Japanese Fans Rank the Greatest Anime Composers of the Heisei Era

Picture this: Eren Jaeger and his fellow Survey Corps on horseback, charging at a mad group of terrifying Titans. He and the others shout out, preparing for battle, then they launch themselves using their maneuver gear. They close in on the mad Titans, and the battle begins. Picture this intense scene, but without music. No heavy beating of drums, no choir chanting, no escalating orchestra piano. Just… the characters’ voices, their gear, the Titans.
Pretty lame, right? Or if not totally lame, it can be quite anticlimactic.

This highlights the importance of music in our favorite anime series. The right music to accompany our favorite anime series aids a lot in setting the mood and making the scenes and events more significant. Sometimes, the music is such a big contributing factor to some iconic anime series, that it becomes quite hard to imagine these shows without them!

With the Heisei Era coming to a close and the Reiwa Era officially starting on May 1, a lot of rankings have been popping up everywhere in Japan which aims to define the Heisei Era. One of these is a poll started by Goo Ranking, which asked fans to rank the greatest and most iconic anime OST composers of the Heisei Era. 3000 Japanese fans participated in the poll, with the top 5 results below.

#5. Yuki Kajiura
Starting from rank 5, we have the 53 year-old female composer Yuki Kajiura. She has an impressive discography, which includes the soundtracks for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sword Art Online series, and Fate/Zero. This author’s personal favorite is Sis Puella Magica! from the dark magical girl series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Check it out below:

#4. Yoko Kanno
A list of great anime composers would not be complete without Yoko Kanno, who composed the haunting soundtrack of Vision of Escaflowne (also a favorite of this author). What kicked her career into overdrive, however, was her work for Cowboy Bebop, whose jazz sounds became a lasting trademark for the iconic anime. As she is most known for the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, check out below one of her works from other anime such as Escaflowne (but really, I just wanted to share how much I loved this song)!

#3. Yuji Ohno
Lupin III is eternal, and so is its resident composer Yuji Ohno. Like Kanno to Bebop, Ohno’s name is forever attached to the anime series, as he is still being tapped whenever there is a new Lupin III film or project. Check out this smooth jazz track from the anime’s OST:

#2. Katsuo Ono
What is it with composers who exclusively stick to one project? Perhaps they are given more time to hone their craft, or perhaps it is the luxury of getting to immerse themselves fully? Whatever the case may be, the next person on this list is Katsuo Ono, who like Onno, composes music almost exclusively for the Case Closed/Detective Conan series. Check out one the tracks he composed for the long-running series:

#1. Joe Hisaishi
Great anime deserves great music, and the number one composer on this list has certainly had a hand in some of the greatest anime films! Joe Hisaishi has been associated with Hayao Miyazaki’s films since 1984, and has participated in the most memorable music to ever come out of Studio Ghibli. Check out One Summer’s Day, a nostalgic song from the Spirited Away soundtrack:

Rounding out the top ten of this list are the following:

• Noriyasu Agematsu (Symphogear, BanG Dream)
• Toshihiko Sahashi (Full Metal Panic!, Hunter x Hunter)
• Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan)
• Kohei Tanaka (One Piece, Sakura Wars)
• Shiro Sagisu (Evangelion, SSSS.GRIDMAN)

Source: Crunchyroll News