Best Anime soundtrack?

[laborpilot86]

What is the best anime soundtrack? My picks would be Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex(both series), Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop and Eureka Seven.


What's your pick?

[EMY23-23]

Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, FLCL.

[Pachinko]

The best albums I've heard yet have all been the albums for Revolutionary Girl Utena. The music is flawless and regal, I just can't get enough. Perhaps the movie soundtrack is the best of all of them, but they are all on repeat, constantly.

[isolatedotaku]

I'd have to say that Gankutsuou - Classical Compilation (http://www.nihonreview.com/wordpress/soundtracks/gankutsuou-classical-compilation/) and Cowboy Bebob: Blue (http://www.nihonreview.com/wordpress/soundtracks/cowboy-bebop-blue/) are the best anime soundtracks. I can't choose between the two, they are just so good.

Le Portrait de Petit Cossette's OST (http://www.nihonreview.com/wordpress/soundtracks/petit-cossette-original-soundtrack/) is also worth mentioning.

[Akuhei]

FLCL (fanboy alert fanboy alert) is my favorite OST. Some of the others mentioned are also outstanding (cowboy bebop, GITS:SAC and 2nd gig). I'll also throw Noir into the mix because I love Yuki Kajiura :D

[Teengamefan]

Oh man I love FLCL's sound tracks they are incredible. I also have to say Cowboy Bepop's are very good too. The songs in those albums are just great I love them.

[laborpilot86]

I forgot about Samurai Champloo :thud:

[Tyrdium]

Anything by Yuki Kajiura. Period.

[animanic_critic]

Any soundtrack by Yoko Kanno and Yuki Kajiura deserves all the heaps of credits it gets. Namely, Yoko's works in GITS: SAC 1st & 2nd GIG, Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop, and subsequently Kajiura's in the .hack series, Mai-HiME and Gundam SEED/Destiny.

However, Taku Iwasaki deserves just as much kudos for his brilliant work in the Rurouni Kenshin OVA 01 soundtrack. This still remains as his greatest work ever IMHO.

[Asahn]

Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C/2nd GIG/Solid State Society all of fantastic music.
Also, Air Gear has the most original soundtrack I've ever heard in an Anime, and one of the best. Props to skankfunk.
Also, I'd say Bruce Faulconer's American Dragonball Z soundtrack was excellent. Though, I get a lot of hate for that opinion. Predonimantly from rabid close-minded Otaku and their blind hate against not only DBZ, but FUNimation's dub.

[L-sama]

Any soundtrack by Yoko Kanno and Yuki Kajiura deserves all the heaps of credits it gets. Namely, Yoko's works in GITS: SAC 1st & 2nd GIG, Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop, and subsequently Kajiura's in the .hack series, Mai-HiME and Gundam SEED/Destiny.

However, Taku Iwasaki deserves just as much kudos for his brilliant work in the Rurouni Kenshin OVA 01 soundtrack. This still remains as his greatest work ever IMHO.

Quoted for truth.

I'm also going to add FAFNER in the azure -NO WHERE- (http://www.animeacademy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23775) and FAFNER in the azure -NOW HERE- in the mix as well. These two OST are truly a treat to listen to over and over again and fit their anime perfectly. I also liked the OSTs for Slayers: The Motion Picture, Read or Die OVA, and Fullmetal Alchemist

[D.A.]

Noir
Le Portrait de Petit Cossette
Madlax
.hack//LIMINALITY
.hack//SIGN
Mai-HiME
Tsubasa Chronicles
Elementar Gerad
Mai-Otome
Aquarian Age

[Anything from Yuki Kajiura]

The Melody of Oblivion
Tsukihime
Air
Hellsing

[Milkymagic]

I'm a big fan of Mamoru Oshii's anime/films, and the soundtracks that incorporate them are fascinating in their own right. Anything from composer Kenji Kawai does the trick: Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, and Twilight Q2 really get me going. Though Yoshihiro Kanno's work on Angel's Egg was equally fascinating (too bad he only worked on one other anime in his career ;_; )

Nadia also had an excellent opening theme and soundtrack encompassing it.

Macross Plus was brilliant with its variety, alongside the memorable hooks of the original Macross series' themes (I'm a fan of Mari Iijima). Macross II sticks out for me thanks to "Riding in Your Valkyrie."

Joe Hisiashi is an excellent composer who put together the colorful themes for the experimental classic Robot Carnival, alongside working with a number of sucessful Ghibli projects.

