Takeharu Ishimoto :: Biography

Note: This biography was written exclusively for Square Enix Music Online by Chris. The act of using it without advance written permission is regarded as a copyright infringement. It was last updated on April 2, 2008.

'Who is Takeharu Ishimoto?' is a question that brings mystery, controversy, and anticipation, but few answers. The Square Enix employee has proven to be an enigmatic lone wolf throughout his eight years as a synthesizer operator turned composer. Unlike his colleagues, he hasn't formed associations with any long-term collaborators, been involved in any of the company's bands, or appeared on many albums; he doesn't even have a clear picture to identity him by. After joining Square as a synthesizer operator in 1998, Takeharu Ishimoto proved to be a relatively unprolific addition to the team. His first known work was the synthesizer operation of Yoko Shimomura's Legend of Mana score with his contemporaries Hidenori Iwasaki, Ryo Yamazaki, and Hirosato Noda; the number and nature of his contributions is not known, but he is believed to have implemented rock themes such as "The Darkness Nova". His subsequent role was implementing near-enough the entirety of Hitoshi Sakimoto's intricate and critically acclaimed Vagrant Story Original Soundtrack. He was also responsible for "Opening Movie 'Fight Mix'," one of two bonus electronic remixes on the soundtrack. Following this, he implemented the three instalments to Square Enix's Japan-only All Star Pro-Wrestling series, principally composed by Tsuyoshi Sekito and Kenichiro Fukui. The rock basis of these scores allowed Ishimoto to work with his preferred style, though live performances were sometimes utilised instead of synth.

Since 2002, Takeharu Ishimoto has contributed to Square Enix as an occasional composer. His first score was World Fantastista, the accompaniment to a little-known Japan-only soccer game, which he co-composed with sound editor Masayoshi Soken. He was also responsible for the composition, arrangement, and lyrics of Final Fantasy X Vocal Collection's "Spiral," which featured a reading from the Japanese voice of Auron alongside rock rhythms, guitar mastery, flashy piano runs, and fragments of Masashi Hamauzu's "Decisive Battle,". In 2004, he composed the suitably moody and surprisingly technically accompished score to Japan-only Mobile Phone title Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII, the first released instalment to Compilation of Final Fantasy VII that compiled the story of the Turks. Also on behalf of the project, he was responsible for all elements of the rock-based 18 minute score to Last Order Final Fantasy VII, an original video animation that described the events that occurred five years before Final Fantasy VII and was packaged with the 'Ultimate Edition' of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. His compositions tended to be dominated by distorted and grungy electric guitar work that, while not especially melodic or solo-heavy, provided an angular and compelling sound. As most scenes were brief, the score was quite fragmented, though it nonetheless featured a fleshed-out end credits theme, a notable remix of "Tifa's Theme", and excellent bass and electric guitar performances from Ishimoto. A one disc soundtrack featuring the enhanced score to Before Crisis and the soundtrack to Last Order was released at the end of 2007.

Ishimoto has worked as an operator of three instalments of Square Enix's most popular series. He had a role on Final Fantasy X, where he shared the operation of Nobuo Uematsu and Junya Nakano's works with Keiji Kawamori. Though the exact nature of his role is not known, he was responsible for implementing some of the few streamed pieces on the soundtrack. Ishimoto became the subject of controversy and criticism with his final works as a synthesizer operator on behalf of the Kingdom Hearts series composed by Yoko Shimomura. Ishimoto's 2004's Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance represented a significant drop of sound quality from its predecessor, partly as a result of the console's limited sound capabilities, contributing to the score receiving no official release. 2005's Kingdom Hearts II's synth was also a regression and comparisons of his implementation of themes such as "Destati," "One Winged Angel," "He's a Pirate," and "Scherzo Di Notte" with their originals are unflattering. However, due to the need for seamless transitions between field and battle music, exuberance was severely restricted by PlayStation 2 memory limitations. The game and soundtrack nonetheless remained among 2006's best-sellers. Shortly after its release, Ishimoto was officially upgraded to the title of composer, given he had impressed Tetsuya Nomura and his development team on previous projects, while other employees filled the void left in the manipulation department.

Ishimoto's upgrade has resulted in three 2007 projects featuring his work. On behalf of the Mobile Phone's Monotone, he created a variety of cutesy pieces that parodied old-school soundtracks in order to accompany a boy's quest to bring colour back to the world by destroying monsters. In a project intended to appeal to teenage audiences, Ishimoto integrated energetic techno, pop, hip-hop, and rock music for youthful DS RPG The World Ends With You (aka Subarashiki Kono Sekai). Able to be technically exuberant thanks to the low memory consumption of the game's 2D graphics, he streamed samples from twelve vocalists in Japanese and English across nearly 20 pieces and, with assistance by operator Hirosato Noda, convincingly integrated driving beats and dense instrumentals. His soundtrack for the PSP prequel Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII provided him with mainstream exposure at last and significantly enhanced the game by incorporating rock-based action themes, dark riff-based ambience, and emotional arrangements for piano, strings, and orchestra. Many of the pieces were arrangements of Nobuo Uematsu's work from the original Final Fantasy VII, though an original main theme was regularly integrated. In a high-profile 2008 title, Ishimoto will combine Final Fantasy arrangements and original compositions for the brawler Dissidia Final Fantasy. He will also score one of the first titles in the Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation, the Mobile Phone's Final Fantasy Agito XIII, and may make appearances on the upcoming Kingdom Hearts spinoffs. Ishimoto has made major achievements as a Square Enix composer in a short time, though the jury is still out regarding his mainstream reception.