Japanimation Film Scores

Five years ago Japanese animation hit the West. It came in the form of Katsuhiro Otomo's 1987 Akira. Since then the Japanimation industry has soared to new heights. It was therefore unavoidable that the music for these films would surface. However, it did it quietly and almost three years after the theatrical release of Akira.

At that time only one CD soundtrack had been produced, by an English record company, Demon Records. Despite the fact that it hadn't been advertised, the album sold well. Demon realized what they had and before long they released another CD soundtrack, an Akira spinoff billed as the Original Japanese Soundtrack. The difference between the two is that the first is symphonic whereas the second has Japanese dialogue interspersed within the tracks, which is in typical style of the Japanese—when they mean the soundtrack, they mean the soundtrack.

The group that composed and performed the music was Genoh Yamashirogumi. Otomo chose this group above all others because their music was that of an older, more rustic Japan. This was a clever device, the film's cyberpunk edge complemented by sounds of long ago.

Since Akira more Japanimation has moved over to the West, courtesy of Manga Entertainment Ltd. The best musical offerings have come from mainly three individuals: Yoko Kanno, Kenji Kawai and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Veteran collectors will hopefully recognize the last name on the list due his Academy Award for Bertolucci's film, The Last Emperor.

Ryuichi Sakamoto before The Last Emperor had scored many animated Japanese features. One of his greatest works was for The Wings of Honneamise which, ironically enough, was released at the same time as Akira. The music is hard to get hold of and it costs an average of $60 for the CD. Sakamoto's work in general is difficult to obtain, and some of it isn't all that good. The other two composers are far more accessible in CD format, and so I will speak about them in more detail.

Kenji Kawai is rather new to the business; he started in 1989 on Mamoru Oshii's film Patlabor Mobile Police. The film involved heavy artillery and big robots galore so it isn't surprising that the music reflected it. It was loud, and there was lots of it. His second work to hit the Western light of day was again another of Mamoru Oshii's Patlabor films. However, this music had a different tone. Oshii is known for his philosophical knowledge and honesty as film director, and Kawai reflects Oshii's thoughts almost like a mirror. The music is ethereal and sounds in some cases as though angels are part of the wordless choir. It is also very atonal in structure. Despite this it doesnt strain the ear in Schoernberg style but relaxes it and promotes your brain to think—not daydream, but think. Kawai's most recent work is that of Ghost in the Shell, another Oshii film. This music has taken a step further and is far more harsh but still simple. It also shows a mark of his maturity as a composer. The film's content is similar to that of Patlabor Mobile Suit Police but, refeshingly, it lacks the thrash- metal style that would be common in other such works in this techno-cyberpunk-thriller genre.

The OSTs themselves are expensive but are easy to obtain. It is advisable to watch the films first before splashing out $100, and be careful that you buy the film music, not the television incarnation, because the latter is done by a different and inferior composer. As I said earlier, keep your eyes peeled.

Finally I come to Yoko Kanno. Out of all the above composers her music is in more an American mold, in that it has lush themes and spicy action accompaniment. She has only done one work that we have seen and that is for Shoji Kawamori's Macross Plus. This is a stunner of a score; Myung's Theme is an enchanting melody, and overall it is absolutely brilliant. The CD is released by the aforementioned Demon Reconds and will probably cost $25 for the first volume. There are three in the series so far; only two have been released and the first is the best.

A few things before I finish. The first is that most of the music available is in a western format so it will be cheap and the second is that even if it isnt in a western format it will be still available in an oriental. Finally those of you that want the Ghost in the Shell OST, it hasnt been released yet.