Throughout his 56-year career, where he shaped music in Japanese film, TV, and anime, Kikuchi won many awards, including 9 JASRAC International Awards, which were based on royalties made internationally, in which 4 were for his work on Dragon Ball Z, and 2 were on his work on Doraemon.
His work is still used in the Dragon Ball franchise today in games and anime, even having his tracks restored to Dragon Ball Kai after a scandal with the then-new composer.
In the west, he’s most well-known as the composer of the Dragon Ball series up to Dragon Ball GT, lifting up the spirits of kids all around the world with his original compositions.