JAPAN GAMING & ENTERTAINMENT 
On August 8, 2026, SEGA held its real-world event “SEGA UNIVERSE PLAYGROUND” at Shibuya PARCO in Tokyo.
The live performances included HIRO’S with Takenobu Mitsuyoshi. Centered on Hiro (affectionately known as “Master Hiro”) on keyboards and Takenobu Mitsuyoshi on vocals, the unit performed four songs drawn from Space Harrier, Rent A Hero, OutRun, and After Burner II.
The SEGA Game Music Performance That Began With Space Harrier
SEGA UNIVERSE PLAYGROUND was held as a real-world event under “SEGA UNIVERSE,” a project through which SEGA highlights new appeal in its classic IPs.
At the Shibuya PARCO venue, the event featured not only live game music performances but also a talk show with Oji Hiroi, the original creator of Sakura Wars, along with art exhibits and a T-shirt-making workshop.
Multiple artists took part in the live performances. One of the acts to take the stage was HIRO’S with Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, featuring Hiro and Takenobu Mitsuyoshi.
Hiro joined SEGA in 1984. He is a sound creator who has worked on many of SEGA’s defining arcade titles, including OutRun, After Burner, and Fantasy Zone.
Takenobu Mitsuyoshi joined SEGA in 1990. In addition to creating audio for games, he has also worked as a singer and voice actor, contributing to titles including Daytona USA and Shenmue.
During the performance that day, Hiro played keyboards while Mitsuyoshi mainly handled vocals.
The first song performed was Space Harrier’s “MAIN THEME.”
The song is an instrumental in the game, but on this day it was performed as a vocal version sung by Mitsuyoshi.
The talk segment also touched on the fact that these lyrics were not part of the original game. According to the performers, the lyrics originated from a version once sung by a SEGA employee as entertainment at an in-house event.
That said, the exact circumstances in which the lyrics were written were not clearly stated, even on stage.
A Rent A Hero Memory From Akihabara About 26 Years Ago
The second song was “Kimi wa Hito no Tame ni Rent A Hero ni Nareru ka” (君は人のためにレンタヒーローになれるか; “Can You Become Rent-a-Hero for Mankind’s Sake?”) from Rent A Hero. The song has no official English title, and in English-language sources it also appears as “Can You Become Rent-a-Hero for Mankind’s Sake?”
It was performed with Mitsuyoshi’s powerful vocals.
In the talk segment, the two looked back on past developments, including how Rent A Hero’s music was later used in the Sega Saturn title Fighters Megamix.
The conversation then moved on to memories from around the time Rent A Hero No.1 was released in 2000.
According to Hiro and Mitsuyoshi, they once performed in front of a store in Akihabara, Tokyo, around the time of that release.
As the two tried to recall an event from about 26 years earlier, they also mentioned receiving complaints from nearby stores over the noise.
With so much time having passed, both seemed to have forgotten the finer details of the event. Joking that the audience might remember it better than they did, the two looked back on the years they had spent alongside SEGA’s game music.
Old Songs, Different Reactions: Hiro Feels Satisfied, Mitsuyoshi Wants a Redo
The stage talk also turned to how the two listen to their own past songs today.
According to Hiro, when he listens back to songs he made in the past, he sometimes feels they are good songs.
Mitsuyoshi’s reaction was the opposite.
He said that when he listens to his own past songs, he ends up thinking about the parts he wishes he had done differently.
Although both have long worked on SEGA’s game music, the two appear to view their finished work differently.
Mitsuyoshi Sings OutRun’s “LAST WAVE”
The third song was “LAST WAVE” from OutRun, which debuted in 1986.
OutRun features a car-radio-style screen at the start of the game, letting players choose which background music to play.
This song-selection system also came up on stage, with Hiro and Mitsuyoshi exchanging comments with the audience about OutRun’s signature tracks.
“LAST WAVE” was performed after that.
The version performed that day was the vocal version sung by Mitsuyoshi. While Mitsuyoshi said he does sometimes sing the song, he noted that performing it with Hiro as part of a full band is rare.
After performing a song evocative of the summer sea, the two also enjoyed a lighthearted exchange about how OutRun doesn’t really have a wintry image.
A Dinner Show Where the Singer Eats, Too
Partway through the stage show, Mitsuyoshi also announced upcoming live shows.
What he announced was the Takenobu Mitsuyoshi Live Tour 2026 “Rolling Start.” Live shows are planned for November 15, 2026, at Nagoya HeartLand, and November 23 at Kyoto ROKA.
He also said that on December 12, he plans to hold a dinner show at GINZA KENTO’S in Tokyo.
He explained that the Nagoya and Kyoto dates will be performance-focused shows at live music venues, while the Tokyo date will be a dinner show combining food and music.
Mitsuyoshi said that he himself eats along with the audience at the dinner show, adding humorously that the event is meant to be enjoyed through food as well as music.
The Finale: Mitsuyoshi Switches to Bass, Closing With After Burner II
Before the final song of the set, Mitsuyoshi switched from vocals to bass.
He said it had been a while since he last played bass on stage.
In the talk segment, he also mentioned that he now holds his bass lower than he used to. He said, with a joke about getting older, that playing at the same position as before had become physically harder.
The last song performed was “AFTER BURNER” from After Burner II.
It was an instrumental performance featuring Hiro on keyboards and Mitsuyoshi on bass, bringing the day’s performance by HIRO’S with Takenobu Mitsuyoshi to a close.
From Space Harrier to Rent A Hero, OutRun, and After Burner II, this stage connected SEGA titles from different eras through music.
Beyond the performances themselves, the talk segments — in which the two revisited their memories of production work and past live shows — offered insights that only Hiro and Mitsuyoshi, who have spent many years working together on SEGA’s game music, could provide.
Setlist
- “MAIN THEME” — Space Harrier
- Kimi wa Hito no Tame ni Rent A Hero ni Nareru ka (Rent A Hero)
- “LAST WAVE” — OutRun
- “AFTER BURNER” — After Burner II