japanese super mecha anime television series. The animation from ''GoLion'' was edited and trimmed to create the version of the American series '' Voltron: Defender of the Universe'', with new names and dialogue. In 2008, ''GoLion'' was ...

'', '' Getter Robo Go'', and ''

Jikuu Senshi Spielban is a Japanese tokusatsu television series, part of the Metal Hero Series franchise created by Toei Co. Ltd. and aired from to . ''Spielbans footage was used for Saban’s live-action series, ''VR Troopers''. For distribution purposes, Toei Com ...

'', his work not as extensive until 2000. On July 17, 2000, with fellow ''anison'' vocalists

(''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' (''DBZ'') is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''Dragon Ball'' television series and adapts the latter 325 chapters ...

''),

Masaaki Endoh is a Japanese singer-songwriter who is prominent in the area of soundtracks for anime and tokusatsu productions. He is one of the founders of the Music in Japanese animation, Anison band JAM Project and has been a regular member ever since its ...

(''

The King of Braves GaoGaiGar is a Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise (company), Sunrise's internal "Studio 7" division alongside Tokyu Agency. It is the eighth installment in the ''Brave series'' franchise. Yoshitomo Yonetani is its director, with Yo ...

''), Eizo Sakamoto (vocalist of

ANTHEM An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

and Animetal), and

Rica Matsumoto is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rika Matsumoto. She was one of the founders of the anison band JAM Project. After early stage work, she began both voice ...

(''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

''), he formed the "supergroup"

. He later reduced his membership in the group to "part-time", allowing for the entry of

Hiroshi Kitadani is a Japanese singer, who primarily performs theme songs and other songs in anime. He also works behind the scenes of many songs. He currently works with JAM Project. He is most known for singing the first, fifteenth, nineteenth (with Kishidan), ...

(''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as he explores the Grand Line in search of the myt ...

''),

Masami Okui is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Itami, Hyōgo. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer. From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime television and movies. She ...

(''

Revolutionary Girl Utena is a Japanese anime television series created by Be-Papas, a production group formed by director Kunihiko Ikuhara and composed of himself, Chiho Saito, Shinya Hasegawa, Yōji Enokido and Yūichirō Oguro. The series was produced by ...

''), and Yoshiki Fukuyama (''

Macross 7 is an anime television series. It is a sequel to the show ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross'' that takes place many years after the events of the first series following a cast of mostly new characters. The show ran from October 16, ...

'' as Basara Nekki's in

Fire Bomber Fire Bomber is a fictional rock band from the anime series '' Macross 7'' (and related projects such as '' Macross 7 Trash'', '' Macross 7 Encore'', and ''Macross Dynamite 7''). In real life, Fire Bomber's music was performed by Yoshiki Fukuya ...

). He would return to recording in 2007 with his performances on the soundtrack of ''

Juken Sentai Gekiranger is Toei Company's thirty-first entry in the ''Super Sentai'' metaseries. Production began on September 29, 2006, with principal photography beginning on October 6, 2006. It aired on TV Asahi's 2007 Super Hero Time programming block with '' Kamen ...

'', singing its ending theme "Tao", an image song "Chikai", and on another image song "Burning up! ~Jōnetsu o Uketsui de~" performed as a duet with

Takayoshi Tanimoto , is a Japanese vocalist known for his theme song performances in ''Digimon'', ''Zatch Bell!'' and ''Dragon Ball Kai'', the last of which he sang "Dragon Soul" and "Yeah! Break! Care! Break!" as one-half of a special unit, Dragon Soul. Overview Ta ...

who sang the series' opening theme. He also sang on JAM Project's single "STORMBRINGER", the opening theme for ''

Kotetsushin Jeeg is a 13-episode Japanese television anime sequel to the 1975 Super Robot series ''Steel Jeeg'', created by Go Nagai. It is directed by Jun Kawagoe (previously known for ''New Getter Robo'' and ''Innocent Venus''). This 21st century sequel be ...

'', a sequel to ''Steel Jeeg''. In 2008, he released his 40th anniversary ''Ichirou Mizuki: Newest Best'' album, the 5-CD box set including 216 songs from his discography, and the ''TV Size Best'' album. Other recent releases by Mizuki include two singles for

Chōjin Neiger is a local hero (Japan), local hero from Nikaho, Akita, Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, a fictional superhero who represents the region and is depicted as a tokusatsu hero. Developed by a local sports gym's manager and former Universal Wrestling Federati ...

, a local hero from

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...

