Episode 5:

"I understood it all. I understood Urusei Yatsura 2. I understood Oshii, and somewhere behind me I heard his ghastly laughter. I knew that all the hundred thousand pieces of anime's game were in my pocket. A glimpse of its meaning had stirred my reason and I was determined to begin the game afresh. I would sample its tortures once more and shudder again at its senselessness. I would traverse not once more, but often, the hell of my inner being.
One day I would be a better hand at the game. One day I would learn how to laugh. Lum was waiting for me, and Oshii too."

(A prize to anyone who can name the original source of my paraphrased, but oh-so-true quote. Only 4 words have been changed).

Music (Ongaku)

Music Director (Ongaku Kantoku)

Music Producer (Ongaku Producer)

Much like their counterparts in the image end of things, the music director and producer are the ones who control and manage the music. The music producer is often from a music company who is a sponsor of the animation. The music producer is normally the one who comes up with the songs and singers and all such and often chooses the voice actors as well. The music director makes sure that the music fits what the chief producers and director want. The music director sometimes writes the scores and even performs some of the music.

Music Production (Ongaku Seisaku)

This is the individual, group or studio who gets the music written, sets up all the recording and does all the dirty work. Nobody really knew what these people did so when they checked up on them a few years ago and found that all the music for anime in Japan was actually being produced by 2 weird guys in a tiny apartment with an elaborate synthesizer setup they got mad and now they check more closely. (All the brass and woodwinds on those Gundam soundtracks? A synthesized kazoo. . .)
The incidental music in anime is normally called the BGM, which means background music. Sometimes this has nothing to do with the songs and is recorded separately.

Recording Production (Rokuon Seisaku)

This is much more than keeping tape heads clean. These people are responsible for the management of everything dealing with sound when it is being made and there is an awful lot to manage! They manage the clips and often pull sound effects or arrange to have them recorded.

Recording Studio (Rokuon Sutajio)

This is the place where they keep the fantastically complicated mixer boards with the recording production people chained to them. Sometimes music and sound effects and voices are all recorded separately and mixed in one studio but most often the sound effects and voices are done at the same place to keep things easier.
Most recording studios have a big soundproof booth in which the voice actors perform, a control room where they have those fantastically complicated mixer boards and a small, cramped space in between which the directors sit in and fill with cigarette smoke for 12 hours at a time.

Sound Effects (Kouka)

The person or studio who collects, chooses and edits the sound effects. This person selects the ones he/she thinks fit best and plays them for the director in the recording studio (by way of a fantastically complicated mixer board) and the director chooses the ones he/she likes most. Some directors just sit back and don't care much unless something sounds completely wrong. The effects are then mixed in with the voices and music. This process is called dubbing and we usually refer to it as just DB.
Dubbing can take a long time. A 30 minute OVA with a reasonable director, a good music/sound director and a good effects person might take 6 hours. If things don't work well it can take a day. Movies take a much longer time because they usually have much more complex soundtracks.

Engineering (Chousei)

The sound engineer is the one who is in charge of the technical end of sound. Engineers are the people (or group) responsible for making sure that the recording is all set up and goes right. They are the ones who know what all those little multicolored knobs on those fanatically complicated mixer boards really do. (We figure that most of them do nothing and are just there for show and to scare the directors away from wanting to go into the control booth so they don't smoke it up.)

When you see songs listed in credits, they normally credit the following:

Songwriting (Sakkyoku)


Arrangement (Henkyoku)


Lyrics (Sakushi)


Vocals (Uta)


Cast (Kyasuto)

Voice Actor (Seiyuu)

The voice actors. (I agree with Sidney Lumet that performers engaged in acting should be called actors regardless of sex and that actress can be a very condescending term).

The two types of voice soundtrack recordings are

After Recording (Afureko)


Pre-scoring (Puresuko)

The vast majority of Japanese animation is done with afureco, or with the voices recorded after the animation is done. The voice actors watch the action on a projection screen and perform their lines to it. The majority of Western animation is done pre-scored. The actors perform their lines (recently on videotape as well) and the animators animate the characters actions to the recording. This is also the only way to do lip synch (having the mouths move in time and in the correct shape for the dialogue) which the Japanese don't bother with (Again I complain: Why do US animation companies spend so much money on TV shows to have the mouths fully animated when the characters and action look terrible?)
There is no "better" way to handle the voice recording. It depends on the voice actors and the production staff. A good group will get good results with either method. (I personally prefer afureco for voices because that's what I've always worked with so I'm comfortable with it).