Disc 1

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Disc 2

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Review: A snap judgement of G.A. Geijutsuka Art Design Class would be to label it a poor man’s Hidamari Sketch. Both focus upon the day to day lives of a group of girls in a special art program, both feature an OP sequence sung by the show’s seiyuu, and both make use of a soundtrack that is relaxing, employing light jazzy melodies to depict its scenes. In each of these instances, Hidamari Sketch comes out ahead, but the gap in the quality of the soundtracks is much smaller. This bodes well because those who liked Tomoki Kikuya’s compositions for Hidamari Sketch will feel perfectly at home with Jun Abe’s score for GA.

Before we actually descend into the nuts and bolts of the score itself, I’ll just briefly go through the first disc which contains the OP, ED, a few insert songs, a nonsensical ditty, a super sentai theme parody, and a soft piano version of the OP. The OP itself is enjoyable enough, but doesn’t really leave a lasting impression like Hidamari Sketch x365′s “Hatena de Wasshoi” simply because it doesn’t come with a catchy segment to draw me in. On the other hand, the piano version is pretty in the way it captures the light-hearted, gentle mood of the series, thereby preparing me for the actual score.

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As for the EDs, those are a mix batch. I do like the soft accordion in Haruka Tomatsu’s rendition even if the vocals feel off since I’m more familiar with her energetic pieces like “motto☆Hade ni ne!” Of the five, Kaori Nazuka’s mature-sounding version backed by the gentle, soothing swing melody is the most enjoyable and the result is what you’d get if marble decided to add a dab of jazz to their music. The others do not catch my fancy and of those, Yui Horie’s performance is the most obnoxious since it insists on injecting a heavy pop beat which ends up overshadowing her singing completely.

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While the vocal tracks vary in quality, it’s the score itself that wins me over. Up to this point, I haven’t heard enough of Jun Abe’s compositions to form an opinion, but I was enthralled with his offerings here. The main theme catches your attention through an upbeat, jazzy keyboard that makes way for a rhythm and light melody that draws forth the undercurrent of energy and enthusiasm from each scene as the characters move from one art genre to another. I loved the way the many instruments transitioned in and out of the melody, making it a perfect depiction of the characters’ creative, playful exploration into the world of art.

GA ~ art design class
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That it’s really catchy doesn’t hurt either and Abe takes advantage of this to arrange several variations, doing it in a way so that the theme never outlasts its welcome. For example, “Sakura Blossoms” offers a slow, wistful melody that conveys a wonderful spring morning through its light touches on the piano. “Sunset Smile” has the flute playing a slow air as its purpose is to bring the day to a close while retaining the optimism that tomorrow will give rise to new adventures and new discoveries. Every variation adds a different perspective, allowing the main theme to encompass all aspects of the girls’ lives.

Sakura Blossoms
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As we move away from the theme, we find that the soundtrack delivers on the other aspects of the show such as the character depictions. Kisaragi’s theme is sweet and mellow as it moves at that slow tempo to match her easygoing nature while Noda’s is more energetic. Though I’m not fond of that heavy accent that precedes each section in the latter, the way the piece jumps around captures Noda’s eccentricities and ADD tendencies perfectly. Like with the EDs, Kyouju’s theme is my favorite since it’s more dignified and even a bit mysterious. But probing deeper, one can hear a playful aura that shows how she’s able to have fun in her own way while exuding calmness in spite of her occasionally chaotic surroundings. As for the rest, Tomokane’s is more energetic, employing a funky style that nails her tomboyish attitude while Namiko’s normal personality is reflected through a piece that doesn’t stand out a whole lot. Ironically, it’s all too fitting because that is how she is presented in the show as well.

Kisaragi (forget me not blue)
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Kyoju (Silver Lining)
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Tomokane (Funky Strawberry)
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Jun Abe also incorporates other sounds and experiments around so as to cover the myriad situations that the girls find themselves in. “So Many Minds’” synth and sound effects create the feeling of vastness of space before introducing a fast, electronic melody that feels like an explosion of life coming forth from the void as various new life forms parade out. As far as experiments go, I enjoyed “Talkin’ Bass” because the dissonant notes come together to create a monologue replete with moans and groans amidst the murmuring from the background instrumentals. It’s off the beaten path musically, but the execution is cleverly done. Moreso than Natsume Yuujinchou’s soundtrack anyhow.

So Many Minds
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Talkin’ Bass
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Though the remainder of the album is diverse, GA’s focus on smooth jazz music and the way variations on the main theme help tie it all together makes this soundtrack an enjoyable listen. Compared to shows of the same genre that use a similar style of music (Sketchbook and Hidamari Sketch), GA’s is the weakest offering, but not by much. Its use of jazz still feels fresh, instilling within you the joy and energy that the characters experience in their daily lives and making this album a good recommendation if you’re looking for relaxing fare.

