Kohei Tanaka (田中公平, Tanaka Kohei) is a Japanese classical composer who has … Read Full Bio ↴Kohei Tanaka (田中公平, Tanaka Kohei) is a Japanese classical composer who has created numerous musical scores for famous anime series. Tanaka was born in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture in February 14, 1954. He is world-renowned for his hit soundtrack to the One Piece anime.

He has created sweeping orchestral works for a range of formats, from anime audio CDs to Japanese game soundtracks to classical concert music. He is recognized for his very particular style mixing elements of impressionist music with jazz, rock and 20th century harmonic techniques. Notable elements of his style are the use of Messiaen's limited transposition modes (in particular mode 2), polytonality, and the doubling of orchestral basses by an amplified guitar or electric bass, recorded at the same time as the other orchestral instruments.

He entered into Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (Music faculty-Composition department) and studied under Tomojirô Ikenouchi and other professors. Tanaka worked for three years at Victor Music Industries after he had graduated. He went to study to Berklee College of Music for two years after he had left Victor. After had returned to Japan, Tanaka started the activity as composer.

Though he had playing at the hotel at first, he was requested to compose an inserted song of "Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX", a 1982 TV anime , and it became his first work as a composer. Afterwards, he handled some compositions of the inserted songs for the Super Sentai series and did the compositions of the background music for the first time for a TV anime Konpora Kid (コンポラキッド, Konpora Kiddo?) in 1985.

Notably, the Gunbuster's BGM made his name and talent very famous among anime fans and is recognized one of the his most important works. He also handled the composition of Diebuster, a sequel series of Gunbuster, and showed a peculiar symphonic arrangement to his own work 17 years ago.

His composition is especially known by the Hot strings of that. Another his most important work is often enumerated The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, a 1997 TV anime, and GaoGaiGar Final, 2000 OVA.

In 2002, he won the first Tokyo Anime Award for Best Music by the music of Overman King Gainer.