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An anime composer is a composer who mainly composes music for anime productions.

Anime soundtracks are part of the "media mix" of anime marketing, in which a show encourages purchases of related products, such as memorabilia, games, and retail tie-ins. The careers of anime composers are accordingly shaped by different commercial pressures than other kinds of music writers.^[1]

Beginning with Astro Boy in 1963, Japanese cartoons had short theme songs. These would be expanded with a few extra verses to sell on small 45 rpm records for children. The songs themselves were typically cheerful imitations of Western music styles, with essentially anonymous composers.^[2]

Anime soundtracks became more mainstream in the 1970s. The major success of John William's score for Star Wars (1977) inspired the creators of Spaceship Battle Yamato (1974-5) to release the record Symphonic Suite Yamato (1977), composed by Hiroshi Miyagawa. It sold well, and very soon it became the industry standard for all anime TV shows to produce spin-off LP records with ten to twelve songs. Particularly notable anime music composed in the 70s includes Yuji Ohno's modern jazz albums for Lupin III and Seiji Yokoyama's symphonies for Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, a feature film adapted from The Tomb of Dracula.^[2]

In the 1980s, the anime industry intersected more strongly with Japan's pop music industry. Composer Tetsuya Komuro, for example, eventually became a multimillionaire music producer for pop artists like Namie Amuro. His career began as an anime composer, with his first record being the soundtrack to Vampire Hunter D (1985). He spearheaded a trend for electronic music inspired by European dance clubs, which he composed for the influential anime series City Hunter (1987-8). Komuro's name became synonymous with a brand of catchy music, suitable for karaoke, which blurred boundaries between anime music and pop music.^[1]

Yoko Kanno composed melancholic experimental music for Cowboy Bebop (1998-9).^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Green, Laurence (2022). From score to song — The rise of the 'star composer' and the role of music in contemporary anime (PhD thesis). SOAS University of London.
^ ^a ^b Patten, Fred (2004). "All Those Japanese Animation Soundtracks". Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews. Stone Bridge Press.

