With each year comes a flurry of new anisong artists who ply their trade. Some burn out quickly and disappear never to be heard from again. Others manage to stick around for just a bit longer. Rare is the artist that manages to become a permanent fixture on the scene. Nevertheless, I randomly feel compelled to comment on the promising ones in recent months whom I will be keeping an eye on. Plus, it will be fun to look back on this a few months later to see how accurate my predictions have been.

The first, and perhaps the one with the most hype, is 15 year old Suzuki Konomi, winner of the 5th Anisong Grand Prix. While her youth and sheer vocal strength suggests a very bright future ahead, the past record of Anisong Grand Prix winners does make me cautious. Anisong Grand Prix judges tend to pick people with very generic voices to please everyone; Kawano Marina and HIMEKA are prominent examples and aren’t artists whom I would ever listen to repeatedly.

The other two winners failed to fare much better. While Kita Shuuhei’s debut single Breaking’ Through fit his tense and somewhat strained voice, his butchering of Natsume Yuujinchou’s “Issei no Koe” is a sin for which he would never be forgiven. Sasaki Sayaka, meanwhile, has shown that she has degenerated into mere cute fest, which I get more than enough of from the seiyuu singers. That said, Suzuki does have the best voice among the winners thus far, and has released a solid debut single. Still, I’ll rein in my expectations until I have heard more of her works. I can only hope that her talent is tapped upon.

Next up is the much anticipated Haruna Luna, who is lucky enough to secure a tie-in with the popular anime Fate/Zero and composer Yuki Kajiura in her debut. The results, however, have proven far from stellar. While there is nothing offensive in the song “Sora wa Takaku Kaze ga Utau,” there is just no hook. Honestly, I do not recall anything so bland from Kajiura since “Calling.” The b-sides of that single does not help Haruna’s situation the slightest, as she proves herself a competent but largely uninteresting singer.

Finally, we have Ieiri Leo who released her debut in February, for Toriko. Among the three, she seems the most confident in showcasing her vocal abilities. This confidence is absolutely crucial because singers should be more than just pleasant voices capable of delivering the lyrics as written without trying to add their own flair to the performance. They are musicians, artists in every sense of the word. Call me old fashioned, but I still believe that the voice is an instrument like any other, and the true maestro would know how to get the most out of it. Ieiri is one of the few singers who are not merely karaoke-ists. This is especially noticeable in the full single, where the a-side was performed with a lot more energy and modulations, while the b-side was sweet and innocently optimistic. Her style may not sit well with some, but honestly, where is the fun in music if we are not allowed to critique the musician’s interpretation of a piece?

All in all, the past few months has given us three good singers, all of whom show a fair amount of promise. Do tell me if I have missed out on anyone else!

Tracklist

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Review: First, do me a favour and listen to “AVAN Title” below.

AVAN Title

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Done? Good! This is always in my head before I start presenting anything. Nothing like a whimsical showtune-y piece to begin anything really.

So Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (Kare Kano) holds a special place in my heart. Created by Studio Gainax in 1998, it was a daring work that brought together the raw emotions, hopes and dreams of high school students, all packaged into twenty-six very entertaining episodes. Animation quality was spot-on (well, until the rumoured budget cuts), set-pieces were well-directed and very humorous, and the music… ah the music. Maestro Shiro Sagisu is probably better-known for his opus that is Neon Genesis Evangelion and currently for his contributions to Bleach, but I believe that it is his compositions for Kare Kano that bring out his strength in composing themes and rearranging them to create different meanings.

For a soundtrack to be successful, it must have one or two recurring themes to shape the listening experience, making it more memorable and likeable. There’s probably no better example than the prolific John Williams, who has mastered this form. Similarly, recurring themes are important in anime soundtracks because they serve as a way to aurally depict the characters, their emotions and situations. Sagisu adds touches in his renditions of Yukino Miyazawa which draw from familiar classical and jazz melodies. For example, the concerto version is a rearrangement of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, filled with blaring trumpets and energized strings that introduce Yukino and her love for praise; the marching arrangement is even more bombastic; the jazz-rock variant with its sizzling saxophone solo bears some semblance to a Lupin the Third chase scene; the “Nocturne” arrangement (with Satie-ish influences) is aptly named as a slow piano piece that showcases the doubts and anxieties that plague Yukino; and finally, the “Kanon” piece (my favourite version), begins with a sublime cello line that slowly brings in the rest of the orchestra in a quiet exploration of her psyche.

Yukino Miyazawa I (concerto)

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Yukino Miyazawa IV (kanon)

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In the anime, hero Souichirou Arima is constantly plagued by his bloodline and family, and this is depicted well in a piano and strings combo, used skillfully to dramatic effect. At its lowest moment, the tone changes and the strings become lighter, but more urgent, as if willing Arima to look for hope.

Souichirou Arima I

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

But in a departure from all the heavy-handed seriousness, we have one of my favourite pieces: “The Miyazawa Family”. It’s cheeky, utterly fun, and the ‘papaya-pa’ moments just melt the heart. “Putting the cart before the horse” follows on this theme, with the same ‘papaya-pa’ lines layered over a jazz combo, complete with swinging ivories, muted trumpets, and a marimba solo. And all in just a little over two minutes!

Sagisu aficionados should also rejoice! Those who’ve listened to the Neon Genesis Evangelion soundtracks will probably spot Sagisu’s stylistic similarities between that and Kare Kano. The best example is the “Summary” theme in this album being almost identical to the “Summary” in Evangelion. The music in both soundtracks also have the same frantic pace as the loud trumpets and the percussion kits are given free reign. Strangely, Sagisu finds a good balance in this chaos and it all works.

I could go on and on about this gem of an album, but then we would be here for quite a while. So with that in mind, I’ll introduce one more interesting theme and that’s the ending one. “Into a dream” is a song for all ages; an ultimately happy, hopeful song that ends all the episodes nicely after all that intense drama. The rearrangement of this theme, “Into a dream III”, is a pretty, thought-provoking instrumental piece that appears whenever a character reaches an epiphany about life, hopes and dreams.

Into a dream

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Into a dream III

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Now, Act 1.0 is a very old soundtrack that I do not believe has been reprinted. It’s a little hard to find online and as such, the links are to the CD boxes, which are also out of print. However, it really is a worthwhile get if you can find it. The first soundtrack of the Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou series is quite a treat in structure and ideas. Even the more filler-y songs do not sound wasted here and manage to cultivate a deep sense of meaning that makes this soundtrack such a memorable one.

Rating: Papaya-pa Excellent!

Would a death metal song have the same edge to it if it were performed by octogenarians? Would a country-western tune have the same appeal if an Arabic man sang it?

That’s the thing about music. People will happily eat gourmet French food cooked by a British master chef. A beautiful portrait of Italy by an Argentinean painter is no inherently inferior to one done by a Florentine. Music, though, is as much a product of who is playing it as what’s being played. The who behind music irreversibly colors the what. A samba sung by a rap artist instantly loses its authenticity, as does a Bach symphony performed by jazz musicians. It’s this selectivity of origin that has defined the ebb and flow of the musical landscape throughout history.

As an example, consider that historians generally consider the work of Elvis Presley to be fairly derivative of the music of his time. There were many groups around then with sounds similar to what Elvis would become famous for. In fact, Elvis himself admitted the influence of then-contemporary black artists on him, such as Fats Domino and B.B. King. The reason that he was so successful, then, was not that his music was particularly fresh, but that he was a white man who sounded like a black man. When black people made “black” music, it was detestable “coon” music, but when a white man does the same thing, an entire nation accepts it with open arms.

How does this apply to Sakamichi? I touched upon the role of race and origin in music above to argue that the show’s themes on race and acceptance are fairly weak. The heckler at the bar was an interesting touch, but written from a narrow perspective. The episode was at the verge of tapping something potentially fascinating and relatively unexplored, namely Americans’ reactions to Asians playing jazz.

But what was that intoxicated gentleman worried about? His issue with the music in the bar was that it was “coon” music. Black music. This seemed odd to me. Would an America with the aftertaste of the internment of Japanese-American citizens in WWII still lingering really be concerned that music in a Japanese bar sounds too black?

Granted, a single drunk man speaking his mind doesn’t exactly speak for all of America, but the show still failed to ask the more obvious question: how would these surly white-American sailors react to a bunch of narrow-eyed Japanese men playing jazz? By making the issue of race one between whites and blacks instead of Americans and Asians, Sakamichi avoided making the more powerful statement. Further, I feel there were many missed opportunities to flesh out parallels between this and Sentarou’s ethnicity, as there was great irony that there was indeed a white man on stage that night.

I would give the show props, though, for its continued faithful portrayal of live sessions. The way the tune just stops dead in its tracks as a player drops out feels all too real for players who have been in a similar situation. There’s that palpable, stiff deadness in the air as if something alive and breathing had just unjustly had its life cut short.

With this, I feel like the show has redeemed itself deeply with its music. Jazz has once again become strongly thematically tied with the plot and the state of the characters. We see Kaoru retreating back momentarily to playing stiffly and awkwardly but returning to the forefront to become Sentarou’s strength. We see how each character’s music becomes an extension of what they are experiencing. With Kaoru, a momentary conflict with Sentarou cripples his playing, but he recovers as he learns about and empathizes with Sentarou’s family situation. Jun-nii’s playing is absolutely soaring (he’s even quite the vocalist) as it becomes evident that Yurika in fact fancies him over Sentarou. Further, Sentarou finds his drumming disrupted and difficult as he loses his crush to the man he looks up to most.

Speaking of, the episode’s featured tune, George Gershwin’s “But Not for Me,” fits nicely with the plot’s progression. It’s one of those jazz standards along with “Just Friends” that’s fairly upbeat and catchy that actually deals with rather sad and bitter sentiments. Perhaps it’s telling that both those tunes were originally featured in those sappy love story musicals of Gershwin’s day. Ironically, Jun is the one who sings it, a character who seems to have everything going for him.

They’re writing songs of love,
But not for me:
A lucky star’s above,
But not for me.
With love to lead the way,
I’ve found more skies of gray
Than any Russian play
Could guarantee.
I was a fool to fail!
And get that way,
Heigh ho! Alas!
And also lackaday!
Although I can’t dismiss
The mem’ry of his/her kiss…

But not for whom, Jun?

