For many, music in film is arguably one of, if not the most recognisable aspect of the cinematic experience. Music plays an undisputed role in influencing the audience’s emotions and supporting the narrative of the film. The task for creating this music is given to the aptly named Film Composer, which will be the focus of this essay. Due to the importance of this role, the composer will often work in tangent with the director of the film; this relationship will also be explored in this essay, albeit briefly.
Recently, I have obtained a newfound appreciation and interest in the world of animation, more specifically anime . Because of this, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to explore how these two aspects link in the professional world: Composing music for anime. The world of anime, similarly to cinema, is vast and rich with variety in its genres and styles. Currently, anime is continuing to be reached by international audiences, primarily due to streaming services, reporting record growth in the industry; 2024 saw a total revenue of $25 billion USD (Rouse, 2025), and 2025 brought in $37.7 billion (Grand View Research, 2026). Although anime is clearly gaining in popularity, it is often overlooked in the constant discourse of film music. Music in anime will often exaggerate certain musical ideas, in order to further support the director’s intention for the emotions of the audience. Joe Hisaishi is an incredible example of this, making his compositions a suitable choice for a case study.
This essay aims to explore the invaluable work of the film composer, specifically in the world of anime, using Joe Hisaishi’s monumental work as a case study. Through utilising this case study, I will then explain the skills and techniques needed to explore this profession, the opportunities that can arise and how to create them, and a clear career development strategy for the future.
Role of the Film Composer in anime production
As with any form of art, storytelling is essential, and music is no exception. Music is a unique storytelling framework due to the vast number of ways it is able to communicate meaning; it could be told through lyrics in a rather explicit way, or through the melodies and motifs, or even through your own personal experience with the music. Fim music will often utilise all of these techniques in some way or another to fulfil its role in expressing and enhancing the narrative of the film, although it is not very common for lyrics to be used in film because of the amount of talking from the actors already. All of this is thought out by the film composer when they are producing original scores for the film; which techniques to use and where in order to make sure that the music reflects the film. The composer will create their compositions to align with visual elements of the film, which allows the music to match with narrative shifts in tone, pacing, action, and character development for example.
As Gorbman (1987:12) explains, “Ultimately it is the narrative context, the interrelations between music and the rest of the film’s system, that determines the effectiveness of film music.” Gorbman’s analytical dive into the world of narrative-supporting film music includes a list of classical film music composition principles, based on the work of Max Steiner. Some of these principles are arguably outdated, due to Max Steiner’s work taking place primarily during the 1930’s to 40’s. One principle is the idea of “Inaudibility”, where the music is “not meant to be heard consciously” and should be “subordinate itself to dialogue, to visuals” (ibid., p73).
While most of the principles are generally agreeable, In the world of anime this principle of “Inaudibility” is often challenged, with music being a deliberate foreground element in the storytelling process. Music in anime, in comparison to the films Gorbman wrote her principles on, is much more noticeable. Anime has a very distinct visual style, due to it being a hand drawn form of artwork, and so music is used to expand the world being created by these artists. Memorable leitmotifs and phrases are employed to give a character depth, with recognisable themes that develop throughout the story. Music also assists in worldbuilding; a great example of this being “Merry-Go-Round of Life” by Joe Hisaishi, composed for the critically acclaimed film Howl’s Moving Castle(2004) which I will go into more detail in the next section. Composers will tend to work in the post-production stage of the film’s development, working closely with the animators and director helping to ensure each composition fits exactly the way it should.
Film Composer: Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi is a Japanese composer of legendary status, having composed over 80 film scores worldwide, releasing nearly 40 solo albums and is currently working as a Composer-in-Association with many prestigious orchestras globally (Hisaishi, 2026). Hisaishi is arguably best known for his long-time collaboration with director and animator Hayao Miyazaki, composing the soundtracks for all but one of Miyazaki’s films starting with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) up to the latest Studio Ghibli release, The Boy and the Heron (2023). These compositions are so unique and recognisable that it’s impossible to imagine Miyazaki’s stories without them; what separates Hisaishi from the crowd is “his ability to create music that becomes an integral character within each Studio Ghibli Film”(The Musicroom Blog, 2023). Combining multiple influences from classical western music, electronic, jazz, pop, and ideas of minimalism, Hisaishi has crafted a signature sound that always sounds recognisable yet new.
