Scrappy, heartfelt, and deeply human. Keiichi Suzuki's score for Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers matches the film's ragged warmth beat for beat. "Gin's theme" carries this worn-out melancholy that tells you everything about the character before he even speaks, and "Hana's theme" brings a fragile tenderness that'll wreck you.
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The recurring "Searching" variations build urgency across the film like a ticking clock made of piano notes. That wonky Beethoven Symphony No.9 arrangement. "Three hoboes" somehow makes homelessness sound adventurous without losing the weight of it, mixing street-level percussion with surprisingly playful melodies.
If you love Kon's films and haven't sat with this score on its own, it hits completely different isolated from the visuals.