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

I’d like to talk, in closing, about the wonderful job the show is doing on being a gateway drug to jazz. I’ll occasionally YouTube a tune from the show if I don’t have it in my collection, and my hearts warms up a bit when I see a comment or two about how “Sakamichi brought me here” or “Sakamichi opened my eyes to jazz.” It’s obviously not an overly pervasive phenomenon, but to see new twinkling optimism for jazz in any amount is really a treat.

"He is playing the piano loudly. I must abruptly stop my playing and stare at him for several seconds."

As just a humorous aside, I found it hilariously unprofessional to just stop and stare at a player while on stage because their playing surprised you.

This week, listen to a very different, modal take on “But Not for Me.”

Anyway, as far as TV shows are actually concerned, there’s much to look forward to as far as this spring season goes, both in the quality of the shows and the quality of the BGM, so let’s dive in! (No coverage on opening or ending themes as usual, I’m afraid.)

Stuff I’ve seen

Ozuma
Composer: Kousuke Yamashita
Synopsis: In the distant future, the earth finds itself becoming inhospitable. Amidst this ruin and decay, Sam Cain, a desert trader, saves a beautiful woman named Maya who is on the run from the world government’s cloned soldiers known as the “Ideal Children.”
My Thoughts: Just a few seasons ago, Kousuke Yamashita graced us with the beautiful soundtrack to Chihayafuru, and now, he’s back again doing a Leiji Matsumoto sci-fi anime that never saw the light of day… until now. Yamashita’s efforts have been good, but as I watched the anime (2 episodes thus far), I’ve struggled to find some commanding theme to really latch onto. It certainly didn’t grab me as tightly as Chihayafuru’s soundtrack at least. That’s not to say the soundtrack won’t be enjoyable, but given some of the other titles appearing this season, I don’t think we have a candidate for soundtrack of the year like we did with Yamashita’s inspiring work from last year. And yes, the soundtrack has already been released.

Space Brothers (Uchuu Kyoudai)
Composer: Toshiyuki Watanabe
Synopsis: Two brothers, Mutta and Hibito, make a promise to go into space. Hibito manages to become an astronaut and though Mutta has not been able to do so, his life is about to change, allowing him to live up to that promise.
My Thoughts: Toshiyuki Watanabe’s name is not a familiar one to me, but the soundtrack work that he’s done has been pretty extensive. The catch? Most of them are from really old shows like Galactic Drifter Vifam or Peter Pan no Bouken. And yet, I find myself nodding my head at some of the themes that have popped up, particularly this one memorable, inspirational theme that’s driven by the orchestrals and the occasional electric guitar. That said, it is getting just a wee bit repetitive and if it becomes overplayed, it could get annoying fast. For now however, the music as a whole is enjoyable and the anime’s other content (the stuff that most other people care about) has been solid.

Sakamichi no Apollon
Composer: Yoko Kanno
Synopsis: Kaoru Nishimi’s parents are often on the move, which means that Kaoru often changes schools and never really gets to adjust to his new environs and make friends. But when he moves to a high school in Kyushu, he meets Sentarou Kawabuchi and the two boys’ passion for jazz leads to his first friendship and a new life ahead.
My Thoughts: Ahh yes. This. As if we haven’t written extensively about this beast week after week. So while Aftershok has given his opinion, here’s mine: the show itself is enjoyable, and Yoko Kanno rides the wave of classical jazz pieces on to victory. In other words, she’s not doing a whole lot of work for this anime. That said, the jazz tracks that Kanno DID compose, like the titular “KIDS ON THE SLOPE,” have been enjoyable. That’s a far cry from Nodame Cantabile, which had a very good selection of classical pieces, but a very weak original soundtrack, simply because the composer’s music made specifically for the show just wasn’t all that good.

Jormungand
Composer: Taku Iwasaki
Synopsis: Jonah, a child soldier involved in the many conflicts running throughout Africa, finds himself working for Koko Hekmatyar, an arms dealer. This journey will take him through the black market for arms, filled to the brim with unsavory characters who will make it that much more difficult to turn back from the violence that now surrounds his life.
My Thoughts: Now here’s a soundtrack that could tilt towards awesomeness. When the word “child soldier” came up in conjunction with Taku Iwasaki, my mind immediately jumped to his soundtrack to Now and Then, Here and There. That’s not quite what we have here though. When I popped in that first episode, we get a badass song with a lilting delivery reminiscent of Iwasaki’s “Bahasa Palus” from Katanagatari. Talk about grabbing my attention from the get-go! Even with that auspicious opening however, I do worry that some of the atmospheric synth-y blah will manifest and kill some of that awesomeness and turn it into something like… I don’t know… [C]? Talk about a soundtrack to forget, one that makes me pine for the classic Iwasaki.

Hyoka
Composer: Kouhei Tanaka
Synopsis: Despite his unwillingness to do so, Houtarou’s sister succeeds in getting him to join his high school’s literature club where he begins to uncover the truth behind an incident which happened 33 years ago involving a female member’s uncle.
My Thoughts: Judging from the promo picture above, this might just seem like your normal adolescent anime until the part about the mystery factors in. And after watching one episode of this, it looks like it’s a normal adolescent anime with the mysteries being a complete side-factor. And Kouhei Tanaka’s helming the soundtrack? You wouldn’t really know it from all those classical themes that have popped up, from the likes of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” to some Ravel and Bach. All that comes together to make for a pretty soundtrack, but an original soundtrack? That’s harder to say. Granted, I’ve only seen one episode so far, so Tanaka’s original compositions might pop up later for all I know.

Tsuritama
Composer: Kuricorder Quartet
Synopsis: Yuki Sanada is socially awkward and doesn’t really have any friends. One day however, he meets a boy named Haru who claims to be an alien looking for a place to fish. The two are also later joined by Natsuki and an Indian named Akira, and together, the four find themselves in the middle of an event that affects the world.
My Thoughts: The Kuricorder Quartet! Light. Easy. Whimsically fun! For a show that’s as kooky as Tsuritama has been thus far, it’s hard to imagine music that’s more fitting. The way the recorders have gone about, delivering their breezy feel makes the scenes all the more delightful as we watch a cornucopia of characters figure out just what the heck is going on. Given what we’ve heard thus far, I’m tempted to call this show out for having some of the most enjoyable BGM within the context of the anime. None out of the other anime I’ve watched have managed to capture their shows’ atmospheres quite like the way Tsuritama has with its bizarrely serendipitous style. Needless to say, I can’t wait for the soundtrack to come out.

Stuff I haven’t seen, but want to comment on anyway

Accel World
Composer: Mintjam, onoken, Hiroyuki Oshima
Synopsis: Haruyuki’s encounter with Kuroyukihime, the prettiest girl at school leads him into the Accel World, a virtual area in which he becomes a Burst Knight defending a princess.
My Thoughts: This collection of composers is interesting by virtue of the fact that many of them are actually doujin artists. For example, onoken is the one behind that work of Swell Strings that kevo talked about in his electronica article way back when. With that in mind, my guess for what the soundtrack entails is leaning towards synth-pop. Now whether that’s actually what shows up in Accel World is something that its viewers will have to tell me. The premise does look interesting enough; I’m just a bit overloaded at the moment.

Natsuiro Kiseki
Composer: Nijine
Synopsis: Four friends experience a summer miracle.
My Thoughts: Although the Natsuiro Kiseki’s premise doesn’t sound too promising and that its trappings have the feel of a Sphere promotional vehicle, I can say that Nijine’s involvement in the soundtrack, coupled with some other people’s positive first impressions, should be good tidings. My first experience with her works have been positive when I checked out the soundtrack to Hatsukoi Limited. On top of that, Mashiro-Iro Symphony, while an underwhelming anime, did feature a pleasant Nijine soundtrack that can only be characterized as being severely underrated, and I’d definitely recommend people give that a shot for those who enjoy nuanced drama tracks. If Nijine’s track record continues to shine here, then consider me a happy camper.

Sankarea
Composer: Yukari Hashimoto
Synopsis: Furuya is obsessed with zombies and has amassed a huge collection of zombie paraphernalia. But when his cat dies, he tries to revive it with a potion. Around this time, he meets a girl named Rea who tries to commit suicide using Furuya’s potion, but instead, becomes a zombie.
My Thoughts: Yukari Hashimoto has gotten a change to work on some pretty high-caliber anime; one needn’t look far to see her name gracing soundtracks to such works as Toradora! and, more recently, the soundtrack to Mawaru Penguindrum. In the latter work, she manages to demonstrate her compositional competence through the most excellent “The Children of Fate,” but as she’s shown time over time, she’s not altogether too consistent a composer. So given her track record, I’d expect to be impressed by a few pieces and be indifferent at best about the rest of the tracks she puts forth, regardless of how well they match the scenes in question.

Medaka Box
Composer: Tatsuya Katou
Synopsis: Medaka Kurokami is an earnest high school student who is the Student Council President at Hanokiwa Academy despite being a first year student. One of her first initiatives is to launch a suggestion box to improve things at school, but it ends up creating a lot of challenges for her.
My Thoughts: Tatsuya Katou has come a long way since the work he did for Kampfer’s soundtrack. Since then, he’s done a lot of anime scores, including Mirai Nikki as well as the highly-regarded soundtrack for Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere. Or, to be more accurate, highly-regarded by other people who aren’t me. All of Katou’s scores, with the exception of Kampfer have been serviceable, but his music has been all over the map and hasn’t been quite as engaging. But I do realize that some people regard him as an excellent up-an-comer, complete with an orchestral sound comparable to Kanno’s work on Macross Frontier and Aquarion EVOL (a contention I highly disagree with), and so, he gets his mention here for those looking to discover more of his works.

Conclusion: With so much anime to cover, I’m sure all I’ve done is basically touch the tip of the iceberg. For example, there are a lot of continuations worth mentioning, like Yuki Kajiura’s work for Fate/Zero or Hirano’s work on the newest Hunter x Hunter and a few nice(?) surprises from Tomoki Kikuya, Masaru Yokoyama, or even MONACA’s staff maybe? Let me know what you think as always!

