Symphonic Suite Akira

Symphonic Suite Akira
Soundtrack album by Geinoh Yamashirogumi
Released	July 27, 1988 (1988-07-27)
Studio	Victor Aoyama Studio Shōbi Gakuen Vario-Hall Hitomi Memorial Hall
Genre	Film score gamelan noh
Length	69:36
Language	Japanese
Label	Invitation
Producer	Shoji Yamashiro
Geinoh Yamashirogumi chronology
Ecophony Rinne (1986) Symphonic Suite Akira (1988) Akira: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1988)
Singles from Symphonic Suite Akira
"Theme of Akira" Released: July 16, 1988
Alternative cover
1990 North America release cover

Symphonic Suite Akira (交響組曲アキラ, Kōkyō Kumikyoku Akira) is the soundtrack album to the 1988 anime film Akira by Japanese musical collective Geinoh Yamashirogumi, released by Invitation on July 27, 1988. The music was composed and conducted by musical director Shoji Yamashiro.^[1] The soundtrack draws heavily from Japanese noh and traditional Indonesian gamelan music.^[2][3]

A CD single titled "Theme of Akira" (AKIRAのテーマ, Akira no Tēma) was released on July 16, 1988. The title track is a medley of "Kaneda" and "Battle Against Clown", while "Tetsuo's Metamorphosis" (鉄雄のメタモルフォーゼ, Tetsuo no Metamorufōze) uses sections of "Mutation" and "Exodus from the Underground Fortress".^[4][5]

The album was first released in North America by JVC in 1990 as Akira: Original Soundtrack. It was reissued in 2000 by AnimeTrax. The album was re-released by Milan Records as Akira: Symphonic Suite on September 15, 2017.^[6]

Track listing

CD version

All music is composed by Shoji Yamashiro.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kaneda" (金田)	3:12
2.	"Battle Against Clown" (クラウンとの闘い, Kuraun to no Tatakai)	3:39
3.	"Winds Over the Neo-Tokyo" (ネオ東京上空の風, Neo-Tōkyō Jōkū no Kaze)	2:46
4.	"Tetsuo" (鉄雄)	10:17
5.	"Dolls' Polyphony" (ぬいぐるみのポリフォニー, Nuigurumi no Porifonī)	2:55
6.	"Shohmyoh" (唱名)	10:13
7.	"Mutation" (変容; Hen'yō)	4:51
8.	"Exodus from the Underground Fortress" (ケイと金田の脱出, Kei to Kaneda no Dasshitsu, "Kei and Kaneda's Escape")	3:18
9.	"Illusion" (回想, Kaisō)	13:59
10.	"Requiem" (未来, Mirai)	14:26
Total length:		69:36

LP version

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kaneda"
2.	"Tetsuo"
3.	"Ohjifuchi[fn 1]" (應時普地)

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Exodus from the Underground Fortress"
2.	"Requiem"

Personnel

Additional musicians

• Tsuyoshi Kon – guitar
• Tokihiko Morishita – keyboard
• Tadashi Namba – keyboard
• Nobu Saitō – percussion
• Hideo Yamaki – drums
• Yukihiro Issoh – noh (fuekata)
• Junzō Miyamasu – noh (tsuzumikata)
• Nobuyuki Shirasaka – noh (ōkawakata)
• Masamichi Yamazaki – noh (shitekata)
• Kiyoshi Yoshitani – noh (taikokata)
• Ida Bagus Sugata – Balinese tantra
• Kunihiko Tominaga – synthesizer programming
• Kenji Niina – synthesizer programming

Akira: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Akira: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Geinoh Yamashirogumi
Released	October 10, 1988 (1988-10-10)
Studio	Victor Aoyama Studio Shōbi Gakuen Vario-Hall Hitomi Memorial Hall
Genre	Film score gamelan noh
Length	43:11
Language	Japanese
Label	Victor
Producer	Shoji Yamashiro
Geinoh Yamashirogumi chronology
Symphonic Suite Akira (1988) Akira: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1988) Ecophony Gaia (1990)

Akira: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is an alternate version of Symphonic Suite Akira, released by Victor Entertainment on October 10, 1988. It features the film score mixed with dialogue from the film.

The album was released in the United Kingdom by Demon Soundtracks as Akira: The Original Japanese Soundtrack in 1994.^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kaneda[fn 2]"	9:59
2.	"Tetsuo I[fn 3]"	12:59
3.	"Tetsuo II[fn 4]"	12:36
4.	"Akira[fn 5]"	7:56
Total length:		43:11

Cast

• Mitsuo Iwata as Shōtarō Kaneda
• Nozomu Sasaki as Tetsuo Shima
• Mami Koyama as Kei
• Tarō Ishida as Colonel Shikishima
• Kazuhiro Shindō as Masaru (No. 27)
• Tatsuhiko Nakamura as Takashi (No. 26)
• Fukue Itō as Kiyoko (No. 25)
• Tesshō Genda as Ryūsaku (Ryu)
• Yuriko Fuchizaki as Kaori
• Masaaki Ōkura as Yamagata
• Takeshi Kusao as Kai
• Masato Hirano as Terrorist
• Tarō Arakawa as Eiichi Watanabe
• Masami Toyoshima as a Groupie
• Mizuho Suzuki as Doctor Ōnishi

