1. Localization
of
Music
in
Anime
1
From Them to Us: The Localization of Music in Anime from Japan to America
Colin Andrew Grant
The University of Pittsburgh
1
Figure 1 A poster for the hit 1963 show “Astro Boy”
Introduction
Anime, or Japanimation as some call it, has always had an interesting history in
America. It is one of the few mediums of entertainment from non-western countries that
has kept some of its cultural identity intact while making the transition from the native
country to America. Today one can find anime, whether subtitled or dubbed over, in
pretty much the original Japanese form. However, this has not always been the case,
especially when it comes to the music that accompanies the moving pictures. As a child, I
1
Mushi Productions, Astro Boy Logo, JPEG file,
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/AstroBoy1963.jpg (Permission granted by
Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd).

2. Localization
of
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would watch the dubbed versions of shows such as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon,
Dragon Ball Z, and others, singing along to the theme songs and rocking back and forth
to the music. Imagine my surprise years later when I decided to watch the unedited
subtitled (which will be referred to as subs from now on) version of my childhood shows
only to discover that not just the theme songs were different, which I expected since the
American versions had an English themes song, but also the original sound tracks. So
why does music get changed, and how this process changed since anime has come to
America?
As I delved more and more into this question, I came to the astonishing, at least
astonishing to me, realization that there is very little research done on music in American
versions of anime. The amount of people who I could find that talked directly about
music localization in anime was very small. I decided to my own research, since I feel
that it’s important to see how the aural can change from culture to culture even when the
visual stays the same. I contacted a multitude of composers, music editors, music
directors and more individuals involved in this process. It was not the easiest job though.
The further back that one goes into the history of television, the less chance one has of
finding specific credits. Most since the 1970’s can be found in IMBD, though only after
hours of watching end credits. Also, unlike other employee’s working for a company,
most sound people that I encountered either were freelance or operated their own
business and came to their positions through word of mouth. Still, I was able to find an
incredible amount of people. The response I received was amazing and led me to answers
that I had no idea existed. Though similar, each person who worked on music in anime
had a different story tell about his or her experience about working in localization.

3. Localization
of
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in
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3
In this paper I shall explore the world of music in Japan-to-America localized
anime, localization being the process by which one country adapts the contents of an item
from another country to make it easier for their home audience to understand. In extreme
circumstances localization can be called westernization, in which the cultural indicators
of the originating country are subverted or erased and the receiving countries values and
cultural are added. An example of this is in the movie Pokèmon: The First Movie-
Mewtwo Strikes Back, where the main character makes a joke about The Minnesota
Vikings, despite the fact that not only is the show Japanese, but the characters live in a
world where Minnesota and its football team does not exist. Hopefully I can shed some
insight into this fascinating area of music that has crossed cultures to be created.
The History
Before I can get into the music, I must first give a brief history of anime in
America. Knowing about the ebbs and flows of this niche market will be key to
understanding some of the decisions that have been made in the music due to both the
focus on Americanizing the shows and being as cost effective as possible. In America
there have been three waves of anime popularity: the 1960’s, the 1970’s and 1980’s, and
the 1990s to early 2000s. Some say that we are entering a new wave of popularity but that
is for the history book to deicide. These waves are categorized by an increase in interest
and then less material being available through mainstream media. This is not to say that
there was no interest any more, just that there was less being shown. Anime began to
appear in America in the early 1960’s with shows such as Astro Boy, Speed Racer, and

