All the Announcements from Otakon 2024

Building An Anime's Soundtrack with Composer Yuki Hayashi, Producer Hiroya Nakata

During Otakon 2024, fans got a rare glimpse into how animation producers and music composers collaborate to create the soundtracks to some of our favorite anime. Producer Hiroya Nakata and composer Yuki Hayashi, both guests at the convention, are frequent collaborators. Most notably, they have worked together on My Hero Academia and the upcoming Blue Miburo, scheduled to come out this October.

Hayashi, while having composed music for a number of fan-favorites (such as Gundam Build Fighters, Death Parade, Run with the Wind, and, of course, My Hero Academia), the way he started his music career was pretty uncommon. Growing up as a competitor in rhythmic gymnastics, he'd carefully spend time working with soundtracks for his performances, which led to his interest in music. He amusingly recounted that when he started learning to play instruments, he took piano lessons alongside children. His background in gymnastics gives him a unique perspective and sound, one that anime producers like Nakata recognize and are excited to work with.

Because TV anime can run on a tight schedule, music has to be made well before the animation is fully completed. Composers will meet with anime producers and directors to get notes on themes and feelings they want for the show and start composing many different pieces to send to the music director for consideration. "When we deliver music pieces [for TV anime]," Hayashi explained to the packed Otakon crowd, "we build them in steps. We don't deliver a completed mix. We deliver various tracks with the various instruments—vocals, guitars, drums, and whatnot. And because it's all separated out, the music director can match that theme to the mood or situation. So, if it's a quiet scene, they can remove the drums [and] guitars. And as [a character] bursts through the door, they can bring all those instruments back on the same piece of music to match the feeling of the scene." However, the composition changes when making a movie. "If I'm scoring something for a bigger scale movie, I will definitely compose the music matching from the early stages of line drawings to score to the picture, giving them a more completed piece."

While producers' and directors' notes and requests are obviously what composers base the bulk of their music on for these soundtracks, sometimes that doesn't stop them from following their hearts. "For example," Hayashi recalled, "I was requested to do the main theme for Deku in My Hero Academia, and the music director said, 'Ok, we want it to be powerful and strong: start with fanfare, move into action, a really strong sounding theme.' And as a composer, sometimes I tend to ignore what's asked of me. I chose to go with a quieter intro, and then build it up to a more heroic, powerful piece of music, because I felt that matched Deku's 'I'm not sure I can be a hero', and eventually finding his place moving forward." He laughs, "So the theme that I composed ignoring all the instructions I was given I felt fit the show and the character."

Fans brought up the question of whether music composers made ever producers or directors want to go back and change something in an anime to match the music better. Nakata said that while that usually doesn't happen, it's not completely unheard of. With Hayashi's work on the upcoming Blue Miburo, for example, he got the idea to combine traditional Japanese instrumentals with hip-hop beats and rap after coming across rapper OZworld's music videos on YouTube and asking to collaborate with him. Nakata was so impressed by what they made together that he suggested incorporating rap into the actual series to the director.

"As a composer," Hayashi said, "you want to make the show better. And what I aim for is to create a piece of music that expresses those emotions, feelings, and thoughts of a situation, and to be able to enjoy just as a piece of music. When you watch the animation with that music, it adds a 'Plus Alpha' and makes it something more enjoyable."

When a fan asked what kind of anime they'd love to do if they had the choice to do whatever they wanted, Nakata mused that he'd love to produce an anime focused just on music. Hayashi suggested maybe coming up with a shonen series about a young rhythmic gymnast who dreams of becoming a composer for anime someday. Until then, they hope fans will look forward to seeing the upcoming new My Hero Academia: You're Next film and Blue Miburo.