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* DoingItForTheArt:
** When asked if he'd ever considered trying to break into the mainstream music industry (as opposed to specialising in the anisong genre), Mizuki noted that he wasn't really interested. The biggest reason he gave was that he genuinely loved singing anime songs, especially because the lyrics often brought out in him as sense of passion and romance.
** One of the reasons he helped found JAM Project was because he felt that a lot of anime and tokusatsu had begun using random songs for their opening and ending themes. He felt that this cheapened the anisong genre as a whole, since it meant that people could just grab any song and stick it onto any show instead of writing lyrics tailor-made for it. This can be seen in how in virtually any opening theme he did for a series, the actual name of the series would come up in the lyrics (e.g. "Kamen Rider X! X! X!" or "Tatakae! Ultraman Orb!").
** When asked if he'd ever considered trying to break into the mainstream music industry (as opposed to specialising in the anisong genre), Mizuki noted that he wasn't really interested. The biggest reason he gave was that he genuinely loved singing anime songs, especially because the lyrics often brought out in him as sense of passion and romance.
** One of the reasons he helped found JAM Project was because he felt that a lot of anime and tokusatsu had begun using random songs for their opening and ending themes. He felt that this cheapened the anisong genre as a whole, since it meant that people could just grab any song and stick it onto any show instead of writing lyrics tailor-made for it. This can be seen in how in virtually any opening theme he did for a series, the actual name of the series would come up in the lyrics (e.g. "Kamen Rider X! X! X!" or "Tatakae! Ultraman Orb!").
to:
* DoingItForTheArt:
**DoingItForTheArt: When asked if he'd ever considered trying to break into the mainstream music industry (as opposed to specialising in the anisong genre), Mizuki noted that he wasn't really interested. The biggest reason he gave was that he genuinely loved singing anime songs, especially because the lyrics often brought out in him as sense of passion and romance.
** One of the reasons he helped found JAM Project was because he felt that a lot of anime and tokusatsu had begun using random songs for their opening and ending themes. He felt that this cheapened the anisong genre as a whole, since it meant that people could just grab any song and stick it onto any show instead of writing lyrics tailor-made for it. This can be seen in how in virtually any opening theme he did for a series, the actual name of the series would come up in the lyrics (e.g. "Kamen Rider X! X! X!" or "Tatakae! Ultraman Orb!").romance.
**
** One of the reasons he helped found JAM Project was because he felt that a lot of anime and tokusatsu had begun using random songs for their opening and ending themes. He felt that this cheapened the anisong genre as a whole, since it meant that people could just grab any song and stick it onto any show instead of writing lyrics tailor-made for it. This can be seen in how in virtually any opening theme he did for a series, the actual name of the series would come up in the lyrics (e.g. "Kamen Rider X! X! X!" or "Tatakae! Ultraman Orb!").
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Deleted line(s) 29 (click to see context) :
* BadassBaritone: When he sang, he could drop his voice extremely low. A good example would be the first opening of ''Shin Getter Robo: Armageddon'', which was performed as a march.
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dewicking Senpai Kohai
Deleted line(s) 44 (click to see context) :
* SenpaiKohai: Had an unusual case of this with fellow legend Creator/IsaoSasaki. Whenever the two of them appeared together, Mizuki would address Sasaki as "senpai" due to Sasaki being his senior when they were learning how to sing. In return, when asked Sasaki would point out that Mizuki actually began singing earlier than him, meaning in terms of the music industry Mizuki is ''his'' senpai.