Yoko Kanno also has a great track record with me aside from Macross Plus, with Escaflowne being her best achievement.

From Ryuichi Sakamoto, who made the soundtrack for The Last Emperor alongside being a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, and was an acclaimed producer: The Wings of Honneamise is probably my personal favorite soundtrack , with its sweeping themes and experimental sounds.

[Two-twenty]

These are my favs:

- The soundtrack to Hellsing is kickin' rad rockin' awesome. "A World without Logos" remains my all time favourite anime song.

- Echoing Cowboy Bebop again. Next time you and your buddies have a poker night, pick out about half an hour of the jazziest, coolest songs and put them on repeat. Cooler than cool. In terms of variety, popularity and sheer musical prowess, I'd say this is the best anime soundtrack.

- Obligatory FLCL name drop.

- Much like the anime itself, the soundtrack to Bartender is so damn classy you almost have to dress up to listen to it.

- The Haibane Renmei soundtrack is beautiful. That's all I can really think to say. Beautiful.

- Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad has a pretty good one too, but it's more the type of thing you'd want to listen to through headphones in case someone hears you listening to such staggering feats of Engrish.

- In terms of perfectly matching the anime, the His and Her Circumstances is up there with Bebop. Just how the anime itself and swing from polar opposites without ever feeling awkward, the music pulls of the same thing.

- Earth Girl Arjuna is probably Kanno's most under-rated work (probably because it's attached to such an average series). Bar a few of the more poppy tunes, it manages to effortlessly move from dainty to tribal to incorporeal.

[ParakissNoda]

To me the best anime soundtracks are FLCL, Trigun, and Samurai Champloo.

[Le Bread]

Masamichi Amano's sprawling orchestrastions (recorded with the Poland Warsaw Philharmonic) for Giant Robo stands out in my mind as one of the truly compelling scores of anime. Borrowing elements from opera, old adventure serial scores, and the music of Ingmar Bergman films, and devoid of the clunky techno and j-pop that so often accompanies mech shows, it stands head and shoulders above the average OVA in terms of music. The fact that Amano composed a unique score for every single episode doesn't hurt either.

Taku Iwasaki's work with Read or Die, both the TV and OVA series, are also altogether solid. The action themes are particularly gripping.

And as far as Yoko Kanno's concerned, nothing she's done to date has managed to top her score for Escaflowne. "Dance of Curse" is a quintessential action cue, and the remake of it made exclusively for the movie still gives me a chill when it hits its crescendo.

[LadyYuina]

Samurai X Trust/Betrayal soundtrack rocked my socks.

[Mei]

The Paprika movie soundtrack is pretty awesome, a wondeful set of instrumental-electronica tracks, that fitted the surrealism of the movie wonderfully. It blew me away in the cinema and retains that feeling for everyday listening.

Current fave, though for all time Cowboy Bebop, FLCL and Beck's tracks probably top the list for me ^^

[Sanda]

D.A has a taste similar to mine I think.

The following Anime soundtracks are my favorite ones:

Noir;
Hack Sign and the other Hack series;
Tsubasa Chronicles;
Cowboy Bebop;
and Macross Plus.

[Dennis]

- The Haibane Renmei soundtrack is beautiful. That's all I can really think to say. Beautiful.

Dead-on, 220. I would be hard-pressed to find a more easy going and truly spectacular OST than Haibane-Renmei. In fact it is the only anime OST I own.

[Le Bread]

After listening to the new opening and ending theme for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Solid State Society, I just wanted to add that the soundtrack for the Stand Alone Complex series as a whole has gone above and beyond to carve a niche out for itself. The vocal tracks, especially the themes performed by russian singer/songwriter origa, are some of the best that anime has to offer. Contributions by Yoko Kanno, Scott Matthews, and Ilaria Graziano blend together seamlessly to make one of the most adventurous cyberpunk soundtracks in ages.

On an unrelated note, I'm loving the hell out of Akagi's Op "Nantokanare". That's as gritty a song as I think I'll ever hear play in front of an animated series.

[soundchazer]

I think it all depends on what you are looking for.

If it is regal and epic, Yoko Kanno's Vision of Escaflowne and Kunihiko Ryo's Twelve Kingdoms soundtracks are about as good as you will get.

If you are looking for something more cyberpunkish/techno in nature, again, Yoko Kanno's Ghost in the Shell: SAC is the blueprint for any other composer to follow.

If you are looking for nice pop/rock songs, the assortment for BECK and Kimagure Orange Road (if you are into 80s music) are probably the best collection of tunes in anime.

