Dragon Ball franchise composer Shunsuke Kikuchi has passed away at age 89 from aspiration pneumonia.
www.kanzenshuu.com
As part of a cast and staff Q&A alongside the first "Dragon Box" DVD release in Japan in 2003, in response to a question about what he might wish for with the Dragon Balls, Kikuchi responded he would wish for, "…a peaceful world without lies or violence."
I could go on all day with clips. Kikuchi's score played a huge role in making me a life long fan of the series. When I got my hands on my first fansub, the music was probably what stood out the most compared to the dub... and I loved it instantly. It enhanced every scene. There was no going back at that point.
To me, Dragon Ball is Toriyama's quirky storytelling and art style, it's Goku and friends, it's Masako Nozawa and the other voice actors, and it's Shunsuke Kikuchi's unforgettable score (and Kageyama's banger vocal tunes!)
When I think about it, I probably own more Kikuchi music in CD form than any other musician, period.
Rest easy king.