Anime OST: Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

Title: Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Original Soundtrack
Composer: Kow Otani, Hiroshi Shibasaki, and Shion Tsuji
Distributor: Epic Records
Release Date: Oct 28, 2009

8.0s tragic story wouldn’t be the same without its soundtrack. It maintains a mellow tone for the most part, and it has the heart-pounding pieces that should automatically follow even the title alone, and of course the inevitable drama that its premise summons. They’re well done, well timed, and overall it’s a solid soundtrack with several very memorable pieces.

Anime Songs that you didn’t know were Covers!

So everyone always have their favorite voice cast and composing soundtracks for a show they like, and it seems to me using Seiyuus (Voice actors/actresses) and pop stars to make music for Anime seems quite to be popular among Otakus. The songs they provide are great and provide satisfaction for the fans to love, but does it ring a bell where the lyrics come from? People commonly mistake the anime versions as original music instead of knowing where song originally come from. Though it does make me feel frustrated that the Anime soundtrack and whatever group they use get more credit of song than the original classic from once they came from, also not given credit. Well then, I shall show some good tunes from Animes, that you didn’t know were covers.

P.S: This post is not meant to degrade an Anime series or a Studio.

Anime OST: Code Geass

Title: Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion O.S.T & Code Geass Leleouch of the Rebellion R.2 O.S.T
Composer: Kotaro Nakagawa, and Hitomi Kuroishi.
Distributor: Victor Entertainment
Release Date: December 20, 2006 (Season One) to March 24, 2007 (Season 2)

The soundtrack of Code Geass reflects upon the shows setting with its formula of foreign influence and cultural tension between warring countries. The oppressive nobility of the Britannian Empire, and the pride of the oppressed Japanese. The character songs speak out their feelings, and the battle music is very well orchestrated to give the viewer the extra kick they need to be immersed.

Anime OST: Clannad

Title: CLANNAD Original Soundtrack
Composer: Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi.
Distributor: Key Sound Label
Release Date: August 13, 2004

The soundtrack of Clannad is one that faintly rings in our ears while we watch the characters in front of us grow and develop beyond belief and supports the characters and scenarios to the best of their potential. The songs of Clannad carry large significance, and with it act as reminders to the listener for past events and characters in the show. All the bases are covered with this soundtrack, from calm intermission, comedic to silly scenes, sustained suspense and action, and above all the dramatic and heartbreaking music.

Warning: Spoilers in track comments.

Anime OST: Shiki [Full]

It’s been a while since the release of the Shiki Original Soundtrack Mini Album: Rogue, which gave us only a small preview of the entirety of the Shiki soundtrack, which I thought to be incredible.

Top Tracks

Track #	Track Name	Comment
#1	Day and Night	Day and Night’s sharp and dissonant strings provide the chilling foundation and is complimented by the soft, whispering female vocals. Midway, the violin gives us the weeping and sorrowful tone, backed by more female vocals offsetting the tone with more chills.
#2	Eau de Vie	The forceful start of Eau de Vie harshly pushes us into the dramatic and despondent tones of the strings that follow. The vocals, still present, offer us the chilling tones that we heard from Day and Night
#3	Pendulum	Pendulum starts off immediately with the chanting of utterly bone-chilling childish vocals accompanied with small bell noises in the back, and then grows into a full orchestra of mixed voices following the same progression, accompanied with the dissonant female vocals that travel from left to right. The pounding drums and bass in the second half join in with the continued chanting giving off a stronger impact than the first half.
#5	Twilight	Twilight eases into the chanting of young “la-ing,” that quickly transitions into the long and weeping violins which still carries an ominous tone.
#10	Dance of Death	Dance of Death manages a light and lifting melody with the female hissing vocalization. The later half has more female vocalizations that emphasize dramatic moods.
#11	Silent Night	Silent Night begins dark and quiet, loosely following the melody of Dance of Death, with dark and looming background noise, and contains new vocalizations including the previous one. About 50 seconds in, it breaks out into dischordant background noise and percussion, the sounds of giggling, bursting brass instruments in the far off distance, growling, and low bass male vocals.
#17	Echo	Echo serves as the climactic end to the show which, to that end, uses the strong percussion in the background, led by the violin offering us a dramatic weeping tone begging to go on, while the vocals counterbalance it with it’s powerful and conclusive melody.
#19	Crimson	Following the same chord progression as Dance of Death, Crimson uses only the piano in a light and whimsical fashion with an uplifting tone that carries little to no “creep” value that most of the songs carry.

