Junichi Masuda | |
|---|---|
 Masuda in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | January 12, 1968 Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Occupations | |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1989–present |
Junichi Masuda (増田 順一, Masuda Jun'ichi, born January 12, 1968) is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer, producer, programmer, and a singer, best known for his work in the Pokémon franchise. He is a member of the Game Freak board of directors, and has been employed at the company since 1989.[1]
With the development of new Pokémon games, Masuda took on new roles in future projects. He began to produce and direct games, starting with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and became responsible for approving new character models. His style seeks to keep games accessible while still adding increasing levels of complexity. His work sticks to older mainstays of the series, including a focus on handheld game consoles and 2D graphics. His music draws inspiration from the work of modern celebrated composers like Dmitri Shostakovich, though he used the Super Mario series as a model of good video game composition.
Life[]
Masuda was born on January 12, 1968 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.[2] As a child, his family often vacationed in Kyūshū, where many of his relatives still live. There he spent his time catching fish and insects, an act that later influenced his video game design. Masuda modeled the Pokémon series' Hoenn Region after Kyūshū in an attempt to recapture his memories of summers there.[3] In high school, Masuda played the trombone; he soon discovered classical music, and was drawn in by works like Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.[4]
Masuda attended the Japan Electronics College, a technical school in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he studied computer graphics and the C programming language using a DEC Professional.[5][6] His daughter Kiri was born in September 2002; he named a character in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire after her.[7]
Career[]
Masuda has worked at Game Freak since the company's inception in 1989,[8][9] and has been involved in nearly every title that Game Freak has produced.[9] Masuda was one of the original developers of the Pokémon series, beginning with Pokémon Red and Green.[10] He was first hired to compose video game music, where his first game at Game Freak was Mendel Palace, a 1989 puzzle game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.[11] After Mendel Palace, he worked on Yoshi, the company's first collaboration with Nintendo.[11]
When the company first began releasing Pokémon titles, Masuda worked mainly as the composer, though he did minor programming work as well, and later began directing and producing them.[11] His work on the first games included writing the program to play audio in the games, music, and sound effects.[12] Masuda has been directly involved in the naming and design of many Pokémon. He has stated that one of the hardest aspects of design is making sure that a Pokémon's name and attributes will appeal to a global audience.[10] Since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Masuda has been one of the main employees who approve or reject designs for new Pokémon.[13] He now serves as a member of the Game Freak board of directors.[14]
On September 28, 2018, Masuda revealed that during the early years of developing Pokémon games that "game data was nearly lost in a computer crash". Masuda described it as "the most nerve-racking moment in development", saying "“We were developing the game on these Unix computer stations called the Sun SPARCstation 1. We’re developing, and they’re these Unix boxes, and they crashed quite a bit".[15]
On November 1, 2018, Masuda stated that Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! would likely be his final time serving as director for the main series Pokémon games. In the announcement interview, he has been decided to pass the development torch to Shigeru Ōmori, who becomes a new director for the main series Pokémon games.[16]
