Really, I swear I’ll finish this before the year’s up.

As usual, don’t forget that all previous installments are filed under the “Decade List” tag and if you wanted to knock yourself silly by listening to the stuff I enjoyed from 2007 on back, that’s the place to go to.

Anyways, 2008 once again saw a slew of excellent shows gracing the small screen accompanied by solid music, even if, when compared to 2007, it felt like a bit of a drop-off. Still, there were plenty of notable shows like Macross Frontier which renewed fans’ interest in the Macross franchise while also bringing in a boatload of new fans, Casshern Sins would also hearken to older fans as well, while Code Geass would fire off a sequel with plot twists that became far too numerous to keep track of. Musically, it was a pretty strong year as well, with artists like Akihiko Matsumoto, Yoshimori Makoto, and Yuuji Yoshino putting their stamp on this year’s works.

So as usual, full clips are delivered here while the ones done through Youtube are spoilered. Be warned though the some of these will be short as I’ve already reviewed them someplace and if you want long, drawn-out thoughts, go check there. So with that out of the way, let’s explore this year’s offerings!

Spice and Wolf
I don’t know if this year had any clear winners since the quality of the music remained high though no one soundtrack really towered above the rest. Still, if there was one that stood out to me, it’d have to be Yuuji Yoshino’s work for Spice and Wolf. The dynamic between the two leads, Lawrence and Horo was already captivating, but what made it better was the way Yoshino brought the setting to life through his music. Tracks like “Shounin to Okami to, Tabi no Nibasha” and “Hikaru Wadachi” evokes the Middle Ages/Early Renaissance sound to help you get immersed into the show’s setting. To top it all off, the anime came with a solid opening theme in “Tabi no Tochuu” where Natsumi Kiyoura once again brings her dreamy voice which, while soothing, gets us started upon a long journey.

Shounin to Okami to, Tabi no Nibasha

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Hikaru Wadachi

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Macross Frontier
And competing with Spice and Wolf for my top spot is none other than Kanno’s soundtrack for Macross Frontier. The background music features some really eye-opening stuff reminiscent of Western film music, especially with tracks like “The Target” and “TALLY HO!” with their quotation of John Williams and Hans Zimmer respectively. But Kanno does show her bouncy, lighter side in “Test Flight Delight” which feels free in its expression, putting the feeling of flying in music really well. Age has also dulled my annoyance regarding May’n as my Anime Expo concert report will attest, though the wish that all the BGM were put on one disc still stands.

The Target

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TALLY HO!

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Test Flight Delight

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Code Geass
Speaking of action, one of my readers pointed out that I had completely forgotten to cover Code Geass in one of the previous years, and that’s my mistake really because Kotaro Nakagawa’s music has always been pretty enjoyable. Even though I’ve not watched the anime, I’ve always been enthralled by the music whenever it crops up during some MALKeionbu week. The feeling that I get out of Code Geass is its bent towards a Latin/Spanish flavor, carried through in works like “Black Knights” that also uses an awesome chorus part. But hey, there’s also a dab of Celtic in “Continued Story” (complete with ethereal Hitomi vocals) to enjoy too.

Black Knights

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Continued Story

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Kure-nai
Kure-nai’s soundtrack is wonderful, employing more of Ken Muramatsu’s jazzy rhythms that he used in sketchbook. That said, the first disc felt inconsistent, and I could never really get into the groove. But once the second disc rolled around, tracks like “Surf Song ~Oikaze wo Ukete” and, of course, “Suiheisen no Mukou ni,” which some of you may know better as the instrumental rendition of the song the characters performed in the musical episode. Come to think about it, that track may very well be my favorite Muramatsu piece to date.

Surf Song ~Oikaze wo Ukete

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Suiheisen no Mukou ni

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True Tears
True Tears irked me in a few ways, but on the whole, it was a positive experience. The music, aside from the ending theme at least, was solid through and through; I don’t think I have to go to deep into why I like “Reflectia” more than once. In addition to composing that opening, Hajime Kikuchi goes on to write beautiful piano and violin melodies throughout the show’s soundtrack. I particularly liked the way he captures Noe’s eccentricities in her theme while delivering a rather nice buildup through the strings in pieces like “SeLecT.” Still, nothing quite beats the upbeat tracks, featured in “Nyuushakou ni, Migite wo Kazasu,” which creates a pretty strong first impression when you first give the soundtrack a go.

Nyuushakou ni, Migite wo Kazasu

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Kage Hazumi ~theme of noe~

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Toshokan Sensou
Toshokan Sensou is enjoyable as far as one can find the concept of militant librarians battling to preserve the written word against censors to be enjoyable (which I do) and still has enough time to develop its romantic angle. The music is by Kanno. Yuugo Kanno, that is and though I wouldn’t give the soundtrack plaudits, I do want to highlight the main theme which is absolutely jaw-dropping; a superb example of orchestral music done right as all these woodwinds weave in and out, creating a piece that is stately and majestic. I remember being really enthralled by this piece the first time I heard it and now, I’ve listened to it so much that there’s no way I can forget it at all. The last track at the end is also beautiful and once again, you can hear that main theme crop up.

