2003 brings back a lot of fond memories since that was the year that my interest in the medium was rekindled after going on a one-year hiatus. By that time, I had completely settled into my new environment, made quite a few friends, and more importantly, I had a sense of direction. That peace of mind helped free up more time and through a friend, I was compelled to give anime another shot since a lot of good shows were airing, some of which would end up on my all-time favorites list. It would be an overstatement to call this period an anime renaissance, but at the time, it sure felt that way to me.

Note: Youtube videos are spoilered, clips contain the entire track, and with that, let’s go!

Anyone who has known me for any significant length of time will know that if given the opportunity, I can babble on and on about how awesome Gunslinger Girl is. And how could I not? Everything about the show caught my attention straight away, from the crisp, detailed art and animation to the plot, and it effectively brought me back into the fold and held me there but good.

But the music… Gunslinger Girl’s soundtrack was an utterly beautiful piece of work that I would not hesitate in putting in a top 10 soundtracks list if I ever decided to sit down and take the time to cobble one together. Toshihiko Sahashi really outdid himself with the classical-style melodies that conveyed the action and the setting wonderfully. The “TEMA’s” are pretty much the foundation that the soundtrack is crafted behind, and I love “TEMA I’s” melancholy violin melody the best out of them all though “TEMA IV’s” intensity will always be a favorite too since it does a good job of bringing on the action. Concentrating on the themes alone would mean missing out on a lot of other excellent pieces such as “Bucolica” and “Ti Amo” which depict the characters’ day to day life in the European perfectly allowing you to immerse yourself in the setting.

TEMA I
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

bucolica
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And lest I forget, the OP, “Light Before We Land,” also had the effect of tuning me into the Delgados, and I really like the music from their Hate album.

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The only other show that could hold a candle to Gunslinger Girl was Full Metal Alchemist, which kept me in rapt attention with its ambitious plot and enjoyable cast of characters. It also served as my introduction to Michiru Ooshima’s works which, as I’ve commented before, tends to be fairly consistent from anime to anime. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad soundtrack from her ever. She just captures the drama and action so well.

Whether it’s the novelty factor of hearing Ooshima for the first time or the nostalgia factor surrounding FMA, I don’t know, but I’m still tempted to call this her best soundtrack to date. The action sounds have the required level of intensity so that you can feel the sense of urgency floating about, but the drama inherent in the tragedies that the brothers Elric are forced to endure is conveyed most poignantly through “Brothers.” “Kiro” is also memorable in the way in which the scope of the series is brought to light by giving the listener a taste of the show’s ambition through the militaristic beats and the grand, epic orchestral pieces. That people lament the lack of Ooshima in the latest rendition of the FMA saga just goes to show just how strongly people linked her music to the series. Akira Senju’s compositions are good enough, but without “Brothers,” something still feels missing.

Kiro
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Brothers
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Since we’re on the subject of grand adventures, how about some Last Exile? That show had quite a bit of that, didn’t it? But while the militaristic tracks like “Chivalry Spirits” are fine in my book, the compositions from the show that stand out the most are the ones that evoke the feeling you get as you look upon the the rustic, Irish countryside through the mixture of accordion, guitars, violins, and woodwinds that this soundtrack is filled with. For that matter, it’s the Irish inflections in the sound that helps differentiate this album beyond your typical adventuring anime soundtrack and so, I prefer tracks such as “Morning in Norkia” and “Workin’ on the Cloud.” Also, Hitomi Kuroishi’s singing isn’t my cup of tea, so I’ll give her vocal tracks a pass when I listen to the soundtrack.

Workin’ on the Cloud
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Chivalry Spirits
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That adventuresome theme also means we turn towards Wolf’s Rain, where Kanno’s eclectic mix of Latin rhythms and orchestral works make for an enjoyable listen overall. As you can probably guess, I have a stronger bias in favor of her orchestral compositions, and so, “Shiro Long Tails” will always earn a firm nod for its memorable, melancholy melody. But also, let us not forget Maaya Sakamoto’s performance in “Gravity,” which should get some sort of award for being one of the most poignant ending themes ever. I mean, it’s survived this long and has been a fan favorite since it came out in 2003.

Shiro Long Tails
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

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Chrono Crusade was also a show worth mentioning because it was my first exposure to Hikaru Nanase’s works. Her dark, gothic melodies earn a thumbs up from me, some of the sillier Rosette-oriented tracks are a bit annoying, only because one is an arrangement of the other and only a careful listen will really allow you to differentiate them. Still, the standouts are the OP, “Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line” sung by Minami Kuribayashi and the ED, “Sayonara Solitaire” composed by Yuki Kajiura and sung by Saeko Chiba.

