Ichirō Mizuki

, better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, television, video and video games. He was referred to by fans and fellow performers alike as the of the anison, or anime music genre. He produced the singing duo Apple Pie since 1990 and created the Anison band JAM Project in 2000. Biography Career Mizuki was born in Setagaya, Tokyo in January 1948. He signed to the Nippon Columbia 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. 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, Babel II, Robot Detective, Kamen Rider X, Great Mazinger, Ganbare!! Robocon, Kamen Rider Stronger, Tekkaman, Steel Jeeg, Akumaizer 3, Chōdenji Robo Combattler V, and Space Pirate Captain Harlock. His extensive discography in the 1970s led to his dubbing as and the , with whom Mitsuko Horie is the "Queen" and Hironobu Kageyama 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, Getter Robo Go, and Jikuu Senshi Spielban, his work not as extensive until 2000. On July 17, 2000, with fellow anison vocalists Hironobu Kageyama (Dragon Ball Z), Masaaki Endoh (The King of Braves GaoGaiGar), Eizo Sakamoto (vocalist of ANTHEM and Animetal), and Rica Matsumoto (Pokémon), he formed the "supergroup" JAM Project. He later reduced his membership in the group to "part-time", allowing for the entry of Hiroshi Kitadani (One Piece), Masami Okui (Revolutionary Girl Utena), and Yoshiki Fukuyama (Macross 7 as Basara Nekki's in Fire Bomber).