“Merry-Go-Round of Life” (also known as simply “Merry-Go-Round”) is the main composition from the 2004 Studio Ghibli film Howl’s Moving Castle. Arguably one of Hisaishi’s most recognisable compositions to date, not only did the film receive massive commercial success both in Japan and internationally, reaching $243 million USD worldwide (Box Office Mojo, 2026), but due to social media the track has recently gained a newfound audience with the younger generation with over 156 million streams on Spotify (see figure 1). The world of Howl’s Moving Castle is a fantasy realm of magic and sorcery entering an industrial age, with certain steampunk characteristics, although largely still more traditional in the technological aspect. This exciting world is fantastically heightened by “Merry-Go-Round”, making it feel alive and wonderous. This track is a waltz with a varying tempo and rubato feel, this helps evoke it’s curious and care-free nature.
The Waltz was a particularly popular dance in late 18th to early 19th century, spreading all over Europe. Its 3/4 measure and often quick tempo gave the dance a desirable flow as opposed to other trending dances at the time, such as minuets. Because of its roots as a “peasant’s dance”, the waltz was considered “less sophisticated”, but this made it more approachable to the population (Buja, 2022). Although in current day we think of waltzes as an upper-class dance, at the time it was quite controversial:
“Those who objected to the waltz took exception to two factors: its speed, based on medical grounds, that the dance was bad for the health considering the speed of the dancers as they whirled around the room. They also objected on moral grounds because of the closeness in the dancers’ hold on each other.” (ibid.)
Soon, the aristocracy gained an interest in the waltz, shifting how the dance was perceived and it became the ballroom craze of the 19th century.
Using a waltz to support a narrative and assist in worldbuilding rather than a dance gives the scene a cyclical style of movement giving the track almost a floating feeling, which is further reinforced by the visuals; the first time the track is heard is when the main characters Sophie and Howl are floating over the town. Not only does Hisaishi’s score bring the world to life but also its inhabitants. In the scene, townsfolk can be seen dancing on the ground directly beneath Sophie and Howl, almost as if the composition existed in this fictional world and was heard by these people, creating the illusion of diegetic sound.
The instrumentation also plays a role in establishing the emotional atmosphere of the film, with the theme being primarily performed by strings giving it a feeling of nostalgia and liveliness. As the piece develops, there are hints of melancholy in its melody, which reflect the darker aspects of the film’s narrative. Miyazaki’s storytelling, by blanketing the story in fantasy, often delves into themes of identity and war, nature and technology, and pacifism in a violent world. this is why Hisaishi’s compositional style of writing, which embeds subtle hints of emotional depth beneath the surface works so well in collaboration. Aligning instrumentation with events can also help with immersion, as skilfully demonstrated by Hisaishi in this scene: While Sophie and Howl are floating over the town the music is lead by the strings, however once they reach the balcony and start their brief conversation, the track is now switched to a piano lead. The reduction in texture helps bring the focus to the characters and the narrative at play, rather than the grand music. This is just one example of anime music challenging Gorbman’s concept of “inaudibility”, as the music is a prominent element of the storytelling instead of being an unconscious piece of noise in the background.
Skills, Techniques and Production styles
Heightened by his incredible success within the film industry, the effectiveness of Hisaishi’s compositions displays a wide range of techniques required to be a successful film composer. In order to develop a career as a film composer within the anime film industry, creative compositional skills are needed as well as sufficient skill with technology. According to Berklee Online (2026), the professional skills required for this role include, but are not limited to:
- Compositional flexibility
- Reading and writing music
- Arranging and orchestration
- Music theory
- Instrumental performance
- Conduction
- Collaboration
- Filmmaking
Learning from Hisaishi’s compositions, the techniques that are the most effective, and the techniques I wish to employ in my own personal compositions are the ones explained in the case study. Creatively, using techniques such as leitmotifs and variation in dynamics and tempo are simple but effective strategies to elevate my own writing, and will show improved results when my writing is paired with narrative. Other ideas such as variations in instrumentation will be beneficial for me to pursue, especially in terms of linking musical composition with visual elements and dialogue. These are skills which are extremely important in anime, as composers are given highly expressive and stylised visuals and must write their compositions to compliment that. With enough time and practice exploring these techniques, I will refine my skills enough to reach a professional standard needed to start my career development within the industry.
