Sound

Joe Hisaishi

Born December 6, 1950 · Nagano, Japan (age 75)

Mamoru Fujisawa (藤澤守, Fujisawa Mamoru, born December 6, 1950), known professionally as Joe Hisaishi (久石譲, Hisaishi Jō), is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic, Western classical, an…

Known For

Spirited Away

Spirited Away · 2001

MovieAnimationFamily

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle · 2004

Howl's Moving Castle

MovieFantasyAnimation

Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke · 1997

Princess Mononoke

MovieAdventureFantasy

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro · 1988

My Neighbor Totoro

MovieFantasyAnimation

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service · 1989

Kiki's Delivery Service

MovieAnimationFamily

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

The Boy and the Heron

The Boy and the Heron · 2023

The Boy and the Heron

MovieAnimationFantasy

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Warriors of the Wind

Warriors of the Wind · 1984

Warriors of the Wind

MovieAdventureAnimation

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

Castle in the Sky

Castle in the Sky · 1986

Castle in the Sky

MovieAdventureFantasy

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Filmography

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Spirited Away

Spirited Away · 2001

MovieAnimationFamily

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Original Music Composer

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle · 2004

Howl's Moving Castle

MovieFantasyAnimation

Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

Original Music Composer

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke · 1997

Princess Mononoke

MovieAdventureFantasy

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

Original Music Composer

My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro · 1988

My Neighbor Totoro

MovieFantasyAnimation

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

Original Music Composer

Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service · 1989

Kiki's Delivery Service

MovieAnimationFamily

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

Original Music Composer

The Boy and the Heron

The Boy and the Heron · 2023

The Boy and the Heron

MovieAnimationFantasy

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Original Music Composer

Warriors of the Wind

Warriors of the Wind · 1984

Warriors of the Wind

MovieAdventureAnimation

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

Original Music Composer

Castle in the Sky

Castle in the Sky · 1986

Castle in the Sky

MovieAdventureFantasy

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Original Music Composer

Ponyo

MovieAnimationFantasy

When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

Original Music Composer

The Wind Rises

The Wind Rises · 2013

MovieAnimationDrama

A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.

Original Music Composer

Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso · 1992

MovieAnimationAdventure

In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

Original Music Composer

Departures

Departures · 2008

Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.

Original Music Composer

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya · 2013

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

MovieAnimationDrama

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

Original Music Composer

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey · 2025

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

MovieRomanceFantasy

Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.

Original Music Composer

Let the Bullets Fly

Let the Bullets Fly · 2010

Let the Bullets Fly

MovieActionComedy

When circumstances force an outlaw to impersonate a county governor and clean up a corrupt town, the Robin Hood figure finds himself in a showdown with the local godfather.

Original Music Composer

Brother

Brother · 2000

MovieCrimeDrama

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

Original Music Composer

Kikujiro

Kikujiro · 1999

MovieComedyDrama

Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.

Original Music Composer

Fireworks

Fireworks · 1997

MovieCrimeDrama

Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his business partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.

Original Music Composer

Sonatine

Sonatine · 1993

MovieActionCrime

Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.

Original Music Composer

Children of the Sea

Children of the Sea · 2019

Children of the Sea

MovieAnimationFantasy

Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.

Original Music Composer

Those Swell Yakuza

Those Swell Yakuza · 1988

Those Swell Yakuza

MovieCrimeComedy

Ryo, a young former banker, gets beaten up over a debt from gambling. A yakuza boss saves him, and Ryo decides to train to become a yakuza under him.

Original Music Composer

Mei and the Kittenbus

Mei and the Kittenbus · 2002

Mei and the Kittenbus

MovieAnimationAdventure

Mei is eating a caramel on one very windy day, when suddenly a whirlwind appears and starts chasing her. The whirlwind turns out to be a baby cat bus. Mei offers the kitten a caramel and the two become friends. That night, the baby cat bus visits Mei. Letting Mei ride inside him, he leaps out into the sky. They head for the midnight forest full of ghosts. Other cat buses large and small have also gathered together.

Original Music Composer

Yamato

MovieWarHistory

Directed by Junya Sato and based on a book by Jun Henmi, "Yamato" has a framing story set in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato. The film was never released in the United States, where reviewers who have seen it have compared the military epic to "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan."

Original Music Composer

A Scene at the Sea

A Scene at the Sea · 1991

A Scene at the Sea

MovieDramaRomance

A deaf garbage collector happens upon a broken and discarded surfboard. The discovery plants in him dreams of becoming a surf champion. Encouraged by his also deaf girlfriend, he persists against all odds.

