Lucky Star music discussion (OP/ED & OST, etc.)

[Wavedash]

As is often the case with us, it seems, I must disagree with Kaoru. Hirano does get the right notes (with an acceptable amount of error), and does put expression in it...but it's still a mediocre singing of "Sore ga ai deshou" because she can't lay off the vibrato for even a moment. This is overall a weakness with her method because for changes in pitch, she doesn't get to the correct frequency quickly...she has to oscillate her way there.

[Vexx]

I'm quite okay with *any* amateurish qualities in the singing since this is supposed to be a karaoke session of high school girls --- not "Japan Idol Super". Frankly, most VAs are only professionally "passable" in their singing -- after all, they were all hired as multi-talents (act, dance, sing, spokespeople, etc). Lots of people in Broadway do quite nicely with "passable voices".

[outcast_within]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I've said it before in the episode thread, but I love Aaya's singing in the ep3 ED. Her voice is thin, but expressive and in tune. Check this blog for some shocking but amusing news about which singer Aaya likes (hint: it's Avril), with photos and text from Aaya's blog. Kaioshin, no matter what the situation, you conjure out of thin air some way of criticizing KyoAni and its fans, lol. Not that I disagree with you about the possibility of the fanbase turning on KyoAni. That happened to some extent with episode one. Maybe some people are not fans of KyoAni so much as of that highly detailed animation style, and when they didn't get it, they were disappointed. But the show itself seems to be winning people over, on its own terms.

I did not now konata was the same person as suzimiya haruhi and others. I've read some stuff in your link, saw some stuff on youtube. She is quite surprising.

The reason i started looking was that i also really liked the unexpected melodical karaoke ED in ep 3

[Kaoru Chujo]

ED collection on the way, to be issued in July. Since it says "dorama," I suppose they'll string it together from the show, with maybe extended versions of the songs. Not sure.

Vexx is certainly right about seiyuu, and that includes Aya. My favorite singer in the world is Onitsuka Chihiro, who is (or at least was) superior in all respects to any seiyuu singer I know of. And Wavedash is right about the technical points he mentions, although I would of course put it a little differently, lol. But those are, within limits, immaterial to my own enjoyment. I'm getting sweetness and some feeling, as well as real melody. As in some of her seiyuu work, the fragility of it all is also attractive.

I have said before that I think originality is overrated. I'd say the same for professional skill. I think seiyuus who are "professional" can sometimes be boring, and the same goes for singers. I don't know if Kotoko is considered skillful, but I find her work quite boring and unsubtle. Of course, the same goes for bands. Garage bands can be more enjoyable than top pros.

[Vexx]

Some VAs put a lot of passion into it even if they aren't "that great". Hirano sings with a great deal of passion.

One of my favorite VA-singers is Asakawa Yuu (Motoko:LH, Sakakie:AzuDa, many others). She put out several CDs with a band that has some surprisingly experimental rock on it rather than the "usual sugar pop talent contest singing".

I like some of Kotoko's stuff (her Tweeny Witches tune and some of the stuff on ~Hane~) typically the harder-edged tracks.

One of my favorite non-VA singers though is UA. She does a wide variety of blues, beat music, rock, avant-garde, and some beautiful little tunes. I will also admit getting attached to ZONE (like the Monkees only cuter) and a terribly guilty pleasure in the euro-jpop group Hinoi Team (doomed... I'm doomed).

[mukansa monkey]

I agree with Vexx on this one, although for slightly different reasons. Not only is the ED not supposed to be a real song, it's actually part of the show. Thus it would be wrong if Hirano sang as well as she can, and it'd be even worse if she sang like some operatic goddess. IMHO it's *supposed* to be bad, it's a regular girl overenergetically trying to karaoke cheesy old songs. It takes more skill to do that as a VA than merely singing something cleanly and properly.

I love how the ED and OP both poke fun at conventions of generic OP/ED sequences. The ED basically says screw it, let's have the characters trying to sing instead of actual singing. And the OP, well where to start. First we're given weirdly inappropriate suggestiveness, but isntead of the usual gratuitously pseudo-romantic goo, we're slapped upside the head with it like the sorry loli-loving fanboys we are. Then there's the character intros, where they rap with lines that make sense to the chars, while kinda sorta dancing to backgrounds of their real neighborhood. Instead of dancing to goofy backgrounds with lyrics that are totally irrelevant, like most OPs. Cheerleading is done really well (I've been making animated GIF's of parts of that, and it averages 18 unique frames a second which is kind of high). And quite frankly, you want bad singing? The last "darling darling please" at the end of the song is hair-raising. Yet it makes sense, because it's actually the characters singing. I just got done reading a bunch of people complaining that the jpop OP to Seirei no Moribito is a really lousy way to start an otherwise excellent show. KyoAni didn't make that mistake here.

