Shirō Sagisu

Shirō Sagisu is a Japanese composer, arranger, and music producer born in Tokyo on August 29, 1957. He became widely known for scores that combine orchestral writing, choral passages, jazz, rock, electronic textures, and vocal music. His career includes extensive work in Japanese animation, live-action cinema, television, and recordings by popular artists.

Sagisu’s most internationally recognized association is with Hideaki Anno and the Evangelion franchise. He composed the music for the 1995 television series Neon Genesis Evangelion, whose score helped define the series’ dramatic identity through recurring material such as “Decisive Battle,” “The Beast,” and “Thanatos.” The soundtrack also used classical repertoire and distinctive arrangements alongside Sagisu’s original compositions. He returned for the Rebuild of Evangelion films: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, and Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time. These films expanded and reworked musical ideas from the original series, while adding large-scale orchestral and choral cues.

His collaboration with Anno extends beyond Evangelion. Sagisu scored His and Her Circumstances, the 1998 television adaptation of Masami Tsuda’s manga, and contributed music to Anno’s live-action and “Shin” projects. He was a composer for Shin Godzilla, released in 2016, alongside music derived from Akira Ifukube’s Godzilla work, and composed for Shin Evangelion. He also worked on Shin Ultraman, released in 2022.

Another major part of Sagisu’s catalogue is Bleach. He composed the music for the original Bleach television anime, which began in 2004, as well as several related films. The franchise’s soundtracks are notable for using Spanish- and Latin-influenced rhythms, electric guitar, hip-hop elements, choir, and orchestral action writing. Tracks including “Number One” became closely identified with the series and its protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki. Sagisu returned to the property for Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, the television adaptation of the manga’s final arc.

His other animation credits include Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, directed by Anno and first broadcast in 1990; the 2004 film Casshern; and the 2006 film Japan Sinks. He has also worked as an arranger and producer for performers in Japan, demonstrating a career that reaches beyond screen composition.

Sagisu’s music is often built around memorable motifs that can appear in several forms: intimate piano, jazz ensemble, full orchestra, percussion-heavy action cues, or choir. This approach has made his scores especially effective in long-running franchises, where a familiar melody can acquire new emotional meaning when it returns in a different arrangement.