Nakagawa composed the music for Code Geass, a score that treats a story about political scheming with full operatic weight. Latin choir, driving strings and a recurring theme for the protagonist's alter ego give the series a grandiosity that the plot both earns and occasionally satirises.
He is a Japanese composer who has worked extensively in animation, including a grounded science fiction series about orbital debris collection where his approach is markedly quieter. Western orchestral and choral traditions are his primary vocabulary, and he writes distinct thematic identities for opposing factions so that an alliance can be heard shifting before it is stated.
Recurring subjects: duality, themes written to be recognisable within two bars, and choral writing used to elevate a character's self image rather than the situation. He composes for the drama as the character perceives it, which suits a protagonist convinced he is a historical figure in the making.
His score for the mechanical political series is among the most recognisable in animation of its period, and its themes remain in constant circulation among the series' audience. His quieter orbital science fiction work is equally admired within a completely different register.
For listeners who want animation scoring at full theatrical scale. Suited to anyone who watched the series and remembers the choir, and to those interested in how a score can take a character's self image seriously.
