Monday Melodic Musings: Martian Successor Nadesico – Ima wa Oyasumi Wo…

Satomi Arimori’s immortal eponymous line penned for Martian Successor Nadesico’s OP “You Get To Burning” will always give me a chuckle or two because of its engrishy nature, but that doesn’t hide the fact that Toshiyuki Omori’s composition is catchy and engaging and that Yumi Matsuzawa’s vocals deliver the necessary urgency and inspiration that captures the show’s more serious moments.

While Omori’s music is already enjoyable, what I like even more about Nadesico’s music is how composer Takayuki Hattori uses the opening theme as part of the anime’s BGM. The theme not only materializes in the form of a magnificent orchestral display in “Nadesico Hasshinsu!” but also in the mellowness of “Ima wa Oyasumi wo…,” the subject of today’s musing.

Nadesico – Ima wa Oyasumi wo

[audio:Nadesico – Ima wa Oyasumi wo.mp3]
While a large part of the show leans towards conflict (and a bit of goofiness in the form of an anime within an anime), “Ima wa Oyasumi wo…” takes you far away from the tension and combat and instills a more relaxed mood through the guitar duet. The clarinet carries the balmy aura onward during the verses and once it arrives at the chorus, the acoustic guitars resume leading the melody, this time, accompanied by a soft pit pat from the percussion. Then it’s back to the clarinet, then both guitar and clarinet together to close out the first half of the piece. The second half is a repeat of the first, filling the air with a sense of calm and quietude as the soothing melody wends its way about to bring the day to a close while giving you the optimism that tomorrow is another, hopefully better day.

Though a stark contrast from the energy of the opening theme, Hattori’s arrangement does Omori’s melody justice and Hattori’s work ensures that the opening theme and the show’s BGM are deeply intertwined to become a vital part of the anime’s musically thematic component.

(Fun fact: Nadesico’s soundtrack was one of the first anime soundtracks to grace my collection. Oh the memory of running to the drugstore to convert cash to money orders so I can actually purchase CDs over the internet. Good times!)

zzeroparticle

Anime Instrumentality's Founder and Editor-in-Chief. As you can probably guess, I'm a big anime music junkie with a special love for composers who've put out some beautiful melodies to accompany some of my favorite anime series. I tend to gravitate towards music in the classical style with Joe Hisaishi and Yoko Kanno being a few of my favorite composers, but I've come to appreciate jazz and rock as anime music has widened my tastes.

3 thoughts on “Monday Melodic Musings: Martian Successor Nadesico – Ima wa Oyasumi Wo…

  • February 20, 2012 at 10:12 am
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    Nice choice. I have a special fondness for simple arrangements. I can appreciate intellectually the challenge of having a huge orchestral palette that can provide all kinds of textures and so forth, but this kind of limited selection of instruments gives the music an intimate, human-scaled appeal. I can imagine being in the room with the performers. Of course, sometimes I’m in a different mood, and want to be blown away by something huge and awe-inspiring, but for most of my life it is this sort of small ensemble work to which I can readily relate.

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    • February 21, 2012 at 2:13 am
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      @Joojoobees
      Chamber music certainly represents a type of arrangement we just don’t get to see all too often. As awesome (and difficult) as an orchestral arrangement might be, sometimes, we just want to forgo those in favor of something quieter and hopefully more nuanced. Both are present in Nadesico’s soundtrack and take the opening theme to create distinct moods. Can’t ask for much more than that.

      Reply
  • August 19, 2015 at 3:32 pm
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    1st Yoko Kanno and 2nd Joe Hisaishi are my favorite. On my list: Kaoru Wada, Shiro Sagisu, Takayuki Negishi, Susumu Hirasawa, Parome (who are?…), Kenji Kawai, Noriyuki Asakura

    Reply

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