Now, before we go any further, let me preface this discussion by saying that Gunslinger Girl and I have quite the history. Back in the halcyon days of my anime fandom, I never pursued the medium as intensely as I do now; anime was an on-again, off-again activity. But when a friend introduced me to that anime, the narrative was absolutely enthralling and the emotions it stirred within me was something I had not believed was possible from a cartoon. That spark led me to delve further into the medium and, needless to say, I’m pretty happy with where that’s taken me.

So when they announced the second season of Gunslinger Girl, I was excited. Having read the manga, I was looking forward to seeing how Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- would adapt one of its most poignant sections: Triela’s story arc, which includes her frustrations in dealing with Pinocchio and how that affects her relationship and interactions with her handler, Hilshire. And with mangaka Yu Aida on board Il Teatrino, how could anything go wrong?

Unfortunately, Artland’s production fell way short of the high bar Madhouse had set with the first season. The visuals were subpar, the characters never quite endeared themselves to me like they did in the first season, and then there’s the music…

With Kou Otani behind the reins, I had hopes that he would be able to deliver the mix of intense action tracks (as evidenced in his compositions on Shakugan no Shana’s soundtrack) as well as the gentler, more melancholy fare that he exhibited in Haibane Renmei. Although his score for the anime was serviceable, it didn’t live up to Sahashi’s sterling efforts on Gunslinger Girl’s soundtrack. And nowhere was that more apparent than when one compares the main theme for each incarnation.

Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino – Main Theme

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In listening to the first notes, the melancholy tone of the series becomes apparent to all, and the piano section that follows the chords gives off an aura of urgency as it indicates the amount of importance Triela places on her mission of dispatching Pinocchio. The piece then builds up to a melody filled with frustration and sorrow, foreshadowing the extent of the struggles that can only result in tragedy as Triela gives it her all to the point where she willingly sacrifices herself in service to the Social Welfare Agency. The conclusion of this arc is very depressing, evoking a sense of sorrow and pity as one empathizes with what Triela goes through.

Ideally, “Main Theme” would nail this mood, but where this piece falls apart is in the repetition of that melody which evokes the struggles and frustrations that we attribute to Triela. Although there are variations in the instrumentation and tempo in each repetition, the way in which the melody winds its course feels simplistic, making it difficult to engage with. It’s as if Otani’s music exists to accompany the scene rather than immerse one in the thick of it. One only needs to listen to Sahashi’s theme from the first season of Gunslinger Girl to experience the difference.

Gunslinger Girl – TEMA I

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

From the get-go, “TEMA I’s” somber delivery captures the atmosphere of the anime, starting with the melancholy violin solo that carries a tone unmistakably seeped in tragedy. This section is slow and deliberate, allowing listeners to acquaint themselves with the dark mood that flows throughout without tarrying too long, for the solo builds up to the grim chords quite nicely. Once they strike, they summon a chorus backed by a dissonant harmony that together, evokes a mixture of grief and anger borne out of vengeance, suggesting that there’s no peace to be had as a result of this cycle of violence. As the piece draws to a close and the final notes fade away, the tragic aura remains, and with it, an unsettling feeling, foreshadowing the grim fate that is to befall the Social Welfare Agency.

With all this in mind, the atmosphere evoked by Sahashi’s composition flows wonderfully, and his music shifts in a way that keeps the listener fully engaged. There is much depth and poetry in “TEMA I,” and the way in which the piece meshes with the anime makes it nigh impossible to divorce from the show’s content and serves as a stellar example of background music that flawlessly sets the tone for the anime while shining brilliantly as a standalone track.

So when comparing these two main themes, the one word that keeps coming up with respect to Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- is “disconnect.” Yes, there is a disconnect between the first and second season in terms of staff and studio, but musically speaking, I can’t help but feel that there’s a disconnect between Kou Otani’s compositions and the setting. While Sahashi’s music is full of the lovely Italian influences that mesh so well with the anime, the second season has none of that. It’s a shame that Kou Otani’s compositions seem content to ride alongside the anime rather than intent to become an inseparable, and therefore memorable, component of the anime altogether.

FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!

Thankfully, there are no such things as term limits here, so we can assert our power over the anime music space with impunity, indefinitely. As long as the quality of anime music continues to stay its course, we’ll be here for a long time to come. After all, the quality of anime may go through cycles, but we’ve yet to encounter any similar sorts of trends in anime music, which has remained remarkably consistent.

From the post title, yes, we are entering our 4th year. Also known as the length of time most people will take to graduate from undergrad. Or how long Pep Guardiola has coached FC Barcelona. Or the lifespan of the almighty Didelphis virginiana when raised in captivity. These inane comparisons only further the idea that four years is a weird spot to be in as far as festivities are concerned. 1 year is a fine milestone. 2-year milestones are also worth celebrating since it’s the only even prime. 3-year anniversaries are worthy because it means you’ve gone through endless trials by fire and have a very good chance at avoiding blog death (as opposed to dying in a blogging accident or something). 5 years is also a fine number and makes it a great moment to dig into our history. But 4? What can we celebrate with 4? Well, there’s never a bad time to reaffirm what we’re all about.

Where anime music is and what we foresee happening

The anime music fandom has come a long way. From the early days, anime music never seemed to get much recognition, when it did, it was either people talking about J-pop OP/EDs or confined to a fansites dedicated to one specific composer. There’d be the occasional conversation to pop up on forums/messageboards, but the dialogue would either fizzle fast or lack substance; you can only squeeze so much participation out of a “Name your favorite tune” thread anyhow.

Needless to say, in the face of these conditions, building an anime music site that 1) tried to go more in-depth into anime music through reviews and 2) provided no downloads (I know, right?) was a daunting task in terms of drawing general interest. But the passion of its author(s) (and a healthy dose of stubbornness) carried the site through to where it is today. We’ve managed to expand our presence a slight bit with me interviewing with Justin from Organization Anti-Social Geniuses and Aftershok appearing on the Anime Afterlife Podcast. And as we look around, we can’t help but feel that people are talking about the musical component just a wee bit more. Whether this is more a function of the people we converse with over Twitter, it’s hard to say, but things have been looking up for quite some time, and we’re pretty happy with all the work we’ve poured in, gushing over the latest score and interacting with all of you.

We’d like to think that, as a result of our efforts, we’ve been able to gradually bring the anime music niche out of obscurity and into a larger portion of anime fans’ consciousness. The realization of the extent to which music is integral to drawing out the emotional impact or accentuate the action in certain scenes is an important one because it’s the foundation upon which we can build upon to make people aware that the musical side is enthralling enough to be worth experiencing on a standalone basis.

So hopefully, our work has paid off! The biggest sign that this might become relatively more mainstream (sorry, fellow hipsters!) is when an outfit like Random Curiosity enters the soundtrack reviewing game. My hope is that, with their huge number of readers, they can convert a few into rabid soundtrack geeks, which will make for a greater diversity of discourse and opinions. It’s certainly not an opportunity to be wasted in any case and we’ll be keeping a close eye on them.

The short road ahead

There’s not a whole lot planned for the immediate future. That said, there is one important thing I’d like to announce:

Remember that Composer Profile thing we did way back when? Truth be told, that was one hell of a fun project! Time-consuming, yes, but very fun since we got a chance to sample a composer’s anime discography in all its entirety and explore how they’ve evolved stylistically over the years. Everything was fine and good until we got to Kenji Kawai.

If there’s anything we learned by listening to his music, it’s that he composes way too much and, on top of that, nearly all of his compositions are terrible. We have no clue what people see in him since it’s rare to see people praise anything of his beyond Seirei no Moribito and Fate/Stay Night. And because of that, it pretty much killed our motivation to continue. Do people care that we skip over Kenji Kawai? We sure don’t want to torture ourselves by listening to his music any more than we have to and so, we’re going to skip him entirely.

Some polls are important; some more important than others

So if you even keep up on events in the world of anime blogging, you will know that there are some polls going on at the moment. In fact, we’re going to be in one of those polls sometime soon. That said, polling isn’t the best metric when judging quality because of so many confounding factors, so instead, we’d like to turn to those who appreciate the musical side of the anime fandom and ask how we can be even better at what we do. So for the regulars who’ve come to rely upon Anime Instrumentality as a resource for musical recommendations, musings, and information, we’re curious to know about the following:

• We never did get much feedback on our Weekly Music Musings and I’m really curious what people think of it. It’s one of those little side projects we came up with as a way to break out of the more formal review structure and simply let my mind float wherever the music takes me. So in that respect, the Weekly Musings succeed. But do people actually find it interesting? I’m all for scrapping it entirely if people find it boring, but if people do find it valuable, it’ll become a mainstay for an indefinite period of time until we come up with something more awesome. Or maybe we just need to post on less-obscure series as we’re wont to do.
• It’s actually kind of hard to come up with new ideas/projects to undertake (the weekly musings are a thought, though the jury is still out on how effective that is), so we’re curious as to whether people have any thoughts on what new content we could potentially offer. For that matter, are we even asking the right questions?
• Finally, this isn’t so much a question as much as it’s a thank you to all the readers who’ve responded to that poll I put up for my Japan tourism project. The data we got from anime fans pretty much dwarfs every other demographic, and left some of my group members confused about some of the responses, which is pretty much just as planned. We’re still collecting data, so anyone who wants to put in their thoughts can still do so. All I can say is that we’ll have some damn interesting recommendations to give to the JTA once it comes time to present.

So with our eyes firmly fixed on the future, we enter our fourth year! Wish us luck, enjoy our continuing stream of thoughts, and we look forward to hearing from you all!

What made Sakamichi no Apollon feel so special in the first two episodes was how intimately the music reflected the characters. The music was an integral part of the narrative, an active member of the story rather than an unavoidable outcome of it, and that was very much the heartbeat of the show.

To watch Kaoru grow as a person and to see his interest and skill and jazz grow along with him seemed like a vital part of the yarn. Watching him discover the intricacies of the syncopations and dissonances of jazz as it paralleled him taking root in his new home and learning the ins and outs of the people that live there was fascinating and fulfilling.

With this episode, it’s implied that some amount of time has passed. Sentaro and Kaoru are now best buddies, and their sessions in the basement of the record shop have now become their regular after-school activity. What was disappointing to me is that Kaoru is now playing like a professional jazz musician. While it can be assumed that he has gotten a lot better since we last heard him play in episode 2 of Apollon, his playing has gotten so good that it makes his musical journey feel distinctly detached from his personal one, and that’s the discord that let me down.

