It’s not an uncommon occurrence for anime lovers to become completely distracted by the music they hear in anime movies. For many, the soundtrack even seems to be the main event, as anime soundtracks are a huge business in Japan, and often times, the soundtrack albums are met with as much demand as chart topping pop albums.

It is for this reason that anime music is often composed, and performed, by A-list musicians, stars, and composers. The anime makers, quite aware of the revenue potential of this, use the opening credits as an opportunity to showcase the opening theme song as a quick introduction to the show.

The most frequent use of music in anime is background music or BGM. BGM is atmospheric background mood music, used to set the tone in a scene. For example, Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Decisive Battle is played when the characters are getting ready to battle, and it features heavy drum beats and a militaristic style, adding to the sense of tension in the scene and hinting that there’s a heck of a battle to come.

The theme song, also referred to as the opening song, and commonly abbreviated as OP, is usually written to match the overall theme of the show, getting the viewer excited about the upcoming program. Insert songs and ending songs, abbreviated ED, often provide a little commentary about the plot, or the program as a whole. They are often used to emphasize a particularly important scene, in case you weren’t already paying attention. Opening and ending themes, as well as insert songs, are frequently performed by popular musicians or Japanese idols, so in this way, songs become a very important component of an anime program.

In addition to these songs, the seiyu, a Japanese term for voice actors (specifically, anime voice actors) also frequently release CDs for their characters, called Image Albums. Despite the word image in the CD’s name, it only contains music and/or voice messages where the seiyu interacts with the audience, and talks about himself/herself, making the listener think that the character him/herself is singing. Another type of anime CD release, is a Drama CD, which features songs and tracks using the seiyu to tell a story. This is often not included in the main anime, and comes as an added bonus to the avid anime lover.

These days, the works are distributed as professionally recorded albums, which allows the soundtrack to be enjoyed whenever the listener pleases. The Internet is creating ways of getting these songs around, and there is also a resurgence of broadcast audio theater. Starting on the telephone and the wax cylinder, but achieving its biggest audience over radio broadcast, anime music has has enjoyed a resurgence to popularity on its original media. Through recordings, and telephone wires. Having come full circle, anime music is here to stay – and it’s only getting bigger with every movie.