T5W#326-Top 5 Yoko Kanno OSTs

She is the undisputed Queen of Anime OSTs, an artist who’s craft spans across multiple genres and has continually improved over time.  She is such a hot commodity that Netflix has wisely chosen to seek her services for their upcoming Live Action Adaptation of a certain Anime she’s quite famous for scoring.  Her name is Yoko Kanno and I cannot believe I’ve gone more than 300 Top 5 Lists without giving one to her.  Today that changes.  As part of my countdown to Cowboy Bebop, today we’re looking at the Top 5 Yoko Kanno OSTs.  Chances are you know what the top pick will be but please read on still, I’m sure I can recommend another amazing score that you’ll never forget once you’ve heard it.

 
#5-Turn A Gundam

For the landmark 20^th Anniversary of Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino returned to the franchise and brought a lot of heavy industry guns with him to make the Gundam he’d always wanted to make.  Considering what kind of musical geniuses have brought their talents to the Gundam franchise, including Hiroyuki Sawano and Kenji Kawai, Yoko Kanno deserved to be a name brought on at some point.  The OST of Turn A Gundam echoes another entry on this list but for a more “modern day” era.  It’s bold and operatic, serious when need be and wondrous more than most of the time.  The shows theme songs are definitely some of Kanno’s best work, especially Moon’s Coccoon, which is one of the most unique in Gundam’s history of music.
 

#4-The Vision of Escaflowne & Escaflowne: The Movie

This OST is so often credited to Kanno that many overlook that she co-composed this one with Hajime Mizoguchi, who would go on to score Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade.  Still, for many, the OST to this fantasy Anime and it’s feature film are the ones that put Kanno on their radar.  The main battle theme for Escaflowne alone is enough to put it here on the Top 5.  Yoko Kanno’s talents are definitely suited to a fantasy era setting and she and Mizoguchi together provide an amazing adventurous score for the bulk of the TV Series.  For The Movie, which is a much darker take on Escaflowne, I’d say they surpassed themselves with a very deep and dark OST that’s no less amazing and hypnotic to listen to.  This is the Fantasy Anime OST to rule all Fantasy Anime OSTs.
 

#3-Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I heard that Yoko Kanno was taking on the role of composer for the TV Series of one of my favorite Anime movies.  Then I heard “Inner Universe” for the first time and I was totally sold.  Not only is that OP one of the best ever in Anime but it’s also a good primer for what Kanno has in store for the music.  Those who thought she might just be bested suited to Fantasy have no idea what theyre missing out on.  Kanno brings the future to life with a lot of techno and sounds that feel directly inspired by Blade Runner.  It’s a perfect digital sound for a beautiful digital society and I could hear Section 9 jamming out to this while theyre working to save the world from Cyber Crimes. 
 

#2-Macross Plus

With this score, Kanno became the one woman everyone wanted on every Macross project afterwards.  While she’d return twice for Macross 7 and Macross Frontier, it’s Macross Plus that is one of Yoko Kanno’s defacto best in her entire resume.  It’s very much a precursor to what kind of good stuff she’d bring to Stand Alone Complex.  Here though, Kanno’s bringing to life a spellbinding resume for one digital Diva, Sharon Apple.  From slow and creepily hypnotic to get your ass out of your seat and dance, Kanno is having a blast with the music of the far future.  Not that it’s all future pop, Kanno’s got plenty of classical orchestral sounds to accompany the amazing dogfights Isamu Dyson and Gould Goa Bowman find themselves in constantly.  And we haven’t even talked about the theme song, “Voices” which dares you to look at the future with optimism and hope. 
 

#1-Cowboy Bebop & Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

Yep, it was always gonna be #1 and there’s no reason to think otherwise.  Cowboy Bebop and Cowboy Bebop: The Movie are Yoko Kanno’s magnum opus and the best exemplification of how versatile and amazing she can be.  While most of Cowboy Bebop is filled with Jazz and Blues of the best kind, there’s also hard rock, techno, opera, even some multicultural tunes, especially in The Movie.  The future seen in Cowboy Bebop is kind of blending together and all of the music and sounds that come with them are mushed together into one practically flawless masterpiece.  This is Yoko Kanno’s major claim to fame and a testament to her skill as a composer.  No wonder Netflix wasn’t taking any chances with their Bebop Series and sought to bring her onboard, which means we’ll be hearing some old favorites and getting new music added to the long, long list of tunes for the Space Cowboy to jam out to.