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Review: After listening through Satoru Kousaki’s compositions for Bakemonogatari, I came out of the experience ambivalent. There are some noticeable tracks, but the vast majority did not have as strong an impact unless you’ve seen the anime. That doesn’t mean it’s bad music, especially for fans of minimalist music (Eric Satie’s compositions for example). The problem is that absent context, it comes down to whether one likes this kind of music and after listening to Bakemonogatari’s score, I conclude that I do not.

Before we dive into the details of the BGM, there is Yui Horie’s OP song for the Tsubasa Cat arc to mull over. Of Bakemonogatari’s OPs, this one would have been the least memorable if they had anyone else singing it, but with Horie at the helm, it’ll get some notice. To her credit, she delivers a passable performance. Like most of Bakemonogatari’s OP themes, “Sugar Sweet Nightmare” is a love song, but one that differs because of the slight edge that suggests she’s trapped in a situation that will ultimately result in the destruction of her loved one if she is forced to reach out to him to seek his aid. For those who have watched the anime, you’ll find that this song mirrors Hanekawa’s (voiced by Horie) situation perfectly. To that end, Horie does a good job of intoning her anxiety-filled feelings to the audience, sharing her innermost thoughts. While unmemorable, in light of her other recent works, “Sugar Sweet Nightmare” deserves a pass.

Sugar Sweet Nightmare »

It’s harder to decide whether Kousaki’s compositions meet that standard. Granted, a soundtrack composer’s role is to write music that fits in with the anime’s mood, and if I were to judge solely on that criterion, Kousaki would pass with flying colors. In “Machi Dan Chimata Setsu,” the piece plods along with its purposeful rhythm and you can hear Meme Oshino’s mind moving methodically through the melody, making sure not to leave any stone unturned until he nails down the cause of the supernatural problem. The contextual enjoyment can also be had in “Shugendou,” which gives off the atmosphere of a Shinto ritual through the measured drumbeats, and works to draw you in with its mystical tones.

Machi Dan Chimata Setsu
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Shugendou
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Where they don’t work too well is when you listen to it on a standalone basis. Both tracks employ a repetitive melody and because none of these pieces deviate from the pattern that they set early on, both turn bland quickly. Kousaki does work in some variety through the really repetitive tracks like “Jinchiku” and “Tawagoto” by adding instruments to the main piano or xylophone part. It packs the pieces with more substance and if I knew more about music theory, I could spend time figuring out how the instruments work well to complement the main melody. Unfortunately, my preferences are much more basic than that, and though I recognize both pieces’ musical complexity, as a more casual listener, the repetitiveness is irksome and I oftentimes find my attention wandering elsewhere when listening to it.

Jinchiku
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But my attention is brought right back through tracks like “Haikyo” and “Kami Iki,” both of which exhibit a country blues melody through the harmonica. Aside from Cowboy Bebop I’d be pretty hard-pressed to come up with other anime series that uses this type of sound, and so, its novel use is very enjoyable. I particularly like the mini-cadenza at the end of “Haikyo” which allows for the performer to show off just a bit with his harmonica skill to engage the listener further. “Kami Iki” is the more mournful of the two and it works along with the bells to intertwine a sense of mystery and tragedy into the piece. What these two tracks demonstrate is Kousaki’s ability to go off in different genres and execute them well and had this soundtrack contained more of these tracks, I would have enjoyed it much more.

Haikyo
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Kami Iki
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In the end, it all boils down to an issue of taste and how much you like listening to repetitive, minimalist tracks. It doesn’t change the fact that Kousaki is a competent composer. It’s just that in Bakemonogatari, his focus on working the music within the scenes doesn’t make the score a memorable one unless you’re using it as a means to remember the show’s wonderful moments. If that’s precisely what you’re looking for from your soundtracks, you may enjoy it. It might not glue you to your seat, but at least it won’t staple you there either.

Rating: Decent

Review: What makes “Renai Circulation” so catchy? I can’t speak for others, but I’ve had this song on repeat for these last few days and it never seems to get old. But articulating why I like it? Well, that’s harder to pin down.

