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Sora to Umi no Shi (5cm)

Eh I didn’t really like this. If I recall correctly, this is the piece used in the second episode where the girl is able to surf again? I wasn’t greatly impressed with any of the music in 5cm in general. There’s some cheese in this tune, using strings as percussion (1:15), suspended cymbals, etc. But it’s funny, the song ends in a minor key, which makes it more thematically interesting I guess (in relation to love). +0

Seioh Gakuen Kouka (Manabi Straight)

This song as standalone doesn’t do any justice to the contexts in which it is used, unfortunately. Manabi’s strange entrance, the concert, etc. (are there any more?) – but this song really resists transcription. The first time we hear it, it’s a capella, without any accompaniment. I think it’s a memorable melody, especially the ah ahhh seioh wo moment. +1

THANATOS (End of Eva)

A nice piece that digiboy brought to our attention, but let’s look at it closely.

“Lilium” Elfen Lied OP, Kayo Konishi et al.


[transcribed by Sinbois @ Ichigo's] The main similarity is that both tunes begin with very similar intervals. There’s a ascending leap, followed by another descending leap (a leap is the distance between two notes that aren’t next to each other, ie. A to C). In Lilium, the pickup notes suggest the tonic chord, f#m. However, the first note of the song begins on G#, which is the fifth degree of the dominant chord, C#7. Then the G# is resolved by moving smoothly, stepwise up to A, the third of f#m (F# A C#).

“THANATOS ~If I Can’t Be Yours~” End of Eva OST, Mash

In THANATOS, the pickup notes suggest A7, the dominant chord in d minor. Yet the song begins on the tonic, opposed to Lilium’s starting on the dominant. This song also uses a smooth, pop-ish descending bassline with colorful chromatics. Lilium makes use of more classical diminished chords (or dominant’s in first inversion) as secondary dominants to progress smoothly through the circle of fifths.

Well, this song was nice, until it got into that retarded section that totally ruins it all. It’s probably some dumb metaphor, but symbolism doesn’t justify a lack of aesthetic pleasure. +1

In Memories “KO・TO・WA・RI” (Rurouni Kenshin – Tsuiokuhen)

Vaguely reminds me of this:

Very strong harmonies, though the melody isn’t that memorable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing here. The theme comes in early, and is slow, it’s almost like a funeral procession, an eulogy of sorts. I’ve seen the Trust and Betrayal OVA, and parts of the TV series in my youth, not that I really remember any of it in detail. But this piece brings the word “struggle” to my mind. There are parts where the bass ascends stepwise in smooth harmonic progression, it’s kind of like you see Kenshin climbing a mountain (symbolically or physically), but, for love, I guess. Initially, I wasn’t going to give this any points, but it’s grown on me, and I think it’s a very creative piece, with orchestration par excellence. +1

Fuan (Bokura ga Ita)

I’ve heard way too many of these “rocking” songs, not rock-ish, but with a smooth, rocking harmony. One early, well-known example:

I liked Bokura ga Ita, but I don’t remember it being this tranquil. +0

Itsuka Kita Michi (Aria the Natural)

I know there’s a song within these 10 that has the same harmony. It’s in a major key with a chromatic descending bassline, but then it goes into a more orthodox, strong circle of fifths part, which is more palatable. Given Aria, practically any song in it can be love of as lovely (and when the word is ambiguous itself), but this was a nice one. +1

Yakusoku (Love Hina)

OK, so I am a total sucker for cheesy ballads…specifically, cheesy ballads sung by Horie Yui. But let’s look at the B section:

The progression here is nearly identical to the one used in the Kare Kano piece Arima Souichirou 2. Well, the chromatic descending bass in minor is very common (and frequently abused when creativity is lacking) anyway. Because this harmony is so strong, it’s usually used to try and curtain the crappy melody, but I don’t think that’s the case here: the phrasings are simple and natural, memorable and well developed. Compare this to F/SN’s ed. I also have a natural bias to this song because Love Hina was one of the very first shows I watched (on Google video nonetheless…) and I squeeled like a rabid fanboy when Zzero redirected me to this gem that was lost in memory – how could I forget a song like this?

And then there’s Horie Yui. I totally forget how her Narusegawa is like, but I love her raspy voice here. It’s more fitting than an Ayu/Minorin-esque cutesy voice. +2

Call Me Call Me (Bebop)

Wut. +0

Fureai (Romeo X Juliet)

Way too much cheese for me. I like cheese, but not cheesy cheese that takes itself way seriously. This sounds like Joe Hisaishi wannabe stuff. +0

Ai no Melody (Origin: Spirits of the Past)

Same artist that did Gunslinger Girl II’s OP, and it’s easy to see why. Both tunes share similar rhythms and phrases. This is a typical song, though it’s still enjoyable. +0

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 24th, 2009 at 10:08 am and is filed under MAL Keionbu, OP/ED, OST. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.