Transcultural Musical Encounters / 4: The Power of Alternative Music in Japanese Animation. Can the Beats and Vibes of Anime Change the World?

This chapter, by Toshiya Ueno (with Marco Pellitteri), is a lateral take on the issue of how the various strands of alternative music in anime can produce a positive push towards progress and peace. The emotional and aesthetic atmospheres provided through the choices made for the soundtracks (rock, punk, and other genres) of Japanese animated films such as Akira (1988) were crucial to their commercial success and critical acclaim. The same holds true for the music of other anime works, such as Cowboy Bebop (jazz, rock, and other genres, 1998), Samurai Champloo (hip-hop, 2004), and Eureka Seven (various genres, 2005). In their narrative settings, so many anime are also frequently tied up with subcultural music scenes. What is at stake in this perspective, especially for some kinds of robot- or techno-armour-themed anime, is in the question: can music (or music subcultures) stop the warfare? Or, can musical beats and vibes “save the world”? The chapter makes its point by discussing a few science fiction tv anime series, films, and mini-series spanning from 1982 to the 2000s. The core argument is that, as we can see, music and subcultures did not change the world: all dreams of subcultural and musical practitioners and activists have been defeated. Nevertheless, the analysed anime works might suggest something for the upcoming cultural politics revolving around issues such as the end of the world as we know it, capitalism, history and resistances, climate change, and more.