This winter, for better or for worse seemed to just fly by. It feels like yesterday that many of us dipped our toes into Madoka, Hourou Musuko, and Yumekui Merry, but many of those shows are coming to an end and many new ones take their place. Like before, we’ll be doing a preview with more of a focus on the musical side of things; people looking for plot summaries can look elsewhere since we choose our shows based on the composers than things like plot and seiyuu (OK, not really). So check out the composer rolls after the jump!

A Channel
Composer: Satoru Kousaki
Synopsis: Focuses on the lives of some high school girls, specifically, Tooru, her childhood friend Run, Yuuko, and Nagi. The anime is adapted from a 4-koma and will most likely fall into the four girls, one school mold.
Zzero’s Thoughts: It’s hard to shake the generic tag from this series and the only saving grace is whether the comedy works or not. Everything seems so predictable, right down to their choice of Satoru Kousaki as this show’s music composer. What that means is that A Channel’s soundtrack may try some interesting musical things, be it a novel adaptation of an old theme or fusing genres where one might not have thought it to be possible, or it’ll just be his usual brand of minimalistic fare. Whatever he puts forward, it’ll somehow only work within the context of the anime and so, will not be a great standalone listen. That’s been Kousaki’s track record since time immemorial, from Haruhi to the more recent Ore no Imouto’s soundtrack. Star Driver might bucked this trend, but the jury’s still out.

Ano Hana
Composer: REMEDIOS
Synopsis: Six childhood friends, one of whom is a hikkikomori, will reunite to grant one of their friends one last wish.
Yu’s Thoughts: REMEDIOS seems to be best known for composing the soundtracks for several films and j-dramas. Given the nature of Ano Hana and REMEDIOS’s background, we may actually end up with a good score that supports the guaranteed emotional angst which will surface in this show.

C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Composer: Taku Iwasaki
Synopsis: Things weren’t looking good for the Japanese government, until it was saved from the edge of financial meltdown by a mysterious group called the Sovereign Wealth Fund. The Japanese people weren’t as fortunate, and still have to cope with rampant unemployment and crime. The story centers on a boy named Kimimaro, whose no-nonsense life is interrupted when he’s offered a large sum of money, one that must be paid back.
Aftershok’s Thoughts: Given Taku Iwasaki’s track record and the show’s intriguing premise, this has potential to be very interesting. His work on shows like Gurren Lagann and Black Butler’s soundtrack was impressive and effective, even if it was not what stood out the most about the shows. His score on Persona has received praise even when the show hasn’t. This, combined with the show’s schedule set to be on the Noitamina timeslot, sets the expectations high. If all goes according to Iwasaki’s modus operandi, expect a mix of rock and orchestral with some soft ballads for the more sensitive bits.

Blue Exorcist
Composer: Hiroyuki Sawano
Synopsis: Though the two dimensions are meant to remain separate, there are demons that leave Gehenna, the world of demons, and enter the human realm Assiah to cause trouble. There exist humans known as exorcists who battle the demons and restore order to Assiah. The protagonist, Rin Okumura, who bears the burden of being the illegitimate son of Satan, decides to become an exorcist to avenge of the death of his foster father, who gave his life to protect Rin from demons.
Zzero’s Thoughts: Hell YES! I don’t know how well this series is going to do, but Hiroyuki Sawano’s position as soundtrack composer brings with it a lot of high hopes. We all know how much I loved his music ever since the first notes from Gigantic Formula reached my ears. He’s gone on to do highly acclaimed work for Sengoku Basara as well as the awe-inspiring Gundam Unicorn soundtrack. If nothing else, I’ll be checking this show just to listen to his music since I love the dazzling epic orchestrals he seems to conjure up (overwrought though it may be at times).

Deadman Wonderland
Composer: NARASAKI
Synopsis: A lone survivor of a massacre is falsely accused of the crime and gets thrown into prison where he must entertain audiences.
Zzero’s Thoughts: Usually a composer with all caps suggests that he’s a rock musician. And surprise surprise, he did do some theme songs for the likes of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but not a complete score though. Still, I wanna rocks mune ni rocks.
Yu’s Thoughts: The manga centered around a combination of action and dark/twisted atmosphere. If the anime stays true to the manga, the music will probably be some kind of heavy rock mixed with a good deal of uninteresting atmospheric suspense. Hopefully the show will prove my pessimistic predictions wrong.

