Takenobu Mitsuyoshi (光吉 猛修, Mitsuyoshi Takenobu; born December 25, 1967) is a Japanese composer of video game music, singer, and video game voice actor. He has composed music for various games produced by Sega, including Virtua Fighter 2 and Shenmue.[3] He first gained major recognition after the release of Daytona USA, for which he wrote music and personally sang vocals.[4]
Takenobu Mitsuyoshi | |
|---|---|
光吉 猛修 | |
 Mitsuyoshi at the 2026 Game Developers Conference | |
| Born | December 25, 1967[1][2] Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Alma mater | Tohoku Gakuin University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Employer | Sega |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
|
He also recorded live orchestras for the arcade games Derby Owners Club, World Club Champion Football, and Star Horse.
Aside from original compositions, he also arranges, provides vocals, and is a performer for various projects, including S.S.T from 1988 to 1993, and [H.] from 2004 onwards. He is well-known for voicing the character Kage-Maru in the Virtua Fighter franchise.
His younger brother, Kenji Mitsuyoshi (光吉 賢司, Mitsuyoshi Kenji), is a manga artist and member of the artist-writer duo Ark Performance along with Kōichi Ishikawa.[5]
Works
editVideo games
edit| Year | Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | G-LOC R360 | "Earth Frame G" |
| GP Rider | Music with Hiroshi Kawaguchi | |
| 1991 | Rent a Hero | |
| Strike Fighter | Music | |
| 1992 | Virtua Racing | |
| OutRunners | Music with Takayuki Nakamura | |
| 1994 | Daytona USA | Music,[4] vocals |
| Virtua Fighter 2 | Music with Takayuki Nakamura and Akiko Hashimoto | |
| Virtua Striker | Music | |
| 1995 | Sega Rally Championship | |
| Manx TT Superbike | ||
| Virtua Fighter Remix | Sound design | |
| 1996 | Sonic the Fighters | Music with Maki Morrow |
| Virtua Fighter Kids | Music with Takayuki Nakamura and Maki Morrow | |
| J.League Victory Goal '96 | Musicians | |
| Virtua Fighter 3 | Music with Fumio Ito and Hidenori Shoji | |
| 1997 | Virtua Striker 2 | Sound director |
| Fighters Megamix | Sound design | |
| J.League Victory Goal '97 | Musicians | |
| Digital Dance Mix Vol. 1 Namie Amuro | Sound director | |
| 1998 | Daytona USA 2 | Vocals |
| Burning Rangers | ||
| 1999 | Shenmue | Music with various others |
| 2000 | F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa | |
| 2001 | Crackin' DJ Part 2 | |
| Shenmue II | ||
| 2002 | World Club Champion Football | Music |
| 2003 | Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Marz | Sound design |
| 2005 | Sonic Gems Collection | "Fairy of A.I.F." |
| 2006 | Let's Go Jungle!: Lost on the Island of Spice | Music |
| Sega Rally 2006 | Music with various others | |
| 2009 | Yakuza 3 | Sound production |
| Hummer | Music | |
| 2010 | Yakuza 4 | Interpretation assistance |
| Let's Go Island: Lost on the Island of Tropics | Music with Junpei Mishima and Keisuke Tsukahara | |
| 2011 | Ridge Racer | [6]"Ridge Racer USA Mix" - DLC |
| 2012 | Maimai | Music with various others |
| Samurai Bloodshow | Music | |
| 2015 | Chunithm | "Ikazuchi" |
| Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX | Motion actor | |
| 2017 | Daytona 3 Championship USA | Music[7] |
| 2018 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | "F-Zero Medley"[8] |
| 2021 | Initial D The Arcade | "Super Sonic"[9] |
| 2022 | Sin Chronicle | "A Reason of Unchosen" |
| 2023 | Sonic Superstars | "Golden Capital Zone Act 2", "Zap Scrap" |
| 2024 | Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | "Reminiscent Mood" |
| 2026 | Denshattack! | "Infinite Sky" |
Voice acting
edit| Year | Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Burning Rival | Bill |
| 1993 | Virtua Fighter | Akira Yuki, Kage-Maru |
| 1996 | Virtua Fighter 3 | Kage-Maru |
| 2001 | Virtua Fighter 4 | Kage-Maru |
| 2003 | Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Marz | Sgt. Hatter |
| 2005 | 3rd Super Robot Wars Alpha: To the End of the Galaxy | Apharmd the Hatter[10] |
| 2006 | Virtua Fighter 5 | Kage-Maru |
| 2012 | Phantasy Star Online 2 | Himself (English and Japanese) |
| 2012 | Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed | Announcer (Japanese) |
| 2015 | Project X Zone 2 | Kage-Maru[10] |
| 2017 | Sonic Mania | Competition Announcer[10] |
| 2022 | Party Quiz Sega Q | Himself |
| 2025 | Shinobi: Art of Vengeance | Joe Musashi |
Concerts
editMitsuyoshi's music from Shenmue was performed live at the first Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany, in 2003. It was the first time that a concert featuring video game music was held outside Japan.[11]
Mitsuyoshi attended the world premiere of Play! A Video Game Symphony at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Illinois, in May 2006, where music from the Shenmue series was performed by a full symphony orchestra. The event drew nearly 4,000 attendees.[citation needed]
In 2007, his music from the World Club Champion Football series was presented at the fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert, with him joining the choir during the performance.[11]
For Symphonic Shades – Hülsbeck in Concert in 2008, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi arranged music from Apidya, by German composer Chris Hülsbeck. The event was performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne in Cologne, Germany, and marked the first live radio broadcast of a video game music concert.[12]
His first dinner show was scheduled for March 22, 2020, but was postponed to August 23 of that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then rescheduled again to January 24, 2021, due to the spread of the second wave of infection. He did an online dinner show livestream on August 23, 2020, to make room for the reschedule.
References
edit- ↑ "Takenobu Mitsuyoshi's profile". Ameba.
- ↑ "光吉猛修さんらが「セガ・サターン」の魅力を語る。11月2日に新宿で開催". 4Gamer.net.
- ↑ Jeriaska. "GameSetInterview: Sega's Mitsuyoshi On Giving Voice To Arcade Classics". gamesetwatch.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- 1 2 Ramos, Jeff (July 7, 2010). "Takenobu Mitsuyoshi & Rony Barrak perform "Let's Go Away" from Daytona USA". Gameculturalist.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on September 30, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ↑ ザ・インタビュー 漫画読みますか？一番好きな漫画を教えて下さい。
- ↑ Takenobu Mitsuyoshi - Ridge Racer (USA MIX), December 5, 2012, retrieved December 5, 2021
- ↑ Barry the Nomad (November 2016). "SEGA Amusements reveals Daytona 3 Championship USA plus more details!". SEGAbits. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch system".
- ↑ "頭文字D THE ARCADE" (in Japanese).
- 1 2 3 "Takenobu Mitsuyoshi (visual voices guide)". behindthevoiceactors.com (Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources).
- 1 2 Symphonic Game Music Concerts, The Concert Programs Archived December 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Symphonic Shades, Symphonic Shades live im Radio