Akira Remix

Akira Remix
Soundtrack album by Geinoh Yamashirogumi
Released	August 21, 2024 (2024-08-21)
Studio	Prime Sound Studio Form Daikanyama Studio Mech Monogram Studios MIT Studio (Disc 2 tracks 1–3)
Genre	Film score gamelan noh hip-hop electronica
Length	83:11
Language	Japanese
Label	Victor
Producer	Shoji Yamashiro
Geinoh Yamashirogumi chronology
Silk Road Genjoh I, II Byzantine no Hibiki (1994) Akira Remix (2024)
Music video
Akira Remix digest on YouTube

Akira Remix is a remix album based on Symphonic Suite Akira, released by Victor Entertainment on CD and digital platforms on August 21, 2024, and on LP on March 26, 2025.^[8][9] Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo served as the two-disc album's executive producer and selected three musicians for this project. Makoto Kubota (of Makoto Kubota & the Sunset Gang and Les Rallizes Dénudés) remixed the 13 tracks on the first disc, while Pizzicato Five founder Yasuharu Konishi and anime score composer Kuniaki Haishima each remixed three tracks on the second disc.^[10][11][12]

The album peaked at No. 18 on Oricon's Weekly Albums chart and No. 19 on Billboard Japan's Hot Albums chart.^[13][14]

Track listing

Disc 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kaneda" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	3:23
2.	"Battle Against Clown" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	1:52
3.	"Winds Over the Neo-Tokyo" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	3:58
4.	"Dolls' Polyphony" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	4:06
5.	"Exodus from the Underground Fortress" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	3:26
6.	"Illusion" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	2:56
7.	"Mutation" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	4:22
8.	"Requiem" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	6:00
9.	"Tetsuo" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	3:21
10.	"Shohmyoh" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	2:39
11.	"Requiem Part 2" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	4:13
12.	"Shohmyoh" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	4:05
13.	"Tetsuo 2" (Remixed by Makoto Kubota)	2:48
Total length:		47:07

Disc 2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Winds Over the Neo-Tokyo" (Remixed by Yasuharu Konishi)	6:19
2.	"Dolls' Polyphony" (Remixed by Yasuharu Konishi)	5:36
3.	"Requiem" (Remixed by Yasuharu Konishi)	7:33
4.	"Kaneda" (Remixed by Kuniaki Haishima)	3:48
5.	"Shohmyoh" (Remixed by Kuniaki Haishima)	8:52
6.	"Illusion" (Remixed by Kuniaki Haishima)	3:53
Total length:		35:58

Personnel

Additional musicians

• Takashi Mizutani – guitar (disc 1 track 1)
• Daichi Itō – drums (disc 1 track 1)
• Yukihiro Fukutomi – programming (disc 2 tracks 1–3)
• Ryusuke Kakizawa – drums, pandeiro (disc 2 tracks 1–3)

Charts

Chart (2024)	Peak position
Oricon Japanese Albums [13]	18
Billboard Japan Hot Albums[14]	19
Billboard Japan Top Download Albums[15]	22
Billboard Japan Top Album Sales[16]	18

Footnotes

1. "Ohjifuchi" is a rearranged version of "Mutation"
2. Features "Requiem", "Kaneda", "Winds Over the Neo-Tokyo", "Tetsuo", and "Battle Against Clown"
3. Features "Tetsuo", "Shohmyoh", "Illusion", "Dolls' Polyphony", and "Exodus from the Underground Fortress"
4. Features "Tetsuo", "Requiem", "Mutation", and "Illusion"
5. Features "Requiem" and "Exodus from the Underground Fortress"

References

1. Goldmark, D.; Taylor, Y.; Maltin, L. (2002). The Cartoon Music Book. Chicago Review Press, Incorporated. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-56976-412-1. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2025. The Akira soundtrack, constructed by Shoji Yamashira and performed by the group Geinoh Yamashirogumi, slides through musical cultures and knits them together with the easy grace of Toru Takemitsu.
2. Bradley, Paige Katherine (August 28, 2018). "Cue the Gamelan Music, Maestro, Because the Best Anime Ever Made Is Back in Theaters!". Garage Magazine. Vice Media. Archived from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
3. "Symphonic Suite Akira | 芸能山城組". Oricon. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
4. "AKIRAのテーマ" at Discogs
5. "AKIRAのテーマ | 芸能山城組". Oricon. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
6. "Geinoh Yamashirogumi: Akira (Symphonic Suite)". Milan Records. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
7. Akira (The Original Japanese Soundtrack) at Discogs
8. "アナログ盤 「AKIRA REMIX」がリリース". Geinoh Yamashirogumi Official Website. May 10, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
9. "アナログ盤「AKIRA REMIX」新ジャケット写真決定！新トレーラーも始動！". Victor Entertainment. February 19, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
10. Dennison, Kara (June 29, 2025). "Akira Anime Film Gets Remix Album on August 21". Crunchyroll. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
11. "「AKIRA REMIX」 release on 21 Aug. 2024". Makoto Kubota Official Website. June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
12. "Akira Remix". VGMDb. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
13. "Akira Remix | 芸能山城組". Oricon. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
14. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums | Charts (August 28, 2024)". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
15. "Billboard Japan Top Download Albums | Charts (August 28, 2024)". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
16. "Billboard Japan Top Album Sales | Charts (August 28, 2024)". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 5, 2025.

External links

Symphonic Suite Akira

• Official website
• Symphonic Suite Akira at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• Symphonic Suite Akira at Discogs (list of releases)

Akira: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

• Official website
• Akira: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• Akira: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack at Discogs (list of releases)

Akira Remix

• Official website
• Akira Remix at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• Akira Remix at Discogs (list of releases)