Music is a beautiful form of art that is capable of connecting people and relaying feelings to them. It is an art that is often very well depicted in anime, so much so that some of these anime have risen to the top of anime charts, managing to remain in fans’ hearts throughout. This is because these anime often feature unforgettable soundtracks that enhance the story, carving out a lasting impression on viewers.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the top 10 music-themed anime, not all of which are strictly restricted to music as performed in a band, but also anime where music is approached as a broader notion.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan of the genre or just curious about what music anime has to offer, this list has something for everyone.
10Carole and Tuesday
Carole and Tuesday is an original anime animated by BONES about two girls aspiring to be musicians. Their world setting is pretty bizarre as the humans there live in a terraformed Mars in all comforts due to the huge advancements made by AI. Their world has pretty much all entertainment forms managed by AI, and humans act simply as consumers.
In such a world, two girls, Carol and Tuesday, have a seemingly futile passion to become musicians. Carole works hard at day in order to make ends meet and plays her keyboard at night. Tuesday, a girl from a rich family, runs away from home with her guitar in order to pursue her passion that no one at home supported.
A chance encounter between the two girls acts as the trigger for the two to perform together, with hopes of outdoing the AI singers, with the help of nothing but their musical skills and undying passion for music.
9Hibike! Euphonium
Hibike Euphonium is a music anime done by Kyoto Animation (popular for its beautiful works like “A Silent Voice” or “Violet Evergarden”). The story revolves around Kumiko, a high school girl who is trying to forget her passion for music due to a regretful event in middle school.
As Kumiko tries her best to distance herself from her middle school self, she befriends Hazuki and Sapphire and joins the music club of their school. While she attempts to play her beloved instrument, the euphonium, again, she encounters Reina Kousaka, a figure from her old school that she absolutely wanted to avoid.
The story follows Kumiko’s negative tension with Reina and how she and her friends maneuver along while bettering their school band and aiming for the nationals.
8K-On!
K-On! is another one of Kyoto Animations’ great works. This anime is about the daily life of the girls in a light music band. The five girls all have their distinctive traits: one is irresponsible, another is socially inept, one has an immense stage fright, and another is a total novice when it comes to music.
This anime is completely about the chaotic lives of these cute girls. However, slowly but surely these girls sort their problems together and approach their club activities seriously while devoting their all to Light Music.
7Kono Oto Tomare!
Kono Oto Tomare! is a beautiful high school drama anime with music as the major theme. This story is about a club where students practice the traditional Japanese instrument, the “Koto”. The club has an odd bunch sign up: A prodigy and a few delinquents. Needless to say, the club runs into several issues from the get-go. However, the delinquent, Chika, is adamant to learn about the Koto and doesn’t crumble.
As the story progresses, these students find themselves learning about the profoundness of this several-stringed instrument, finally being able to deliver otherworldly performances to audiences, winning them prizes and further proving their worth as musicians.
6Nana
Nana is an anime adapted from the popular manga by Ai Yazawa about two women, both named Nana. The story is concerned with their new lives, romantic interests, and their passionate approach towards music.
Two young women, both named Nana, meet each other on the train to Tokyo by chance. One of them in search of love, and the other pursuing her passion for rock music. As their lives start in Tokyo, they slowly realize that the world isn’t what it seems to be, and they get hit hard in the face by the realities of the world.
It is also worth noting that Nana also has a well adapted Live-action movie that is well received by the anime community.
5Bocchi the Rock!
Bocchi the Rock is a comedy-music anime adapted from the manga written and illustrated by AKi Hamazi. The extremely anxious and awkward Hitori Gotou is desperately pursuing her passion to become a rock musician whilst trying to make more friends. Due to her encounter with Nijika Ijichi, she manages to put a start to two of her greatest desires.
While Bocchi is a really cute anime with lots of comic scenes, it also has many serious themes like how Gotou is genuinely trying to overcome the issues she faces due to her social awkwardness. The anime also has great visuals, contributed by the popular anime Studio CloverWorks (known for its pretty works like Horimiya). Besides this, of course the anime has great music thanks to Gotous immense obsession with guitar.
4Takt Op. Destiny
Takt Op. Destiny is famous for two things: Its amazing MAPPA x MADHOUSE animation and its banger opening sequence, Takt, by Mafumafu and Supercell. While at first glance, this may seem to be a regular action anime, the entire story is, in fact, based on music. Doesn’t make sense, does it? Let’s break it down.
The overall world setting in Takt Op. Destiny is quite complex, so in simple terms, a world where music is taboo because it attracts certain monsters called D2; humans try to rebel against these monsters using music itself. Soon, girls who were capable of using music to fight these monsters appeared. They were called “Musicarts”, and they were controlled by “Conductors”.
The story revolves around the Musicart, Destiny, and the Conductor, Takt, who both take on the D2 monsters while channeling their power sourced from music, paving the way to saving mankind and also trying to find a way to turn Destiny back to a regular girl.
3Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song
Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song, too, is an anime that isn’t just about action but is deeply rooted in music.
In a world where humans were conducting countless experiments on AI, they came to the realization that AI could only be 100% efficient if they were given only a single task to devote their lives to. This was when the first autonomous AI, Vivy, was given the task to make all humans happy with her songs.
However, one day, an AI called Matsumoto comes from 100 years in the future with the goal of stopping the great war between humans and AI. He joins forces with Vivy in order to stop this war.
2Given
Given is likely the most popular BL anime there is. However, besides the BL aspect, it also has greater music and drama aspects. The story revolves around Mafuyuu, who mourns the death of his lover and walks around with his dead boyfriend’s guitar, unable to play it. When he encounters a music fanatic, Uenoyama, Mafuyu nags Uenoyama to teach him to play the guitar.
Later, on realizing Mafuyu’s potential as a vocalist, Uenoyama recruits Mafuyu to his band as the lead vocalist. The story continues as Mafuyu tries to overcome his past trauma slowly and realizes what music means to him. Right at the moment when Mafuyu faced all his problems head-on, the banger: “Fuyu no Hanashi” (“A winter story”) was dropped, making their band really popular.
Given is a story about sorrow, love, music, and individualistic growth. This isn’t restrained to Mafuyu but to every other character in the anime. All of their approaches to music are inspiring for even non-music enthusiasts. Above all, every single music composition in the anime is incredible, making it truly one of the best music anime.
1Your Lie in April
Your Lie in April is one of the most popular tear-jerkers there is and it has just as much music in it as it has drama.
The story is about a boy, Arima Kousei, a famous pianist, who stopped playing his favorite piano due to his childhood trauma. His encounter with Miyazono Kaori, a violinist, changes his black-and-white world to a colored one. Kaori managed to drag Kousei out of his depths and gave him the push to start performing again.
Only one catch- He couldn’t hear the notes of his own piano due to his trauma. Does that stop the aspiring musician in love? It doesn’t because the entire series is dedicated to Arima pouring his all into music with Kaori always on his side… or is she?
No Comments on Top 10 Music-Themed Anime Everyone Should Check Out