[Milkymagic]

I think it all depends on what you are looking for.

If it is regal and epic, Yoko Kanno's Vision of Escaflowne and Kunihiko Ryo's Twelve Kingdoms soundtracks are about as good as you will get.

If you are looking for something more cyberpunkish/techno in nature, again, Yoko Kanno's Ghost in the Shell: SAC is the blueprint for any other composer to follow.

If you are looking for nice pop/rock songs, the assortment for BECK and Kimagure Orange Road (if you are into 80s music) are probably the best collection of tunes in anime.

Y'know something? I'd second Kimagure Orange Road's music, the first closing theme was my favorite.

I'll give Two-twenty a nod up there with His and Her Circumstances, that had a great soundtrack.

I personally enjoyed Memories and Gunbuster aside from what I already mentioned above.

[Lupin the 3rd]

FLCL and Cowboy Bebop soundtrack are my favorites.

[Mana]

I'm not one for anime music much, but I will say that Haibane, GITS:SAC, and .hack all have very cool soundtracks. The Urusei Yatsura title songs are also incredibly fun.

[laborpilot86]

The soundtrack for Mars Daybreak (except the opening theme which sucks) is pretty good


Who dosen't like Pirates?

[Kei]

On an unrelated note, I'm loving the hell out of Akagi's Op "Nantokanare". That's as gritty a song as I think I'll ever hear play in front of an animated series.


Quoted for infinite truth.

Akagi's soundtrack is amazing. S.T.H. is one of my favorite ending themes of all time.

[Zushio]

I'm gonna throw up a vote and say that Kacho Oji ~ The Legend of Black Heaven has a completely brilliant sountrack, both in its themes and the instrumental backgrounds.

[Kaikyaku]

A lot of good ones have been mentioned (I'll totally support Haibane Renmei and Hack Sign's nominations) but one that hasn't been mentioned that I totally love is Last Exile. It has a really nice celtic feel and it would definetly rank as one of my favourites. I love "Silverna" especially.

I'd also suggest the soundtrack for Voices of a Distant Star (and, to a lesser extent, Beyond the Clouds). Bus Stop Rain is my absolute favourite song to play on the piano.

[Zelkiiro]

Anything by Yuki Kajiura. Period.
Kanno Yoko, too. They both are made of love and win.

[laborpilot86]

RahXephon's soundtrack is a great complement to the feel of the series and adds oddles of atmosphere

[ZZalapski]

I'll take Cowboy Bebop by a hair or two over FLCL.

[BandanaDan]

Oh bloody hell. I've just scoured google looking for people's opinions on the best anime soundtracks, and I couldn't help but register to this forum just to say say...


ONE PIECE

Seriously, it has the greatest soundtrack I've ever heard. It's so grandious, so epic. And yet it can be really touching and subtle too. It's not just my fav anime soundtrack, but my fav soundtrack ever. It really saddens me that I'm only 20 and I don't think I will ever hear anything as complete and good as this.

I enjoy this music more than Mozart, Beethovan, and John Williams.

I own 10 of the soundtracks and am saving up to buy the other symphonies.

It's a shame the English dub of One Piece is absolutely terrible. It totally removes the original music in favour of rubbish techno keyboard. The good thing is, the english dub by 4Kids has been cancelled and their license is going to expire.

The only way to watch One Piece as intended is to download, alas illegally, fansubs. Or to learn japanese and import the japanese DVDs for like $40 dollars for 3 episodes. I wouldn't recommend this as it's a 300+ episode series. Besides fansubs, I'd say go on ebay and buy the (LEGIT) Singaporean english dub. That isn't too bad. It works out as less than a dollar for an episode. Only bad thing is it's in VCD format.


I would upload a tiny collection of the original japanese music to show you what I mean but err not allowed here.

Trust me, watch One Piece the anime. Then buy the soundtracks (or steal them or whatever) just make sure you experience it!

[Dirty Harry]

ORETACHI WA FAAAAAMILY

I like this new guy. >_> One Piece soundtrack owns.

[BandanaDan]

ORETACHI WA FAAAAAMILY

I like this new guy. >_> One Piece soundtrack owns.

Haha thanks.

I wont be coming back here though. This place's discussions are practically dead, and the place is too censored but, just had to voice my opinion on OP soundtrack ;)

Nice to meetcha though

[hayama22]

Hajime Mizoguchi's compositions for the Jin-Roh soundtrack are absolutely stunning. The orchestra has the nicest tone of any I've heard.

