Best Anime Soundtracks From 2022
2022 had some genuinely strong scores. Not everything was a home run, but the top ones pushed animation music forward in ways that still hold up. Here is a rundown of the OSTs that mattered and how they actually work when you listen past the opening credits. This was the most striking score of the year. Kōsaki shifted away from the traditional orchestral approach entirely and built almost the whole soundtrack around period instruments and sparse textures. The main theme is deceptively simple. It sounds like a single folk melody that repeats until it becomes something darker. What makes it work is the restraint. He does not flood every scene with sweeping strings. Instead he leaves silence between notes and lets ambient noise do the heavy lifting. I remember the first time I listened to this OST on repeat and noticed how much of it uses low drones and wordless vocal hums instead of actual lyrics. That choice is what separates it from typical anime scoring. It feels like historical drama rather than broadcast TV material.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners — Keigo Hoashi, Sierraa, James Luke, The Blue Dawn
Trigger picked a completely different direction here. The soundtrack blends hyperpop, synthwave, and industrial electronic music into something that sounds chaotic until you map out the layers. Several tracks run longer than three minutes and shift tempo mid-song. That is unusual for an anime OST because most composers lock into a consistent BPM range. Keigo Hoashi handled the main themes and built most of the emotional core around piano and distorted synth pads. The contrast with the aggressive electronic pieces works because the quieter moments earn their place. I ran into an issue when trying to find clean instrumental versions of some of these tracks. The vocal-heavy singles dominated streaming playlists, which made it hard to isolate the actual score cues. My workaround was checking the official album booklet for track identifiers and cross-referencing with the anime episode timestamps on YouTube. It took extra time but saved me from guessing wrong.
Chainsaw Man — Kensuke Ushio
Ushio came in with a deliberately messy approach. The score leans into grunge rock, dissonant synths, and sudden genre swings within a single episode. Most anime composers would avoid that level of tonal inconsistency because it risks sounding amateur. In this case it fits the source material perfectly. The main theme is short, repetitive, and built around a distorted guitar riff that never quite resolves. That refusal to resolve is intentional. It mirrors Denji's mindset for most of the series. What beginners miss about this score is how effective the quiet scenes are. The tension pieces use minimal instrumentation and rely on irregular rhythm patterns. Those patterns create unease without needing big orchestral hits.
Get the Full Details
Spy x Family — Yuki Hayashi
Hayashi has been doing anime music for over a decade and this one shows the difference experience makes. The spy thriller theme uses tight brass stabs and a walking bassline that never overstays its welcome. The comedic cues are equally sharp, switching from orchestral chase music to light piano within seconds without breaking continuity. The biggest strength here is thematic consistency. Every major character gets a short melodic cell that reappears throughout the season in different keys. I spent time tracking those motifs across episodes and found that Yor's theme shifts from minor to major depending on whether she is acting as a daughter-in-law or operating as an assassin. That subtle key change is easy to miss on casual listening but it pays off on repeat listens.
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1 — Hiroaki Tsutsumi
The action cues on this soundtrack are fast and dense. Tsutsumi uses layered percussion and fast string runs to match the pace of the fights. The result is energetic but not empty. There are actually distinct melodies underneath the noise. The track "Where Love Lies" is the standout. It plays during a specific emotional sequence and uses a simple choir pattern with minimal accompaniment. The contrast between that track and the aggressive battle themes is what gives the season its shape. Without those quiet moments the action loses weight.
Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc — Yuki Kajiura
Kajiura returned to franchise duty and delivered a score that plays it safer than the previous season but remains competent. The flamenco influence carries through from prior seasons and the main battle theme continues to use rapid string ostinatos. What changes is the pacing. Some episodes rely too heavily on the same battle loop, which makes the middle of the arc feel repetitive. That said, the quieter character moments are well handled. The flute and strings pairing works especially well for moments involving Tengen's backstory. It is less innovative than her earlier work on other properties but it fits the show's tone reliably.
Mob Psycho 100 III — Ken Arai
Arai's work on this final season is restrained compared to earlier installments but that restraint is the point. The psychic battles use less noise and more space. The ending theme and a few key emotional cues carry the real weight. The score trusts the animation to do most of the storytelling instead of piling on musical effects. Senju has built a very specific sonic identity across the franchise and this installment deepens it. The score combines choirs, ethnic percussion, and synthetic textures to create environments that feel alien but grounded. The Cauterization arc is brutal and the music reflects that without resorting to cheap horror stings. One limitation of this soundtrack is that several tracks blend together at first listen. The ambient layers are dense and the leitmotifs recur frequently. It takes multiple listens to separate the individual thematic elements. If you want a more immediately rewarding experience from this composer, start with the first season's OST. The Golden City score rewards patience more than it rewards casual listening.
If you are building a playlist from this year, I would prioritize Vinland Saga Season 2 and Chainsaw Man for distinct artistic statements, then fill the rest with Hayashi and Tsutsumi for reliability. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners works best if you already know the show. The score hits differently after watching rather than before.
