For Cameron Lew, the musician behind Ginger Root, anime has never been simply a visual influence or a passing interest. He describes himself as a “huge otaku”—and that enthusiasm has found its way into everything from his music videos to the aesthetic and world-building of his work. And now, that lifelong love of anime has come full circle: Ginger Root has contributed “Soarin’,” the ending theme for Kyoto Animation’s Sparks of Tomorrow (二十世紀電氣目録-ユーレカ・エヴリカ-), one of this season’s most acclaimed series.
It’s a fitting collaboration for an artist whose creative DNA is filled with the anime that shaped him, from K-On! and Nichijou to FLCL, Evangelion, and Serial Experiments Lain. But Ginger Root’s story is about more than anime. As a Chinese-American raised in California, Cameron has drawn from his family, his upbringing, and even his Wushu training to create a distinctly personal artistic identity.
I had the chance to interview Cameron about the unusual creative process behind “Soarin’,” the anime that influenced his artistry, his Asian-American experience, creating his own manga, and more:
Twwk: You’ve described yourself as a “massive otaku,” and in your statement you said you still can’t quite believe you got to make a real anime song. What does it mean to you to have created a song for an anime, and particularly for a Kyoani series? What previous Kyoani works have meant the most to you personally?
Ginger Root: I’m a huge Kyoani fan! K-on!, Nichijou, City, Violet Evergarden, Sound! Euphonium, Lucky Star, Tamako Market, all hold a very special place in my heart. So to have a tiny hand in their new series Sparks of Tomorrow is a dream come true.
Twwk: The process for writing an anime ED must be entirely different from your usual one. What were the biggest creative challenges in writing for an existing story and set of characters rather than your own fictional world?
Ginger Root: What’s interesting is when writing the song, I purposely created moments that I thought would give an opportunity for the animation team to let the animation shine. Whether that be drum fills, breaks, solos, etc. Unlike normally writing a song for a Ginger Root record, I was given some materials and information to use as both a guideline and inspiration for the ending theme. For example, I received concept art, character descriptions, along with a digital painting and a piece of writing from Ota-san, the director. Honestly, it was a fun challenge to make something different that I normally make!
Twwk: I love it! And taking a little deeper look at the ED—the title “Soarin'” evokes movement, freedom, aspiration—what emotions did you most want listeners to feel when the ending starts to play? How do you build that tone into a musical work?
Ginger Root: Just like the show, the start of the song feels as if there’s a heavy fog over the track, until progressing into a sound that mimics the feeling of Kihachi and Inako setting off on their journey to create a future filled with wonder, aspiration, and electricity. I remember getting a note from Ota-san that, in contrast with the opening theme, which uses a lot of acoustic and traditional sounds, he wanted the ending to be more electronic in nature, just like if it was made from inventions from the Electricity Catalog itself.
Twwk: I love that insight! Turning more broadly toward anime—it’s a significant part of your storytelling in your videos, but how has anime otherwise inspired your artistry? Have any particular anime played an important role in your work?
Ginger Root: I think besides storytelling, anime has really taught me a lesson in world-building and aesthetic creation. There’s so many shows out there that are more of a “vibe” than a “story”, but even then they make an incredible watch. Some works that have inspired me that come to mind are FLCL, Nichijou, Kill La Kill, Evangelion, Cardcaptor Sakura, Serial Experiments Lain, You’re Under Arrest, Wonder Egg Priority, and many more! There’s too many to list hahaha.
Twwk: I’m also an Asian-American, and am deeply interested in how our experiences impact our creative works. There’s an obvious bridge between Japan and your art, but I’m also interested in your upbringing: How did growing up as an Asian-American impact the route you would take toward becoming Ginger Root?
Ginger Root: Totally! Even though there’s a visually strong inspiration from Japan, there’s tons of stuff that I took from my upbringing as a Chinese-American in the DNA Ginger Root. For instance, one of my albums is called “Mahjong Room,” which is based on an actual room in my late great-grandmother’s house that we would all play Mahjong in. I trained in Wushu growing up, so there’s an element of martial arts in a lot of the music videos. Ginger Root will always be represented by who I am as a person, and that’s a California-raised Asian-American who’s a huge otaku.
Twwk: Continuing along that route, what advice would you give young Asian-American creatives trying to find their own voice and/or trying to find success in music, video, or art?
Ginger Root: Make stuff because it’s fun! Make stuff that’s bad! Fail! It’s ok! Your first “thing” will never be the “thing” that sticks, so don’t be afraid to try and to experiment.
Twwk: More personally, what would surprise people about you, Cameron, as the person behind Ginger Root?
Ginger Root: Honestly not sure. I feel like Ginger Root is very associated with just who I am in everyday life, so on the flipside, I think people would be surprised that I’m probably a very boring person on paper hahaha.
Twwk: One final question! Sparks of Tomorrow feels like yet another milestone as you keep building and building upon a really cool and remarkable career. What dream are you chasing now that younger Cameron wouldn’t have even known was possible?
Ginger Root: Besides being able to do music as a living, I’m trying to up my drawing skills to hopefully make my own manga, and in theory direct my own anime one day.
Many thanks to Cameron for taking the time to chat with us about anime, music, creativity, and Sparks of Tomorrow. You can learn more about Ginger Root and follow Cameron’s work through the links below, and be sure to check out “Soarin’,” the ending theme for Sparks of Tomorrow!
Website • X/Twitter • Instagram • TikTok • Facebook • YouTube • Spotify
Links to stream and download “Soarin’” can be found here: https://lnk.to/LZC-3567.
