Yuki Kajiura (梶浦 由記, Kajiura Yuki, born August 6, 1965) is a Japanese musician, composer and record producer. She has provided the music for several popular anime series, such as the final Kimagure Orange Road movie, Noir, .hack//Sign, Aquarian Age, Madlax, My-HiME, My-Otome, Pandora Hearts, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Sword Art Online, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kara no Kyoukai movies and Vanitas no Karte, amongst many others. She also assisted Toshihiko Sahashi with Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. Kajiura has also composed for video games, including the cutscene music for Xenosaga II and the entire Xenosaga III game soundtrack. She composed the music for NHK's April 2014 morning drama (asadora) Hanako to Anne.[1]

This biography of a living person includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2016)

Yuki Kajiura 梶浦 由記
Kajiura at Anime Expo 2018
Background information
Born	(1965-08-06) August 6, 1965 (age 57)
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Anison, baroque pop, contemporary classical music, world music, electronic, folk music, orchestral, new-age music, ambient music, house music, electro-industrial, electronica, dark ambient, hardcore EDM, happy hardcore, techno music, trance music, progressive rock, progressive metal, gothic metal, gothic rock, operatic pop, opera, jazz, nu jazz, new flamenco, progressive pop, chamber pop, gregorian chant, experimental, acoustic music
Occupation(s)	Musician composer record producer
Instrument(s)	Keyboard piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Space Craft Produce (1993–2018) FictionJunction Music (2018–present)
Member of	See-Saw FictionJunction
Website	www.fictionjunction.com

As a composer Kajiura is known for her unique and distinctive sounds that she utilizes as recurring motifs and leitmotifs in her music and for her distinctive mixing of multiple music genres in her songs often with contemporary classical music and or electronic music forming the base music genre.

Biography

She was born on August 6, 1965, in Tokyo, Japan. She has been into music since 1972 and accompanying her father on the piano. Her family later moved to West Germany because of her father's work. Kajiura wrote her first composition when she was seven years old titled " Thank you, Good-bye" as a farewell for her grandmother before leaving Japan.

Kajiura moved back to Japan when she was in middle school and later graduated from college. She began working as a systems engineering programming until 1992 that she decided to focus more on music.[2]

In 2002, See-Saw participated in another Mashimo's project, .hack//Sign During the production of the series, Kajiura met Emily Bindiger and impressed by her vocals, offered her to perform over 10 of the series' insert songs. She has also jokingly called Bindiger "her English teacher" at Anime Expo 2003.[3]

One of Kajiura's solo projects includes FictionJunction. The project involves collaboration with artists such as Yuuka Nanri, Asuka Kato, and Kaori Oda. FictionJunction Yuuka, with Nanri as the vocalist, is the most prolific of these collaborations. In 2004, the duo produced the opening and ending songs for Kōichi Mashimo's Madlax and in the next year, published their first collaborative album, Destination.

In October 2007, it was announced that Yuki Kajiura would be attending the performances of the Eminence Orchestra's concert, 'A Night in Fantasia 2007 – Symphonic Anime Edition', as a special guest.[4]

The 2014 series Aldnoah.Zero's opening theme "Heavenly Blue" was composed by Kajiura and was performed by Kalafina.[5]

In July 2016, Aniplex of America announced that the “Yuki Kajiura LIVE ~featuring SWORD ART ONLINE~” concert that took place in March 2016 in Japan would be having an additional date on January 14, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, but was later canceled due to visa issues.[6]

In December 2017, a source reported to a news site, Sponchi Annex that Kajiura was planning to leave her agency, Spacecraft Produce, over contract disputes. In February 2018, Kajiura herself confirmed via her Twitter that she has officially left her agency.[7][8][9]

Kajiura has performed internationally at various anime conventions including Anime Expo 2003, Anime Boston 2009 (with Kalafina), Anime Expo 2012 (with FictionJunction), and Anime Expo 2018 (as part of Anisong World Matsuri).[10]

On February 22, 2018, her contract ended with SpaceCraft Produce after being a talent for 25 years.[11] She is now represented by FictionJunction Music, a talent agency she founded herself.

Discography

Anime soundtracks

Film soundtracks

Game soundtracks

Musicals

Solo albums

Produced albums

Compilation albums

Other involvements

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yuki Kajiura.

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Yuki Kajiura convention appearances on AnimeCons.com
• Yuki Kajiura at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Yuki Kajiura at IMDb
• Yuki Kajiura anime at Media Arts Database (in Japanese)
• Yuki Kajiura at vgmdb.net

На других языках

[de] Yuki Kajiura

[es] Yūki Kajiura

[ru] Кадзиура, Юки