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 An '''anime composer''' is a [[composer]] who mainly composes music for [[anime]] productions.
+Anime soundtracks are part of the "[[media mix]]" of anime marketing, in which a show encourages purchases of related products, such as memorabilia, games, and retail tie-ins. The careers of anime composers are accordingly shaped by different commercial pressures than other kinds of music writers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis |title=From score to song — The rise of the 'star composer' and the role of music in contemporary anime |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/37278/ |publisher=SOAS University of London |date=2022 |degree=PhD |language=en |first=Laurence |last=Green}}</ref>
-There have been many anime composers over the years, and while anime soundtracks are big business in Japan, there have been few notable, long-term composers of anime music before the 2000s.
-==Notable figures==
-[[Joe Hisaishi]], best known for his collaboration with [[Hayao Miyazaki]] beginning in the mid-1980s.  Since most of Hisaishi's anime music has been for Miyazaki, his influence has been somewhat muted compared to later composers.
-[[Shigeaki Saegusa]], composer for ''[[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]'' in 1985,  was a classical composer who produced a symphonic score for this series, which went on to be extremely popular (one of the foundation successes of the [[Gundam]] franchise).  While Saegusa produced only a little more anime music, his ''Zeta Gundam'' soundtrack is still considered a classic among ''[[otaku]]''.  For many of them, Saegusa and Hisaishi were the first to inspire the idea that anime music could be of very high quality.
-[[Kenji Kawai]] was producing scores for series such as ''[[Blue Seed]]'', ''[[Patlabor]]'', and ''[[Ranma ½]]''.  While few of these scores were groundbreaking, they were almost all solid works of music.  Kawai was arguably the first composer to produce a number of anime soundtracks and achieve at least a modicum of popularity within the otaku community while doing so.
-[[Yoko Kanno]] garnered some interest with her soundtracks for ''[[Escaflowne]]'' and ''[[Macross Plus]]'' during the 1990s, but it was her soundtrack for ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' in 1998 that made her extremely popular among anime fans.
-[[Hiroyuki Sawano]] known by his works in famous anime series like [[Attack on Titan]] or [[Aldnoah.Zero]], his style is notable by having epic orchestra and vocal songs. He started composing in 2006 and still is composing in soundtracks or in his vocal project SawanoHiroyuki.
-[[Yuki Kajiura]] is a composer known by her works in anime series such as [[Sword Art Online]], [[Fate/Zero]], [[Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel]], [[Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba]], and [[The Garden of Sinners|Kara no Kyōkai.]] She is also known for forming the vocal group [[Kalafina]].
-[[Taku Iwasaki]] (the ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' OVAs, ''[[Witch Hunter Robin]]'', ''[[Read or Die]]'' TV, ''[[Soul Eater (manga)|Soul Eater]]'') and [[Yuki Kajiura]] (''[[Noir (anime)|Noir]]'', ''[[.hack//SIGN]]'', ''[[Kara no Kyoukai]]'') have both produced several well-respected soundtracks in the late 1990s and 2000s.
-[[Toshio Masuda (composer)]], has composed music for anime such as ''[[UFO Baby]]'' (2000) and ''[[Naruto]]'', both of which are popular shows.
-[[Shinji Miyazaki]] is mainly known writing and arranging music for the anime ''[[Pokémon]]''.
-[[Michiru Oshima]] composed the score for ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. Music for the second series, ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'', was written by the notable composer [[Akira Senju]].
-[[Shiro Sagisu]] is best known for his collaborations with [[Gainax]]. His career has spanned nearly three decades and he's composed for a variety of anime including ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]'', ''[[Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water]]'', ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', and ''[[Bleach (manga)|Bleach]]'', as well as ''[[Attack on Titan (film)]]''
-[[Yoshihisa Hirano]] is the acclaimed composer for ''[[Death Note]]'''', [[Hunter × Hunter (2011 TV series)|Hunter x Hunter (2011)]], [[Ouran High School Host Club]], [[Hajime no Ippo]],'' and ''[[Midori Days]].''
-[[Yuki Hayashi (composer)|Yuki Hayashi]] works with Anime series such as [[My Hero Academia]] he takes also the music of [[Gundam Build Fighters]] and [[Gundam Build Divers]] he also takes music of [[Pokémon (anime)]] when Shinji Miyazaki takes other things then the Pokémon anime.
-[[Yutaka Yamada]], another popular anime composer, known for the scores of ''[[Tokyo Ghoul]], [[Vinland Saga (manga)|Vinland Saga]], [[Great Pretender (TV series)|Great Pretender]],'' and ''[[Babylon (novel series)|Babylon]]''
-[[Satoru Kosaki]] is another popular composer mainly known writing and arranging music for the anime ''[[Lucky Star (manga)|Lucky Star]]'' and ''[[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''.
-[[Goro Omi]] is another popular composer mainly known writing and arranging [[science-fiction]] [[anime]], which is his specialty due to his dark [[electronic music]]. He is also best known for the [[background music]] in both the ''[[Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin]]'' and ''[[Tonde Buurin]]'' [[TV show]]s.
-[[Motoyoshi Iwasaki]]'s music style is also dark [[electronic music]], although he is best known for his music from the ''[[Hamtaro]]'' [[TV show]].
-[[Mark Mancina]] is more well known for composing [[background music]] outside of [[anime]], as well as the music for the ''[[Blood+]]'' [[TV show]].
-[[Kohei Tanaka (composer)|Kohei Tanaka]], a prolific anime and [[video game composer]], is famous for being the [[music composer]] for ''[[One Piece]]'' and ''[[21-emon]]''.
