Show »

Tracklist and miscellaneous album information provided by VGMdb.

Review: I enjoy experimentation and heartily endorse efforts to mix and arrange music just to see how another person’s creativity can breathe new life into a musical work. But the ever present danger is the potential for the effort to backfire, resulting in a travesty.  While that word is too strong of a term in this instance, there are a few tracks in this ANIME HOUSE PROJECT album that are discordant enough to antagonize my eardrums if I listen for too long.

That IOSYS is inconsistent is nothing new. My experience with them comes from their remixes of Touhou music, and each track in any album will vary in quality.  For example, their Touhou Suisuisusu album includes fantastic big band jazz and gothic lolita themes, but those are offset by strange monologues in which the speaker appears to be stuttering or singers who screech horribly. The good generally outweighs the bad, but on the whole, an IOSYS album is like a box of chocolates.  You just never know what you’re gonna get.

Unfortunately, we really must have gotten unlucky with our box since ANIME HOUSE PROJECT vol.2 fails to reach the bar that IOSYS’s previous works have set. The main problem lies in the lack of a truly outstanding, memorable track to compensate for all the terrible ones because the better pieces lack the dynamism and creativity that we have seen from the group in the past.

It doesn’t start off too badly though.  “TOMARE!’s” jazzy flavor mixed with A~YA’s laid-back vocals showcases ARM’s ability to remix the original’s pop rhythms into something new while retaining the original’s energy.  The bass and keyboards that accompany the vocals during the verses and the trumpets that set the tone during the chorus section sculpt out a vibrant atmosphere that makes this arrangement a fun and enjoyable listen.

TOMARE!
[See post to listen to audio]

But immediately, “TOMARE!’s” creativity is offset by “Cagayake! GIRLS’s” sheer awfulness.  The background beat is about as bearable as being hit repeatedly by a sledgehammer, leaving one to ponder whether ARM was feeling particularly sadistic when he arranged this piece.  Though the vocals themselves aren’t terrible, it’s difficult to fully judge its quality when that pounding beat overshadows anything else in the song that could have been worth mentioning.  I knew this arrangement was doomed when it took me five tries to even get through this song.

Cagayake! GIRLS
[See post to listen to audio]

And just when you thought that “Cagayake! GIRLS” is about as bad as it could possibly get, the album decides to slam “Motteke! Sailor Fuku” in your face.  The song’s guitar groove catches your attention, giving you the false hope that minami’s arrangement will be ROCKIN’.  Unfortunately, the vocalist, Yuko Hirabuki, comes off sounding like some aging has-been rapper whose deep voice has seen better days.  When you keep in mind the shoujo rap origins of the song, this performance is so off-putting that it’s difficult to figure out whether you’re supposed to laugh or cry after listening to this disaster.

Motteke! Sailor Fuku
[See post to listen to audio]

The other songs are a bit of a mixed batch, but are decent enough.  “You’s” arrangement adds a techno beat on top of Chata’s calm vocals, but otherwise, the song doesn’t get a major facelift as the original’s poignant atmosphere is preserved well.  On the other hand, “Dango Daikazoku” manages to be a bit more enjoyable than its source and that’s because the techno beat along with a more dominant singer helps carry the song a bit better.  Same goes for “Super Driver.”  In spite of the weird keyboard opening, I found miko’s voice synthesizer-like vocals to provide an engaging experience since it is better than Aya Hirano’s boring rendition in the original.

you
[See post to listen to audio]

Dango Daikazoku
[See post to listen to audio]

Old school shows also get a nod in “Do You Remember Love” and “Tsuki no Mayu.”  The former song gets dressed up with a techno beat and through anporin’s singing, the song keeps its solitary feel and subdued, yet passionate feelings.  “Tsuki no Mayu’s” arrangement has more of an early presence because of the throbbing beat, but once Misawa’s voice enters, one cannot help but be entranced by the arrangement’s etherealness.  The feeling of loneliness is pervasive throughout this piece, bringing to mind a person drifting out in the far reaches of space without having a traveling companion.

Tsuki no Mayu
[See post to listen to audio]

Lest the good arrangements like “Tsuki no Mayu” lull you into a false sense of security, you can always expect ARM to unleash a bit of silliness at the very end in “Fuwa Fuwa Time.”  The opening notes sound like some psychedelic piece from Katamari Damacy as it uses a vast array of synths to grab at your attention along with Ayu’s distorted vocals.  Once more, ARM goes overboard with the synth since it obscures the vocals far too often, making it really hard to enjoy the performance.  The whimsical nature of the original is retained save for the part where the singer has to speak some lines – that part has been changed to a rap – and though this is not usually my kind of music, I think the execution is amusing enough for it to pass by a razor-thin margin.

