Studio Ghibli has added the soundtracks of nearly all 23 of its films to streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Google Play, and more.
The soundtrack drop coincides with the studio’s films being added for streaming on Netflix. The only score that’s currently missing is for 1988’s Grave of the Fireflies, which the studio were unable to get all the rights for.
As well as the soundtracks, Studio Ghibli has also released 15 ‘image albums’, featuring music inspired by its films. In total, 693 tracks are available to stream.
"Music has long played a central role at Japan’s Ghibli, heightening the whimsy and drama of the studio’s beloved animated films,” a blurb reads on Apple Music’s ‘Studio Ghibli Essentials’ playlist. “Prolific composer Joe Hisaishi has created delicate and sweeping orchestral pieces for directors like Hayao Miyazaki, while pop-based theme songs for films such as My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo have been delighting listeners around the globe for decades.”
Joe Hisaishi’s magical scores have seen him dubbed the ‘John Williams of Japan’. His work is so important to the shape of Ghibli’s films that the studio often requests early compositions during pre-production of the film, to shape the writing and direction process.
Revisit our article exploring Joe Hisaishi’s work, and listen to some essential compositions via Apple Music and Spotify below.