On November 24, 2019, He has been decided to become a singer, and a producer of theme songs of the Pokémon anime new series after he pass the development torch to the new director for the main series Pokémon games, Shigeru Ōmori. And on the same day, he released the first part of the first Japanese ending theme of the Pokémon anime new series, which is titled Pokémon Shiritori Pikachu → Mew Ver. (ポケモンしりとり ピカチュウ→ミュウVer., Pokémon Shiritori Pikachu → Myū Ver.), performed by Pokémon Music Club (Junichi Masuda, Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019) for 34 episodes, on April 5, 2020, he released the second part of the first Japanese ending theme of the Pokémon anime new series, which is titled Pokémon Shiritori Mew → Zamazenta Ver. (ポケモンしりとり ミュウ→ザマゼンタVer., Pokémon Shiritori Myū → Zamazenta Ver.), performed by Pokémon Music Club (Junichi Masuda, Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019) for 35 episodes, finally on April 26, 2020, he released the full version of the first Japanese ending theme of the Pokémon anime new series, which is titled Pokémon Shiritori Full Size Ver. (ポケモンしりとり フルサイズVer., Pokémon Shiritori Furu Saizu Ver.), performed by Pokémon Music Club (Junichi Masuda, Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019). And on the same day, episodes 1 through 6 of the Pokémon anime new series reruns on TV Tokyo Channel 7 from April 26 to May 31, 2020, and reschedule episodes 23 through 29 of the Pokémon new series on TV Tokyo Channel 7 starting on June 7 and ends on July 19, 2020, TV Tokyo Channel 7 re-airs the 22 movies of the Pokémon anime from July 10 to December 18, 2020, and reschedule the twenty-third movie of the Pokémon anime starting on December 25, 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan. On June 18, 2021, he released the first part of the second Japanese ending theme of the Pokémon anime new series, which is titled Supereffective Type Fire → Grass → Water → Rock → Fire Ver. (バツグンタイプ ほのお→くさ→みず→いわ→ほのおVer., Batsugun Taipu Honō → Kusa → Mizu → Iwa → Honō Ver.) performed by Pokémon Music Club (Junichi Masuda, Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019) starting episode 71, on June 25, 2021, he released the second part of the second Japanese ending theme of the Pokémon anime new series, which is titled Supereffective Type Water → Ground → Electric → Flying → Bug Ver. (バツグンタイプ みず→じめん→でんき→ひこう→むしVer., Batsugun Taipu Mizu → Jimen → Denki → Hikou → Mushi Ver.), performed by Pokémon Music Club (Junichi Masuda, Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019), finally on July 14, 2021, he released the full version of the second Japanese ending theme of the Pokémon anime new series, which is titled Supereffective Type Full Size Ver. (バツグンタイプ フルサイズVer., Batsugun Taipu Furu Saizu Ver.), performed by Pokémon Music Club (Junichi Masuda, Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019).
On June 1, 2022, Masuda announced that after almost 30 years as part of GameFreak, he left the company and became part of The Pokémon Company as Chief Creative Fellow.[17]
Influences and style[]
Masuda approaches each of his games with the mindset that a beginner should be able to easily play it.[18] To this end, he layers more complicated concepts, introducing them to the player in a simple manner, and building from there.[11] He believes that handheld systems provide an opportunity for social interaction that cannot be found on non-handheld console systems.[18] He has stated that continuing use of 2D computer graphics has been integral to Pokémon's success.[19]
Masuda's musical style draws from a number of sources, particularly classical music and the works of Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.[13] His favorite musical genre is techno, and he has looked to the music of the Super Mario series as an example of video game music that works well.[13] Most of his ideas are inspired from simply observing real life and visualizing how he would design or draw outside objects.[12] As a rule, he does not use previous characters as inspirations for new ones, instead creating each new one from independent sources.[12]
Works[]
- Mendel Palace (1989) – Composer
- Yoshi (1991) – Composer
- Magical Taruruuto-Kun (Mega Drive) (1992) – Composer
- Mario & Wario (1993) – Composer
- Pulseman (1994) – Composer
- Pokémon Red and Blue (1996) – Composer, programmer
- Bushi Seiryuden (1997) – Composer
- Pokémon Yellow (1998) – Composer
- Pokémon Stadium (1999) – Advisor
- Pokémon Gold and Silver (1999) – Assistant director, composer, designer
- Pokémon Crystal (2000) – Composer
- Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002) – Director, composer, designer
- Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (2004) – Director, composer, designer
- Drill Dozer (2005) – Producer
- Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (2006) – Director, composer
- Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver (2009) – Producer, composer
- Pokémon Black and White (2010) – Director, producer, composer
- Pokémon Black and White 2 (2012) – Producer
- HarmoKnight (2012) – General producer
- Pokémon X and Y (2013) – Director, producer, composer
- Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (2014) – Producer
- Tembo the Badass Elephant (2015) – General producer