Opportunities in the Anime/Film Industry
As the anime industry is a Japanese based market, accessing opportunities directly is challenging and simply unrealistic for international composers. Instead, there are a range of alternative pathways that assist in developing essential experience and building a career in the film industry. Freelancing is a viable entry point into the film industry, allowing aspiring composers to work on multiple smaller scale projects. This is crucial for composers because it provides them with the necessary experience and skills needed to succeed. Collaborating with others in the industry is pivotal, with a common path into this career being to work as an assistant to a professional composer and composing for smaller projects in your free time (Healey, 2022). A great way to consistently find these smaller projects is to collaborate with students and indie filmmakers. Not only are these creators regularly looking for music to support their films, but it’s also a simple but effective way to build up your portfolio.
A showreel is incredibly important for any composer to have if they want to gain solid footing in the film industry. A showreel is essentially a sales pitch of your abilities as a composer; a compilation of your best work that highlights your versatility and adaptability, displaying your strengths across different genres, styles, and emotions. This is an essential way to show off your talents and for attracting projects to work on. Another way of attracting projects is through networking, utilising personal connections within the industry to further your career through word of mouth. Networking is a vital skill learned by most, but few utilise it to its fullest extent, as most composers will focus on developing their writing skills “without ever working on actively strengthening their network of contacts” (Andersson, 2024).
Marketing and Career Development
Marketing, as a film composer, is an essential part of the job because it is how you attract potential clients and collaborations. Although there are marketing techniques and aspects that I have previously mentioned, these being networking and showreels, this section will look further into the communication side of marketing. In our current society, everything is becoming increasingly digital, and marketing yourself is no exception. Social media is a great way for film composers to exhibit their abilities to a large audience, with an estimated “92% of businesses using social media for marketing”, and “78% of marketers say social media increased brand recognition” (Nash, 2026). Standing out in such a large crowd however is a difficult task. Catherine Joy, film composer and CEO of Joy Music House, explains that one of the most effective ways to stand out from the rest when marketing as a composer is to present the most authentic version of yourself (EastWest Sounds, 2025). One way to achieve this is by incorporating other aspects of your personality. Joy explains that “sharing other parts of yourself” helps with “connecting with a community in more than one way”, and that people with the most unique approach is when “they are tying in another aspect of their personality into their marketing” (Ibid.).
Taking this into account, it is important to create a plan for career development, including both short-term and long-term goals. Before I begin in the industry, building my compositional and marketing skills to a professional standard is imperative. Once I am satisfied, I will start by working with student and indie filmmakers in order to build my portfolio and showreel. Next is to try and find a professional composer to become an assistant for, while also continuing to build my portfolio in my spare time. This will help me gain footing in the industry. Eventually, although admittedly aspirational, I hope to become employed in the anime industry, potentially in anime studios’ international branches.
In conclusion, the work film composers do is pivotal to the success of the director’s story, especially in the world of anime. Film music in anime is a key narrative element and is used to support the story and guide emotions, often by exaggerating certain compositional techniques. Joe Hisaishi’s work with Hayao Miyazaki is a clear example of this; his unique writing style worked perfectly with Miyazaki’s directing style and together they made a plethora of iconic and memorable films. Using Hisaishi’s work for Howls Moving Castle as an example, it is clear how compositional techniques such as instrumentation, leitmotifs, and variation in dynamics and tempo work together with the visual elements of the film, further enhancing the immersion and storytelling. These skills are important for any aspiring composer to work in this industry. By using marketing techniques such as showreels and social media, and utilising a clear career development plan, it improves chances of having a more successful career within this profession.
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