Re-written Songs, Musics, and Dubbing for Anime / 2: Italy

This chapter traces a portrait of the stylistic dynamics of the opening and ending songs specially composed by Italian artists for the many Japanese animated series that aired on Italian television between the late 1970s to the mid-1980s—Italy having been historically one of the main markets for anime in the world. The discussion is based on a theoretical framework mostly informed by semiotics, cultural studies, musicology, and audiovisual studies. The period analysed (1978–1985) coincides with an actual boom of anime series in Italy. From a musical point of view, the songs made in Italy for anime in the late 1970s and through the 1980s were treated with extreme care: highly competent composers were asked to write the songs, whole orchestras were hired to record them. The chapter also devotes some details to the cultural impact that the Japanese cartoons of that period had on Italian society: an impact that is still tangible nowadays and that—among other aspects—includes the musical themes, which are still object of references, quotations, and remakes among fans and in the mainstream culture.