It causes the much-anticipated musical aspect of the show to feel extraneous instead of being integrated to Kaoru’s story. Jazz is now something Kaoru does rather than something that reflects of Kaoru himself. At this point, I feel it has few thematic ties with the plot the way it just organically did before.

In short, for the time being, at least, the music in large part has retreated to where I originally expected it to be: in the background.

If there’s a glimmer of hope, though, it was definitely in that final scene that everyone seems to be gushing about. The confession itself aside, it was really great to see how hard Kaoru worked on that transcription. Transcribing a jazz piano solo like that where harmony moves at a wink’s pace is nothing to sneeze at, and to see him really working on it to play for Ritsuko said a lot about his character. It still stands, though, that the show in general dropped the ball in terms of its music.

I’d like to mention for just a moment Kaoru’s solo tune featured in the episode, “Some Day My Prince Will Come.” If you’ve never heard it as a jazz standard before, you’ve probably heard it in Cinderella, or even as a pop arrangement. After its humorous introduction to the jazz repertoire in a performance in a concentration camp, it’s since become a staple, with artists like Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock doing versions of it. The tune is well known for its flexible harmony despite its conventional chords, but I’m sure you wouldn’t want to hear about that. The version Kaoru is channeling in the episode is none other than Bill Evans’s cover of it; Bill Evans is probably one of my favorite jazz pianists and stands as one of the most influential jazz artists of all time. If anything, I did appreciate the way the show tied in the title of the song to what was going on in the plot.

In terms of characterization and plotting, though, Sakamichi remains absolutely sterling. How fitting is it that the mythos of the show would have it that two lovers will unite by climbing a slope? Wasn’t it fascinating (if a bit cliché) to see how shy Sentaro is? The glimpse into his home life was intriguing, showing how he’s a big brother with responsibilities. The way it handled the romance genuinely caught me by surprise; I didn’t expect it to turn so dramatic so soon, but it still felt adequately substantiated and unrushed.

I suppose that’s the casualty of being great at everything else, is that the music suffers a bit. I’m not asking (nor do I want) the show to be exclusively about music, all the time, but I can’t help but feel the narrative has betrayed its origins a bit. How the show integrates jazz from here will be interesting, if not utterly critical.

This week, witness my cliche inclusion of the video every other blog is pasting in at the end of their posts.

The new Fate/Zero opening theme is in every sense an authentic Kalafina song. It radiates the same energy as “Magia“, “oblivious”, or any of the myriad anime songs they’ve sung over the past few years. “to the beginning” starts with a pseudo-Gregorian Dog Latin chant, a feature found in many of Kajiura Yuki’s compositions, before diving into an energetic violin and drum intro. The drumwork is subtle, but effective, keeping the song upbeat and giving it a pop feel. It’s what makes Kalafina stand out — their songs are catchy and rhythmic despite their neo-gothic motif. The chorus is a fantastic release of energy that I enjoyed greatly. Kalafina are so talented in putting tension into lyrics and getting the most out of every note in the song. This isn’t a seiyuupop opening theme, that’s for sure.

“to the beginning” ferries the adventurous and whimsical nature of the struggle for the Holy Grail. The conflict that pits mage against mage, hero against hero is the most apparent, easily noticeable part of the anime, but Fate/Zero is as much about about inner conflict as it is about outer conflict. “to the beginning” is a fast-paced and bold track that emulates the pulsating action found in the anime, but the reflective lyrics and tense delivery hint at its more emotional aspects, making it a beautiful song that functions perfectly as an opening theme. I believe the best parts of the song are left out of the OP itself; you can only fit so much in 90 seconds, after all. The refrain near the end of the full song (around 2:15) is a great variation on the melody and builds into a spectacularly energetic final stanza.

“the whole sky” is the B-side to this single, and it’s not actually featured in the anime. The opening is really cool, transitioning into the guitar and violin breakdown we love so much. The song has a very distinct instrumental presence — a few orchestral bars serve as the transitions between different phases of the song. “the whole sky” is very bold and decently creative, fitting the Kalafina mold like a glove.

Overall, this single is sure to please any Kalafina fan out there. Both tracks are comprehensive demonstrations of everything we love about them, and very representative of the Kalafina style as a whole.

Rating: Very Good

Opening — to the beginning

Wow, it’s only the second episode of Sakamichi no Apollon, and I’m already 4 days late? Not a good sign, but I’m only now beginning to realize the brutal pace of weekly episodic posts. On to the episode.

The episode loses some of that very genuine, uncontrived feel of the first one, if just a little. In the last episode, the screenplay unfolded more naturally, and events seemed to occur logically without seeming over-explained or too convenient, so to speak.

The conflict with Yamaoka was adequately foreshadowed when he craned his neck to see Kaoru flirting with Ritsuko the previous episode, but did Sentarou really have to come barreling to his rescue at the last minute after being tipped off by Ritsuko? Though not necessarily out of character for the show, this sequence came off as too coincidental and forced. Kaoru, getting taken away by the bullies, just happened to be seen by Ritsuko, who just happened to run and find Sentaro in time, who just happened to know exactly where the place was. It’s little conveniences in writing like this that force me to stretch my belief that begin to take me out of a show.

Still, if Sakamichi is willing to trade the tiniest bit of believability to facilitate substantial character development, that’s something I’m willing to accept.

What was harder for me to acknowledge was that the story’s answer to the potentially brewing love triangle was to avoid it entirely. Though Ritsuko and Sentaro’s purely childhood-friend relationship was made pretty clear from the outset, a love triangle felt almost inevitable, and I felt it could have made for some interesting character progression. The scene at the conclusion of their beach trip made Sentaro’s infatuation totally obvious and felt like a cop-out that dodged the seemingly-obvious relationship question at hand.

Avoiding it, in the end, feels better in keeping with the spirit of the show, but I mourn the death of the now-absent sole source of potential lasting external conflict in the story.

Also, we learn that Sentaro and Ritsuko are Christians that attend church on Sundays. I’m sure this has some deep, profound literary significance to the story, but you’re reading Anime Instrumentality, so I’ll go ahead and talk a bit about the music.

I think I finally get this show’s approach to its score. What the soundtrack is trying to do is very different from what we’ve grown used to from jazz-oriented OST’s in the past. Jazz scores like Cowboy Bebop and even this season’s Lupin basically hit the viewer over the head with jazz from the getgo. It’s used more like a traditional soundtrack in those cases; jazz was more the result of the story material, enabling and strengthening the plot.

In Kids on the Slope, though, jazz is the plot. It’s the subject matter itself rather than that which facilitates it. The show is less about jazz than it is about some kids growing up by playing and learning and living it, and that’s where the difference lies. Like many have mentioned, the jazz in this show isn’t some static constant we take for granted that drapes the show at every instance. Rather, it’s a living, breathing part of the narrative.

Whenever jazz has been sounded so far in Sakamichi no Apollon, it was to mark an event that represented significant development within the plot or for the characters, something that challenged the status quo and evidenced some kind of change.

With that in mind, I think that’s why I enjoy the OP and ED so much now. They’re good songs, and my previous expectations weren’t where they needed to be. Sakamichi’s OP and ED don’t have jazz in them for the same reason “Tank!” and “The Real Folk Blues” didn’t have gunshots and karate kicks in them, but I admit that’s spreading my point a bit thin.

The jam session depicted in the episode is a remarkably accurate depiction of what it’s like to play in a small combo setting. In particular, it captured the awkwardness and slow loosening-up of a player that really has no idea what he’s doing.

That sense of dread when you don’t know what chord is being sounded as other players hammer on ahead around you is fairly well portrayed here, and I doubt a better representation of it exists in anime. I say “fairly” because I’m incredulous that a total rookie like Kaoru would have the ear to at least play the right progression after catching up with the rest of the group, as it does sound like he’s playing the right chords, if in the totally wrong style. A production consideration, most likely, as to be totally faithful to what a “lost musician” sounds like would be to have the harmony train wreck entirely.

I liked the way the tune just organically sprouted out of the moment as opposed to having some bland count-in start the tune. That’s more in keeping with the atmosphere of a live gig, and is a subtle hint at how familiar the musicians are with one another. What also felt organic in that vein is the slow evolution of Kaoru’s playing from just stamping out triads to running up scales to eventually sprinkling in some call and response with the trumpet. The running up a scale bit is especially spot-on, as climbing up scale tones is a natural crutch that new jazz students tend to use to introduce some kind of motion to their improvised playing without having to think too much.

Sometimes, though, you just have to toss your apprehensions out the window and start belting notes out like you don’t even care about sounding bad. That seems to be the moral crux behind the episode – the first step is often the most difficult one, but sometimes the only way to deal with your fears is to confront them.

Sometimes you just have to go out there and make some noise despite yourself. In an extension of the themes I discussed from the first episode about the two male leads’ approaches to life, just as Kaoru found the rain to be not as bad as he thought, his first brave steps into jazz represent his initial foray into a new worldview. Well, he looks like he’s having a good time, yeah?

It’s interesting to note how the show paralleled the real-life, as it were, Kaoru to the musical one. The jam session is mirrored to a large extent by the fight scene earlier in the show. In both sequences, Kaoru learns to step out of his shell, first by participating in the fisticuffs (and failing comically) and then by joining in on the music. Now, with the developments with Sentaro and his love interest, I suspect he will show some character growth as well.

Behind the scenes, I find it hilarious and intriguing that a professional session musician like the one who played Kaoru’s part in the studio would be told to actively tone down his skill level as to mimic a total amateur as a directorial concern. Even when trying to play “badly,” evidence of the players’ skill still peek out occasionally, especially in little, stylistic techniques. It’s sort of like when an artist in an animation studio is told to draw a “bad” drawing intended to be something that a character drew, but the drawing is still pretty darn good by most standards.

This post is getting pretty long, so I’ll conclude it here. In summary, the Sakamichi no Apollon is still going strong in terms of characterization, but is falling victim to a lot of the tropes of a more typical romantic dramedy.

This week, I leave you, not with a musical performance, but with a short video of legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny speaking the gospel of the truth behind Kenny G and smooth jazz.

