gatotsu911
Member
So I've been listening to some bits from the (phenomenal) Berserk OST and have got to thinking about which anime have the best soundtracks, possibly posting a few highlights. (I'm not doing Yoko Kanno or Joe Hisaishi, they doesn't need any proselytizing.) (EDIT: This means that I will not be listing anything by Kanno or Hisaishi. You, dear reader, can go right ahead, although I encourage you to look beyond the glaringly obvious choices.) Here are the ones I know of offhand:
- Berserk, by Susumu Hirasawa - As mentioned above. Particularly noteworthy since the anime is, to put it gently, not exactly known for its production values.
Highlights: "Behelit", "Forces", "Guts", "Earth"
- Fullmetal Alchemist, by Michiru Oshima - The grand orchestral score of the first series was terrific. (The second one, while competent, was nowhere near as outstanding.)
Highlights: "Brothers", "Sin", "Greed", "Patriotism", "Heroic Battle", "Dante"
- Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, by Kenji Kawai - Yoko Kanno's Stand Alone Complex score is typically showered with praise (and rightfully so), but Kawai's soundtracks for the films are masterpieces in their own right.
Highlights: From GitS: "Nightstalker", "Floating Museum", "Reincarnation"; from Innocence: "The Ballade of Puppets: Flowers Grieve and Fall", "River of Crystals", "The Doll House 2", "The Ballade of Puppets: The Ghost Awaits in the World Beyond"
- Death Note, by Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi - Score is mostly known for its over-the-top operatic flourishes (not that said flourishes can't be pretty badass), but what people seem to miss is that it has some awesome rock-y pieces playing when, y'know, people aren't dying all over the place.
Highlights: "Main Theme of Death Note", "Light's Theme", "L's Theme B", "Low of Solipsism", "Mello's Theme", "Near's Theme"
- Paprika, by Susumu Hirasawa - Awesome for pretty much the same reasons as Berserk, minus the quasi-European feel.
Highlights: "The Girl in Byakkoya", "The Parade"
- Steamboy, by Steve Jablonsky - WHAT ARE THESE BAKA GAIJIN DOING SCORING MY ANIMU, RAAAAAAAGE!!!11111!!!!
Highlight: "Ray's Theme" (that's pretty much all the movie's best themes condensed into one, so there you have it)
- The Sky Crawlers, by Kenji Kawai - Another gem from Kenji Kawai. He's always at his best in his Mamoru Oshii collaborations.
Highlights: Main Theme, "Adler Tag", "Mizuki"
- Welcome to the NHK!, by Pearl Brothers - Another rock soundtrack that doesn't get nearly enough love. (I had to make terrible attempts at translating these song titles myself, so anyone who can read Moonspeak please bear with me if they are grossly inaccurate.)
Highlights: "Fishing Nap", "Know Others, or Ignore Them", "Welcome to Loneliness!"
- The Animatrix, by a whole bunch of different people - The fact that people have forgotten about The Matrix unfortunately means that people have doubly forgotten about The Animatrix, even though it is quite possibly better than the movies it is based on. And the soundtrack is cyberpunk gold.
Highlights: Medley here (video has spoilers for the "Kid's Story" segment).
- Akira by Geinoh Yamashiro and the Geinoh Yamashirogumi - The big papa of all anime soundtracks. I guarantee that you will literally never hear anything else like it.
Highlights: "Kaneda", "Battle With The Clowns", "Tetsuo", "Mutation", "Exodus From the Underground Base" (also obligatory kickass fan remix AMV)
Those would have to be my top picks. Anyone else have some contenders?
Update: More picks!
- Shigurui, by Kiyoshi Yoshida - A stark, unsettling soundtrack for a stark, unsettling show. Perfectly captures the time, place and mood of the story.
Highlights: "Shigurui", "Kiba", "Ubugoe", "Akune", "Noubi Musou"
- Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal, by Taku Iwasaki - Moody, dramatic, melancholy, gentle, subdued, romantic - the soundtrack to the high water mark of the Kenshin franchise helps carry the "Romantic Tale of Meiji" with the grace and soulfulness of its bloodstained yet eternally idealistic protagonist, and is a lovely listen on its own.
