Blue Drop OP/ED Single – BLUE – Review

Review: Blue Drop’s gorgeous animation and character design are certainly a reason to watch the series (as are the sci-fi elements, mecha, and naturally, the yuri, but I digress). But for whatever reason you may have had to watch it, it’s hard to deny that one of the most captivating parts of this series was the OP and ED themes, both of which are performed by Suara.

My first bit of exposure to her works had been through Utawarerumono’s OP theme Musouka, which proved to be a very enjoyable listen. There’s something about her vocal qualities that lends itself well in almost any sort of setting though I find that I like her more energetic works (like the aforementioned Musouka) just a tad more. In any event, when I heard she’d be doing the opening and ending themes for Blue Drop, I knew it was something I’d have to check out.

“BLUE’s” melody and vocal qualities are in a word, majestic. The song starts out rather subdued and subtle as the violins and the harp play in the introduction and relegate themselves to the background when Suara begins to sing. Once her voice enters the mix, the song begins to grow just a bit more forceful as it slowly meanders its way towards the chorus while maintaining a serene atmosphere. Once the chorus hits, you really hear the strength and power of Suara’s voice that is both controlled, yet overflowing with emotion at the same time. The background instruments complement the vocals by providing the song a sense of direction while putting forth an uplifting feeling that, while not quite optimistic, comes pretty close to it. The song succeeds in being simply grand, and once it gets on that track, it doesn’t let go until the very end. Definitely a memorable track that showcases Suara’s vocal talents.

Because “Tsubomi -blue dreams-” was going to be Blue Drop’s ending song, I didn’t think the second track syndrome would apply here. Furthermore, Suara’s music tends to be good, so that was another reason to expect that this song would be enjoyable. The opening piccolo solo gives this song a more Eastern feel and as soon as Suara comes in, it becomes clear that this song is more upbeat than the slow and majestic “BLUE” even if it maintains a hint of subtlety and mystery which help keep the listener attentive. As the song continues, the tempo moves more forcefully and the whole atmosphere of the piece feels as though she’s trying to tell a story with her entrancing voice until it reaches the point where she pours forth all of her emotions through the lyrics. The melody continues its due course and keeps itself from being too repetitive with a rather interesting electric guitar solo which serves as a nice way to blend the traditional and the modern together, followed by a restoration of the traditional in the form of an interesting piccolo solo. Throughout this song, Suara’s voice and the background instruments keep you hooked and needless to say, it wasn’t disappointing in the least.

Few OP/ED albums reach this level of consistency in both tracks, but this one manages to do so on the strength of Suara’s vocal talents as well as the background instruments which complement the mood of the song and her voice nearly flawlessly. By delivering an enjoyable melody in both tracks, this album comes highly recommended and becomes a must-get if you’re a big fan of Suara’s.

Rating: Excellent

Opening – BLUE

Ending – Tsubomi -blue dreams-