An image song is a song for an anime or game that is usually sung by the voice actor or actor of a character, in character. Image songs are considered an important part of an anime's success, as they often provide insights to a character that may otherwise go unexplored on the program itself. The series creators may also include details about a particular character's design stages and evolution, and on occasion even design sketches so fans can see for themselves how a character changed. Image songs are not restricted to anime protagonists. Antagonists in Pretty Cure such as the Dotsuku Zone and Dark Fall also have their own image songs, though are then perfomed in group. In some cases, these are more interesting than those of the protagonists as they often provide the only glimpse into a villain's character.

Fans are known to buy image song albums based solely on the voice actor. An example of this is Mizuki Nana, a famous singress in Japan, who voices Hanasaki Tsubomi in Heartcatch Pretty Cure! and sung the song Tsu.Bo.Mi ~Future Flower~ for an image song single, which is very rarely released for Pretty Cure.