Manami Matsumae
Native name松前 真奈美
Birth nameManami Gotoh
Other namesChanchacorin
Birth dateDecember 25, 1964 (age 61)
Birth placeTokyo, Japan
OccupationComposer, arranger
Years active1987–present
SpouseKimitaka Matsumae
Manami Matsumae
InstrumentPiano
GenreVideo game music
LabelBrave Wave Productions[1]

Manami Matsumae (松前 真奈美, Matsumae Manami) is a Japanese video game music composer. She previously worked for Capcom in the 1980s, writing music for games such as Dynasty Wars, Mercs, Magic Sword, and the original Mega Man.

Career

She previously worked for Capcom, where she worked on titles such as SonSon II, Dynasty Wars, U.N. Squadron, Mercs, Magic Sword, and Carrier Air Wing. She is best known, however, for composing the music for the original Mega Man, including its iconic "Game Start" jingle. Matsumae was known during her days at Capcom by her maiden name, Manami Gotoh (後藤 真奈美, Gotoh Manami), but was usually credited by her alias, Chanchacorin.[2]

Following her departure from Capcom in 1990, she became a freelance composer. The soundtracks she worked on afterwards include the Derby Stallion series, Game Boy titles developed by Sunsoft, and other games such as The Adventures of Lolo, Another Bible, Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions, Jade Cocoon 2, and Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors. She also married fellow musician, Kimitaka Matsumae (originally part of Sega's S.S.T. Band), with whom she worked with on Othello World and Jade Cocoon 2.[citation needed]

Matsumae returned to the Mega Man series via Inti Creates, serving as a guest arranger for some of its album releases, and joining several other former Mega Man composers in creating the Robot Master themes for Mega Man 10. In 2014, she joined the Tokyo based label Brave Wave.[3] The label aims to help connect composers with international companies, which is how she contributed music to Shovel Knight.[3][4]

In July 2015, it was announced that Matsumae would be working on her first original solo album, in addition to a tribute album featuring arrangements by her.[5][6] The album, titled Three Movements, was released in December 2017.[7]

Works

YearTitleRole(s)
1987Ide Yosuke Meijin no Jissen Mahjong[8]Music with Harumi Fujita
Mega ManMusic
1988F1 DreamMusic
1943 Kai: Midway KaisenMusic with several others
1989Final FightMusic with several others
SonSon IIMusic
Dynasty WarsMusic
U.N. SquadronMusic
1990MercsMusic
Magic Sword: Heroic FantasyMusic
Carrier Air WingMusic
1991Capcom no Quiz: Tonosama no YabouMusic
Derby Stallion: Best RaceMusic
1992Batman: Return of the JokerMusic
Sanrio Cup: Pon Pon VolleyMusic
Derby Stallion: National EditionMusic
Trip WorldMusic
Best Play Pro Yakyuu SpecialMusic
Looney TunesMusic
Honō no Dōkyūji: Dodge DanpeiMusic with Hiroshi Tsukamoto
Othello WorldMusic with Kimitaka Matsumae
Esper Dream 2Music with Shigemasa Matsuo
1993Honō no Dōkyūji: Dodge Danpei 2Music with Hiroshi Tsukamoto
Vegas StakesMusic with Kimitaka Matsumae
1994Adventures of LoloMusic
Derby Stallion IIMusic
Tenchi o KurauMusic
Daffy Duck: The Marvin MissionsMusic
1995Another BibleMusic
Derby Stallion IIIMusic
1996Derby Stallion '96Music
G.O.D: Mezameyo to Yobu Koe ga KikoeMusic with Kimitaka Matsumae and Yuuichi Matsuzaki
Derby StallionMusic
1998Pilot KidsMusic
Derby Stallion '98Music
1999Derby Stallion '99Music
Fun! Fun! PinguMusic
2001Jade Cocoon 2Music with Kimitaka Matsumae
2002Best Play Pro YakyuuMusic
Derby Stallion AdvanceMusic
2006Derby Stallion PMusic
2007Dragon Quest SwordsMusic
2010Mighty Fight Federation"The Battle is Over"
Mega Man 10"Nitro Rider (Nitro Man Stage)"
2014Shovel KnightMusic with Jake Kaufman
Rainblocks[9]Music
2015Target Acquired[10]Music
2016Flat Kingdom[11]Music
Mighty No. 9[12]Music with several others
2017Starr Mazer[13]Music with several others
2018Ultra Space Battle BrawlOpening theme
2020Derby Stallion[14]Music
2021Dark Water: Slime Invader[15]Music
Battle Axe[16]Music with Alex Aniel
20239 Years of ShadowsMusic with Michiru Yamane and Norihiko Hibino[17]

References

  1. ^ "Artists". Brave Wave. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  2. ^ Greening, Chris (13 April 2013). "Manami Matsumae Profile". Game Music Online. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  3. ^ Martin, Ian (2014-06-20). "New music label helps classic video-game composers go solo". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  4. ^ Holmes, Jonathan (2014-08-11). "Target Acquired is the new game from famed Mega Man composer". Destructoid. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
  5. ^ "Brave Wave announces solo album and tribute album by Manami Matsumae". Brave Wave Productions. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  6. ^ McMillan, Emily (30 March 2016). "Manami Matsumae Interview: A Retro Revival". Video Game Music Online. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  7. ^ "The composer behind the original Mega Man just released an incredible solo album". The Verge. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. ^ Taher, Mohammed & Matsumae, Manami. "A Conversation Manami Matsumae". Koopa.tv. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Rainblocks is out, featuring Manami Matsumae". Bravewave Productions. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  10. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (12 December 2014). "'Target Acquired' – A Conversation Legendary Composer Manami Matsumae". Touch Arcade. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  11. ^ Paquet, Ryan. "FLAT KINGDOM ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK: AVAILABLE NOW". Original Sound Version. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Development Update: Sound Creator Profiles!". mightyno9.com.
  13. ^ "Manami Matsumae joins the Starr Mazer team!". Brave Wave. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  14. ^ "Derby Stallion for Switch Official Website" (in Japanese). gameaddict.co.jp. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Dark Water: Slime Invader for Nintendo Switch". nintendo.com. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  16. ^ "Battle Axe". numskullgames.com. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  17. ^ "9 Years of Shadows - Dev Update #1 - Elemental Combat - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 2021-08-24. Retrieved 2022-03-19.