Summary
If you’ve seen some of the most critically acclaimed anime of the past decade, you may have heard some extraordinary music in them. A musical score is vital for a good series or film, and that is true for anime as well. Great music often dictates how well an important scene is delivered, or even how memorable a certain story is. And no one does this better thanHiroyuki Sawano. A renowned musical composer who often works in anime and has created some of the most memorable and iconic soundtracks of this era.
Sawano is an undebatable master of his craft, and anime fans all over the world adore his work. He’s responsible for making series likeAttack on Titan, Kill la Kill, orMobile Suit Gundam Unicornas beloved as they are now. Accompanying the most epic orheartbreaking moments with his distinct sound.
Hiroyuki Sawano, A Gifted Musician
The Man Behind The Incredible Music
Hiroyuki Sawano was born in Tokyo, Japan on June 13, 2025. And he started his affinity for music by playing piano during elementary school. At age 17, he studied composition, arrangement and orchestration under the teacher Nobuchika Tsuboi. He developed a desire to work on soundtrack during his final years in high school, and he promptly entered a vocational school focused on composition. He was greatly influenced by the soundtrack ofStudio Ghiblimovies as well as Japanese musicianJoe Hisaishi.
He started his career in 2004, writing songs for other musicians. In 2006, he worked on his first soundtrack: the visual novelSoul Link. His first soundtrack for anime was forKishin Taisen Gigantic Formula, a Mecha anime from 2007. But his major breakthrough came in 2010, when he composed the soundtrack for the OVA seriesMobile Suit Gundam: Unicorn. Sawano’s work on Gundam Unicorn earned universal praise. And just as he had hoped, this project would kickstart his career and get him to work on other series. In 2011, Sawano composed the soundtrack forBlue ExorcistandGuilty Crown, further making a name for himself with more mainstream anime, unlike Gundam. Then, in 2013, he worked on Studio Trigger’s Kill La Kill as well as the series that would quickly make him a household name:Attack on Titan.
When composing the music for Blue Exorcist, he built working relationships with singersMika KobayashiandAimee Blackschleger. Working on Gundam Unicorn, he collaborated with an up-and-coming young singer namedAimer. She had already worked on anime openings or endings, her breakthrough being “Re:Pray”, the 29th ending song forBleach. Aimer provided the vocals for “Re: I Am” and “Star Ring Child”, which were used as the ending songs for Gundam Unicorn episodes 6 and 7. Since then, Sawano would very often collaborate with recurring vocalists for insert songs or openings and endings.
Sawano has cited artists likeHanz Zimmer, Joe Hisaishi, Yoko Kanno,andRyuichi Sakamotoas his major influences.He often titles his songs in strange ways,using numbers, symbols, and different alphabets. He says he does this to make the audience listen to the music in their own way, without associating what’s happening on screen with a title.
Most of his vocal tracks feature English lyrics. But he also uses Japanese and most notablyGerman for Attack on Titan and Kill La Kill, perhaps due to the Germanic iconography present in these works. He makes constant use of choruses and breaks, making each track more intense. His sound is distinct for using heavy electronic sounds, piano, and distorted guitar. Making his music a mixture of Classical, Hard Rock, Pop, and Techno.
Sawano’s Most Famous Works
Enhancing Great Stories with Great Music
Sawano’s most popular soundtrack is undeniably Attack on Titan. He worked mostly on the WIT Studio seasons, while his friendKohta Yamamotowould work on the MAPPA Final Season. Sawano gave the heartwrenching story and even bigger intensity with his music. “Vogel Im Käfig” served as the score for the death of Eren’s mother, effectively kickstarting the series. “The Reluctant Heroes” was coined as the Survey Corps theme, with the lyrics referencing their sacrifice. “Call Your Name” is indirectly the song for Eren and Mikasa,with lyrics directly referencing the finale many years prior.But perhaps the most iconic song for the series was the main theme “ətˈæk 0N tάɪtn”. For Attack on Titan, Sawano would bring in MPI, Mika Kobayashi, Gemmie and Laco for several vocal tracks.
Sawano’s work on Gundam Unicorn is much more classical sounding. With a powerful orchestra accompanying the intense conflicts between Banagher Links and Neo Zeon. Themes like “Mad-Nug” make heartbreaking scenes all the more potent. While the main villain, Full Frontal’s theme embodies the character’s dangerous skill in combat as well as his evil heritage. “RX-0” is Unicorn’s theme in relation to Banagher, representing theGundam as the beacon of hope he’s supposed to be.The series' main theme, “Unicorn”, portrays the feeling of the all-powerful man-made mechanical God the Unicorn Gundam is, as well as Banagher’s hope for peace.
Sawano also worked onMobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash, the feature film that introduced a new chapter for the Universal Century. Most recently he worked onSolo Leveling, the adaptation of the beloved Korean Manhwa. As well as anime original films likePromareandBubble. And on a smaller role, he composed the ending song forBleach: Thousand Year Blood War Part 1, “Saihate” with Senna Rin as the vocalist.
Hiroyuki Sawano’s discography is filled of incredible and iconic music all around that were always a big part of the success of the series it was used on. Hiroyuki Sawano is still actively composing for anime, with his most recent project being the upcoming anime forThe Rose of Versailles.
Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan is a post apocalyptic themed anime where the world is plagued by monstrous creatures called titans. People live in walled cities to avoid the danger of the man eating titans. After they destroy his home, main character Eren Yeager swears to exterminate all titans off the face of the earth.
