[Editor's Picks] What Is an Anisong? A Look Back from the Past to the Present

The Tie-Up Boom: Are These Truly Anisongs?

In the 1990s, songs like "Moonlight Densetsu" (1992) from Sailor Moon and "Yuzurenai Negai" (1994) from Magic Knight Rayearth sparked major movements. Both songs are good examples of anisongs from that era, but their backstories are more complicated than they might seem.

Moonlight Densetsu was used as the opening for Sailor Moon for many years. Since it was heard so often, many people thought it was an original piece written solely for the anime. The melody was actually from KEY WEST CLUB's song "Yume wa Majolica Senorita." New lyrics were written to go with Sailor Moon, and the result was a huge hit.

Yuzurenai Negai sold an amazing 1.2 million CDs and is known as a popular anisong. But if you look closely, you'll see that it doesn't really talk about the anime itself. At the same time, few people would say that Rayearth was just a way to make money.

(Perhaps due to rights issues, the original song and animation video from that time don't seem to be available, but I tried looking for covers and live footage.)

At about the same time, there was another big change: companies started working together a lot more. The most well-known example is Slam Dunk (1993–1996).

Slam Dunk might have been the first anime that was planned as a tie-up platform. The show worked closely with artists from the Being music agency, creating a real "partnership model." During the show, there were six different opening and ending themes. They were sung by BAAD, ZYYG, WANDS, MANISH, ZARD, and Maki Ohguro. Each TV season brought new songs, making sure there was always something new to listen to.

Several of these songs became very popular. WANDS' Sekai ga Owaru Made wa... and ZARD's My Friend both reached No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart. Maki Ohguro's Anata Dake Mitsumeteru sold over one million copies.

So here is the problem. Are these anisongs?

The successes of the 1980s had already shown record labels that putting songs into anime could generate hits. By the 1990s, record companies began pouring more effort into anime tie-ups. But for some pure anime fans, this trend was not necessarily a welcome one. In terms of my earlier categories, this would fall under “4. Existing songs later provided as tie-ups.”

In practice, three different types of songs now coexisted in the charts:

・the “classic anisong” style that put the anime title or characters front and center
・the commissioned write-ups that avoided proper nouns and strove for universality
・J-pop tracks positioned with anime as part of a broader promotional strategy

Together, these created a new era in which anisongs had entered true mainstream popularity.