Anime OST: Death Note

Death Note’s soundtrack utilizes an extremely wide variety of sounds and instruments that accurately match every mood and tone needed within the show. Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi use latin choirs, modern rock instruments, electric chiptune beats, and an incredible orchestra to create one of if not the most masterful soundtracks in anime history.

This particular soundtrack gave me a hard time in watering down to the most notable tracks, of course to my own judgment.

Anime OST: Summer Wars

Composed by Akihiko Matsumoto, the Summer Wars soundtrack is an assortment of upbeat and eerie chiptune songs, energetic orchestra, awe-inspiring and emotional pieces, heavy action, and is just an incredibly well-rounded composition altogether. Akihiko’s focus on synthesized noises, strings, and piano are the strongest points of this album.

Notable Tracks:

Summer Wars Original Soundtrack 

• #02 – Overture of the Summer Wars
• #06 – Pleasure Criminal
• #07 – King Kazma
• #09 – Sakae in Action
• #12 – Collapse (interesting to note this track’s slight similarity to Night on Bald Mountain featured in Fantasia)
• #14 – Everyone’s Courage
• #15 – 150 Million Miracles 
• #17 – The Summer Wars
• #18 – Happy End

Our Summer Dream

• #01 – Our Summer Dream

Anime OST: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Original Soundtrack

Composed by Takada Ryuuichi, this OST mainly uses strings and wind instruments to give off a suspenseful, climactic and dramatic atmospheres that support the movie scenes almost perfectly. These tracks truly fit the charisma that the Haruhi franchise demands, and the aura of theatrical movie.

Notable Tracks:

Disc 1

• #05 – Asakura Ryouko to Iu Josei
• #06 – Fuan Kara Kyoufu He
• #10 – Suzumiya Haruhi no Tegakari
• #13 – SOS Dan Futatabi
• #14 – READY
• #15 – Ano Hi no Kioku wo Oikakete
• #19 – Nagato Yuuki no Kokoro ni Aru mono
• #20 – Jiko Ishiki no Kakunin
• #21 – Rikishi no Tenkan Ten
• #22 – Itsumo no Fuukei de Owaru Monogatari

Disc 2

• #01 – Gyumnopedies Dai 1 Ban (in truth, a series of piano compositions made in 1888 by French composer,  Erik Satie)

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Original Soundtrack on CDJapan

Anime OST: Shiki

 

Shiki Original Soundtrack Mini Album "Rouge"

Composed by Yasuharu Takanashi, Shiki’s soundtrack creates tones that range from weeping and mournful, to horrific and tragic, and both at the same time. So far, only this mini album has been released, and I don’t know if any more will soon be released.

Notable Tracks:

• #01 – Day and Night
• #02 – Pendulum
• #04 – Eau de Vie
• #06 – Mosaic

Anime OST: Angel Beats!

Angel Beats! Original Soundtrack

Composed by ANANT-GARDE EYES and Jun Maeda, Angel Beats!’ soundtrack uses strings and mainly piano for dramatic and deep tones that stand out by themselves as do they along with the show’s animation.

Notable Tracks:

Disc 1

• #01 – My Soul, Your Beats (OP)
• #02 – Theme of SSS
• #08 – My Most Precious Memory
• #21 – Worthy Rival
• #22 – Burial

Disc 2

• #04 – Kanade
• #07 – Unjust Life
• #14 – Otonashi
• #19 – Ichiban no Takaramono (Original Ver.)
• #20 – Brave Song (ED)