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Chrono Crusade might be one of Gonzo’s more underrated works. At least, I hardly see ever hear people discussing this show. All suspicions for this lack of discussion seem to center upon a mysterious organization known only as the Cult of the New.

And while we talk about shows that hardly ever get mentioned, I don’t see Scrapped Princess getting much love either. The few words that I can use to describe this is that for all intents and purposes, Scrapped Princess was a JRPG that was turned into an anime (Utawarerumono is a more egregious example of this). Also composed by Hikaru Nanase, I can’t claim to remember a thing from the soundtrack, and so, I must present you with the OP, “Little Wing,” since you can never go wrong with JAM Project.

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To shift gears a bit, maybe someone can update me on what’s going on with Mikuni Shimokawa. I was first aware of her when I watched Full Metal Panic, but it was in the Fumoffu spinoff that I really appreciated her singing a whole lot more. During 2003 and for many years thereafter, “Sore Ga Ai Deshou” was my favorite anime song, and one that I’d foist upon any unsuspecting anime fans who had not heard that piece. The ED, “Kimi ni Fuku Kaze,” isn’t as awesome compared to the OP, but I also enjoyed that one a whole lot, probably because the little marching figures and the rhythm has driven it into my mind forevermore. Soundtrack is more of Toshihiko Sahashi from the first series, so you know what you’re getting into.

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Kino’s Journey also features Shimokawa in the OP “All the Way” which was a really catchy song. It also was totally out of place with the general atmosphere that Kino’s Journey established through its vignettes. My guess is that they were trying to bring forth a sense of discovery since the song does a good job of making me want to pack my bags and explore the world so that I can marvel and experience all that life has to offer. After all, I maintain that traveling broadens ones mind, allowing one to see things from a different cultural perspective.

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Finally, we come to Planetes, the show that I’m still guilty of not having seen to completion. In listening to the music by Kotaro Nakagawa (of Code Geass fame), I can’t help but feel a sense of grandiosity through the first track, “Outside Atmosphere,” which is marvelous as it gets you to think upon the pictures of Earth that we’ve all seen before in our textbooks. It’s an image most of us will probably never experience in person, but it never fails to leave me in awe and wonder as I look at it and realize that the sum total of the human experience is encapsulated on that tiny sphere. The rest of the soundtrack is good too, but I don’t think they deliver on as strong a first impression like “Outside Atmosphere.” Yes, I really do pimp this song a bit too much.

Outside Atmosphere
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Other Notes:

A limit does need to be set on the number of times I mention that I haven’t seen Someday’s Dreamers and my overriding need to listen to Takefumi Haketa’s soundtrack the whole way through since I was so impressed by “Where the Sky and Earth Meet” (found on a MALKeionbu compilation near you!). My advice is to grab the compilation, and if you liked what you hear, give the show a shot or the soundtrack a listen.

The RahXephon movie came out this year, didn’t it? I suppose that I could post the Steve Conte/Maaya Sakamoto duet in “Garden of Everything” that arranges the well-known “Polovtsian Dances” from Borodin’s opera Prince Igor since their voices intertwine beautifully, but I’ve always preferred the original Oh well, for your listening pleasure since I don’t want this section to be totally devoid of music:

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R.O.D. TV gets a lot of mixed opinions and I’m on the side that found the story to be enjoyable. It also gets a lot of flak for using the same themes from the OVA, but I don’t find this to be a major fault since Iwasaki arranges the main theme so that each variation is enjoyable on its own. But then again, I’m big on the whole “theme and variations” bit that composers do (“Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini” comes to mind).

To borrow a joke from NegativeZero, Shingetsutan Tsukihime received not one, but two fan discs composed by Toshiyuki Omori. Surprising, isn’t it? The music uses the violins to create an overwhelming sense of despair that makes for a good listen, but there’s nothing that’s really really memorable here. Except maybe the OP song “Sacred Moon” and the way it hits on the gothic horror fairly decently. OK, there’s a really poignant violin track too, but this is getting to be a bit lengthy and I’m starting to feel lazy. (For those who don’t get the joke, there is no Tsukihime anime.)

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Anything else that I missed other than possibly Tokyo Godfathers? I’ve been meaning to watch that, but I just haven’t found the time. And by that, I mean muscle out a block of time since it’s been hard finding the free time to actually hit my backlog, what with the stuff that’s currently out. It’ll sit on the back burner along with just about everything else.

