The Summer 2026 anime season has arrived, and beyond the sheer number of high-profile titles, what excites us most is the lineup of composers. Ghost in the Shell returns as a TV series, Kenji Kawai scores Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture, and Yugo Kanno takes on an original circus anime. For soundtrack lovers, the only problem is deciding where to start. Here is our guide to the July premieres worth following for their music.

Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL — a Three-Person Sound Design

First and foremost: Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL, premiering July 7 at 11 p.m. With animation by Science SARU (Inu-Oh, The Colors Within) and series composition by SF novelist Toh EnJoe, the staff list was already remarkable — and the music side matches it. Serving as music director and composer is Taisei Iwasaki, winner of the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Music for Belle. Joining him are Ryo Konishi, who served as music director for the opening ceremony of Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai, and the US-based YUKI KANESAKA, known for scoring Dr.STONE.

The music of the Ghost in the Shell franchise has rewritten the landscape of anime music more than once: the ritualistic folk chorus of Kenji Kawai's scores for Mamoru Oshii's films, then Yoko Kanno's border-crossing electronica and jazz in STAND ALONE COMPLEX. To be entrusted with a Ghost in the Shell score is, in effect, to be placed on the front line of anime music history. This trio of composers from different backgrounds looks less like a division of labor and more like an attempt to design the multilayered cyber-world in sound. Listen closely from the very first notes of episode one.

The Same Week, Kenji Kawai Sounds Off in Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture

Here is where it gets fun. Just three days after that premiere, on July 10, the TV broadcast version of Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture starts on MBS and other stations — with music by none other than Kenji Kawai. The very composer whose 1995 theatrical Ghost in the Shell score stunned creators worldwide will be playing in the world of Code Geass that same week. Summers where you can compare the sound of the reborn Ghost in the Shell with the present-day work of the man who defined its original sound do not come around often.

Craftsmen Assemble on the Originals: Yugo Kanno, Hiroaki Tsutsumi, Masaru Yokoyama

Veteran and mid-career composers are busy this season too. Grow Up Show: The Sunflower Circus Troupe, an original anime from Saekano director Kanta Kamei and A-1 Pictures, features music by Yugo Kanno. A story of girls aiming for a world circus festival in Japan's high-growth era is the kind of setting where Kanno's range — from full orchestra to retro popular-song idioms — can shine. We expect this to be one of the season's most soundtrack-worthy shows.

Kore Kaite Shine (Draw This, Then Die), which began July 3 on Nippon TV, is scored by Hiroaki Tsutsumi — we cannot wait to hear what temperature of sound he brings to Minoru Toyoda's love letter to manga-making. Elsewhere, Masaru Yokoyama scores The Demon's Bride, Yukari Hashimoto and Michiru handle Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai, Kinema Citrus's original Goodbye Lara features yuma yamaguchi, and Yasuharu Takanashi returns for From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman II. These are names that let you imagine the sound before a single note plays.

Our Listening Priority for the Season

To sum up, here is where our attention goes this season.

  • Ghost in the Shell: THE GHOST IN THE SHELL (from July 7): the Iwasaki x Konishi x KANESAKA trio. Top priority as a new chapter in Ghost in the Shell music history.
  • Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture (TV version) (from July 10): Kenji Kawai. Essential, not least as a chance to compare old and new "sounds of Ghost in the Shell."
  • Grow Up Show: The Sunflower Circus Troupe: Yugo Kanno's original score — a prime soundtrack-album candidate.
  • Kore Kaite Shine, The Demon's Bride, Goodbye Lara and more: craftsman-level scores worth checking week by week.

Soundtrack release announcements should follow as the season progresses — expect three busy months for the ears. We will keep covering each release as it is announced.