The Music of AKIRA: Kaneda, Tetsuo, and Gamelan 

I love how this movie's score is literally only 10 songs, but you never get tired of hearing the same songs pop up occassionally. You don't think "Oh, heres this song again" when Tetsuo's theme kicks up for the third time, you think " Oh shit, hows this kid gonna ruin my innocence next??? What's he about to do?" followed by a sense of dread (at least, that's what I think/feel lol) Its a really great film and the score is fantastic. It will always hold a place in my heart.

Gamelan might be one of the most underrated musical influences currently. It has influenced Bjork, Akira, super Mario Odyssey soundtrack, been sampled by Billy Woods, and that's just what I can remember without looking anything up. It's such a cool sound

Two important things I noticed/learned about the score 1. Tetsuo's theme features the bells starting simple and rhythmic before getting increasingly cluittered and complex. Yamashigori has confirmed that this is meant to represent his DNA unravelling and exapnding as he develops his psychic powers (and eventually mutates). It is important to note that a large number of Geinoh Yamashigori members were biologists. 2. It isn't touched upon in this video, but the Akira soundtrack also has a lot of elements from traditional Noh theater, mostly in the choir/vocal elements. However, one of the ways this was fused with the gamelan was by introducing the concept of Ma, or "The space between the notes." Gamelan is usually very rhythmic and cluttered, but there are many points in Akira where notes are struck singularly and allowed to ring out, or there's even pure silence. This allows for the individual properties of the bells to be perceived, really emphasizing sound and atmosphere. Ma has also been cited as a driving philosophy behind most of Studio Ghibli's output. The beauty isn't derived from the notes, but from the space you leave between them.

Thank you for putting this together! There is almost no musical analysis of the Akira soundtrack like this.

I'm so happy I found this video! I was always blown away by Akira's music. When I first saw it I expected to hear some Vangelis-style synth sweeps à la Blade Runner. At the very least I was definitely not expecting tribal chants and percussions. The music in the opening scene caught me so off guard, it always gives me goosebumbs.

In the best films, the soundtrack feels like a character itself. Akira's score is the beating heart of Neo-Tokyo, its frantic breathing as it struggles for air, its mad excess and its aching poverty. From the adrenaline rush of the opening bike scenes to the solemn devastation of Tetsuo's ascension, Geinoh Yamashirogumi makes Akira just as important for the ears of its audience as for its eyes. I hope the future adaptations of the work recognize what was built here, and continue to explore Gamelan's unique soundscape.

I used to learn javanese gamelan in the middle school, lol. I just hope it will get more recognition in Indonesia's movies industry, just like what Akira did

This is a wonderful explanation of a gorgeous soundtrack in an unforgettable movie. Thanks so much for making this!

The ending 15 minutes long track Requiem is one of the most powerful music pieces ever!

Tetsuo's theme haunt me since the movie releases, I was way too young the first time I watched it. And this music makes me feel very mixed feelings, it's comfortable, peaceful but also distorted, unhealthy. If I could see this music, it would be the visual representation of DNA, complex and beautiful.

How this video only have 30k views?! With the amount of editing, good script and transitions going into it, it should AT LEAST have 1 million views!

I still think this is one of the best soundtrack that's ever made!

I'll never forget when I first saw this film was in the EARLY 90s and the music is what stood out to me immediately from that opening bike chase scene. The music is what makes that scene so damn powerful!

Best soundtrack ever. I’ve always wondered what kind of sound it was & where it came from. And now to find out that there is much more meaning inside the music as well makes it even better to listen to, thanks so much!!!

2021 and found someone who analyze this...thank you good sir...

"Was Otomo clairvoyant??? Well... maybe not-" at this point, maybe he was

The thing that makes the score for Tetsuo so great is that it feels so symbolic to the movie's themes. Whenever he's starting to power up, the use of the chorus organ, and quiet chatting really gives Tetsuo the feels of someone who believes he is a religious messiah. Similar to what Akira was...

