[Old News] Ichiro Mizuki, the emperor of anime songs, died

Ichiro Mizuki, a singer known for singing numerous anime songs and special effects songs such as 'Mazinger Z' and called 'the emperor of anime songs (anisons)', died on December 6, 2022 due to lung cancer. His agency Yellow Bird announced that he passed away. I was 74 years old.

Obituaries | Ichiro Mizuki Official Website

Mizuki was born in 1948 in Tokyo. He made his debut as a singer in 1968, and after singing the opening theme 'Genshi Shonen Ryu ga Iku' of the 1971 broadcast 'Genshi Shonen Ryu', he shifted his focus to anime songs.

In 1972, he was in charge of singing the opening theme 'Mazinger Z', the ending theme 'Bokura no Mazinger Z', the 'Z theme' and 'Flying Mazinger Z' that flowed in the sortie scene. The cry of 'Z!' at the end of the chorus became synonymous with Mr. Mizuki, and was used as a defining line when appearing on music programs and variety shows.

His activities are not limited to anime, but he is also active in special effects works such as 'Superman Barom 1', 'Kamen Rider X', and 'Go for it!! Robocon', Chunichi Dragons support song 'Enter the Dragons!' He also sings songs such as 'March', and has more than 1,200 songs.

At the end of 2021, it was discovered that it was lung cancer. While battling illness with radiotherapy and drug treatment, he continued to be active for the rest of his life, and was on the live stage on November 27, 2022.

You can see him singing at the 'Nakano x Suginami x Teshima Anime/Manga Festival 2022 'Mazinger Z 50th Anniversary Special Z'' distributed on December 3, 2022.

Nakano x Suginami x Teshima Anime/Manga Festival 2022 ``Mazinger Z 50th Anniversary Special Number Z''-YouTube

I would like to express my deepest condolences upon hearing the news of Ichiro Mizuki's passing.
Dynamic Production Co., Ltd. All pic.twitter.com/cdiTR1Jxh7

— Dynamic Pro [Official] (@Dynamicpro_info) December 12, 2022

Mitsuko Horie, Akira Kushida, Takayoshi Tanimoto, and Hideaki Takatori, who co-starred in 'Futari no Anison', which was Mizuki's last stage, sent tweets to remember Mizuki.

I was happy to be able to sing together on the last stage.
Ichiro Mizuki, thank you very much for your time.
We sincerely apologize.

I still can't say it because I still can't realize it.

Obituary https://t.co/u4pdKzrB8J

— Mitsuko Horie (@micchi_MH) December 12, 2022

May Ichiro Mizuki rest in peace

I received the obituary
I will post the thoughts of Akira Kushida https://t.co/tC3Z8ujAfX pic.twitter.com/9wMrtguXUa

— Akira Kushida staff Snowkey (@SnowkeyStaff) December 12, 2022

Mr. Ichiro Mizuki, ever since I met him, I've been on stage with him a lot, he even came to my alma mater, and I just sang with him the other day. .
Thank you very much for your hard work. Please rest in peace.

— Takayoshi Tanimoto (@tanimoto_tak) December 12, 2022

I was stunned and couldn't believe the news of Ichiro Mizuki's passing... We just met on November 27th at the two anime songs that ended up being the final stage... Aniki with a big smile on her face. It's baked...
I have a lot of things to do, and I can't sort them out, but I pray for the soul of the rest of the world.
Aniki's song and soul are immortal Z! pic.twitter.com/GwHLFGWExO

— Hideaki Takatori (@Taka_ZETKI) December 12, 2022

The state of 'Futari no Anison' is reported in the following article.

Anison singer Ichiro Mizuki died, the last stage when friends rushed: Yomiuri Shimbun Online
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/tokusatsu/20221212-OYT8T50113/