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His instinct paid off in a big way. Around the 70s, televisions were becoming common sights in Japanese homes as signs of post-war economic recovery, and more and more television programmes (including tokusatsu and anime) were being created to match the demand. Thanks to singing the opening themes to tokusatsu series like ''Manga/ChoujinBarom1'' and ''Series/HenshinNinjaArashi'', as well as anime like ''Anime/Devilman'' (all in 1972), Mizuki's voice became very familiar to television viewers both adult and child. And of course, his single greatest hit would be the legendary opening to ''Anime/MazingerZ'' (also in 1972).
to:
His instinct paid off in a big way. Around the 70s, televisions were becoming common sights in Japanese homes as signs of post-war economic recovery, and more and more television programmes (including tokusatsu and anime) were being created to match the demand. Thanks to singing the opening themes to tokusatsu series like ''Manga/ChoujinBarom1'' and ''Series/HenshinNinjaArashi'', as well as anime like ''Anime/Devilman'' ''Anime/{{Devilman}}'' [[note]] Keizo Toda sang "Devilman no Uta" originally, but Ichiro Mizuki became synonymous with the song after his many covers of it [[/note]] (all in 1972), Mizuki's voice became very familiar to television viewers both adult and child. And of course, his single greatest hit would be the legendary opening to ''Anime/MazingerZ'' (also in 1972).
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e3289900_4a32_4a16_8924_545030901acb_1153x1730.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:A man who's just as legendary as the songs he sang]]
[[caption-width-right:350:A man who's just as legendary as the songs he sang]]
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* RelationshipVoiceActor: Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and collaborator, being managed by the same man when they were both starting out. Hironobu Kageyama (with whom he'd found Creator/JAMProject) was another frequent partner, as well as fellow legend Creator/IsaoSasaki.
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Over his 50 year career, he recorded at least 1,200 songs. He also performed as a voice actor for anime, tokusatsu and video games. Suiting such a legendary and long-performing entertainer, he was acquainted with many of the biggest names in Japanese entertainment. Creator/IsaoSasaki was his senior when they were learning to sing (and Sasaki himself is known as "The Great King of Anime Songs" (アニソンの大王 Anisong no Daiō) to Mizuki's "The Emperor of Anime Songs"), Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and frequent collaborator (Horie being "the Queen of Anime Songs" (アニソンの女王 Anisong no Jōō)), he was a founding member of Creator/JAMProject, and made several appearances on shows hosted by {{Creator/Downtown}}.
to:
Over his 50 year career, he recorded at least 1,200 songs. He also performed as a voice actor for anime, tokusatsu and video games. Suiting such a legendary and long-performing entertainer, he was acquainted with many of the biggest names in Japanese entertainment. Creator/IsaoSasaki was his senior when they were learning to sing (and Sasaki himself is known as "The Great King of Anime Songs" (アニソンの大王 Anisong no Daiō) to Mizuki's "The Emperor of Anime Songs"), Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and frequent collaborator (Horie being "the Queen of Anime Songs" (アニソンの女王 Anisong no Jōō)), he was a founding member of Creator/JAMProject, Music/JAMProject, and made several appearances on shows hosted by {{Creator/Downtown}}.
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None
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Remembering the criticism from his early days that he was “singing without personality” Mizuki took the criticism to heart to truly find his niche in the anisong genre. Mizuki’s unique thick voice, combined with various roars and adverbial words in the lyrics (most often [[CallingOutYourAttacks attack names]] like "Rocket Punch!" or "Thunder Break!") helped make his voice stand out. Furthermore, the influence of jazz and Western songs he grew up with could be heard in how he would warble his voice like an old-school crooner. His ability to sing with passionate HotBlooded-ness to gentle and romantic meant that he could perform for almost any sort of genre from a combat oriented SuperRobot show to a cutesy kids cartoon.
to:
Remembering the criticism from his early days that he was “singing without personality” Mizuki took the criticism to heart to truly find his niche in the anisong genre. Mizuki’s unique thick voice, combined with various roars and adverbial words in the lyrics (most often [[CallingOutYourAttacks [[CallingYourAttacks attack names]] like "Rocket Punch!" or "Thunder Break!") helped make his voice stand out. Furthermore, the influence of jazz and Western songs he grew up with could be heard in how he would warble his voice like an old-school crooner. His ability to sing with passionate HotBlooded-ness to gentle and romantic meant that he could perform for almost any sort of genre from a combat oriented SuperRobot show to a cutesy kids cartoon.
