Aquaplus Utawarerumono Composer Michio Kinugasa Died

Aquaplus president Naoya Shimokawa took to Twitter to announce that Aquaplus composer Michio Kinugasa (real name: Susumu Mameda) died. The composer was known for his work on the opening themes for the Utawarerumono and White Album series. The cause of death was not revealed.

Here’s Shimokawa’s full message and its translation:

突然ですが、弊社音楽スタッフの衣笠道雄（本名 豆田将）が逝去されました。
私自身未だに事実を受け止めきれていません。
彼の生み出した楽曲の数々は心に残る曲ばかりで、彼の功績なしで弊社作品を語ることはできないでしょう。
17年間本当にありがとうございました。心からお悔やみ申し上げます。

— 下川 直哉 Aquaplus (@AP_shimokawa) July 29, 2020

This may be sudden, but our composer Michio Kinugasa (real name: Susumu Mameda) has passed away. Personally, I have not been able to accept this reality yet. The songs he composed have all left an impression on listeners and, without his contributions, our company’s games would not have been spoken of as fondly. Thank you for your hard work for 17 years. My heart is full of regret and sadness.

Mameda first entered the music industry in 1990 and had a stint as an individual composer working with various singers on songs from several different record labels. He later joined Aquaplus, and began contributing songs up until his passing. His songs would be used for opening themes in the White Album and Utawarerumono series, up until the latest game, Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen. The opening theme for that game was “Kimidake no Tabiji Re:boot,” a new version of the original Utawarerumono opening theme.