Ricardo Schiesari Barreto Cruz (born January 12, 1982) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and journalist known for his performances of anime theme songs in Brazil as well being a semi-regular member of the

Anison is a genre of music originating from Japanese pop music. Anime songs consist of theme, insert, and image songs for anime, manga, video game, and audio drama CD series, as well as any other song released primarily for the anime market, includin ...

band

JAM Project JAM Project ("JAM" standing for "Japan Animationsong Makers") are a Japanese Music in Japanese animation, anison band founded on July 19, 2000, by anison singer Ichirou Mizuki. The band is composed of many vocal artists well known in the anime mu ...

. He regularly tours with the band whenever they visit Latin America, and is also featured on several of the group's singles beginning with the B-side of 2005's "Meikyū no Prisoner".

Early life

In the mid-1990s to early 2000s, Cruz worked as a musician in Brazil, his native homeland. He also worked as a journal writer, typically translating from Japanese to Portuguese and English. He speaks Portuguese and Japanese fluently, and saw Hironobu Kageyama perform several times while studying and living in Japan. In 2003, he met Kageyama at

Anime Friends Anime Friends is a South American annual anime convention produced by Maru Division Corporation. It was originally held in São Paulo, Brazil during the month of July, and it expanded to Rio de Janeiro, Argentina (2009–17) and Chile (2013). H ...

, the Brazilian anime convention Cruz co-founded. At the event the following year, Cruz stepped in for

Masami Okui is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Itami, Hyōgo. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer. From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime television and movies. She ...

during rehearsals, since she had a cold. Kageyama expressed interest in Ricardo's voice, and encouraged him to audition to join the band. He submitted a demo track which won him a position in JAM Project as a secondary member.

Career

Ricardo participated in-studio with JAM Project for the first time in 2005, starting with "Neppu Cybuster Shippu!". In 2006, he performed as part of the group with the original leader Ichirou Mizuki on another single, "Stormbringer". Shortly after in 2007, he shared the stage for the first time in the group's fourth live concert, ''JAM Project JAPAN CIRCUIT 2007 Break-Out''. He wrote the lyrics for the song "Sempre Sonhando ~Yume Oibito~" on JAM Project's 6th best album in 2006, ''Get over the Border''. In 2009 he collaborated with Kouji Wada to produce a song in Japanese and Portuguese. On September 17, 2010, Ricardo joined up with JAM Project once more for their Reunion concert, where the original members sang with the current members. Ricardo returned to work with JAM Project in Japan in late 2011 and early 2012 for their ''Go! Go! GOING!!'' world tour. He wrote the track "Cross World" on Hironobu Kageyama's 2012 album ''Rock Japan''. In June 2014 started a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel called MugenLab where he talks about his trips to Japan and his career. On July 20, he debuted his EP called ''On the Rocks'' in 2014 at the annual anime convention

. Also in 2014, he and other Brazilian singers created the project called " Cavaleiros in Concert" which is a concert with songs of the anime ''

Saint Seiya , also known as ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'' or simply ''Knights of the Zodiac'' (translated from the French title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It ...

'' performed by Ricardo, Rodrigo Rossi, Larissa Tassi and

Edu Falaschi Eduardo Teixeira da Fonseca Vasconcellos, known as Eduardo "Edu" Falaschi (born May 18, 1972), is a Brazilian musician. He is best known as the former lead singer and songwriter of São Paulo-based power metal band Angra (band), Angra. With Angr ...

. They took this concert to several cities in Brazil. In 2019, he composed and sang in JAM Project's opening theme for the second season of ''

One-Punch Man is a Japanese superhero manga series created by One. It tells the story of Saitama, an independent superhero who, having trained to the point that he can defeat any opponent with a single punch, grows bored from a lack of challenge. He ...

.'' The song is titled "Seijaku no Apostle" (静寂のアポストル, lit. "The Silent Apostle") in Japanese, or "Uncrowned Greatest Hero" internationally. Cruz also appeared in the music video.

Materials

Manga translation works

BLEACH Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

: *# Volumes 1-24 *

Full Metal Panic! is a series of light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shikidouji. The series follows Sousuke Sagara, a member of the covert anti-terrorist private military organization known as Mithril, tasked with protec ...

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

: *# Volumes 1-16 * Vampire Knight: *# Volumes 1-2

Solo work

* Anime Opening set of HunterxHunter (Brazilian Portuguese version) *# Song: Bom Dia (Ohayo) * OVA's opening set of Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter - Inferno (Brazilian Portuguese version) *# Song: Megami no Senshi ~ Pegasus Forever ~ * Anime Opening Saint Seiya Omega (Brazilian Portuguese Version) *# Song : Nova Geração (Next Generation) with Edu Falaschi, Rodrigo Rossi and Larissa Tassi * Anime Opening set of Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold (Brazilian Portuguese version) *# Song : Soldier Dream v2 with Rodrigo Rossi and Larissa Tassi * Anime Ending set of Dragon Ball Super (Brazilian Portuguese version) *# Song : Chaohan Music (ED 6) *# Song : Haruka (ED 9)

Discography

Solo work

EP

* "On the rocks" (2014)

Singles

* "Invasion zone" (2020)

Danger3

Singles

* "Neo Tokyo" (2017)

Participations

Aquaria

* Album: Shambala Song: Neo (feat. Hironobu Kageyama)

Koji Wada

* Album: Kazakami no oka kara Song: SEM BARREIRAS ~Kegarenaki Jidai he~ feat. Ricardo Cruz

Hironobu Kageyama

* Album: ROCK JAPAN Song: CROSS WORLD ~Oretachi no frontier spirit~ (Composición)

Comitiva do Rock

Song: Dia de Anime!

JAM Project JAM Project ("JAM" standing for "Japan Animationsong Makers") are a Japanese Music in Japanese animation, anison band founded on July 19, 2000, by anison singer Ichirou Mizuki. The band is composed of many vocal artists well known in the anime mu ...

= Albums

= * Olympia ~JAM Project BEST COLLECTION IV~ * Big Bang ~JAM Project BEST COLLECTION V~ * Get over the Border ~JAM Project BEST COLLECTION VI~ * SEVENTH EXPLOSION ~JAM Project BEST COLLECTION VII~

= Singles

= * 2.06.2005Meikyuu no Prisoner * 7.04.2007STORMBRINGER * 7.05.2009Rescue fire * 5.08.2009Shugoshin - The guardian * 1.11.2009Bakuchin Kanryou! Rescue Fire * 1.04.2010Transformers EVO * 5.01.2012Waga na wa Garo (Voz y Composición) * 0.07.2013Mirai he no Chikai * 2.07.2014Mirai he no Daikoukai - Great Voyage * 2.02.2015Kessen - The Final Round

= DVD concerts

= * JAM Project JAPAN CIRCUIT 2007 Break Out * JAM Project JAPAN FLIGHT 2008 No Border * JAM Project Hurricane Tour 2009 ~Gate of the Future~

Anime OSTs

Tari Tari ''Tari Tari'' is a 2012 Japanese anime television series produced by P.A. Works, written and directed by Masakazu Hashimoto. The series aired in Japan between July 1 and September 23, 2012, on TV Kanagawa, and was also simulcast by Crunchyrol ...

6.09.2012** "Amigo! Amigo!" (as "Condor Queens" feat. Eduardo Costa & Rafael Ryuji)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Ricardo 1982 births Living people 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Anime musicians Singers from São Paulo JAM Project members Japanese-language singers of Brazil