魔女っ子でポン [Majyokko De Pong]

Anime is, of course, a linchpin in Japanese popular culture and has been ever since its modern era beginning in the ’60s. Music from anime has inspired countless artists, and soundtracks from animated television and film have become canonical works in their own right. (For example: many know that folk collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi composed the all-time classic soundtrack for 1988’s Akira, but far fewer are aware that their 1979 album In Praise of Earth, To Boys contains a bizarre cover of the opening theme from the intergalactic opera Space Battleship Yamato.) When Troubadour Record — founded in the early ’90s by a crew of video game composers whose résumés are too expansive to list — got off the ground, they weren’t shy about the influence of anime on their craft. On Majokko de Pon, they pay homage to a particular genre of animation called mahou shoujo (or magical girl), arranging themes from well-known shows like Sailor Moon and cult hits like Akazukin Chacha, synthesizing them with synthpop and blistering breakbeats. It’s an instructive look into the influence of a group of influential composers, but putting that aside — it’s some of the cutest music you’ll ever hear.