Toshokan Sensou -Main Theme-

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Toshokan Sensou -END TITLE-

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One Outs
I love the One Outs soundtrack! That has to be said loud and clear and repeated over and over since this work by Summer Wars’ composer Akihiko Matsumoto is so woefully underrated. It didn’t help that this show didn’t register on many people’s radars and fewer still will have actually listened to the soundtrack. But those who have given it a shot have enjoyed it; I’m not the only one. I’ll continually highlight tracks like “Aerobatic Funk” and “Wild & Crazy” as the pieces which really are awesome because of how different they are compared to the BGM you’ll normally find. It’s a breath of fresh air to be sure and with his work on Summer Wars, I feel that Akihiko Matsumoto still has plenty of upside since his two soundtracks that I’ve listened to have been solid and I hope that he continues to improve.

Aerobatic Funk

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Wild & Crazy

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Natsume Yuujinchou
Another composer who also has displayed a knack for improving, Yoshimori Makoto, has gone a long way since Baccano! and shines with Natsume Yuujinchou’s soundtrack! This guy will explore the boundaries of music and try to turn whatever he gets his hands on into music. At least, that’s the only way I can explain off the track that features a mosquito buzzing around (worse than a vuvuzela. Fact.) and the one that features weird-ass ghoulish noises. Well, through tracks like the main theme, Makoto shows that he is capable of composing what many of us would consider to be normal fare, and tracks like the theme to Natsume Yuujinchou which has the lazy feel of a summer day though “Kimi ni Fureta Hikari’s” piano wins me over every time. Especially when it shifts at the 4:50 mark (yes, make sure you get to that part at least!!) in the way it evokes that sense of happiness and joy.

Kimi ga Yobu Namae ~Natsume Yuujinchou no Theme~

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Kimi ni Fureta Hikari

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Kuroshitsuji
No, I haven’t forgotten Kuroshitsuji. Taku Iwasaki continues a good run of form and hits gold by nailing the darker aspect of the show while also showing a good amount of skill in his composition of Indian music, which I’ve rarely heard in anime music thus far. There’s not a whole lot more I can add to my Kuroshitsuji soundtrack review. Oh well, have some Indian music to close it all out.

The Stranger from India

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Long journey isn’t it? We’re more than halfway through, and that’s only because there’s not a whole lot of OP/EDs to highlight because my focus kind of shifted away from those as of late. Still, see which ones made the cut on page 2!

As a followup to the list of my 5 Favorite OP/EDs for Fall 2008, here’s my list of the favorite soundtracks that I’ve had an opportunity to listen to last year. Granted, all of the albums listed are based on when the soundtrack was released, which is why a certain album makes the cut this year despite the fact that the series ended last year. Naturally, this also means that there are some series that have been released this year, but because we’ve yet to see a soundtrack release, I won’t be including it (I’m looking at you, Xam’d).

Before we begin, the commentaries over at the Nihon Review’s 2008: A Year in Review article indicated that 2008 wasn’t a stellar year as far as anime goes and I agree with this sentiment. Furthermore, the number of enjoyable soundtracks weren’t exactly that high either, which essentially leaves us with the list below along with the few honorable mentions that I was able to scrounge up. Like with the OP/ED article, this list doesn’t take into consideration every soundtrack released in 2008 because of my tendency to only listen to soundtracks from series that I’ve seen. So despite all the good things I’ve heard about the Code Geass R2 OST, it’s not on this list. Furthermore, this list it doesn’t completely cover every single series I’ve seen either. For example, I haven’t listened to the Hidamari Sketch x365 OST which means I’m not yet able to judge whether it’s any good or not though I’ve heard a favorable opinion of it. Now that the usual disclaimers are now out of the way, the ranking is as follows:

#1. Romeo x Juliet Original Soundtrack
This soundtrack is the very first soundtrack review that I’ve written on this blog and it also happens to be my favorite one from 2008. Its composer, Hitoshi Sakimoto, demonstrates his brilliance in bringing forth the medieval setting of the anime series through his music in such a way as to make the world feel vibrant. I especially enjoyed the way he captures the many facets of Neo Verona through “Red Storm” as well as the eponymous track “Neo Verona” in addition to bringing the intensity of the action scenes to life through tracks like “Recovery.” Overall, this soundtrack is filled to the brim with breathtakingly beautiful pieces and even when you consider his body of work in the world of video game music, Romeo x Juliet stands out as one of his best works to date.

