Hello, I’m Ocha. I am a Japanese person who absolutely loves soundtracks.
Until now, most of my articles have focused on the soundtracks of My Hero Academia. This time, however, I want to broaden the scope and talk about the composer behind many of those incredible tracks—Yuki Hayashi.
When you think of a great composer, who comes to mind?
Is it Joe Hisaishi, known for his unforgettable Studio Ghibli scores? Or perhaps John Williams, the legendary composer behind Star Wars?
Or maybe you think of the great classical composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, or Ludwig van Beethoven.
For me, however, the first name that has come to mind over the past few years is Yuki Hayashi.
My Hero Academia is certainly the biggest reason for that. But as I looked back, I realized that Hayashi had also composed the soundtracks for several shows I loved growing up, which made an even stronger impression on me.
In this article, I’d like to share what makes Yuki Hayashi’s music so special and, hopefully, help you discover why I enjoy his work so much.
※The audio links included in this article are from the composers’ official YouTube channels and official Spotify pages. All copyrights for the audio belong to their respective copyright holders. These links are included solely for the purpose of introducing and commenting on the music.
1. You Say Run
I simply couldn’t leave this one out.
This is “You Say Run,” the iconic soundtrack that every My Hero Academia fan knows.
If I had to compare it to another legendary anime track, I’d say it’s on the same level as “il vento d’oro” from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The moment its opening notes start playing, you know you’re about to witness an unforgettable scene.
That said, if I remember correctly, it wasn’t used in the anime again after Deku’s fight against Todoroki in Season 2 until Season 6.
It means My Hero Academia has so many outstanding tracks that the series was able to go that long without relying on its most iconic piece of music.
That’s honestly incredible.
2. Battle – The Biginning（UA_M-5）
This one is from Ultraman.
Maybe I’m going in a slightly unexpected direction here—but I couldn’t leave it out because I absolutely love this track.
Personally, I only watched Ultraman when I was in elementary school. Then one day, YouTube randomly recommended the first episode of Ultraman Arc. I clicked on it out of curiosity, and this track started playing.
My immediate reaction was: “Who composed this?!”
I rushed to the official website to check the credits.
The composer’s name?
Yuki Hayashi.
That was all the explanation I needed.
Recently, the long-awaited “Galaxy Armor Theme (UA_M-4)” was finally released, so I highly recommend giving that track a listen as well.
3. Wistoria: Wand and Sword
This might be another one of the lesser-known picks on this list.
This is the main theme from the anime Wistoria: Wand and Sword. Part of the track—specifically from around 1:00 to 2:06—was used in one of the promotional trailers, and that alone convinced me to watch the series. I highly recommend listening to it with headphones.
This incredible track has already surpassed one million views on YouTube, which it absolutely deserves. That said, there’s one thing I’ve always found interesting—and it’s not just this track. If you scroll through the comments, they’re almost entirely in English.
It always makes me think, “Come on, more people in Japan should be listening to this!”
…Although I guess saying that in an English-language blog is pretty pointless.
4. GUNDAM BUILD FIGHTERS
This is the main theme from Gundam Build Fighters.
When it played during the first battle of the Star Build Strike Gundam in Episode 10, the synchronization between the music and the animation was so incredible that I was completely hyped.
In particular, I love the scene where the Absorb Shield absorbs the enemy’s beam attack, as well as the moment when the Discharge Speed Mode activates and deploys the Plavsky Wings.
(Oops, I got a little carried away and started talking like a typical hardcore fan.)
I highly recommend listening to this track while watching the actual scene, but unfortunately, it is currently only available on streaming services like U-NEXT and d Anime Store.
— From an Amazon Prime Video user who can’t watch it there…
5. GBF -OpenTheFutureMix
This is an arrangement of “GUNDAM BUILD FIGHTERS,” the track I just mentioned.
It was played during the final episode (Episode 25). The moment when the music changes key to match the appearance of a certain character is absolutely incredible.
The anime originally aired in 2013, and I watched it while it was airing. Even now, I can vividly remember the scene where this track played.
Recently, I realized that many of the anime and movies that have stayed in my memory tend to have incredible soundtracks.
6. Daigyakuten
This is a track from a One Piece movie.
Yes, that One Piece. Yuki Hayashi was actually one of the composers involved.
The scene where Luffy activates Gear 4 and turns the battle around is one that left a huge impression on me. At the time, I wasn’t familiar with soundtracks at all, so I simply thought, “Wow, this is a great song.”
But listening to it again now, I can really feel Yuki Hayashi’s signature style in it.
Especially from around the 0:38 mark.
7. Kiznaiver
This is the main theme from the anime Kiznaiver.
To be honest, I think there are probably not many people who know this track. However, that is exactly why I want more people to discover and listen to this incredible piece of music.
Kiznaiver is an original anime with no source material. At the time, I was in a phase where I was watching almost every late-night anime I could find, so I don’t have an especially strong attachment to the series itself.
However, the scene in the final episode where this track played has always stayed in my memory for some reason.
This track is available on Spotify, so I highly recommend checking it out there.
8. LEGAL-HIGH
This is the main theme from the Japanese legal drama Legal High.
I wouldn’t say this applies to absolutely everyone, but I think many Japanese people have heard this track at least once.
With its humorous tone while still feeling strangely stylish, this song perfectly captures the personality of the main character. As the theme music representing the series, I honestly can’t imagine a better fit.
For overseas fans who enjoy soundtracks, Japanese TV dramas are probably still an area waiting to be explored. In fact, I’d be genuinely surprised if you already knew this one.
Conclusion
That’s all for this list.
Wait… what about Haikyuu!!?
Some of you may be wondering that, and I’m sorry, but it is not included this time.
The reason is simple: I haven’t watched the series yet.
Some of you may have already noticed, but all of the tracks featured in this article were selected from works that I have personally watched.
I am the type of person who enjoys music and visuals as a complete experience, so for me, listening to the soundtrack together with the original work is almost essential.
Because of that, this list may be a little biased toward certain works, but I would be happy if even one person thought, “Maybe I’ll give these tracks a listen.”
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