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JJ's Bizarre Blog #56 - アニメ音楽の世界 ~「By the Power of God and Anime!!」
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JJ's Bizarre Blog #56 - アニメ音楽の世界 ~「By the Power of God and Anime!!」
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Hajimemashite and konnichiwa, my lovely tomodachis! Are you ready for a true adventure to begin? I sure hope you are! The entire blog series has been one great Bizarre Adventure that I truly never could've expected. We've gone through so much and this next summit feels like one of the most important moments within the entire saga. This is far from the end, but it feels like we've been building up to this exact moment. Fate itself has guided me here. I can delay this no longer. I will take this blog, and write it! So sharpen your katanas, strap on the headbands and channel your spirit energy, for it's time to take on the kaiju-sized topic of anime music!
Unless you've been living under a rock (or two identical ones, HAHAHA), you probably know what anime is, but for those who don't, let sensei explain. These refer to animated series or movies coming from Japan, which are most often based on manga, their popular comic book series running in their various syndicated magazines. While we associate anime most often with hard hitting action, intense character growth, epic worldbuilding and just that classic touch of Japanese weirdness, this is far from the only style and anime now covers every genre imaginable! Over the last few decades it has expanded into a global phenomenon and a cultural movement that anyone, anywhere can partake in. Along the way, one of the most iconic aspects has been the music that accompanies the most iconic moments and the opening themes that get us hyped for what comes next. So let's see how the Rising Sun shone on the The World.
さ、始めましょう！
The medium itself has been around far longer than many might think, dating all the way back to the 60s and the early works in both manga and anime of the legendary Osamu Tezuka. It truly started gaining traction in the late 70s, with massive mecha series dominating the scene. In the 80s iconic series like Fist of the North Star brought the same muscular macho energy that dominated the silver screen at the time, contrasted by the bubbly fun of magical girl shows. In the 90s, anime became grittier and darker with the rise of iconic cyberpunk series! Through this time, the idea of theme songs became a must have and the tracks very much followed the J-rock, city pop and disco music trends of the time - lot's of classic guitar riffs, ample synth melodies, soaring vocals with singalong choruses and a catchy, memorable sound. These series defined generations and laid the foundation for everything that came after.
The turning point came thanks to the titan called Dragon Ball by the phenomenal Akira Toriyama! Easily one of the most influential series on many levels - it defined the pursuit of strength and jovial adventurous vibe of shonen anime (meaning targeted towards young boys), the ridiculous strength and power systems expected of the action genre, it revolutionized manga and anime and made them more approachable and thus became a true sensation. It also became the first to find great international success and kickstarted the global conquest, opening the world of anime up to billions of eager new eyes and curious new ears! No longer confined to just Japan, this glorious journey was now for everyone and it's absolutely iconic theme songs became our anthems!
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As the new millennium arrived, the so called big 3 of shonen along with many other monumental series rose to prominence and further propelled anime to new heights - One Piece, Naruto and Bleach! I'm sure none of these need introduction, as they have become household names and cultural institutions the world over. Around this time, a shift in the style of opening themes could also be felt. No longer constrained to classic pop rock, the musical variety expanded into heavy metal, punk, hip hop and electronic styles matching the vibe of popular early 2000s tunes. For it wasn't only anime itself that had grown, the music that it incorporated had broadened, formed a new identity and become truly SUUUUUPEEEERRR. The New Age was here and it was time to conquer the world!
As anime started to gain popularity abroad, it started getting official adaptations and it definitely took a while for Western companies to get the hang of how to accomplish this. The name 4Kids still sends fear into the hearts of many an old weeaboo. During this time, besides the egregious creative liberties with the source material, was also when it was still customary to make localized English theme songs too. Your mileage can vary wildly here - Kami-sama might bless you with an absolutely legendary banger like the Pokemon theme or you can roll the proverbial snake eyes and be given a song so hilariously terrible that it somehow circles back to becoming ironically fun. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean.
Now a worldwide powerhouse, anime continued to grow and expand. Around the turn of the next decade, a transformation sequence took place. Thanks to the insane popularity of newcomers like Attack on Titan and Tokyo Ghoul, darker and richer stories with much more nuance and moral ambiguity started to take the stage, while classically fun series like My Hero Academia kept the spirits high and bright. Anime became richer, more varied, more unpredictable and more people turned to the mature themes of seinen as well. Musically, the sounds were expanded once again, ranging from epic symphonic power metal, to heart touching ballads, to funky fun tunes, to blood curdling metalcore, everything was on the table, perfectly curated to match the varying tones of the stories unfolding. All according to keikaku, the global march of the anime world continued to grow and grow with countless new bangers to choose from!
As we come to the current era of the 2020s, the popularity of the medium only continued to grow, with even mainstream media and companies getting involved. Right on schedule like a reliable shinkansen, a new generation of future classics arrived and new names like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man and many more have taken the reigns and become the new kings. Just like the old guard taught us Haki, Sharingans and Bankais, the current gen is raised on breathing techniques and Domain Expansions! You doubt they can stand up to the classics? Nah, they'd win.
