Kaoru Wada

Kaoru Wada (和田 薫, Wada Kaoru, born May 5, 1962) is a Japanese composer and arranger.^[1] He has composed the scores for many anime series, including Inuyasha, D.Gray-man, Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Samurai 7 and, more recently, Tesla Note.^[2][3]

Kaoru Wada 和田 薫
Born	(1962-05-05) May 5, 1962 (age 62) Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Genres	Soundtrack anison
Occupations	Composer arranger
Years active	1988-present
Website	www.kaoru-wada.com

He also became known to the West through his arranged works for orchestra and piano in video games like Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II.^[4]

Wada, along with other later-famous musicians, studied at the Tokyo College of Music under Akira Ifukube and Sei Ikeno. He is also an apprentice of the famed Godzilla composer, Akira Ifukube. He is married to Inuyasha voice actress Akiko Nakagawa, who voices Sota Higurashi in that anime.

Works

Anime

List of production work in anime

Year	Title	Note(s)	Ref(s)[5][6]
1990	RPG Densetsu Hepoi		[7]
1991	3×3 Eyes	OVA	[8]
	Madara	OVA
	Hero Kaede Mosaica	OVA
1992	Tekkaman Blade
1993	Shippū! Iron Leaguer
	Ninja Scroll	Film	[9]
	Battle Angel	OVA
	The Cockpit	OVA	[10]
1994	Ginga Sengoku Gun'yūden Rai
	Shippū! Iron Leaguer Ginhikari no Hata no Shita ni	OVA
1995	3×3 Eyes: Legend of the Divine Demon	OVA
1996	GeGeGe no Kitarō (1996)	4th TV series
1997	GeGeGe no Kitarō: Obake Nighter	Film	[11]
	Jigoku Sensei Nūbē: Kyoufu no Natsu Yasumi! Asashi no Uni no Gensetsu	Film
1999	Harlock Saga	OVA
2000	Strange Dawn
	Inuyasha		[12]
	Ghost Stories
2001	Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time	Film
	Kikaider 01: The Animation
2002	Princess Tutu		[13]
	Inuyasha the Movie: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass	Film
2003	Gilgamesh		[14]
	Inuyasha the Movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler	Film
2004	Mars Daybreak
	Samurai 7		[15]
	Inuyasha the Movie: Fire on the Mystic Island	Film	[16]
2005	Mushiking: The King of Beetles	Film
	Play Ball
2006	Play Ball 2nd
	D.Gray-man		[17]
2007	Kindaichi Case Files Special	TV special (2 eps.)
2008	Hakaba Kitarō
	Casshern Sins
2009	Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas
	Inuyasha: The Final Act
2016	Ace Attorney		[18]
2020	Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon		[19]
2021	The Journey	Film	[20]
	Tesla Note		[21]
2024	Ranma ½		[22]

Video games

List of production work in video games

Year	Title	Role(s)	Ref(s)
2002	Kingdom Hearts	Arranger	[23]
2004	Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories	Arranger
2005	Kingdom Hearts II	Arranger	[24]
2010	Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep	Arranger	[25]
2012	Asura's Wrath	Arranger	[26]

References

1. "♪Kaoru-Wada.com 和田薫OFFICIAL WEBSITE♪". 和田薫オフィシャルサイト. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
2. "Talking about Japanese Anime". hyperjapan.co.uk. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
3. Hashimoto, Kazuma (August 1, 2020). "Kaoru Wada Will Discuss His Work on Yashahime Through Upcoming Online Panel". Siliconera. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
4. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 14, 2021). "Inuyasha Composer Kaoru Wada Discharged From COVID-19 Hospitalization". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
5. アニメ / メディア芸術データベース – 和田薫 [Search results for Kaoru Wada in anime]. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Japan: Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
6. "♪Kaoru-Wada.com 和田薫OFFICIAL WEBSITE♪". 和田薫オフィシャルサイト. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
7. "RPG Densetsu Hepoi BGM VOL.1 | KICA-59 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
8. "3x3 Eyes: Original Soundtrack, Vol. 2 1991 Anime Video". amazon.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
9. "Madman Announcements from AVCon 2014". Anime News Network. July 20, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
10. "THE COCKPIT Original Soundtrack". VGMdb. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
11. "Gegege no Kitaro: Obake Nighter Gekijouban Original Soundtrack | WPC6-8287 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
12. "Kaoru Wada – Inuyasha Music Collection". Discogs. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
13. Loveridge, Lynzee (December 19, 2018). "Magical Girl Anime Princess Tutu Gets 6-Disc Soundtrack Release". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
14. "Gilgamesh SOUND TRACK | AVCA-14885 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
15. "Samurai 7 Original Soundtrack". play-asia.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
16. "InuYasha the Movie 4 Fire on the Mystic Island Original Soundtrack - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
17. "テレビ東京・あにてれ". tv-tokyo.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved June 11, 2022.
18. "Ace Attorney Anime's Cast, Staff Announced (Updated)". Anime News Network. December 18, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
19. "Inuyasha Anime Gets Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon TV Spinoff This Fall". Anime News Network. May 8, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
20. "Saudi Arabia's Manga Productions, Toei Preview The Journey Film's Japanese Cast in Trailer". Anime News Network. March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
21. "Tiger & Bunny Writer Masafumi Nishida's Tesla Note Manga Gets TV Anime". Anime News Network. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
22. "New Ranma 1/2 Anime Reveals Returning & New Cast, Staff, October 5 Debut in 1st Trailer". Anime News Network. July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
23. "Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack | 7243-5-80453-21 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
24. "KINGDOM HEARTS II ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK | TOCT-25871~2 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
25. "KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days Original Soundtrack | SQEX-10213~5 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
26. "ASURA'S WRATH Original Soundtrack | CPCA-10256~7 - VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 11, 2022.

External links

• Official website
• Discography at VGMdb
• Kaoru Wada at IMDb
• Kaoru Wada at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Kaoru Wada search results at Media Arts Database (in Japanese)
• Kaoru Wada at Oricon
• Kaoru Wada convention appearances on AnimeCons.com
• Interview at RocketBaby