Highlights: "In Memories", "Wars of the Last Wolves", "Talk to the Moon", "Shades of Revolution"
- Rurouni Kenshin: Reflections, by Taku Iwasaki - Opinions may differ rather sharply on the followup to Trust & Betrayal, but I think we can all agree on the quality of the soundtrack, even if, like the OVA itself, it is not quite as good as its predecessor. The tale of Kenshin's adult life, his relationship with Kaoru, and his ascension from man to myth in contrast with the slow decay of his body and mind necessitates a different musical approach from the quiet, subdued score accompanying his origins as a confused and exploited sword prodigy. Introduced to the mix are bold heroic themes, sweeping sentimental overtures and mournful melodies to accompany the epic tragedy the OVA seeks to portray. "Heart of the Sunrise", in particular, is Kenshin's theme in a nutshell - gentle yet bold, heroic and unquenchably hopeful.
Highlights: "Revenge of the Ghost", "You By My Side", "And You and I", "Heart of the Sunrise"
- Gunslinger Girl, by Toshihiko Sasaki - Fitting the setting of the series, the soundtrack has an appropriately operatic Italian flare, lending the small-scale conflicts of the plot a sense of epic weight that befits the web of devastating personal tragedies, terrifying moral transgressions, and profound simple happinesses underlying them. Oh, also there's a little smattering of smooth jazz worthy of Cowboy Bebop... okay, almost. Not mentioned here are the OP and insert song by The Delgados, though lemme tell ya, I bought their album, "Hate", and it's absolutely amazi-fantastic. I won't list or post their songs here, because seriously go buy them, but they are something else. Anyway.
Highlights: "Citta", "Ti Amo", "Chiesa", "Tema IV", "Movimento", "Etereo", "Tema V"
- Trigun, by Tsuneo Imahori - The definitive "space western" soundtrack, bar none. Taking cues in equal part from rock 'n roll, folk music, industrial pop and Ennio Morricone, Imahori's score helps to establish the show's aesthetic and set the tone better than nearly anything else about it - like Berserk, the music picks up the slack when the production values fail. Never mind that it's a damn fine listen all on its own.
Highlights: "H.T.", "Big Bluff", "Fool's Paradise", "Blue Summers", "Sound Life (Rem's Theme)", "Paradise"
- Berserk, by Susumu Hirasawa - As mentioned above. Particularly noteworthy since the anime is, to put it gently, not exactly known for its production values.
Highlights: "Behelit", "Forces", "Guts", "Earth"
- Fullmetal Alchemist, by Michiru Oshima - The grand orchestral score of the first series was terrific. (The second one, while competent, was nowhere near as outstanding.)
Highlights: "Brothers", "Sin", "Greed", "Patriotism", "Heroic Battle", "Dante"
- Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, by Kenji Kawai - Yoko Kanno's Stand Alone Complex score is typically showered with praise (and rightfully so), but Kawai's soundtracks for the films are masterpieces in their own right.
Highlights: From GitS: "Nightstalker", "Floating Museum", "Reincarnation"; from Innocence: "The Ballade of Puppets: Flowers Grieve and Fall", "River of Crystals", "The Doll House 2", "The Ballade of Puppets: The Ghost Awaits in the World Beyond"
- Death Note, by Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi - Score is mostly known for its over-the-top operatic flourishes (not that said flourishes can't be pretty badass), but what people seem to miss is that it has some awesome rock-y pieces playing when, y'know, people aren't dying all over the place.
Highlights: "Main Theme of Death Note", "Light's Theme", "L's Theme B", "Low of Solipsism", "Mello's Theme", "Near's Theme"
- Paprika, by Susumu Hirasawa - Awesome for pretty much the same reasons as Berserk, minus the quasi-European feel.
Highlights: "The Girl in Byakkoya", "The Parade"
- Steamboy, by Steve Jablonsky - WHAT ARE THESE BAKA GAIJIN DOING SCORING MY ANIMU, RAAAAAAAGE!!!11111!!!!
Highlight: "Ray's Theme" (that's pretty much all the movie's best themes condensed into one, so there you have it)
- The Sky Crawlers, by Kenji Kawai - Another gem from Kenji Kawai. He's always at his best in his Mamoru Oshii collaborations.
