Music anime generally revolves around people concerned with music in their everyday lives. In addition they often adhere to certain genre conventions, the emphasis on training and practice in preparation for competitions, characters desire for self improvement, and pursuit of a specific goal. This is not unlike the Sports category.
Top 17 Music Anime to watch
- 1. Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
- 2. Macross 7
- 3. [Oshi no Ko]
- 4. SI-VIS: The Sound of Heroes
- 5. Nana
- 6. Bocchi the Rock!
- 7. K-On!
- 8. Rock wa Lady no Tashinami Deshite
- 9. Perfect Blue
- 10. K-POP: DEMON HUNTERS
- 11. Girls Band Cry
- 12. Given
- 13. Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song
- 14. Karaoke Iko!
- 15. K-On!!
- 16. Muchuu sa, Kimi ni.
- 17. Chou Kaguya-hime!
1. Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Music accompanies the path of the human metronome, the prodigious pianist Kousei Arima. But after the passing of his mother, Saki Arima, Kousei falls into a downward spiral, rendering him unable to hear the sound of his own piano.
Two years later, Kousei still avoids the piano, leaving behind his admirers and rivals, and lives a colorless life alongside his friends Tsubaki Sawabe and Ryouta Watari. However, everything changes when he meets a beautiful violinist, Kaori Miyazono, who stirs up his world and sets him on a journey to face music again.
Based on the manga series of the same name, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso approaches the story of Kousei's recovery as he discovers that music is more than playing each note perfectly, and a single melody can bring in the fresh spring air of April.
Your Lie in April is finished and has 22 Episodes. It is also Known as: 四月は君の嘘, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
2. Macross 7
35 years have passed since Lynn Minmay had brought peace between the Zentradi and the humans in the events of Macross. Nekki Basara is a guitarist and a singer of the band Fire Bomber. Living in a less-developed part of the flying colony City 7 which is looking for a habitable planet, he composes and sings songs in the belief that music holds a greater power.
During its flight, an unknown alien race appeared and started laying siege upon City 7. However, its attacks are not conventional -- instead of trying to destroy them, they steal what is known as "spiritia", rendering victims unresponsive and zombie-like. During these battles, Basara always goes out into the middle of the warzone, singing his songs and expecting friend and foe to listen and be moved by his music.
Macross 7 is finished and has 49 Episodes. It is also Known as: マクロス7, M7
3. [Oshi no Ko]
When a pregnant young starlet appears in Gorou Amemiya’s countryside medical clinic, the doctor takes it upon himself to safely deliver Ai Hoshino’s child so she can make a scandal-free return to the stage. But no good deed goes unpunished, and on the eve of her delivery, he finds himself slain at the hands of Ai’s deluded stalker — and subsequently reborn as Ai’s child, Aquamarine Hoshino! The glitz and glamor of showbiz hide the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry, threatening to dull the shine of his favorite star. Can he help his new mother rise to the top of the charts? And what will he do when unthinkable disaster strikes?
Note: Episode 1【推しの子】Mother and Children was pre-screened in advance in Japanese theaters on March 17, 2023. The regular TV broadcast begins on April 12, 2023. The first episode has an extended runtime of ~90 minutes.
Oshi no Ko is finished and has 11 Episodes. It is also Known as: 【推しの子】, 【OSHI NO KO】, [Mein*Star], Favorite Girl, My Idol's Child, เกิดใหม่เป็นลูกโอชิ, Anak Idola, 【推しの子】Mother and Children, [Oshi no Ko] Mother and Children, 【MOJA GWIAZDA】, 我推的孩子
4. SI-VIS: The Sound of Heroes
SI-VIS is a co-ed music group, led by Yosuke, shaking up the global music scene with their unmatched vocals and performances. However, they are actually heroes in disguise, battling against mysterious forces threatening the world. They convert audience energy at live performances into combat power. Luckily, the battles appear to be ordinary concerts to the public, keeping their identity a secret.