This is above and beyond, utterly one of the best channels on youtube. I love how much freaking research you put into this. It makes me love this soundtrack and the Ghost in the shell one even more, now that I know all this symbolism in the instruments and lyrics. Please keep making great content like this dude!

Akira's soundtrack cacophony of sounds is great at audibly showing the chaotic nature of the cyber city.

this video deserves a lot of recognition. it's good to have someone go in depth of the music in this great film.

Great video! In isolation Tetsuo's theme sounds a fairy tale or a children's tale - one that deceives you into thinking you are aware of the ending, before shifting abruptly, eventually turning into something ominous. This mirrors the innocence of Tetsuo, turning from a young boy into something much more powerful.

Omg my man, you are nuts! *applause*

This is great. Really great. I'm studying gamelan for a video tomorrow, so this helps!

How are you not popular 😂 this is great

Dude, you are so unbelievably underrated! I love your channel and definitely subscribed. Can’t wait to see what you have coming!!

I was fortunate enough to see Akira for the first time in a cinema in 4k with theater quality audio. "Kaneda" is an absolutely incredible piece of film music. Almost a month later I still can't get it out of my head.

Reallllly awesome video! Akira has been my favorite anime film since I was 11. I’m 25 now. Love this! Thanks for the upload!

Thanks so much for making this!

This deserves so many more views!!! Thank you so much! Very informative and interesting video

Almost choked up when the DAN DAN´s came in! Great editing and eye opening insight into this legendary soundtrack

Great editing and very informative. Very happy this showed up in my feed. AKIRA's sound track is the best I have ever heard.

really good content Cel-Shaded Music Theory. I shattered the thumbs up on your video. Always keep up the high quality work.

Cool vid! Looking forward to more.

I loved this video. Thank you so much for your analysis. Keep up with your videos! You are doing amazing :D Greetings from Spain!

This was great, thanks for doing this video. Deserves way more views

Such an excellent analysis, you deserve way more subscribers and views!

Your editing style is amazing and hilarious 😹 I’m going to share this to my Facebook. You deserve more views!

woow great video

What an amazing video! I've never seen such a dive into Akira's soundtrack. That, plus great and funny editing I've never seen in any video about Akira. Would be awesome to see you do the same with the rest of the soundtrack!

This video is as epic as the soundtrack it's explaining!! Loved it. Learned a lot.

This was a great video!! I've loved balinese music all my life and akira is my favourite movie soundtrack

This channel looks awesome! Keep up the great work! 👍

Thank you for this video!! very informative!!! You deserve more subscribers.

Wow, how don't you have more subscribers?! This is one of the best music theory videos I've seen on RU-vid concerning anime. The analysis was so thorough too - this kind of depth belongs in a university essay or something :D This must've been so difficult to transcribe too. I only saw Akira for the first time a month or so ago (in the cinema - twice :'D ) and I totally agree with you that it's the soundtrack that makes this movie. Since hearing it for the first time; Kaneda's theme has given me goosebumps every time - it's that kinda sinking feeling like you don't want anything to spoil the moment :D I really didn't expect to be hearing gamelan (a genre I was already familiar with) in such a powerful setting. I heard that the music was unusually composed *before* any animation had started - so it really is a miracle how perfectly it all fits together. I'm rambling - but I just wanted to emphasize how much I appreciated your analysis, and I think you deserve way more views for videos so pristine :) Great work man, I hope you'll create more!

exquisite video, I'm surprised there's not more like this

very nice, the cultural context and transcriptions you provide really help me gain appreciation for the music even more, so thank you for this concise and insightful analysis. I was personally analysing the mutation theme myself recently, which is very fitting for the scene it plays in; I particularly like the contrast of the deep voices and percussion in this track. The percussion which normally keeps time is going berserk, while the deep voices are trying to maintain the pulse whilst simultaneously growing more desparate through more erratic rhythmic patterns. I think about the government meeting scene, where the deep voices to me represent humanity, or maybe particularly the elders entrusted with power, trying to desperately control the chaotic force of nature they have unleashed, with the percussion representing AKIRA; it is interesting now I know that the voices are singing the same scale used in tetsuo's theme.

