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Wicked City, Space Adventure Cobra Composer Osamu Shōji Passes Away
posted on by Karen Ressler
Composer Osamu Shōji passed away on April 30 due to malignant lymphoma. He was 85.
In the 60's and 70's, Shōji arranged songs such as Emi Nakao's cover of "Pretty Little Baby" and Kenji Sawada's "Kiken na Futari." He composed for television shows such as Shabondama Holiday and Shōten. His 1977 composition "Disco Kid" is still widely performed. He was also known as a pioneer in synthesizer music.
Shōji also composed music for anime, notably the Space Adventure Cobra, Wicked City, and Adieu Galaxy Express 999 films and the Black Jack and Roots Search original video anime. The 2016 anime film A Silent Voice used his classic 1972 composition "Kaiju no Ballad" as an insert song.
Sources: Asahi Shimbun, Dread Central (Jonathan Barkan); Image via Osamu Shoji Fanclub
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