This is a public service by your friends here at Anime Instrumentality, the need for which was realized in a short exchange of comments on the episode 1 post.

This post is more about the latter. One activity that my grad program requires everyone to take part in is called PRIME, where students take a trip to a country on the Pacific Rim, be it China, Taiwan, South Korea, Latin America, or Japan. Given my interests, it’s not too hard to guess at which destination I opted to go to.

It’s not all fun and games though (but there is fun, possibly games); part of the trip involves taking on a consulting project for a company in the destination country. For example, classmates who travel to South Korea might be working on a problem Samsung is having. My group’s particular project is with the Japanese Tourism Agency where we’ll hope to strengthen Japan’s image as a tourist destination abroad.

But for that, we’ll need some data! My group has created a survey that we hope will give the JTA an idea of what they should focus on. If you get a chance, please do take the time to respond to it. We could use as much information as we can. The survey can be found here: https://usc.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0VNRTwIEAI7GecQ.

Thanks ahead of time!

With the coming of Platina Jazz vol. 3, we’re treated to tracks in the vein of Trigun’s fabulously awesome dueling sax duet in “H.T” and Clannad’s “In the Palm of a Tiny Hand” (Seriously, how does anyone jazzify that piece? It works though, and really well!). And they’ve taken the additional step of creating a music video that departs from the usual depiction of a jazz session as they take to the streets and trains. You can check out Niklas Gabrielsson’s photogeneticity as he performs “The Galaxy Express 999″ after the jump:

You’d be completely forgiven if you found yourself swooning over the dapper sensibilities and charm that Gabrielsson exudes in the performance of that song as he meanders about the cityscape, searching as he goes. The lines are a tad hammy, as Aftershok observes, but the delivery has an upbeatness that’s hard to resist as Gabrielsson exhorts us to pursue our passions, hopes, and dreams. So in watching the video, I found myself enthralled, certainly, but also slightly amused.

Now, there’s nothing in the song that’s explicitly funny per se, at least, not until you take a step back and look at it in the context of the functional role most opening and ending themes play within an anime. And the most common function is that of a glorified music video meant to promote a song and the group performing it, and, of course, the actual anime itself. The next step is to bear that function in mind and apply it to this situation: to wit, we have 1) a music video meant to promote 2) an arrangement of an anime opening theme which in itself exists to 3) promote that particular anime by giving the audience an idea of what the show’s all about. How meta is that?

We clearly need to go deeper.

They say expectation is a harbinger of disappointment, and I don’t think it’s unfair to say that I was expecting a lot out of this show. From what we’ve been offered, though, in just this first episode, I already feel like we’re in for something special.

The show comes across as very genuine in a number ways, in part due to its attention to detail. The subtle difference between the softer, more textured tone of the grand piano at Kaoru’s house and the colder, brighter sound of the upright in the record shop basement stuck out to me. On the character side of things, I loved the way Kaoru almost unconsciously removes his glasses when talking with Ritsuko after being told by her earlier that they obscured his “pretty” face. There’s no other practical reason he would, and he does nothing of the sort at any point previous, and is a clever way to indicate a budding romance.

Speaking of romance, I object to the general sentiment as to how “gay” the show apparently appears. It seems that any time two guys in a show develop as characters and grow closer to one another, people become so insecure and uncomfortable with their friendship that they’re automatically labeled gay. If you absolutely must resort to such fantasies to justify your discomfort, so be it, but let’s hold off on the name calling until there’s actually an episode about them coming out of the closet.

Moving on, despite being a show about kids on a slope, I’d actually like to talk for a second about the roof.

The roof is Kaoru’s comfort zone. It’s where he retreats to stave off his stress-induced nausea, and it’s where he feels safe and secure. A slope is an upward climb, a place where effort and hard work will bring you to a higher place. On the other hand, a roof represents flat stagnation. It’s the highest point of a building where you cannot advance upward, only idly languish at that altitude. Moving between schools so often, he is used to being ostracized as an outsider and find comforts in being alone on the roof, above the pain of others’ stares and judgment. To have this haven disrupted by Sentaro, to have it so boldly breached was his wake up call. It was the point where Kaoru stopped being dependent on this stifling, limiting roof, and became a “kid on a slope,” able to grow as an individual. It might be a slippery slope, one with pitfalls and dangers, but it is an improvement nonetheless.

The rain on his haven represented the encroaching threat of an interloper in Sentaro. He attempted to hide himself from the rain with his umbrella, his fragile façade he’s built up over the years, but it’s cast aside by Sentaro, off the roof and out of his reach. Now bathed in the frightening waters of friendship and faced with all the joy and suffering friendship entails, he ultimately finds that it’s actually not all that bad despite his fear and doubt. In fact, he has been cured of his nausea in the face of his peers, and, in a symbolic water baptism, has been born a new person.

You might remember these lines from the episode when Kaoru played that excerpt from “Moanin’” after listening to Sentaro attempt to play it on the piano:

Kaoru: “I can’t hear anymore. It’s like this.”
Sentaro: “Wrong! That ain’t even close!”
Kaoru: “What are you talking about?! I played it exactly right!”
Sentaro: “There wasn’t any swing! If you play it without feelin’ it, it don’t sound like no jazz to me!”

Considering jazz is a genre where one of the most biting insults you can give to a fellow player is “you sound like an Asian man,” I found this exchange amusingly genuine. “Asian man,” of course refers not literally to a man of the Orient, but moreso the stereotype that Asians tend to be sorted and uptight – two traits that are not often encouraged in jazz music. It refers more specifically to someone playing something in an overly straight, clunky, and monotonous way. Players starting out from a classical background will almost always have this tendency and must be taught the proper way to “swing” notes in the typical jazz/blues style.

I just thought that this part of the scene perfectly captured this particular dissonance between jazz and classical. It’s a natural mistake for a jazz newbie to make, but, in jazz, the right notes played in the wrong style is worse than wrong notes played in the right one.

This, I think, neatly encapsulates in a musical context the thrust of the main conflict in this first episode. It’s the organized, safer, closed “classical” life of Kaoru versus the freer, swinging, looser “jazz” view of Sentaro. It’s the difference between fearfully going through the motions of playing notes on a page versus daringly playing the music of life with feeling, style, and emotion.

Ah, yes, speaking of music, there really wasn’t that much of it. There were a few short sections of a bass comp playing with some drums, but it’s obvious the show hasn’t hit its stride with regards to Yoko Kanno’s contributions quite yet. I suspect we’ll get less of the big band numbers from Cowboy Bebop and more smaller combo setups with some solo piano numbers this time, judging from the setting of the show. As for the OP and ED, I am extremely disappointed that neither has even a hint of jazz to it. They sound like they could have been used in any generic josei drama and don’t stand out to me in any way other than being decent pop songs.

The show seems pretty set from here to start digging into the meat of its story. It doesn’t seem as if the show will pull any punches in terms of storyline, but it remains to be seen just how deep they go into the jazz rabbit hole.

This week, enjoy Jeff Coffin and Victor Wooten melting your face with Coffin’s 17/8 time “The Mad Hatter Rides Again.” Keep an eye out for the section where he plays two saxophones at once. Two of them.

Tracklist

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Review: Set during the rapid modernization of the Meiji Era leading up to the Russo-Japanese War, Saka no Ue no Kumo (Clouds Over the Hill) focuses on the Akiyama brothers, the poet Masaoka Shiki, and the crucial role they play in winning the aforementioned war. Amidst the societal changes and the turbulence during the war years depicted in the TV show, we find Joe Hisaishi plying his trade in the live-action medium once more, using his compositions to capture the heroism, the characters, and, of course, the drama. In taking his musical brush and using it to capture the events that happen in the TV series in vivid detail, Hisaishi’s music delivers. And then some.

And then some. While Hisaishi’s themes for his Ghibli works have endured, he continues to offer outstanding surprises in other media formats. In Saka no Ue no Kumo, that surprise comes in the form of the show’s main theme, titled “Stand Alone.” In listening to the violin and cello version, it’s easy to be overcome by the serene, nostalgic aura the piece evokes and the piano version is simple yet sublime. But throw in the weight of Sarah Brightman’s sonorous vocals, and the piece transforms into a divine experience. Brightman has demonstrated a capacity to take over a piece with her vocal talents over the years and here, the way her voice gently glides over the instrumentals with her trademark serene, soul-stirring delivery leaves me feeling both at ease and in awe by the beauty she conjures forth in this unforgettable performance.

Stand Alone

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
“Stand Alone” is the highlight of this album, but the other tracks are also impressive, especially the ones that channel the inspiring mood of the era. “Country Boys’” uplifting trumpet fanfare captures the can-do zeitgeist before fading to a series of measures featuring the strings and woodwinds as they build an atmosphere that sends a strong, confident signal of Japan’s brighter future as they enter the world’s stage. Although there are quieter moments in the track that lend themselves to introspection, there’s no doubt that upbeat attitudes and optimism rule the day. This strong self-belief continues in “Time of Miracles,” which starts off quietly before sweeping me off my feet with its grandiose, brassy air that speaks of greater things to come as Japan modernizes.

Country Boys

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Time of Miracles

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Hisaishi’s compositions also do well in their depiction of Saka no Ue no Kumo’s characters, even if the depictions are at odds with the track title at times. For example, “Bully Boy! Masayuki” feels a little too giddy and excitable in the way the brass, percussion, and woodwinds, and later on, the strings, give it the feel of a lively march rather than a more menacing aura that you might expect from a bully. That’s not to say it’s a bad track. On the contrary, its boisterous, grand atmosphere makes me feel like this character will be a part of something bigger as he takes in the historical period’s mentality. “Hirose ~A Man of Lively Character” is much more fitting as the melody brims with confidence through the percussion’s heavy accents as they accompany the opening brass fanfares. Not long after, the strings take over, instilling Hirose with a sense of impeccable grace and charm. The ensuing woodwinds sculpt his personality further, and the softness with which the instruments deliver their melody paint him as a deep thinker who’s full of heart.

