Putting herself in the world of the characters isn't just figurative when it comes to Kanno, either. This would pay off especially well for Sakamoto, who has since gone on to become a successful singer with multiple studio albums and more to come, much of her music being composed by none other than Yoko Kanno herself. The music in Escaflowne is perhaps Kanno at her most grand, crafting pieces that feel sweeping and epic to capture the gigantic fantasy world of the show. With Shoji Kawamori, she also composed the soundtrack for one of the very first in the now-dominant isekai genre, Visions of Escaflowne, along with her then-husband Hajime Mizoguchi and the then-teenager who would go on to be one of Kanno's most celebrated collaborators, Maaya Sakamoto. The original show's first opening theme song "Genesis of Aquarion" in particular feels so triumphant and universal that it never fails to satisfy when the show needs to really sell an emotional moment.
Kanno's music here realizes this theme by utilizing timeless strings for the soundtrack as well as a few unbelievably catchy pop songs to tie it all together. The conflict the characters face is a recurring one that repeats every 10,000 years, with the chosen saviors of the world being unique from their predecessors, but the cyclical nature of the conflict representing humanity's undying ability to overcome by coming together. In Aquarion, people save the world by co-piloting robots in pairs, connecting to each other through the power of love and understanding rather than brute force. That desire to create music that brings the characters and world alive is also the driving force behind her work on Shoji Kawamori's far-future mecha Aquarion franchise. The rest of the music was similarly thought out as well Kanno's music feels like the kind of sounds the people of Macross' future would be listening to, making its alien world feel alive in ways it wouldn't without her touch. In Macross Plus, the character Sharon Apple literally hypnotizes people with her music, and to get that right, Kanno put all of her effort into creating thumping electro that convinces us of Sharon's abilities, channeling her dreams of crafting stories to use music to bring her character alive. In the Macross franchise, created originally by director Shoji Kawamori, music plays an important part not only in the show's tone but even the story, with each entry revolving around world-changing pop stars amidst grand wars. An easy place to see that is in the anime soundtrack that cemented her place in the industry, Shinichiro Watanabe's directorial debut Macross Plus. It might surprise some that Kanno actually wanted to be not a composer but a novelist growing up while her career trajectory obviously didn't end up as she planned, her dreams definitely did influence her style. RELATED: 'Cowboy Bebop' Music Featurette Spotlights the Woman Behind The Series' Iconic Sound: Yoko Kanno