Song Styling Guidelines
Almost every anime contains songs, and it is standard practice to style them. But not all songs and accompanying visuals are created equal. Some are simple, only requiring simple styling to make them stand out from the dialogue. Others are more complex, with very dynamic and creative visuals.
General Guidelines
When styling songs, it's crucial to strike a balance between creativity and readability. The primary goal should be to enhance the viewer's experience, and this can be a very delicate task.
Below are some approaches for determining how to style opening and ending songs.
Credit Matching
The most common and often safest form of song styling is to simply match the credit styling. Most credits are simple, and it doesn't take much effort to match the styling.
Examples of simple credit matching
Styling by herkz (Commie)
Styling by LightArrowsEXE (Kaleido)
Styling by Areki (Good Job! Media)
Styling by SHSL_Ezra (NovaWorks)
This type of approach can be very easy, but sometimes credits can be very complex. At that point, how close you try to match the credit styling is an exercise left to the discretion of the styler, and the more complex the effect, the longer it may take to match.
Examples of credit matching with various levels of complexity
Styling by tsuku (DameDesuYo)
Styling by Colgatto (Good Job! Media)
Styling by logarithm (DameDesuYo)
Styling by Ryu (SCY)
Styling by Nalu and Emzy (One Fansub)
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- Distinct styling
- Consider mood and tone
- Accounting for the visuals
- Ensure readability
Openings and Endings
- Visually appealing
- Match the animation and/or aesthetics
- Consider timing
- Consistency
- Romaji
Insert Songs
- Avoid overpowering the dialogue
- Use simpler styling
- Romaji?
- Maintain consistency
- Importance of the song in context
Karaoke
- Timing
- Attack and release
- Singable translations