Lovely anime song

The song from My Neighbor Totoro. Theme song and insert song.

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!

When it comes to Ghibli works that are immensely popular with children, My Neighbor Totoro is the one that stands out!

My Neighbor Totoro is a story about two sisters who move to the countryside and their encounters with mysterious creatures that only children can see.

In this article, we’ll introduce the theme song and insert songs from My Neighbor Totoro.

Totoro’s theme song is also a classic for children’s dance routines!

Many of you may already know it, but take this opportunity to check out the insert songs as well.

Experience the mysterious world the sisters felt—together with them!

Song(s) from My Neighbor Totoro. Theme song and insert songs (1–10)

lost childAzumi Inoue

"Lost Child" My Neighbor Totoro cover

Lost Child Azumi Inoue

In the story, Mei gets lost, right? This piece conveys Satsuki desperately searching for the lost Mei.

You can really feel how worried she is.

It carries the wish for Mei to return safely.

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Dondoko FestivalAzumi Inoue

A child secretly peeks at ghosts dancing in the twilight.

When the ghosts dance, strange things happen—something that, for a child, is far more captivating than frightening.

It will surely become an unforgettable memory for life.

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My Neighbor TotoroAzumi Inoue

♪ My Neighbor Totoro / Azumi Inoue

My Neighbor Totoro Azumi Inoue

As you can tell from the title, this is the theme song and ending theme of My Neighbor Totoro.

It’s a story that unfolds around Totoro, a fairy that only children can see, and the sisters who encounter it, and the lyrics feel like a condensed reflection of the film’s rich content.

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Totoro Next Door songs. Theme and insert songs (11–20)

small photoJoe Hisaishi

totoro small photo

Joe Hisaishi: Small Photos

Included in the image song collection for My Neighbor Totoro is this track, “A Small Photograph.” Its warm and beautiful melody—so quintessentially Ghibli—was composed by Joe Hisaishi.

Totoro fans may already be familiar with it.

The lyrics, sung while recalling the mother’s own childhood—around Satsuki and Mei’s age, perhaps—are deeply moving.

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Mei and the soot spritesJoe Hisaishi

This charming, mysterious, and grandly arranged piece is themed around the familiar Susuwatari, also known as “Makkuro Kurosuke.” They’re the first strange creatures Mei encounters after moving, and they also appear in Spirited Away—beloved little black beings essential to the world of Ghibli.

This song captures their quirky, enigmatic nature.

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The Great Tree of TsukamoriJoe Hisaishi

Joe Hisaishi – Kaze no Toorimichi

Joe Hisaishi, the Great Tree of Tsukamori

A song used in the scene where, with the help of Totoro and his friends, the seeds Mei and the others planted rapidly grow into a great tree.

Among the many masterpieces in the soundtrack of My Neighbor Totoro, this piece has moved countless people with its particularly beautiful melody.

Perhaps the reason we’re so deeply moved by the grandeur of the towering O-Tsukamori tree as it rises in that scene is the brilliance of this music.

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TotoroJoe Hisaishi

This is the theme song for Totoro, a large, fluffy, and very mysterious creature.

The arrangement conjures up an image of Totoro lying on his back deep in the forest, mouth wide open, as if you could see him right now.

It’s recorded with many layered sounds—synthesizers and tones reminiscent of animal voices—making it a wonderful theme song that once again lets you feel the joy of music and the richness of its expression.

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