#Record of Ragnarok Music Composer Yasuharu Takanashi

The Record of Ragnarok anime is nothing but non-stop action and fights between humans and gods. To complement that, Yasuharu Takanashi (Zombie Land Saga, BORUTO) was tasked with composing the background soundtracks for the series. We asked him how the project went! 

What was your initial reaction when you were asked to compose the music for Record of Ragnarok? Were you familiar with the title before being approached? 

Yes, I knew about it! As the manga is so full of passion, I thought I could write many battle music so I was really happy to be offered to work on this!

The story centers around a tournament where humanity must fight to survive. What kind of themes or elements were you aiming to express in the music? 

Since this is about the epic battle between gods and the human race, I imagined the music on a large scale. My initial order from the sound director, Yasunori Ebina-san, was to use loud music with a large range of chorus. It was something I really wanted to do. In the end, I created passionate sounds on a larger scale.

Which track from the OST (original soundtrack) are you most proud of? Was there one that turned out better than you expected?

It’s quite hard to answer which song I am most proud of…. 

First of all, I like all the songs. When the music orders came in, there was no request for slice-of-life music or comedic songs that are usually used in other anime, so I was able to create songs that I like, such as scene descriptive ones focused on feelings and battle themes! The one I thought that came out better than I thought was the Chinese-styled soundtrack used in Lu Bu’s entry scene. It sounded a little too cheerful when I listened to the music alone, but it matched perfectly with the animation. Afterward, I thought, “Oh, this turned out better than I hoped!”

Was there a musical style you wanted to focus on?

As I mentioned previously, I wanted to create passionate music on a large scale that can resonate with the characters’ feelings. I said it multiple times already, but the style I was going for is “more passion the better!” 

You are a fan of metal music and have said that some of your other soundtracks are variants/different interpretations of metal music. Were you able to integrate metal into the soundtrack, and if so, how? 

I LOVE metal, so I have included metal music with my own interpretation. When I say “metal,” I don’t mean something with guitar, bass, and drums, but I tried expressing “my metal music” in the progression sequence and melodies by sounding out specific metal-like rhythms. 

For the climax music, sound director Ebina-san told me to “Go all out with metal music!” so I was able to create hard-core metal music like a fish in water! I also had a lot of fun since I was able to introduce metal arrangements with classical Bach music!

How do you create themes for the fights? Were there elements of the characters that you wanted to bring into the fight music depending on which characters were fighting? (if there is a difference in the fighting between Thor/Lu Bu and Zeus/Adam.)

I differentiated a lot. I tried to reflect the characters’ (supposed) origins in the music. I also tried including musical expressions that match the characters’ nature. I hope fans can now listen to the music in Record of Ragnarok and think, “This one worked really well!”

Did you compose tracks with specific scenes or characters in mind? Or did you compose music based on more vague prompts, without knowing exactly when each track would be used? 

Firstly, I had specific information on the music. I had thorough meetings with the director, sound director, and producer to discuss what kind of music was needed for specific scenes prior to production. From there, I was able to compose accordingly.

So, to answer this question, I did compose tracks while taking the characters’ feelings and fight scenes into account!

Any final comments to anime fans as they watch the anime series?

Thanks to all of the fans, this anime has been so well received! I am so glad and thankful to the global fans who enjoyed the anime. The happiest moment for creators is when the fans are the most excited about the show. I would be most honored if you can continue watching and enjoying the show.

Oh yeah, and thanks to Anime Trending, I was awarded the best Anime OST award for Zombie Land Saga! I hope I can receive the award again with your continuous support. I love you all!

Special thanks to Takanashi-san for his time! The anime series is now streaming on Netflix.