Synopses will join the music commentary this time around for your pleasure. I’ll wind up paraphrasing from the Chart Driver’s hard work and if you want to eschew the music entirely and focus on some of the more traditional factors to choose your shows, you could just hit up the link above. For the rest of you who are curious about the music, see what I’ve got to say after the jump!

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
Composer: Yuki Kajiura
Synopsis: Madoka is an ordinary middle school student who will presumably turn into a magical girl at some point. Who knows what’ll happen next because Akiyuki Shinbo is sitting in the director’s chair for this one and we all know how awesome Nanoha was once we got through the monster-of-the-week episodes.
Thoughts: Can I safely say this is the show that’s got one of the strongest director/composer combos out of all the shows airing this season? The last time Kajiura and Shinbo paired up, they worked on Le Portrait de Petite Cossette. Kajiura did a great job on that one in the way her music brought forth the show’s eerie vibe through a beautiful soundtrack. That said, I’m not expecting a rehash of Cossette’s score. If anything, it’ll be more like the work she did for Mai HiME.

Starry Sky
Composer: Tomoki Kikuya
Synopsis: Tsukiko, a girl, attends a formerly all-guy’s school and is the only girl there.
Thoughts: Tomoki Kikuya seems to be on a roll as of late. His work on last season’s Ika Musume probably didn’t catch anyone’s ear too heavily since his music tends to blend in the background rather nicely as it did in the work he’s done for Hidamari Sketch. As for his work on Starry Sky, I’m not quite sure how it’ll go. I’ve never listened to any of his romance works really closely before (Da Capo II for instance), so this may turn out to be a novel listen. This show’s not exactly high on my watch list though, and so, it’s not likely I’ll get a chance to find out how his work fares here. Kikuya will also be busy scoring Oniichan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne—!!, a show that’s probably more to his style since it’s more of a slice of life, romantic… comedy?

Infinite Stratos
Composer: Hikaru Nanase (aka: Masumi Ito)
Synopsis: Females are the only gender capable of wielding the Infinite Stratos (IS), a weaponized exoskeleton system. So can Ichika Orimura, a boy, and he’s taken to a school to train alongside the girls on how to use the Infinite Stratos.
Thoughts: Well now, this actually sounds interesting. The potential for the music that is. Hikaru Nanase’s work on Bungaku Shoujo, a soundtrack I’ve been meaning to review but have completely stalled on, has yielded some really heartwarming, heartfelt tracks, something I’m sure will pop up here in her depiction of the developing romance between the male lead and his female classmates. The emphasis on weaponry and warfare should yield some good stuff too, given her past work on Chrono Crusade, which featured some really glorious, high-energy, orchestral tracks.

Gosick
Composer: Kotaro Nakagawa
Synopsis: In addition to being a poor attempt at spelling “Gothic,” Gosick takes place in the made-up European country of Sauville where Kazuya Kujo, a student at St. Marguerite Academy, meets Victorique, a mysterious yet beautiful and brilliant girl, and together, the two solve mysteries.
Thoughts: You’d almost think Shinkichi Mitsumune would be scoring this given this show’s title since he did do the gothic lolita score for Rozen Maiden. I’m not particularly too worried about how this will turn out since Nakagawa’s got a sterling track record when it comes to scoring anime. He’s done pretty much every genre under the sun, from my first introduction to his works through Planetes, to the whimsical BGMs found in Hayate the Combat Butler. Most people will know him for the work he did on Code Geass, which wowed us with its Spanish flair. I don’t think we’ll see that here though. Sauville sounds kinda French, so I would expect music more in line with classical European mixed in with intense action tracks when the scenes call for it.

Freezing
Composer: Masaru Yokoyama
Synopsis: Aliens have invaded Earth! To fight them off, Kazuya Aoi enrolls in a school to train to become a Limiter and partners up with Bridgette L. Satellizer, a Pandora, genetically modified girls who have great combat prowess.
Thoughts: It’s the Queen’s Blade composer! Or if that turns you off, it’s the Arakawa composer! Anything with Yokoyama in the composer’s chair has a lot of potential musically since he’s shown that, through the two works mentioned above, he can compose a score that fits nearly any show’s style. Almost like Nakagawa I suppose. Whether the show requires majesty, action, or drama, nothing’s really out of his reach, and so, I have high expectations that he’ll be able to come up with an excellent score once more.