SI-VIS: The Sound of Heroes is currently airing . It is also Known as: SI-VIS: The Sound of Heroes
5. Nana
Nana Komatsu is a helpless, naïve 20-year-old who easily falls in love and becomes dependent and clingy to those around her. Even though she nurses ambitious dreams of removing herself from her provincial roots and finding her true calling, she ends up traveling to Tokyo with the humble reason of chasing her current boyfriend Shouji Endo.
Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is a proud, enigmatic punk rock vocalist from a similarly rural background, who nurtures the desire to become a professional singer. Putting her career with a fairly popular band firmly behind her, she boards the same train to Tokyo as Nana Komatsu.
Through a fateful encounter in their journey toward the metropolis, the young women with the same given name are brought together, sparking a chain of events which eventually result in them sharing an apartment. As their friendship deepens, the two attempt to support each other through thick and thin, their deeply intertwined lives filled with romance, music, challenges, and heartbreaks that will ultimately test their seemingly unbreakable bond.
Nana is finished and has 47 Episodes. It is also Known as: NANA [ナナ], Nana
6. Bocchi the Rock!
Hitori Gotoh, “Bocchi-chan,” is a girl who’s so introverted and shy around people that she’d always start her conversations with “Ah...”
During her middle school years, she started playing the guitar, wanting to join a band because she thought it could be an opportunity for even someone shy like her to also shine. But because she had no friends, she ended up practicing guitar for six hours every day all by herself.
After becoming a skilled guitar player, she uploaded videos of herself playing the guitar to the internet under the name “Guitar Hero” and fantasized about performing at her school’s cultural festival concert. But not only could she not find any bandmates, before she knew it, she was in high school and still wasn’t able to make a single friend!
She was really close to becoming a shut-in, but one day, Nijika Ijichi, the drummer in Kessoku Band, reached out to her. And because of that, her everyday life started to change little by little...
BOCCHI THE ROCK! is finished and has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: ぼっち・ざ・ろっく!, Bocchi the Rock!
7. K-On!
Hirasawa Yui, a young, carefree girl entering high school, has her imagination instantly captured when she sees a poster advertising the "Light Music Club." Being the carefree girl that she is, she quickly signs up; however, Yui has a problem, she is unable to play an instrument.
When Yui goes to the clubroom to explain, she's greeted by the other members: Ritsu, Mio, and Tsumugi. Although disheartened at Yui's lack of musical know-how, they still try to convince her to stay to prevent the club's disbandment. After playing Yui a short piece which re-ignites her imagination, they succeed in keeping their new member and guitarist.
Along with the tasks of school and homework, Yui begins to learn the guitar with the help of the other band members, experiencing many mishaps along the way. However, with the school festival drawing near and Yui getting stuck with her practice, will the Light Music Club be ready in time for their debut?
K-ON! is finished and has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: けいおん!, Keion, K-ON! Season 1
8. Rock wa Lady no Tashinami Deshite
At an elite all-girls' academy where refined young ladies gather, Lilisa Suzunomiya, now the daughter of a real estate tycoon after her mother remarried, is forced to abandon her guitar and rock music to fit in. However, her passion is reignited by sounds from the old school building, where she meets a skilled drummer who shares her love for rock. Together, they embrace their inner rockstars, elegantly clashing and shouting their way through the academy in this captivating tale of grace and rebellion.
Rock is a Lady’s Modesty is currently airing and it will have 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: ロックは淑女の嗜みでして, Rock wa Shukujo no Tashinami de shite
9. Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue revolves around the main protagonist, Mima Kirigoe, a member of a pop idol group named “CHAM!”. After evaluating her situation, she decides to give up her idol status to pursue a career as an actress, what she believes to be the next step in making a name for herself in the industry. However, one of her most hardcore fans, Me-Mania, is less than happy about the path she has decided to take.
Now reborn as an actress, Mima accepts an interesting role, ignoring her manager, Rumi Hidaka's reservations about it. While on set, strange things begin to happen to people who are involved with the film. As time goes on, Mima begins to break down mentally, struggling to distinguish fantasy from reality.
Will Mima be able to escape the grip of her stalker and turn in a break out performance, or will she descend into madness?