Changed line(s) 15,16 (click to see context) from:
Over his 50 year career, he recorded at least 1,200 songs. He also performed as a voice actor for anime, tokusatsu and video games. Suiting such a legendary and long-performing entertainer, he was acquainted with many of the biggest names in Japanese entertainment. Creator/IsaoSasaki was his senior when they were learning to sing (and Sasaki himself is known as "The Great King of Anime Songs" (アニソンの大王 Anisong no Daiō) to Mizuki's "The Emperor of Anime Songs"), Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and frequent collaborator (Horie being "the Queen of Anime Songs" (アニソンの女王 Anisong no Jōō)), he was a founding member of Music/JAMProject, and made several appearances on shows hosted by Creator/Downtown.
to:
Over his 50 year career, he recorded at least 1,200 songs. He also performed as a voice actor for anime, tokusatsu and video games. Suiting such a legendary and long-performing entertainer, he was acquainted with many of the biggest names in Japanese entertainment. Creator/IsaoSasaki was his senior when they were learning to sing (and Sasaki himself is known as "The Great King of Anime Songs" (アニソンの大王 Anisong no Daiō) to Mizuki's "The Emperor of Anime Songs"), Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and frequent collaborator (Horie being "the Queen of Anime Songs" (アニソンの女王 Anisong no Jōō)), he was a founding member of Music/JAMProject, Creator/JAMProject, and made several appearances on shows hosted by Creator/Downtown.
{{Creator/Downtown}}.
Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
* CoolOldGuy: As one of the most veteran performers still active at the time of his death, Mizuki had the reputation of being a good sport and quite happy to roll with working with both young talent and veterans.
to:
* CoolOldGuy: As one of the most veteran performers still active at the time of his death, Mizuki had the reputation of being a good sport and quite happy to roll with working with both young talent and veterans. In a downplayed example of LeslieNielsenSyndrome, following his appearance on ''Gaki No Tsukai'''s 2006 special he was quite willing to make appearances on variety shows (sometimes poking fun at himself) while still keeping up his singing career.
Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
* DoingItForTheArt: When asked if he'd ever considered trying to break into the mainstream music industry (as opposed to specialising in the anisong genre), Mizuki noted that he wasn't really interested. The biggest reason he gave was that he genuinely loved singing anime songs, especially because the lyrics often brought out in him as sense of passion and romance.
to:
* DoingItForTheArt: DoingItForTheArt:
** When asked if he'd ever considered trying to break into the mainstream music industry (as opposed to specialising in the anisong genre), Mizuki noted that he wasn't really interested. The biggest reason he gave was that he genuinely loved singing anime songs, especially because the lyrics often brought out in him as sense of passion andromance.romance.
** One of the reasons he helped found JAM Project was because he felt that a lot of anime and tokusatsu had begun using random songs for their opening and ending themes. He felt that this cheapened the anisong genre as a whole, since it meant that people could just grab any song and stick it onto any show instead of writing lyrics tailor-made for it. This can be seen in how in virtually any opening theme he did for a series, the actual name of the series would come up in the lyrics (e.g. "Kamen Rider X! X! X!" or "Tatakae! Ultraman Orb!").
** When asked if he'd ever considered trying to break into the mainstream music industry (as opposed to specialising in the anisong genre), Mizuki noted that he wasn't really interested. The biggest reason he gave was that he genuinely loved singing anime songs, especially because the lyrics often brought out in him as sense of passion and
** One of the reasons he helped found JAM Project was because he felt that a lot of anime and tokusatsu had begun using random songs for their opening and ending themes. He felt that this cheapened the anisong genre as a whole, since it meant that people could just grab any song and stick it onto any show instead of writing lyrics tailor-made for it. This can be seen in how in virtually any opening theme he did for a series, the actual name of the series would come up in the lyrics (e.g. "Kamen Rider X! X! X!" or "Tatakae! Ultraman Orb!").
