Joe Hisaishi before he was Joe Hisaishi, scoring a boxing anime with the kind of dramatic flair that would later define Studio Ghibli's sound. This 1982 soundtrack for the Ring ni Kakero TV adaptation is early synthesizer work mixed with live instrumentation, and you can already hear that melodic instinct.
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"Hurricane Boogie" grooves with funky bass and brass hits, while "Sicilian Funk" goes exactly where the name promises. "Apollon Dream" drifts into something more contemplative, almost proto-Ghibli in its warmth. "Devil Fantasy" gets genuinely dark with minor-key synth textures.
The whole album feels like a time capsule of early-80s anime scoring ambition. Essential listening if you want to hear a legend finding his voice.