Yutaka Yamada
Native nameやまだ 豊
Birth dateMarch 14, 1989 (age 37)
OriginTokyo, Japan
Instrument
  • Piano
  • keyboard
  • guitar
  • drums
Genre
Occupation
Years active2011–present
Websiteyutakayamada.com

Yutaka Yamada (やまだ 豊, Yamada Yutaka, born March 14, 1989) is a Japanese composer, arranger, and orchestrator based in Los Angeles. He is best known for composing musical scores for Tokyo Ghoul and Vinland Saga.

Biography

Yutaka Yamada is an alumnus of the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Japan, where he studied musical composition under Toshiyuki Watanabe and Masataka Matsuo.[1] Yamada has written scores for more than 40 projects, including the anime series Tokyo Ghoul,[2] the Japanese television series Marumo no Okite (Marumo's Rule) and a number of TV commercials such as "Audi", "Samsung Galaxy" and "Georgia (Coca-Cola)".

Yamada's work on Tokyo Ghoul attracted public attention shortly after its release in 2014.[3] Its original soundtrack, which includes the main theme song "Glassy Sky" (sung by Donna Burke), gained popularity and has garnered over 50 million views on YouTube.[4] In 2018, Eminem sampled "Glassy Sky" on the track "Good Guy" from his Kamikaze album.[5]

Yamada has continued to produce popular music in collaboration with vocalists, including the tracks "Never Let Me Go" (sung by Julia Shortreed) and "Take My Hand" (sung by NIKIIE), both of which were reached No. 1 on the iTunes chart in Japan.[6] In 2017, Yutaka relocated to Los Angeles and began working with Soundtrack Music Associates for representation.[4]

Works

Anime

YearTitleRole(s)
2013Soul ReviverMain theme composer
Sword GaiMain theme composer
2014Tokyo GhoulComposer[7]
2015Tokyo Ghoul √AComposer
Tokyo Ghoul [Jack]Composer[8]
Tokyo Ghoul: PINTOComposer
2016OnigiriMain theme composer
2017Infini-T ForceComposer
2018Tokyo Ghoul:reComposer
2019Vinland SagaComposer[9]
BabylonComposer[10]
2020Great PretenderComposer[11]
2021Night Head 2041Composer[12]
2023Vinland Saga Season 2Composer[13]
2024Viral HitComposer[14]
2025Yaiba: Samurai LegendComposer
(Other tracks by Yoshiaki Dewa)[15]
2026Black TorchComposer[16]

Television dramas

YearTitleRole(s)
2011Marumo's Rule (Fuji TV)Composer
(Other tracks by Hiroyuki Sawano)
Marumo's Rule Special (Fuji TV)Composer
HUNTER – Women After Reward Money (Kansai Telecasting)Composer
2014Marumo's Rule Special 2014 (Fuji TV)Composer
The Hours of My Life (Fuji TV)Composer
(Other tracks by Yoshiaki Dewa)[17]
Chotto ha Darazu ni (NHK, BS Premium)Composer
Water Polo Yankees (Fuji TV)Composer
(Other tracks by Yu Takami)
Borderline (NHK)Composer
2015The Emperor's Cook (TBS)Composer
(Other tracks by Takefumi Haketa)
Fujiko (Hulu, JCOM)Composer
2016Never Let Me Go (TBS)Composer
Death Note: New Generation (Hulu)Composer
2017Everyone's Getting Married (Fuji TV)Composer
(Other tracks by Toshiyuki Yasuda and Yuji Nishiguchi)[18]
Criminal Syndrome (Tokai Television, WOWOW)Composer
2018The True Suspect (WOWOW)Composer
2020Alice in BorderlandComposer
2021Promise Cinderella (TBS)Composer[19]
2022Alice in Borderland Season 2Composer[20]
2025Alice in Borderland Season 3Composer[21]

Movies

YearTitleRole(s)
2013Madam Marmalade's Mysterious Puzzle: Question Version (TV Tokyo)Composer
(Other tracks by Tadayuki Ito)
Madam Marmalade's Mysterious Puzzle: Answer Version (TV Tokyo)Composer
2016A.I. Love You (Fuji Television)Composer
Death Note: Light Up the New World (Warner Bros.)Composer[22]
2017One Week Friends (Shochiku)Composer
Let's Go, Jets! (Toho)Composer
Laughing Under the Clouds Side story – Departure, the Vow of Yamainu (Shochiku)Composer
2018Infini-T Force (Shochiku)Composer
Inuyashiki (Toho)Composer
Laughing Under the Clouds Side story –The Double-Headed Fuma (Shochiku)Composer
Bleach (Warner Bros.)Composer
Cry Me a Sad River (Beijing Enlight Media)Composer
2019Kingdom (Toho, Sony)Composer
2020Mask Ward (Warner Bros.)Composer[23]
2021Tokyo Revengers (Warner Bros.)Composer[24]
Cube (Shochiku)Composer[25]
2022Kingdom 2: Far and Away (Toho, Sony)Composer[26]
2023Kingdom 3: The Flame of Destiny (Toho, Sony)Composer[27]
2024Golden Kamuy (Toho)Composer[28]
Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General (Toho, Sony)Composer[29]
2026Golden Kamuy: The Abashiri Prison Raid (Toho)Composer[30]
Kingdom 5 (Toho, Sony)Composer[31]

