Keiichi Okabe

Japanese composer and arranger (born 1969)

Keiichi Okabe

岡部 啓一

Also known as| BKO
Born|  (1969-05-26) May 26, 1969 (age 54)
Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
Genres|

* Ambient
* orchestral
* new age
* synthpop
* funk
* rock
* J-pop

Occupation(s)|

* Composer
* arranger
* musician
* singer

Years active| 1994–present

Musical artist

Keiichi Okabe (岡部 啓一, Okabe Keiichi, born May 26, 1969) is a Japanese composer and arranger, best known for composing music for the Tekken and Drakengard series. He started his career at Namco in 1994, where he primarily composed for arcade games. Outside of video games, he has composed for anime series such as Working!! and Yuki Yuna is a Hero, along with arranging tracks for J-pop artists. He established the music production studio Monaca in 2004, which composes for various types of media.

## Biography[edit]

Okabe started taking electric organ lessons as a child, covering contemporary pop and film music. Although he did not learn from teachers, he would develop his musical skills through joining a band and recording music. He has cited Henry Mancini, Ennio Morricone, and Ryuichi Sakamoto as being some of his musical influences.[1] After graduating from Kobe Design University,[2] he joined Namco in 1994, with his first work being a handful of tracks for medal game Spiral Fall. He would also work on titles such as Air Combat 22, along with some arrangements for the PS1 version of Tekken 2. This would lead to him scoring Tekken 3 along with fellow Namco composer Nobuyoshi Sano. Both composers chose to make big beat music for the game as it both fitted the atmosphere of the game and had not been done in video games before.[3] During the game's production, he became ill.[4] He and Sano would also work on Tekken Tag Tournament with other composers in 1999.

He left Namco in 2001 to become a freelancer; while he feels that the game industry served as an outlet for him to create music, he wanted more freedom to work on non-game projects. In addition to further work on game projects, this also led to him composing and arranging a number of songs for various artists, such as Ryuichi Kawamura. However, being freelance resulted in him losing a lot of social trust, such as being unable to change residence or sign up for a credit card. These struggles resulted in him founding music production studio Monaca in 2004, three years later.[5] Although it originally consisted of just Okabe, he would later be joined by ex-Namco composers such as Satoru Kōsaki, who also wanted to work on non-game projects.[6] To this day, the studio frequently compose for both video games and anime, as well as other types of media such as live action films.

In 2010, he served as the lead composer for Nier, being assisted by fellow Monaca composers Kakeru Ishihama and Keigo Hoashi, along with Cavia composer and sound director Takafumi Nishimura. To fit with the game's story, he composed a soundtrack that he describes as "mysterious, delicate, and ephemeral".[7] The team were given creative freedom, while working under Yoko Taro's direction, who attended the same university as Okabe and was a 3D graphics designer at Namco.[8][9] The composers worked with English-Japanese singer Emi Evans, who wrote and sung the lyrics present in the game's songs.[10] As Taro wanted the game's musical direction to be well represented in the game, the team participated in the project as early as the planning stages, leading to Okabe composing three songs. Various musical directions were also explored later in the game's development.[11]

Okabe, Ishihama and Hoashi would go on to compose for its 2017 sequel Nier: Automata, while being joined by Kuniyuki Takahashi. Its music was acclaimed; it won the award for "Best Score/Music" at The Game Awards 2017,[12] and was a runner-up for "Best Original Music" at IGN's Best of 2017 Awards.[13]

In 2019, he composed for battle royale game Cyber Hunter with fellow Monaca composer Ryuichi Takada, both working with violinist Yu Manabe.[14]

## Works[edit]

### Video games[edit]

Soundtrack composer Other credits only (e.g. performances, insert songs)