Dog Days
Composer: The crew at I’ve Sound
Synopsis: A boy is transported to Biscotti, a kingdom in a fantasy world, in order to help the princess save the country from invasion.
Zzero’s Thoughts: To be frank, I am not a heavy fan of I’ve Sound. In fact, aside from a few of their singers, their work is usually far from where my tastes usually land since I’m not too fond of heavy synth and electronica. The first time I’ve heard a soundtrack composed by one of their members (Malko Iuchi) for To Aru Majutsu no Index, I wasn’t really too enthralled by what I heard. One can make a safe assumption that Dog Days’ music will offer more of the same, so I’ll avoid this altogether. Oh well, at least the OP is done by Nana Mizuki, so maybe I’ll just watch the OP sequence just for that.
Yu’s Thoughts: I’ve only ever enjoyed the vocal trance stuff from I’ve Sound (more specifically Kotoko). It goes without saying then that asking a primarily electronica group to score a shounen show with a likely harem thrown in isn’t going to turn out well. The most memorable part of this show will probably be how the kingdom is named after twice-baked cake.

Nichijou
Composer: Yuuji Nomi
Synopsis: More high school life anime, except the things that go on feel a wee bit more surreal, ranging from a principal who wrestles deer, a character with a windup device on her back, and a loli who’s addressed as “Professor.”
Zzero’s Thoughts: Assuming that the OVA/Episode 0/whatever that was released earlier is representative of the series, I might actually be looking forward to this one. Though the music so far doesn’t feel cohesive since they’re little more than a collection of musical cues, I do hope to see something come out of this, especially when the composer has worked on Ghibli fare like Whisper of the Heart.
Yu Thoughts: I was especially impressed with Nomi’s work with The Cat Returns – and it seems he might deliver something similar again if the first episode is anything to go by. The music I heard was definitely not what I expected from a KyoAni slice of life show, but that’s a good thing.

Hanasaku Iroha
Composer: Shiro Hamaguchi
Synopsis: A hot spring inn and the lives of the people working in it.
Thoughts: Whoaaaaa, Shiro Hamaguchi is back to do a soundtrack for an anime? Talk about good tidings! VGM enthusiasts will know him as a master arranger for such fine works as the orchestrated album for Final Fantasy VIII (titled Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec). His arranger profile doesn’t stop there either as he has gone on to do the Haruhi orchestral arrangements that we’ve come to know and love. Anime fans who might not have ever touched a game soundtrack may be familiar with his work on notable anime titles such as Kiddy Grade, the baseball classic Oofuri, and of course, the almighty One Piece. In short, he knows his orchestral stuff and even though the show’s premise sounds pedestrian, the music alone might propel me to give the anime a three-episode test.

Hen Zemi
Composer: Kei Haneoka
Synopsis: Nanako Matsutaka somehow finds herself roped into a study group that focuses on strange sexual perversions and tries her best to retain some semblance of sanity.
Zzero’s Thoughts: Kei Haneoka’s strength in the past has always been in composing music for comedy anime. The first time I’ve been exposed to this composer’s works was through the slapstick near-insane Pani Poni Dash. He’s also shown his strength composing for shows such as Negima!? and Today in Class 5-2, all of which are comedies. Given that Hen Zemi’s bent is along the same lines, Haneoka’s compositions should mesh fairly well with whatever’s going on onscreen.

Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream
Composer: Seikou Nagaoka
Synopsis: Rizumu Amamiya competes in a sport that blends skating and dancing, aiming for the top of what must be a dangerously sparkly event.
Thoughts: At first, I wasn’t planning to check this show out, but when I noticed Nagaoka’s name gracing the composer credits, I almost had a change of heart. Almost. The synopsis looks just a wee bit cheesy for my tastes, but the only Nagaoka work I’ve ever heard, Strike Witches, was actually really good and impressed me enough to heap praise upon it. While I’m not sold on Pretty Rhythm’s premise, I will keep an eye out for the soundtrack since I expect that to be one of the show’s few bright spots.

