One thing I love about anime is the way it’s timeless, connecting fans from the current age with the great 2D animated works from decades in the past. So when I read that Akira Ito, the lyricist famous for creating some of the most famous songs in anime as well as Japanese TV commercials had passed away, I knew I’d be delving into YouTube to find the most famous classic songs anime fans might be familiar with.
RIP Akira Ito, Creator of Many Famous Anime Songs
Akira Ito was born August 12, 1940, in Chiba Prefecture, to the East of Tokyo. In 1969 he was hired to create a (Speed Racer influenced?) song for a chain of gas stations, and this began a long career of creating lyrics for some of the most famous songs in Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waNIanC4WWE
Urusei Yatsura is practically the “mother of anime” because the groundbreaking work was so popular across Japan that it basically set up the modern anime industry we know today. The most famous song most anime fans might know is Lum no Love Song, which was created by Akira Ito, and helped me start my journey of learning Japanese. If you want English lyrics, here’s a video for you, and if you have the urge to sing in a karaoke form, here’s a link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv0oV2_2zJA
Before manga artist Akira Toriyama changed the world with Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z he created Dr. Slump and the adorable Arale-chan… and Akira Ito made the lyrics for this fun song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN1L-jl7lR4
Mr. Ito also made music for the classic ecchi anime Cutey Honey. If you prefer Eurobeat remixes of classic anime songs, I found this video for you.
Of course, no one as talented as Akira Ito is going to stick to only making anime music. He also wrote the famous Kono Ki was Nan no Ki? song used to advertise the Hitachi corporation in TV commercials since 1973. The tree is located at Moanalua Gardens in Oahu, Hawaii, and has become a major “holy land” for Japanese visitors to Hawaii. And many, many other Japan CM songs, which sadly won’t be known to most Westerners.
It’s always sad when we have to say goodbye to the people who make anime special for us, whether it’s Berserk creator Kentarou Miura, Star Blazers voice actress Amy Howard, or any number of other anime creators and voice actors. I’m glad Mr. Ito had a long life in which he enjoyed the adoration of his many fans.
Thanks for reading this post about songwriter Akira Ito. If you need me, I’ll be working through some classic anime songs on YouTube!
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