Anime Soundtracks

This (very) adult feature film about an extremely wronged woman and her journey into witchcraft was developed by Osamu Tezuka, creator of kids favorite Astro Boy. The psychedelic sounds supplementing the wild visuals were developed by jazz musician Masahiko Sato (or Satoh, depending on the source). Similar to Ennio Morricone’s more experimental work from the time (check out the Crime and Dissonance compilation if you only know him for his Spaghetti Westerns), this lovely nightmare leaves as indelible an impression as the splashed watercolors of the film.

The best caper TV shows and movies always have a banging soundtrack to match – see James Bond, Mission: Impossible, Peter Gunn, etc. Japan’s answer to those super spies? The irrepressible super-thief Lupin III. Although he’s appeared in over a dozen series, specials, and features over the past 50 years, this collection of music from his second TV run contains some of the funkiest jams. From the banging theme (which had its own remix album in the 90s) to soul grooves and acid freak-outs, it provides an alternately sleazy, sly, and thrilling look into the life of the ultimate gentleman thief.

Any discussion of anime music would be remiss if it didn’t mention the work of long time Hayao Miyazaki collaborator Joe Hisaishi. Although you can’t go wrong with any of his works (or any of the movies they’re attached to), Hisaishi’s use of both traditional and synthesized sounds for Laputa: Castle in the Sky helps highlight the battle between the natural world and technology that informs so much of Miyazaki’s work. “The Girl That Fell from the Sky” is as heartbreaking a piece as anything John Williams ever composed while “Robot Soldier (Resurrection – Rescue)” is as terrifying as anything John Carpenter ever did.

This delightful collection from the long-running classic love triangle comedy (between a saxophone-playing bad ass, a perky airhead, and an overconfident guy with telekinetic powers) serves as the perfect example of “city pop,” a synthpop offshoot in Japan named that because it was meant to appeal to the young urban professionals that flocked to the cities during the country’s economic boom. The cheap electronic backing sounds (usually provided by cutting-edge Casio keyboards) and EXTREMELY EIGHTIES feel has made the genre popular amongst Bandcampers, but whether you’re young, urban, professional, or none of the above, the cheesy pop hooks always please.

The soundtrack for Katsuhiro Otomo’s all-time classic film was legendarily composed prior to its production and used as inspiration for its sequences rather than the other way around. Tsutomo Ōhashi (a.k.a. Dr. Shōji Yamashiro) composed and conducted the score and had it performed by a collective of hundreds of people from all walks of life. Instead of the electronic sounds one usually expects from a cyberpunk movie, it’s based around traditional Indonesian and Japanese folk styles, giving it a future primitive feel that lends itself to the movie’s very human Apocalypse.

One of the GOAT voice actresses known for key roles in major series like Ranma ½, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, and Pokémon, Magumi Hayashibara’s most iconic role may be that of short-tempered sorceress Lina Inverse in the fantasy comedy/adventure series Slayers – so much so that this retrospective collection of her OP and ED performances from the various Slayers series, movies, video games, and radio dramas fills two and a half hours over three discs. The sounds hew closely to the city pop template (albeit with nineties and oughts technology), but Hayashibara’s clear love and understanding of the character make her performances feel as passionate as Inverse when she’s on the trail of a long-hidden magical treasure.

There’s a reason “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” has over 61 million spins on Spotify – besides this giant mech/trauma simulator series’s position as the entry point for an entire generation of American anime fans, its theme song’s glorious city pop sounds can penetrate even the most cynical listener’s Absolute Terror Field. Shagisu’s canny combination of traditional orchestral scoring, sixties jazz kitsch, and kaiju riffing provides the perfect backdrop for the outsize events of the show.

