Do you know Hiroyuki Sawano? He is a Japanese composer, lyricist, musician, and producer quite famous for works in anime, series, movies, and games. Sawano was born in 1980 and started playing piano in elementary school; by the age of 17, he studied piano, composition, arrangement, and orchestration with Nobuchika Tsuboi. His soundtracks are so enchanting that I decided to write an article just to talk about them.
You have definitely heard Hiroyuki Sawano’s compositions in some anime or game. He is famous for making soundtracks (OST) related to science fiction, sci-fi like in the animes Aldnoah Zero, Guilty Crown and games like Xenoblade X. He also made soundtracks for highly successful animes like Shingeki no Kyojin and Nanatsu no Taizai. Sometimes he is on the same level or even above Yuki Kajiura and Taku Iwasaki. Some even call him the Hans Zimmer of the East.
If you are one of those who have never stopped to pay attention to the background music, nor have you listened to them separately on Google, maybe you will feel some nostalgia in this article.
The works of Hiroyuki Sawano
Hiroyuki Sawano uses the code [nZk] in his music to show his authorship. His songs tend to be energetic and formulaic, helping to maintain focus. Sometimes a soundtrack tends to touch the heart with a feeling of sadness, as in the case of the different versions of Vers in Aldnoah.Zero.
One of the criticisms regarding Hiroyuki Sawano is that he tends to recycle quite a few versions of songs, and sometimes his rhythms are repetitive. We can even notice several different versions of the same song present in the anime, not that it is something abnormal. Sawano surprises with bombastic, highly vocalized songs in the midst of action scenes, or instrumental versions of openings and endings.
List of works where Hiroyuki Sawano worked:
- Aldnoah.Zero – OST and endings;
- Ao no Exorcist;
- Guilty Crown;
- Kill la Kill;
- Koutetsujou no Kabaneri – OST and endings;
- Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn;
- Nanatsu no Taizai;
- Owari no Seraph;
- Re:Creators;
- Sengoku Basara;
- Shingeki no Kyojin;
- Xenoblade;
The songs that captivated me were those from Aldnoah Zero, especially &Z, AlieZ, Vers, and their oriental versions. And how can I not remember the songs don’t worry and uncontrollable from Xenoblade X. Well, these are my tastes, but there are many other songs that go beyond.
Vocalized songs – A perfect combination
Many of Hiroyuki Sawano’s compositions are vocalized. One of the standout singers of his compositions is Mika Kobayashi. She was born in 1978 in Hiroshima and usually sings mainly songs in English. Several songs from Shingeki no Kyojin and Aldnoah.Zero are sung by Mika Kobayashi and composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. In XenobladeX, she sings several songs including uncontrollable.
Another prominent voice belongs to Mizuki, a mysterious girl who actually seems to be the vocalist of the band Itsue. She sings the endings of Aldnoah Zero like AlieZ. There is also a version sung by Mika Kobayashi known by the name of MKAlieZ. We cannot forget to mention Aimer and cyua with their beautiful voices, which are quite present in Sawano’s compositions.
We recommend the video below that has a compilation of the best sung songs by Hiroyuki Sawano. Remembering that many epic openings and endings are not present in this video due to copyright.
There are several notable composers in Japanese works; unfortunately, talking in detail about all of them would take a long time, so I talked about my favorite! Composers are like weapons in an arsenal, and their effectiveness is generally determined by their talents. Do you like Hiroyuki Sawano? What do you think of him? Who is your favorite composer?
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