Hirose ~A Man of Lively Character

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
As the TV show progresses, the specter of war is never really far away. From the standpoint of this album, the rumblings of conflict begin with “Crack,” featuring a solo trumpet playing a forlorn melody. The strings also chime in with an overwrought melody, and together, hints at the tragedies that will unfold. “Beginning of the Cataclysm’s” urgency materializes through its militaristic air borne by the short string segments which build up the tension and keep me engaged through their dynamic melody. While these tracks lay the groundwork, “Powerful Russia,” with its domineering chants, gives off a menacing vibe that fits well with the image of a formidable foe. And when you add in “Toward the Decision of Starting a War’s” weighted delivery coupled with the expressions of sorrow borne by the dirge-like melody towards the middle, it leaves you with little doubt that there will be a monumental struggle that will change the destiny of Saka no Ue no Kumo’s characters on both the Russian and Japanese sides.

Powerful Russia

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
The war itself is the primary driver behind the tragedies and this is where the dramatic moments come in with the music to back it up. Two examples of such tracks, “The End of the House” and “Longing,” are captivating, if just a bit conventional in the way they draw out the drama. The former utilizes sustained notes, alternating between the strings, which allow the tragedies to sink in, and the woodwinds which cultivate a sense of nostalgia for days now irretrievable. Finally, “Longing” would be the classic melancholy track that incorporates the piano, followed by the woodwinds, then the strings to weave a sorrowful melody that captures the suffering the characters feel. Its success lies in how the melody moves along, ebbing and flowing in a way that takes me through the ups and downs of love and loss without resorting to static, repetitive melodies.

Longing

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
When’s all’s said and done, Joe Hisaishi’s compositions for Saka no Ue no Kumo are masterful. Between the upbeatness of the Meiji Era, to the harbingers of war, to the character themes and drama tracks, Hisaishi effortlessly captures the full swath of emotions that include the expression of Japanese nationalism, suffering, and sorrow as the listener is placed in the middle of the action or into the characters’ shoes as we empathize with their plight. Finally, in “Stand Alone,” it must be said that though Hisaishi is already a formidable composer, when you pair him with someone with the vocal chops of a Sarah Brightman, he becomes nearly invincible, a musical force to be reckoned with.

Rating: Excellent

Tracklist

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Review: After listening to enough drama OSTs, you come to realize that just like everything else, drama soundtracks also fall into stereotypical sounds and patterns. It’s not terribly surprising that the background music is prone to cliché considering how most dramas rely on run-of-the-mill premises and gimmicky plot.. As such, it’s perfectly reasonable to get excited when one finds a soundtrack that manages to separate itself from the forgettable pool that is the pretty piano tinkles and the sustained, mushy strings that make up every other drama OST.

Gokusen, a popular TV drama that first aired in 2002, is notable in that its soundtrack takes the music further than the usual stereotypes. A romantic comedy following Kumiko, the daughter of a yakuza boss, as she attempts to teach a class of students at an all-male school, Gokusen has a score that successfully captures both the lighthearted and sentimental moods of the show. Best of all, Michiru Ooshima (of Sora no Woto and Fullmetal Alchemist fame) composes memorable themes that are hard to forget. Instead of just going for the typical bland and tuneless harmonizing strings, she writes a soundtrack that actually builds itself a personality and a story.

In any case, all stories, even comedic ones, have a beginning. In this one, things open with the stately splendor of “Road of Gokusen”. The splendid march speaks of a newcomer filled with dreams and conviction raring to tackle the latest new opportunity, no doubt referencing Kumiko’s determination to ace her teaching job. The ceremonious march is a little over the top, but the exaggeration is perfect. After all, someone heralded by the pompous trumpet fanfare of “Successor” would be much too ‘esteemed’ and important to take a job teaching the next generation of upstanding citizens. With such an amusing premise established, it’s only a matter of time before the crazy antics start.

And yes, if there’s anything this soundtrack really excels at, it’s portraying those demented hijinks. As the title aptly suggests, “Gang or Teacher?” captures the hilarity that ensues when Kumiko’s unusual upbringing conflicts with her profession. Listening to the upbeat brass playing the off-kilter, bouncy tune, it’s easy to imagine the characters in exaggerated distress after the latest prank. A little less energetic but just as blithely absurd, “The Delinquents of the Sunny Place” and “Adult Whome I cannot Defeat” use groggily precarious melodies to create an atmosphere of bumbling ineptitude as the pieces stagger along half-drunkenly along. Then, there’s “Accelerated Romance” which does, in fact, accelerate. As the tempo steadily picks up speed, the ensemble scrambles frantically to keep up with the latest stunts, tripping with haste and crashing into an amusingly impromptu finale. Last but certainly not least is “Let’s Enjoy!”. It’s almost impossible not to hum along with the infectiously cheerful woodwind tune that portrays yet another energetic day of school for both Kumiko and her students.

However, Gokusen is still a romantic comedy, and every self-respecting J-drama has to have some, well, drama. Although not quite as exceptional as the lighthearted tracks, the heavier sentimental material is still relatively remarkable nevertheless. There’s conflict and ill-feelings aplenty to be found scattered throughout the album in the likes of “To Run Down, Homeroom”. Threateningly forbidding, the weighted strings and drumrolls make the piece an intonation of doom that’s more somber than anything one would expect from a drama. The atmosphere of surprising gravity is continued in “Making Love – Anger Boiling!” whose tense mood and abrupt bursts of sound make the track more suited to acting as a backdrop for a battle between two armies rather than an argument between individuals, especially with the clamoring trumpets and shrill strings. The consternation continues into “Spreading Out to an Impression” which is a little more standard in its execution than the previous two with its all-about-business strings layered over the aggressive beat as it accompanies Kumiko as she beats up all the obstacles in her way.

And finally, the slow, reflective pieces and tender love tracks that are a trademark of every drama OST do materialize. One can hear Kumiko’s quiet but firm determination in “The Way”, whose ponderous ruminations swell into a heartwarmingly harmonious conclusion as she resolves to continue helping others as she strives for her dreams. “Young Girl” is a little more melancholy, but only in the nostalgic sense. Indeed, the peaceful melody gives a sensation of conclusion, as if everyone has received a happily-ever-after ending. However, there’s a feeling of yearning in the melody that suggests a wistful desire for the fun times with everyone to have continued for just a little longer. But no, just as everything has a beginning, everything also has an end. “An Important Thing…” sees a return of the initial theme in the form of a restrained graduation song, marking Kumiko and her students’ accomplishment of their goals and their readiness to move on to the next stage of their lives.

Comparing Gokusen’s OST to those of other J-drama’s, Ooshima’s involvement gives the music a fun, distinct personality that’s absent in all too many soundtracks. A mixture of over-the-top drama, pure lighthearted fun, and heartfelt sentiments, the music is never so uniform that the album becomes tedious. Instead of remaining satisfied with being just “pretty”, the soundtrack reaches towards higher aspirations. Indeed, Kumiko would be proud.

Rating: Excellent

The last time Shinichirou Watanabe and Yoko Kanno worked on a show together, it resulted in a little-known show you might have heard of: Cowboy Bebop. I’ll get straight to the point; they’re back. Doing a show together.

About jazz.

Until now, this blog of ours has focused mainly on views on the music of anime. While this has worked fine for us so far, we just figured that a show like this was too good to pass up the opportunity to get our feet wet on some episodic blogging.

Without further ado, I’d like to introduce Anime Instrumentality’s first ever episodic post series: Sakamichi no Apollon: Kids on the Slope.

Foremost, this series of posts aims to be a commentary on the music of this show. As a self-proclaimed jazz nut and a sax player with a some experience playing live gigs, I’ll try and provide meaningful insights on the inspirations and influences that are going on musically in the show. Whether it’s the soundtrack of the show itself or what the characters are playing or listening to, my goal is to connect the show to the real life jazz landscape. Everything from tidbits of jazz history to the theory that makes the music tick to the inner workings of a jazz band is up for grabs. While not my forte, I’ll try to opine on plot points and general animation aspects as well.

To give a taste for what these posts will be like, I’d like to go on to comment a bit on the 81-second preview released for the show.

The trailer begins with a sequence depicting a character (Sentaro, I believe) playing the drums. Let me begin by saying that the drummer is always the least liked member of a jazz band. Whenever you have a gig, the drummer will always be late and quite possibly drunk, high, or both. The music in the background, (implied to be what Sentaro is playing) is a rendition of a typical “free” jazz drum solo.

This picture alone is a signal of how accurate and true to life this show will be. Drummers: This is exactly the face everyone in the rest of the band makes when you start randomly playing really loud. I know it is a surprise to you, drummer, but nobody thinks you’re cool when you just cut loose without warning while people who play real instruments are warming up. Shocking, but true.

I’d like to take the opportunity to comment how awesome it is that Sentaro plays with a traditional grip. To those unfamiliar, traditional grip is where a drummer holds the right stick with an overhand grip while the left is held with an underhand grip, as depicted. This is the style of grip originally used by snare drummers in marching bands. This became the default technique for jazz drumming as early practitioners often came from a marching background. The style is often considered archaic today compared to the over-handed matched grip (exactly what it sounds like), but some of the greatest drummers to ever live (Buddy Rich one of them) were purveyors of traditional grip.

Sentarou, with his middle finger, displaying a typical drummer’s opinion toward the rest of the band.

I must remark that Kaoru has excellent taste.

Watch and listen to 0:20-0:35 of the video one more time. The music here hearkens to themes heard in a lot of gospel music. What it most strongly resembles, to my ear, is the opening of Miles Davis’ “So What.” Have a listen at the relevant section below. As corrected by random below in the comments, the song is in fact “Moanin’,” something I am ashamed I did not realize. Thanks, random.

So What

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

The non-jazz rest of the video is backed by a super lame non-jazz song that is very decidedly not jazz. I suspect that it’s peek at either the OP or ED, which is a shame because I really wanted to hear jazz for both of them. Hopefully one of them will be an awesome jazz number.

That’s sort of what you can expect from these posts in the future. If you want a sarcastic, bitter jazz fan’s take on this show, you know where to find it.

Also, every week I’d like to leave a YouTube video here of a jazz song that’s either relevant to the episode’s content or just a jazz tune that must be heard before you die. Today, it’s the latter. This song is called “Time Check,” as played by Buddy Rich and his big band. Of note is everything Buddy Rich is doing and possibly the greatest sax soli ever written. Pay especially close attention to the end of tenor saxophonist Pat LaBarbera tenor solo that leads into the soli, where he attempts a supremely manly page turn while soloing with just one hand.

