Spirited Away - New Japan Philharmonic

...another success with the brilliant Spirited Away under the direction of Hayao Miyazaki. Using their unique combinations of wonderful animations, brilliant story and script, and effective music, they ended up with a believable story containing characters we actually care about.

While their animation style is superb, at least some of the glory should be attributed to the soundtrack.

Composed, arranged and produced by Joe ...
...it as he worked throughout Spirited Away's production. The song puts across well the main character'se journey to find her inner strength.


A superb album, I rate it 9.5/10, a must for fans of the film and for people who like this type of music.  ... more

Studio Ghibli produce excellent films, and they had another success with the brilliant Spirited Away under the direction of Hayao Miyazaki. Using their unique combinations of wonderful animations, brilliant story and script, and effective music, they ended up with a believable story containing characters we actually care about.

While their animation style is superb, at least some of the glory should be attributed to the soundtrack.

Composed, arranged and produced by Joe Hisaishi (known for his work with Miyazaki and Ghibli, and also with Takeshi Kitano) and performed by the New Japan Philarmonic Orchestra, there are 21 full length tracks, each lifted directly from the movie.

The music is mainly orchestral and suits a lot of different moods. Some tracks are dreamy and thoughtful, showing her progression through this whole new world, while others are lively and fun, going with all the wonderful characters she meets. Some tracks are darker than others, but they all blend together to create a balanced and extremely effective album.

Youmi Kimura sings the credits theme. She sent her album to Miyazaki after watching his 1997 film Princess Mononoke and he listened to it as he worked throughout Spirited Away's production. The song puts across well the main character'se journey to find her inner strength.

A superb album, I rate it 9.5/10, a must for fans of the film and for people who like this type of music. 

...less