Nowadays, anything is possible and the variety of offer is insurmountable, story-wise and music-wise! Jovial folk tunes in fantasy, hard hitting electro-metal in sci-fi, atmospheric ambient in horror, jazz and cabaret in crime thrillers, mixes of hip-hop, rock, electro and what have you in other things, you name it, they got it!
It's a common theme that anime can cover even the most obscure topics and niches imaginable and the same is true for the music, which by this point could also be quite literally anything. Even death metal polka latino ska J-rock. I'm not kidding.
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Of course, while opening and ending theme songs are the most iconic, like any visual medium worth its salt, the full soundtracks of anime are just as potent. The way they accompany some of the most legendary scenes of any series is what truly helps cement those moments forever in people's memories. Hype, joy, pain, all these emotions are fully realized thanks to the music. Plus, there's just so much awesome songs within the full OSTs! The stuff from Naruto is unironically the coolest Japanese folk rock out there!
There's just so many examples of anime series doing something completely unique with their soundtracks. Such as the hip-hop fusion of the iconic Samurai Champloo. Or for something right next door, the pure retro hip-hop power of the East-West collaboration Afro Samurai, composed by the God himself RZA from the absolutely legendary Wu-Tang Clan. If that's not your cup of tea, you can find epic heavy metal and grand symphonies in the realms of dark fantasy, military marches as backdrops for ironic and/or unfiltered war tales or any number of other crazy things!
Going into specific genres, there's countless other worlds to transport yourself too, many of which are untouched by media outside of manga and anime. Sports series have been popular since as early as the 70s and thanks to countless big hits over the years, this hype has never died down. While I personally don't vibe with it that much, the music is a different story. For all the high stakes, high octane competition, expect a lot of energetic tunes to get the heart pumping and the adrenaline flowing. Perfect for your own training arc to conquer whatever adversity stands in your path!
For something completely different, dive into the magical worlds of romance! Here, tender and gentle melodies accompany the most turbulent crescendos of the soul and get the heart pumping in a completely different manner. With every flavour of relationship and story to choose from, these tales will make you ugly cry in the best way possible, while also giving you the perfect tunes to dance to among the cherry blossoms. I just hope it doesn't take you 50 episodes to get things going and that a fireworks display doesn't disrupt your confession.
When it comes to the intersection between music and anime, there is no better place than with musical anime themselves! Many different series tackle various aspects of the struggles of young artists chasing their passion and trying to make it in the musical industry, some uplifting and light hearted, others twisted and cruel. On a different note, idol series also present both the peak of what that musical area can offer without any of the sinister baggage, although they can dive into that too if you want them to. Regardless, the music that comes from it is catchy, iconic and powerful. So pick up that guitar, follow your dreams and don't sit in a cardboard box your whole life!
But maybe all you need is a good laugh. Well, we got you covered! While Japan's sense of humour can be a bit of an acquired taste for us in the West, it's still relentlessly funny and there are all kinds of flavours of jokes to indulge in. I also guarantee that once a specific genre or trope becomes popular and overdone enough, you bet that there will be tons of parodies of it that often might even become better examples of the genre they're parodying than the "serious" entries. Unconstrained by any expectations or fixed vibe, comedy anime also do absolutely whatever they want with their music and the results are positively spectacular. No joke, some of the best tunes to come out of anime! If Monkey D. Luffy has taught us anything, it's that sometimes silliness and unrestrained humour can be the peak of strength!
As anime has broadened in scope and become more and more popular, many artists (mostly from Japan obviously) have contributed countless tracks and have thus become deeply intertwined with the medium itself. If you've been paying close attention, you may have already noticed several recurring names. So let's dive into those now, shall we? Firstly, being that many series are so action packed and high octane while many others are so bloody, edgy and violent, metal is often a natural fit. Starting in the early 2000s with the boom of nu metal and the later rise of metalcore, similar tracks have often found their way into anime. Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas are one such band, playing intense and heavy metalcore with a distinctly Japanese flair, using some more chaotic song structures and mixing in bountiful electronic elements for some positively incredible tunes like the iconic Parasyte theme! GRANRODEO are another, blending any other stylistic they fancy with a solid metalcore/melodic death metal base. Other acts like coldrain focus on a more retro sound, keeping the oldschool vibe of the early days alive and well and giving many series that characteristic edge.
On another note, pop tunes reminiscent of (but often superior to) what is on the charts can be found, especially when it comes to the ladies that have come to the forefront of the anime theme game. LiSA is a prime example, contributing many songs to all kinds of anime and absolutely every single one is a banger that drills itself in your head right away. The same can be said for YOASOBI, who has been delivering bangers for a good while now, but absolutely broke the internet with the Oshi no Ko theme in 2023. Their crowns are sitting quite lightly on their heads however, as there are new queens coming for the throne, such as the enigmatic Ado, who seems to be a master of every vocal technique possible and delivers some of the most emotionally powerful and impactful songs ever! How her throat isn't in shambles I will never know. It's crazy how consistently sugoi all these girls are! They're absolute machines!
