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Japanese anime is a planet-changing entertainment genre. There is no culture on Earth that has not been influenced by anime. The style, the stories, the visual format… it’s now universal. Everyone has a favorite anime. But have you ever considered the music? We’re going to take a (very subjective and incomplete) survey of some of the best soundtracks in anime, from theme songs to closing credits, encompassing a range of genres, including Japanese pop, Western classical, jazz, EDM, alt-rock, and a touch of hip-hop.
Our survey is not a ranking of the best. There’s just way too much good music in anime to do that. That said, Tank! (1998) by Yoko Kanno, performed by the Seatbelts for Cowboy Bebop is the best evar, without question or debate. It’s honestly a Top Ten All-Time Best Theme Song in motion picture history. Period. Is it better than the James Bond theme (1962) by Monty Norman? Yes. Is it better than the Star Wars (1977) theme by John Williams? Different genre, really, but let’s say yes. Also? The Real Folk Blues as the closing credits? Also excellent, but let’s get on with the rest of our survey, shall we?
OK. 3, 2, 1, let’s jam.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
This entry is really about Joe Hisaishi, a legendary film composer and not simply in the category of anime. He’s scored hundreds of films so it’s hard to pick the best. Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is probably the most well-known of his scores in America, and for good reason, but if we have to pick? The earworm leitmotif of Totoro is our favorite. Simple enough to casually whistle when you are in a good mood (or need cheering up) all the way to epic orchestral swells that make you wanna cheer, Totoro is our favorite giant cat. Dragon. Giant dragon cat. Cat dragon. Whatever Totoro is. Did you fail to click the link we just posted? Click it. It’s Joe Hisaishi himself directing a huge orchestra (like really big) and maybe the biggest choir we’ve ever seen. Bigger than a Handel double-choir. Miyazaki even makes an emotional guest appearance.
Evangelion (1995)
Evangelion (Eva) is an epic franchise of mecha anime that began in 1995 with Neon Genesis Evangelion. The music from Sagisu Shirō is also epic. This is some of the greatest music in anime history, no question. He also did the score for the Bleach series. Which is better? Who’s to say, but Eva was first. Giant mecha robots fighting against evil with long-running themes on the morality of war, civilian casualties, severe psychological damage and even psychosis for our protagonists, accompanied by a sometimes very dark soundtrack that also rises to the heroic. The series is not without controversy, but it’s very engaging next to some of the bubblegum that anime can devolve into. The franchise is huge (but not One Piece huge), so if you are just dipping your toe in, you might want to read a guide and get some recommendations of where to start, but we’d recommend the original season and then the first movie and you can go from there.
Blade Runner: Black Lotus (2021)
I Can Feel You Now by Alessia Cara is atmosphere-defining for this show. It may be the best part of the entire series, but there’s a lot of other good music, from the theme to the credits. Like a few of the series on this list, the end credits can have different music for every episode and it can be very, very good. There’s a dark steampunk vibe to the show, of course, and the music tends to be highly produced EDM punctuated by great vocals, but this is a soundtrack that stands on its own.
KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
KPop Demon Hunters is an animated musical even more so than most Disney music-centric projects like Encanto or Frozen or pretty much anything Disney has done since Snow White (1937). Yes, the movie does feel more Disney than anime, but it is thick with anime visual tropes, so we think it counts. We’re sure you are sick of Golden by now but, in our opinion, Takedown is the best song in the movie (watch the end credits, please). Honorable mentions from the soundtrack go to How It’s Done, This Is What It Sounds Like, and the Saja Boys Your Idol. Even Jinu’s little pipa song about Gwi-Ma the demon king is really good. Will he let the fire go… out? Soda Pop kinda sucks, but it is supposed to suck as a part of the plot, so no demerits for that crappy (but catchy) song.
Fooly Cooly (2000)
FLCL is a weird-ass anime, and that is frankly saying a lot from a genre that includes everything from magical aliens in high school, a dude with a chainsaw for a head, tentacle porn, and multiple series centered entirely around food, up to and including anthropomorphic food as the heroes (Fried Ricer!). The plot of FLCL is music-centric and the music rocks. Seriously. The soundtrack is another example that stands by itself as good even without the anime, which makes sense since the music is by The Pillows, an alt-rock band founded in 1989 in Hokkaido. The entirety of the FLCL series is six episodes, so you have no excuse not to watch it (although there’s some follow-up content). Music-wise? For music, maybe start with Riding on a Shooting Star or Hybrid Rainbow.
Arcane (2021)
Is Arcane even anime? We’d argue yes based on style alone. The premise is based on the video game League of Legends, which should be a strike against it. It does fall into an “opponent of the week with unique powers” structure at times, which is a video game trope, but the anime is really quite good. And the soundtrack? Amazing. The Imagine Dragons original song for the series is Enemy and fits perfectly, but you really need to take the show as a whole, right down to the closing credits, which feature an original song every week. The music is extremely well done and is definitely listenable on its own. It had better be, since the budget for the project was $250 million. Yeah. Video games and anime are definitely mainstream culture and not just for nerds anymore.
Look. We get this is clickbait. It’s silly to write a brief piece on the best music in anime history. There have been literally thousands of shows, episodes, and movies, and they all have music. Classical, jazz, EDM, rock? So? Tell us your favorites in the Comments!