THIS. i love this. will subscribe!

"3:02" that sounded like kecak dance shout

Akira opened a whole new world of music to me it changed my spotify playlists forever...

Incredible analysis, I'm very impressed! I love Yamashirogumi's music

1:47 the instrument is very beautiful

Wow! Severely underrated channel. I immediately went out of my way to find more content, but you only have 2 videos from what I see. I just finished Akira and wanted to find supplementary analysis on it. I guess I have to watch Ghost in The Shell now to watch your other video. If you see this, is there more content coming? Got any other media I can follow?

Favorite soundtrack ever, it is so unique and there's nothing quite like it, sometimes I wish I could hear something similar in other works but at the same time I want it to remain special to Akira only.

Great analysis! Subbed!

Holy jesus man. I literally got into making my own music because I couldn't find anything that even approached the Akira OST in any form, though would later discover Ecophony Rinne and Ecophony Gaia by the same group. This is literally the first analysis I've seen of the Akira OST, and it's actually pretty good, and confirms the suspicion I had that Geinoh were actually using harmony in some fashion, counter to the Indonesian tradition. Pretty nuts how the entire emotional impact of the film rests upon simple chords. If you ever get around to doing an analysis of, say, *Requiem* off of the Akira OST that'd be awesome, as that's my favorite track of the entire OST.

great video, you surely deserve more recognizement 👍

Hats off to you sir. Another amazing thing. The music was composed BEFORE the movie so they had to match up the visual to the music. There's an amazing extra in the blu ray called "akira soundclip" that talks a bit more about the music but yours is an insane complement

It is really amazing to know that many sounds which then called music, since the beginning of human civilization last and became integral part of humanity. It is goes to show wherever and however methods music come from, weather it's western tuning or indonesian gamelan tuning, can be accepted or even appreciated by all people thru pop culture such akira. I hope there will be more pop culture products combine gamelan and other musical instruments in the future even though the tuning is slightly different. But that's the beauty of it, take a look at metric system and imperial system for example. I think that's good way to look at them.

"During Aomori Prefecture’s Nebuta Festival, the float of a warrior-figure which is carried through the center of the city, while dancers... dance around in time with the chant Rasserā (ラッセラー): The shortened dialectal version of “irasshai” and a call to visitors and customers to watch or participate." Because the opening of the movie was so weak that they had to ask the audience to stick around in a song, you know?[/sarcasm]

Great video! I'm writing a school essay on the music of Akira, so this was quite helpful

This video is a masterpiece

Best soundtrack for the best film

The idea of “only 4 pitches” within jegog or other types of gamelan is a little misleading, because you have to keep in mind, these are all played in different groupings of similar sets of instruments of varying size, that both echo the melodies as well as play sub melodies at varying rates simultaneously, typically. Additionally, it is seen as normal and desirable to tune 2+ instruments within a given group slightly out of pitch with each other. Finally, though you want to impose a western tuning scheme on these instruments to help your viewers understand, I personally think the fact that the pitches do NOT correspond exactly to these notes counts for more than you realize in a true microtonal system, rather than just framing them in terms of a poor man’s C or whatever. Collectively, all these factors contribute to a greater degree of harmonics, and for lack of a better term, enhanced sense of psychoacoustics, than say, a bunch of violins that were all tuned the same and could only play 4 notes. So it’s more complex than that. Rather like the surprising depth and complexity you can have with a few monophonic electronic instruments actually, being both a synth guy and a former gamelan player.

8:14 my favorite part ever

Cool collaboration between Akira and gamelan bali, jegog, also Kecak too👍, Yeah its true, gong kebyar based in pelog tune

As someone who prefers the manga over the film, the music is the best part for me personally.