“Time Check” is actually very much related to Japanese anime. How, you ask? Well, “Time Check” was written by the great jazz musician Don Menza. His son, Nick Menza, was the drummer for the heavy metal band Megadeth, a band that once featured a man named Marty Friedman on guitar. Marty Friedman now resides in Japan. Japan is where anime comes from. Conspiracy!

Tracklist

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Review:

It’s safe to say that no one saw Platina Jazz coming. As you likely already know, the series’ aim is to reinterpret much-loved songs from the anime canon into a jazz setting. While I was initially skeptical, the series in general has been thrilling, executed with real sensitivity and a palpable appreciation for the source material. Even if the performers weren’t total anime fanatics, the music of our beloved niche medium was being respected and taken seriously, and this reverence permeates every aspect of Platina Jazz. Its incredibly diverse source material selections, from background themes of classic films released in the 70’s to OP’s of very recent shows, were chosen with care. It would have been very easy to select some of the most popular songs from the past few years to adapt onto these albums, but the series has never resorted to pandering that way. This genuine, uncontrived musical philosophy is a part of what has made Platina Jazz such an artistic success.

Galaxy Express 999

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

As we move into the album, Niklas Gabrielsson continues to impress as one of the strongest points of the disc. In a nod to the previous volume, he’s featured in the opening track: “Galaxy Express 999.” It’s a lively number in much the same style as “Hajimete no Chuu” from Platina Jazz Vol. 2 and is rather fantastic. I rarely like vocals in my jazz, but this is the kind of overbearingly stylish, lovably old-fashioned tune that just works with a leading dapper gentleman singing tenor (not being Freudian here, honest). Though he’s handed some rather hammy lines, he delivers them free of irony (almost) without coming off as schmaltzy or saccharine, a very fine line to tread.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Almost in response, “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” follows, featuring veteran Emily McEwan. Her performance on this volume rights many of the gripes I had of her from the previous installment. She manages to be expressive but low key in the typical jazz style without approaching sterility as she was in Vol. 2. Though her vocal style is very much in the jazz tradition, I would still like to hear her pull out the stops a little bit more and perform more emotionally. She pulls off that whispery and detached jazz-club songstress vibe quite well, but it’d be nice to listen to her channel that wonderful energy she had going in Platina Jazz Vol. 1 once again (her thrilling work on “Thanatos -If I Can’t Be Yours-” comes to mind).

Sad Presentiment

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The addition of a third vocalist in Sara Jangfeldt is quite refreshing. “Sad Presentiment” is among the best adaptations I’ve heard in a long time and stands as the best adaptation on the disc. I appreciate the decision to keep the song in its native French. I’ve always argued that a part of what makes vocal Japanese music appeal to English-speaking audiences is that it’s in a language the hearer doesn’t understand, sounding inherently foreign and exotic. If the song were originally in Japanese, it would have been a cop-out to not translate it, but retaining the French maintains the aura of the piece while not seeming disingenuous. Ms. Jangfeldt’s performance is impeccable and faultless, but it’s this tune’s affecting arrangement that steals the show.

H.T

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I’ve long called the baritone saxophone the coolest instrument in the world, and thanks to recent research conducted by a number of renowned, undoubtedly well-certified scientists, this was proven to be true via mathematics, physics experiments, and test tube results that you should not question because science. So, scientifically, to have a bari sax featured in any kind of song instantly makes it cool. As an unfortunate side effect, though, to have two bari saxes in any one song is sort of like dividing by zero. It’s simply too galactically cool be done, and has been deemed illegal in 37 states and much of Western Europe. It was a bold move, then, to record Trigun’s “H.T,” with the original’s two dueling guitars having been replaced illegally by a pair of baritone saxes. This song is absolutely, unconditionally the coolest song Platina Jazz has released thus far. The energy is explosive, and the idea for this arrangement is divinely inspired. It’s lamentable that the two baritone saxophonists credited as “Jonas Wall” and “Alberto Pinton” were forced to use pseudonyms to avoid arrest for recording this track.

Songs like “H.T” are evidence that the artists involved are having a good time, and Faber and company are very good at what they’re doing. But as the series hits its stride, there are some unfortunate inklings that some parts of the production are settling into a routine. Whether it’s due to familiarity or the musicians’ actual performances, there is just a slight tinge of complacency. Emily McEwan sings with the same round, kindly tone, Martin Persson’s piano embellishes solo melodies in the same, predictable way, and the series’ tone has remained rather consistent in its cool-ish west-coast sound. Perhaps it’s an indication that the series has matured, and we are beginning to know what to expect.

Platina

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Cardcaptor Sakura’s “Platina” really encapsulates this trend. When I heard this adaptation of “Platina” for the first time, I was immediately, intensely reminded of “For Fruits Basket” from Vol. 2. Their forms are virtually identical. Both begin with a piano solo riffing off themes from the melody for 15 to 20 seconds that goes into a pickup measure or two of brush drums, followed by a beat and a half or so of a pizzicato double bass that leads directly into the main melody. Martin Persson’s presents the melody fairly similarly between the two songs. Though in different places, the two even feature a bass solo. Though not an indication that the creative well is running dry (the track is still solid, all said), this sort of retread is an unfortunate wrinkle in a series that has been otherwise artistically sterling.

Furthermore, this album seems more “arranged” and less improvisation-oriented than previous installations. More emphasis is placed on larger groups playing explicitly written material than the spontaneous combo-like feel of earlier albums. On one hand, this could be a good thing; long sections of improvised solos have been used as filler material by producers cheaping out on hiring more arrangers to write music. On the other hand, it feels a bit like a retreat from the “real” jazz that made these albums so great. I dare not tread on as to what “real jazz” entails, but I humbly remind those involved that their series isn’t called “Platina Jazzy Arrangements.”

In the Silence of the Shining Sky

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

For example, consider Kuroshitsuji II’s “In the Silence of the Shining Sky.” The way the texture changes with the instrumentation is beautifully done, but I wish the section devoted to the improvised solos was lengthier. I’m not saying every jazz tune on the planet must have a massive segment for solos, but, if I were to be so bold, I would argue that that’s exactly what jazz fans want to hear. Arrangements like these are clever when they’re uncompromised in their adaptations, and toning down any aspect of the jazz portion of “Platina Jazz” is a bad move.

The Promise of an Angel

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Target a

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To make up for this, there are a number of improvisation-heavy songs near the end of the album. First, “The Promise of an Angel” does the small jazz combo setting proud. A three-piece rhythm band number, it’s refreshing in that it tries nothing new without being tiresomely reiterative. Higurashi’s “Target a” is similarly well done, but is more ambitious, incorporating two keyboards into the song. Martin Persson is on the crunchy Hammond organ this time opposite Carl Bagge on grand piano, and the interplay between them is magnificent. The way one riffs in the spaces between phrases in the other’s solo is a lot of fun to listen to, and is the kind of bold setup I’d like to see more of in a pioneering series like this, much like “H.T” was.

God Only Knows

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I’d say “God Only Knows” is like Vol. 2’s “Kigurumi Wakusei” in that they’re sort of their respective album’s “flagship” tune. These are the sort of unrestrained, exciting barnburner tunes that have really substantiated these albums in the past. They’re in a sort of pseudo big band-style reminiscent of the more modern groups like Buddy Rich’s band and Maynard Fergusson’s band than the earlier-styled tunes like this disc’s “Love Me Delicately. It’s certainly one of the more exciting songs on the track list with its rambunctious solos and tightly woven arrangement, and I’m sure I needn’t reiterate that anything on the album is well done.

En Route on the Journey aka Tabi no Tochuu

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I finally arrive at “En Route on the Journey,” or as it’s more commonly referred, “Tabi no Tochuu.” This was the track I was most looking forward to, as I am a big fan of the original. I felt like there were a lot of directions they could have taken this, so I admit I thought that they took the safe way out. It’s a worthy cover of the original, but I just think there was a lot of potential that couldn’t quite be done justice by going with the combo-trio format. Chalk it up to familiarity, but I do grow increasingly fatigued of Martin Persson’s method of deconstructing a melody.

Platina Jazz is truly a special series. The albums have consistently delivered quality, and, over three volumes, that’s saying a lot. It’s transcended being a gimmicky cover album into a series that is inspiring in a deep way. Though the sheer novelty of it all has faded and the production is beginning to step on its own toes a bit, few offerings of this type have succeeded artistically the way Platina Jazz has.

Rating: Excellent

Now that we have the shocking announcement out of the way, let’s move on to this week’s piece by starting off with the source. If you’re like me at all, you probably haven’t heard of Suna no Utsuwa, a J-drama that aired in 2004 and revolves around murder and a pianist, subjects that aren’t normally bedfellows, but I’m told it works well here.

But if there is something about this show that I have heard of, it would be composer Akira Senju. I first became aware of how well Senju can channel drama and melancholy when he scored the Red Garden soundtrack (I rated it a rare masterpiece) though I’m sure most people really know him best through his Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood soundtrack (not as well-regarded by me, but I seem to be a minority opinion-holder). Through Suna no Utsuwa, Senju gives us a firm reminder of his ability to capture the mix of hope and despair, and nowhere is that displayed more brilliantly than in the piano concerto that he composed for the show (Speaking as a fanboy for piano concertos, one need only look at the number of piano concertos in anime to quickly see why J-drama OSTs are superior).

Piano Concerto ‘Shukumei’ 1st movement

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In listening to the first movement of “Piano Concerto ‘Shukumei,’” I’m entranced by how well it balances out the feeling of dread and despair with the glimmer of hope that materializes amidst the gloom. The piece starts off on an ominous foot, with chords that evoke a feeling of suffering, one that’s further augmented by the orchestra’s melancholy melody highlighting the tragedies that gnaw away at the protagonist, Eiryo Waga. As the orchestra continues on, you get a sense for the battle Waga faces as he looks back upon his dark past; the piece evokes this with a slow, ponderous melody that carries with it a sense of hopelessness, that the emotional scars that mar his soul are too deep and will never heal.

