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Anime/Game Music Composer Hidekazu Tanaka Handed Suspended Sentence for Public Nuisance, Indecent Acts
posted on by Egan Loo
Police had arrested Tanaka in Tokyo on October 24 on a charge of attempted forcible indecency — a Japanese legal term which includes sexual assault. However, the court formally ruled that Tanaka violated a different ordinance. The court also found Tanaka guilty of taking voyeuristic photos up women's skirts 11 times between last September and October at train stations in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, as well as indecently exposing his lower body on a train between Japan Railways' Yurakucho and Tokyo Stations.
The court noted that the victim of the first offense, a high school girl, ended up not able to go to school for a week after the crime as she is now fearful of interactions with men, people walking behind her, and crowded trains on her school commutes. The presiding judge concluded with noting that for the victim, this case will never end. The judge then admonished Tanaka to never forget about the victim and to never err like this again.
Tanaka had admitted in March to using obscene language to a 15-year-old girl in an attempt to commit acts of obscenity towards her. According to the authorities, Tanaka said "I'll give you money so won't you put out for me?" to a teenage girl and forcibly took her hand at a train station's bicycle parking area in Tokyo's Meguro ward last August. In court, Tanaka stated that he "liked her face and presence," so he followed her from the train, then tried to commit an obscene act.
The girl reported the incident at a nearby neighborhood police outpost. Police then found footage from the station's security camera of a person following the girl.
Tanaka had also admitted to voyeurism at least dozens of times in the past 10 years since he was in his early 20s. He added in March that he wanted to feel the "thrill" of wondering whether he would be caught, and committed these actions to "relieve anger and work stress."
Tanaka has composed numerous songs and soundtracks for anime and videogames during his career, most of it spent at the music production company monaca. During his 10 years at monaca, Tanaka composed music and songs for such anime as Nyaruko: Crawling with Love!, Aikatsu!, Servant × Service, THE IDOLM@STER MOVIE: Kagayaki no Mukōgawa e!, The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls, Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side, Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu, and Idoly Pride. He left monaca at end of July 2021.
He is perhaps best known for composing the first opening song "Star!!" for The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls anime, as well as composing the anime's soundtrack. He also composed and arranged many of the songs in the larger The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls franchise. More recently, he is credited as the composer for the second and fourth versions of the opening song "1・2・3" for the Pokémon Journeys: The Series anime, and composed the opening song "Ichigo Ichie Celebration" for the second season of the Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! anime. He composed the ending song "Calendar Girl" for the Aikatsu! anime.
The release of the opening theme song "Ichigo Ichie Celebration" (Once-in-a-Lifetime Celebration)" for the second season of the Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! television anime was canceled due to "various reasons." Tanaka composed and arranged the theme song. The original song by Kano and Uzaki-chan (as voiced by her voice actress Naomi Ōzora) and a version performed by virtual YouTuber singing unit MKLNtic were scheduled to debut on November 30.
The Pokémon Journeys: The Series anime's opening sequence for the theme song "1・2・3" has removed Tanaka's music arrangement credit in recent episodes. In addition, voice actress and performer Momo Asakura's live "Piacere!" tour has removed her song "Day and night dream" ("Shiroku Jichūmu"), which Tanaka composed, from the concert setlists.
The act-age manga writer Tatsuya Matsuki received a similar suspended sentence in December 2020 for a forcible indecent act on a female middle school student.
Sources: TBS News Dig, Chūnichi Shimbun
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