Level E
Composer: Ryo Kunihiko
Synopsis: Boy who lives on his own for the first time stumbles upon a young man who claims to be an alien with a bad case of amnesia.
Thoughts: Ignore the flippant description since I’m pretty sure we’re looking at a real sci-fi anime. Make that a sci-fi anime scored by Ryo Kunihiko, who has no shortage of majestic scores through the years. The high sense of adventure that Kunihiko is capable of cultivating is illustrated wonderfully more recently in his work on Tegami Bachi’s soundtrack, but it’s always been there ever since he scored Twelve Kingdoms. You really can’t go wrong asking him to do adventuring music, and with the scope that Level E seems bent on, we’ve got a good fit here.

Wandering Son (Hourou Musuko)
Composers: Keiichi Okabe, Satoru Kousaki
Synopsis: Feminine boy meets tomboyish girl in what looks to be a warm, romantic anime with dramatic overtones as the two struggle to understanding themselves and each other.
Thoughts: This is a strange combination indeed since the last things I recall out of these two were the ska-frenzy of both Working!!’s soundtrack and Ore no Imouto’s. That’s probably not going to happen this time though, since the dramatic quotient, I’d like to think, will beckon more towards the soft melodies that something like Aoi Hana’s soundtrack would possess. With this MoNACA duo though, anything is possible and Hourou Musuko is capable of surprising us all, especially if they don’t default to minimalist fare that’s been Kousaki’s trademark thus far.

Fractale
Composer: Souhei Kano
Synopsis: The “Fractale System” is beginning to collapse and Kurane’s chance encounter with a disappearing girl leads him to embark upon a journey to look for the girl. In doing so, he learns more and more about the secrets behind the “Fractale System.”
Thoughts: A show I’ll be picking up for sure and a show featuring a new composer I don’t think any of us know much about. Seriously, I don’t know where they picked him up and the only music-related thing that anyone pointed me to (thanks ottocycle!) is a song he wrote while he was at whatever music conservatory he studied at. Needless to say, it’s a pretty neat blend of dissonant orchestral music and some jazzy syncopation, and if this is what we get out of Fractale, we could be in for a wild, zany romp. There is method to that flurry of madness though and if you’re curious, you can listen to what I’m talking about below:

Final Notes:
I will do a reminiscence post for all of 2010′s anime music. I will not do it until March, since that’s when the last of the soundtracks for Fall’s shows will have been released and that I’ll have been able to listen to a majority of them to be able to highlight the good, the excellent, and a lot of the unappreciated!

It should also be noted that I really meant to write a Summer 2010 post, but I never got around to checking out many shows. Of the ones I did check out, Shiki proved to be very engaging because it nails the atmosphere right complete with Yasuharu Takanashi’s eerie vocal tracks. As for Occult Academy, that featured some pretty nifty piano work including some arrangements of classical pieces. Most of the composing for that show is done by Elements Garden, which has had their share of hits and misses, but so far, I’m digging the music. Ookami-san’s music was also supposed to be good (so says lelangir), but since I haven’t been following it, I can’t really comment. Yeah, I’ve been pretty detached from Summer 2010′s offerings. Maybe Fall can restore that spark.

With that in mind, here are my music-related thoughts for Fall 2010 with shows whose composers have caught my interest in some way, shape, or form. Obviously, using composers as a criteria for choosing which shows to watch is silly, but it might help knowing who is working on which shows to see just how much attention to pay to the music. More after the jump!

Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto
I was alerted to this show by the guys at Mechapot and the trailer features some exciting action sequences complete with an orchestral soundtrack that’s carries a grandiose atmosphere common to many mecha anime. Here’s the kicker though: this series is going to be composed by Satoru Kousaki. As in the guy who’s capable of composing solid standalone music (he wrote the music to the Bakemonogatari openings!), but more often than not writes minimalist stuff that usually derives more power in context than out (as seen in his soundtrack to Bakemonogatari). Mecha might not be my preferred genre, but I’ll certainly keep an ear on this one. Kousaki’s got talent, so the prospect of him writing music that can be appreciated out of context is too good to pass up. And who knows. This show might be pretty solid.

