YOSHIHISA HIRANO

Well, I'm new here and having seen a lack of Japanese composers discussions, I thought that I would start this.

I think that Japan is a bit overlooked when it comes to soundtracks, partly because they're relatively uninterested in worldwide sales about this kind of music. And of course, also because composers there work mostly for anime, which means that given the poor quality of the majority of them, their soundtracks needn't be masterpieces either. But even with these premises, there are of course attractive exceptions.
If anyone wants to read about other eminent composers from Japan, here's what I've found in the forum:
Joe Hisaishi (his works are arguably the most well-known among westerners);
Michiru Oshima (unjustly neglected, but indeed a very fine composer);
Yoko Kanno (not too impressive for me, since a lot of her work is actually made by others).

I believe that Hirano's work is really unparalleled in the medium of Japanese animation. What I appreciate the most about his music is his ability to merge together a great deal of musical styles and still be cohesive and loyal to himself. Unlike most of his 'colleagues', he doesn't generally focus on a poignant melody (even though he surely can write fascinating themes) and instead likes to experiment with the orchestra.
Almost every soundtrack of his offers a blend of baroque, classicist, romantic, and modernist influences, all of course expressed through his own personality. He does wondrous things, really.

For those who don't know his scores, I'm going to post some of his music:
Real Drive's Theme;
Himitsu: The Revelation's The Number Nines;
Meine Liebe's Introitus;
Death Note's Misa no Uta (Orchestra Version);
Strawberry Panic's Karei Naru Gakuen;
Ouran High School Host Club's Ouran Concerto for oboe, 2 horns, violin and strings;

Also, it doesn't happen too often to hear adventurous piano writing such as this in anime.
And I'm sure there are rare occasions to hear plucked glissandos on a string instrument in anime soundtracks, but coming from Hirano, it isn't a surprise.
I definitely know it's nothing special, but what I'm trying to point out is Hirano's creativity even in those cues when usually a composer just makes some random sounds or uses only tremolo to suggest tension.
Instead I find his atonal music to be fairly interesting.
And being quite an accomplished orchestrator, he is sometimes hired to orchestrate the work of others, as in the case of Masashi Hamauzu's Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy XIII or Shusaku Uchiyama and Takeshi Miura's Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, improving them with his trademarks.

Finally, here's a list of my favorite scores:
Break Blade, Real Drive (also known as RD Sennou Chousashitsu), Gin'yuu Mokushiroku Meine Liebe, Super Robot Taisen: OG Divine Wars, Himitsu: The Revelation, Ouran High School Host Club, Koutetsushin Jeeg and Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger.

So, what does the community think of him?