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Review: I swear that someone at Sunrise told Kawai Kenji to make the music so recognizable that if any random track were to be played everyone who has ever watched Gundam 00 should know where it came from. With few exceptions, this OST falls in line with the first soundtrack, flaws and all. Each track ranges from decent to excellent, but the overall OST is hard to bear in one sitting due to the sheer amount of repetition and numerous similarities across the tracks.

I am quite thankful that the best piece is the first one on the disk since it saves me the trouble of searching through the clutter.  Full of sorrow and majesty, “Imperial Princess” is the song that will keep you coming back for more.

Imperial Princess [See post to listen to audio]

There really is not a single track here that is particularly bad, but the vast majority of songs feel like above average stock music that provides some nice music to paint scenes but are otherwise dull.  You need to jump to near the end of the OST to “Counterattack” before things really get mixed up.

Counterattack [See post to listen to audio]

For a music editor, it is actually quite nice to have a large number of different songs that ultimately converge to the same style.  This allows the music to become strongly associated with a particular show, and it allows the central theme song to be played over and over again, with just enough variation to feel both fresh and familiar each episode.  The problem is that it makes for a poor listening experience unless adequately spaced out over a long period of time.  As a result, stuff like “Forward” would have gotten a stronger reaction with me if it wasn’t yet another throwback to the main theme.

Forward [See post to listen to audio]

Also, one begins to wonder if Kawai Kenji really had to remix virtually  every tune in the series.  For instance, did you enjoy “Setsuna” from the first OST?

Setsuna (Gundam 00 OST 1)[See post to listen to audio]

How about supplementing it with the flute version?

Sorrow [See post to listen to audio]

The piano version?

Love Song [See post to listen to audio]

Or strings for good measure?

Separation [See post to listen to audio]

I finally understand how Gundam 00 managed to get away with playing the same theme music three times every single episodes: the creators had around 50 million iterations of it. I can honestly say that I’ll never be able to forget some of songs but I don’t know whether it is out of love of the material or a cause of repetition that has jackhammered the tunes into my head.

Considering that any one of the numerous remixes of “Setsuna” left a greater impression on me than many of the other songs, I wonder why the others couldn’t have been just as good.

Rating: Decent

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Review: Over the years, the Gundam series has been associated with good music. Yoko Kanno’s epic Turn a Gundam OST and Toshihiko Sahashi’s 8-disc Gundam SEED OST had excellent main themes, displayed life and variety, and were highly enjoyable. Therefore, it is not surprising that fans of the franchise will have high expectations of Gundam 00’s soundtrack if they were to use Kanno’s and Sahashi’s works as benchmarks.

However, Gundam 00 is one that curious soundtrack fans should pass up on because it’s just so bland and repetitive. The individual tracks are not terrible on their own, but when put together with over 20 tracks which have roughly the same atmosphere and style, it is enough to bore anyone. The big problem with this soundtrack is that there isn’t a notable climax; everything proceeds at the same speed and volume, creating a hypnotic effect.

The grandeur that we usually associate with Gundam music is completely lacking here. The only track which comes slightly close is “Control,” which, when compared to tracks like “Kantai Shiki” from Gundam SEED DESTINY Soundtrack 2, sounds vastly inferior.

Control
[See post to listen to audio]

Kantai Shiki (Gundam SEED Destiny)
[See post to listen to audio]

The choice of instrumental, though promising at first, becomes awfully predictable and limited as the soundtrack drags on. I enjoyed the drums and choir during “Alarm Bell,” but hearing it reused wholesale in “Intervention,” “Power,” “Beating,” and “League” is just too much.

Alarm Bell
[See post to listen to audio]

Beating
[See post to listen to audio]

Those trying really hard to find just the tiniest bit of variety may notice slight variations in instrumentals in tracks such as “Innovation.” However, picking out such tracks requires great concentration, which is unbelievably difficult when it comes to this soundtrack. Plus, it is not really worth taxing your ears so much just to hear such variations, which the majority of others soundtracks easily deliver.

Of the tracks on this album, “Setsuna” leaves a decent impression because its Arabic style does not follow the same structure as the others, making it a somewhat effective wake-up call. Even so, the track lacks development as the melody becomes overly repetitive. Other notable tracks include “Crisis,” “Administration” and “Eyes,” but it doesn’t change the fact that 4 decent tracks out of 22 is a meager amount.

Setsuna
[See post to listen to audio]

The only track that registers a change mood is “Daily,” going from the monotonous drones to something rather lively. However, even this is not without its flaws. Kawai Kenji just seems to be trying too hard, resulting in a track that wouldn’t be out of place in K-ON’s OST but juts out like a sore thumb here.

Daily
[See post to listen to audio]

Even for those who’ve watched the anime and were fairly impressed with the music, I’d still say you should just leave it at that. Whatever was memorable in the anime turns out to have at least three other variations in the soundtrack. Whatever was not memorable in the anime has hardly any value, since it holds no depth even upon careful listening.

To all but the most dedicated and patient of Gundam 00 fans, this soundtrack falls far short of what we expect from Gundam soundtracks, or any anime soundtrack for that matter. Personally, I’ve seldom had much difficulty finishing a soundtrack, but Gundam 00 really tested my patience from start to finish.

Rating: Not Good