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Songs from 'When Marnie Was There': theme song and insert songs

Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICSasashina
Deputy Editor of the web media RAG MUSIC. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. In my student days, I studied broadly at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, covering sound, lighting, and video technology, and acquired skills from comprehensive stage production to the fundamentals of creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, and have consistently built my career on the production side, taking on diverse tasks centered around music. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting in my own way, as well as insights and discoveries from interacting with my kids every day. I hope I can be of help to you, even just a little!

A special feature on the theme song and insert songs from the film “When Marnie Was There,” directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who also helmed “The Secret World of Arrietty.”

It tells the story of the protagonist, Anna Sasaki, and the mysterious girl Marnie, who come to cherish each other after their fateful meeting.

Their delicate relationship—at times fragile, at times colliding—shows how they grow stronger at heart, resonating with both adults and children.

Enjoy both the film and the music to your heart’s content!

Songs from When Marnie Was There: Theme and Insert Songs (21–30)

Final requestTakatoki Muramatsu

Titled “The Last Request,” this piece carries a crystal-clear, pure image and features a beautiful harmony that brings a sense of comfort.

If you compare it with the music at the beginning of the film, you can hear how Anna’s feelings have changed through her mysterious encounters and experiences, and her growth.

It is a very soothing and serene theme song that gently signals the end of this beautiful, dreamlike story.

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AnnaTakatoki Muramatsu

The protagonist of “When Marnie Was There,” Anna, is afraid of talking to people; she can’t put on a natural expression and struggles to converse.

This is her theme song.

Given that she’s so introverted, you might expect a different kind of piece, but it turns out to be a sparkling track brimming with hope—one that seems to symbolize the down-to-earth, beautiful aspects of this story.

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Anna's DepartureTakatoki Muramatsu

Although she had been living in the city, Anna suffered an asthma attack and was sent to stay at her aunt’s house in Hokkaido.

This piece, titled “Anna’s Departure,” was used in the scene where she moves from the home of her adoptive mother, Mrs.

Sasaki—who took her in when she was a child—to the Oiwa household in Hokkaido.

It’s a track that blends unease and anticipation, foreshadowing Anna’s departure for an unfamiliar place where many encounters and moving experiences await her.

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TidesTakatoki Muramatsu

A key element in the story, as the title of this piece suggests, is the “ebb and flow of the tide.” It brings Marnie and Anna together and pulls them apart.

That balance is one of the film’s mysteries and a rich source for interpretation.

This “ebb and flow of the tide” is expressed in a mystical, expansive arrangement—an ideal theme song that perfectly conveys the grandeur of Hokkaido, where the story is set.

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Three questions at a timeTakatoki Muramatsu

This is also quite a memorable scene in the film, isn’t it? The exchange between Marnie and Anna—“three questions each”—draws out their innocent curiosities as well as the past and true feelings deep within their hearts.

The music in this scene, where the two grow very close, features high piano notes with a wonderfully dreamlike quality, beautifully expressing Anna’s mysterious experience.

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Blue DiaryTakatoki Muramatsu

Whether the days with Marnie belonged to the real world or were merely a fantasy is a very difficult question, but this is a piece from Marnie’s “Blue Diary,” which bridges those two worlds.

The diary reveals the past that Marnie recorded, and the music, too, has a slightly mysterious yet deeply moving quality, resulting in a wonderfully arranged piece.

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Girl in the Blue WindowTakatoki Muramatsu

Anna discovers that a light is on in the supposedly uninhabited Marsh House, and from there the story unfolds.

Among the events that pull the trigger, so to speak, is the moment—just as the song title suggests—when she discovers the “Girl in the Blue Window.” That girl is Marnie, and this track rekindles the early excitement of the story.

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