Shiro Hamaguchi | |
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 Shiro Hamaguchi atA Night in Fantasia 2007: Symphonic Games Edition | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1969-11-19)November 19, 1969 (age 55) Fukuoka, Japan |
| Genres | classical rock |
| Occupation(s) | Composer,arranger,orchestrator |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1994–present |
Shirō Hamaguchi (浜口 史郎,Hamaguchi Shirō, born November 19, 1969) is a Japaneseanime composer,arranger andorchestrator. He is best known for composing music to the anime franchisesGirls und Panzer,One Piece, andOh My Goddess! and arranging/orchestrating music in theFinal Fantasy series. He frequently collaborates with fellow composersKohei Tanaka andAkifumi Tada on anime scores.
Born inFukuoka, Japan, Shiro Hamaguchi graduated with a music degree fromTokyo University of the Arts, where he befriended fellow video game musicianMasashi Hamauzu. After graduation, he was hired as a department project manager atVictor Entertainment from 1994 to 1996. In 1996, he joined theanime andvideo game music production company Imagine, where he worked alongside famed composersHayato Matsuo,Kohei Tanaka, andKow Otani.[1] His debut role was the anime seriesViolinist of Hameln (1996), where hearranged Tanaka's works. His music impressedFinal Fantasy composerNobuo Uematsu, who chose Hamaguchi as the arranger for theFinal Fantasy VII Reunion Tracks album. He provided orchestral renditions of "Aeris's Theme", "Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII", and "One-Winged Angel",[2] which have become iconic through their use in variousFinal Fantasy concerts.[1] Subsequently, he created music for the anime seriesEhrgeiz (unrelated to the video game) andAWOL - Absent WithOut Leave.[1]
Hamaguchi scored the pirate-based animeOne Piece in 1999 with Tanaka, later returning to compose four of its movies. He also worked as an arranger for theSakura Wars series. The success of hisFinal Fantasy VII arrangements led Uematsu to hire him toorchestrate four pieces for the 1999 titleFinal Fantasy VIII, including the opening theme "Liberi Fatali" and the theme song "Eyes on Me". These pieces and nine new arrangements appeared in the orchestral albumFithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec Final Fantasy VIII.[3] The following year, he arranged a selection of tracks from the game's soundtrack for the series' first Piano Collections album in five years.[4] The success of "Eyes on Me" promptedKenji Ito to use Hamaguchi as the arranger for his theme song inChocobo Racing.[1]
In 2000, Hamaguchi composed theMegumi no Daigo film and theDinozaurs anime series, the latter with Imagine colleague Akifumi Tada. He provided orchestrations toFinal Fantasy IX'sfull motion video music, featured inFinal Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack PLUS,[5] and an arrangement of the theme song "Melodies of Life"; he also created another Piano Collections album to the game.[6] Hamaguchi collaborated with Uematsu to create music for the animated filmAh! My Goddess: The Movie and the 2001 anime seriesFinal Fantasy: Unlimited, which also featured compositions by Tada.
ForFinal Fantasy X, he orchestrated the ending theme and the two versions of the theme song "Suteki da ne". He also produced the arrangements for the 2002 concert20020220 Music from Final Fantasy, the firstFinal Fantasy concert since 1989.[1] It mixed his older arrangements with new ones such as "Vamo' Alla Flamenco", "Theme of Love", "Tina", "Dear Friends", "Final Fantasy", and an eight-minute medley of music fromFinal Fantasy I,II, andIII.[7] The concert and itsCD release set a precedent for many future concerts.[1] Also in 2002, Hamaguchi scored the anime seriesKiddy Grade. His contribution toFinal Fantasy XI (2003) was arranging the opening theme.[8] He also orchestrated three themes forUnlimited Saga on behalf of his university friend Hamauzu.[9]
At the end of 2003, Hamaguchi produced thePiano Collections Final Fantasy VII.[10] He also made new arrangements of "Opening ~ Bombing Mission", "To Zanarkand", "Ronfaure", "You're Not Alone", and "Opera 'Maria and Draco'" for the concert seriesTour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy in 2004. The concert also featured his arrangement of "Cloud Smiles" from the 2005 filmFinal Fantasy VII Advent Children;[11] the remaining contributions to the film by Hamaguchi were old orchestral and piano arrangements.[12] A handful of Hamaguchi's orchestral arrangements were added to Tour de Japon's American successorDear Friends - Music from Final Fantasy, which made its debut in May 2004 in Los Angeles.[13] His arrangements have also been performed at the eventsMore Friends: Music from Final Fantasy,Voices - Music from Final Fantasy, andPlay! A Video Game Symphony.[1]
In 2005, Hamaguchi scored the anime seriesOh! My Goddess and contributed arrangements to the thirdSymphonic Game Music Concert.[14] The same year, Hamaguchi decided to enroll at theBerklee College of Music in a one-year jazz composition course to further his opportunities as an anime composer. He has since scoredOne Piece Movie: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventures in Alabasta,Big Windup!,Ah! My Goddess: Fighting Wings, andRosario + Vampire. He orchestrated the late composerIngo Nugel and his brother Henning Nugel's arrangements fromThe Settlers II (10th Anniversary) for performance at the fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert in August 2007.[15] In September 2010, he arranged a suite containing the music fromStarwing andLylat Wars for theSymphonic Legends concert in Cologne.[16]
Hamaguchi also composed the official music score for theSanrio animeJewelpet and its sequels,Jewelpet Twinkle andJewelpet Sunshine. He later left the production staff in 2012 to focus on composing music for the filmOne Piece Film: Z and the anime filmHanasaku Iroha: The Movie – Home Sweet Home.
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