[Theme Song & BGM] Popular Anime Soundtrack Special
One of the essential elements that shape visual works like films, dramas, and anime is the soundtrack.
Music expresses the world of the story and adds depth and richness to it… I feel that all the works we call masterpieces feature tracks like that.
This time, I’ve put together a selection of soundtracks from popular anime.
From recent buzzworthy titles to nostalgically famous classics, I’ve tried to choose something that people of all ages can enjoy.
Be sure to check it out to the very end.
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[Theme Songs and BGM] Popular Anime Soundtrack Special (1–10)
Cherry Blossom Ninja ScrollsOnmyoza
A fated tale, once again resounding across time, by Onmyo-za.
Released in 2018, this song was created as the opening theme for the TV anime Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls.
About 12 years after the previous installment, the band once again provided the theme song for the series that weaves the ninjas’ intertwined destinies.
Heavy twin guitars and a powerful rhythm interlace with Kuroneko’s lustrous vocals to brilliantly capture the maddening pull of a cherry blossom–strewn fate.
Experience this one-of-a-kind world where Japanese sensibility and metal dynamism fuse.
VIOLET EVERGARDEN : AutomemoriesEvan Call
Violet Evergarden is an animated film based on a novel by Kana Akatsuki.
The original work is a popular novel that won the Grand Prize at the Kyoto Animation Awards.
The film won the Excellence Award for Animation at the 44th Japan Academy Film Prize and has gained worldwide popularity, being available on Netflix in many countries with English and Portuguese dubs, among others.
The theme song, sung by Minami Karasawa, is a ballad that emphasizes the importance of conveying feelings through words, and her soaring, powerful vocals are inspiring.
The soundtrack as a whole has a touch of melancholy, crafted with a quiet, subdued sadness.
TV anime “Love Live!” Original Soundtrack ‘Notes of School Idol Days’Fujisawa Yoshimasa
The original soundtrack “Notes of School idol days” from the popular anime Love Live!, which portrays the youth of an idol group.
It’s a must-have for fans, featuring not only the main theme songs sung by the protagonist group μ’s and the in-anime background music, but also tracks by the idol group A-RISE that appears in the series! Immerse yourself in the world of Love Live! while listening to this soundtrack packed with sparkle and excitement!
Theme Songs & BGM: Popular Anime Soundtrack Special (11–20)
NEON GENESIS EVANGELIONSagisu Shirō
Now globally acclaimed as a representative Japanese animated work—and with the blockbuster success of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in 2021 still fresh in memory—Neon Genesis Evangelion continues to stand out.
Beyond its fundamental appeal of an inventive, at times enigmatic narrative and compelling characters, many fans would agree that Evangelion is defined just as much by its superb score composed by Shiro Sagisu, a frequent collaborator on Hideaki Anno’s works.
While many Evangelion-related soundtracks have been released, here we’ll spotlight the seminal first soundtrack album, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION.
Released on December 6, 1995, it initially seemed to attract mainly devoted anime fans, but phenomena like soaring prices for the limited first edition on the secondhand market occurred.
As the series’ recognition grew, so did the soundtrack’s popularity, culminating in the third album, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION III, achieving the remarkable feat of reaching No.
1 on the Oricon charts.
Seamlessly traversing orchestral and rock textures, the album’s dazzling sound is by turns beautiful, exhilarating, and unsettling—film score–level quality that has not faded with time.
As an aside, it’s also notable that it includes Yoko Takahashi’s rendition of FLY ME TO THE MOON.
Eureka Seven: Symphonic Poem Original Soundtrack 1Satō Naoki
Eureka Seven is a popular anime whose TV series began airing in 2005, with several theatrical films released thereafter.
It’s a mecha anime that garnered attention for its profound story exploring relationships between humans and non-human entities—prompting reflections on humanity—as well as its stylish battle scenes reminiscent of surfing.
The soundtrack featured here was released the same year.
One of the musical hallmarks of Eureka Seven is its use of existing songs by popular artists—such as Supercar—as insert tracks within the show.
Accordingly, this soundtrack includes a generous selection of those tracks.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica Music CollectionKajiura Yuki
Yuki Kajiura, who has composed strikingly distinctive music for works with unique atmospheres such as NOIR, The Garden of Sinners (Kara no Kyōkai) series, and the Fate/stay night movie, is a highly acclaimed composer.
Although the popular female unit Kalafina has sadly disbanded, she also flourished as their music producer, and more recently, it’s still fresh in our memory that she composed and arranged LiSA’s hit Homura, which won the Grand Prix at the 62nd Japan Record Awards.
Among the soundtracks Kajiura has crafted for animated works is the 2011 anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which became a hot topic for its shocking plot developments.
Speaking of Madoka Magica, including Kalafina, who performed the ending theme, the association with “Kajiura’s music” is incredibly strong, and of course, the score—richly reflecting her style that freely traverses Western and Eastern musical traditions—has been very highly praised.
In fact, the Madoka Magica soundtrack was originally available as bonus CDs included with the Blu-ray and DVD releases, but in 2013 it was officially compiled and released as the Puella Magi Madoka Magica MUSIC COLLECTION.
It also includes the cast’s vocal tracks, the opening theme Connect sung by ClariS, and the ending theme Magia by Kalafina, making it a must-have album for anyone who wants to fully immerse themselves in the world of Madoka Magica!
TV Anime “Forest of Piano” Music CollectionFuki Harumi
The anime Piano no Mori unfolds from the moment the protagonist, Kai Ichinose—who grew up playing a piano in the forest from a young age—meets his classmate Shūhei Amamiya, who aspires to be a pianist, and their teacher, the former pianist Sōsuke Ajino.
As the title and synopsis suggest, the work features many famous piano pieces and classical music.
However, what we’re introducing here is the soundtrack of Piano no Mori’s original compositions, which play during the drama segments and more.
It’s a collection of BGM that conveys the atmosphere of each scene and the characters’ emotional shifts.
The key point might be that it’s “not just piano pieces.”