4. Localization
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4
Robotech.2
With the exception of Robotech, which was actually a combination of three
different shows, everything was heavily westernized. Names would be changed, music
was made more American, plots would be totally restructured, harsher images were
censored and cut, and most cultural designators would be replaced with something more
familiar to the American youth audience. Though a few of these shows were popular
cartoons, many who watched them at the time didn’t even know that show came from
Japan. Episodes were also not always shown in order, and sometimes a single episode
was made up of multiple parts of different episodes spliced together. The 1970’s and
1980’s brought some success such as Battle of the Planets (Originally from the show
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman).
The biggest wave though began in the 1990s and continued on into the early
2000s. As someone born in the mid 90’s I, like many of my peers, grew up in what I
prefer to think of as the golden age anime in America. In fact, the first anime convention
in America began in 1991.3
Shows such as Pokémon, Yu-gi-oh, Sailor Moon, and a host
of others dominated the children’s television blocks on programs such as Toonami and
WBkids. However, these shows also faced heavy edits. Eventually though the market
crashed due to an inflation of anime made for low costs and sold at high prices. Most
companies folded over or rebranded and were sold to other companies such as Bandai,
4kids Entertainment, Genon, and Saban.4
In recent years, there has been more of an
2
“Editing
of
Anime
in
American
Distribution”
World
Heritage,
http://www.worldheritage.org/articles/Editing_of_anime_in_American_distribution
#Creators.27_attitudes
3
“About
Us.”
Society
for
the
Promotion
of
Japanese
Animation,
http://www.spja.org/about-­‐us/
4
List
of
Anime
Companies.”
Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_anime_companies

5. Localization
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emphasis on sticking closer to the original Japanese version since many fans have
preferred this. 5
All this is important because the editing of the music is closely tied to the
editing of the picture. Fans that have wanted anime more faithful to the original picture
have also wanted music that is more similar to what was played in the original. In cases
where companies use subtitles, music editing is sometimes not even needed.
Music Localization
In music localization, It takes many skills set to run a production smoothly: music
editor(s), composer, administration, ect. All hold a different role in making music for
anime in America. How music is used to express the visual content is incredibly tied to
culture. How the Japanese use music is very different from how Americans use it, even if
they share the same primary goal of heightening the content of the animation. In the book
Pikachu’s Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon, author Joseph Tobin writes,
“ Japanese anime shares many acoustic traditions with dramatic live-action movies.
Background music and sound effects are integrated with intervals of silence to build
dramatic tension…The American adaption of Pokémon uses music not, as in the Japanese
version, to increase tension, but, in the American cartoon tradition, to cue viewers to the
tone of the action on screen”.6
To mimic American cartoons, music would be made to
mickey-mouse, which means imitate the movement on the screen. For example, a person
climbing stairs might be accompanied by an upwards-chromatic run. Music has also
been changed because early on, all of the sound was mixed into one without separate
5
“Editing
of
Anime
in
American
Distribution”
World
Heritage,
6
Tobin,
Joseph.
Pikachu’s Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon (Duke
University Press, Jan 15, 2004), 83.

6. Localization
of
Music
in
Anime
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stems. This has less to do with cultural differences and more to do with practical reasons.
Another practical reason is the cost of copyrighted material. If the American companies
were to use the Japanese music, they would have to pay for the royalties. Replacing that
music with music that is already owned saves a lot of money.7
Many times, music was
added to account for the musical silence often used in the Japanese versions. American
audiences are more used to music that is nearly wall-to-wall, meaning music that is
always present, so the silence might have been unsettling. One of the few shows that kept
the original music is Tenkai Knights, a modern show that is produced for Western release
in Canada, and that seems to be the exception to the rule.8
As I will later show, music
can also be used to change the emotional content a scene. Music plays a very important
part in anime, and probably the most important people in terms of music the editor.
The Business
As stated before, I reached out to an incredible amount people who have worked
in the industry. I have been extremely lucky to receive a multitude of responses by
professionals willing to share with me their information about the work they have done.
The music editors I have spoken with are Mark Ryan , Sue Shufro, and Keith Goldstein,
composer Bruce Faulconer and supervisor Don Perry. It’s important to note except for
Mark Ryan who was sometimes staff and other times freelance, all of the people I have
spoken too owned their own companies or were just freelance when doing work on
anime. This seems to be have been the standard, as it was more cost efficient. In his
answers, Mr. Ryan told me of the two main paths that a project can take. The first one is
7
Mark
Ryan,
e-­‐mail
to
music
editor,
November
10,
2014.
8
Ibid.

