Anime Music Spotlight – Part 1: Piano

I’ve been meaning to do a music spotlight post for a while now, but for some reason or another, I put it off. Well, last night I finished watching Diebuster and because of its excellent soundtrack, I have finally decided to kick my butt into high gear.

These musical spotlights will span a total of four posts (Possibly more, but we’ll see how it goes), each dedicated to their own instrument. I figured I should start to do some interesting things now that Mawaru Penguindrum is quickly coming to a close. So without further ado, let’s get on with the show.

Sora No Woto – Bruine Assassine composed by Oshima Michiru

Sora No Woto is set in a post apocalyptic world that has regressed the world’s technology back to 19th century standards. Despite the fact that the story follows five young women who make up the 1121st platoon, the perfect formula for moe hijinks, the soundtrack tends to take on a rather somber tune, which is expressed perfectly here in this track. The quiet subtlety that the piano has in ‘Bruine Assassine’ appears to gather all the girls doubts and hesitations and expresses them beautifully in this melancholic number.

Clannad – To the same Heights composed by Jun Maeda

Clannad is one big fest of tears but despite all that the characters always find a way to cope with the tragedies that face them. At first I was thinking of showcaseing the track ‘roaring tides’, but then I thought Clannad isn’t only about the tragedies and ‘To the same Height’ is the perfect song to portray that. At first the piano starts of slow, like someone’s trying to find their feet once more, but around the 2:40 mark, when they finally learn to stand again, everything’s smooth sailing.

Umi Monogatari – Eikyuu no Nagisa composed by Ken Muramastu

This soundtrack is what made me a fan of Ken Muramastu’s work. It may have not been the best story Sato Junichi has ever done, but he always knows exactly who to hire as the composer. Despite how much I dislike the ocean, this track makes me want to waltz right down to the nearest sandy beach, plop down a towel , and spend my day watching the waves crash onto the shore. If a song can make me feel like spending time in a hot and sandy place that smells like fish, then it’s got to be doing something right.

White Album – Koi Iro Sora composed by Fujima Hitoshi

White Album may not win any awards for its story or characters, but it’s jazzy album is certainly worthy of praise. While this album isn’t filled with great piano pieces like most of Ken Muramastu’s soundtracks are, the instrumental piece of Koi Iro Sora that is littered throughout the show is good enough to warrant a merit.

Hanasaku Iroha – Koudousuru Shoujo Tachi composed by Hamaguchi Shirou

Koudousuru Shoujo Tachi is merely one of the many great piano tracks that grace the Hanasaku Iroha soundtrack, but since I decided I’d stick with only one example from each show, this one just has to be heard to believe. It flawlessly blends my two favorite instruments but it’s the piano here that takes center stage and ends up stealing the show.

5 Cenitmeters Per Second – End Theme composed by Tenmon

If there ever was a song that captured a snowy night, it would have to be the end theme of 5 Centimeters Per Second. It’s a slow and soothing tune with just the right hint of sadness that doesn’t make it over bearing. It may tell the story of love lost, but that doesn’t mean love may never be found again.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Desiderium composed by Yuki Kajura

Boy, is this track misleading or what. Have any normal person who has no idea what Madoka Magica is and ask them what type of show this came from and they’d say anything but ‘magical girls fighting for their lives against witches.’ Yuki Kajura is one great composer whose versatility is astounding and yet is quite easy to place. It’s kind of like being able to tell your favorite voice actor from a crowd based on sound alone, but that is in no way a bad thing. That just means I love her music so much I can tell it apart from everything else.

Aria the Origination – Nanairo No Sora Wo composed by SONOROUS

This is probably one of my favorite tracks period. I’m not quite sure where I should begin to explain how much I adore this song but whenever I hear it, I drop what ever I’m doing and just listen. It’s not something that happens to me very often, after all I like to do something while I listen to music. However, the piano (and, if your listening to the longer version, the singing) compels me to take a little break from life, breathe a little sigh and sit back to enjoy the melody. Aria’s soundtrack is just that kind of music.

Diebuster – Buster Machine no Tamashii composed by Tanaka Kouhei

And finally the track that started it all – well, it got everything going at least. It may just be because I watched Toy Story 3 before finishing Diebuster, but this track reminds me of all the great Disney films out there. It’d come in right when our heroes finally defeated the the big bad and everything is right with the world once more. It might not be the end of our heroes struggles but boy do we know they’ll never give up so long as they have a heart and lungs strong enough to yell half way across the galaxy. This is the kind of music you want to hear as you look majestically out over rolling hills after a hard earned battle is won.

Well, that’s its for this week. Be sure to look forward to more next week! Oh, if there’s any awesome songs you think I should know about, feel free to share.

(p.s. – You can bet your bottom dollar that if the Mawaru Penguindrum soundtrack was out already, the track (music starts at 6:20) in episode twenty would have so made this list. I love that song.)

Edit: I’m going through the music posts and fixing the links. When I figure out what to do with the music that was taken down, I’ll add another note.