There are many artists that refuse to fit into any mold. The eccentric band Creepy Nuts have exploded in popularity with their hip-hop adjacent style and really nothing else sounds quite like them. Now they're a damn weapon as every new theme song they make absolutely shatters the fabric of reality itself. On the flipside, there are phenomenons like Masayuki Suzuki, one of the coolest men to ever walk the Earth, and the. He brings an incredible oldschool romantic sound perfect to dance to, carried by a type of natural swagger and infectious groove unheard of across any kind of media!
Lastly, I must mention a phenomenon quite unique to the anime sphere - character albums! These are albums where the voice actors of the characters in the show perform songs themselves, either covers of existing songs from their series or new theme songs for their own characters. It's quite special and engaging and adds an additional layer of immersion. Many Japanese VAs are also trained singers or have other musical experience, so they fit right into these roles like the two pieces of a kendama!
On the final stretch, let me shoutout to you the anime series with the overall greatest soundtracks of all time. In my humble opinion at least. No better place to go then an absolute classic - Cowboy Bebop! Not only is this story-wise one of the most unique and iconic anime ever made, but the music elevates it to sublime levels. The jazzy funk tunes courtesy of the SEATBELTS are just so memorable and the entire vibe of this one-of-a-kind tale wouldn't be possible without them. BANG!
Next another 90s legend - the incredible Initial D! I mean, who doesn't love cars drifting down scenic mountain passes? This anime's simple but fun story just delivers on every front and is an absolute blast from start to finish. It's also almost solely responsible for the explosion in popularity of eurobeat all over the world! After the absolutely stellar citypop/rock hybrid openings from m.o.v.e. are finished, the fast electro beats kick in and we are turbocharged with energy and hype, especially from the hits of Italian legend Dave Rodgers! Thanks to this anime, eurobeat reached legendary status and has become inseparable from motorsports!
For the climax, the anime that in my humble opinion has the best soundtrack ever. The cultural institution - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure! You may have guessed by now that this is my favourite manga and anime series of all time. I mean, it's not like this entire blog series is named after it or anything. Festooned with music references and oozing unique style, you may have thought an actual musical anime would take the crown, but it was me, JoJo!! The opening themes across all seasons are just unmatched, covering all kinds of genres, punctuated by soaring epic brass sections. As unique as the story itself, as different as each part is from the other and just as legendary as the series as a whole.
One other unique aspect are the character themes the show features! While other series do this too, nobody does it like JoJo. Each major protagonist and antagonist has a unique theme song matching their personality flawlessly, each carrying a unique hook and melody that punctuates important moments. This is especially noticeable for the main JoJos, who all have those iconic stings (usually on piano) in their themes that kick in when they're about to whoop the villain good and close off the fight. If that part plays, you know they have it won. The characters were legendary to being with, these songs ascend them to peerless perfection!
Shoutout to all the legends that make covers of all these epic tunes and even forge tunes for anime that don't exist yet! In general, anime covers are a time honoured tradition and all kinds of artists from all over the world have put their own spin on their favourite tracks. Dive in, you never know what you'll find!
Lastly, a mention has to go to the absolute breadth of anime inspired music that's out there! Not taken from any series directly, many artists take inspiration from anime and show the love for it in their music and visual style. Maidcore is an obvious example in both name and sound. Electronic artists nowadays often embrace the aesthetic as well and many phonk/hip-hop artists have likewise embraced anime influences and the exaggerated pure energy they bring to give their tracks that extra oomph!
If this type of stuff tickles our fancy, check out this Spotify playlist, it's an absolute treasure trove. Go on, be the protagonist you know you can be!
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But now, this long arc must at last come to an end. It was a long journey, no filler here!! I truly hope you enjoyed all we experienced together here. Anime is such a unique and phenomenal thing and I never regret diving deeper into it all. It helped me get into manga too, so I can be a snob and say how much better the manga was every time. It inspired this entire blog series to an extent too! I wanted to write this entry for a long time, but I never felt like I could. The topic felt too large, too vast and my knowledge too inadequate. But like a true anime protagonist, I channelled the power of friendship in order to be victorious! I would like to give a very special shoutout to everyone who helped me and contributed songs and suggestions for this project, including our very own @Vasil! For the rest of you, if you see this, you know who you are. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart! When this behemoth of a subject felt insurmountable, you gave me your strength and you helped me push through. You were the powerup I so desperately needed. We did this together! No matter what happens, I will always have my nakama!!
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So to you, dear reader, I hope you've enjoyed this bizarre adventure we went through. There is so much out there in terms of anime and music, so go and venture forth! Whether you're on your training arc, fighting to be King, struggling with a boss fight, going through a dramatic flashback, deeply in love, having a laugh or just enjoying a slice of life, anime and its tunes will always be there for you. Whatever you do, do it with a don!! As for me, I will just keep moving forward.
ご清聴ありがとうございました。お気をつけて、また会いましょう。