Tea for Universe, Tea for Life
Composer: Kou Otani
Synopsis: Sasuke Furuta is obsessed with the intricacies of the tea ceremony, having learned it from his lord, Oda Nobunaga and the tea master Sen no Soeki and has resolved to walk this tea path to ultimate fulfillment.
Zzero’s Thoughts: Bee Train is one of those studios that I’ve given up on since nothing they’ve produced has really interested me very much. However, if there’s one point of consistency that they bring to their anime (beyond plots that ooze along like molasses), it’s awesome music. Now, they weren’t fortunate enough to get Yuki Kajiura, but they were able to secure Kou Otani’s services. You guys should like his stuff since he’s done excellent work on the Haibane Renmei soundtrack and the music he did for Shakugan no Shana was good. Video gamers might know him for the immersiveness that the music to Shadows of the Colossus had upon gamers (an atmosphere that one can find in his score for Shana as well). So high hopes are on a good soundtrack. Just don’t expect the anime to follow suit.

Tiger & Bunny
Composer: Yoshihiro Ike
Synopsis: People known as “Next” act as superheroes. Veteran hero Wild Tiger is forced together with rookie Barnaby Brooks. Conflicts in their views about the role of a hero ensue.
Zzero’s Thoughts: Yoshihiro Ike’s got that interesting history. And by interesting, I mean that I’ve watched a few of the shows he’s composed for (Kamichu, Mokke, Ergo Proxy) but came out of all of those shows without a lasting impression of the BGM. Now, maybe it’s my fault for missing something really special, but that’s just how it is. Though I probably won’t be watching Tiger & Bunny, it’ll be good to hear from those who are watching this anime and are well-versed with Ike’s work so they can let me know how this one will fare.
Yu’s Thoughts: Yoshihiro is a bit of a wildcard. After hearing the dark but not very memorable music for Ergo Proxy, Kamichu was the last thing I ever expected him to score. Nevertheless, he did and did it well. Anyway, Tiger & Bunny’s premises isn’t very similar to Ergo Proxy’s or Kamichu’s, so how this soundtrack will turn out is very up in the air.

Final thoughts:
We’ve always been wary about putting up profiles for shows whose composers we know next to nothing about. Such is the case with Jun Sato, the composer for the MBA-tastic Moshidora (with a baseball bent), Shuhei Naruse’s music for Sket Dance (for crying out loud, the only work this guy’s done has been for various incarnations of Rockman), the duo that’s doing the work for Steins;Gate, et al. Also, we’ve had a longstanding policy of not covering anime second seasons unless their composers have changed at some point. So that means Kaiji 2, The World God Only Knows 2, and Maria+Holic 2 (among others) aren’t mentioned here (but a few of us are looking forwards to them regardless. Do feel free to comment about those that we’ve skipped over or anything else we’ve happened to miss.

Tracklist

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Review: Makoto Shinkai’s works may derive much of their power by stirring the emotions that many can identify with, but the power of his works gets an additional boost from Tenmon’s score, which plays a crucial role in driving home the impact of Shinkai’s scenes. For me, tracks like “Memories from days far away” come to mind just as readily as the beautiful scene that unfolds when Takaki meets with Akari when someone mentions 5 Centimeters Per Second. It’s fitting then that a celebration of ten years of Shinkai include not only a re-viewing of his works but also a chance to listen to some of Tenmon’s impactful compositions. To that end, the Eminence Symphony Orchestra, along with arrangers Shiro Hamaguchi, Akifumi Tada, and Yasunori Iwasaki have gifted us with a solid orchestral compilation of Tenmon’s collaborations with Shinkai through Promise.

And what better way than to look at the recent past than by starting with the moving insert song “One more time, one more chance” from 5 Centimeters. The original’s power comes from the way it conveys the protagonist’s bittersweet feelings and Eminence’s ensemble faithfully captures that pain most poignantly. Its warm introduction makes way for an airy flute solo that expresses a sort of impermanance, like a precious, yet ephemeral fragment of one’s memory that is always close to disappearing, triggering the yearning and the heartaches. The latter factors in heavily, especially during the introspective cello solo, and continues up to the end until the piece fades out gently. What this track does well is express the regrets and heartaches beautifully and sets things rolling, priming us for what’s to come.