Year  | Title  | Notes

|
|

1994  | Spiral Fall | with Hiroto Sasaki and Takanori Otsuka
Ridge Racer | PS1 version; with Yuri Misumi
1995  | Dangerous Bar |
Air Combat 22 | with Kazuhiro Nakamura and Hiroyuki Kawada
1996  | Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 | "Area 4 BGM - Mountains"
Ace Driver: Victory Lap | with Hiroyuki Kawada and Yuri Misumi
Dancing Eyes | "Space Alien Stage" and "Space Alien Motion"
Alpine Surfer | "Blizzard"
Tekken 2 | PS1 version; arrangements with various others
Aqua Jet |
1997  | Tekken 3 | arcade version; with Nobuyoshi Sano
Xevious 3D/G+ | PS1 version; "Area 2" and "Boss 2"
Downhill Bikers | with Hiroto Sasaki[15]
1998  | Tekken 3 | PS1 version; with various others
Jumping Groove | with various others
1999  | Tekken Tag Tournament | arcade version; with various others
2000  | PS2 version; with various others
2001  | Taiko no Tatsujin | "Love You ☆ Don Chan"
2002  | Alpine Racer 3 | with various others
Cancelled  | 3P Memories | "Samenai Yume"
2003  | Glass Rose | with Kenjirou Matsuo, Yuichi Nakamura, and Ken Inaoka
2004  | Taiko no Tatsujin: Atsumare! Matsuri da!! Yondaime | with various others
2005  | Tekken 5 | PS2 version; with various others
Heavy Metal Thunder | sound effects
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection | with various others
2006  | Belle Isle |
Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 | opening theme
Fantasy Earth Zero | sound effects
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
Rappelz | with various others
2007  | Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions | sound effects
Taiko no Tatsujin 10 | "Angel Dream"
Axebusters | "Theme of AXEBUSTERS"
Beautiful Katamari | "Boyfriend a GOGO"
Tekken 6 | arcade version; with various others
2008  | Taiko no Tatsujin 11 | arrangement ("Kare Kano Kanon")
Secret Game -KILLER QUEEN- | arrangement ("Secret Game")
Taiko no Tatsujin 12 | "Fantasy of the Wind"
2009  | Taiko no Tatsujin 12 Do-n! And Extra Edition | "Yuga Onoki"
Tekken 6 | PS3 version; with various others
Sekirei ~Gifts from the Future~ | "Yakusoku I'm With You"
2010  | Walk it Out! | "KURU KURU ABEBA!" and "Muteki Onnanoko"
Nier | with Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi, and Takafumi Nishimura
Scared Rider Xechs | "Pride"
2011  | Ridge Racer 3D | "Rolling Glider"
Taiko no Tatsujin: Portable DX | "Pastel Dream"
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 | arcade version; with various others
Lord of Apocalypse | with Keigo Hoashi
2012  | Taiko no Tatsujin: Katsu-Don | "Chiri Yuku Ran no Tsudzuru Uta"
Demons' Score | "The Overture of Battle"
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 | PS3 version; with various others
Koi wa Kousoku ni Shibara Renai! | "Brand New World" and "A."
2013  | Fate/Extra CCC | "Boukun Majesty"
Drakengard 3 | with various others
2014  | Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | arrangements[a]
2015  | Tekken 7 | arcade version; "Arctic Snowfall"
Yoiyo Mori no Hime | "Nemuru Mori no Hate"
School of Ragnarok |
WindSoul
maimai | "Ribabu"
2017  | Nier: Automata | with Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi, and Kakeru Ishihama
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus | main theme
SINoALICE | with Keigo Hoashi and Shotaro Seo
Terra Battle: Mechatura Monogatari | with various others
Aikatsu! Photo on Stage!! | "Chocolat Show Time"
2018  | Fate/Extella Link | with Ryuichi Takada, Keigo Hoashi, and Syotarou Seo
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | arrangements[b]
Soulcalibur VI | "City Ruins – SOUL"
2019  | The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage | "Tani no Soko de Saku Hana wa"[16]
Cyber Hunter | with Ryuichi Takada
The Seven Deadly Sins: Battle of Light and Darkness |
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers | YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse contents[17]
2020  | The Wonderful 101: Remastered | arrangements; with various others
2021  | Nier Reincarnation[18] |
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... | arrangements
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars | with Oliver Good and Shotaro Seo[19]
2022  | Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden
Soul Hackers 2 | with various others
Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden | music director[20]
2023  | Towa Tsugai | with Shotaro Seo[21]

### Anime[edit]

Soundtrack composer Other credits only (e.g. performances, insert songs)

