Shigeru Ikeda, Composer for the Da Capo Series, Passes Away at 57

Composer Shigeru Ikeda passed away on Saturday, February 21, at the age of 57. The musician, known for his work on the Da Capo visual novel series, had been in a coma since April 2023 due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Ikeda debuted in 1997 as the vocalist, guitarist, composer, and lyricist of the band Friends, which released five singles and one album before disbanding in 1999. In 2003, he began his solo career and adopted the pseudonym lotta for various projects.

Under that name, he composed and arranged songs for visual novels such as D.C.III ~Da Capo III~, D.S. -Dal Segno-, D.C.4 ~Da Capo 4~ and D.C.5 ~Da Capo 5~. He also participated in DEARDROPS and in the ending song of Otome * Domain.

His work reached anime with compositions for soundtracks and vocal albums of franchises such as PreCure Max Heart, Strawberry Panic!, Yes! Precure 5, Kuroko's Basketball and My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU.

Ikeda collaborated with his wife, singer yozuca*, on many of the songs in the Da Capo series. She revealed their marriage in a live stream in July 2023. The composer is survived by his wife and a son. A public wake will be held on Wednesday, and the funeral will take place on Thursday.

Originally published on Anitsu by Mateo Henríquez. Text reviewed and fact-checked for DonOtaku on November 5, 2026; the original date is preserved.