In a recent interview with Crunchyroll, Yuki Hayashi, the lead Japanese composer of anime Haikyuu !!, Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken, Boku no Hero Academia, among others shared some memories from his journey of creating music after being a former rhythmic gymnast.

41-year-old Hayashi has composed songs for everything ranging from live-action television dramas to video games and popular anime series.

Crunchyroll’s interview was focused on his creative process in producing the soundtrack for Boku no Hero Academia ( My Hero Academia ), where Hayashi compared composing the tracks for each season to clothing for a growing toddler!

“What’s interesting about it is that as each season goes on, the characters are also progressing and growing up. It’s kind of like when you see a toddler wearing clothing, it’s not going to fit them in the next season because they are already bigger,” Hayashi said.

Hayashi pointed out that, while new content was not necessarily being created, he was modifying the already existing themes to suit the premise of the new season.

To explain his evolving soundtracks, he cited Midoriya’s theme “You Say Run” as the best example.

Hayashi revealed that he rearranged the track numerous times to fit different situations that come up and shine Midoriya through it. However, he admitted that he is going through a rough battle to surpass himself and revamp the theme in order to find the best possible way to arrange it the next time.

“Now, I feel a little bit of pressure to make it more epic next time, and deciding how to arrange it next is something I’m battling,” Hayashi said.

When asked what his experience was like while he composed for Haikyuu!, Hayashi revealed he took inspiration from the native high-school practice of Keion-bu (Rock Music Club).

He wanted to describe the tracks in the form of “passion when young people play”.

As a man having a sports background, Yuki Hayashi expressed that he enjoys creating music for such shows about people getting better and progressing.

In the meeting with Haikyuu!‘s director, he expressed to Hayashi that he wanted the songs to have an amateur sound.

“Rather than making something that is extremely polished and professional, this is a series about high schoolers so they didn’t want it to be perfect,” Hayashi said.

So, they wanted to create something for Haiyuu! that’s a little bit like a rock band where maybe the notes aren’t exactly in time.

The My Hero Academia Official Live Concert on 19th November 2021 featured Yuki Hayashi, composer, and musician at the Anime NYC event where they performed Hayashi’s music from the My Hero Academia anime.

The concert commemorated the North American opening of My Hero Academia THE MOVIE: World Heroes’ Mission, the third anime film in the My Hero Academia franchise.

Source: Crunchyroll