Year  | Title  | Notes

|
|

2002  | Whistle! | "DOUBLE WIND" (with Junichi Soma)
2006  | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya | arrangement ("Yuuutsu no Yuuutsu")
2008  | Penguin Musume | arrangement
Sekirei | "Kimi wo Omou Toki"
Black Butler | 2 songs
2009  | Sora o Miageru Shōjo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai | with various others
Tenjōbito to Akutobito Saigo no Tatakai
Bakemonogatari | music production
2010  | Working!! | with Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi, and Satoru Kōsaki
Black Butler II | "You will rule the world" and "Kill★in the Heaven"
Sekirei: Pure Engagement | with Hiroaki Sano and Satoru Kōsaki
Highschool of the Dead | "Memories of days gone by", music production
Cat Shit One: The Animated Series | music production
Star Driver | with various others
2011  | Wandering Son | with Satoru Kōsaki and Keigo Hoashi
Working'!! | "Itsumo no you ni LOVE&PEACE!!"
2012  | Nisemonogatari | music production
Nyaruko: Crawling with Love | "Striver of Black Steel"
Smile PreCure! | "Your Mirror"
Aikatsu! | with various others
Nekomonogatari | music production
2013  | My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU
Servant x Service | "Hachimitsu Jikan"
Aikatsu! (2nd season)  | with various others
2014  | Nisekoi
Wake Up, Girls! | "Kotonoha Aoba"
Nanana's Buried Treasure | with various others
Captain Earth
Dai-Shogun – Great Revolution | "TAMASHII RISES"
Yuki Yuna is a Hero | with Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi, and Kakeru Ishihama
Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames | with various others
Aikatsu! (3rd season)
2015  | My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU TOO! | music production
Ultimate Otaku Teacher | "Meido no Hinkaku"
Working!!! | with various others
Garo: Crimson Moon | with various others
Concrete Revolutio
2016  | Anne Happy
Aikatsu Stars! | "Heart ga Ski♡p"
Garo: Divine Flame | with Ryuichi Takada, Hiroshi Kitadani, and Tomohiro Nakatsuchi
2017  | Wake Up, Girls! Shin Shou | "Shizuku no Kanmuri"
Anime-Gatari | with Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi, and Takahiro Furukawa
Yuki Yuna is a Hero: Washio Sumi Chapter | with Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi, and Syotarou Seo
2019  | Assassins Pride | with Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi, and Hidekazu Tanaka
2020  | My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax | music production
2021  | Yuki Yuna is a Hero: The Great Mankai Chapter | with Keigo Hoashi and Kuniyuki Takahashi[22]
2022  | Summer Time Rendering | with Ryuichi Takada and Keigo Hoashi[23]
2023  | Nier: Automata Ver1.1a | with Keigo Hoashi and Kuniyuki Takahashi

### Other[edit]

Year  | Title  | Notes

|
|

2002  | Kowloon de Aimashou | arrangement ("Sugar Lady"); with Ryuichi Kawamura
Ningen Shikkaku / Ryuichi Kawamura | arrangements; with Ryuichi Kawamura
2005  | Happiness / Maki Ohguro | arrangement ("Kouishou")
2013  | Mayonaka no Panya-san | with Keigo Hoashi
2014  | Kakumeiteki Broadway Shugisha Doumei / Sumire Uesaka | "Aishū Fake Honeymoon"[24]
2015  | Kagaku Adventure Nishinoshima e ~ Engineer-Tachi no Atsuki Chousen | opening and ending
2018  | Usuzumizakura -Garo- |
Braverthday / Nobuhiko Okamoto | "Tobu Tame ni"; arrangements with Keigo Hoashi[25]
2020  | Garden / Saori Hayami | arrangement ("glimmer"); with Saori Hayami[26]
2022  | Chimudondon | with Ryuichi Takada and Keigo Hoashi[27]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Dark World / Dark World Dungeon", "Ashley's Song (JP) Ver. 2"
2. ^ "Ground Theme – Super Mario Bros. 2", "Flash Man Stage", and "Aerith's Theme"