The ring tone of the phone call to the colonel is the first time you hear Tetsuo's DAH DAH theme. It is the scene where the colonel is talking about a mole on a committee. (20 minutes into the movie) Then the phone rings. DAH ... DAH... It was likely the doctor calling the colonel about Tetsuo. But is foreshadowing.

i love this video

This is my new favorite video

You're making great videos. Currently, I'm trying to persuade another RU-vidr to cover some music from Akira. I'd love to get you on as a guest.

The movie does meet the legal requirement of using electric guitars for your sci fi punk focused film. It's used in like one track.

I'm so glad you made this! Do you think you might want to collaborate with Sideways on a video about this soundtrack?

Just have to say this is a fantastic analysis

i also went crazy when i heard gamelan while watching akira as an indonesian

wow thank you

There is some relief in Javanese ancient temple about someone smithing and then someone dancing next to it. So my theory is Gamelan was formed due to Javanese love of smithing weaponry till the point they invent music from it. though it just my opinion. They are also excel at metalurgy, you could look at Keris the product of it. Keris production also have its own philosophy, so they must been pouring their thoughts deep down the root. no wonder they also produce music from it

Thank God someone made a video on this.

Great video, would love to see some sheet music of this classic OST. Please consider to share some of your transcription!

I was really shocked to find out that our culture's musical instruments was put on this show. Very interesting indeed!

I know nothing about music theory and haven't watched Akira. Enjoyed every second of this video! xD

Akira is a yearly tradition for me. It came out on my birth year so every year on my birthday thats my only request. that I see akira. Its also one of like 3 anime I like. Akira, cowboy bebop and ghost in the shell

10:33 lol that foreshadowing of 2020

I know the gamelan music since it comes from my country, but the one in akira feels different and gave me chills like creepy vibes on a different level.

bro plz we need a pt 2

Gamelan also not only composed in Akira, but also in other media for making a satisfying moment for fans One example for movies is Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon with Atlantis: The Lost Empire that composed by James Howard, Raya and the Last Dragon become my favorite movie because I'm Indonesian and I had a friend named Raya too! But in different gender 😅 Another example for the music for game is like Kena: Bridge of Spirits with Sonic Unleashed which both of them are my favorite video game soundtracks Anyway, I had correction at 1:21 - 1:31, the gamelan are actually predates the Hindu-Buddhist culture that dominated Indonesia in its earliest records and thus represents an indigenous art form of Indonesia In contrast to the heavy Indian influence in other art forms, the only obvious Indian influence in gamelan music is in the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese style of singing, and in the themes of the Wayang kulit and Wayang Golek or known as Indonesian traditional shadow puppet plays

Would you mind posting the scores that you show in the video? I've been looking to try to transcribe it to a piano-like format and that would be really helpful!

fantastic video man, instasub!

Why you don't add in Your videos The music theory Of Cowboy Bebop, Studio Ghibli And FLCL? Your channel's Idea its so original

where on earth did you find the sheet music? I can't even find a page that acknowledges its existence, everything is just "here's the soundtrack!"

New anime seires?! Hell yeah!

So Akira has music played with Indonesia instruments!? Cool

I can finally watch this now >:p

Gamelan use also in spirited away

Somehow it reminds me a lot of Gojira (a metal band)

I love that movie and am gonna buy it right now and it is so good I love the music and really good if you have not watch it is is super good and watch it now on hule and testuo and kanada.are bad ass's

The Akira soundtrack somewhat reminds me of music from the Qatsi trilogy. Not necessarily in how it actually sounds (as the only track similar in terms of sound is Serra Pelada, due to its choice of instruments and energetic tone), but more in how it complements and sometimes contrasts the images on screen.

I wonder whats ur thoughts on akira requiem

2020 Tokyo Olimpics? That was a miss 😅

The music kicked my brain so Swear word hard.

Where did the ''ploom ploom'' sound come from?