Considered to be one of the best anime series ever created, Shinichiro Watanabe’s masterpiece slammed together Westerns, samurai flicks, space opera, cyberpunk, and film noir into one transcendent mashup. The music was a big part of its success. Yoko Kanno (who also handled brilliant scores for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Escaflowne, and Macross Plus) put together a crack unit of session musicians to tear through her ambitious compositions for the series, ranging from different eras of jazz to world music to even heavy metal. Frankly, all the collections are essential, but this first one makes for the best starting place: it focuses on the jazz and blues instrumentals, making it the most cohesive listen. Like Lalo Schifrin’s “Theme from Mission: Impossible,” opening theme “Tank!” was originally intended as background for an action sequence but proved too explosive to be contained.

Gainax, the production team behind this six-episode surrealist slice of life sci-fi coming-of-age classic, eschewed a full original soundtrack in favor of rearranged previously-released songs from Japanese alt rockers The Pillows – and the gamble paid off for all involved, giving the show its own unique flavor while simultaneously breaking the 10-year-old band in the United States. It didn’t hurt that their sound dovetailed with the rising popularity of garage bands like The Strokes and the White Stripes. This first volume covers the first three episodes (which should tell you just how much music they used), including the specially-written ending theme, “Ride on shooting star.” It’s also worth seeking out the second volume for the epic “I think I can,” which escalates the show’s final battle to new levels of intensity.

Another Shinichiro Watanabe joint. The director wanted to bring authentic hip-hop flavor to this Edo-era samurai saga, so naturally he turned to the real thing: Shinji “Tsutchie” Tsuchida (from Japanese hip-hop group Shakkazombie), Fat Jon, Nujabes and Force of Nature. The result was a beat-oriented score for the show unlike anything previously attempted. This first collection compiles some of the more chillout selections from the massive amount of music they recorded, making these grooves the perfect thing to relax to before going into battle with your trusty katana.

The story of two young roommates from different walks of life, both named Nana, this heartbreaking shojo (woman-focused) anime ends on a bastard of a cliffhanger and will probably never be finished. Until then, fans can console themselves with this collection of songs from the two fictional rock bands featured in the show: the punky Black Stones (Nana Osaki’s band) and the more emo-core Trapnest (her ex-boyfriend’s band). The dueling bands help play up the emotional dichotomy present in the show. Plus the songs just plain rock – especially “Rose” and “Starless Night” on opposite sides of the heaviness spectrum.

A hyperkinetic soundtrack to one of the most hyperkinetic anime series ever produced, Hiroyuki Sawano outfitted this larger-than-life magical girl deconstruction about high schoolers literally dressed (and undressed) to kill with a suitably bonkers sound collage of heavy metal, hard electronica, and marching band music. It’ll sure get your blood pumping – which is good, since the main characters’ suits rely on their blood to fuel their power. One of the few soundtracks that really captures the frenetic energy of the genre in sound form.

A group of chipmunk-voiced high school girls form a band and sing pop rock songs about relationships they haven’t experienced and food they have in this charming slice-of-life show. Although the voice actresses all sing (and learned to play their instruments for several live performances), it’s hard to find information about the performers on this record. This release is missing some of the OP and ED tunes but features the largest amount of the songs from the show. It’s the perfect showcase for the sugary sweet delights found in the very best J-pop delicacies.

The soundtrack to this unorthodox idol anime starts off with a death metal song screamed by one of the seven zombies that makes up J-pop idol group Franchouchou (a group of women from throughout the history of Saga reanimated to save their backwater Prefecture – don’t worry about it) but quickly transitions into the girl group pop songs the genre is known for. Each member gets their chance to shine as the show (and album) runs through the different eras of idol-dom, making this both an effective sendup and a blast to listen to in its own right. There’s even a zombie rap battle!

Proof that some sounds are just timeless, the first disc of the score for this cracking caper show (about a team of conmen out to steal from the ultrarich and give to themselves) swings all the way back to the funky big band Henry Mancini-style sounds found in Lupin the Third while incorporating the harder edges found in Cowboy Bebop to create its own thrilling backdrop for the program’s daring heists. The second disc brings it slamming into the modern day with sweeping orchestral passages and electronic beats. A perfect encapsulation of the medium’s past and its future.