30 Day Anime Challenge: Day 9 – Anime With The Best Soundtrack

This was a really tough pick for me between two very different anime with amazing soundtracks, but ultimately I decided on Sound! Euphonium. It might feel like a no-brainer that a Music anime would have an amazing soundtrack, but my soundtrack standard goes way up when the anime is supposed to be music focused, so this is one that especially stood out to me.

I have always been drawn to musical scores for movies and TV shows. A lot of people underestimate the importance and impact of the soundtrack (or lack thereof) to the viewing experience. A great example of how a lack of a soundtrack can impact the the narrative is No Country for Old Men. Unfortunately, for most TV shows, the soundtrack takes a backseat. The budgets are smaller so money and attention has to go elsewhere. Besides, most people at home don’t have sound systems designed to showcase huge soundtracks, so why spend a lot of money and time on it?

This is where I feel like anime has a huge advantage. While it obviously isn’t every anime (or even the majority), I feel like you find great soundtracks much more often in anime TV shows than you do on American broadcast TV. Sometimes, the soundtrack can make the show feel slightly dated, like Code Geass with it’s noir feeling that overstates the drama more often than not. Others, like the big band soundtrack from today’s pick, feel timeless. The below two tracks were highlights for me personally (don’t watch the second video if you don’t want to be spoiled on the finale).

Because it’s a music anime, you not only get to experience the soundtrack, which by itself is a lot of fun, but you also get to watch it slowly unfold as the band practices to perform it for competition. It’s a soundtrack that I’ve listened to many times outside of the anime, and I never get tired of hearing it (plus, it’s a popular one for orchestras to perform in Japan so there’s lots of videos to choose from). And that is why this is my pick for Best Soundtrack.

A little longer than I anticipated, but I really do love this one. What’s your favorite anime soundtrack?