Highlights: Main Theme, "Adler Tag", "Mizuki"
- Welcome to the NHK!, by Pearl Brothers - Another rock soundtrack that doesn't get nearly enough love. (I had to make terrible attempts at translating these song titles myself, so anyone who can read Moonspeak please bear with me if they are grossly inaccurate.)
Highlights: "Fishing Nap", "Know Others, or Ignore Them", "Welcome to Loneliness!"
- The Animatrix, by a whole bunch of different people - The fact that people have forgotten about The Matrix unfortunately means that people have doubly forgotten about The Animatrix, even though it is quite possibly better than the movies it is based on. And the soundtrack is cyberpunk gold.
Highlights: Medley here (video has spoilers for the "Kid's Story" segment).
- Akira by Geinoh Yamashiro and the Geinoh Yamashirogumi - The big papa of all anime soundtracks. I guarantee that you will literally never hear anything else like it.
Highlights: "Kaneda", "Battle With The Clowns", "Tetsuo", "Mutation", "Exodus From the Underground Base" (also obligatory kickass fan remix AMV)
Those would have to be my top picks. Anyone else have some contenders?
Update: More picks!
- Shigurui, by Kiyoshi Yoshida - A stark, unsettling soundtrack for a stark, unsettling show. Perfectly captures the time, place and mood of the story.
Highlights: "Shigurui", "Kiba", "Ubugoe", "Akune", "Noubi Musou"
- Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal, by Taku Iwasaki - Moody, dramatic, melancholy, gentle, subdued, romantic - the soundtrack to the high water mark of the Kenshin franchise helps carry the "Romantic Tale of Meiji" with the grace and soulfulness of its bloodstained yet eternally idealistic protagonist, and is a lovely listen on its own.
Highlights: "In Memories", "Wars of the Last Wolves", "Talk to the Moon", "Shades of Revolution"
- Rurouni Kenshin: Reflections, by Taku Iwasaki - Opinions may differ rather sharply on the followup to Trust & Betrayal, but I think we can all agree on the quality of the soundtrack, even if, like the OVA itself, it is not quite as good as its predecessor. The tale of Kenshin's adult life, his relationship with Kaoru, and his ascension from man to myth in contrast with the slow decay of his body and mind necessitates a different musical approach from the quiet, subdued score accompanying his origins as a confused and exploited sword prodigy. Introduced to the mix are bold heroic themes, sweeping sentimental overtures and mournful melodies to accompany the epic tragedy the OVA seeks to portray. "Heart of the Sunrise", in particular, is Kenshin's theme in a nutshell - gentle yet bold, heroic and unquenchably hopeful.
Highlights: "Revenge of the Ghost", "You By My Side", "And You and I", "Heart of the Sunrise"
- Gunslinger Girl, by Toshihiko Sasaki - Fitting the setting of the series, the soundtrack has an appropriately operatic Italian flare, lending the small-scale conflicts of the plot a sense of epic weight that befits the web of devastating personal tragedies, terrifying moral transgressions, and profound simple happinesses underlying them. Oh, also there's a little smattering of smooth jazz worthy of Cowboy Bebop... okay, almost. Not mentioned here are the OP and insert song by The Delgados, though lemme tell ya, I bought their album, "Hate", and it's absolutely amazi-fantastic. I won't list or post their songs here, because seriously go buy them, but they are something else. Anyway.
Highlights: "Citta", "Ti Amo", "Chiesa", "Tema IV", "Movimento", "Etereo", "Tema V"
- Trigun, by Tsuneo Imahori - The definitive "space western" soundtrack, bar none. Taking cues in equal part from rock 'n roll, folk music, industrial pop and Ennio Morricone, Imahori's score helps to establish the show's aesthetic and set the tone better than nearly anything else about it - like Berserk, the music picks up the slack when the production values fail. Never mind that it's a damn fine listen all on its own.
Highlights: "H.T.", "Big Bluff", "Fool's Paradise", "Blue Summers", "Sound Life (Rem's Theme)", "Paradise"
oly Matrix - Hiroyuki Nanba - next to GITS, my favorite cyberpunk themed anime.
