2009-03-23, 19:15 | Link #81 | |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Chicago, Illinois
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I'm sorry, when I think of soundtrack, I think of opening and closing songs, which are the same for Mushishi. Well wait, I don't think there was a closing song, just a mellow tune (even though a tune is a song). As far as the best anime soundtrack, I'm gonna have to say Bleach, Blood+, and Inuyasha. |
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2009-03-23, 23:29 | Link #82 | |
AS Oji-kun
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
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As a result I usually limit my focus to the score when talking about "soundtracks" because the scores are most easily compared across shows. OP/ED songs are placed there for reasons that may have little to do with the show itself, like promoting artists affiliated with members of the production committee. The score, on the other hand, is intended to deepen the experience of the story and seems to me more integral to the production. Listen, for instance, to how Ootake bridges from a bittersweet to an optimistic note in her composition "Highball" at 14:25 of episode two of Bartender (or 6:40 in this YouTube version). It corresponds to the main character Ryuu's insight that helps his lovely patron Miwa resolve a life-long sadness. The change in musical emphasis subtly yet effectively conveys the underlying change in mood. Scores where the composer and director collaborate to produce a tapestry of sound and image, those are the scores I find memorable.
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Last edited by SeijiSensei; 2009-03-24 at 07:13. |
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2009-03-24, 01:51 | Link #83 | |
NEET
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Anyhow, Real Drive certainly had an interesting score though I've only gone through the first disc with all those decent pieces (I think there was a variations on a theme by Paganini or something mixed in there that triggered my fanboy mode). But they're certainly better than the OP/EDs for that series. As for me, Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou's got my full attention for my favorite soundtrack of the most recent time period. A lot of qualifiers, I know, but I just can't stress how well Makoto Yoshimori's compositions tug at your heartstrings through his poignant pieces. Definitely listen to the sample I've posted of Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou's theme to hear what I mean because that track is, for a lack of a better descriptor, outright gorgeous. So yeah, highly recommend people give that one a shot. Just try to avoid some of the weirder tracks on there since they do sound pretty bizarre. And that might be an understatement.
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2009-03-25, 04:18 | Link #84 |
Senior Member
Author
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: USA
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I totally dig this fighting music.
starts around :44 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hPnqhe8MPI (and watch out for the anti-christ spirit gun at 2:40!)
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2009-03-26, 09:58 | Link #87 |
♥ 無情この世はすべて
Fansubber
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: bed
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Another series that actually had great music was Wolf's Rain. Steve Conte did the OP, Maaya Sakamoto did the ED, and most of the tracks are composed by Yoko Kanno. There was something else I was gonna throw in here, but I forgot what it was. These aren't particularly the best but I'd have to think harder to make a proper opinion - suppose I'll do so later...
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2009-03-26, 12:09 | Link #88 |
ポルカ
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: UK
Age: 42
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My favourite Soundtracks as a whole, as in including vocal and background songs, are:
- .hack// series - ef - A Tale of Two (Memories/Melodies) - Video Girl AI And basically any Yuki Kajiura soundtrack. Now I have some other favourites, but those are mostly about vocal songs, not just OP/EDs, but Insert, Image and Character songs. Then again, they aren't really based on a certain series, but mostly on the artists, since I might not like some of the other songs from that series, for example Bleach, with so many OP/EDs, not all are of my taste. |
2009-03-26, 14:39 | Link #89 |
Power of 9 SoShi-ist
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: USA
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I'm limiting my response to music content.
There are so many good ones, but I haven't yet found anything as powerful and compelling as Yoko Kanno's score and songs in the Vision of Escaflowne TV series. The Rurouni Kenshin OVAs also have fine music by Taku Iwasaki. And I absolutely love and adore Kaleido Star with musical score written by Mina Kubota. |
2009-03-26, 15:50 | Link #90 |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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For the most part, I find most drama, movie and game soundtracks — not just anime's — largely forgettable. Don't get me wrong, many series and movies do indeed feature great music, but here's the problem: The music usually does not stand very well on its own, when I listen to them independently from the show.
To date, only four anime OSTs have stuck in my mind (and, no, they do not include Samurai Champloo's). I've enjoyed literally every track in the following compilations: What I hear: A conversation between two sisters; the younger tells the older not to give up, she'll be by her side. Sound of Sky Crawlers By Kenji Kawai Adler Tag Actually... My favourite track is Sail Away but, unfortunately, it's been yanked. Witch Hunter Robin Original Sound Score I & II By Taku Iwasaki Kyrie What I hear: Confrontation inside cavernous cathedral. Ghost In The Shell, Stand Alone Complex, Solid State Society OST By Yoko Kanno Zero Signal What I hear: Long live the revolution! I think the one thing that should be immediately obvious is that none of the above sound typically anime-ish at all. It also helps that I like the industrial-synth-rock edge in some of them. No offence to Joe Hisaishi, and many other great Japanese composers out there. I really like some their individual scores that appeared over the years, just not their entire soundtracks. I've listed some of those pieces before, over here. Last edited by TinyRedLeaf; 2009-03-26 at 16:10. |
2009-03-27, 03:41 | Link #91 |
NEET
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Heh, interesting thoughts. The reason why I'm not so fond of anime soundtracks that use the industrial-synth-rock is because I like to immerse myself into the setting of the game/anime whenever I listen to soundtracks and many of the industrial-synth-rock-style tracks ruin the mood by being a bit too jarring for my tastes.
Can't fault your soundtrack choices though since all the ones you've listed have been really solid (though I haven't listened to Sky Crawlers' OST yet, but Kenji Kawai is usually awesome).
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2009-04-05, 12:48 | Link #96 | |
Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
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Although for me, the score (well, the disc composed by Yoshihisa Hirano) was a bit too cluttered in it's arrangements, making it exhausting to figure out what the heck's going on o_O The 2nd disc with all the electronica felt a bit bland, but I really liked one piece there...hmm. And nothing - nothing - against 9mm Parabellum Bullet! One of the few few actually good japanese rock bands nowadays ~_~ Anyway, I never even consider OP/ED themes as part of the "soundtrack", except the composer of the original score wrote the music too, like in Macross Frontier etc. But, alright: Since the first Tetsuwan Birdy decode season aired, I'm on the way to becoming a Yuugo Kanno fanboy...some very awesome themes in there and his arrangements just get better from score to score *___* |
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2009-04-05, 23:27 | Link #97 |
NEET
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Well, if you're a Yuugo Kanno fan (I refer to him as the "other" Kanno), you may want to try listening to his compositions from Toshokan Sensou. The rest of the album is a hit or miss depending on your musical tastes, but the main theme and the arrangement of the theme at the end of the album are absolutely beautiful.
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