Gundam 00 Original Soundtrack 2 – Review
| Album Title: | Gundam 00 Original Soundtrack 2 |
| Anime Title: | Gundam 00 |
| Artist: | Kenji Kawai |
| Catalog Number: | VTCL-60022 |
| Release Type: | Soundtrack |
| Release Date: | March 26, 2008 |
| Purchase at: | CDJapan, Play-Asia |
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Track List: [spoiler]
| Track Title | Artist | Time |
| 1. Imperial Princess | Kenji Kawai | 1:54 |
| 2. Peace | Kenji Kawai | 1:29 |
| 3. Each Other | Kenji Kawai | 1:32 |
| 4. Eve | Kenji Kawai | 2:05 |
| 5. Holiday | Kenji Kawai | 1:44 |
| 6. Approach | Kenji Kawai | 1:50 |
| 7. Thirst | Kenji Kawai | 1:56 |
| 8. Seizure | Kenji Kawai | 2:07 |
| 9. Firelight | Kenji Kawai | 2:19 |
| 10. Forward | Kenji Kawai | 2:26 |
| 11. Mortify | Kenji Kawai | 2:43 |
| 12. Expectation | Kenji Kawai | 2:06 |
| 13. Reaction | Kenji Kawai | 1:07 |
| 14. New moon | Kenji Kawai | 1:44 |
| 15. Despair | Kenji Kawai | 1:15 |
| 16. Sorrow | Kenji Kawai | 2:11 |
| 17. Desert | Kenji Kawai | 1:55 |
| 18. Palace | Kenji Kawai | 1:51 |
| 19. Reason | Kenji Kawai | 2:08 |
| 20. Fight | Kenji Kawai | 2:05 |
| 21. Love Song | Kenji Kawai | 2:13 |
| 22. Separation | Kenji Kawai | 2:34 |
| 23. Uproar | Kenji Kawai | 1:46 |
| 24. Solitude | Kenji Kawai | 1:45 |
| 25. Strategem | Kenji Kawai | 1:36 |
| 26. Recover | Kenji Kawai | 1:50 |
| 27. Reboot | Kenji Kawai | 2:04 |
| 28. Possibility | Kenji Kawai | 2:00 |
| 29. Counterattack | Kenji Kawai | 2:10 |
| 30. Tears | Kenji Kawai | 1:35 |
| 31. Memory | Kenji Kawai | 2:17 |
| 32. Scenery | Kenji Kawai | 1:34 |
| 33. Beating | Kenji Kawai | 1:26 |
| 34. Cross Road | Kenji Kawai | 1:21 |
| 35. Daybreak’s Bell (Gundam 00 Edit) | Kenji Kawai | 1:38 |
| 36. Wana (Tv Size-edit) | Kenji Kawai | 1:32 |
[/spoiler] Review: I swear that someone at Sunrise told Kawai Kenji to make the music so recognizable that if any random track were to be played everyone who has ever watched Gundam 00 should know where it came from. With few exceptions, this OST falls in line with the first soundtrack, flaws and all. Each track ranges from decent to excellent, but the overall OST is hard to bear in one sitting due to the sheer amount of repetition and numerous similarities across the tracks.
I am quite thankful that the best piece is the first one on the disk since it saves me the trouble of searching through the clutter. Full of sorrow and majesty, “Imperial Princess” is the song that will keep you coming back for more.
Imperial Princess [audio:01 Gundam002.mp3]
There really is not a single track here that is particularly bad, but the vast majority of songs feel like above average stock music that provides some nice music to paint scenes but are otherwise dull. You need to jump to near the end of the OST to “Counterattack” before things really get mixed up.
Counterattack [audio:29 Gundam002.mp3]
For a music editor, it is actually quite nice to have a large number of different songs that ultimately converge to the same style. This allows the music to become strongly associated with a particular show, and it allows the central theme song to be played over and over again, with just enough variation to feel both fresh and familiar each episode. The problem is that it makes for a poor listening experience unless adequately spaced out over a long period of time. As a result, stuff like “Forward” would have gotten a stronger reaction with me if it wasn’t yet another throwback to the main theme.
Forward [audio:10 Gundam002.mp3]
Also, one begins to wonder if Kawai Kenji really had to remix virtually every tune in the series. For instance, did you enjoy “Setsuna” from the first OST?
Setsuna (Gundam 00 OST 1)[audio:11 Gundam00.mp3]
How about supplementing it with the flute version?
Sorrow [audio:16 Gundam002.mp3]
The piano version?
Love Song [audio:21 Gundam002.mp3]
Or strings for good measure?
Separation [audio:22 Gundam002.mp3]
I finally understand how Gundam 00 managed to get away with playing the same theme music three times every single episodes: the creators had around 50 million iterations of it. I can honestly say that I’ll never be able to forget some of songs but I don’t know whether it is out of love of the material or a cause of repetition that has jackhammered the tunes into my head.
Considering that any one of the numerous remixes of “Setsuna” left a greater impression on me than many of the other songs, I wonder why the others couldn’t have been just as good.
Rating: Decent
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Haha it’s lucky I didn’t wander into OST II or those numerous variations will drive me crazy. One day when I feel bored, I should try counting the total number of times the main theme was played in the 2 OSTs…
@Jen
If the first OST left such a bad taste in your mouth, I shudder to think what the second would do… much less all 4 OSTs.
@zzeroparticle
Hence I present a justification for why the soundtrack is reptitive. Gundam 00 is a franchise series, and everything from the looks to sounds are designed to be easily associated with the series.
Listening to these tracks standalone don’t make them really memorable for me. They remind me of music from your average RPG or something. However, when played together with their corresponding scene in the anime, that’s when it works out better.
I think in general you’d enjoy the third and fourth OSTs (the soundtracks for the second season) more. The scale and variety is more typical Gundam, though there are a LOT of electric guitars being thrown around. But tracks like “Scramble” and “Decisive Battle” on OST 4, or “Power Attack” and “Determination” on OST 3, for example, show a grandeur that is not present on the first two OSTs but also a bit more soul and emotion. This is especially evident on “Innovator” on OST 3, which is an absolutely gorgeous piano/cloral number.
In hindsight, I think this was done in purpose. The second season is more of a typical Gundam show, while the first season is more of a typical mecha show that happens to have Gundams. I think the way the music changes, from a more straightforward approach with obvious themes, to a more layered and emotional approach later on, reflects this.
But that’s just my point of view, but I think you will be more satisfied with OST 3 and OST 4, especially as the Celestial Being theme is a lot less used and obvious.
For me, OST II as a whole did not have many memorable tracks but it did have two of my favorite songs from the series. Those would be “Counterattack” and “Wana.” Both are songs that really get you pumped and into the song that you are listening to. It’s too bad that “Counterattack” is only played three times during the first season while two out of the three they played an alternate version of the song.
Nice blog by the way.
@Reltair: I honestly wouldn’t say that the tracks are mediocre. Individually, they are strong and a few are memorable, but they do not work in large doses.
@themacattack: I actually have both of the third and fourth OSTs and while they do suffer from repetition like the first two, there was a good body of genuinely sweeping tracks which helped offset most of the OST.
@amuroray2000: Counterattack was indeed a blast to listen to. It was energetic, creative and yet still sounded like something from Gundam 00.
Do you know where I can download these song?