7. Localization
of
Music
in
Anime
7
when the company hires an actual composer for that specific show. Within a span of a
week, an editor must get the composers music to fit into the show. The second possibility
is taking a conglomeration of already composed music that the company owns and
attempting to make it sound like they are one cohesive collection created by one
individual. This tends to be how most anime music was added. In his case, he already
has the original version of an episode since it can take years and even decades for an
anime to get an American version created. In all of their experiences, all of the existing
music is replaced. Mr. Goldstein asserted this by saying, “They
wanted
to
Americanize
it,
so
they
completely
threw
out
the
entire
soundtrack
and
redid
everything…”
.
Music
editors
did
not
hear
the
original
music
on
purpose.9
Sue Shufro, an incredibly
accomplished music editor, said that her goal was to make it seem as if her edits were just
composed by one composer. Ms. Shufro also stated that in some cases, up to half of the
music from Japan could be kept. She notes though, that Pokèmon was an unusal case.10
Bruce Faulconer, composer for Dragon Ball Z actually came in contact with some of the
original versions of the anime such as episode 66 and 67, but also affirms “It was
mandated that all Japanese music be replaced by the producers at Funimation”. In his
case, he had two weeks to write music for two episodes as they were done in pairs.11
Then the music editor must add music from a sound library to the animation. Many times,
if additional music is added, a composer will be brought in to add cues. Once Okayed by
the music supervisor, the music is added to the final mix. Though every company does it
a bit differently, this is the general layout of music editing. In Goldstein’s case, a team of
9
Keith
Goldstein,
Skype
Session
with
Music
Editor,
November
19th,
2014.
10
Sue
Shufro,
e-­‐mail
with
editor,
November
29th,
2014.
11
Bruce
Faulconer,
e-­‐mail
with
Composer,
November
21st,
2014.

8. Localization
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Music
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Anime
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composers created all of the music for about the first ten episodes. He would then get two
weeks to create a library of music sorted by the genre and feel. Sometimes he would have
to create music himself to get the sound he needed. Without the American dialogue to
work with, he would put dialogue to get the feel of what was being said in order to add
the correct musical feel.12
Basically, editors would save them both money and time since
composing takes a lot of time. It is all about being cost effective. Don Perry was a
pioneer in the world of music supervising and while Sailor Moon was the beginning of
the biggest wave of anime in America, it was the last thing he has done in a career that
has spanned 30 years. Though he was the music supervisor along with composer Bob
Summers, he had a hand in creating the music library and overseeing the composing
process. Of course there were differences. Nathaniel Reichman, who worked freelance
for 4kids Entertainment, actually met the Japanese team, something none of my other
interviewee’s had done. This was done for the production of One Piece. He also heard
some of the original soundtrack of the show. At the end of the day though, it also boiled
down to being cost effective. Reichman wrote, “One of the primary motivators for using
only new music was financial. 4Kids was a huge owner of original music. Our
administrators and composers would only earn royalties only on the music we made,
hence the reason never to use the Japanese music. We wouldn't make any money from
it”.13
As we can see, the people in the music department tend to wear multiple hats for the
sake of cost effectiveness.14
12
Keith
Goldstein,
Skype
Session
with
Music
Editor,
November
19th,
2014.
13
Nathanial
Reichmann,
E-­‐mail
with
editor,
November
23rd,
2014.
14
Don
Perry,
Facebook
Message
with
supervisor.
November
18th,
2014

9. Localization
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Music
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Anime
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Case Studies
In this next section, I will look at three different anime and their use of music. I
shall compare the original Japanese version with the American localized version and how
the music both interacts with the animation and is different from one another. Please note
that while I am focused primarily on television, I am using the Digimon movie. I am
using this as an example due to the drastic changes made as well as the fact that it came
out a television show, unlike an anime such as Nausicää of the Valley of the Wind, which
was had no previous animated form (It was a manga, Japanese comic, before it became a
film). The examples I will be using are: Speed Racer from the 1960s, Digimon: The
Movie from the early 2000s, and Sword Art Online from 2013. These were chosen due to
the different times in which they were dubbed in America. To get the full effect of the
changes, I suggest that you find these versions. While in most cases, the American
versions are fairly are easy to find, the Japanese versions may be a bit more difficult.
While I don’t condone watching pirated material, many of the original Japanese versions
of these shows can be found online with a little bit of research. If you enjoy what you see
and hear, I highly suggest that you purchase the DVD’s associated with the anime. Speed
Racer is tougher to find due to its age, but the other two can be easily found and
purchased.
Speed Racer