Original Music Composer

ろぼっ子ビートン

ろぼっ子ビートン · 1976

ろぼっ子ビートン

SeriesAnimation

Music

J9 Series

J9 Series · 1981

SeriesAnimationSci-Fi & Fantasy

The J9 Series are a series of anime originally created by Kokusai Eigasha.

Music

Leviathan

Leviathan · 2025

SeriesAnimationAction & Adventure

Set in an alternate steampunk past, an Austrian fugitive prince and a Scottish airman in disguise embark on an unexpected quest to prevent a world war.

Songs

Clouds Over the Hill

Clouds Over the Hill · 2009

Clouds Over the Hill

SeriesWar & PoliticsDrama

Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and three, each with 4 episodes, were broadcast in late 2010 and 2011. While most episodes were shot in Japan, one of the episodes in series two was shot in Latvia. The TV series is based on the novel Saka no ue no kumo by Ryōtarō Shiba and adopted by Hisashi Nozawa. The theme song of the drama series is titled "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi, written by Kundo Koyama and performed by British soprano singer Sarah Brightman.

Original Music Composer

Twin Hawks

Twin Hawks · 1984

SeriesAnimation

Music

In This Corner of the World

In This Corner of the World · 2018

In This Corner of the World

SeriesFamilyDrama

18-year-old Urano Suzu marries Hojo Shusaku and moves from Eba City to Kure City in Hiroshima Prefecture in the middle of the Pacific War. As Japan slides into a war it cannot get out of, the townspeople go on with their “ordinary” lives. Supplies are short, and family and friends get sent to the battlefield. Suzu and the Hojo family battle such anxieties as they try to live positively.

Original Music Composer

Genesis Climber MOSPEADA

Genesis Climber MOSPEADA · 1983

Genesis Climber MOSPEADA

SeriesAction & AdventureAnimation

In the year 2050, an alien race, invade and successfully conquer the Earth. Years later the inhabitants of Mars Colony send out a desperate Liberation Force to try and reclaim their lost home world. Stig Bernard, finds himself on Earth, gathering a handful of resistance fighters and attempting to beat them.

Original Music Composer

The Legend

The Legend · 2007

SeriesDramaSci-Fi & Fantasy

This drama portrays the life of the 19th king of Goguryeo, Hwanwoong, who was sent from the heavens to make the world a better place. He falls in love with Saeoh and gives her the joojak necklace; however, Kajin becomes jealous since Saeoh has given birth to Hwanwoong's son. She takes the baby and throws him off a cliff. Saeoh, thinking that her son had died, is overcome with grief and turns into the black joojak to destroy the world. Hwanwoong is the only one who could stop her. Afterwards, Hwanwoong returns to the Heavens and prophecizes that 2000 years later, the true Joo Shin king will come to Earth. With the help of the four gods, he will rebuild Joo Shin.

Music

Onna Nobunaga

Onna Nobunaga · 2013

Nobunaga Oda (Yuki Amami) was raised as the successor of the Oda clan and her father is Nobuhide Oda (Toshiyuki Nishida). She distinguishes herself as a daimyo during the Warring States period. Due to her gender as a woman, she experiences difficult times as a warrior. Around this time, she approaches the truth of the Honno-ji Incident.

Original Music Composer

Alpen Rose

Alpen Rose · 1985

SeriesAnimationDrama

Alpen Rose is a shōjo manga series created by Michiyo Akaishi. The story was adapted into an anime by Tatsunoko Productions in 1985, with character designs by Akemi Takada.

Music

Amazing Sarutobi

Amazing Sarutobi · 1982

Amazing Sarutobi

SeriesAnimationAction & Adventure

Nikumaru, meaning meatball in Japanese, is a seventeen-year-old student at Ninja High School, a special school for the training of ninja. He is short and chubby, but he possesses a super technique known as the "kamikaze", where he stirs up a whirlwind with his feet. The series introduces his many adventures and pranks as Nikumaru meets with his rivals both in and out of school.

Music

Robot Carnival

Robot Carnival · 1987

SeriesAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy

An anthology of various tales with robots being the one common element among them. It consists of nine shorts by different well-known directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience. Each has a distinctive animation style and story ranging from comedic to dramatic story lines.

Original Music Composer

Piano

SeriesFamilyDrama

The drama about the youngest of four sisters, all raised solely by their father, who wants to write children's books.

Music

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time · 1994

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

SeriesSci-Fi & Fantasy

Adaptation of the novel of the same name.

Original Music Composer