Keyword is "Emptiness"; Interview with Kenji Kawai, Original Soundtrack for TV Animation "Vanishing City

An original soundtrack album for the TV anime "Vanishing City" will be released on June 19, 2019. The music was composed by Kenji Kawai, who has composed the musical accompaniment for numerous anime works, most notably those directed by Mamoru Oshii. What approach did Kawai take for the anime adaptation of "Vanishing City," whose soundtrack for the game version was highly acclaimed by many fans?　We asked him about it.

I was strongly impressed by the setting of "Lost," where a part of the city has disappeared, leaving a large hole in the ground.

─ ─ How did you start making the music for the TV animation "Vanishing Cities"?

Kawai: Almost a year ago, I started with the first meeting with director Shigeyuki Miya, sound director Satoshi Motoyama, and other staff members. I think the director told us that he wanted us to create "music with sadness" and "music with a sense of emptiness. He also asked us to include unpleasant sounds in some of the songs.

─ ─ "Vanishing City" is based on a video game, and there is a soundtrack for the game version.

Kawai: It is very difficult to work on a soundtrack for an anime based on a game. Users are accustomed to game music, so no matter what we create, it always feels strange. However, there is no point in creating the same kind of music, and I always wonder what I should do. Not necessarily because of that, but this time we decided to include two familiar songs from the original game with different arrangements for the anime. The other songs were created without any consideration for the game's music.

─ ─ What kind of materials did you refer to in understanding the work "Vanishing City"?

Kawai: Production materials for the TV anime version. I referred to the character set drawings, background art, and the scenario. I read the entire scenario before starting production.

─ What was your impression of the worldview and story of "Vanishing Cities"?

Kawai: I was strongly impressed by the setting of "Lost," where a part of the city has disappeared and a large hole is left. I wondered what I would do if I were in that world. One of the characters I liked was Geek. He accented the story and I like him because of his charm. The song "Yours truly! which became one of the few comical songs in the play.


─ ─ The soundtrack CD contains 30 songs. Is this all the music that was created for the TV anime "Vanishing City"?

Kawai: There is one piece that is not included on the CD, and that is Beethoven's piano sonata "Moonlight," which Taiyou plays in the movie. It is almost exactly the same as the original piece, and we only recorded it up to the middle of the piece, so I thought it was okay not to include it (laughs). (Laughs.) All the other accompaniments were included, and I decided on the order of the songs for the CD. I decided on the order of the songs for the CD. I tried to keep the flow of the songs slow and steady, so that the audience could feel the storyline.

─ ─ What did you refer to when creating each song?

Kawai: The "music menu" written by the sound director, Mr. Motoyama. It is a written description of what kind of music he wanted, and it is customary for the sound director to write it based on the director's intentions.

─ I worked with Mr. Motoyama once on the TV animation "Rio no Oshigoto! You and Motoyama-san worked together once on the TV animation "RYO NO OSHIGOTO!

Kawai: After working with a sound director several times, you get to know his unique way of working. Motoyama-san writes detailed instructions on the music menu, which I really appreciate. As a composer, I want to have as much information as possible about what kind of sound the sound director wants in order to improve the accuracy of the music.

───Does the way you write the music menu differ depending on the sound director?

Kawai: It depends on each person. Motoyama-san's writing was clear and easy to grasp the image.

───Which was the first song you wrote?

Kawai The last song on the CD is called "Saigo. This song was written at the very beginning of the music menu, and is the main theme of this work.

─ ─ "Saigo" is the only one of the 30 songs that exceeds 3 minutes in length. So the song expresses the entire story of "Vanishing City.

Kawai: It is a theme for the two main characters, Takuya and Yuki. I tried to express the way they go on without giving up, even though they sometimes despair. The composition starts with sad harp and piano sounds, and the sense of scale increases in the latter half of the song. First, I made a demo of this song and had Director Miya and Mr. Motoyama listen to it. Based on the feedback I received, I made modifications to the song to get the overall atmosphere of the "Vanishing City" play accompaniment.

Kawai──You said that you decided on the direction of the soundtrack for "Vanishing Cities" after communicating with the main staff on the animation side.

Kawai That's right. But this time, we submitted all the songs for the play accompaniment at the demo stage and had them checked.