(As a note, Kousaki will also be composing the music to My Sister Can’t Be This Cute aka “OreImouto.” I expect his usual minimalist fare to pop up here.)

Kuragehime
So yeah, you know that I like Yoshimori Makoto, right? With the steady improvements he’s made from Baccano! to Natsume Yuujinchou to the wonderful Durarara!! soundtrack, he’s done nothing but improve upon his previous works. In Kuragehime, we’ll be able to see if that trend continues. And even if it doesn’t, we can be assured that it’ll be an interesting listen. Makoto’s stuff might be weird, might be eclectic, but is never boring!

Shinryaku! Ika Musume
I also like Tomoki Kikuya a lot. The premise of this show looks to offer some pleasantness mixed in with silly moments and Kikuya’s compositions are well-suited to the task if the work he’s done for Hidamari Sketch is of any indication. I’d characterize most of his pieces as being on the whimsical side of things. Since he’s not in a position where he has to utilize existing themes (like he did with Hidamari Sketch x★★★’s OST, which was the least gripping of the lot) I’m hoping that he can deliver some fresh melodies that capture the lightness of it all.

The World God Only Knows
The World God Only Knows has gotten a lot of attention because of its manga, and I’m curious enough to see what it has to offer in addition to Hayato Matsuo’s compositions. Matsuo’s got a long history, and of his works, I’m most familiar with the music from the Ogre Battle franchise and Final Fantasy XII, which as far as I can tell, have been enjoyable mostly because of Hitoshi Sakimoto. His anime work that I’ve even touched is the arranging he’s done for the String Concert of Haruhi Suzumiya album as well as the soundtrack to the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. So no, that doesn’t say much about my level of knowledge of his works, but I won’t pass up a chance to listen to someone who’s done work with both anime and VGM.

Afterthoughts
There really shouldn’t be any surprises with Arakawa Under the Bridge since I fully expect the sequel to use Masaru Yokoyama’s compositions once more. I do hope that with this second installment, we hear a soundtrack announcement since I think Yokohama’s work has been solid after being drawn in as I watched the first season. That there’s no word of a soundtrack yet is a tragedy since I do believe that it deserves a release for being as good as it is.

Yes, I also know Yukari Hashimoto hasn’t been mentioned until now with regard to MM!’s soundtrack. I don’t have anything to say about her beyond me not being too impressed with Toradora!’s soundtrack but I’ve also heard that she’s improved since then, especially with Kanamemo. I’ll have to wait until someone more knowledgeable than I comes in with their thoughts on her work. For that matter, feel free to share any thoughts you may have about this upcoming season and the music contained therein.

In case people wanted to read what I’ve written about years past, they’re all filed under the “Decade List” tag.

Anyhow, I’ve been warned about 2007′s list since it’s a disgustingly huge list to pick from, and when you casually look over what the music selections are like, you’ll find a lot of solid names to highlight. 2007 saw the coming of shows such as Gurren Lagaan, Baccano!, ef, and Sketchbook. All of these shine in quality on the content front, but it’s a sure bet that people can pick out a track or two that they really enjoyed from these shows. The problem is that we’re looking at the tip of the iceberg here. As much as I’d like to knock a few shows out of this grouping, it just wouldn’t do. So strap yourself in and prepare to go through this slowly. Music is, after all, best savored rather than chugged.

With that, let’s begin with something VGM fans can appreciate:

Romeo x Juliet
I’ve already heaped enough praises on Romeo x Juliet’s soundtrack, partly because I’ve been a fan of Hitoshi Sakimoto’s music ever since I’ve played Final Fantasy Tactics. Even so, it never hurts to give this OST a few more plaudits. While his music wasn’t able to keep me from dropping the series towards the middle, it does compel me to give the soundtrack repeat listens, especially when he serves exciting, majestic music like “Touch,” which is by far and away my favorite track on that album. Add a few more tracks like “Neo Verona” and “Fate” and you’ve got the trappings for a fantastic score that finishes up as my favorite anime soundtrack from 2007.

