

I have heard of these things called "character songs", but I don't know what
they are. Is a "character song" just like a theme song for a character? Can
you give me some examples of character songs?

(This question is inspired by [this reddit thread](https://redd.it/3lp86u),
where a good half of the participants seem not to get what a character song
is, despite OP providing an explanation.)


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2015-09-21T06:15:46.503
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2015-09-21T16:07:30.757
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music terminology
What is a "character song"?


> Is a "character song" just like a theme song for a character?

No!

A "character song" is emphatically _not_ the same thing as a "theme song".
While there is probably no clear definition of what constitutes a "theme
song", the term "character song" has a straightforward definition. That is: a
"character song" is **a song whose vocals are credited to the _character or
characters_ singing the song**.

Typically, this means that the song is sung "in-character" - by reading the
lyrics of the song, we ought to be able to glean something about the
character.

> Can you give me some examples of character songs?

Sure thing, person asking this question!

["Inside Identity"](http://vgmdb.net/album/35216), the ending for the first
season of _Chu2Koi_ , is a character song. Why? Because it is credited to
"Black Raison d'Etre", which is a fictional group consisting of four
characters from the show (Rikka, Nibutani, Dekomori, and Kumin).

But not all character songs are used as openings/endings. Some are used in-
show, as insert songs. For example, ["Fuwa Fuwa
Time"](http://vgmdb.net/album/23146), performed by the characters in _K-ON!_ ,
is a character song that is used as an insert song in some of the episodes.

Still others will never appear in their corresponding anime at all, instead
being released as bonus goodies for sale. See, for instance,
["you"](http://vgmdb.net/album/49529), credited to Kasumigaoka Utaha from
_Saekano_ , which never appeared in the anime.

Character songs need not be original to the anime they are used in. For
example, ["Tsubasa wo Kudasai"](http://vgmdb.net/album/19816) is a character
song in _K-ON!_ , since it is credited to the characters. Yet, "Tsubasa wo
Kudasai" is not original to _K-ON!_ \- rather, it is [a popular folk song in
Japan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsubasa_wo_Kudasai). Nonetheless, since
it is credited to the characters in _K-ON!_ , it is a character song _in that
context_.

> Okay, so what _isn't_ a character song?

I'm glad you asked!

Consider ["Synchrogazer"](http://vgmdb.net/album/30989), which is the opening
for the first season of _Symphogear_. It is sung by Mizuki Nana, who voices
the character Kazanari Tsubasa in the show. But it is _not_ a character song,
since the song is credited to Mizuki Nana (the real human), rather than to
Kazanari Tsubasa (the fictional character).

Another common misconception is that vocal theme songs may, in general, be
called character songs. For example, a common belief is that ["Before my body
is dry"](http://vgmdb.net/album/42078) (a.k.a. "DON'T LOSE YOUR WAY") from
_Kill La Kill_ is a character song for Matoi Ryuuko. Certainly, it plays
whenever Ryuuko does something awesome - but is it _really_ a character song?
No! The vocals are credited not to Ryuuko, but rather to Kobayashi Mika (who
doesn't voice Ryuuko, anyway).

> Well, gosh, that's a lot of information. Is there anything _else_ I should
> know?

Why, yes, there is.

One potential point of confusion is the notion of an "image song". In some
cases, "image song" and "character song" are used interchangeably, as in [this
_K-ON!!_ album](http://vgmdb.net/album/22405).

However, in other cases, "image song" has a distinct meaning. Like a character
song, an "image song" (in this sense) is a song that is meant to evoke a
"sense" of a particular character. _Unlike_ a character song, however, an
image song is not sung _by_ the character, and hence is not "in-character".
Instead, the image song is merely evocative of the character. Image songs in
this sense may either be sung by a different vocalist (as with [this
_Steins;Gate_ album](http://vgmdb.net/album/25569), on which "Yakusoku no
Paradigm" is an image song for Makise Kurisu), or be altogether non-vocal (as
with [this _Accel World_ album](http://vgmdb.net/album/35824), on which "re-
Incarnate" is an image song for Arita Haruyuki).

The _Tokyo Ravens_ album ["Reincarnation"](http://vgmdb.net/album/45821) is
another example that's full of image songs in the latter sense, with vocals
credited to Kurosaki Maon (who does not play any of the characters in the
show).

I find that image songs (in the latter sense) are relatively rare as tie-ins
to anime. They do appear rather frequently as tie-ins to visual novels,
though. I'm not sure why.


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