-[[Takanori Arisawa]], Udi Harpaz, and Amotz Plessner are other popular composers mainly known writing and arranging music for the anime ''[[Digimon]]''.
-[[Takahiro Obata]], works with great Jazz abilities on the Anime Television Series [[Ninjala]] works also with [[The Promised Neverland]]
-[[Takeo Watanabe]], (1933-1989) Works in the 1960s 1980s as series with [[Star Of The Giants]] works also with the anime series as [[Cutey Honey]] and [[Alphs No Shoujo Heidi]] and even [[Candy Candy]] he is mostly known as the composer of the first [[Mobile Suit Gundam]] series.
-[[Kouichi Sugiyama]] (1931-2021) works primaly on the 1972 [[Gatchaman]] series but even composing the Anime series [[Cyborg 009]] and [[Space Runaway Ideon]]. He would later working on the video game series [[Dragon Quest]] who is his last debuting music.
-[[Toshihiko Sahashi]] is another popular composer mainly known writing and arranging music for the anime ''[[Steel Angel Kurumi]]''.
-[[Kow Otani]] is the music composer for ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'', ''[[Blade of the Immortal]]'', ''[[Outlaw Star]]'' and ''[[Deltora Quest (anime)|Deltora Quest]]''.
-[[Shunsuke Kikuchi]] (1931-2021) is the music composer for the ''[[Doraemon]]'', ''[[Dr. Slump and Arale-chan]]'', ''[[Dragon Ball (anime)|Dragon Ball]]'' and ''[[Dragon Ball Z]]'' anime.
-[[Shinkichi Mitsumune]], because of his cinematic scoring and orchestration with big [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] sound, is the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' TV show's music composer.
-[[Kohta Yamamoto]], works both with Hiroyuki Sawano to composing [[Attack On Titan]] with great score and music ideas. Works with Yuki Hayashi on the Anime [[Dive!!|Dive]] and even composing other series as [[Eighty Six]] [[Kingdom]] and even [[The Seven Deadly Sins]] with co working with Hiroyuki Sawano.
-[[Kensuke Ushio]], works with the anime Netflix Animation [[Devilman Crybaby]] with great huge Synthwave abilities. Works also on other Anime series such as [[Ping Pong the animation]] and [[Space Dandy]]
+Beginning with [[Astro Boy (1963 TV series)|Astro Boy]] in 1963, Japanese cartoons had short theme songs. These would be expanded with a few extra verses to sell on small [[45 rpm record|45 rpm records]] for children. The songs themselves were typically cheerful imitations of Western music styles, with essentially anonymous composers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Patten |first=Fred |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Watching_Anime_Reading_Manga/81Y1TVYQSrEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=soundtrack&pg=PT153&printsec=frontcover |title=Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |year=2004 |chapter=All Those Japanese Animation Soundtracks}}</ref>
-[[Kevin Penkin]], an Australian-born composer known for his scores for ''[[Made in Abyss]], [[The Rising of the Shield Hero|Rising of the Shield Hero]], [[Tower of God]], [[Eden (2021 TV series)|Eden]],'' and an episode of ''[[Star Wars: Visions]].''
+Anime soundtracks became more mainstream in the 1970s. The major success of John William's score for [[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]] (1977) inspired the creators of [[Spaceship Battle Yamato]] (1974-5) to release the record ''Symphonic Suite Yamato'' (1977), composed by [[Hiroshi Miyagawa]]. It sold well, and very soon it became the industry standard for all anime TV shows to produce spin-off [[LP record|LP records]] with ten to twelve songs. Particularly notable anime music composed in the 70s includes [[Yuji Ohno|Yuji Ohno's]] modern jazz albums for [[Lupin III]] and [[Seiji Yokoyama]]'s symphonies for ''Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned'', a feature film adapted from [[The Tomb of Dracula]].<ref name=":1" />
-[[Yuji Ohno]] works only with [[Lupin The Third]] famous composer with great inspired music of Boogie Funk and Smooth Jazz.
+In the 1980s, the anime industry intersected more strongly with Japan's pop music industry. Composer [[Tetsuya Komuro]], for example, eventually became a multimillionaire music producer for pop artists like [[Namie Amuro]]. His career began as an anime composer, with his first record being the soundtrack to [[Vampire Hunter D (1985 film)|''Vampire Hunter D'']] (1985). He spearheaded a trend for [[electronic music]] inspired by European dance clubs, which he composed for the influential anime series ''[[City Hunter#Anime|City Hunter]]'' (1987-8). Komuro's name became synonymous with a brand of catchy music, suitable for [[karaoke]], which blurred boundaries between anime music and pop music.<ref name=":0" />
-[[Takeo Yamashita]] (1930-2005) works only with Lupin The Third Part 1 series. From the ONA Lupim Zero his music was credited after his death in 2005.
+[[Yoko Kanno]] composed melancholic experimental music for [[Cowboy Bebop]] (1998-9).<ref name=":0" />
-[[Tsutchie]], composer for the new anime adaptation of ''[[Gangsta.]]'', also composed scores for ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' and ''[[Samurai Champloo]]''.
+== References ==
-[[Kan Sawada]] is another popular composer mainly known writing and arranging music for the anime ''[[Doraemon]]''.
+{{Reflist}}
+== Further reading ==
-[[Miki Matsubara]] (1959-2004) was a singer and composer mostly known for her compositions for anime such as [[Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory]]
+* Stevens, Carolyn. ''Japanese Popular Music: Culture, Authenticity and Power'' (2007)
+* Condry, Ian. ''Collaborative creativity and Japan's media success story'' (2013)
+* Clements, Jonathan. ''Anime: A History'' (2013)
+* Wade, Bonnie. ''Composing Japanese Musical Modernity''
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Anime Composer}}
 [[Category:Anime composers|*]]