Kenji Kawai

Japanese music composer, for motion pictures, anime movies, video games and televised programs. Born April 23, 1957 in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. He has contributed to the musical scores for numerous films from Japan and other countries in Asia, working in film genres as diverse as anime, horror, sci-fi and historical epic. Among his credits are [a=Tsui Hark]'s The Seven Swords; [a=Mamoru Oshii]'s films The Red Spectacles, StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops, Ghost in the Shell and Avalon; the anime adaptations of [a=Rumiko Takahashi]'s Ranma ½ and Maison Ikkoku; and Hideo Nakata's films Ring, Ring 2, Chaos, Dark Water and Kaidan.