[VRMN]

I've been seeing a bit of complaining (mostly in the episode three thread) about Hirano Aya-as-Izumi Konata's performance of "Sore Ai Ga Deshou," saying it's "too good" for Konata to have done.

But as I looked in the credits, it seems that the OP is also supposed to be the girls singing in character [the OP is credited to "Izumi Konata (Hirano Aya), Hiiragi Kagami (Kato Emiri), Hiiragi Tsukasa (Fukuhara Kaori) and Takara Miyuki (Endo Aya)," as is each ED, despite it only being Konata/Aya singing].

From that, I'm taking it as a sign that all the girls are supposed to have moderately-passable-to-decent singing voices should they try. So I don't see it as a big deal that Konata was able to "flip the switch" from awful/grating to decent/passable.

[Risaa]

Originally Posted by VRMN

I've been seeing a bit of complaining (mostly in the episode three thread) about Hirano Aya-as-Izumi Konata's performance of "Sore Ai Ga Deshou," saying it's "too good" for Konata to have done.

But as I looked in the credits, it seems that the OP is also supposed to be the girls singing in character [the OP is credited to "Izumi Konata (Hirano Aya), Hiiragi Kagami (Kato Emiri), Hiiragi Tsukasa (Fukuhara Kaori) and Takara Miyuki (Endo Aya)," as is each ED, despite it only being Konata/Aya singing].

From that, I'm taking it as a sign that all the girls are supposed to have moderately-passable-to-decent singing voices should they try. So I don't see it as a big deal that Konata was able to "flip the switch" from awful/grating to decent/passable.

The thing is that it felt OOC. If Kona-chan had been a really great singer at the start, it would make sense that she had continued to sing in a professional manner in the third ED. You could just tell Kona-chan was putting her heart (and enthusiasm, keke) into the first two ED songs, and she sounded like a normal person (well, as normal as Kona-chan can sound). It felt to me like Hirano Aya was singing as herself rather than as Kona-chan in the third ED. I guess I'm annoyed with the inconsistency in Kona-chan's singing when she is normally a fairly consistent character.

[aorta]

Do you think we'll have 2 ed soundtracks, one to cover the first half of the show and a second to cover the last half? The July release date seems to suggest this; I doubt they would want to spoil what the other ending songs were.

[dkellis]

For some reason I'm finding myself somewhat addicted to a certain BGM. It's the one which plays at, for example, episode one when Miyuki was describing how she was dojikko.

There's something about easy-listening piano-and-trumpet pieces that seem to hook me. First "Itsumo no Fuukei" from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and now this.

[SnakeLegend]

well just watched the 3rd episode...
Hirano Aya singing Sore Ga Ai Deshou o.o
is it gonna be in the OST too?
what a remix if it is :S

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

ED collection on the way, to be issued in July. Since it says "dorama," I suppose they'll string it together from the show, with maybe extended versions of the songs. Not sure.

Its also appeared over at CDJapan --- time for a preorder!

Also, its listed on CDjapan that the first Limited Edition DVD shall come with a BGM CD --- just like with Haruhi, so thats where the music shall appear. Time for another preorder. :3

Also, i love that they used the Gunbuster launch theme three times this episode. :3

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by SnakeLegend

well just watched the 3rd episode...
Hirano Aya singing Sore Ga Ai Deshou o.o
is it gonna be in the OST too?
what a remix if it is :S

knowing how much a company can milk a series i wont be surprised if they released each "EDs" as a full ridiculous versions voiced by yours truly kona and co

[MakubeX2]

Lucky Star Ending Theme Drama

Release Date 11th July. Featuring all the current Karaoke ED Drama in one go tied up by all the ful version of the ED Songs.

http://www.neowing.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=LACA-5658

[Shiroth]

Erm MakubeX2 --- Me and Kaoru Chujo have already mentioned about the ED release.

[MakubeX2]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Erm MakubeX2 --- Me and Kaoru Chujo have already mentioned about the ED release.

Oh well, forgive me. It about 7 am now here and I'll still a bit drowsy. At least the little extra bit at Neowing mentioned about tieing up everything with full versions of the ED Songs.

[MakubeX2]

Ep 4 ED :-

Sailor Uniform and Machine Gun.

Surprised that they manage to sneak in a J-POP song. So we might see something totally unexpected in the future.

[Kaioshin Sama]

What the heck happened with Ep 5's Chala Head Chala, I mean holy crap the others were bad on purpose, but this one is just outright painful on the ears. I think they went way overboard on the bad karaoke with this one such that I can't think of any reason why anyone would want to buy and listen to a single of it.

[nadare]

^I disagree. I kinda liked this one better than the previous 4. I think I looped it more than 30 times already >.<

[outcast_within]

I disagree even more. To me The ED's are all about listening to sth funny and energetic (and in episode three, sth surprisingly sensitve and unexpected)

And cha-la head cha la does that wonderfully