A genre that is widely explored in Japan is music, whether with bands or classical instruments. With that in mind, we wrote this article with a complete list of the best music animes of all time. In addition, we will provide a complete list of these animes for those who want to explore the genre 100%. We will also include the famous Idol animes.
To keep things organized, we will separate them into categories of bands, instruments (classical music), and idols. We will not provide any order or ranking; we believe that each music anime mentioned in this list has its merits, while the other animes will be in a final list. If any anime is missing from the list, or if you want to comment on it, use the comments section at the end of the article.
Some music animes focus solely on music, while others have a deeper story and place music in the background. We will leave a number of • (1-3) that represent how much music is present in the anime.
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Table of Contents
Classical music and instrument animes
I propose we start with recommendations for classical music or instrumental animes:
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
This is undoubtedly one of the best and saddest music animes of all time. A heavy drama involving piano and violin. The art, design, soundtrack, story, characters, and direction are worthy of a masterpiece.
Like any anime, it has its flaws, but it is a must-watch for anyone who enjoys the genre. It tells the story of a boy with a trauma of playing piano due to his mother, until he meets a violinist who will help him overcome it. MANDATORY! •••
Nodame Cantabile
Another very good anime, with a lot of comedy and drama involving classical music. This was one of the animes that brought the genre to life, telling the story of a crazy pianist who likes to play freely without relying on rules and sheet music and a perfectionist musician who only knows how to follow rules. The anime has several seasons and even a drama. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! •••
Sakamichi no Apollon
An anime that deals with the jazz genre, often overlooked. It tells the story of a classical pianist named Kaoru who is introduced to the world of jazz music by a delinquent named Sentarou. The anime shows the bonds formed through friendship and music. VERY GOOD! •••
Piano no Mori
A film involving a piano in the forest. I don’t quite know how to describe this story, but I recommend it!
Hibike! Euphonium
A fresh and light anime with a different proposal, mixing music, moe, and instruments we didn’t expect to see in an anime. The anime has a good background story, full of secrets and drama. We chose to place it in the instruments category, but they are a band from a school club. RECOMMENDED! ••
Other classical music animes:
- Kono Oto Tomare!
- Detective Conan – Movie 12;
- Piano;
- Haruchika;
- Princess Tutu;
- La Corda D’Oro;
Music animes involving bands
K-On
One of the most moe and famous animes of the genre. It tells the story of a light music club with five lovely, cute, and talented girls. The anime is light, funny, and quite popular. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! ••
Nana
An anime focused on drama and adult people. It tells the story of 2 girls named Nana who start sharing an apartment. One is a punk rocker while the other is a dreamer looking for a romance. The anime has a great soundtrack and captivates viewers with a deep story. MANDATORY! •
Beck
It tells the story of a band that bears the same name, with 5 young musicians who have to deal with rising fame and daily struggles. The songs in the anime are performed by the voice actors themselves, taking you on a wild rock journey. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! ••
Detroit Metal City
This hilarious anime follows the story of a shy boy who always dreamed of being a pop idol, but to pay the bills, he ends up joining a death metal band. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! ••
White Album 2
Although it is written 2, they are different stories. It shows the story of a vocalist, a pianist, and an indecisive boy, a very heavy drama with a surprising ending. The anime seems to start focusing on music, but the romance of the story goes much further. MANDATORY! • (The 1 is also cool…)
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So Ra No Wo To
It tells the story of Kanata who enlists in the armed forces just to play the cornet. The anime shows motivation and inspiration in music, as well as the hard training of the army. VERY GOOD! ••
Other musical animes involving bands:
- Macross Frontier (Recommended);
- Tari Tari;
- Fuuka (2017);
- Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai;
- Super Sonico;
- Fukumenkei Noise;
- Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica;
- Bakumatsu Rock (2017);
- Shelter;
- Show By Rock!!;
- Kowarekake no Orgel;
- BanG Dream!;
- Fukumenkei Noise;
Music animes involving Idols and singers
Love Live!