Fuwa Fuwa Time
[See post to listen to audio]

There are a lot of things wrong with this album and I suspect that a part of it is because IOSYS, and ARM in particular, has not been able to draw me in the way the way they used to lately, and this is a problem that plagues this album too.  The variety of tracks to be had range from headache-inducing to enjoyable, but none are truly outstanding.  If there’s one thing that I’ll praise it for, it’s that none of the tracks are boring.  But anyone looking for consistent, quality anime music arrangements are well advised to search elsewhere.

Rating: So-so

Part 1
Part 2

Before we get into the final installment of his talk, I just wanted to note that Alex did put up a post listing all of the OP/EDs that he had used for the Anime Expo presentation. And according to his schedule, he’ll be at Otakon from July 17-19 where he’ll be giving the same presentation so even though you’re reading this, I’d definitely encourage you all to attend since he’s a very enthusiastic speaker and presenter. So with that out of the way, here’s part 3 of his presentation:

I don’t think it’s a secret that OP/EDs have long been used as a way to promote artists by using their music during the OP/ED sequence to allow viewers to listen to the artists’ music and hopefully get them to try out other works by the artist in question. It’s a trait that I notice with more popular shows like Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, and Naruto. Heck, I’m sure you can think of a few OP/ED sequences that had a marketing motive rather than trying to articulate the show’s core themes. The example Alex used to illustrate this concept was an interview with Anna Tsuchiya that appeared at the end of a Nana episode. During that sequence, she took us through the song and what she was trying to describe the overall tone of the song. I didn’t really pay attention too much to the music though, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you much about it though.

But that made for a short aside as we moved back into some of the better-known OP/ED sequences. Like with Haruhi’s “Hare Hare Yukai” in the previous post, there’s no way a presentation on this subject is complete without talking about Cowboy Bebop’s OP, “Tank!” This piece should be familiar with most people since it’s been touted as one of the most memorable OPs out there with its attention-grabbing jazz and animation. As a bonus, Alex played the complete version of “Tank!” (as opposed to just the TV-size version) to demonstrate just how much more complete the full version feels since the artists are able to develop the song further by giving them the chance to bring out interesting jazz rhythms and melodies unto the listener without being constrained by time.

Next up is Gurren Lagaan’s OP “Sorairo Days” which does an excellent job of infusing that whole “boy seeks and finds destiny” atmosphere into the viewer through Shoko Nagawa’s performance. While that song is fairly enjoyable, I found this choice more compelling from the animation standpoint. That also seemed to be what Alex was gunning after since he talked briefly about how some shows set it up so that the opening animation changes as the show progresses and with Gurren Lagaan, it was the way a certain character was removed entirely as the show went on. Another thing to note was that the OP would use “Sorairo Days’” second verse for the second half of the show. It’s not an unusual step, but it’s not exactly common either so it’s something to note while you’re watching a show.

And sometimes, anime just imitates life and another anime will imitate the anime imitating life. Did you get that? Well, Alex drew a comparison between The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?’s ED and the idol phenomenon that was prevalent during that time period. Just watch the ED and watch the animated singer’s (Lynn Minmay’s) movements which capture the sort of performance that one would expect from an idol performance. Decades later, Kannagi’s OP “motto☆Hade ni ne!,” would follow suit and Alex thought it did a decent job in the way it functioned as a tribute to Macross: DYRL’s ED. Although the similarities with Kannagi are rather striking, I’m still not convinced that Kannagi’s OP is a tribute so much as a parody of the idol culture, but Alex’s thoughts do have some merit, especially if you look at Nagi’s hand movements and compare them to Lynn Minmay’s. Alex also touched a bit on the Macross franchise which he affectionately described it as a sci-fi anime series with an intergalatic war backdrop where the war would come to a halt with the appearance of a singer whose songs are capable of bringing about an era of peace. Silly as it is, Macross fans will tell you that it works and works really well.

Before moving on to the next OP/ED, Alex briefly sidetracked into a discussion of some OPs that he felt misrepresented the show as a whole. His example here was Noir, which had a very enjoyable OP that was undone by the anime’s poor pacing. While the first episode had a decent dose of action, including that scene when one of the protagonists kills a man by strangling him with his own necktie, everything else just went downhill after that as the series plodded on at a sluggish pace. But that’s Bee Train for you, so nothing more needs to be said here.

