Long interview with Yukari Hashimoto, composer! (The 17th "Inside Man" of Anime and Game)

This series of articles spotlights top creators in the animation and game industry and introduces their real faces. In this 17th installment, we introduce Yukari Hashimoto, a composer, arranger, and lyricist. Ms. Hashimoto has supported the development of Japanese anime from a musical standpoint by creating numerous masterpieces that have touched the heartstrings through theme songs, character songs, and play accompaniments. She has participated in "Lucky Star," "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei," "Strike Witches," "Toradora! , "Student Council's Existence," "Otome Yokai Zakuro," "THE IDOLM@STER," "Mayochiki! , "Riruping Drum," "Sasami-san @ Ganbaranai," "Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun," "Yurikuma Arashi," "Osomatsu-san," "March Lion," and "Hinakonooto," all of which are masterpieces. In this article, he talks about his influences, creative style, career, and future challenges.

European Indie Music at the Core

Thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed by Akiba Research Institute. First of all, could you tell us about your influences?

Yukari Hashimoto (Hashimoto): I have always loved European indie labels from the 80s and 90s, and most of my actual music productions have been influenced by the genre called "neo-acoustic".

To name a few bands, The Sundays, Stereolab, Flaming Lips, Everything But the Girl, and labels such as Crepuscule and Clamdisc from Belgium, and 4AD and él from England, are the core of the music I'm good at now. I think they are the core of the music that I am good at now.

Hashimoto: How about films?

Hashimoto: Actually, I don't watch Hollywood films very often, but I often watch European films, especially French films. In terms of directors, I really like Daniel Schmidt, Jean-Jacques Benex, Leos Carax, and Eric Romer. I'm not sure if I was influenced by them in terms of sound, because they are not films where music is the main focus. I liked listening to the music of bands, so I never consciously listened to film music.

From neoacoustic to French pop, electronica, and Showa-era songs

Hashimoto: How many songs do you listen to in a month?

Hashimoto: My biggest dilemma is that I cannot listen to music while making music (laughs). (Laughs) Until then, I preferred listening to music to playing it, so I would like to listen to a lot of music, but I have a time problem....

I listen to music more as a resource for creating artworks than as something I like to listen to. The music for "Uri Kumarashi" (2015) includes elements of electronica, and the music by Haywyre, which I listened to while researching the film, was wonderful. I am now a fan of his music and listen to it as a personal hobby.

What criteria do you use to decide which works to participate in the festival?　It seems that you have participated in a relatively large number of bishojo anime, but you have also provided songs for female-oriented anime such as "Otome Yokai Zakuro" (2010), "K" (2012, 2015), "Monthly Girl Nozaki-kun" (2014), and "Osomatsu-san" (2015).

Hashimoto: We rarely choose our own songs. I would like to work on a variety of works if I am asked.

What kind of music genre are you good at?

Hashimoto: If it is easy for me to make music and close to my taste, I would say neo-acoustic, guitar pop, French pop, and so on. The actual orders are completely different, but I think the texture of the sound and the coloring of the detailed sounds are influenced by them.

For example, the ending theme "Sad Premonition" of "Tsukihi -MOON PHASE-" (2004) has a French pop taste. I had planned to have a female voice actress sing the song, but director Akiyuki Shinbo liked yuka's demo song so much that he decided to keep it, So I asked her if she would like to work with me. I asked her if she wanted to work with me.

Then, I made my first Showa-style song for "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" (2007-09). At first I was hesitant because I had never made a song in this genre before, but when it came time to start writing the song, I was surprised at how well it turned out. Later, I started receiving orders for "Otome Yokai Zakuro" as well, and although it was an afterthought, I think it was something I had in mind.

Hashimoto: Which is easier to make, male or female vocals?

Hashimoto: I was personally involved in an indie unit, and I like pretty voices, so it is easier for me to create songs with female vocals.

Hashimoto: You also create piano and orchestral music for theatrical accompaniment, don't you?

Hashimoto: I get orders for various genres of sound for theatrical accompaniment, so I feel like I expanded my skills as I worked on them. I get orders like, "I want this song to have a bit of a Hollywood feel," and I make suggestions like, "How about something like this? How about this?

For "Sasami-san @ Ganbaranai" (2013), there were many songs, and I wrote a variety of genres, from pure Japanese music to orchestral and progressive music. I changed the genre according to the character, and there was an order like "Kagami should be electronica-ish".

Osomatsu-san" is a gag anime, so there were many detailed orders, such as parody songs and songs dedicated to specific scenes, in addition to the usual songs. We had a lot of fun making them, and before we knew it, we had quite a lot of them (laughs).

Composition starts from the melody

May I ask about your composing style?

Hashimoto: I often start from the melody. At that time, I often have a hard time deciding what tempo to use and whether to use a major or minor key. Once that is decided and the melody is created, I create the backing track.

Next, I make a demo using DTM and discuss it with the director and producer. When making a demo, I often show them the shape of the song to some extent, such as "I want this song to be played on guitar," or "I want the piano to be the main part of the song. If there is a video, I also ask them to see if it fits with the video. After that, I think about how many instruments to include, whether to use live music, and so on. For songs, it is easier to convey the mood to the client if there are words at the beginning, so I often include a song with tentative lyrics in the demo.

Sometimes I start from the chords, but that's about 10-20% of the total. When there is not much change in the melody, and I want to make it sound a bit like EDM, I start from the chords.

Hashimoto: How do you make use of materials such as original works?

Hashimoto: We receive materials in advance for dramatic accompaniment, so I read them carefully. If there is an original story, I read the original story first, and then the script to see what parts are retained and what parts are omitted.

If it is a song play, I may or may not have access to the material. I want to understand what kind of work it is before I start working on it, so even if I don't receive any materials, I look for them myself and read them.

Then, at each meeting, the sound director will give me an overall image of what it will look like, and I rely on that.