- Pokémon Go (2016) – Composer
- Pokémon Sun and Moon (2016) – Producer, composer
- Giga Wrecker (2017) – General producer
- Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (2017) – Producer, composer
- Pokémon Quest (2018) – General producer
- Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! (2018) – Director,[20] General producer
- Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019) – Producer
Discography[]
Other songs[]
- Pokémon Shiritori Pikachu → Myū Ver. (first part of the first ending song of "Pocket Monsters (2019)" anime, sung with Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019 - (2019)
- Pokémon Shiritori Myū → Zamazenta Ver. (second part of the first ending song of "Pocket Monsters (2019)" anime, sung with Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019 - (2020)
- Pokémon Shiritori Furu Saizu Ver. (full version of the first ending song of "Pocket Monsters (2019)" anime, sung with Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019 - (2020)
- Batsugun Taipu Honō → Kusa → Mizu → Iwa → Honō Ver. (first part of the second ending song of "Pocket Monsters (2019)" anime, sung with Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019 - (2021)
- Batsugun Taipu Mizu → Jimen → Denki → Hikou → Mushi Ver. (second part of the second ending song of "Pocket Monsters (2019)" anime, sung with Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019 - (2021)
- Batsugun Taipu Furu Saizu Ver. (full version of the second ending song of "Pocket Monsters (2019)" anime, sung with Pasacom Music Club, and Pokémon Kids 2019 - (2021)
References[]
- ↑ "Interview with Shinji Miyazaki and the Game Freak sound team - #pocketmonsters, your source for news about Pokémon and Pocket Monsters". Pocketmonsters.net. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Masuda, Junichi (2010). "Profile". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Masuda, Junichi (9 September 2004). "No. 15". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Masuda, Junichi (4 October 2007). "No. 109". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Masuda, Junichi (12 June 2007). "No. 86". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Masuda, Junichi (2 September 2004). "No. 13". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Masuda, Junichi (28 October 2004). "No. 24". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Padilla, Raymond (17 March 2009). "Junichi Masuda & Takeshi Kawachimaru Talk 'Pokemon Platinum', Particle Physics, Bridges, And More!". G4 (G4 Media). http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/694081/junichi-masuda--takeshi-kawachimaru-talk-pokemon-platinum-particle-physics-bridges-and-more.html. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Junichi Masuda Biography". IGN. News Corporation. 2010. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: ; deadurl - ↑ 10.0 10.1 Noble, McKinley. "Pokemon Platinum: Developer Interview!". GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on 2010-07-22. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Nutt, Christian (3 April 2009). "The Art of Balance: Pokémon's Masuda on Complexity and Simplicity". Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Harris, Craig (23 February 2009). "Pokemon Creators on Platinum". IGN. News Corporation. p. 2. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Grimm, Michael. "How Pokemon are born". GamesRadar. Future plc. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Haywald, Justin (2009). "Why Gamers Still Play Pokémon". 1UP.com. Hearst Corporation. p. 1. Archived from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: ; deadurl - ↑ "Pokemon Game Veteran Junichi Masuda Recalls 'Most Nerve-Racking Moment'" (in en). NDTV Gadgets360.com. https://gadgets.ndtv.com/games/news/pokemon-junichi-masuda-computer-crash-lost-all-data-nerve-racking-development-1923694.
- ↑ Nick Santangelo (November 2, 2018). "Pokemon Let's Go is 'Probably' the Last Pokemon Game Junichi Masuda Will Direct". IGN. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Junichi Masuda leaves Game Freak, appointed the Pokemon Company chief creative fellow". June 2022.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ 18.0 18.1 Hoggins, Tom (12 May 2009). "Pokémania continues with Pokémon Platinum". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group (London). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/5313944/Pokemonia-continues-with-Pokemon-Platinum.html. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ↑ Nutt, Christian (3 April 2009). "Pokemon's Masuda: 2D Brings 'Flavor' To Series' Visuals". Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/05/30/pokemon-lets-go-pikachu-and-lets-go-eevee-confirmed-for-nintendo-switch-releases-november-16