Perfect Blue is a Movie. It is also Known as: パーフェクト・ブルー, Perfect Blue
10. K-POP: DEMON HUNTERS
When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira, and Zoey aren’t selling out stadiums, they’re using their secret identities as demon hunters to protect their fans from ever-present supernatural danger. Together, they must face their biggest threat — an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise.
K-POP: DEMON HUNTERS is finished and has 1 Episodes.
11. Girls Band Cry
The main character drops out of high school in her second year, and aims at entering a university while working alone in Tokyo. A girl is betrayed by her friends and doesn't know what to do. Another girl is abandoned by her parents, and tries to survive in the city by doing part-time jobs.
This world lets us down all the time. Nothing goes as planned. But we want something that we can continue to like. We believe there's a place where we belong. That's why we sing
Girls Band Cry is finished and has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: ガールズバンドクライ, Girls Band Cry
12. Given
Somehow, the guitar that he used to love to play and the basketball games that he found so fun just lost their appeal... That was until Ritsuka Uenoyama randomly met Mafuyu Sato. Ritsuka had started losing his passion for music in his everyday life, but then he hears Mafuyu sing for the first time. The song resonates with his heart and the distance between them starts to change.
given is finished and has 11 Episodes. It is also Known as: ギヴン, Given
13. Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song
Nierland—an A.I complex theme park where dreams, hopes, and science intermingle. Created as the first-ever autonomous humanoid A.I, Vivy acts as an A.I cast for the establishment. To fulfill her mission of making everyone happy through songs, she continues to take the stage and perform with all her heart. However, the theme park was still lacking in popularity.
One day, an A.I named Matsumoto appears before Vivy and explains that he has travelled from 100 years into the future, with the mission to correct history with Vivy and prevent the war between A.I and humanity that is set to take place 100 years later.
What sort of future will the encounter of two A.I with different missions redraw? This is the story of A.I destroying A.I. A.I diva Vivy's 100-year journey begins.
Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song- is finished and has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song- (ヴィヴィ -フローライトアイズソング-), Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song
14. Karaoke Iko!
The president of the chorus club, Satomi Oka, is approached by a yakuza named Kyoji Narita. Kyoji’s yakuza group holds a customary karaoke competition, and whoever earns the title of worst singer must get a tattoo. Since he was asked to be Kyoji’s singing teacher, Satomi has no choice but to go along with these practice sessions. Brought together by karaoke, where will Satomi and Kyoji end up?
Let's Go Karaoke! is finished and has 5 Episodes. It is also Known as: カラオケ行こ!, Let's Go to Karaoke!
15. K-On!!
For two full years, Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Tsumugi have worked together to keep the struggling Light Music Club alive. With a new school year there are new and scary challenges ahead!
K-ON! Season 2 is finished and has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: けいおん!!, Keion 2, K-On!! 2nd Season
16. Muchuu sa, Kimi ni.
Hayashi's frank, guileless demeanor quietly draws the attention of classmates and strangers as he counts all the stairs in school, photographs street signs, and dries sweet potatoes on the classroom balcony. In a world shaped by conformity, Hayashi is refreshingly and unapologetically true to himself. Conversely, Nikaidou has worked very hard to perfect a gloomy, dour façade that keeps his classmates far, far away. While much of the school regards Nikaidou as a bad omen, one student catches a glimpse behind the mask and-undeterred by rumors of bad luck and supernatural powers-begins to pick away Nikaidou's carefully crafted persona…
Captivated, by You is finished and has 5 Episodes. It is also Known as: 夢中さ、きみに。, Muchuu sa, Kimi ni.
17. Chou Kaguya-hime!
A tale of otherworldly beauty and celestial secrets unfolds in this new take on Japan’s oldest folktale.
Inspired by The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, the film reimagines Japan’s oldest folktale with a modern touch by integrating music, fantasy, and contemporary animation.
Set in the virtual realm of Tsukuyomi, the story unfolds as a live performance marrying original music with Yamashita’s signature style of polished visuals, emotive pacing, and dynamic 3D camerawork to boldly transform this classic tale for a new generation.
Chou Kaguya-hime! is upcoming and it will have 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 超かぐや姫!, Cosmic Princess Kaguya!