After dropping out of a
nuclear engineering program at
Tokai University, Kawai began studying music at Shobi Music Academy. However, he dropped out after half a year. With a few friends, he created the band Muse, playing
fusion rock and participating in music competitions. Through competing in such contests, the band members became technically competent to enter the
music industry and decided to part ways. After leaving Muse, Kawai began
composing music for
commercials in his home studio. While recording music for radio actor and voice actor
Yūji Mitsuya, he met music director Naoko Asari, who advised him to compose anime soundtracks. Some of his work for anime soundtracks can be found in
Ranma ½ and
Ghost in the Shell. According to Kawai, he is not good at creating music from nothing, as he draws sounds from the visuals of the works. In the majority of cases, the images of the anime are not yet created, so he creates music when referencing storyboard visuals. Following his success as an
anime movies music composer, he became involved in live action movies. He contributed music to
horror films:
Ring,
Ring 2,
Dark Water, Japanese-Polish science-fiction film
Avalon, the Hong Kong film
Seven Swords and in the 2006 live action film
Death Note. Kawai has worked on several projects with director
Mamoru Oshii (both
Headgear members) and has written scores for all of
Hideo Nakata's films. Kawai's music has received the
Annie Award and
Hong Kong Film Award. In 2005,
Ghost in The Shell 2: Innocence he was nominated for an
Annie Award. For the music found in
Seven Swords and
A Battle of Wits he was nominated for Best Original Film Score Awards at both the
25th and
26th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2006 and 2007. In 2019 he composed the music for the storytelling ice show Hyoen – Like the moonlight, which was based on the novel
The Tale of Genji, starring Japanese figure skater, Olympic bronze medallist and former world champion
Daisuke Takahashi in the title role. == Works ==