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Review: Listening to Kemono no Souja Erin’s soundtrack was a bit of a dissonant experience and not in the musical term so much as in the way the tracks didn’t fit together neatly. This seeming lack of consistency in the themes might be because I’ve never seen the series, and so, my preconceptions are far off the mark. Based on a description of Kemono no Souja Erin’s plot, I had expected a soundtrack that sculpts the show’s fantasy setting similar to how Kenji Kawai’s compositions did so for Seirei no Moribito. While it’d be unfair to say that this soundtrack fails in this endeavor because most of the tracks on here are solid in their ability to immerse the listener into Erin’s setting, it’s the niggling details like the electric guitar tracks that just don’t feel appropriate or the few boring, atmospheric tracks that cycle their dull tones through twice without receiving any development that drag this otherwise enjoyable soundtrack down.

Maybe my expectations are just a little high since the first few tracks were so promising in the way they transport you into a whole different world. Masayuki Sakamoto succeeds in doing this through traditional instruments and a lively recorder to bring this fantasy world to life. For example, the opening track, “Kodai no Kamigami,” uses various Japanese stringed instruments to place the listener in a mythical, feudal society filled with activity as one can imagine a royal procession moving in a stately manner through the crowded city streets. A few tracks later, “Ashita” departs from the urban setting through a whimsical recorder part that plays a joyful, upbeat melody containing the essence of a wonderful pastoral setting. And as you approach the end, there is “Ginyuu Gakudan” which uses a lively Celtic melody to make for a good change of pace while reinforcing Erin’s setting even if it’s slightly repetitive.

Kodai no Kamigami
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Ashita
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Ginyuu Gakudan
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The piano pieces scattered throughout are also solid, especially in their depiction of the show’s emotional scenes. I’m especially fond of “Ai,” which uses a soft melody to create a feeling of the warmth derived through love that just washes over the listener subtly. “Erin no Kouki Shin” is also unforgettable since its theme forms the core of many other tracks, and even then, it’s easy to be entranced by how it channels serenity and childhood innocence through its light melody. Some of the more serious moments are also covered as in “Hisou,” which is slow and ponderous, as it depicts an epic struggle, adding variety to the soundtrack’s emotional content.

Ai
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Erin no Kouki Shin
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A few ambient pieces also make their rounds and while I’m not a huge fan of purely atmospheric music, such pieces are tolerable if used in moderation as they are here. Those who’ve listened to the Natsume Yuujinchou soundtrack and enjoyed the odd tracks will feel right at home with “Touhebi” which sounds heavy and unwieldy, combining a bass and electric guitar sound effects to leave one feeling a bit uneasy in the environs through the random sound effects which can be heard when this piece is being played. Unfortunately, not all of them are this interesting since tracks like “Shinen” is more par for the course by simply being boring and unengaging as it repeats itself without really going anywhere. Still, this issue doesn’t come up all too often to really notice.

Touhebi
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Shinen
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But what is noticeable are the pieces that employ the heavy use of the electric guitar. Now, I’m not opposed to electric guitar when it works, is appropriate, and done well, like in NEEDLESS’s soundtrack. But given what I know about Kemono no Souja Erin, the electric guitars are a total mismatch with the show’s mood. For example, “Shuugeki” brings forth a sense of intensity through the rhythm and grim melody which would be perfectly fine if this were depicting a war between nature versus technology, but otherwise, it feels out of place. “Sentou” is also just a bit too repetitive with its melody for me to appreciate its attempt to create tension. If either of these pieces had more oomph to them, they’d be more easily enjoyable, but neither are particularly compelling.

Shuugeki
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In spite of this concern, Kemono no Souja Erin’s soundtrack is solid as far as music goes. Compared to other anime soundtracks though, consistency isn’t its strong point and while the good pieces are really good, the dull, repetitive tracks come up often enough to make listening to this album straight through an annoyance. Because of this, it’s better to simply cherry-pick one’s way through this album and create a playlist containing all the good tracks while leaving the others for the very occasional listen.

Rating: Good