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Godiego Guitarist Takami Asano Passes Away at 68

Takami Asano, guitarist and backing vocalist of the band Godiego, passed away on Tuesday, May 12. He was 68. His family found him collapsed in his home on Tuesday morning, and he was rushed to a Tokyo hospital, but was pronounced dead there. He will have a memorial service on a later date.

Asano was one of the founding members of Godiego in 1975, and his use of the guitar synthesizer (when it was still relatively unknown in Japan) and other innovations were key to the band's signature sound. The band went on to produce hit songs such as "Monkey Magic" and "Gandhara."

Within anime, the band is perhaps best known for its titular theme song for the 1979 anime film Galaxy Express 999, as well as the theme songs for the Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp anime film and the Silk Road Kids series. On his own, Asano composed the music of several Taito games such as Chase H.Q. and Special Criminal Investigation, as well as the Atlus game Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor.

Godiego band leader Mickie Yoshino said that Asano was the band member he knew the longest, and that he was unbearably grief-stricken. Band vocalist Yukihide Takekawa said that their dear friend passed away, and that he just talked with Asano on the phone two weeks ago. Takekawa called Asano an "almighty guitarist" whose playing synchronized immediately with any of their songs, and a delightful friend. Takekawa prayed for Asano's eternal life.

Thank you to Ōmiya for the news tip.

Source: Asahi Shimbun