One more time, one more chance

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
The procession of 5 Centimeter’s tracks continues with “Memories from days far away.” This piece grasps our attention through the melancholy piano melody that conveys the scope of the anguish that befalls the protagonist. The distress and worries, which materialize in the continual delays that plague his visit during the movie’s first segment, are captured through the halting, measured phrases. Yet, hope still shines through when the lighter tones weave in and out of the heavier fare, creating a mix of joy and sadness that “Kanae’s feelings” follows up upon. “Kanae’s feelings’” initially upbeat guitar segues into a melancholy sound that expresses the yearning feelings scattered throughout the movie, and in so doing, encapsulates the movie’s tragic sentiments perfectly.

Memories from days far away

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
The next section begins with the “Main Theme” from The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and opens with a mystical aura brought about by the guitar before launching into the slow, graceful melody that uplifts one’s soul. Its airy flute solo does well in evoking images of the early dawn, and with the arrival of the rest of the orchestra, the rich timbre that follows has an upwelling effect that isn’t unlike watching a slow, radiant sunrise. The optimism and excitement it conjures is almost idealistic, especially as it culminates in a wonderful section where ideas and dreams seemingly take flight.

Main Theme from “Beyond the Clouds, the Promised Place”

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Those sentiments toward the end of the “Main Theme” give birth to “Plans by the two, Hope and love” which combines two different tracks seamlessly. The first, “Plans by the two,” is driven by the oboe’s sense of optimism layered atop the string section’s purposeful rhythm that gives it the energy of a grand undertaking. The transition into “Hope and Love’s” theme seizes that energy and melts it away slowly to bring in a burgeoning gladness into my heart. When listening to the graceful air that the strings express, I just can’t help but feel that bubbling sense of joy that is reinforced many times later on in tracks such as “Sayuri” and “Your voice.”

Plans by the two, Hope and love

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Going further, we come to Voices of a Distant Star’s “Through the Years & Far Away.” True to its title, its pensive oboe melody conveys the scope of the distance that separates the lovers that are central to the OVA’s plot. Once the piano part takes over, its calmer air induces contemplation as it draws forth the myriad memories through its nostalgic expression. Though an undercurrent of hope can still be heard as the piece progresses, the wistful, somewhat melancholy air dominates much of the track, holding the listener back by stirring the forlorn feelings that Shinkai wants you to experience in this particular work. These longing feelings that linger is erased somewhat by the warm tones flowing out of “Letter from Mikako” to close out Voices’ segment on this disc. Short, sweet, and dainty, this track wins me over through its loving sentiments that work in bridging the vast distance.

Through the Years & Far Away

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Last but not least, She and Her Cat gets a chance to shine. Though there are only three minutes of music that ever got played during the course of the anime, the arrangers were able to squeeze out the blossoming tones while mixing in the anxiety that crops up in the second half of the short film. The piano version works to end it all since the melody lends itself well to a regal air that lets you empathize with the cat’s owner’s sorrows, yet instilling the hope that things will turn out well for her by the end.

Main Theme from “She and her cat” (String Ensemble)

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
The arranging team of Hamaguchi, Iwasaki, and Tada has done an excellent job in capturing the spirit if Tenmon’s compositions. As I sit and listen, the images of Shinkai’s works enter my thoughts with ease, and with it, the pains, sorrows, but also the triumphs that the characters experience. The sheer emotional power of Tenmon’s tracks cannot be denied. Let’s hope that the music from Tenmon’s and Shinkai’s collaborations will continue to be as sublime as they have been over this past decade as we move deeper into the 2010s.

Rating: Very Good

UPDATE: We finally have a review up of the Makoto Shinkai Promise album.

For people who have not read this post, the Eminence Symphony Orchestra, based out in Sydney, Australia, will be releasing a 13-track disc this December containing arrangements of Tenmon’s musical compositions in honor of Makoto Shinkai and his 10 years of work as an anime director, animator, and scriptwriter. Until recently, we’ve only had a glimpse of what this disc was capable of delivering through the tracklist; what we didn’t have was a solid idea of what what to should expect out of these arrangements. But now that my Eminence contact has disclosed the names of the arrangers, fans of Tenmon and Makoto Shinkai can rejoice! With people like Shiro Hamaguchi, Akifumi Tada, and Yasunori Iwasaki at the helm, the arrangements should turn out to be awesome!

