What is 'Proof of a Hero'?

The series’ main theme since 2004, a brass fanfare so beloved it marched Japan’s athletes into the Tokyo Olympics.

‘Proof of a Hero’ (Eiyū no Akashi), composed by Masato Kouda for the original game, is Monster Hunter’s main theme: a rising brass fanfare that has opened, underscored, or closed nearly every entry since 2004, endlessly rearranged, for village themes, hunt climaxes, and the little jingle that plays when a quest clears. The first game’s music was released as the Monster Hunter Soundtrack Book, and the theme has been the series’ signature ever since.

Its biggest stage was not a game at all. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, held in 2021, the Parade of Nations marched to video game music, and Proof of a Hero played for the world beside themes from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. In-game, its most famous deployment is its quietest: in Iceborne’s final battle against Fatalis, the anthem fades in during the last phase as proof, in every sense, that the old dragon believes you can win.