

Takayoshi Tanimoto’s motto in life is ‘never give up’. And it is this attitude which saw Tanimoto overcome challenges he faced as a kid to become one of the most sought-after singers for anime series.
This talented Japanese artist is best known for his songs for anime series such as Zatch Bell, Dragon Ball Kai and multiple Digimon series — Digimon Tamers, Digimon Xros Wars and Digimon Adventure.
Speaking exclusively to Arab News Japan during the PopCon ME event in Dubai, Tanimoto threw light on his journey from the difficult times he faced as a kid and how music gave him the strength to overcome all odds.
“When I was a kid, I didn’t have a strong will to try things and there were challenges in my family, so I was having a hard time in my life,” he said.
“Music was my only gateway and gave me strength to keep going in life and I always wanted to give something through music, and now through singing anime music I can bring some strength to people to make them happy.”
Tanimoto began his career as an anime singer in 2002. “I was about 26 years old singing for anime series for the first time and it was for Digimon Tamers. I was a producer for Indie music in early 2000 and one of my friends who is a sound engineer recommended me to be a vocalist for Digimon Tamers series and that was the beginning of my career,” he added.
Tanimoto is known for “Dragon Soul” theme song for Dragon Ball Kai (2009). “I participated in an audition for the theme song for Dragon Ball Kai along with other participants, and the producer chose my song among many entries for the series.”
“I’m very pleased for the success of the song globally, since then I’ve been performing it for my fans on my tours,” he added.
Tanimoto is currently working on several projects including songs for upcoming animation projects as well. He is also doing music tours around the world and made a plea for everyone to follow his social media pages for his upcoming activities.
About his recommendation for those who want to sing for animation projects, Tanimoto said: “It was my choice to become an anime singer and singing based on my background’s story, everyone has a different story and the most important thing is to never give up,” he added.
About his recommendation for those who want to sing for animation projects, Tanimoto said: “It was my choice to become an anime singer and singing based on my background’s story, everyone has a different story and the most important thing is to never give up,” he added.
Tanimoto was one of the Japanese guests invited to PopCon ME event and he was very pleased to meet the fans of the Middle East region at the event.
“I was planning to visit Dubai multiple times during my previous trips to Europe and South America. I saw many programs and read many articles about the lifestyle, food and facilities of Dubai in the past and I wanted to have an opportunity to visit and experience the city one day.
“I’m really amazed about Dubai. It has surpassed my expectations to see the huge buildings as well as the energy, beauty and lifestyle of the city,” he concluded.