First off, we have none other than Shiro Hamaguchi. The fact that his name came up isn’t a huge surprise since he’s done a lot of orchestral arrangements for such franchises like the Final Fantasy series as well as the spectacular String Concert of Haruhi Suzumiya along with anime works like One Piece and Rosario to Vampire (both of which were done with Kouhei Tanaka). Furthermore he has worked alongside Eminence for many of their concerts including the Night in Fantasia Concert just last month and because of his experience, he was probably a natural choice to have in this group of arrangers. His presence alone is a strong indication that this CD will be definitely worth listening to because of the creative spin that Hamaguchi puts into his music. That is, he does a really good job with taking the original piece and seamlessly working it so that while one can still recognize the original melody, it’s different enough such that it can stand really well on its own. After all, if he can improve something like “Koi no Mikuru Dentetsu,” there’s no piece that’s beyond his ability to arrange into an excellent orchestral or piano track.

Koi no Mikuru Densetsu
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Though I’m very much familiar with Hamaguchi, the other two aren’t exactly household names (at least, they didn’t ring a bell to me when I saw their names). As you might have been able to guess from the picture, Akifumi Tada will also be a part of the circle of arrangers and while I recognize the titles that he’s worked on, I’ve never actually watched any of them, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you how skillful he is with composing and arranging music. I suppose the least I can do is listen to Ah! My Goddess’s ED theme to at least get some idea for how it’ll go.

Finally, Yasunori Iwasaki rounds out the list of arrangers. Like Tada, the anime series that he has worked on are recognizable, and unlike Tada, I have watched one of the shows that Iwasaki has worked on. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I actually remember much about its music. The show in question was Grenadier, and given that show’s fanservicey tendencies, I don’t really remember all too much about the music, effectively putting me at square zero in terms of knowing what to expect out of Iwasaki.

Upcoming Q&A
With that in mind, I’d like to turn it over to you, the reader. I have been granted an opportunity to send a list of questions to the people working on Project Promise and while I do have my list, it’s also likely that you’ll have some questions you’d like to have answered by the arrangers and even by Tenmon himself! If so, just type your questions into the comments and I’ll include it along with my list of questions to be submitted to the arrangers. Just let me know to whom the question is to be addressed (e.g. Hamaguchi, Tada, Iwasaki, or the group as a whole). Also feel free to ask general questions about Project Promise if you have them since Eminence’s founder, Hiroaki Yura, will be more than happy to take your questions. I’ll be sending the questions fairly quickly (in about 24 hours) so get them in while you can!

As a note, the Q&A will be submitted on the Eminence website. Hopefully a response will come by quickly so with no further ado, submit away!

Tracklist

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Review: Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensou’s release was met with some skepticism from two fronts. The first had to do with TAMUSIC’s colossal failure in The Recital of Haruhi Suzumiya, which raised the question as to whether an orchestrated Haruhi album could actually be done competently. The second related to the fact that much of Haruhi’s BGM wasn’t exactly memorable because after looking through this album’s track list, I couldn’t say I was able to recall any of the melodies beyond Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony and the songs like “God Knows,” “Bouken Desho Desho?,” and “Hare Hare Yukai.” The latter issue isn’t as much a problem since context, while helpful, isn’t a necessary component in making this album enjoyable and thankfully, the former concern doesn’t raise its ugly head when you have Shiro Hamaguchi doing the orchestral arrangements. With his solid track record in arranging Final Fantasy music to piano and orchestra, there is reason to hope that he can work his magic with Haruhi.

Right off the bat, Hamaguchi’s arrangement of “Koi no Mikuru Densetsu” is impressive. At first glance, this off-tune variant of a cheesy magical girl OP doesn’t seem to be a particularly viable candidate for serious orchestration, but the arrangement manages to prove these initial thoughts wrong. I enjoyed how it provides a different spin on the original by upping the tempo, giving the track a sense of urgency that, when combined with the orchestra, yields a piece that is absolutely epic. While it focuses more on the serious side, a lighthearted moment pops up in the “Come on let’s dance, baby” segment, which helps keeps the listener engaged all the way up to its glorious conclusion.