Touch

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Sketchbook ~full color’S~
There are two aspect to Sketchbook ~full color’S~ that warrant a mention here. The first is the OP, titled “Kaze Sagashi,” with Natsumi Kiyoura’s soothing voice moving in like a light wind to lift us up and take us on a journey through time and space as we alight upon the idyllic setting of high school life where our attention falls upon members of the school’s art club, each with their own distinct, quirky personality. At this point, this is where the second part kicks in: Ken Muramatsu’s score. Muramatsu dabbles in a fusion of traditional Japanese music and light jazz and though his style hasn’t really changed much as you listen to his later works, none of those works have quite surpassed his compositions for Sketchbook. When you’ve got lazy, drift-y pieces like “Balloon Mode ~Yume Kara Samete Mo~” and “Yuumagure no Kuni,” you know you’ll be in for a treat, especially if you’re keen on relaxing fare. Unlike the next soundtrack, you don’t actually have to watch the series to appreciate it!

Balloon Mode ~Yume Kara Samete Mo~

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Yuumagure no Kuni

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Hidamari Sketch
And while we’re on the same subject as Sketchbook, do check out Tomoki Kikuya’s compositions for Hidamari Sketch since the two are somewhat similar in the way they depict high school life. Initially, I didn’t even pay attention to the background music since the series captivated me through its likable cast, whose camaraderie would guide them past the difficulties of living alone without adult supervision while only attending high school. The interactions make for a heartwarming series even if there isn’t much that happens. Because of that, do prepare yourself for a slow-paced soundtrack that, like Sketchbook, carries that light, jazzy feel. It helps to have knowledge of the context, since the music’s ability to conjure up scenes from the anime is the key to really getting the most mileage out of it.

a sunny place 1

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And before I forget, I love the OP, “Sketch Switch,” with its energy and it was what had gotten me to try the show to begin with. The ED, “Mebae Drive,” is where my introduction to marble came about, and I’ve really come to enjoy their mellow sound in their subsequent offerings, especially for the HidaSketch franchise.

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Shion no Ou
And if you’re for something completely different, Kousuke Yamashita’s compositions for Shion no Ou should be fairly satisfying. The show’s mood is dark and serious; there is a murderer afoot who is paying particular attention to the eponymous shougi player and at times, you feel that it’s a race against time to expose him before it’s too late. In combining the suspense inherent in the murder mystery with the tension of the shougi matches, Yamashita’s compositions yield a darker, despairing flavor along with the dramatic music that comes in as the shougi players meticulously plan out their moves. It’s a very underrated effort all around, but I really enjoy it, especially for stuff like “Akai Kioku,” which reeks of horror and despair, and “Niten Santen,” where you can feel the intensity hit its stride as the shougi match winds its course to end it all on a note of finality.

Akai Kioku

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Niten Santen

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Oh! Edo Rocket
Whether my perceptions are absolutely warped or I have this overwhelming love for the underdog, Baccano’s jazz doesn’t get me as excited as Oh! Edo Rocket. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore “Gun’s and Roses” as much as the next person since the music sets up the show’s tone perfectly, but lately, it’s moved into overplayed fare, which really isn’t its fault. So when people bring up that song, I give it the recognition it deserves, but beyond that, I’m content to let others do the praising.

So when people say they’re looking for a jazz soundtrack, I’ll bypass the low-hanging fruit and toss up Oh! Edo Rocket as a strong recommendation. Even though I’ve no context of the show since I haven’t seen it, the sort of feeling I get from the music is that it’s a brash and bold show. That is, the characters are aiming for some lofty ambitious goal that they’ve come up with out of the blue, and damn it all, they’re going to try it, no matter what anyone else says. There will be hi-jinks to be had as they pursue this dream and the swagger that pieces like “Rocket” and “Swing” bring to the table indicate that there will be no giving up in this neck of the woods. It’s do or die, and the audacity is what I love so much.

Rocket

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Swing

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ef – a tale of memories
Rather than mention Tenmon’s score for 5 Centimeters Per Second, which is solid overall, I’ll instead talk about the ef – a tale of memories soundtrack, which still contains his characteristic style that’s packed to the brim with drama borne about through the piano, strings, and synth. The soundtrack is a treasure to pick through, especially through the tracks that depict the meetings and the moments of tension, but nothing seems to be able to eclipse the sheer beauty exhibited by “A Moon Filled Sky’s” violin. It might exhibit a lot of melancholia, but it’s hard to turn away from the yearning emotions it wears on its sleeve.

