Day 3: Usny’s Top 5 Ending themes of 2012

Let me tell you all a story. A few weeks ago, it was discovered that a friend of mine had a paltry two gigabytes of music. I was taught that maintaining a healthy metabolism with such a small library of music is impossible past three years of age. Thus, and emergency music transfusion was arranged and several of us donated our libraries for the sake of our friend’s well being. Knowing that he would not care for some of my music, I pruned down the copy of my library I was giving him. That’s when I realized that I have a metric ass-ton of anime music.

I don’t consider this a bad thing, at least not until other people get into the elevator and I feel a compulsion to turn Super Affection down to near inaudible volumes. On the contrary, I love it when a series has a good opening and/or ending, as they make each episode all the more enjoyable. In these cases, I can’t wait for the singles to be released, even if the show’s OP or ED are the only enjoyable things about the show *cough*Moyashimon Returns*cough*. 2012 has definitely been a great year in terms of anime music and I’ve compiled my top five favorite ending themes after hours and hours of listening.

#5: DAYS of DASH - Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Aside from being one of the most underrated shows of the fall season, Sakurasou also has a great ending theme. I love DAYS of DASH, even despite its embarrassingly Engrish name. The rock elements and vocals give is this inspirational feel that always puts a spring in my step when I listen to it. It fits the series as a whole too because it reflects Sorata’s perseverance as he continues to push to become a game designer and not be crushed under the talent of his fellow housemates. That maid/waitress outfit that Nanami appears in also works wonders.

(more…)

Behind the scenes of every anime, there are hundreds of people at work. Artists, musicians, writers, voice actors, animators… all these people make the magic of anime happen. As talented professionals, these individuals take pride in their craft — everyone likes to be proud of their accomplishments. However, not everyone can say they would brag about everything they ever worked on. Few in the industry have the privilege of choosing what projects they work on, and some of the most recognizable names in the industry have had less glamorous days as a rookie. Today, we will go over a few of these accomplished staffers and the items they might be leaving off their resumes.

Sagisu Shiro Composing for Garzey’s Wing

Sagisu Shiro is one of the most accomplished composers in anime. His musical scores include anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion; Bleach; Kimagure Orange Road; and Nadia, the Secret of Blue Water. He is a timeless and diverse composer whose works span three decades. Listen to how pensive and heavy this track from Nadia is, and how distinctively 80′s this track from Kimagure Orange Road sounds. Here’s something a bit more contemporary from Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance: a riveting and emotional anthem similar in style to something from Iwasaki Taku or Kajiura Yuki.

So what is someone of Sagisu’s caliber doing on the staff of Garzey’s Wing, an anime that I am surprised has a staff at all. Garzey’s Wing is somewhat of a cult classic “bad” anime due to its nonsensical plot, incredibly shallow characters, and hilarious English dub. In fact, I’m not even sure if I remember the music at all, I was too busy laughing at this:

I can only assume the producers spent all their money for the rights to put his name in the credits and just had volunteers from the street do the rest of the work.

Mars of Destruction: Starring Chihaya Minori

Mars of Destruction is notable for being the lowest rated anime on MyAnimeList, with a measly 2.7/10 average score. The pacing is brutally awful, the action scenes look bad, none of the characters make any sense, and they use public domain classical music as the soundtrack because they can’t afford to have one composed. That being said, everyone should watch this anime — it’s only 20 minutes long and it’s absolutely hilarious. A girl’s head gets blown off in the first five minutes in the most absolutely unconvincing battle sequence known to man.

Great moments in anime history

Somewhere in all this, they had the money to hire Chihara Minori, one of the most well-known seiyuu today. I think she’s the main girl (with the red ribbons) because she talked the most and it would seem like a waste otherwise. Less than a year later, Chihara would go and star in some anime called The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. You’ve probably never heard of it. (more…)

Last week on Joe’s Anime Talk, a listener asked what my favorite anime soundtrack was. This got me thinking recently about my love and appreciation for anime soundtracks. I began listening to movie soundtracks when I was in high school, with my favorites including Hans Zimmer and James Horner. Naturally, I began to have an affinity for the background music in anime.

This is an article series from last year that I’ve neglected to keep up with. Rather than suddenly resume the countdown, I decided to start over and go through all ten of my top 10 favorite anime composers in the next few months. Besides making some changes to my list, I have also updated the audio and rewritten large sections. Enjoy!

Oshima Michiru is decently well known in the realm of videogame music, composing scores for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Ico. She’s done a bit of anime music, her work for Full Metal Alchemist and BECK standing out notably. To me, Sora no Woto is the soundtrack that best exemplifies Oshima’s work.