Awards and recognition

  • 2009 Grand prize at VIENNA INSTRUMENTS Strings Arrangement Contest.[32]
  • 2016 Brilliant Citizen Award ("Azalea Kagayaki") by the city of Kawasaki, Japan.[33]

References

  1. ^ 洗足学園音楽大学I 音楽・音響デザインコース　卒業生情報　山田豊（2011年卒業） Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. Retrieved September 5, 2018
  2. ^ TVアニメ『東京喰種トーキョーグール』Staff&Cast TV anime Tokyo Ghoul Official Website. Retrieved September 5, 2018
  3. ^ Música: Tokyo Ghoul Symphonie de Yutaka Yamada El Antro de los Vampiros y Otros Monstruos. Retrieved September 5, 2018
  4. ^ Profile of Yutaka Yamada yutakayamada.com. Retrieved September 5, 2018
  5. ^ Eminem’s “Good Guy” Samples Japanese Anime Composer Yutaka Yamada Genius.com. Retrieved September 5, 2018
  6. ^ オリコンニュースIドラマ『わたしを離さないで』話題の劇中歌を配信. Oricon News. Retrieved September 5, 2018
  7. ^ "TVアニメ『東京喰種トーキョーグール』公式サイト" (in Japanese). marv.jp. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "Tokyo Ghoul: Jack OVA's New Director, Date Unveiled". Anime News Network. June 14, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  9. ^ "TVアニメ「ヴィンランド・サガ」公式サイト" (in Japanese). vinlandsaga.jp. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  10. ^ "TVアニメ「バビロン」公式サイト". babylon-anime.com. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  11. ^ "WIT Studio Announces Great Pretender Anime for 2020 (Update 2)". Anime News Network. July 4, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  12. ^ "Live-Action Psychic Suspense Series Night Head Inspires New TV Anime Next July". Anime News Network. November 5, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  13. ^ "Vinland Saga Anime's 2nd Season Reveals Promo Video, Cast, January 2023 Premiere, Production by MAPPA". Anime News Network. June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  14. ^ "Taejun Pak, Kim Junghyun's Viral Hit Webtoon Gets TV Anime in April With Crunchyroll Streaming". Anime News Network. February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  15. ^ "New Yaiba Anime's 2nd Teaser Unveils More Cast, April 2025 Premiere". Anime News Network. November 23, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Black Torch Anime's 1st Main Promo Video Reveals July Premiere". Anime News Network. December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  17. ^ "Boku no Ita Jikan Original Soundtrack | PCCR-00589 – VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  18. ^ "Totsuzen desu ga, Ashita Kekkon Shimasu ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK | PCCR-00648 – VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  19. ^ "PROMISE CINDERELLA Original Soundtrack | UZCL-2217 – VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  20. ^ "'Alice in Borderland' Season 2 | First Look Debut". Netflix. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "The Final Card: 'Alice in Borderland' Season 3 Main Trailer Previews Deadly Games That Await". About Netflix. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  22. ^ "DEATH NOTE Light up the NEW world Original Soundtrack | AVCD-93507 – VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  23. ^ "MASKED WARD ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK | N-0606 – VGMdb". VGMdb. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  24. ^ "東京リベンジャーズ" (in Japanese). eiga.com. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  25. ^ "CUBE 一度入ったら、最後". eiga.com. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  26. ^ "キングダム2 遥かなる大地へ". eiga.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  27. ^ "キングダム 運命の炎". eiga.com. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  28. ^ "ゴールデンカムイ". eiga.com. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  29. ^ "キングダム 大将軍の帰還". eiga.com. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  30. ^ "ゴールデンカムイ 網走監獄襲撃編" (in Japanese). eiga.com. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  31. ^ "キングダム 続編" (in Japanese). eiga.com. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  32. ^ 『VIENNA INSTRUMENTS　ストリングス・アレンジ・コンテスト』最優秀賞受賞　スペシャルインタビュー　山田豊 I クリプトン・フューチャー・メディア株式会社 Crypton Future Media Inc. Retrieved September 5, 2018
  33. ^ [http://www.city.kawasaki.jp/250/page/0000001191.html　『2016年度川崎市文化賞・社会功労賞・スポーツ賞・アゼリア輝賞 I 川崎市] Kawasaki City. Retrieved September 4, 2018