A Moon Filled Sky

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Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Did someone call for Taku Iwasaki’s rise back to prominence? After a few years of mediocre output, but a slow resurrection in Giniro no Kami no Agito and Kekkaishi (so I’ve been told for the latter), Iwasaki goes back into full form with the epic TTGL soundtrack. I’m not going to claim to know much about the show beyond the memetry that’s come forth from people who have seen it, but when I listen to the soundtrack, everything just feels BIG, and I do mean BIG. How it could it not? When you have perennial favorites like “Libera Me From Hell” and “Pierce the Heavens With Your XXX,” the former with its blend of rap and opera, and the latter, with its opening fanfare that calls in a new chapter in mankind’s destiny. Or something like that. Together, you’ve got music that fits a modern epic. Not that Gurren Lagann needs any help in that department.

Libera Me From Hell

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Pierce the Heavens With Your XXX

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Gigantic Formula
Despite never having seen this show, I’m still very much in awe of Hiroyuki Sawano’s score, which instill images of heroism as people rise to the occasion to deliver an effort that will be talked about for years to come. Though if given half a chance, I could babble on and on about the main theme, it wouldn’t be fair to neglect some of the more introspective stuff, like “Ring” which always stood out to me. The interplay between the piano, violin, and the rest of the strings really hit the feeling of nostalgia really well. All in all, I really can’t praise this score enough and even with other works like Gundam Unicorn’s soundtrack to consider, I don’t think any of his other works quite surpass this one.

MAIN THEME (ver. 0)

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Ring

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Seirei no Moribito
Remember when I said something in the post for 2006 about Kenji Kawai redeeming himself? Well, his work for Seirei no Moribito would cover that quite well. When I listen to this soundtrack, a lot of my thoughts wander back on the feudal setting and the mystical events that occur during the course of the series and for good reason: aside from maybe 4-5 tracks, that Kawai’s melodies can stand well on their own since a lot of it focuses on capturing the atmosphere rather than give us something beautiful to listen to. So if you can immerse yourself into the setting (and it’s a beautiful setting to be sure), you should be able to enjoy what he has to offer. Otherwise, just home in on stuff like the stately “Omoi Haruka,” which moves at a steady rhythm that conveys the epic scope of the anime series or, if you’re looking more for the fast-paced action, then “Karu!” does a good job of that too.

Omoi Haruka

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Karu!

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Strike Witches
Finally, we come to the humble Strike Witches to round out the list. Opinions on that show just might be mixed because of how the fanservice-y elements distract from what is a heartwarming series about friendship and camaraderie, but if there’s one thing I’ve gotten from it (despite not having seen it), it’s Seikou Nagaoka’s music, which delivers on character themes (“Perrine’s” daintiness, for one) and of course, fantastic military fanfares in “Striker no Hishou” which are absolutely grand.

Perrine

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Striker no Hishou

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10 soundtracks in all! I did warn you before though, so if you’ve made it this far, congratulations. On to page 2, if you’re not asleep yet!

Tracklist

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Review: If ARIA’s music can be described as listening to a nice slice of heaven, then Hidamari Sketch’s soundtrack’s firmly deposits me into my happy place. The magnitude to which I enjoy Tomoki Kikuya’s compositions should be evident through this comparison which sets the two franchises worlds apart. Here, Kikuya’s blend of jazz rhythms and minimalist melodies does all right; it’s fun and relaxing to listen to even if it’s not a mind-blowing experience. I enjoyed the melodies in Hidamari Sketch X365 a lot and while the whimsical-ness remains in this third installment, there are a lot more minimalist pieces this time around. Intact is the way the album depicts the day to day lives of Hidamari’s residents, and even if some of the tracks are unremarkable, there are enough delightful pieces for me to give this album a nod of approval.

The track that sets the tone for this album is “Hidamari na Shouchou,” which captures the lightness and pleasantness associated of the early morning. I particularly like the way the piano part meanders along, shaking off the cobwebs from the night’s rest, before awakening through a bouncy section that feels as though the characters are ready and eager to explore the new day. It’s not boisterous; after all, the excitement in Hidamari Sketch is more subdued. Its success comes in making us feel the warmth brought about by their camaraderie as the characters eagerly experience the simple pleasures of life while growing and maturing together. This piece, and the album as a whole, seeks to assure us that each character will find their own slice of happiness through melodies that allow the listener to relax and share in the characters’ wonderful lives.