10. Localization
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Speed Racer, better known in Japan as Mach GoGoGo, came to America in 1967,
which was surprisingly close to when the Japanese version aired.1516
One of the unique
features of this show is the fact that the main theme song was not simply switched out,
but simply arranged differently for the American version. However, the modifications
are very clear. In the Japanese version, the singers of theme are a male choir. Strings,
drum set, mallets, and brass are also used. There are also two instances of extended
instrumental breaks not including the opening. While the American version follows the
same pattern, it is more in the style of The Monkeys. Instead of the booming bass choir in
the Japanese version, the American version sounds like it just uses three singers who are
tenors. While trumpets are being used, they are used significantly less. There is no drum
set solo in the beginning nor are there strings either. Probably due the fact that the
American version is one minute and the Japanese is two minutes, there is no instrumental
interlude. The same can be said for the ending theme. Overall, the American version
sounds more relaxed than the Japanese.
A huge surprise though is the fact that the music within the episodes did not
change except for when edited a scene. When comparing episode 50, there was no
discernable difference between the music being used. Of course, it is very difficult to find
out the reason for this. It is possible that at this point in time, the music was automatically
included without royalty problems attached. It is also possible that they just preferred the
original music. The only reason for any musical change in Speed Racer seems to be
when there are Japanese voices. Since the main producer and one of the few people
15
Speed Racer: The Complete Classic Series Collection. DVD. Director Peter Fernandez.
1967: Lionsgate Entertainment, 2008
16
Mach
Go
Go
Go
[8
Discs].
Blu-­‐Ray. Director Hiroshi Sasagawa.1967.Ais, 2012

11. Localization
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Anime
11
credited Peter Fernandez has unfortunately passed away in 2010, the best that I can do is
speculation. However, in Digimon: The Movie the musical differences are very clear to
hear.
Digimon: The Movie
Before I can talk about the music, I must clarify something. Though the American
version is in fact one movie, the Japanese version is not. This is actually an amalgamation
of three short films: Digimon Adventure, Digmon Adventure: Our War Game, and
Digmon Advenure 02: Digimon Hurricane Touchdown!!/Supreme Evolution.17
In this
film there are numerous changes to plot, time, dialogue, and music. Mark Ryan has stated
that all of the music in the Digimon movie, which he was a music editor on, was
replaced. He also says that Japanese music in anime tend to be either orchestral in nature,
kind of goofy, or incredibly pop like music with lyrics. In the case of the Digimon
movie, all three are present and replaced. It is a bit difficult to give exact time codes
since this is a combination of multiple movies and editing moved and cut quite a bit of
animation. However, I shall try to give approximations. The easiest place to begin is the
first Japanese “movie”, which lasts about twenty minutes. There is no opening theme
song or music to begin. In fact it takes about thirty seconds for music to play. When the
music actually does begin, the audience is greeted with an orchestral version of “Bolero”
by Maurice Ravel until 2:00. There is then no music until 3:00 in which “Bolero” starts
up again. This pattern is repeated, with “Bolero” and no music switching back and forth.
17
“Digimon the Movie”, Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digimon:_The_Movie