. His most recent work is a single for the OVA adaptation of '' Katteni Kaizō'', with its theme song "Katte ni Kaizō Shite mo Ii ze", and an insert song, called "Nuiguruma", featuring Kenji Ohtsuki. In 2016, Mizuki was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the

Tokyo Anime Award The Tokyo Anime Awards started in 2002, but was named in 2005. The first, second and third award ceremonies were simply named 'Competition'. The award ceremonies were held at the Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) until 2013. In 2014, after the ...

s Festival. In 2017, Mizuki collaborated with Kang Vorakorn, they sang "Miraigar T1" as their final work for Mizuki. In 2020, he received the Tanita Health Award, which "honor individuals or groups that have contributed to improving the health of Japanese people." On April 25, 2021, it was announced Mizuki was suffering from partial vocal cord paralysis and would focus on recovering from it. In July 2022, Mizuki's management revealed he had been diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and brain. He said he had surgery in June and was undergoing physical therapy and speech therapy. He said he was planning to hold a belated celebration of his 50 years in the music industry, and did not plan to retire. Mizuki died from lung cancer on December 6, 2022, at the age of 74.

Television

In addition to his career as a vocalist, Mizuki has been cast in several roles as both a voice actor and a live-action actor. As a voice actor, he played the roles of Yoldo in the first episode of the

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

Dangaioh is a Japanese anime OVA series produced and animated by AIC and Artmic and released in Japan in 1987. Dangaioh featured character designs by creator Toshiki Hirano, mechanical designs by Shoji Kawamori, and animation direction by Masam ...

, Rat Hector in '' Coral no Tanken'', and the villain Keisar Ephes in the

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game 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 generate visual fe ...

Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 This list provides an index of video game titles in Banpresto's ''Super Robot Wars'' franchise, known as ''Super Robot Taisen'' in Japan. Most of the games in the series are tactical role-playing games, but several games representing other genre ...

''. His live-action roles include Dr. Ben in ''

'' and (most notably) Voicelugger Gold in '' Voicelugger'', a Tokusatsu show based on the last concept written by

Shotaro Ishinomori , né , was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, writer and director. Known as the "King of Manga" (漫画の帝王 (''Manga no Teiou)'' or 漫画の王様 (''Manga no Ousama)''), he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential mang ...

before his death. He also made a guest appearance on the Japanese comedy television show, Gaki No Tsukai. He voiced the title character

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshio Sawai. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from February 2001 to November 2005, with its chapters collected in 21 volumes. It was followed b ...

in the first

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

game of the series, as well as singing the theme song. In 2010, he had a role in an episode of arc of ''

Kamen Rider W is a 2009–2010 Japanese tokusatsu drama, the eleventh series in the Heisei period run of the Kamen Rider Series and the twentieth overall. It premiered following the finale of ''Kamen Rider Decade'' on September 6, 2009, and aired alongside ''S ...

'' along with fellow musicians

Aya Kamiki is a Japanese singer, actress and model. Her music ranges from pop, rock to R&B. She resides in Osaka, and is signed with Tokyo-based AVEX recording label. She is the vocalist of the rock band Uroboros and the rock duo Sonic Lover Reckless with ...

and

TAKUYA Takuya is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese guitarist and former member of Judy and Mary who performs as "TAKUYA" *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese actor *, Japanese long-distance runner *, Japane ...

. In 2012, he starred in one of the episodes in ''

Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters is a Japanese tokusatsu television series and the 36th entry in Toei Company's Super Sentai metaseries, following ''Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger''. Its theme is based on spy movies and cyber technology on February 26, 2012 on TV Asahi, joining ''Kame ...

'' as well as singing "Li-Oh! Kenzan Champion!" which is a theme song for the new robot introduced in the episode. His voice is also used as the voice for the robot's control system.

Tokusatsu

*'' Voicelugger'' (Voicelugger

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

) *'' Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger Movie'' (

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

org (Voice)) *''

'' (Custom Visor (Voice), Lio Attache/Lio Blaster (Voice), Saburo Hazuki)

Books

*Hitoshi Hasebe: "Anison - Kashu Ichirou Mizuki Sanjuu Shuunen Kinen Nekketsu Shashinshuu" (兄尊(アニソン)―歌手水木一郎三十周年記念熱血写真集) (1999, Oakla Publishing) *Ichirou Mizuki & Project Ichirou: "Aniki Damashii ~Anime Song no Teiou / Mizuki Ichirou no Sho~" (アニキ魂~アニメソングの帝王・水木一郎の書~) (2000, Aspect)

References

External links

Ichirou Mizuki Official Website

at Anison Database *

at Henshin Hall of Fame *
Ichirou Mizuki at Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizuki, Ichirou 1948 births 2022 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Japan 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese male singers 21st-century Japanese singers Anime musicians JAM Project members Japanese male pop singers Male voice actors from Setagaya Musicians from Setagaya Video game musicians