Biography
Yuki Kajiura is one of the most recognizable composers working in anime, known for scores that lean on operatic vocals, strings, and electronic texture layered into something closer to a song cycle than a background track [1]. She trained in music from childhood, spent part of her childhood in West Germany, and worked as a systems programmer before moving into composition full time in 1992 [1]. Her breakthrough scores include Noir, .hack//Sign, and Madlax, and she went on to score Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel films, the Sword Art Online franchise across its many seasons, and arcs of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba [2]. She frequently builds vocal groups around her scores, including See-Saw, FictionJunction, and Kalafina, and continues to perform her soundtracks live at conventions such as Anime Expo [2]. Describing her approach on Fate/Zero, she said the impression of a scene 'will change drastically just by changing the music,' reflecting a preference for scores that shape a story's emotional register rather than simply illustrate it [3].
Even in the same scene with the same visuals and the same dialogue, the impression will change drastically just by changing the music.
