Riichiro Inagaki is, without a doubt, a genius of a writer. Most recently he made Dr. Stone a huge hit in Weekly Shonen Jump, and before that he scored another massive hit in the same magazine with Eyeshield 21. Both were adapted into anime and are well-known enough that even non-anime fans recognize them, so I think his brilliance comes across without me having to spell it out here. This time, Inagaki has teamed up with the legendary Ryoichi Ikegami to create Trillion Game. Ahead of the anime, it was adapted into a live-action drama, and a film version is slated for release in 2025, making it a hugely popular work. Perhaps because the subject this time is "money," it runs not in Shueisha's Shonen Jump but in Shogakukan's Big Comic Superior.
It's classic Riichiro Inagaki, bursting with his signature style. The protagonists' personalities give you a "there was definitely a guy like this in Dr. Stone and Eyeshield too!" kind of feeling, and there's plenty of manga-style exaggeration. But that's exactly what makes it so thrilling and entertaining, and you'll find yourself half-convinced that "ah, what business in the real world really needs is strong communication skills, a good bluff, and the practical ability to turn that bluff into reality." The early arc especially, where the dual protagonists Haru and Gaku launch a company and go around raising investment, makes you think hard: without genuine personal charm, no one would even agree to hear you out, and to get someone to put up precious money, you need the power and track record to make them think, "if I invest in this guy, I'll profit down the line." I'll stop there to avoid spoilers, so please go watch it. Personally, I'll vouch for how fun it is.
What the Trillion Game soundtrack evokes is stylishness and grandeur
First off, unusually for a recent anime, the soundtrack is mixed at a fairly high volume. This is probably because there are so many moments the staging wants to make flashy or emphasize. That's how thoroughly the Trillion Game soundtrack syncs with the visuals, and how strongly it amplifies the impact and persuasiveness. There are a lot of jazz-leaning tracks, but I think that's partly just because the instruments used, like trumpet and guitar, are the ones that stand out in jazz. In reality, many of the cues feel quite melodic. And every track carries a knife's-edge tension that could read as either vulgar or refined, with a common thread of feeling somehow epic. Why does it sound so grand? It's surely because the anime's theme is the absurd goal of "earning a trillion dollars," pursued sometimes through grit, sometimes through cleverness, sometimes by trusting people and sometimes by betraying them, doing astonishing things through wildly opposite approaches. Many people might find "making money" a bit crass, but "chasing a dream" sounds incredibly pure. That, too, is a kind of duality, and that's exactly why it sounds epic: the tracks are built on the free-spirited image of jazz, yet their progressions and arrangements (using piano, strings, and the like) are designed to evoke the emotion and sense of achievement that lies just beyond.
This is soundtrack magic, plain and simple!
The composer is Takuro Iga, well known for his work across various games, dramas, and anime, as well as for his production work. It's an anime that draws you in more and more as you watch, so why not give it a try, everyone?
Quoted from the official site https://trilliongame-anime.com/#top