12. Localization
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The only difference is at the end when the credits roll and a really upbeat pop-rock song
begin to play.18
A sharp contrast from this, the American version begins with the credits and the
DigiRap, a remix of the opening song played in the American show. While I could spend
quite a bit of time talking about the immediate edits made in the video, I will focus on the
music. Once the Digirap ends, and orchestral version of the Digimon theme song plays,
followed by background music. Unlike the Japanese version in which the music was
very independent from the video, there was heavy mickey-mousing happening. For
example, the movement of an egg dictated when the music stopped and started. Then, at
about 6:30, the surfer rock music began to play. To be exact, “ The Rockafeller Skank”
by the famous DJ FatBoy Slim. The final difference is in the battle scene where the
theme song from the television show is partly used and the song “Going Digital”
performed by the Jason Radford of the rock group Onesidezero. In all, this section is
about fifteen minutes. This is the formula for the entire movie: Orchestral music that
mickey-mouses the animation, pop rock music by popular artists, and the music from the
television show. In fact, like many children’s movie from that time period, it included the
songs “Kids in America” and “All-Star”.19
Some other music used through out the Japanese version is western-blues guitar,
laid back jazz, pop music, and some orchestral music as well. Part of the reason for the
vast change in musical genres is the fact that they are in fact three separate movies. What
18
“Digimon Movie 1 - Digimon Adventure 1999 Japanese Audio English subs”. Youtube
Video, 20:11, Poste by “Jovan FB” Decmeber 27, 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJWI7F872yQ N
19
Digimon-The Movie. VHS. Directed by Mamoru Hosoda and Shigeyasu
Yamauchi;2000. 20th
Century Fox, 2001

13. Localization
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is interesting is that laid back jazz and pop music played during battle scenes
sometimes.20
It gave a less urgent feeling to the scene, unlike the American version with
the pulsing and driven music. Even the orchestral music in the Japanese version feels like
it belongs in a classical concert hall rather than in a movie. With this, one can see very
clearly how the music can set the tone and emotional value of a scene. Even without the
video edits, it seems as if the American movie and the Japanese films are totally different.
Sword Art Online
In more recent years, we have seen a incredible amount of changes in how anime is
produced and sold. There is nothing to really say in this section because there were
absolutely no changes to the music from the Japanese to the American version. However,
this lack of change is significant .In the opening and closing songs are kept in the
Original Japanese format. 21
This may seem weird, but looking at the history of anime in
America, it makes sense. First, Sword Art Online is being geared towards older people,
probably teenagers and up. A good portion of the audience that grew up during the time
where anime was heavily edited and campaigned for less edited material. I did not see
any musical editors listed in the credit roll for the American version. While this is good
for anime fans who want more faithful adaptions, this makes it more difficult for music
editors to get staffed positions. Like Mark Ryan said, “…the business has changed since
2000 or so, with staff jobs becoming more rare”.22
I would have chosen another anime
geared more for kids, but there are not many being aired right now. There are no more
21
“The World of Swords” Sword Art Online, First broadcast Jul 7, 2012 by Aniplex by
Crunchyroll. Directed by Tomohiko Itō
22
Mark
Ryan

14. Localization
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Anime
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Saturday morning cartoon programs and Cartoon Network is currently only playing
Pokémon and Tenkai Knights, both shows that I have previously talked about. With the
exception of anime specific channels that must be specifically bought and the Toonami
Block being played on Adult Swim, no other television channels are playing anime.
There has been a huge shift to online usage and professionally done subtitles.
Conclusion
A
lot
of
times
when
think
of
animation,
we
just
think
of
the
pictures
on
the
screen,
and
that
wouldn’t
be
incorrect.
However,
the
music
is
an
essential
part
of
animation,
especially
anime.
One
of
my
favorite
sayings
is,
“
You
can
shut
your
eyes
but
you
can’t
ever
shut
your
ears”.
Sound
is
ever
present
and
music
is
one
of
the
most
distinct
sounds
that
you
can
hear.
The
job
of
a
music
editor
in
anime
has
changed
drastically
from
the
times
of
Mach
Go
Go
Go
to
Digimon:
The
Movie
to
Sword
Art
Online
and
as
the
industry
changes,
so
will
the
music.
Who
knows
what
will
happen
next?
Maybe
we
will
enter
another
great
wave
for
anime
with
a
huge
return
to
television.
Maybe
we
have
to
accept
the
fact
that
anime
in
America
is
finding
a
new
home
on
the
Internet.
It
is
tough
to
truly
know.
The
fan
base
is
growing
older
and
the
call
for
more
originally
untouched
anime
affects
the
lives
of
the
music
team,
whose
purpose
is
to
save
money
and
Americanize
the
shows.
What
I
do
know
is
that
as
long
as
dubbing
companies
are
attempting
to
market
anime
to
younger
kids,
music
editors
will
be
needed.