Berserk also has a great soundtrack. Susumu Hirasawa is among the most original and captivating musicians of our time.

Kenji Kawai's soundtrack to Ghost in the Shell is exotic and completely mesmerizing.

The Honey and Clover soundtrack is strong in an introspective way, and is good music to listen to when I feel a bit vulnerable.

Pretty much any soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura or Yoko Kanno is magnificent in my eyes.

[Nanook]

May I use capslock?
I mean, I know it's a horribly rude thing to do, but, you know...
...I can?
...Really? Okay, thanks. I think I will.

COWBOY BEBOP.
Seriously. The soundtrack, more than anything, makes the show. If there was no soundtrack, would "Ballad of Fallen Angels" have been heart-wrenching? Would the social dramas be half as exciting? Would I, a devoted music lover and musician myself, be screaming joyously over it, were it not for the soundtrack?

No. I would not. For that exact reason, it's my favourite.
I own Blue, Tank! The Best!, Future Blues, Cowgirl Edward and Vitaminless. That's high praise coming from someone who hates practically all soundtracks.

Aside from that, I rather liked Samurai Champloo, because the ending theme was lovely and the opening rap was pretty fun. The Digimon Movie also had a surprisingly good soundtrack, with Barenaked Ladies and FatBoy Slim, among other things.

[wheelman286]

There are some great anime soundtracks out there and i like many of them... i probably have soundtrack songs from just about every anime i've watched that i could actually find them for

some of my personal favorites are:

Wolf's Rain (especially Strangers... it's in my top 4 or 5 favorite songs right now)

Joe Hisaishi- (all his Miyazaki/Ghibli OSTs plus Kikujiro)

Cowboy Bebop

Fullmetal Alchemist

The Big O

Trigun

Ghost in the shell

[Ghostmaster]

Cowboy Bebop definitely has a fantastic soundtrack. I love the mix of High energy Jazz.
Samurai Champloo - love the hip-hop mix. It's a great combination of samurais and hip-hop music.
Any Ghibli Film by Joe Hisaishi He is the master of anime composers. Everything he does basically turns to gold. Love his scores from Spirited Away, Howl's, Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke. The score from the film Kikujiro is also fantastic if you haven't checked that out.
Honey and Clover - I actually love the music from this anime, so many different styles. There's soft, quiet melodies to upbeat pop type of stuff. It's a great range of different sounds.
Ghost in the Shell - Really great electronic music that fits so well with the films and the series. It just feels that that music is meant to be there, I don't know how else is would work, but it just does brilliantly.

[Cephalopod]

Akira. Geinoh Yamashiroguni FTW

Also the endings for Outlaw Star were quite nice

[ProfessorWashu]

I must say that I adore Tenchi Muyo's soundtrack. No matter how many times I hear those songs, I feel bubbly all over or rushed with excitement. Also, while some songs were terrible, I really love how Neon Genesis Evangelion put some classical music and some suspenseful piano work (Rei's theme) into the mix. The soundtracks to the movies were absolutely perfect. I'm gonna cheat and put in a videogame soundtrack too! (So there!) Final Fantasy (the whole series) has yet to have a bad song, folks. And we're up to 13! Did anyone else think that the Inu Yasha soundtrack, while repetitive, was wonderful?

[PassiveObserver]

For me it's a three way tie between cowboy bebop, flcl, and the kenshin ovas.

[Lamace]

I do have to say that my favorite OST for an anime is easily Tekkaman Blade By Kaoru Wada. I also really love Susumu Hirasawa's work, especially his vocal tracks.

[laborpilot86]

too add to my previous posts...

Twelve Kingdoms, Bartender, Paradise Kiss, and Red Garden (especially the first ET) should be added to my original list.

[ZZalapski]

Adding to the love for the soundtrack to GitS: SAC. Run Rabbit Junk belongs on the list (as does The Pillow's Runner's High) of "songs you shouldn't play in your car lest you get pulled over for going 20 mph over the speed limit".

[zarahf]

Ghost in the Shell, Hellsing (Raid and Ruin both), Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champaloo and Lillium (from Elfin Lied but the rest of its music must not have been memorable as I don't remember it). --In no particular order

[ShadowZelda]

the best soundtrack is dbz,escaflowne,revoultionary girl utena,ruroni kenshin,.hack//sign,and fushigi yugi oh and naruto!!!!!!!!!!!