Hidamari na Shouchou

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But what I find interesting is how the theme in “Hidamari na Shouchou” is crafted to specially suit each pair of characters. For example, “Hidamari Sou no Asa ~Ichi Nensei~” (First-years) fittingly lacks certainty and wanders just a bit more than that of the older characters as they get their feet wet and settle down in their new lives. Contrast that with the version for the “Ni Nensei (Second-years)” who have the routine down pat and function pretty much on autopilot and the melody for the “San Nensei (Third-years)” which features a stately sound that you might get from Baroque music. Of the three, the “San Nensei version” is the most mature-sounding with a dab of wistfulness and introspectiveness, which is in line with the fact that Hiro and Sae will soon graduate, and so, time becomes all the more precious to them.

Hidamari Sou no Asa ~Ichi Nensei~

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Hidamari Sou no Asa ~San Nensei~

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The rest of the tracks focus on depicting the many situations the characters go through each day. Some of it, like “Hajimemashite, Hidamari Sou,” are quiet, unremarkable, light music that fits the scene, but doesn’t do much else. Others subtly bubble their emotions to the surface, like the soft, gentle “Nakayoku Shiyo!” which uses a very wonderful accordion melody to wash over the listener with its mellow tones, making it a wonderful piece with which to end the day.

Nakayoku Shiyo!

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One thing to keep in mind though is that context becomes a bigger issue as far as the minimalist tracks are concerned – and there are quite a few – which don’t make for great standalone listens. For example, “Korette Heiki?” feels like it’s drifting along without any solid sense of direction while “Tama ni wa Konna Hi mo” is better with its use of the recorder, but it never puts its stamp on the soundtrack to be particularly memorable. Ditto for the trio of “Nanka Zureteru,” “Nanika Zureteru,” and “Nazeka Zureteru.” I will say that I enjoy Kikuya’s approach to minimalism a bit more here than in Satoru Kousaki’s Bakemonogatari soundtrack, but it doesn’t change the fact that it will have difficulty appealing to those who have not seen the show.

Tama ni wa Konna Hi mo

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Nazeka Zureteru

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Still, for all the unremarkable tracks that it passes along, the bulk of the soundtrack is still an enjoyable listen, moreso if you’re looking for quiet, mellow music to do homework to. It might not uplift one’s spirit or leave behind an indelible mark once you finish with it, but it’s never tedious either. If you’re willing to absorb the warm tones that it offers up, there’s enough here to make this Hidamari Sketch album a good, if not memorable, listening experience.

Rating: Good

Voting Thread

Two back to back Piece of the Week posts due to a fairly busy week. At least that’s my excuse anyhow.

The pieces this week give off a different vibe that isn’t quite in-your-face or emotionally charged, making it really hard to evaluate them properly and dispense with the points. Most of the pieces did a good job of adhering to the theme though because of the theme, most of the tracks are fairly melancholy or downright despondent. While I had been hoping for more of the adventurous kind of lost-ness, the despairing mood largely prevailed, resulting in the following tracks nominated:

Kanon – Shoujo no Ori
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This piece evokes that whole feel of being lost in a winterscape, which, given the source of the song, makes it really appropriate. While it does carry an emotional charge for most of the way through, I thought the motive gets repetitive and the only part where this becomes more interesting is around 0:42 where the mood becomes really somber as it dispenses with the aforementioned emotional charge. Unfortunately, that doesn’t last long enough to receive any major development and transitions back to the repeating motive shortly after. For those who have access to the Kanon/Air Piano Arrange Album “Re-feel”, I’d give that one a listen since it’s a much better rendition. This version gets a pass from me seeing that there are far better tracks this week.

Hidamari Sketch x365 – Shinmiri
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“Shinmiri” has that lazy, drifting vibe that combines a sort of easygoing aimlessness as the subject is in a wonderful, dreamlike state. The introduction with the intonation brings out the aforementioned vibe, and if this piece were to consist entirely of that motive, it’d be plain boring. However, the solo violin around 0:35 marks a divergence that stands well on its own, and, when combined with the intonation and background instrumentation from the introduction, makes the piece a whole lot more enjoyable. This one deserves 1 point.