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* PlayingAgainstType: Part of the reason his appearance on ''Gaki No Tsukai'' was so effective is because he was so over-the-top that the participating members were taken by surprise. Hitoshi Matsumoto (who hadn't participated in that particular special) actually asked the others if Mizuki had always been like that, only to be reassured that, no, no, he was not.
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The Emperor of Anime Songs. A veteran singer, actor and voice actor, he started singing in the 1960s and continued until his death on the 6th of December 2022 (though his passing wasn't announced until the 12th). The cause of death was lung cancer, which he revealed he'd been suffering from in April of 2021. As a side effect, he suffered partial paralysis of his vocal chords, something he noted was a new experience in his over-50 year long career. His final performance was on the 28th of November 2022.
Born Toshio Hayakawa in 1948, he was exposed to music at a young age thanks to his parents running a record store. His mother in particular was a great fan of jazz, and as a result he wanted to become a singer as early as 5 years old. He taught himself how to sing while listening to the records of the likes of Music/NatKingCole. His big break came in 1964 when he was 16 years old, when he got the attention of Teruo Sakurai, the 2nd generation leader of the rock-and-roll band The Drifters, who suggested that he participate in a singing contest held at a famous jazz cafe in Kabukicho. After he handily won the contest, Sakurai encouraged him to pursue singing professionally, suggesting he could become the "Music/FrankSinatra of Japan".
Despite this, the music scene of the Showa Era was highly competitive with so many stars that any aspiring singer needed both talent and luck. Mizuki himself would recall criticism from those early years, specifically that he was once told that his singing had "no personality". He even considered giving up his dream of being a world-famous singer and instead become a composer. However, he was then asked to perform the opening theme to 1971's ''Genshi Shonen Ryu'' ("Ryu the Caveman"), an anime adaptation of ''Ryo No Michi'' by Creator/ShotaroIshinomori. This would change Mizuki's life.
During this time, the opening themes of animes were viewed as children's songs, the sort of thing a successful singer would consider an OldShame. Worse, there wasn't much money in them, since it was thought that no one would want to buy records of "children's songs". However, Mizuki looked at it differently. The passion and romance of the lyrics spoke to him, and he also realised that those same "silly children's songs" would be repeated on national TV week after week.
His instinct paid off in a big way. Around the 70s, televisions were becoming common sights in Japanese homes as signs of post-war economic recovery, and more and more television programmes (including tokusatsu and anime) were being created to match the demand. Thanks to singing the opening themes to tokusatsu series like ''Manga/ChoujinBarom1'' and ''Series/HenshinNinjaArashi'', as well as anime like ''Anime/Devilman'' (all in 1972), Mizuki's voice became very familiar to television viewers both adult and child. And of course, his single greatest hit would be the legendary opening to ''Anime/MazingerZ'' (also in 1972).
Remembering the criticism from his early days that he was “singing without personality” Mizuki took the criticism to heart to truly find his niche in the anisong genre. Mizuki’s unique thick voice, combined with various roars and adverbial words in the lyrics (most often [[CallingOutYourAttacks attack names]] like "Rocket Punch!" or "Thunder Break!") helped make his voice stand out. Furthermore, the influence of jazz and Western songs he grew up with could be heard in how he would warble his voice like an old-school crooner. His ability to sing with passionate HotBlooded-ness to gentle and romantic meant that he could perform for almost any sort of genre from a combat oriented SuperRobot show to a cutesy kids cartoon.
