[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)
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.
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)
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.
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.”
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.
samurai champloo music record departureNujabes、Fat Jon
With his innovative beat-making sensibility, Nujabes influenced track makers around the world and is often called the de facto pioneer of the internet-born genre “lo-fi hip hop.” Although he sadly passed away in February 2010 at the young age of 36, the many remarkable beats he released continue to be loved by creators not only in Japan but across the globe.
The only anime he contributed music to during his lifetime was Samurai Champloo, a TV animation directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, also known for Cowboy Bebop.
A passionate music fan himself, Watanabe approached Nujabes directly, and together they succeeded in creating a work that daringly fused period drama with hip hop—an idea that would be difficult to execute even if one thought of it.
The release covered here is the first soundtrack, Samurai Champloo Music Record “departure,” featuring Nujabes and American music producer Fat Jon.
Now regarded as an early milestone of lo-fi hip hop and popular even in Japan, at the time there were few anime fans in Japan who understood the combination of hip hop and anime, and it was actually more popular overseas—a telling and fascinating anecdote that reflects the subcultural climate of that era.