Pokemon Heroes – Search for the Girl
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Wow, this piece was certainly an eye-opener (ear-opener?) and though it may come from a somewhat maligned source, it still packs quite a punch through its mix of violin and accordion to create a sound that makes this piece stand apart from all of the other tracks in this week’s selection. There is an upbeatness that encourages the listener to seek out adventure and excitement in the beginning before transitioning into a flowing melody that brings forth more tension as the piece progresses. You can hear the atmosphere become more mournful as the feelings of loneliness and insecurity envelop the subject, but the way it keeps the listener engaged is what makes this piece truly shine, and listening to it felt like a shot of fresh air. Definitely deserving of 2 points.

Wolf’s Rain – Gravity
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I’m not all too surprised to see this track make an appearance because I do consider it Maaya Sakamoto at her very best. Her ability to convey that sense of longing is superb and the melody itself packs a pretty strong emotional punch as it draws you in and takes you for a melancholy ride. Enjoyable all the way through, this one gets 2 points from me. The only complaint that I have is why we haven’t heard tracks that are as high caliber as this from Sakamoto as of late (“Triangular” was terrible).

Zettai Shounen – Ho
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
This piece is probably the most despondent of the lot because of how strongly it emphasizes that feeling of loneliness, as though there’s a hole in your soul. While such moods can be very powerful, this track’s execution doesn’t quite hit the mark because of a lack of development in that despondent theme. It also doesn’t help that this piece is just too short for anything meaningful to come out of it. There’s potential for “Ho” to be much more, but we didn’t get it in this instance.

Soukyuu no Fafner -Dead Aggressor- – Doubt | Mayoi
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“Doubt” is fairly similar to “Ho,” but it’s slightly better because of how well it uses dissonance to whip up an unsettling atmosphere that is similar to the feeling one gets in a forest after dark with no light sources to guide you through. While this piece isn’t going to be getting any points from me, it’s certainly more enjoyable even if it’s not remarkable.

Serial Experiments Lain – Signal of Loneliness
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I really like the melancholy vibe that you get from the guitar work in this song which, on the whole, gives this piece a nice, folksy feeling as though you’re listening to someone singing this song while around a campfire as the moon shines brightly. The singer’s tendency to go off-tune helps contribute to this overall mood by sounding genuinely folksy. A few minor gripes that I had was the repetitiveness, especially the “ahh nani wo” which could have had their iterations reduced by one so as to not draw things out for too long. Save for that (and it’s a very minor issue that doesn’t detract from the overall enjoyability), this song is solid and only slightly loses out to the next piece on this list.

Paprika – Shizuku Ippai no Kioku
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Looking back, it’s hard to believe that I disliked this piece. But that was back in the day when I had failed to appreciate the kind of vibe one gets out of the cacophony as chaos descends to reign supreme throughout this piece (and this movie for that matter). Having knowledge of the context in which this piece is heard helps a great deal because once you realize the nature of the parade, you’d be hard-pressed to come up with a piece that more accurately describes the surreal atmosphere. The deluge of visuals and sound that the parade scene throws at you does an excellent job of conveying the confusion really well, and by succeeding at getting me to feel really lost as I watched that film, this piece definitely deserves 1 point.

Casshern Sins – Memory Past
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This piece depicts the sense one gets from being lost by delivering it in a calm, quiet, and subtle track. The image I get while listening to this is that of a wanderer, a directionless soul who searches both within and without to find some sort of destination, but in spite of that effort, none materializes. It’s a poignant piece, but like a few tracks we’ve heard thus far, it feels too short. Had this been developed just a bit more, I could see it becoming a stellar track.

Bleach – Nothing Can Be Explained
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This piece is yet another pleasant surprise and I particularly like the way it manages to make you feel as though you’re in an alien environment through that discordant opening bit followed by the voice work which drifts in and out, as though it were a disembodied spirit trying to drive you insane with its echoing, ephemeral chatter. “Nothing can be Explained” executes the feeling of being lost really well as the vocals leave you feeling uneasy, as though you’re trapped in a landscape that’s so strange you have no clue where to even begin going in search of an escape route. I especially liked the use of the round, which emphasizes the element of lost-ness, making this yet another solid track, even if it loses out on getting point nods from me.