Between 1971 and 1975, Mizuki recorded over 150 songs for various series. The opening theme to ''Mazinger Z'' in particular sold over 700,000 copies. This made him the TropeMaker (or at least TropeCodifier) for the anisong genre as a whole. While anime openings existed before him, he is credited with actually making anisong an actual genre of music. In addition, due to the sheer number of songs he did for the genre he's also credited with popularising the SuperRobot genre. [[note]] After Mizuki's passing Creator/GoNagai, creator of Mazinger Z, tweeted that a big part of Mazinger's success could be attributed to Mizuki's performance of the opening theme and so thanked him one last time.[[/note]]
Over his 50 year career, he recorded at least 1,200 songs. He also performed as a voice actor for anime, tokusatsu and video games. Suiting such a legendary and long-performing entertainer, he was acquainted with many of the biggest names in Japanese entertainment. Creator/IsaoSasaki was his senior when they were learning to sing (and Sasaki himself is known as "The Great King of Anime Songs" (アニソンの大王 Anisong no Daiō) to Mizuki's "The Emperor of Anime Songs"), Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and frequent collaborator (Horie being "the Queen of Anime Songs" (アニソンの女王 Anisong no Jōō)), he was a founding member of Music/JAMProject, and made several appearances on shows hosted by Creator/Downtown.
It's difficult to overstate his effect on the anime industry. Because many anime and tokusatsu series exported overseas didn't bother to replace the theme songs while they were being dubbed, his voice became the first exposure many people had to the Japanese language (fittingly enough, the same way he became a household name in Japan itself).
Mizuki's music maintained an old school style and sound over the years. It's one of the things that distinguished him from Music/JAMProject, especially all the ballads he did. He could've probably been the King of Enka if he had chosen to do so.
!!Tropes associated with Ichiro Mizuki:
* ActorAllusion:
** His famous "ZETTT!" catchphrase (normally said when he walks on-screen) is a reference to his single most famous hit: the opening theme to ''Anime/MazingerZ''.
** His penchant for wearing an overly starched red scarf (shaped to look like it's billowing in the wind) came about when he agreed to appear on the 2006 [[Series/GakiNoTsukaiYaArahende Gaki no Tsukai 24-hour Batsu Police special]], where he appeared as the sole staff member of a petrol station. A member of staff approached him with the scarf and told him that because they had an image of him singing songs from the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' series, they prepared a similar scarf for him. In his own words, Mizuki recalled his reaction at the time was, "Sounds like fun! Let's do it!" He liked it so much that it became part of his trademark look.
* BadassBaritone: When he sang, he could drop his voice extremely low. A good example would be the first opening of ''Shin Getter Robo: Armageddon'', which was performed as a march.
* ConsummateProfessional: No matter if he's singing in a concert hall for an audience of tens of thousands, a convention center for a couple thousand, or a smaller venue with a few dozen, when Ichiro Mizuki came to sing he'd sing his heart out.
* CoolOldGuy: As one of the most veteran performers still active at the time of his death, Mizuki had the reputation of being a good sport and quite happy to roll with working with both young talent and veterans.
* DentedIron: It was an open secret after his diagnosis with lung cancer that while Mizuki was fully willing to give his all in any performance he gave, his body was simply not able to keep up anymore. As an example, during a celebratory online concert to commemorate the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series' 30th anniversary, while he clearly tried to sing with all his strength he still had to be supported by other members of JAM Project due to visibly struggling to hold the notes.
* {{Determinator}}:
** In September 1999, he famously performed over 1,000 songs over 24 hours.
** Even after being diagnosed with lung cancer, even when his vocal cords were partially paralyzed, Mizuki continued to perform as best he could while undergoing treatment. It's telling his final performance was a mere 7 days before his passing.
* DoingItForTheArt: When asked if he'd ever considered trying to break into the mainstream music industry (as opposed to specialising in the anisong genre), Mizuki noted that he wasn't really interested. The biggest reason he gave was that he genuinely loved singing anime songs, especially because the lyrics often brought out in him as sense of passion and romance.