Anyways, the next example that he trotted out was none other than the infamous One Piece opening and that was used to illustrate the sorry state of how OPs would get butchered when they were licensed and shown on Western TV. The original OP wasn’t horrid (but not my cup of tea) because it possessed a good amount of energy that made the show feel fun and exciting. It also had good usage of sound effects to help the audience connect with the characters. So when the show got brought to the US, the marketing executives decided in their infinite wisdom to replace the OP with a hip hop song that was hilariously bad in its attempt to sound badass. Gone is the dosage of fun that went into the show and instead, we get a rap song that tries too hard to be cool and ends up failing hard. As you might have expected, the audience was groaning pretty hard by the end because of how unbelievably bad it was. And to add more pain to the mix, Alex kindly reminded us how badly Escaflowne was butchered when it was transported to the States. Let us cease speaking about such evils lest they come back to haunt us someday.

Everything that took place after this point was just a bonus because of the time extension and Alex remarked about the OPs that interested him because they didn’t use any animation from the series itself. Before going into the samples, he did talk a bit about some false expectations to come out of OPs, pointing out to an incredibly badass fight in one particular Full Metal Alchemists OP that unfortunately never happened even though it got the audience psyched up for the encounter. The fact that it never transpired was a letdown to say the least. So the next few OP/EDs that he showed us don’t use footage from the show, but they’re not misleading either. Honey and Clover, as you can see, uses that artsy animation that doesn’t have much to do with the show, but it sure catches your attention through its clever execution. It also doesn’t hurt that the claw thing at the end never ceases to amuse me, at least, after catching me by surprise the first time through. Nodame Cantabile’s OP struck Alex in the same way Honey and Clover’s did, particularly in the way the musical instruments were synced to the music. Finally, Eden of the East’s ED was notable for making creative use of animated paper art to convey a small portion of Eden’s main plot and I think many people (myself included) who saw that when Eden ran found it to be very well-executed.

And because Eden of the East was brought out, the audience got Alex to show the OP. Like the previous three, this one also doesn’t use any footage from the anime series though this one gets the distinction for using Oasis’s music. Although music by Westerners isn’t an uncommon occurrence, it doesn’t happen all that often either, which is enough for people to take note of “Falling Down.” Alex also mentioned something about Production I.G. doing a music video set to this song, but like him, I’m not actually sure whether that’s been released yet, so if anyone can confirm its status, that’d be nice to know.

That pretty much concluded the presentation. Hopefully by reading this, you were able to get a feel for how his presentation ran and that you got something out of this. Like I said at the beginning, he’ll be at Otakon, so for those attending, even if you’ve read this, I highly encourage you to go since he might throw a few things into the mix now that these posts have been written. All thoughts on this series of posts as well as Alex’s presentation are most welcome and I’ll try to answer any questions about the panel for those who have questions (assuming my brain can recall the finer points). Hope you all enjoyed this is much as I enjoyed writing this!

Voting Thread

Unjustly or no, J-pop does have a tendency to be viewed as a genre that’s rather homogeneous because there’s very little diversity within the set of works out there. Sturgeon’s Law seems to hold a pretty strong grip, but the folks over at the MAL music club did manage to get a hold of some rather enjoyable tracks out of this supposedly inane genre and I was quite pleased with the selections. So let us take a look at what people thought merited a listen after the jump:

Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen – Kanjite Knight
[See post to listen to audio]
I have no complaints with starting things off with a rock track as a means of preventing the stale air of J-pop from getting too strong of a hold right off the bat. JAM Project and Lazy work together to unleash a torrent of energy that fits right into the whole old-school giant robot genre as they sing with a great deal of PASSION. Very awesome, though with all the picks that we’ve had this week, there are other tracks that catch my fancy just a bit more, but this one is not bad by any stretch.

White Album – Glass no Hana
[See post to listen to audio]
I’m going to say lazy on this one to excuse myself from having to write up something of substance in praise of this track because from the time I wrote this entry until now, my opinions of the song have not changed. (+2)

Macross: Do You Remember Love? – Ai Oboete Imasuka
[See post to listen to audio]
Now to get to the real stuff, starting with a piece that has quite a bit of history behind it though I can’t really claim to like it as much since Mari Ijima’s delivery here doesn’t age quite as well as I had hoped. Mind you, I have no issues with the melody or the way the song is executed; rather, my issues stem from Ijima’s voice in that it doesn’t seem powerful enough to project the sort of emotions that this track is capable of delivering through its poignant melody. Compare this performance to Megumi Nakajima’s version on Macross Frontier to note the differences and to see why I prefer the later version much more than this one.

