Anison Music: 5 Notable Anison Artists

Anison is a Japanese music genre comprising pop and rock songs from the soundtracks of popular anime films and television series. “Anime” is a colloquial term for “Japanese animation,” and “anison” is a hybrid term that combines “anime” with the English word “song.” Japanese anime fans are “otaku,” a term that describes people with a strong interest in certain areas, like anime or manga (a style of Japanese comic books). These fans have made the opening theme songs and end title tracks for anime series—like Attack on Titan or Neon Genesis Evangelion hits—land on the Oricon charts, which provides statistics for the Japanese music industry.

Many voice-over artists for anime projects have become J-pop (Japanese pop) stars by singing anime songs. J-rock (Japanese rock) bands that have recorded theme music for various series’ original soundtracks (OST) have vaulted to stardom.

Anison’s history coincides with the rise of television anime in Japan during the early 1960s.

• Beginnings: Many early anime soundtracks included pop-oriented theme songs like “Atom March,” the title theme from Osamu Tezuka’s groundbreaking manga series Astro Boy. Manga’s rise in popularity in the 1970s led to an explosion of anime television series like Space Battleship Yamato and Mazinger Z, many featuring pop and rock songs as theme music. These songs became popular enough with viewers to warrant concerts featuring live performances of the songs by their original vocalists.
• Climbing the charts: By the 1980s and 1990s, anime music was a staple of the Oricon charts. Songs like “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” from Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Moonlight Densetsu” from Sailor Moon, and “Odoru Ponpokorin” from Chibi Maruko-chan sold millions of records and made stars of the voice-over artists who performed them.
• The rise of anison pop stars: Anison, along with music from Japanese television dramas and “tokusatsu”—live-action sci-fi with special effects—became its own music genre, complete with artists who specifically recorded and performed music for such programs. The genre’s birth led to the rise of anison stars like LiSA and bands like Kimi no Orphée and Kana-Boon, who drew capacity crowds to their concerts and topped charts with their singles.

Several characteristics define the anison sound, including:

1. 1. Singers: While many anison songs often feature professional vocalists, others have actors who also lend their voices to anime series and films, like The Idolmaster, which concern pop groups. Nana Mizuki is one of the most successful voice-over actors turned anime singers. The actress, who voices characters on Fullmetal Alchemist and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood, gave a two-day concert at the Tokyo Dome that drew a record audience of more than 80,000 attendees.
2. 2. Sound: Anison has the upbeat, up-tempo sound of J-pop: emotive pop-rock anthems and ballads, featuring vocals backed by a wall of synthesizers, guitars, traditional Japanese instruments, and glossy studio production. Sweeping orchestral flourishes or electronic dance music (EDM) beats are also staples of anison. There’s also an EDM subgenre of anison, which features DJs remixing anison and anime soundtrack music.
3. 3. Vocals: Anison vocals range from the heartfelt singing of Aimer to the full-throated roar of JAM project and the pop-punk flavor of LiSA, but there’s one unifying factor: Male and female anison singers both favor the highly emotive delivery of J-pop and J-rock. The style perfectly suits the high-energy adventure and action featured in anime titles.

There are dozens of popular anison artists, including:

1. 1. LiSA: Born Risa Oribe, the former vocalist for the band Love is Same All (her stage moniker is an acronym for the band’s name), is one of the most successful anison artists. She’s earned gold and platinum records for her singles “Oath Sign” and “Crossing Field” from Fate/Zero and Sword Art Online, respectively. LiSA regularly sells out arenas with her live performances. Her best-known songs are “Gurenge” from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and “Catch the Moment” from Sword Art Online The Movie.
2. 2. Kana-Boon: Since 2008, the band Kana-Boon has netted Top 10 singles on the Oricon charts with Japanese animation songs for the Naruto franchise, including “Silhouette,” which became the opening theme for the sixteenth season of Naruto: Shippuden. All four of their studio albums have also placed in the Top 10. In addition to their work on Naturo, Kana-Boon has recorded songs for anime series like My Hero Academia and Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.
3. 3. JAM Project: The JAM (Japan Animationsong Makers) Project is an anison supergroup composed of veteran voice-over actors and singers for such well-loved anime series as Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, and Macross 7. You can hear their combined firepower on themes for the Garo and Super Robot Wars franchises and One Punch Man series.
4. 4. T.M. Revolution: Takanori Nishikawa, who performs and records as T.M. Revolution, has been a Japanese music industry mainstay since the 1980s when he sang with the electropop band T.M. Network. He remains a successful solo artist while also enjoying substantial chart hits for the Gundam SEED series, among others. In 2013, he teamed with Nana Mizuki to record themes for the series Valvrave the Liberator.
5. 5. Yoko Kanno: Composer Yoko Kanno began her career in scores for video games before writing and arranging themes for some of the best anime features and series. Kanno’s screen credits include themes for Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Studio Ghibli’s Porco Rosso. She’s also composed music for television commercials, live-action features, and pop singers. Kanno also leads the band Seatbelts, which performs many of her compositions in concert.

Become a better musician with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Questlove, St. Vincent, Sheila E., Timbaland, Itzhak Perlman, Herbie Hancock, Tom Morello, and more.