* LargeHam: Gleefully engaged in this in his appearances on variety shows and the like (such as the Series/GakiNoTsukaiYaArahende ''24-hour Batsu game'' specials), most famously punctuated by a hearty, "ZETTT!". In an interview, he noted that it gave him a larger than life presence and people seemed to enjoy it, and crucially he had fun as well.
* PunnyName: His title of "Aniking" (given to him because of his extensive discography of anime songs, especially in the 70s). It's a mix of his nickname "Aniki" (big brother) and "king".
* RedBaron: His titles of "Aniking" (アニキング, Anikingu) and "Emperor of Anime Songs" (アニソングの帝王, Anisongu no Teiō). He was also famously nicknamed "Aniki" (lit. big brother) by his fans, and the nickname was adopted by just about everyone in the Japanese entertainment industry.
* RelationshipVoiceActor: Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and collaborator, being managed by the same man when they were both starting out. Hironobu Kageyama (with whom he'd found Creator/JAMProject) was another frequent partner, as well as fellow legend Creator/IsaoSasaki.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Roughly around the early 2000s, Mizuki became known for wearing overly-starched scarves that were shaped to look like they were being blown by the wind. He was inspired to do so after participating in the famous ''24-hours No Laughing'' variety program (a fuller description is mentioned under ActorAllusion above). He noted while he was aware some people thought it made him look silly, to him the scarves reminded him of heroes like Kamen Rider, and he hoped that be wearing them he'd similarly inspire HotBlooded-ness in others.
* SenpaiKohai: Had an unusual case of this with fellow legend Creator/IsaoSasaki. Whenever the two of them appeared together, Mizuki would address Sasaki as "senpai" due to Sasaki being his senior when they were learning how to sing. In return, when asked Sasaki would point out that Mizuki actually began singing earlier than him, meaning in terms of the music industry Mizuki is ''his'' senpai.
* SignatureSong: Sing it with us now... "[[Anime/MazingerZ MA-ZIN-GA--ZETTTT!]]" During his famed 1,000 song marathon concert, Mazinger Z's opening was naturally the first song he sang... and then sang it again to make it the 1,001st song of the concert as a bonus.
* SoMyKidsCanWatch: One of the reasons Mizuki loved singing anime songs was because he viewed it as a way to inspire children and instill a love of music and the power of song, the same way he was inspired when he himself was a child.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: While his name in Hiragana would be spelled I-chi-ro-u, the official Romanization of his name was Ichiro.
Born Toshio Hayakawa in 1948, he was exposed to music at a young age thanks to his parents running a record store. His mother in particular was a great fan of jazz, and as a result he wanted to become a singer as early as 5 years old. He taught himself how to sing while listening to the records of the likes of Music/NatKingCole. His big break came in 1964 when he was 16 years old, when he got the attention of Teruo Sakurai, the 2nd generation leader of the rock-and-roll band The Drifters, who suggested that he participate in a singing contest held at a famous jazz cafe in Kabukicho. After he handily won the contest, Sakurai encouraged him to pursue singing professionally, suggesting he could become the "Music/FrankSinatra of Japan".
Despite this, the music scene of the Showa Era was highly competitive with so many stars that any aspiring singer needed both talent and luck. Mizuki himself would recall criticism from those early years, specifically that he was once told that his singing had "no personality". He even considered giving up his dream of being a world-famous singer and instead become a composer. However, he was then asked to perform the opening theme to 1971's ''Genshi Shonen Ryu'' ("Ryu the Caveman"), an anime adaptation of ''Ryo No Michi'' by Creator/ShotaroIshinomori. This would change Mizuki's life.
During this time, the opening themes of animes were viewed as children's songs, the sort of thing a successful singer would consider an OldShame. Worse, there wasn't much money in them, since it was thought that no one would want to buy records of "children's songs". However, Mizuki looked at it differently. The passion and romance of the lyrics spoke to him, and he also realised that those same "silly children's songs" would be repeated on national TV week after week.
