Joe Hisaishi on Vinyl: Where to Start With the Studio Ghibli Composer

Joe Hisaishi, born in 1950 as Mamoru Fujisawa, is the composer whose music you already know even if you have never learned his name. He took his stage name as a Japanese reading that quietly nods to the American producer and composer Quincy Jones, and for four decades he has been the sound of Studio Ghibli. His breakthrough came in 1984 with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, the film that began his long partnership with director Hayao Miyazaki, and the two have shaped each other's work ever since.

What makes the catalog worth owning is how well these scores stand on their own. Hisaishi moves easily between solo piano, small chamber ensembles, and full orchestra, and his melodies carry the same warmth and melancholy on a turntable that they do on screen. The records we carry are the Studio Ghibli Records remastered pressings, presented the way listeners who grew up with these films want to hear them: patient, spacious, and built around a handful of themes you will be humming for days.

A quick note on what you will find below. Two kinds of albums run through Hisaishi's Ghibli work. There are the film soundtracks, the finished score as it plays in the movie, and there are the image albums, a Ghibli tradition in which the composer records an early set of pieces based on the story's ideas before the film is animated. Both are collected here. Here is where to start and where to go next.

Joe Hisaishi - My Neighbor Totoro: Soundtrack (1988)

The 1988 film gave Studio Ghibli its logo and gave Hisaishi one of his most beloved scores. My Neighbor Totoro: Soundtrack pairs bright, bouncing themes for the two young sisters with quieter, wonder-struck passages for the forest spirit at the story's center. It is the friendliest entry point in his catalog and a fine first record for younger listeners.

Why it's worth purchasing:

• The score that introduced the world to the Totoro melody, a tune as recognizable as any in film music.
• Balances playful, childlike motifs with genuinely moving orchestral writing, so it rewards repeat listening.
• A Studio Ghibli Records pressing of a 1988 classic, mastered for vinyl.

Joe Hisaishi - Kiki's Delivery Service: Soundtrack Music Collection (1989)

For the 1989 story of a young witch finding her way in a new town, Hisaishi wrote music with a European lightness, all accordion, strings, and gentle jazz inflections. Kiki's Delivery Service: Soundtrack Music Collection captures the film's sense of independence and small daily adventures. It is one of his most charming and easygoing scores.

Why it's worth purchasing:

• Trades orchestral grandeur for an intimate, cafe-warm palette that suits a coming-of-age story.
• The Soundtrack Music Collection gathers the film's themes in their fullest arranged form.
• A Studio Ghibli Records remastered edition, an inviting record for easy listening.

Joe Hisaishi - Porco Rosso: Soundtrack (1992)

Miyazaki's 1992 film about a seaplane pilot in the Adriatic pulled Hisaishi toward something more grown-up and worldly. Porco Rosso: Soundtrack leans on wistful accordion, romantic strings, and a smoky, between-the-wars European mood. Its central theme is one of his loveliest, and the album plays beautifully end to end.

Why it's worth purchasing:

• A more adult, nostalgic score that shows Hisaishi's range beyond the family films.
• Rich in period atmosphere, with a central theme that ranks among his most quietly beautiful.
• A remastered Studio Ghibli Records pressing of a 1992 fan favorite.

Joe Hisaishi - Princess Mononoke: Soundtrack (1997)

The 1997 epic is Hisaishi at his most ambitious. Princess Mononoke: Soundtrack is a sweeping orchestral and choral work, by turns thunderous and hushed, that matches the film's scale and its questions about nature and violence. If you want to hear what he can do with a full orchestra, start here.

Why it's worth purchasing:

• His grandest, most cinematic score, anchored by a soaring main theme.
• Moves from delicate solo passages to full orchestral and choral force.
• A landmark 1997 work in a Studio Ghibli Records remastered vinyl edition.

Joe Hisaishi - Spirited Away: Image Album (2001)

Before the 2001 film was finished, Hisaishi recorded this image album, an early set of pieces sketched from Miyazaki's ideas for the story. Spirited Away: Image Album is a fascinating companion to the finished score, offering alternate shapes and moods for themes that would define one of Ghibli's most celebrated films. It rewards listeners who already love the movie and want to hear its music in a different light.

Why it's worth purchasing:

• A rare look at the score in its formative stage, distinct from the film version.
• Includes early treatments of the melodies that anchor the finished film.
• A Studio Ghibli Records remastered pressing, a rewarding collector's companion piece.

Joe Hisaishi - Howl's Moving Castle: Soundtrack (2004)

The 2004 film gave Hisaishi a waltz. Howl's Moving Castle: Soundtrack is built around a lilting three-four theme that recurs throughout in ever-shifting orchestrations. It may be the most romantic and cohesive of his Ghibli scores, carried by that single unforgettable melody.

Why it's worth purchasing:

• Organized around one of his most memorable themes, heard in many guises.
• A lush, waltz-driven score that flows beautifully across an album side.
• A remastered Studio Ghibli Records edition of a 2004 favorite.

Joe Hisaishi - Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea: Soundtrack (2008)

Hisaishi's music for the 2008 seaside fable is playful, oceanic, and full of childlike energy. Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea: Soundtrack nods to classical sources while keeping the bright, singable quality that defines his family scores. Its closing theme song is one of the most joyful things he has written.

Why it's worth purchasing:

• A buoyant, water-inspired score with a famously catchy closing song.
• Blends orchestral color with the warmth of Hisaishi's simplest melodies.
• A Studio Ghibli Records remastered vinyl of a 2008 modern classic.

If You Like Joe Hisaishi

If Hisaishi's Ghibli scores are your gateway, these fellow Japanese composers carry the same feeling into anime, games, and ambient music. Each is carried at GTR.

• Kenji Kawai: the composer of Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor, a master of brooding, ceremonial anime scores.
• Yoko Kanno: endlessly versatile, from the jazz of Cowboy Bebop to the electronics of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
• Nobuo Uematsu: the melodic heart of the Final Fantasy games, orchestral and unabashedly emotional.
• Yasunori Mitsuda: best known for Chrono Trigger, with a folk-tinged, deeply melodic touch.
• Hiroshi Yoshimura: a pioneer of Japanese ambient whose calm, minimalist pieces share Hisaishi's sense of space.

When you are ready to go wider, browse our full Soundtracks collection for more film and screen music, or dig into the Video Game Soundtracks shelf, where several of the composers above turn up. To see every Joe Hisaishi record we carry in one place, visit the Joe Hisaishi collection. And for more on screen music on wax, our Film Soundtracks on Vinyl: A Starter's Guide is a good next read.