Maybe I’m just enthralled by this song for non-musical reasons. After all, Sengoku is a very charming character and you cannot divorce her character and personality from this song. As you watch her behavior and listen to her dialogue in the anime, her shyness, earnestness, and honesty already go a long way in making her an appealing character.

But while the association to Sengoku Nadeko is there, “Renai Circulation” derives its enjoyment from the way Kana Hanazawa brings out her character. In the beginning, you can hear Sengoku feeling doubtful and wavering over whether to confess her feelings to Araragi. The soft rapping part that follows captures her anxiety-filled monologue quite well since the thoughts aren’t totally coherent and she jumps around a bit. But through it all, Kana Hanazawa’s speed and tone is light and gentle, fitting Sengoku’s demeanor like a glove. This is especially true of the chorus where the fluffiness and cutesy levels are completely off the charts which result in an endearing performance overall.

The only part that even gave me pause was the bridge from 2:33-3:05, but that’s hardly a deal-breaker since I’m willing to write it off as Sengoku repeating a mantra to herself to summon the courage needed to take action. Also, the instrumentation doesn’t play as strong a role save for maybe the tuba which helps keep up the rhythm and tempo. Since the focus is pretty much on Hanazawa’s performance anyways, that isn’t really a problem either.

Between this song, “Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari,” and “staple stable,” Bakemonogatari has a comfortable monopoly on the catchiest themes of 2009. But it should be noted that these songs have the power to endure. Getting me to listen to “Renai Circulation” repeatedly after it airs is one thing. But doing so about 4-5 months afterwards is a testament to it being more than just a fly-by-nighter. I wouldn’t bet against me listening to this song years down the road.

Rating: Very Good

Renai Circulation

Review: Even though a significant amount of time has passed since I’ve seen any Bakemonogatari episodes, there’s something about Chiwa Saito’s “staple stable” that continues to resonate with me on a subconscious level. Maybe I’m also afflicted by this whole “Senjougahara fascination” business as everyone else, but in listening to this song, I just can’t help but fall into a state of bliss as memories of the anime series flood back, especially that of episode 12 where Chiwa Saito/Senjougahara was at her best as she brings us what is quite possibly the most memorable anime moment of the year.

I preface this review with all that because there are a lot of things that this song isn’t. First of all, it’s not one that is ambitious since it’s just a bit too simple. Meg rock’s compositions doesn’t surprise us in any way as “staple stable” uses a guitar playing a steady rhythm to create a backdrop for Chiwa Saito’s voice to work with. So dazzling or complex it isn’t. Secondly, Chiwa Saito isn’t exactly the best singer out there. As you listen to her performance, there are a few notes that just seem a little out of tune either because she’s unable to that low or instances where she comes across a high note and doesn’t hit it straight away, opting instead to glissando into it. Yet, these issues don’t bother me as much here, and I think that a lot of that has to do with the entirety of the presentation, which demonstrates that in some cases, the quality of the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

A lot of what makes “staple stable” so enjoyable is Chiwa Saito’s performance. Up until this point, the only singing I’ve heard her do is when she sings as one of her pre-teen roles (her performance of “Faraway Dream” as Rebecca Miyamoto comes to mind), so to hear Saito bring out her mature, soothing voice into play was a pleasant surprise. Her tone is subtle, delivering deft steps in tandem with the background guitars so that both the vocals and the instruments complement each other perfectly. Furthermore, the lyrics add a lot to the song because they nail down Senjougahara’s awkwardness around Araragi by blending in a dab of anxiety about expressing the extant of her feelings to him atop the current of happiness that she feels as a result of finding someone so selfless. In short, it’s a song that fits Senjougahara’s tsundere personality to a T.

That the melody is also catchy only helps its cause and even when looping this track, somehow, I just don’t get bored of it. The memories of that show is certainly a factor; the offbeat, yet enjoyable animation is part of it too. But even without those elements to back it up, “staple stable” still stands up well in its own right as not only do we come to appreciate Senjougahara all the more, we are exposed to a side of Chiwa Saito that we don’t see often enough. I hope that this is but the start of a new direction for her, both as a seiyuu and a singer.

Rating: Very Good

staple stable