Attending the ceremony alongside his wife and Syn CEO, Nick Wood, Akaku has been honoured as part of the Sound Mixing team for their work on Shōgun. Making the trip to Los Angeles from Tokyo for this poignant occasion, Akaku was thrilled to receive this award, “It was so surprising and an amazing experience for me and so glad to share the moment with Nick and my wife, both have supported me long time.
And the after party was also amazing,  especially we enjoyed the extraordinary big band and I again realised LA is the central of entertainment business”. As one of Syn’s longest serving team members, this was a particularly memorable celebration for Nick Wood and Akaku Takashi to share together, with Wood remarking, “Attending the Emmy awards with Akaku and his wife was a wonderful experience and sitting with the Shogun team made it even more exciting. I’m very proud of this incredible achievement and recognition for Akaku and Syn."

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For those of you who haven’t dipped into Shōgun yet, and without sharing any spoilers, Shōgun follows the stories of two men hailing from very different origins as their lives intertwine; ambitious English sailor, John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis), and shrewd Japanese Daimyo, Lord Toranaga (played by Hiroyuki Sanada). The show has been praised by fans and critics alike for its astute portrayal of 17th century Japan, attention to detail and stunning performances.

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For fans of creaking wooden ships, warring Samurai, stunning Kimono and incredible landscapes, this one’s for you. It is no surprise, therefore, that Shōgun set a world record for first non-English-language series to win ‘Outstanding Drama Series’, as well as 18-other awards across the Emmy Awards weekends. One of these eighteen awards bears Akaku Takashi’s name, alongside the Sound Mixing team behind Shōgun.

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Having worked at Syn for over 20-years, including collaborations with directors such as Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood and Michael Mann, Akaku has cemented himself as a much-loved engineer in Tokyo, based at Syn Tokyo's studio in the city's Harajuku district. Akaku’s warm welcome to both local and global actors has established Syn Tokyo as a favourite among post-production teams, most recently working on shows such as Sunny (Apple TV+), Tokyo Vice (HBO), Pachinko (Apple TV+) and, of course, Shōgun.

(For anyone asking themselves, ‘What does an ADR engineer do exactly?’, all will be revealed in this previous blog post about ADR and the world of audio post-production. Suffice to say, the shouts of ‘Toranaga-sama’ you hear on screen could not be made possible without it!)

Syn first entered the world of audio post-production in 1996, when Nick Wood installed the first ISDN connection at the Tokyo based facility. Recognising both the potential and the necessity for Tokyo to be connected to the rest of the world, this initial ISDN connection facilitated remote audio collaborations with the likes of Tina Turner and many others. Bridging the gap between Tokyo and the rest of the world has always been a cornerstone of Syn’s vision, and without the need to step on a plane, this early technological adoption set a precedent for future ways of working.

Whilst remote collaboration is now very much the norm, 18-years ago it was ahead of its time; an investment in the future which has clearly paid off. Nick Wood reflects on these early days of cross-border collaborations, “Our journey into audio post production started in 1996 when I bought an ISDN Codec by Musicam for the purpose of connecting my studio to the world. Word soon spread that Syn could provide real time access to recording studios around the world and even sending mixes back and forth for artists to check when touring Japan.

Our clients included Sting, Janet Jackson, John Bon Jovi and Smashing Pumpkins. We also realised that film and TV productions could well use this system. One of our early post production jobs was recording Patrick Stewart reading an audio book, later on Clint Eastwood hired us for Flag of our fathers, then Martin Scorcese for The Silence and Michael Bay for Transformers - Hollywood is a small town and soon we were getting enquires from post production supervisors.”

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Thanks to hit shows such as Shōgun, Tokyo Vice, Sunny and Drops of God, cultural interest in Japan is ever increasing. TV-lovers the world over keep their fingers crossed for follow-up seasons of many of these shows, while Syn Tokyo holds the door firmly open to welcome talent for ADR and VO.

All that remains is to wish a huge congratulations to Akaku Takashi and the rest of the Sound Mixing team behind Shōgun for their incredible achievement at the 2024 Emmy Awards !

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