In 1979, I was watching American animation like The World’s Greatest Super Friends, which opened like this:
Fortunately, I also was being exposed to higher-quality animation in the form of the Japanese series Space Battleship Yamato or, as it was known in the United States, Star Blazers. Here’s how it opened:
Not only were the story and the animation great, but the series had really good music. In fact, it’s so good, that if you search YouTube for “Star Blazers concert” or “Space Battleship Yamato concert,” you’ll find several videos of bands and orchestras, ranging from school groups to professional ensembles, performing some of the most popular themes from the show.
That’s not to say that all anime has great music or that all American animation has terrible music. You need look no further than Steven Universe to find the jewel “Love Like You,” a beautiful jazz song that frequently accompanies the end credits.
But anime provides a treasure trove of music that stretches back for decades, like the opening theme for the 1995 show Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Part of the reason the music for anime is so good could be that anime isn’t just for kids. Anime has long targeted adults with series like Cowboy Bebop, which opens with the fabulous jazz song “Tank.”
But it’s also worth noting that the music for opening and ending credits of anime series is often written by popular bands. This means that it’s not unusual for a band to release a full-length video of a song they composed for an anime, like “The Day,” the first opening for My Hero Academia (Boku No Hero Academia).
And the artists will perform the full-length versions of their songs in concert, like this beautiful closing theme from Attack on Titan’s first season.
Excellent anime music can go beyond opening and closing themes, however. It’s clear that a lot of effort went into the soundtrack of my favorite series, Hunter x Hunter. The incidental music includes everything from references to Gustav Holst…
… to a jazzy theme for the character Leorio…
… to the screaming guitar of “Try Your Luck.”
Some of my favorite music comes from shows I’ve watched, but much of it comes from shows I’ve never seen. I’ve picked up the music mostly from what my child shares with me, though I could just as easily discover new songs by searching YouTube for “best anime music.” So while I’ve never seen Space Dandy, I agree heartily with my child that its opening theme is “a bop.”
And anime music has led me down rabbit holes to other music by particular artists: After listening to Kalafina’s “Magia,” the end-credits song for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I ended up checking out and enjoying some of their other songs.
Now for the bad news: If you want to purchase the anime music you love, that can be difficult (in fact, even streaming the music can be a challenge). I’ve had some limited success purchasing MP3s of the original songs on Amazon, but many songs aren’t available there. I’ve successfully found Hunter x Hunter OST cds online for purchase, but not everyone wants to buy a cd, and they can be expensive and hard-to-find. You will have more luck if you’re willing to accept a cover, and there are some decent ones out there. For example, it can be nigh impossible to find an original version of “Great Days” from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure on a reputable site, but if you’re willing to accept an English cover, this version by Jonathan Young and Caleb Hyles is good (here’s the original for comparison). Not all of the links in the video work (Spotify does), but if you search Amazon’s digital music for “Great Days Jonathan Young,” you’ll find it.
I’ll leave you with one last song — another from a series I’ve never watched. Listen shamelessly. Dance along. Give in to the pull of great anime music.