Sora no Woto is a 13 episode slice of lifer set in a fictionalized pre-modern Europe. The scenery is beautiful, but Oshima’s score really brings much of the flavor out of the show.

Apres la pluie le beau temps

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Brass is a thematic element of the show (playing a central role of the plot as well), and it appears in the soundtrack in various ways, from loud and bombastic to soft and melodious. “Apres la pluie le beau temps” has that classic, reminiscent feel.

Destinee

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I really like the contrast in this track — the dramatic buildup leads to a gentler melody and develops as the song progresses. The song sounds rather similar to John Williams’ “Across the Stars” from Star Wars Episode II, though the theme is quite different. As underwhelming as I found Sora no Woto to be, the soundtrack really saves the anime from utter mediocrity. It served to accentuate the conflict in the series far beyond the quality of the exposition. I found myself being tricked into empathy with a particularly well placed score, and there’s no better example than with “Servante de Feu” (more…)

Everyone has been blogging about episode 8 of Nisemonogatari since it aired last week. They’re writing about the tooth brushing, and the… well, there’s not much else to it. People are writing walls of text on why they hate it and how this is a sign of the end of the world later this year, or why they love it because it’s freaking awesome. Not many people, however, are writing about something else that happened earlier in the episode: the new opening.

(I don’t expect that video to last long because YouTube has been totally bullshit about having OP/ED’s)

I am a huge fan of the Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari opening themes, both the music and the animation. I believe that this franchise has the best collective set of OP’s ever. Every time a new arc begins, the thing I’m looking forward to the most is the new opening, and it invariably impresses me. “Marshmallow Justice”, the OP associated with “Karen Bee”, immediately sold Nisemonogatari to me, and now we get “Platinum Disco”, Tsukihi’s OP.

“Platinum Disco” took a few watches to really grow on me. Then intro that takes up the first 20 seconds of the song is an absolute earworm that I can listen to all day. The dance that Tsukihi does with her arms is also unbearably cute. This opening stresses cuteness, making it comparable to “Ren’ai Circulation”, Nadeko’s opening back in Bakemonogatari. The song is girly and childish, Iguchi Yuka’s specialty, while the animation depicts Tsukihi dancing along with a 2-step. kyaaaaa~

A striking motif in this opening is symmetry. Whether this is some kind of symbolism or purely an artistic decision remains to be seen, but it’s interesting enough. The song also has some traditional Japanese flavor to it, especially the bridge, which is a very familiar melody to anyone whose ever seen an anime with a shrine in it. The animation is presented with this washed out film grain effect, furthering the traditional, old-school flavor of the OP.

Notice the bird on the left. That motif should kinda of be self-explanatory.

“Platinum Disco” is yet another addition to X-monogatari‘s stellar collection of opening themes. At least all that money is being put towards a good cause.

I’m not one to really follow Comiket. Sure, I used to grab the new Touhou game if there was one, or I grabbed some doujinshi that people were sharing liberally on the internet, but I was seldom eagerly seeking out specific wares. However, there is one exception, and that is the realm of doujin electronica. I guess it’s an odd intersection of two of my passions: electronic music and Japanese culture. The doujin electronica scene is Japan is vibrant, and their music is surprisingly good on occasion. I love the energy and creativity that can be found in J-core, it’s a unique style that’s pretty fun to listen to. So here’s a recap of the four albums I had my eye on from this summer’s convention, in no particular order.

[wpaudio url="http://kevo.dasaku.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/musicsamples/Galaxxxy_Burst.mp3" text="Galaxxxy_Burst - DJ Shimamura" dl="0"]

This year’s Hardcore Syndrome incarnation, Hardcore Syndrome 5, is pretty cool. Besides the really neat album cover, I found many of the tracks very enjoyable. Hardcore Syndrome 5 is heavier on happy hardcore than its predecessors, which is probably one of the reasons I like it so much. “Galaxxxy_Burst” features a very energetic build and that killer bass that we all seek and desire.

[wpaudio url="http://kevo.dasaku.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/musicsamples/Love_me_U.mp3" text="Love Me U - DJ Genki" dl="0"]

“Love Me U” has a unique buildup where the bass drops away and the fast-paced melody gives away to a piano solo. I am a total sucker for this effect in dance music. The creative use of instruments and rhythms really makes this song stand out. The vocals could have been better, and I can say this for the entire album as well. (more…)

Tomorrow I will be driving down to Chicago to visit my parents before I start work on the 31st. The drive is a sizable length, long enough for me to have to strategize about what I am going to listen to. As I scrolled through my library, I came across an album that I have not listened to in a while, one of the greatest electronica albums of all time.