#2. ARIA the ORIGINATION Original Soundtrack tre
You’d think that after two installments of ARIA, that the music for the third would be pretty boring because there is only so much you can do with ARIA’s music while preserving the series’s unique atmosphere. Thankfully, this album manages to dash those expectations by delivering a memorable listening experience. Somehow, the music manages to remain fresh with new piano and guitar pieces that complement the mellow mood of the series and the credit for that goes to the Choro Club and Takeshi Senoo for their compositions. And of course, a special mention goes to Alice’s song on the soundtrack which brings a sense of warmth and joy that completely matches the wonderfulness of the scene that I consider to be the most endearing moment in anime in 2008.

#3. Macross Frontier Original Soundtrack – Nyan Furo
Here’s the crowd favorite, and after listening to this soundtrack, it’s not particularly hard to see why. Yoko Kanno draws a lot of inspiration for her themes from Western film music and blends them into a masterful work that brings out the intensity of the combat scenes through tracks like “The Target” which has the feel of an epic space battle (probably because the music reminds me so much of John Williams’s Star Wars music). The instrumental pieces on here are really top notch and and give off a majestic feel that is fitting of Macross Frontier’s epic story. Unfortunately, the downside to this album is May’n, whose performances lack the emotional impact necessary to hold my interest and her inclusion brings down the quality of this album.

#4. Natsume Yuujinchou Original Soundtrack
Natsume Yuujinchou’s album is a strange one in that it’s got more in the realm of atmospheric tracks than tracks that can really stand up well in the absence of context. Furthermore, some of the tracks take the atmospheric vibes a bit far by using actual environmental sounds like animalistic moaning noises and even the sound of mosquitoes buzzing around. Nevertheless, the weirder tracks do pack a certain degree of charm and overall, this soundtrack succeeds in capturing the easygoing nature of the series as Natsume bounces from one supernatural encounter to another while meeting new friends in the process. It might not be the most conventional soundtrack out there, but it’s enjoyable all the same.

#5. Spice and Wolf Original Soundtrack – Ookami to Tabi no Ongaku
The music from Spice and Wolf didn’t exactly jump out as me as I watched the series, which is why when this album came out, I was expecting a lackluster album. Much to my delight, this soundtrack caught me off guard with a bevy of melodies that took me straight into Spice and Wolf’s medieval setting. The pieces use a variety of old-world instruments that, when put to music, brings the image of a medieval marketplace to mind. The melodies themselves are different from what I’m used to such that I can find something interesting to enjoy in each track. Spice and Wolf’s music might be subtle, but it’s hardly boring and its choice of genre fits the series perfectly while making it feel like a breath of fresh air and creating a novel listening experience.

Honorable Mentions:

Kurenai Original Soundtrack
This soundtrack suffered from being a tad bit on the repetitive side, especially on the lackluster ‘emotional side’ disc. But the ‘swingin’ side’ made up for that by delivering upbeat melodies that were enjoyable. Though I still don’t like this album as much as Muramatsu’s efforts on Sketchbook ~full color’S~, it’s still a competent one nonetheless.

Shion no Ou
If there’s one thing about this soundtrack that shines, it’s the sheer amount of variety that composer Kousuke Yamashita managed to put into the series, ranging from the softer, more reflective melodies to the fast-paced tracks that play during the intense shougi matches. Moreover, it’s consistent from beginning to end, which, when combined with all the variety, keeps it from being dull.

true tears TV anime Original Soundtrack
I have an affinity for piano pieces and Hajime Kikuchi manages to deliver some very beautiful ones in this soundtrack, especially with the arrangement of the already excellent OP song “Reflectier.” A lot of the tracks will tend towards the drama-y side, which makes sense given the way the show is, but there’s still plenty of variety (such as the festival music) to break things up and keep the soundtrack interesting.

Conclusion:

Though 2008 was hardly a banner year in the realm of soundtracks, I am looking forwards to what 2009 will bring. We’ve yet to hear from Michiru Ooshima’s work on Xam’d: Lost Memories and it wouldn’t surprise me if she was going to be on board for Full Metal Alchemist 2. Tytania’s soundtrack, full of bombast and orchestral fare will definitely be something to look forwards to and some of the early pieces that have flowed in from Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou have been promising. Because of this, I have great hopes that more enjoyable soundtracks will be released in 2009. As for the anime soundtrack community, well, that’s another story, but the amount of discussion in that arena has given me hope, so I eagerly look forwards to see where that will go this year.

Review: This is going to be one of the shorter reviews simply because this CD gives you one track and throws in variations to keep it interesting. “By Your Side” (“Tonari ni Iru yo”) is an extremely beautiful track that keeps in with the spirit of the Spice and Wolf anime series by being generally upbeat. The first version of “By Your Side,” puts you into the mood for some traveling as the melody feels as though it promises a safe, but magnificent adventure. Ami Koshimizu definitely needs to be credited here because her voice is crisp and clear while conveying the traveling mood that this song conjures up. The upbeat nature of the track should yield quite a few listens and I was very happy with how this turned out.