As promised, this post will contain a short blurb of all the music posted for Set #1 of the BGM Music Quiz. Although the track identification count is at two, I still hope that you all derived some enjoyment out of the music since that’s the secondary motive for writing that post in the first place (the primary motive is to cover for a lack of reviews). Since you’re probably dying to know which track comes from which series, the answers are as follows (along with the full version of the track in question):

Track 1
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Anime series: Gunslinger Girl
Track title: TEMA I
A friend of mine complained about this track appearing far too much in the series, but I’m not really sure that it’s a reason to dislike this track. In fact, as I mentioned in the comments section of the previous post, Gunslinger Girl is pretty high on my list of favorite soundtracks, maybe second or third on my all-time list. Toshihiko Sahashi’s compositions do an excellent job of conveying the European setting and the soundtrack packs a lot of variety from the mournful to the upbeat. “TEMA I,” in particular, has this melancholy violin melody that invites the listener to take a step back and see these girls’ situation for what it is. Beneath their veneer of contentment lies a rather tragic past and this piece is a solid reminder of that, which makes it perfect for its role as the main theme of the series.

Track 2
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Anime series: ARIA the Animation
Track title: Natsu Tayori
It’s really hard for me to not go into fanboy mode as far as ARIA goes. Not only was that franchise a delightfully amazing watch, none of the soundtracks disappointed me even though I was pretty sure that by Origination, they’d have few original tracks to sprinkle around. “Natsu Tayori” jumps out at me by bringing out Neo-Venezia’s laid-back and upbeat atmosphere that comes from a combination of the whistling and the choro-styled melody (that’s why they call themselves the Choro Club I suppose) that makes this piece so relaxing and enjoyable. Along with pieces like “Aqua,” “Mangetsu no Dolche,” and “Mizu no Kagami,” the soundtrack to ARIA the Animation stands out as a wonderful work that’s unlikely to be matched for its grace and elegance as well as its optimistic outlook on life, a feeling that resonates strongly with the series itself.

Track 3
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Anime series: Oh! Edo Rocket
Track title: Rocket
Per nkcl‘s request, this answer is revealed! Though I have not seen Oh! Edo Rocket myself, a hat tip goes out to SeijiSensei from AnimeSuki for introducing me to this excellent soundtrack. Much of the music on this soundtrack is big band jazz, which will undoubtedly please anyone who loves that particular genre since it’s one that I’ve found to be sorely lacking in the world of anime soundtracks. Needless to say, I was completely blown away by how enjoyable the melodies are and would heartily recommend this album to anyone needing their jazz fix.

As a slight aside, Oh! Edo Rocket focuses a lot on the individual, which is quite a step from most anime series that have a group-focused approach to the plot and characters. This makes the usage of jazz all the more appropriate since that genre tends to be more individualistic with all those solo bits and improvisation during the course of a jazz performance.

Track 4
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Anime series: Le Chevalier D’Eon
Track title: PSALMS
The guesses for this track being from Blood+ aren’t far off the mark as far as genre is concerned since there is plenty of action and supernatural creatures running about (especially zombies, lots of zombies). This track hails from Le Chevalier D’Eon and I remember that when I watched the first episode, something triggered my memory and my first thought was “Huh… the music has Michiru Ooshima’s style written all over it” and my subsequent research confirmed those suspicions. Of course, most people know her better as the composer for Full Metal Alchemist, and if you listen carefully, you can definitely hear some “Ooshima-isms” (if I may call it that) scattered throughout the Chevalier soundtrack, especially in the way she uses the cello (maybe it’s a bass?) and clarinet in “PSALMS.” So for those of you who enjoyed FMA’s music, I definitely recommend giving this one a listen since it’s practically more of the same stuff from her. Good stuff at that.

Track 5
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Anime series: Planetes
Track title: Outside Atmosphere
Finally, we come to the track that everyone is waiting for. As Nazarielle was able to deduce partway and as I hinted, there’s a strong connection between this piece and Code Geass on two counts. The first and obvious count is that both series share the same composer: Kotaro Nakagawa. The second and less obvious count is that both Planetes and Code Geass are directed by none other than Gorou Taniguchi. Unlike Code Geass, Planetes is universally acclaimed, without the over-the-top plot twists or anything complicated; the series is much closer to a slice-of-life series that can be described as “salarymen in space.” Though I haven’t seen all of it, what I have seen of Planetes has been enjoyable and I highly recommend giving that one a look.

Nazarielle’s observation of this track wasn’t far off the mark either and I can definitely see how this track gives off the feeling an observer has upon gazing at some ancient ruins resulting from some great conflict. This piece starts out with a violin motive that exudes a sense of tranquility while conveying a sense of isolation. That is, apart from the ruined structures, there is no trace of human activity present as far as the eye can see. As the observer continues to stay in the area, the chorus section comes in followed by the violin which has a warm and comforting timbre as though this piece was describing a beautiful sunrise that bathes the world in its warmth and shines its light upon the land. Naturally, the above description is fitting if you imagine this piece describing the vastness of space as the characters are in orbit and witness a beautiful sunrise. Like in most things, context is everything I guess.

And that’s it! Again, I hope you enjoyed this exercise and got some utility out of listening to the tracks.