1. ^ "Keiichi Okabe Interview: Drakengard 3, NieR, and More". RPGFan. 2014-06-02. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
2. ^ "MONACA | 有限会社モナカ". monaca.jp. 15 December 2022.
3. ^ Davies, Paul (August 15, 2001). "PlayStation News: Tekken 3 musicians choose Big Beat - ComputerAndVideoGames.com" (PDF). ComputerandVideoGames.com. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
4. ^ "ゲームミュージック＆アニメ専門店 ga-core - ジーエー・コア -" (in Japanese). June 17, 2009. Archived from the original on August 26, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
5. ^ "#4 フリーランスの頃は大変だった！？会社設立のきっかけとは【岡部啓一】【SEM TALK】". YouTube. November 22, 2022.
6. ^ "アニメに欠かせないサウンドを手掛けるMONACAに聞く、気鋭のサウンドクリエイター集団の過去から現在まで【MONACAインタビュー前編】". WebNewtype. April 18, 2016.
7. ^ Okabe, Keiichi (March 7, 2018). "One Year Later, Composer Keiichi Okabe Looks Back at Nier:Automata".
8. ^ Prell, Sam (April 12, 2018). "Ever heard of a "wet" soundtrack? Nier: Automata's composer says it helped set the game apart". GamesRadar+.
9. ^ "Interview with Composer Keiichi Okabe". Square Enix. Archived from the original on 2010-09-07. Retrieved 2021-10-16. (registration required)
10. ^ Napolitano, Jayson (2010-05-04). "Deep into NieR: Interview With Vocalist and Lyricist Emi Evans". Original Sound Version. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
11. ^ "#2 ヨコオタロウさんとの関係性は？【岡部啓一】【SEM TALK】". YouTube. November 15, 2022.
12. ^ Makuch, Eddie (December 8, 2017). "The Game Awards 2017 Winners Headlined By Zelda: Breath Of The Wild's Game Of The Year". GameSpot.
13. ^ "Best of 2017 Awards: Best Original Music". IGN. December 20, 2017.
14. ^ "Battle royale game <Cyber Hunter> Soft Launch in Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines begins today!". Cyber Hunter – An Open-World Battle Royale Game. March 22, 2019.
15. ^ Keiichi Okabe [@MONACA_okabe] (December 31, 2021). "わー、激懐かしいですね！ この曲は多分さまんさん @hiroto_sasaki ですね。" (Tweet) (in Japanese) - via Twitter.
16. ^ THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA MASTER 052-054 白菊ほたる・森久保乃々・佐藤心. Nippon Columbia (in Japanese). Retrieved August 22, 2022.
17. ^ Plec, Adam (September 30, 2021). "A closer look into Final Fantasy XIV's Yorha: Dark Apocalypse content". PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
18. ^ 『ニーア』10周年＆新作発表！ ヨコオ氏など4人のキーパーソンにインタビュー. Dengeki Online (in Japanese). 2020-05-22. Archived from the original on 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
19. ^ Capel, Chris (6 February 2022). "Nier creator's Voice of Cards is getting a sequel – and it's out this month". PCGamesN. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
20. ^ Romano, Sal (September 1, 2022). "Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden announced for PS4, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
21. ^ Romano, Sal (October 24, 2022). "Square Enix announces "couple raising battle fantasy RPG" Towa Tsugai for iOS, Android". Gematsu. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
22. ^ "3rd Yuki Yuna Is a Hero TV Anime Unveils Returning Cast, October Premiere". Anime News Network. April 30, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
23. ^ "Suspense Anime Summer Time Rendering Reveals Promo Video, Staff". Anime News Network. October 13, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
24. ^ 革命的ブロードウェイ主義者同盟. King Records (in Japanese). Retrieved August 22, 2022.
25. ^ "Braverthday【豪華盤】" (in Japanese). Lantis. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
26. ^ "GARDEN : Saori Hayami". Hmv (in Japanese). Retrieved August 8, 2020.
27. ^ @MONACA_jp (January 14, 2022). 【告知】 2022年度前期 連続テレビ小説 『ちむどんどん』 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved August 22, 2022 - via Twitter.

## External links[edit]

* Profile at Monaca (in Japanese)
* Discography at VGMdb
* Keiichi Okabe at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

* v
* t
* e

Tekken

Video games|

| Main series|

* Tekken
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8

|

Spin-offs|

* Card Challenge
* Tag Tournament
* Advance
* Death by Degrees
* Hybrid
* Tag Tournament 2
* 3D: Prime Edition
* Revolution
* Mobile

List of media|

| Films|

* The Motion Picture
* Tekken
* Blood Vengeance
* Kazuya's Revenge

|

TV series|

* Bloodline

Other|

* Comic

Characters|

* Christie Monteiro
* Eddy Gordo
* Heihachi Mishima
* Jin Kazama
* Josie Rizal
* Julia Chang
* Kazuya Mishima
* King
* Lars Alexandersson
* Lei Wulong
* Leo Kliesen
* Ling Xiaoyu
* Lucky Chloe
* Michelle Chang
* Nina Williams
* Yoshimitsu

Guests|

* Akuma
* Geese Howard
* Gon
* Negan
* Noctis Lucis Caelum

Developers|

* Katsuhiro Harada
* Seiichi Ishii
* Yuu Miyake
* Nobuyoshi Sano
* Keiichi Okabe

Related games|

* Soulcalibur
* Virtua Fighter
* Pac-Man Fever
* Namco × Capcom
* NamCollection
* Urban Reign
* Street Fighter X Tekken
* Tekken X Street Fighter
* Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
* Project X Zone
* Project X Zone 2
* Digimon World Re:Digitize
* PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
* Pokkén Tournament
* The King of Fighters All Star
* Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

* v
* t
* e

Drakengard and Nier

Media|

| Games|

| Drakengard|

* Drakengard
* Drakengard 2
* Drakengard 3

|

Nier|

* Nier
* Nier: Automata
* Nier Reincarnation

Anime|

* Nier: Automata Ver1.1a
* episodes

Music|

* Drakengard
* Nier

Characters|

* Nier protagonist
* Kainé
* Zero
* 2B
* Machines

People|

* Yoko Taro
* Nobuyoshi Sano
* Keiichi Okabe

Related|

* Square Enix
* Cavia
* Access Games
* PlatinumGames
* Final Fantasy XIV
* SINoALICE
* The Nier: Automata Church

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Japan

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

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