Top wo Nerae! 2 Diebuster – Groovin’ Magic
[See post to listen to audio]
Oh god, this track is so campy but oh so sweet. Seriously, the “Ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh Oooooh ooh oooh ooooh” part just gets me every time because of how ridiculously catchy it is that I can’t seem to let that out of my mind. ROUND TABLE feat. Nino has always been outstanding with their music, producing excellent tracks like the Chobits OP as well as several EDs for ARIA. And in this performance, they’ve created an incredibly catchy pop piece that manages to win me over with its pacing as well as it’s ability to put a smile on my face through its cheesiness. Needless to say, I love it! (+1)

Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ – Michishirube
[See post to listen to audio]
I really do like this track because it fits my reserved tendencies. It’s soft and quiet, with an air of subtlety that’s really gentle. I think the piano and acoustic guitar parts in the background along with Yuumao’s rhythmic delivery is what secures this piece as one of my favorites since it allows a feeling of calmness to wash over you while you examine your feelings. Yuumao, in particular, helps in that area by dispensing with the subtle sense of longing well when she sings. A very solid track overall!

Kimikiss ~Pure Rouge~ – Wasurenaide
[See post to listen to audio]
I figured someone would nominate this track since it’s definitely Suara’s strongest performance as she pours forth a large amount of emotion backed by the piano which complements the song nicely. Her delivery is just so beautifully done that one can’t help but be swept away by the music as a whole. Of all the tracks selected this week, this one is my favorite because of how the vocals and the instrumentation just combines together to feel just right, making it an enjoyable track from start to finish. (+2)

Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enishi~ – I do!
[See post to listen to audio]
Of all the tracks selected, I think this one is closest to pure, unadulterated pop. In light of some of the pieces we have at our disposal, this one also comes off as being closest to generic, as nice as it sounds. The singer’s voice is pretty soothing and the chorus part does work as far as being catchy goes. This track is something that I can see myself listening to once in awhile, but it’s not likely to become a mainstay in my audio player.

Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~Natsu no Sora~ – Fly Away
[See post to listen to audio]
A victory for diversity in the form of THYME who delivers a track that has an impeccable sort of pacing that makes for a contagious listen because of how you get sucked into the opening chorus section. The electric guitar and THYME’s voice complement each other well throughout the chorus and even if I’m not as thrilled with the main verses, I really do enjoy the way it builds itself back up to the chorus part. In addition to providing variety as far as the week is concerned, this song also has its own internal variety throughout each verse’s execution, which keeps the song engaging and fun. The shift in the key does feel a bit bizarre as you close in towards the end, and I think that’s the tiny dinger that makes this track lose out on points just barely.

Tsukuyomi ~Moon Phase~ – Neko Mimi Mode
[See post to listen to audio]
What. OK, my objective side tells me this should not get any points at all, but how can I not? It’s so moeeeee that I’m going to die from the sheer cuteness overload. No, I have not seen Tsukiyomi Moon Phase, so I’ll have to picture this in mind with Chiwa Saito’s other characters: namely Rebecca Miyamoto. Seeing Miyamoto-sensei put on cat ears while indignantly saying those lines in the song just conjures up imagery that’s just far too hilarious that I can’t stop laughing in delight. It becomes even more adorable when she starts making those cat noises which grab at your attention and make you go “dawwwww,” a feeling that gets enhanced when she makes that pouting, whining noise. I gotta give it to this track for being able to keep me entertained… and for getting into my head. I can’t stop putting this song on repeat! I’m in DESPAIR!!! (+1)

Code Geass R2 – Masquerade
[See post to listen to audio]
I’m apparently not quite as knowledgeable about this artist, but I can say that this track doesn’t catch my attention at all. There’s a sort of airiness that I really don’t dig and the Gothic feel that this song pushes forth doesn’t really sit well with me unlike Ali Project’s Rozen Maiden fare. I just don’t like Hitomi’s delivery. Sorry.

So there you have it! My point distribution can be found below. Week 6’s theme will be based on traveling, so if you want to get a head start, feel free to start digging into that week’s selections. A voting thread will be created once I compile all the music together, but I look forwards to giving them a listen! And I also hope to see some new faces turn up!

(+2) White Album – Glass no Hana
(+2) Kimikiss ~Pure Rouge~ – Wasurenaide
(+1) Top wo Nerae! 2 Diebuster – Groovin’ Magic
(+1) Tsukuyomi ~Moon Phase~ – Neko Mimi Mode