Image via Shigeru Ikeda’s website
© 森の森/池田森
Video game composer Shigeru Ikeda died on Saturday, February 21. He was 57 years old. He will have a vigil open to the public on Wednesday, and will be buried on Thursday. He is survived by his wife, who is singer yozuca*, and a child.
Ikeda fell comatose in April 2023 due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and has been battling his condition ever since. His wife yozuca* only revealed their marriage in a live stream in July 2023.
Ikeda debuted in the band Friends as the vocalist, guitarist, composer, and lyricist in 1997. The band released five singles and one album before disbanding in 1999. He began solo activities in 2003, and also took on the pseudonym lotta for some projects. Under that pseudonym, he composed and arranged theme songs for various visual novels, including the theme songs for D.C.III ~Da Capo III~, D.S. -Dal Segno-, D.C.III ~Da Capo III~ Dream Days, D.C.4 ~Da Capo 4~, D.C.4 ~Da Capo 4~ Fortunate Departures, and D.C.5 ~Da Capo 5~. He was also the composer for a song in Overdrive’s music-themed visual novel DEARDROPS, as well as the ending song of Palette Qualia’s Otome * Domain visual novel, and wrote the lyrics for a song in fairys’ Ima Sugu Onii-chan ni Imōto datte Iitai! visual novel. He collaborated with his wife yozuca* on many of the songs for the Da Capo visual novel series.
Ikeda has various credits for single compositions on soundtracks and vocal albums for anime titles, including PreCure Max Heart, Strawberry Panic!, Yes! Precure 5, Kuroko’s Basketball, and My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU.
Sources: yozuca*’s X/Twitter account, Overdrive’s X/Twitter account, Shuntarō Kobayashi’s X/Twitter account