So there you have it! My point distribution can be found below. I think the theme of lost was a bit more difficult to find good pieces for, but the good thing is that there were a lot of tracks that stood out as being interesting and made for a nice listen all in all. I think that Week 4′s legendary theme will be a bit better as far as track quality goes, so I’ll definitely be looking to see what people come up with.

(+2) Pokemon Heroes – Search for the Girl
(+2) Wolf’s Rain – Gravity
(+1) Hidamari Sketch x365 – Shinmiri
(+1) Paprika – Shizuku Ippai no Kioku

Review: Hidamari Sketch’s soundtrack didn’t initially catch my attention when I first listened to it. There were a few interesting tracks, but the huge tracklist made it difficult to really recall any of the pieces aside from the main themes in any precise detail, which is part of the reason I hesitated in picking up Hidamari Sketch x365’s soundtrack for so long. My expectation for this album was that it would recycle a large chunk of music from Hidamari Sketch and while that is the case, I daresay that composer Tomoki Kikuya managed to improve upon his earlier compositions. As a result, Hidamari Sketch x365’s soundtrack, packed primarily with jazzy pieces with a touch of some soothing fare, feels fresher and more enjoyable while retaining the quirky melodies that fit so well with the series.

Part of what makes Hidamari Sketch x365’s soundtrack so appealing is the wide variety of music that it incorporates into the series, thereby preventing the soundtrack from being boring. The first full-length track, “Waku Waku Hidamari Sou” uses a swing rhythm for its base and the result is an upbeat, lively track that uses a violin and a vocalist to create a melody that brings out the excitement and the unexpected in the characters’ day to day lives. And after the energetic “Hatena de Wasshoi,” the soundtrack makes way for “Ohayou’s” slow, mellow violin melody that brings out a calm and easygoing nature. To counter that, the soundtrack brings in pieces like “Isoga Nakya” to mix things up a bit through a heavy synth track that adds various percussion instruments to the beat and the aptly-titled “Mysterious” that creates its eponymous feeling though a solemn xylophone melody and a violin and percussion part playing the harmony. Together, all of these tracks reflect the diverse set of experiences that the series offers the viewer ranging from slow, contemplative moments where pieces like “Yuttari” and “Kirei na Yozora” fit perfectly to energetic tracks like “Minna Ganbare” which capture the excitement that one might get when participating in a competitive event.

Just because the pieces fit doesn’t make them great tracks though, and as one might expect, there are a few oddballs that are clearly intended to mesh with the atmosphere on the screen, but aren’t too compelling without the context. For example, “Nandaro” uses the same repeating melodic line for its entire duration, which gets dull upon repeat listens because that melody was never interesting to begin with while “Nanka iru?” uses a synth beat that feels overwhelmingly heavy and ponderous compared to “Isoga Nakya.” Thankfully, there weren’t many tracks that got on my nerves, making this album one of the more consistent soundtracks out there.

Perhaps the most delightful thing about this album is being able to listen to the arrangements of other tracks. Clear examples that come to mind are “Ooya-san da” and “Choko Choko,” both of which derive their melody from “Waku Waku Hidamari Sou,” but the way in which they’re arranged is different enough that they aren’t tedious to go through. The former track uses a bassoon melody that plays the theme in the minor key while the latter plays that theme through a solo violin that uses a pizzicato melody with a piano chiming in intermittently to differentiate themselves from the original. “Mattari Hidamari Sou,” featuring an accordion, piano, and vocals playing a jazzy melody, gets an enjoyable arrangement in the second half of “Nesugoshita!” which moves at a fast tempo through its piano melody backed by a percussion section that, together, creates a sense of excitement and packs a lot of energy into a short span of time. Though I had mentioned that I was worried about the possibility of track recycling in this album, these arrangements are very enjoyable because the way Kikuya takes the source material and changes the tempo and instruments or the key over to the minor mode brings about a new side to the original melody that is equally superb.

On the whole, the diverse track list means that you’re not left with a situation in which the album becomes monotonous and drones on and on like what so often happens with anime soundtracks. These tracks capture the mood and atmosphere of Hidamari Sketch x365 which structures its episodes as a series of light-hearted vignettes and the tracks’ length helps complement that presentation. Though some degree of knowledge and familiarity of this series is required to get the most out of this soundtrack, you really can’t go wrong in listening to this one since the tracks are solid enough on their own as to be enjoyable.

Rating: Very Good

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