His instinct paid off in a big way. Around the 70s, televisions were becoming common sights in Japanese homes as signs of post-war economic recovery, and more and more television programmes (including tokusatsu and anime) were being created to match the demand. Thanks to singing the opening themes to tokusatsu series like ''Manga/ChoujinBarom1'' and ''Series/HenshinNinjaArashi'', as well as anime like ''Anime/Devilman'' (all in 1972), Mizuki's voice became very familiar to television viewers both adult and child. And of course, his single greatest hit would be the legendary opening to ''Anime/MazingerZ'' (also in 1972).
Remembering the criticism from his early days that he was “singing without personality” Mizuki took the criticism to heart to truly find his niche in the anisong genre. Mizuki’s unique thick voice, combined with various roars and adverbial words in the lyrics (most often [[CallingOutYourAttacks attack names]] like "Rocket Punch!" or "Thunder Break!") helped make his voice stand out. Furthermore, the influence of jazz and Western songs he grew up with could be heard in how he would warble his voice like an old-school crooner. His ability to sing with passionate HotBlooded-ness to gentle and romantic meant that he could perform for almost any sort of genre from a combat oriented SuperRobot show to a cutesy kids cartoon.
Between 1971 and 1975, Mizuki recorded over 150 songs for various series. The opening theme to ''Mazinger Z'' in particular sold over 700,000 copies. This made him the TropeMaker (or at least TropeCodifier) for the anisong genre as a whole. While anime openings existed before him, he is credited with actually making anisong an actual genre of music. In addition, due to the sheer number of songs he did for the genre he's also credited with popularising the SuperRobot genre. [[note]] After Mizuki's passing Creator/GoNagai, creator of Mazinger Z, tweeted that a big part of Mazinger's success could be attributed to Mizuki's performance of the opening theme and so thanked him one last time.[[/note]]
Over his 50 year career, he recorded at least 1,200 songs. He also performed as a voice actor for anime, tokusatsu and video games. Suiting such a legendary and long-performing entertainer, he was acquainted with many of the biggest names in Japanese entertainment. Creator/IsaoSasaki was his senior when they were learning to sing (and Sasaki himself is known as "The Great King of Anime Songs" (アニソンの大王 Anisong no Daiō) to Mizuki's "The Emperor of Anime Songs"), Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and frequent collaborator (Horie being "the Queen of Anime Songs" (アニソンの女王 Anisong no Jōō)), he was a founding member of Music/JAMProject, and made several appearances on shows hosted by Creator/Downtown.
It's difficult to overstate his effect on the anime industry. Because many anime and tokusatsu series exported overseas didn't bother to replace the theme songs while they were being dubbed, his voice became the first exposure many people had to the Japanese language (fittingly enough, the same way he became a household name in Japan itself).
Mizuki's music maintained an old school style and sound over the years. It's one of the things that distinguished him from Music/JAMProject, especially all the ballads he did. He could've probably been the King of Enka if he had chosen to do so.
!!Tropes associated with Ichiro Mizuki:
* ActorAllusion:
** His famous "ZETTT!" catchphrase (normally said when he walks on-screen) is a reference to his single most famous hit: the opening theme to ''Anime/MazingerZ''.
** His penchant for wearing an overly starched red scarf (shaped to look like it's billowing in the wind) came about when he agreed to appear on the 2006 [[Series/GakiNoTsukaiYaArahende Gaki no Tsukai 24-hour Batsu Police special]], where he appeared as the sole staff member of a petrol station. A member of staff approached him with the scarf and told him that because they had an image of him singing songs from the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' series, they prepared a similar scarf for him. In his own words, Mizuki recalled his reaction at the time was, "Sounds like fun! Let's do it!" He liked it so much that it became part of his trademark look.
* BadassBaritone: When he sang, he could drop his voice extremely low. A good example would be the first opening of ''Shin Getter Robo: Armageddon'', which was performed as a march.
