It was a sorrowful day for the anime world when the “King of Anisong” Ichiro Mizuki, often called by his nickname Aniki/”big brother”, passed away on December 6, 2022.

Source: mizuki-spirits.com

I remember how shocked and saddened I was to hear the news when it was announced on December 12th. The singer was known for his hot-blooded and passionate songs full of energy. News broke earlier that year that he had been battling lung cancer, but in true Aniki fashion, he also stated how he was determined to continue with his activities as his “lifelong mission”. To those who had been listening to his songs, or even had watched a single show that featured one of his songs (of which there are hundreds), he was a figure just as amazing as the heroes whose theme songs he sang for himself. Having a career that spanned over 50 years, he was influential to numerous generations of viewers as well as anisong artists and befriended just as many.

Counted among them is Shoko Nakagawa, perhaps best known as the singer of the opening song of Gurren Lagann, “Sorairo Days”. A close friend of Mizuki who also drew the cover illustration of his 50th anniversary album, perhaps her eulogy says it best. “I don’t want to believe in a world without Aniki”, she states. “He was bright as the sun. It’s inconceivable to think that he’s gone.”

I, and I believe many others as well, could not believe that such a towering presence in the anime world like him was no more. This was the man who gave so much cheer and encouragement to countless people all over the globe with his songs; who in 1999—even at the age of 51—performed a 24-hour, 1000 songs live concert; and as a founding member of the anisong supergroup JAM Project, helped spearhead the worldwide popularity of anime songs as anime entered a new global age in the 2000’s. He was anisong itself personified. It was unthinkable, and even more so to think that one day his songs might be forgotten. Will Aniki’s songs still be there to cheer us on?

But sometimes, questions like these get their answers in the most unexpected of ways.

The Perfect and Ultimate “Getter”

It all started in April, as the anime adaptation of Aka Akasaka & Mengo Yokoyari‘s Oshi no Ko, as well as the opening song Idol by YOASOBI & REAL AKIBA BOYZ, began to pick up steam. According to Nicopedia, some Twitter users started to mention how they felt the song’s chorus contained similarities to the song STORM by JAM Project, the latter being the opening to the Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo (2001) OVA. Notably, the song is a duet featuring the vocals of Ichiro Mizuki and the “Prince of Anisong” Hironobu Kageyama. (Dragon Ball’s Cha-la Head Cha-la, Saint Seiya’s Soldier Dream, and so much more.)

Twitter user 輝² (Teruteru) then uploaded a video edit that mashed the two anime’s openings together, and the rest is history.

The meme, now known as “The Perfect and Ultimate Getter”/”君は完璧で究極のゲッター”, spawned a slew of remixes, variations, and fanart. Perhaps many (including myself) found the contrast between the radically different pop image of Idol/Oshi no Ko and the hot-blooded, wild image of Getter Robo to be doubly amusing. But no doubt fans also resonated strongly with the song STORM itself, featuring Mizuki & Kageyama’s powerful and dynamic vocals at their strongest. The song has always been a personal favorite of mine within Aniki & JAM Project’s discography, and to see it reach new listeners makes me happy. After all, their songs has always transcended generations and borders.

Things also took an interesting turn when YOASOBI and REAL AKIBA BOYZ official Twitter accounts chimed in on the meme, and Niconico announced that it was holding an official watchalong party for all four episodes of the Getter OVA. The Ichiro Mizuki Staff Twitter account also took notice of the trend, and while lamenting that the song itself wasn’t available for digital streaming at the time (as only the 2021 version of the song without Aniki’s vocals was available), they mentioned that those interested in it can still purchase the song through digital downloads or CDs.

What followed next was certainly a surprise to all, as the 20-year old song charted #1 on Oricon’s weekly digital download sales chart, even beating out Idol for a time.

But the story doesn’t end there, as now as of July 2, 2023, listeners can finally enjoy the song (as well as the ED) as it becomes available on music streaming services. It’s an unexpected, but incredible outcome to a chain of events that essentially began with a funny meme—truly a perfect storm.

The STORM Rages On

To me, this story is a perfect example of just how collaborative anime culture truly is, and how its different genealogies, its history, its past, present, and future, mix in unexpected ways to make the wonderful culture that we see today. After all, this isn’t the first time that idols and mecha (or fans and industry professionals) came together to create something new (looking at you, Macross) and it certainly won’t be the last.

But it also shows just how the media we love can live on through other means, even when those who created it have passed away. Speaking of Macross, I’m reminded of how its iconic tune, Do You Remember Love?, was written into the story as a song that is passed down from a people long gone for thousands of years. New Macross iterations have featured new renditions of the song, and help it reach a new generation of fans.

It’s comforting to think how even in the funniest of circumstances, you get the reminder that Aniki’s songs are still here and that they’re here to stay. How 20+ years on after its release, a song can still continue to reach new heights of popularity to a whole new crowd. And that even if he is no longer with us, Aniki’s voice can still continue to cheer us on.

Speaking personally, I do not consider myself to be a cheerful person. But if I appear to be so to my acquaintances, I feel that it’s because of the cheer I borrowed from Aniki and many others through their songs. I was fortunate enough to see him live for his performance at Anime Festival Indonesia 2012, and the warm memory of it is still something I carry to this day. On his style of singing, Aniki once stated that he tried to envision the heroes of the show he’s singing for and their worldview- why they continue to fight on. It makes sense; words like “fighting for peace” or “standing up for justice” in the songs he sings are in the base sense just song lyrics after all, but how are you going to convince others that those words have meaning if you don’t believe in those words yourself—or at the very least, while you’re singing about them to others? You might not believe in yourself, but how couldn’t you, when Aniki’s songs tell you otherwise? When every time you are down, his voice is always there to support you and make you believe that you can do it?

But now, that man is gone.

And yet here I am, listening to his songs. His spirit lives on. It should be impossible, but he’s still encouraging me even now.

When faced with a reality like that, I can’t think of any other choice I have, than to keep going on, believing in the words of my heroes to keep their spirit alive, lest I be scolded for not taking good care of the things that I borrow.

Even now, the STORM that Ichiro Mizuki & Hironobu Kageyama sang up is still here to “snuff out the flames of evil” and spur us on. And now I know that it will stay that way forever.

The Indonesian Anime Times | Written by Caesar E.S

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