Prolific anisong singer Ichirou Mizuki—nicknamed "Aniking"—died on December 6 at 6:50 p.m. due to lung cancer. He was 74 years old.

Mizuki's management agency announced in July that he was diagnosed with lung cancer with lymph nodes and brain metastasis, following his partial vocal cord paralysis last April. He underwent surgery in June and was receiving physical and speech therapy. Mizuki was planning his 50th anniversary as an anisong singer. He held his final live performance on November 27.

Born Toshio Hayakawa in Setagaya, Tokyo in January 1948, Mizuki debuted under Nippon Columbia and released his first single Kimi ni Sasageru Boku no Uta in January 1968. However, due to poor sales and a disagreement with his manager, he temporarily retired from singing. In 1971, when he was about to quit singing and become a composer, Hidetoshi Kimura, the director of Nippon Columbia, suggested he sing the opening theme of the anime Genshi Shounen Ryuu (Ryu the Primitive Boy), which shifted his focus to anime songs.

In the 1970s, Mizuki began performing theme and insert songs for anime and tokusatsu works, establishing himself as a pioneer. Four years into his career, he released over 150 tracks for children's programs, averaging a record sales of around 100,000 copies and reaching a cumulative total of six million. The theme songs for Mazinger Z and Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Herlock (Space Pirate Captain Harlock), released in 1973 and 1978, sold over 700,000 and 150,000 copies, respectively. Following these major hits, Mizuki was dubbed the "Emperor of Anisongs," alongside Mitsuko Horie, the "Queen of Anisongs."

Mizuki formed the band JAM Project in July 2000 with fellow anisong artists Hironobu Kageyama, Masaaki Endoh, Eizou Sakamoto, and Rica Matsumoto. He became a part-time member in August 2002 due to his busy schedule.

Some of his later works for anime include theme songs for Shinkon Gattai Godannar!! (Marriage of God & Soul Godannar!!), Katte ni Kaizou, Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 (Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199), and Tonari no Seki-kun (Tonari no Seki-kun: The Master of Killing Time). Mizuki's final performance was a newly recorded version of the original Mazinger Z theme for the Mazinger Z: Infinity movie, which premiered in January 2018.

Source: Oricon News