King of Anime Songs Ichirou Mizuki passed away

14 Dec - King of anime songs, Ichirou Mizuki, has recently passed away.

The news was shared by his agency on 12 December, saying that Mizuki had been struggling from lung cancer.

Born in Tokyo as Toshio Hayakawa, the singer made his debut in 1968 as a pop singer, before switching to anime songs in 1971.

He had since lent his voice to 1,200 songs, including the theme to "Mazinger Z", "Babel II", "Robot Detective", "Kamen Rider X", "Tekkaman", and "Space Pirate Captain Harlock" among others.

Prior to his passing, he held a live show on 27 November at Yomiuri Otemachi Hall in Tokyo.

He was 74.

Mizuki (centre) performed at a concert less than two weeks before his passing
Mizuki (centre) performed at a concert less than two weeks before his passing

(Photo Source: Japan News, Geek Here)