From the first scene, music sets an anime movie’s tone. It can be gentle, powerful, hopeful, harmonious, or discordant. But no matter its style, a movie’s soundtrack is an indispensable part of the narrative that can bring viewers to tears or to the edge of their seats.
Most anime movies have soundtracks that work well to make their stories complete, but few make names for themselves, inspiring fans to revisit their grandeur time and again. Many well-received soundtracks from anime movies come from cinematic masterpieces that understand how to make animation, storytelling, and music come together seamlessly.
8The Garden Of Sinners
The Garden of Sinnersis an anime movie series with eight main entries. Adapted from light novels by the creator ofFate/stay night,Kinoko Nasu,the renowned supernatural mystery seriesfollows a teenage girl named Shiki Ryouji who receives the ability to see death lines after surviving an accident.
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While the series’ themes and nonlinear storytelling can make it difficult to follow at first, the beauty of its soundtrack is evident to viewers even upon their first watch. Composed by Yuki Kajiura, the music forTheGarden of Sinnersmovies can match the excitement and danger of Shiki’s battles or leave room to reflect on the world around her.
7Promare
In this movie’s world, people with fire powers, known as the Burnish, are antagonized for their abilities.Promaretells the story of the unlikely alliance between Lio Fotia, the leader of a Burnish organization, and Galos Thymos, an eager new member of the firefighting Burning Rescue group.
Fitting its action-packed story,Promare’smusic, written by Hiroyuki Sawano, is dramatic, motivational, and fiery. However, its soundtrack is unparalleled when “Kakusei” by Superfly plays at the movie’s vibrant and captivating climax to highlight Lio’s power and determination to protect the other Burnish from oppression.
6Akira
Known as one of the best andmost influential techno-horror moviesof all time,Akiratells the story of a young biker gang leader named Kaneda on a mission to save his friend, Tetsuo, from government experimentation. Despite Kaneda’s efforts, Tetsuo begins developing painful and destructive psychic powers, changing the world around them in unprecedented ways.
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Composed by Dr. Shoji Yamashiro,Akira’ssoundtrackperfectly captures the stakes of each scene with its chaotic, haunting melodies. Many of its songs make use of silence, chants, and unique instruments to contrast with the story’s futuristic world and symbolize each character’s motivations as they change and grow.
5Ghost In The Shell (1995)
Adapted from a manga series by Masamune Shirow, the 1995 movie forGhost in the Shellintroduced many to one of the most beloved cyberpunk thriller franchises in the world. Following cybernetic soldier Major Motoko Kusanagi on her mission to track down a hacker known as Puppet Master, the movie garnered attention not only for its advanced world, but for its questions about humanity and the soul.
Given its mysterious, contemplative nature,Ghost in the Shell’ssoundtrack by Kenji Kawai includes many ambienttracks with the occasional vocals that highlight how humanity interacts with technology. While there aremany iterations of Motoko’s story,there’s something special about those that feature Kawai’s music.
4Your Name
Directed by Makoto Shinkai,Your Nametells the story of two high schoolers, Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana, who inexplicably begin swapping bodies at random. As the two begin to change the course of each other’s lives, they leave notes to communicate, growing closer until they decide they want to meet in person.
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With music prepared by RADWIMPS, the soundtrack forYour Nameis beautiful and relaxing. It stands out as much for its easygoing instrumental tracks as it does for its catchy lyrical tunes sung in both English and Japanese.
3The End of Evangelion
As a retelling ofNeon Genesis Evangelion’sphilosophical last two episodes,The End of Evangelionbetter explains the physical events that lead to human instrumentality and end Shinji’s time as a pilot for Unit-01.
WhileThe End of Evangelion’ssoundtrack may be most well-known for the song “Komm, Süsser Tod,” its other tracks by Shiro Sagisu emphasize the loss, destruction, and devastation that Shinji faces throughout his story. Each note feels poignant, helping the movie strike a perfect balance between its actions and emotional reactions.
2Paprika
Directed by Satoshi Kon,Paprikaisa mind-bending anime moviewhere dreams and reality begin to combine after an experimental dream therapy device called the DC Mini goes missing. Determined to recover the technology from dream terrorists, Dr. Chiba and her team work alongside the illusive dream detective Paprika, passing through captivating dreamscapes to untangle the worlds around them.
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Paprika’s soundtrack, composed by Susumu Hirasawa, is otherworldly. Whether a scene resembles more of a dream or nightmare, each track meets it with bravado and grandeur, immersing viewers in its surreal beauty and horror.
1Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononokeis one of Studio Ghibli’s most violent and epic adventures. Recounting the travels of a young prince named Ashitaka who was cursed while trying to protect his village from a rampant boar god, the film considers how industry and development disrupt the balance between humanity and nature.
While many other movies byStudio Ghiblialso includeincredible soundtracks by Joe Hisaishi,the music forPrincess Mononokeis as elegant and unsuspecting as it is driven and intense, perfectly capturing the complexity of Prince Ashitaka’s journey. Filled with death, destruction, and uncertainty from all sides, the film sets itself apart from Studio Ghibli’s usual niche while maintaining its charm. It is only natural that the soundtrack follows suit.
