If you’ve ever found yourself tapping your toes to the tunes of Solo Leveling, Gundam Unicorn, or Attack on Titan, it’s all because of one man—Hiroyuki Sawano. Over the past twenty years, Mr. Sawano has established himself as the go-to composer for adrenaline-pumping anime scores—beats that are just as at home on the dance floor as they are onscreen. Ahead of his upcoming solo concert at LA’s Peacock Theater on November 14, the prolific composer and producer sat down with Anime News Network to chat about his recent projects, closest collaborators, and even a little Kamen Rider for good measure.

With your solo concert in LA fast approaching, how are you preparing for it? Do you have any strategies for fighting back jetlag? I’d imagine that performing with your internal clock out of whack is incredibly difficult.

Hiroyuki Sawano: I haven’t been doing anything special before rehearsals. I don’t travel abroad that often, so I’m not very familiar with jet lag, but when I’m onstage, the tension and adrenaline take over. It becomes less about my internal clock and more about how I deal with that nervous energy.

**Over the course of your career, you’ve worked on albums, EPs, and scores for dramas, anime, and film. Looking at your scores specifically, what’s the difference between composing for film and composing for television? I’d imagine that it might be easier to fine-tune the aural emotions of a film as opposed to a TV series, given their differing needs. **

SAWANO: I don’t really distinguish between film, TV, or anime when composing. I focus more on whether the story itself is grand or centered on everyday life. That said, in Japan, TV dramas and films often deal with smaller-scale stories, so I sometimes feel that a subtler musical approach works better.

**While listening to your work, Promare especially, I’ve noticed a musical-like quality to it—particularly in how the lyrics of your compositions tend to resonate with the emotions on-screen. Has musical theater influenced your composition style? If so, are there any specific composers who’ve inspired you? **

SAWANO: I don’t often go out of my way to watch musicals, so I can’t say they’ve had much influence on me. The composers who have influenced me include ASKA from Chage and Aska, Tetsuya Komuro, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Joe Hisaishi, and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

**Speaking of musicals, what challenges did you face while composing the recent Rose of Versailles film? I could see a potential challenge in trying to navigate the expectations built up by the numerous Takarazuka stage productions, Kōji Makaino’s score for the 1979 anime series, and perhaps even Les Misérables due to the setting. **

SAWANO: The production team’s request was to avoid purely classical music and instead go for a more pop-oriented sound—something like The Greatest Showman. So, I approached the project with the mindset of creating more vocal-based songs.

You often collaborate with a wide swathe of talented artists, but the one that sticks out to me is Laco. From “Nexus” to “The Answer,” she always kills it. How did you two meet and start working together?

SAWANO: When I was looking for a vocalist for a soundtrack, one of my staff members introduced me to Laco, saying she was an interesting singer. She performed “Zero Eclipse” for Attack on Titan Season 3, and her performance was incredible. Since then, I’ve continued to work with her on many projects.

As the producer of NAQT VANE, what was going through your mind when you received the offer to create the main theme of Kamen Rider Zeztz? Did you have any fondness for Rider growing up?

SAWANO: I was surprised when I received the offer, since I’d never imagined being involved with a tokusatsu series. But as a kid, I watched Kamen Rider BLACK every week, so once I finished the project, it brought back memories of how much I enjoyed Kamen Rider.

**Since they’re both tokusatsu series, did the production process on “VISIONS” for Zeztz bring back any memories of your days working on the original GARO TV series? **

SAWANO: Rather than a specific lesson, I mostly remember that I was just starting and juggling several projects, including GARO, at the same time. I worried about whether I could manage all three simultaneously, but I learned that when you really put your mind to it, you can make it happen.

Tickets for Hiroyuki Sawano Live in Los Angeles 2025 are now on sale.