The slower ED version takes that same melody but slows the tempo down to the point that the mood changes just slightly from an adventuresome mood to one that’s more wistful as the traveler looks back and reflects upon the journey. Though I’ve no doubt that the lyrics are the same, the change is definitely there, but it still results in a track that’s very satisfying to listen to.

Finally, we come to the BGM version which replaces Ami Koshimizu’s voice and replaces it with a violin. Somehow, the violin’s addition wasn’t quite as seamless and the piece felt slightly rushed at times. As such, this one felt the most out of place. Nevertheless, it doesn’t spoil the overall mood of the album and I’d highly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys upbeat vocal music or just needs to add another stellar Spice and Wolf album to their collection.

Rating: Very Good

Title: Spice and Wolf
Episodes: 13
Company: Imagin
Genre(s): Drama
Air Dates: 9 Jan 2008 – 26 Mar 2008

Synopsis: As autumn rolls around, Lawrence Craft, a traveling merchant, begins making his rounds buying, selling, and bartering. Upon reaching the village of Pasroe, he finds the townsfolk getting ready to celebrate the wheat harvest. After meeting up with an old apprentice of his named Chloe, he goes back to the wagon only to find a woman with the ears and tail of a wolf sleeping there. When Lawrence wakes her up, the wolf-woman introduces herself as Horo, the wolf goddess of the harvest. She explains to him that her time is long past as people turn to Christianity and forsake the pagan ways. Although she has served the people of Pasroe for a long time, she now yearns to return home to the cold lands of the north. With that, she strikes a deal with a reluctant Lawrence and accompanies him on his travels.

Pros:

• Premise is extremely intriguing and engaging
• Horo and Lawrence display an amazing amount of onscreen chemistry
• Underrated soundtrack with an excellent intro theme to boot

Cons:

• Animation quality is inconsistent due to budget constraints
• Begs for a second season because the journey remains unfinished

Review: It isn’t often that a series with such an unusual premise like Spice and Wolf’s rolls around. After all, this series follows two unlikely travelers: a merchant (Lawrence) and a supernatural being (Horo) who engage in economic transactions such as bartering and haggling as they travel back to Horo’s home in the north. While such a plot combination could potentially be boring, Spice and Wolf does an excellent job of blending the premises together to create a show with a solid, interesting plot and excellently-portrayed characters, making it an enjoyable series overall.

Spice and Wolf succeeds at making its plot fresh and engaging without delving too much into the tedium that generally characterizes economics. Simply put, the plots that the scriptwriter throws out there are so outlandish that it piques one’s curiosity to see where they will go with such an idea. For example, the subplot revolving around currency devaluation scams is able to keep the viewer enthralled over how Lawrence will be able to capitalize on such a phenomenon and profit off of it. Such economics-based plots are just plain fun to watch, partly because of the novelty factor and partly because the conversation is intelligently done, especially when it comes to watching the characters reasoning and speculation with regard to the economic hurdle that they are up against, be it currency devaluation, bargaining, or smuggling.

Although the plot is extremely good, the series just wouldn’t have had the appeal that it does without the main characters Horo and Craft Lawrence. It’s almost unbelievable how well those two mesh together. Lawrence is a bit more of the serious, earnest type who slowly begins to loosen up after having to deal with Horo’s coquettish and playful behavior. The interaction between the two is absolutely seamless and Jun Fukuyama (Lawrence’s voice actor) and Ami Koshimizu (Horo’s voice actress) deserve praise for bringing the characters to life.

By focusing so much on Horo and Lawrence, other side characters don’t get too much character development. Chloe definitely suffers from this since she did have a lot of potential to serve as a good rival to Horo, but gets the shaft when it comes to screen time. Only the shepherdess Nora gets any substantial amount of screen time, and at least there, the viewer got to know her character a bit better. The rest of the characters are just flat and the viewer never really gets a deeper feel for the motivation behind the characters’ actions aside from the profit motive.

Furthermore, by compressing a show of this scope into 13 episodes, the producers were forced to speed the plot up along the way, especially during the last few episodes in which the story moves from one event to the next a hurried pace that felt at odds with the slow and steady pace it had exhibited up to this point. While the story does resolve the last story arc rather well, the overarching plot remains unfinished, which leaves the option open for another season.

Spice and Wolf is a delightful little journey that has shown that economics can be made to be an interesting topic of study, especially when it’s combined with such great protagonists who interact so well together. Although the series does stop far short of the final destination, the leisurely pace at which it goes makes it wonderful and relaxing. Hopefully, Spice and Wolf is successful enough that we can see a continuation of this enjoyable story and see what new economic conundrums pass their way as they head back to Horo’s homeland.

Score: Very Good