The story presents a group of talented students who intend to compete in an event called Love Live. For those who want to get to know the genre, this is MANDATORY! ••
The iDOLM@STER
The second most famous idol anime, featuring the story of 13 moe girls who strive! The anime portrays a story of friendship and struggle! VERY GOOD! ••
Full Moon wo Sagashite
It may look like just another moe anime with a Sailor Moon vibe, but it deals with a dark theme different from traditional shoujo animes. The main character is diagnosed with throat cancer and her singing career seems impossible, but she doesn’t want to give up. PERFECT! ••
Other animes involving Idols:
- Macross Frontier;
- Uta no☆Prince-sama;
- Suite Precure; Symphogear;
- Kaikan Phrase;
- Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica;
- Pretty Rhythm;
- Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch;
- AKB0048;
- Wake Up, Girls!;
- Sekkou Boys;
- Miss Monochrome;
- Starmyu; B-Project;
- Aikatsu!; Magical☆Star Kanon 100%;
- Magic-Kyun! Renaissance;
- Tenshi no 3P!;
- ClassicaLoid;
Honorable Mention: Guilty Crown
A great action and drama anime, where the protagonist is an idol. The anime tells the story of an apocalyptic world dominated by a disease and military control. A boy has the power to pull weapons from the protagonist. Perfect soundtrack! MANDATORY! •
Ranking of the best music animes
Below I will share in numerical order a ranking with about 12,000 votes from Ranker showing which are the best music animes. You might prefer to follow this order when watching animes of this genre.
- Your Lie in April
- K-On!
- BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad
- Uta No Prince Sama
- Kids on the Slope
- Love Live! School idol project
- NANA
- Comic Book Series
- Nodame Cantabile
- Corda D’Oro – primo passo
- Video Game
- Full Moon o Sagashite
- Nodame Cantabile: Paris
- Fuuka
- Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch
- Comic Book Series
- Sound! Euphonium
- fukumekei noise
- Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream
- Gravitation
- IDOLM@STER
- Tari Tari
- B-project
- Show by Rock!
- Uta No Prince Sama: Legend Star
- Wake Up, Girls!
- Lost Song
- White Album
- White Album 2
- Kaikan Phrase
- Valvrave the Liberator
- Senki Zesshō Symphogear
- Senki Zesshō Symphogear G
- Sugar: A Little Snow Fairy
- Fancy Lala
The best music mangas
Not all music, band, and idol mangas and light novels receive adaptations into anime. Now we will recommend some music mangas and light novels:
- BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad – Harold Sakuishi
- Your Lie in April – Naoshi Arakawa
- Forest of Piano – Makoto Isshiki
- Fuuka – Kōji Seo
- Kids on the Slope – Yuki Kodama
- Nodame Cantabile – Tomoko Ninomiya
- Fukumekei Noise – Ryoko Fukuyama
- K-On! – Kakifly
- Full Moon o Sagashite – Arina Tanemura
- NANA – Ai Yazawa
- Pretty Rhythm – Mari Asabuki
- Tari Tari – Evergreen (original work), Tohru Naomura (construction)
- Detroit Metal City – Kiminori Wakasugi
- Bremen – Haruto Umezawa
- Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch – Michiko Yokote
- Seishun Pop! – Touta Kitakawa
- Uta No Prince Sama – Utako Yukihiro; Broccoli; Kunozuki Kanon; Kurahana Chinatsu
- Love Live! School idol project – Sakurako Kimino
- La Corda d’Oro – Yuki Kure
- Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan – Sumomo Yumeka
- Gravitation – Maki Murakami
- White Album – Leaf
- Sensual Phrase – Mayu Shijou
- Idol Dreams – Arina Tanemura
- Solanin – Inio Asano
- THE iDOLM@STER – Tatsuya Takahashi
- Rin Miasa – B-Project: Mousou＊Scandal – Morino Mizu
- Mashiro no Oto – Marimo Ragawa
- Nousatsu Rock Shounen – Kamuro Kikuchi
- Aozora Yell
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