Get a glimpse into the music-making process behind some of the studio’s most beloved anime movies.

Anime is well-known for its visual aspects, but a big part of what brings it all to life is the music that accompanies the onscreen story. In Japan, the music is such an art form in itself that it’s created in conjunction with the animated art, and compiled into what’s known as an “image album“.

Just as anime directors use “image boards” to convey the general themes, mood and look of the anime to the production team before creating the actual storyboard, the composers create “image albums” as an initial draft for the final soundtrack, creating compositions that capture the mood of the story and character personality traits.

Serving as acoustic sketches before the finished film score, image albums are highly sought after by anime fans, and now Studio Ghibli is giving its fans the chance to own two of its image albums.

▼ The first image album is for the movie Whisper of the Heart.

Originally released in July 1995, this remastered image album features the art of Aoi Hiiragi, the manga artist who created the Whisper of the Heart manga in 1989. Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki was so enamoured by the manga he wrote the screenplay for the anime movie adaptation, as well as producing the storyboard, with Yuji Nomi providing the film score.

The image album contains the following 10 tracks, including the famous “Take Me Home, Country Roads“.

SIDE-A
1. A Hilly town
2. Concrete Road Chorus: Mizuumi Boys & Girls Chorus
3. Convenience store
4. A Half-Window Reading/sung by: Yoko Honna
5. Moon, the Strange Cat

SIDE-B
1. At The World Emporium
2. Baron’s Song Chorus: Mizuumi Boys & Girls Chorus
3. The Teenage Violin Maker
4. Dawn
5. Country Roads (Take Me Home, Country Roads) Singer: Yoko Honna・Chorus: Mizuumi Boys & Girls Chorus

▼ The second image album is for the film Pom Poko.

Originally released in July 1994, this album features music by Hasso Gakudan, created in line with director Isao Takahata’s concept of “Japanese music made up of various elements” to capture the spirit of the tanuki raccoon dogs living in Tama.

The tracklist is as follows:

SIDE-A
1. Open Fields
2. Bathed in the morning light
3. Toroku I
4. We’re Going Hiking Tomorrow
5. The Permian Period
6. a. The Market b. Baboo c. Three Man Band

SIDE-B
1. The Way Back
2. Locoweed
3. Wandering Gambler Gumbo
4. Evening Sidestreet
5. Toroku II
6. The Cheerful Song

According to the studio, the image albums and soundtracks for these two films have been remastered, with the jackets featuring new designs, as well as detailed explanations and liner notes.

The soundtrack for Whisper of the Heart (above), contains the following tracks:

SIDE-A
1. A Hilly Town
2. The Cat Chase
3. The World Emporium
4. The Elf Queen
5. Summer’s End
6. A Confession
7. Taking the Train
8. Breeze Blowing on the Hilltop
9. Engelszimmer
10. -Violin tuning-
11. Take Me Home, Country Roads (Violin Version) Sung by: Yoko Honna
12. Starry Night Sky

SIDE-B
1. Flowing Clouds Atop the Shining Hills
2. I’ll Write a Story!
3. Fly! We Will Rise on the Updraft!
4. An Old Woodblock Print
5. Canon
6. Forest of Anxiety
7. Reminiscence
8. The Song of Baron
9. Crack of Dawn
10. Take Me Home, Country Roads (Theme Song) Sung by: Yoko Honna

The soundtrack for Pom Poko (above) contains the following tracks:

SIDE-A
1. Tanuki, Let’s Play
2. Main title
3. Life of a Tanuki
4. Revival of the Art of Transformation
5. Musical Accompaniment to Ses-ses-se
6. Musical Accompaniment to Toryanse
7. Wind and Clouds, Dance of Urgency
8. Tan-tan Tanuki
9. Inviting Cat’s Samba
10. Twin Stars “Song of Going Around the Stars”
11. Hibernation
12. Joys of Spring
13. Homesickness: Awa – Tokyo – Sado
14. Tanuki’s Mambo
15. Happy Hanagasa
16. Going Into Battles
17. Subtle and Profound Mysterious Music

SIDE-B
1. Pom Poko Tanuki Music
2. Whirlwind Shamisen
3. Rengeso – Gonta’s Death of Honour
4. Elegy
5. Undercurrent
6. The Tanukis Now (Epilogue)
7. Pom Poko Main Theme “Genki Song”
8. End theme “Always Someone Is…” Sung by: Shang Shang Typhoon

The new soundtracks and image albums are priced at 4,180 yen (US$27.38) each, and can be purchased at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online (links below) while stocks last.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4)
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