Or perhaps the past that haunts him can be overcome. The shift around 3:30 seems to indicate as such, as the ensemble plays a hopeful section that bears a lightness borne out of the possibility of Waga’s redemption. The piano and orchestra work together well to convey these feelings, not only in this section alone, but in subsequent hopeful sections, suggesting that the shackles that bind him to the past will dissolve so that he may live his new life a free man.

But all of that’s nothing more than a brief respite as the ponderous theme in the earlier part comes back with a vengeance. Every subsequent hopeful section is followed by a section that is dark and tension-filled, and you begin to wonder to what degree the hope is but an illusion that only leads Waga to futility and despair? As the piece continues, the glimpses of redemption appear, only to be overcome and beaten down by the trials and tribulations that come after. The first movement certainly doesn’t end on a hopeful note; Senju’s poignant depiction of the suffering Waga must endure suggests further spiritual pains that come from Waga wrestling with his demons. And as his crimes catch up to him, the melody responds with a swift blow of incoming retribution. Needless to say, the listener is left feeling pessimistic about Waga’s mental state and whether he can atone for his misdeeds.

(For all of you who’ve gotten this far and are fretting, yes, this actually is an April Fool’s joke, albeit, one that lasts longer than the usual one-day routine that everyone else seems to enjoy pulling. In fact, this will run for a week. If you’re here only for anime music, have patience with us until then! For those who don’t mind our amusing diversion, we hope you’re enjoying it find a track or two to enjoy.)

Part of our goal is to fight back against the rising tide of moe (which is a cancer) and “2D > 3D pig disgusting” sentiments. The most meaningful way to counteract these phenomena is by focusing on a medium that features real people in real-world situations. Thankfully, in analyzing the music, J-drama scores aren’t too wide a leap from anime soundtracks. With so much cross-pollination in the composer department, we feel that exploring J-dramas provides us with a “similar, yet different” feel that we seek.

It also helps that many J-dramas tend to stick to romantic polyhedrons or comedies, giving plenty of opportunities for composers to show off their ability to write soft, tinkly piano music or ratchet up the emotional flow with sustained, harmonious strings that are beautiful and dynamic, with a complexity that rivals Bach’s counterpoint. In fact, we’re confident that these works will be able to withstand the test of time; it’s just that people haven’t had the exposure to them and we’re looking to change that.

After all, when this site started, the goal was to spread the love for an under-appreciated medium. Nearly four years in, we’re pleased with the progress; a recent study shows that anime forum discussions of anime music have increased 218% year over year for the past four years. A 10-year forecast of that trend shows no signs of slowing either, as we’re looking at a 673% compounded annual growth rate and will encapsulate 1000% of all online anime discussions at the forecast’s terminal year. In short, we have done our job there.

Furthermore, we’re not content to relax and we’ll continue to seek new challenges. J-drama OSTs are a logical next challenge. As is our modus operandi, we like to delve into stuff people might not know about. Like the hipsters we are, we are looking for great music from little-known composers from a medium that people probably don’t think a whole lot about. Are you excited like the people in the picture up top? We sure are!

With that in mind, our dedication and goal of providing people with great music to check out has not changed. Only the medium that we’re focusing upon has as we explore new dimensions in our transition from 2D to 3D. On the administrative side, we’ll keep this domain for now, but you can expect that to change sometime in the near-term.

“Paraiso” was the first time I was exposed to SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS, and the atmosphere they forged through their Latin-tinged jazz fit in perfectly with the boldness and recklessness that typified Michiko and Hatchin’s adventures. All of this is exemplified by the frenetic piano continually hammering away as well as the audacious trumpet blares that, together, left very little room for a quiet moment. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The wild, crazy odyssey would be here to stay and stay it did until I put that show on hiatus.

Thankfully this opening theme didn’t suffer the fate the show did; it still gets occasional bouts of playing time from me and when I listen to it, my mind is allowed to be free to trawl unknown territories. The unrestrained aura it gives off is what draws me to the opening theme in the first place and, judging from Aftershok’s comments below, suggests that I should probably check out more of SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS’s work. Here’s why:

Aftershok: Having kept up with SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS over the years, “Paraiso” stands out as a piece that contrasts just enough with their usual style of compositions to be unique while retaining the essence of their style, dubbed “death jazz,” that’s made them so well-known. When you listen to “Paraiso,” you’ll notice the vocalists; a rare sight to be had in a SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS tune. On top of that, “Paraiso” is much bit more toned down and methodical from their usual frenetic, improvisation-biased style.

You see, SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS often adapts a type of jazz that’s called “modal,” or in laymen’s terms, a style that uses very few chords over lots of measures with a focus on melodic, free improvisation. It’s the type of stuff they exemplified through “Paraiso’s” sax solo, which is shorter compared to what they usually do while throwing in some more chords as well. Nevertheless, it is important that they changed their flavor a bit to fit Michiko to Hatchin’s OP theme, and in that respect, it’s still a delicious addition to their already flavorful work.

2011 wasn’t just a very solid year for anime. On the anime music front, we were treated to a considerable number of soundtracks and opening and ending themes that left an imprint upon our collective subconscious. While heavy hitters like Puella Magi Madoka Magica’s soundtrack rocked our world with haunting, memorable themes, this year also saw quiet efforts from other composers bubble forth, leaving us enamored with their compositions. Opening and ending themes also saw a mix of old and new artists make their stamp upon the year, with a fine example of both being Triple H’s (new artists) and Etsuko Yakushimaru’s (established artist) work on Mawaru Penguindrum. With so much in tow, we at Anime Instrumentality would like to present the first of three articles looking back on 2011 by talking about the best 2011 had to offer musically.

Soundtrack of the Year – Chihayafuru

Intensely moving, yet so unassuming in its execution, Chihayafuru’s OST is perhaps the most touching out of all the soundtracks released in 2011. There are no fateful battles, no dark conspiracies, not even any tears of absolute despair. No, it’s just the background music of a show following a group of friends striving to be the best they can be.

Nevertheless, the music overflows with the countless sentiments these friends experience as they fight to achieve their goals. In “Karuta Biyori”, a carefree tune striding on clouds, we hear the happiness and high-spirits as they enjoy their time practicing karuta together. On the other hand, the pensive mood of “Osananajimi” shows them quietly reflecting over the physical and emotional challenges that they must face. If there’s any track that sums up the stirring story of the growth this group of classmates experiences, it would have to be, unsurprisingly, “Chihayafuru Main Theme”. Not purely melancholy, joyous, excited or triumphant, perhaps the only way to characterize it would be to describe it as depicting the ebbs and flow of “life.” Perhaps this is the reason why Chihayafuru manages to be so poignant: after all, isn’t “life” something we all can relate to?

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Composer of the Year – Yoshihisa Hirano

While last year’s composer of the year was fiercely fought out between Ooshima Michiru and Takanashi Yasuharu, this year’s saw an almost unanimous decision. Hirano Yoshihisa’s works for 2011 were solid to say the least, and stellar if you are all for composers going out of their comfort zones.

Hirano’s works with the Break Blade movies showcased his usual orchestral grandiosity. For an anime that was arguably one dimensional, it is impressive how Hirano managed to conjure up a deceptively rich setting through his scores. While the six soundtracks were sufficiently loaded with the sober themes of war and its consequent loss, tracks like the folksy “On the Street” or the humourously-scored “The Fools” added much colour to the OST as a whole. Few Hirano followers would be disappointed, which in itself is a tall enough order, considering that longtime fans use his past works like Death Note and Ouran High School Host Club as benchmarks.

But Break Blade alone would not have made Hirano as impressive as he was in 2011. What propelled him above and beyond expectations is his soundtrack for the 2011 remake of Hunter x Hunter. The addition of uncharacteristically lighthearted tracks like “Kijutsushi no Baire” and “All I Need is Money!” to his usual repertoire of orchestra and piano, and his exploration of genres such as rock, Latin and even Celtic is what brought new dimensions to Hirano’s music, making him a composer who is definitely worth keeping our eyes and ears on.

Opening Theme of the Year – The Mystic Archives of Dantalian – Cras numquam scire

Mention Yucca within the context of Japanese music and you’re most likely to be met with blank stares. Not too many know of her, which is a shame, because in Dantalian no Shoka’s opening, her vocals are absolutely sublime, with a beautiful quality that’s very much reminiscent of Kumiko Noma’s performance of “Lilium” from Elfen Lied.

Indeed, it’s tempting to compare the two based on the sopranos who feature prominently, but where “Lilium” draws one in by being seeped in sorrow and tragedy, “Cras numquam scire” simply offers a mournful atmosphere that isn’t distraught as much as it is nostalgic. This all stems from Yucca’s vocals, which have a longing, distant quality to them. Her deftness in navigating the lyrics, exemplified in her vibratos and flawless upward movements in pitch, are stirring and touch the listener deeply, urging them to reflect upon the memories of days gone by. The instrumentals, particularly the violin, add to the disconsolate air and together, both voice and instruments mesh together to give “Cras numquam scire” the strong emotional impact that makes it a clear standout among the opening themes that graced 2011.

Ending Theme of the Year – Hourou Musuko For You

If you’re unsurprised by “For You,” it’s probably because you were expecting no less from Rie Fu. Of the recent artists to have an OP/ED presence, Rie Fu is among the most consistently excellent. She’s been featured in the ending themes for Bleach, D.Gray-man, Darker than Black, and Gundam Seed Destiny, and has impressed every time. Her fifth and latest ED, Hourou Musuko’s “For You,” is our pick for the number one ED of 2011. Though there were tracks that were flashier and more exciting last year (coughRPGcough), few songs could match the clean, honest, old-fashioned songwriting “For You” exhibited. Fu’s voice is simply beautiful; the way she cuts across octaves and flutters in vibrato at the ends of phrases is a talent too infrequently heard in these waters. What this track lacks in pomp and circumstance is made up in spades by good, straightforward singing ability. What a concept.

Another thing we have always appreciated about Rie is her English. She is fluent in both English and Japanese, and, to our ears, perhaps more so in the former. This shows in her singing, and her English is among the best we have ever heard from a Japanese artist. This, along with everything else, makes “For You” our best ED of 2011.

Note: As always, this feature is but a starting point. So stay tuned for those upcoming articles and like always, we hope you’ll stumble upon a few gems in the anime music world worth checking out.