Rating: Very Good

Added Note: For those who don’t know, Kyoju is the one in the upper left corner eating paint. No, I don’t know what this means when I say I enjoy her character themes the best. Maybe I need to get myself psychoanalyzed. orz

Review: It’s no understatement to declare that Fall 2008′s most hilarious moments were heavily concentrated in the tenth episode of Kannagi. As you may recall, Nagi, Jin, the rest of the art club, Tsugumi, and Zange try to strengthen their friendship bonds by spending time at a karaoke box. By this time, the series has already set up the romantic polygons and the viewer is expected to be familiar with each character’s personality traits for this episode’s humor to shine. As such, half of the fun comes from watching these characters’ personalities bounce off of one another and the other half comes from hearing the characters struggle through having to sing karaoke (Takako’s the exception here).

So after over 3 months of waiting, we’re finally treated to the compilation CD of the karaoke episode. Here, the quality of the music is a bit higher than what we got from the episode itself and oddly enough, I see that as negative since flaws like Tsugumi’s shy delivery and Zange’s oblivious off-tune belting are part of what makes the karaoke attempt feel genuine and charming. Add to that the fact that the humor isn’t quite as strong without the accompanying character interactions and you’ve got an album that is only worth listening to if you’re either looking to experience a cleaned up karaoke episode or if you want to be able to enjoy listening to Kannagi’s VA’s performances.

The album starts out with a fairly generic, but enjoyable J-pop song titled “Ichiban Boushi” that is performed by Tsugumi’s VA, Miyuki Sawashiro. As I hinted above, this performance is far more polished than the one in the episode because Sawashiro’s delivery is devoid of Tsugumi’s shyness and mistakes that made the performance endearing in the first place. The same can be said for Jin’s song, “Amore Seishun” in that while it is unrefined and does go off tune a few times, his VA’s rendition on this CD is far too confident. I would have liked to hear all of the mistakes, including Jin stumbling a few times and shyly lowering his volume when the attendant comes in, to capture the genuine karaoke experience and his low-key personality.

Ichiban Boushi:
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If you recall watching that episode, Daitetsu, voiced by Takanori Hoshino, completely blows “I Believe You Forever” out of the water. Part of what makes his performance so compelling is in the way Hoshino’s voice comes out. The timbre is extremely warm, which makes for a good match with the song’s subject because his delivery is so comforting and confident. That Hoshino can switch tones from a friendly, oafish character to a wonderful pop singer was unexpected and I’d love to hear more of his work if they exist.

I Believe You Forever:
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After that, we come to Akiba’s song, and there’s really not much to say here other than the fact that he goes into full otaku mode by singing with a lot of passion, but not much else. Likewise, Zange’s performance on “Delicate ni Love・Me・Please” is fairly mundane once you remove all of her flourishes and mistakes as well as her personality because this song lacks her forceful attitude in trying to get Jin to come over to her side.

The character-based humor comes in through Nagi’s and Takako’s performances. Nagi’s 30-second ditty, “Hello Daizu no Uta,” is hilarious because the way Haruka Tomatsu sings feels like she’s having fun with the song in spite of its campiness. The segments where she stresses the “Mame kue, mame!” and “Souzetsu na…iroke” in a melodramatic fashion highlights the humor and absurdity of the whole karaoke experience rather well. Takako’s song is one that will make you laugh uncontrollably or give you nightmares depending on your initial reaction to her performance since her antics were absolutely unforgettable. “Jun♥Ai (Pure Love) Generation” parodies the generic magical girl anime themes with its sugary sweet melody and lyrics, but to reap the full benefit of this track, you need to remember that Takako is a high school senior and she doesn’t hold back in complementing that song with cutesy facial expressions and exaggerated poses all of it done disturbingly well. Those moves are fitting for a magical girl in say… elementary school, but to see them performed by a high school senior leads to a sort of horror where one has no choice but to laugh at the absurdity. Needless to say, I loved it!

Hello Daizu no Uta:
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Jun♥Ai (Pure Love) Generation:
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After going through all of the characters, we finally reach the famed “Shirigeya no Theme” which is funny on its own because it provides a humorous take on the Japanese company structure which does everything from getting its employees to partake in morning exercises to teaching them a rousing company anthem to instill them with company spirit. It’s a strange concept for this Western viewer, which adds to the novelty factor since the the Shirige Tai are pretty enthusiastic about their supermarket chain to the point that it tickles my funny bone. The way the chorus section effusively sings the chorus part of the song combined with the marching band background music makes this song an uplifting, if hilarious way, to finish out the album.

Shirigeya no Theme:
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At the end of the day, this album isn’t really about listening to quality music as much as it’s about the levity borne from listening to the characters suffer through having to karaoke and picturing in your mind how the characters look while singing. As I mentioned, though the tracks are more polished than the raw karaoke version, the singing isn’t exactly stellar, but then again, issuing a high quality album of a karaoke episode isn’t the point here. So as you listen to this album, it’s obvious that this album caters to fans of the show. Still, those who enjoyed the episode’s silliness are better off just watching it because the music alone doesn’t carry the same comedic weight without the character interactions. Getting this album is an entirely optional affair though since the TV episode will give you a much more enjoyable experience overall.

Rating: So-so