Koi no Mikuru Densetsu
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

By starting out so commendably, Hamaguchi sets a high bar for his arrangements and the succession of pieces manages to meet these lofty expectations. As we go further into the album, we’ll find that most of the pieces are the result of combining various themes from Haruhi’s BGM into a cohesive medley. Even though my memory of Haruhi’s music is spotty at best, I still found most of the medleys to be enjoyable since the transitions from one theme to another are handled quite well.

Take, for example, “Kouchou Kouchou ~ Mikuru no Kokoro ~ Chiisaku demo Shiawase ~ Oioi ~ Comical Hustle,” which explores many aspects of day to day life. The bustling, energetic theme meanders about before settling into the next two sections which offer a mellow, heartfelt atmosphere, leaving the listener feeling calm and at ease. Around the 4:40 mark, the orchestra builds up bombastically towards a sillier air as it depicts Haruhi while she’s executing one of her hare-brained schemes. Although it starts off softly, the mischief grows in scope and excitement before going into the final section where it draws upon its storehouse of energy to bring about a rousing finish. By capturing both the exciting and relaxing moments of day to day life so well, this medley succeeds in being enjoyable and engaging.

Kouchou Kouchou ~ Mikuru no Kokoro ~ Chiisaku demo Shiawase ~ Oioi ~ Comical Hustle
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Other tracks to note include “Sunao na Kimochi ~ Aru Ame no Hi ~ Haruhi no Omoi” which relies on the piano to touch upon a wide range of emotions, from contentment, to introspection, to hope, as the piece reassures the listener that the future has never looked brighter. And of course, the arrangement of “Hare Hare Yukai” deserves a mention for taking a different approach from the original. The sense of joy and excitement doesn’t appear until you reach the middle section, and even then, the fun is muted compared to the original as the piece aims towards an epic experience rather than a fun one. Although I do enjoy this interpretation of “Hare Hare Yukai,” my preference favors the original which captured that sense of happiness and joy far better than the arrangement.

Sunao na Kimochi ~ Aru Ame no Hi ~ Haruhi no Omoi
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

So while these arrangements are good, the same can’t be said for Aya Hirano’s songs. It’s no secret that her live performances are pretty bad and I think that the nicest thing that can be said here is that she doesn’t ruin the overall enjoyment of this album. Nevertheless, it’s kind of painful whenever she sings off tune or employs a grating vibrato which makes her performances impossible to ignore. Of all her songs, “God knows…” is her worst song on this album since, in addition to the previously mentioned problems, her performance during the chorus part sounds awkward since she seems to be trying so hard that she forgets to breathe, resulting in a windy delivery that lacks impact. The other performances aren’t this awful, but they are a step down in terms of quality, even if the orchestration is decent all around.

God knows…
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

On the plus side, Minori Chihara manages to put forth an enjoyable performance in “Yuki, Muon, Madobe nite.” where she switches between her Yuki voice and a more emotionally-charged voice, but overall, it’s a passable job. There are a few points where I think she struggles a bit, especially when she has to sing those lower-pitched notes at a fast tempo, but even with that considered, I wasn’t displeased with how the song turned out.

Yuki, Muon, Madobe nite.
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Finally, the inclusion of the first movement of Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony, while fitting in the way it employs a steady, militaristic melody to complement the scenes in the computer game episode, fails to be engaging because of its repetitive nature. Yes, I am aware that this is the point of a movement that uses the same form that Ravel uses in his Bolero, but when the option exists to choose a more compelling piece like the 4th movement of Tchaikovsky’s “Pathetique” Symphony, the “Pathetique” should take precedence over the “Leningrad.” That said, the “Leningrad” isn’t bad and it offers a nice introduction for people not familiar with Shostakovich (though his 5th Symphony is still my favorite).

Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60, “Leningrad” First Movement
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

From looking at the music here, Hamaguchi’s efforts yield a solid album through and through. There are a few issues that mostly crop up as a result of Aya Hirano’s inability to sing, but it’s not so bad as to ruin one’s listening experience. I wouldn’t go as far as to rate it higher than the ARIA piano albums, but it’s still really good and worth a listen as its excellent arrangements work well in capturing our favorite moments in Haruhi back when the show wasn’t looping endlessly.

Rating: Excellent