* ConsummateProfessional: No matter if he's singing in a concert hall for an audience of tens of thousands, a convention center for a couple thousand, or a smaller venue with a few dozen, when Ichiro Mizuki came to sing he'd sing his heart out.
* CoolOldGuy: As one of the most veteran performers still active at the time of his death, Mizuki had the reputation of being a good sport and quite happy to roll with working with both young talent and veterans.
* DentedIron: It was an open secret after his diagnosis with lung cancer that while Mizuki was fully willing to give his all in any performance he gave, his body was simply not able to keep up anymore. As an example, during a celebratory online concert to commemorate the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series' 30th anniversary, while he clearly tried to sing with all his strength he still had to be supported by other members of JAM Project due to visibly struggling to hold the notes.
* {{Determinator}}:
** In September 1999, he famously performed over 1,000 songs over 24 hours.
** Even after being diagnosed with lung cancer, even when his vocal cords were partially paralyzed, Mizuki continued to perform as best he could while undergoing treatment. It's telling his final performance was a mere 7 days before his passing.
* DoingItForTheArt: When asked if he'd ever considered trying to break into the mainstream music industry (as opposed to specialising in the anisong genre), Mizuki noted that he wasn't really interested. The biggest reason he gave was that he genuinely loved singing anime songs, especially because the lyrics often brought out in him as sense of passion and romance.
* LargeHam: Gleefully engaged in this in his appearances on variety shows and the like (such as the Series/GakiNoTsukaiYaArahende ''24-hour Batsu game'' specials), most famously punctuated by a hearty, "ZETTT!". In an interview, he noted that it gave him a larger than life presence and people seemed to enjoy it, and crucially he had fun as well.
* PunnyName: His title of "Aniking" (given to him because of his extensive discography of anime songs, especially in the 70s). It's a mix of his nickname "Aniki" (big brother) and "king".
* RedBaron: His titles of "Aniking" (アニキング, Anikingu) and "Emperor of Anime Songs" (アニソングの帝王, Anisongu no Teiō). He was also famously nicknamed "Aniki" (lit. big brother) by his fans, and the nickname was adopted by just about everyone in the Japanese entertainment industry.
* RelationshipVoiceActor: Creator/MitsukoHorie was his old friend and collaborator, being managed by the same man when they were both starting out. Hironobu Kageyama (with whom he'd found Creator/JAMProject) was another frequent partner, as well as fellow legend Creator/IsaoSasaki.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Roughly around the early 2000s, Mizuki became known for wearing overly-starched scarves that were shaped to look like they were being blown by the wind. He was inspired to do so after participating in the famous ''24-hours No Laughing'' variety program (a fuller description is mentioned under ActorAllusion above). He noted while he was aware some people thought it made him look silly, to him the scarves reminded him of heroes like Kamen Rider, and he hoped that be wearing them he'd similarly inspire HotBlooded-ness in others.
* SenpaiKohai: Had an unusual case of this with fellow legend Creator/IsaoSasaki. Whenever the two of them appeared together, Mizuki would address Sasaki as "senpai" due to Sasaki being his senior when they were learning how to sing. In return, when asked Sasaki would point out that Mizuki actually began singing earlier than him, meaning in terms of the music industry Mizuki is ''his'' senpai.
* SignatureSong: Sing it with us now... "[[Anime/MazingerZ MA-ZIN-GA--ZETTTT!]]" During his famed 1,000 song marathon concert, Mazinger Z's opening was naturally the first song he sang... and then sang it again to make it the 1,001st song of the concert as a bonus.
* SoMyKidsCanWatch: One of the reasons Mizuki loved singing anime songs was because he viewed it as a way to inspire children and instill a love of music and the power of song, the same way he was inspired when he himself was a child.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: While his name in Hiragana would be spelled I-chi-ro-u, the official Romanization of his name was Ichiro.
