The music of Agents of the Four Seasons Dance of Spring brings together several sides of Kensuke Ushio’s work: delicate piano melodies, electronic textures, Japanese-inspired motifs, and a sense of the supernatural that never overwhelms the emotional core of the story. The soundtrack is available to listen on music streaming platforms.
For Ushio, the project also represented a rare chance to work in a fantasy space shaped by the kinds of stories that influenced him as a teenager. In this interview, he discusses how he became involved with the anime, how his early image album helped define the sound of the series, the challenge of composing the “Songs of the Four Seasons,” and the importance of collaboration with director Ken Yamamoto, sound director Eriko Kimura, and music selector Maiko Goda.
The following interview is courtesy of Milan Records.
Q: First, can you tell us how you became involved in the project?
A: I believe I first heard about it from the music producer, Shinji Yamauchi. I’ve known Yamauchi for a long time, and he had often reached out to me before, saying things like, “Shall we work together?” But our schedules never quite lined up, so we hadn’t been able to collaborate. Also, I had previously been invited to participate in another project that director Ken Yamamoto was involved with. Being approached by people I’d long wanted to work with definitely lowered the barrier
for me and made it easier to say yes.
Q: The original work is a fantasy novel published by Dengeki Bunko, which seems like a different genre from what you’ve typically worked on.
A: In that sense, I felt a strong desire to take on the challenge. It’s true that the source material is in a genre I hadn’t really tackled before. But when I was a teenager, I read a lot of fantasy like this as a fan, so it’s not completely unfamiliar to me. Agents of the Four Seasons contains elements that overlap with things I’ve seen and experienced before, and I was curious what would happen if I expressed those influences honestly.
Q: In that case, among your past work, Boogiepop Phantom might be a close point of reference.
A: Yes, Boogiepop was something that influenced me deeply when I was a teenager. Today’s teenagers have their own equivalents, but I had always thought I’d probably never get the chance to write music for that kind of work myself. In a way, Yamauchi and Yamamoto gave me that push. Also—and I only learned this afterward—the familiar team, including sound director Eriko Kimura, was handling the audio.
Q: You’ve worked with Kimura since Ping Pong, right?
A: Exactly. So aside from the newness of the project itself, most of the staff were people I already knew. That was a big factor—it meant I could focus on composing without unnecessary uncertainty.
Q: I see. You usually do concept work before starting production—did you approach this project the same way?
A: More or less, yes. But this time, as I mentioned, I wanted to express the influences of what I encountered as a teenager in the 1990s in a straightforward way. That became the concept, so I didn’t overthink things. Of course, there are still technical considerations—like how to arrange notes to evoke cherry blossoms falling in a spring scene—but overall, I followed my intuition more. Instead of firmly establishing a concept first and then deducing each track, it might be more accurate
to say I built things inductively.
Q: Inductively?
A: Yes. For example, I’d look at the character designs and let my imagination expand. I used Japanese-style melodic motifs and instruments, but instead of going purely traditional, I’d add electronica or techno-style arrangements,
or even sci-fi-like textures to shift things slightly. I started by creating an initial image album, and as I did that, the overall world began to take shape. It was like making a batch of tracks first, and then extracting the concept from them afterward.
Q: Was one of those early tracks “Hinagiku – theme from ‘Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring’”?
A: Yes. That one came to me quickly—I was just playing around on the piano and the melody emerged. It wasn’t something I overthought; it felt like it came naturally from within me, guided by the power of the work itself. Tracks like “Hinagiku and Sakura” and “montage” were also part of that early image album, with glitchy and electronica-style elements. Looking back, I think I was experimenting with how a romantic melody and electronic arrangements could combine to create a unique
world.
Q: What kind of communication did you have with Director Yamamoto regarding the score?
A: He gave me a lot of freedom. I brought in tracks saying, “This is the direction I’m thinking,” and he responded with great openness, encouraging me to try different things. It was the same with the “Songs of the Four Seasons.”
I presented the “Spring Song” first, and his immediate reaction in the meeting was simply, “OK” (laughs).
Q: Nothing more to say (laughs). Speaking of those songs, they’re quite simple arrangements—just vocals and a Japanese-style rhythm.
A: At one point, I asked, “Should I add more instruments?” but was told, “No, it’s not necessary” (laughs). I don’t usually compose vocal tracks, so it was quite challenging. The lyrics come directly from the source material, so I started by studying them. For example, in the “Winter Song,” there’s a line like “Kill autumn and die in spring,” and since it’s sung by a male voice, I aimed for a lower register. The “Spring Song” came to me relatively easily, but the other three were
much tougher—I remember shouting into my pillow and pacing around the studio saying, “I can’t do this anymore!” while working on them (laughs).
Q: Related to that, “Hinagiku and Sakura” features choral elements, doesn’t it?
A: Yes. I wanted to create something that sounded like a solemn, resonant voice, but not in the traditional church choir sense. If it leaned too much into choir, it would evoke a Christian image of divinity, but going fully traditional Japanese would clash with the world of the original work. So I ended up settling on something closer to a Celtic-influenced sound.
Q: So the chorus helps express something transcendent.
A: Exactly. While the music is fundamentally driven by romantic melodies, I felt it also needed a sense of the supernatural. That comes through in the chorus, as well as in elements like the drums and bells.
Q: Finally, do you have a message for fans enjoying the series?
A: After seeing the completed visuals, I was struck again by how this is unlike anything I’ve worked on before. As I mentioned at the beginning, this was my first time working on a project based on a modern light novel like Agents of the Four Seasons, and I’m very happy that it was produced at such a high level of quality. Above all, the work by sound director Eriko Kimura and music selector Maiko Goda is outstanding.
For example, in “Hinagiku – theme from ‘Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring,’” there’s a pause inserted partway through. That idea actually came
from discussions with Director Yamamoto.
Q: In Episode 1, it’s used in the climax after Hinagiku’s dance.
A: Yes, in the scene where Nazuna sheds tears. Goda skillfully linked the timing of the music with the cuts—she probably edited it a bit as well. After Nazuna and Sakura’s lines, the music stops briefly, then resumes. The way she handles those pauses is truly exceptional. Only someone like Goda could bring out that level of impact.
If you compare it with the soundtrack version, you’ll notice it feels completely different. And for those interested in those finer details, I highly recommend
checking her name—I’ll say that with confidence (laughs).
Ushio’s comments show how much of the soundtrack came from trusting instinct rather than building everything from a fixed concept at the start. His praise for the work of Eriko Kimura and Maiko Goda also highlights how music continues to transform once it enters the finished episode. As he notes, the use of pauses, timing, and placement can make a track feel completely different from its soundtrack version, giving key scenes an impact that exists only in the final version.
We would like to thank Milan Records for conducting the interview, and for giving us the opportunity to share it. You can listen to Kensuke Ushio’s soundtrack is available on all available music streaming platforms.
Kana Akatsuki (Violet Evergarden) writes the light novel, which began publication under ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko light novel imprint in April 2021. Yen Press licensed the light novel in English.
WIT STUDIO animated the anime adaptation, with Ken Yamamoto as director. The anime ran for 14 episodes from March 29 to June 28, 2026.
©Kana Akatsuki, Suoh / Straight Edge, KADOKAWA/Shunkashuto Agency
Participate In Discussions