Music in Japanese animation is often closely tied to the Japanese music industry, but is also a significant industry, and genre in its own right, with genre often referred to as "anison", a portmanteau of "animation" and "song", or "anime song". It is common for television and original video animation series to be accompanied by soundtrack albums, which may include the opening ("OP"), ending ("ED") and insert songs ("IN"), incidental music, original songs ("image songs") and drama tracks (short plays featuring the show's voice actors). Established Japanese musical acts often perform songs featured in animation series or movies. Likewise, it is not uncommon for voice actors from anime shows to have a music career in their own right; Megumi Hayashibara, Yui Horie, Nana Mizuki, Maaya Sakamoto and Minori Chihara are among numerous voice actors who have also recorded music independent from anime.
There are also vocalists who have dedicated most of their careers to the performance of theme songs, including Ichiro Mizuki, Akira Kushida, Mitsuko Horie, Isao Sasaki, Hironobu Kageyama and many others.
Famous quotes containing the word music:
“Slow, slow, fresh fount, keep time with my salt tears;
Yet slower yet, oh faintly gentle springs:
List to the heavy part the music bears,
“Woe weeps out her division when she sings.”
Droop herbs and flowers;
Fall grief in showers;
“Our beauties are not ours”:
Oh, I could still,
Like melting snow upon some craggy hill,
Drop, drop, drop, drop,
Since nature’s pride is, now, a withered daffodil.”
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637)