(more…)

Around a month ago, Taylor Swift was invited on Letterman to talk about her new album, Speak Now. While on the show, Taylor revealed that she emcees her performances in Japan using Japanese. While she won’t be passing the JLPT anytime soon, she seems decently with a handful of greetings. She’s well known in Japan, following the footsteps of former American sensations like Britney Spears or Avril Lavigne. A class act rising star, she toured Japan briefly earlier this year.

Now let’s not forget ourselves here — her Japanese isn’t even as good as mine, but you can’t blame her for trying. Sure it’s fruity, but it’s Taylor Swift for crying out loud. And bless her heart for not attempting to sing in Japanese. Let’s not try to memorize too much of what you don’t understand shall we?

It's been a year, but I still haven't forgotten about Himeka's little incident...

Credit, partially from wienercutter

This year’s Comiket has been a bit uneventful so far for me. I didn’t really have anything specific to look forward to so I’ve been wading though a lot of Touhou stuff to find things I would actually want to listen to. To my pleasant surprise, I saw that Zephyr Cradle released another album! The ever talented TAM is back on the violin to treat us to some of the most pleasant sounding violin rearranges of anime music you’ll ever hear.

(more…)

Aa, the last active member of Savage Genius, has announced on her blog that she is pregnant and will be taking an indefinite leave from her singing career. Savage Genius was one of the very first anime music bands that I ever liked. I wish Aa the best!

I’ve always found Savage Genius to be a touch particular. When you’re a two person act with a dominant singer and a composer, are you still called a “group”? Cascada isn’t a “group”, even though it’s a DJ and a really really German lady. Her composer, Takumi, even retired a few years ago, literally making Aa the only member of a one girl band. This is equivalent of Aa being the only person in a Facebook group and quitting the group. Does it vanish now? Also, Aa is already a stage name, why does she need two? Oh you crazy Japanese people…

Anyway, random musings aside, I hope Aa has a successful pregnancy and returns to Savage Genius soon! A quality group since the early 2000′s, they (her, whatever) have performed some of the most famous anime songs of all time, as well as being a great live performer. Aa’s distinct pitch and the tight instrumental arrangements make Savage Genius’s style very recognizable.

Hikari no Yukue (El Cazador de la Bruja OP)

Prometheus

Forever… (Elemental Gelade OP)

And of course their most famous track that no post should be without (though I kinda like the opening theme better),
Itsuka Tokeru Namida (Uta Kata ED)

If anyone ever read the “About Me” section on this blog, you would know that I’m in college. Because of this, I am poor enough to make some inner city kids blush. So because of my disadvantaged social state, instead of spending the Fourth of July weekend in beautiful southern California hanging out with cool awesome people from the community and seeing May’n and Nakajima Megumi live, I was in Chicago with my girlfriend. I had an amazing time, don’t get me wrong, and the whole time I barely even thought of Anime Expo. I couldn’t afford to take the trip to Cali, and it was never a fathomable option. Lost wages, travel expense, and time was out of the question. At first I was able to deal with it, but holy shit I missed May’n and Nakajima Megumi. So don’t read me, read this, from someone who knows what shit is going down.

Instead I was on a bus. It came 2 hours late in 90 degree weather, then we get on and the AC is broken. After riding a 110 degree bus for 20 minutes then switching buses, we were around 3 hours late. They performed Anata no Oto, didn’t they? Dammit.

Literally, it would have been the perfect concert. They performed every single goddamn song I wanted to see (basically all of them). Watashi no Kare no Pilot, Northern Cross, Triangler, Ao no Ether, Diamond Crevasse and of course your obligatory Lion and Seikan Hikou. From what Yoruko said the whole thing was absolute cum, and it’s not too much of a stretch to believe her. It’s a good thing Neko Nikki was left out, otherwise I would have drowned from sadness.

Macross Frontier‘s original soundtrack is probably one of my favorite albums of any genre ever. I’ve seen some of my favorite contemporary artists live before and I’ve had great experiences. Tiesto was one of the greatest nights of my life, Infected Mushroom was kinda bad but at least I got drunk, and my trip to Lollapalooza a few years ago was amazing. But something tells me this would have topped that list off. And while I had an amazing time in Chicago with my buddies and my love, I wonder in the back of my mind if I really did miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here.