Yoko Kanno Popular Song Rankings [2026]

“Macross F” O.S.T. 2 Nyan Tora.Kanno Yōko8rank/position

Interstellar Flight

Macross Frontier, the third anime installment in the Macross series that began with The Super Dimension Fortress Macross broadcast in 1982, carries on the franchise’s hallmark love triangle.

It portrays the romance and lives of a young male protagonist and two songstresses.

The songs featured in the series are all very popular—especially one of the opening themes, Lion, which has become a karaoke staple.

This second soundtrack includes not only the popular theme songs but also insert songs, making it irresistible for fans.

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sasashina

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Our Days with the Sea and MagicKanno Yōko9rank/position

Sea, Magic, and Our Days – Honey and Clover O.S.T.

Yoko Kanno is also well known as the composer of the song “Flowers Will Bloom,” created to support recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

By the way, while this piece is background music for Honey and Clover, it’s soothing to listen to as driving music when you feel like going somewhere alone.

How about it with a beautiful sunset?

Anime “Kids on the Slope” Original SoundtrackKanno Yōko10rank/position

Moanin’ ORIGINAL COVER from “Kids on the Slope”

Speaking of Yoko Kanno, she boasts worldwide recognition for her genre-defying style and is one of Japan’s leading composers, active across a wide range of fields since the success of Macross Plus in 1994, including animation works like Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, as well as her collaborations with Maaya Sakamoto.

Opinions on Kanno’s best work likely vary from listener to listener, but this time I’d like to introduce the soundtrack to Kids on the Slope, which was adapted into an anime and aired in 2012.

Centered on the theme of jazz, the series was highly praised for its superb visuals that faithfully recreated scenes of the characters actually performing jazz classics.

Naturally, the soundtrack Kanno produced is “jazz”-conscious as well, featuring up-and-coming musicians of the time such as Takashi Matsunaga on piano and Shun Ishiwaka on drums.

From Kanno’s original pieces to famous jazz standards, the album is a striking collection where thrilling, high-tension sessions give rise to spectacular performances.

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KOH-1

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Trifle SongKanno Yōko11rank/position

Try Full Song (Acapella Version) – Yoko Kanno

Yoko Kanno has a voice that feels like it purifies the heart.

She’s a singer known for famous anime songs such as those from Macross Frontier, but she also performs healing-style pieces like this.

It’s the kind of music you’ll want to listen to slowly late at night.

Blue feat. MayaKanno Yōko12rank/position

Yoko Kanno / Yoko Kanno Blue feat. Maya [Official Music Visualizer]

A corporate advertisement from Honda featuring a commercial themed around the vehicles they create.

In the CM, people are shown riding cars, motorcycles, boats, and airplanes manufactured by Honda, but the vehicles themselves are transparent, leaving only the riders visible—a striking and mysterious visual.

The background music is “Blue feat.

Maya,” which carries a mystical atmosphere.

The original version sung by Mai Yamane was used as the theme song for the anime Cowboy Bebop, but for this commercial, the vocals are performed by Maya, a high school artist living in the United States.

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Hane Keisuke

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Tenko ~ Tiger WomanKanno Yōko13rank/position

Heavenly Tiger ~ Tiger Woman / Composition: Yoko Kanno / Arrangement: Toru Kanayama

This is the theme song for “Onna Joshu Naotora,” composed by Yoko Kanno.

“Onna Joshu Naotora” is the 56th Taiga drama, broadcast since January 8, 2017.

It portrays Ii Naotora, the female lord of Ii Valley in Enshu who raised Ii Naomasa, with Kou Shibasaki—making her first appearance in an NHK drama—playing the lead.

The opening theme begins with a brilliant fanfare, as if a party is about to start, followed by a gorgeous melody.