Anime OST: Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
November 20, 2011 2 Comments
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.
Track # | Track Name | Comment |
#02 | Mirai no Nichijou | It’s good for the exposition of the show, and it rings several times through the show as a reminder of how things used to be before the tragedy. |
#04 | Tanoshii Jikan | Of course, we can’t expect sadness and tragedy 24/7, and Tanoshii Jikan gives us the downtime we need from all the drama. |
#05 | M8 | Its one-time-use capacity is made obvious just from the name itself, but while it has the spotlight, M8 gives us the shock just as well as the scene itself does (no pun intended). |
#14 | tokyo Tower Toukai | Of all the continuations of high tension songs that come after M8, Tokyo Tower Toukai is probably the best. It’s used well and sounds the closest like M8, and also because it doesn’t sound like an action chase scene as most of the others do. |
#15 | Sannin no Yakusoku | It’s the same as Mirai no Nichijou, but with a twist halfway. Sannin no Yakusoku gives us a connection to the life before the earthquake to where the characters are after it happened. |
#24 | Chikaduku Wakare | This familiar tune rings through the whole series at the beginning of every episode with the opening statement of the circumstances of the show. Several times will you hear it ring during the show, and this bridge between events becomes one the viewer can become attached to. |
#29 | Yuuki he | For the true climax of the show, its execution and timing is perfect, and needless to say it’s well performed. |
#30 | M-elody | For such a heavy show, this ED is certainly a bright one. But it’s for the reason that the show is such a heavy one that we need an ED like this. The use of photographs during the sequence has some significance, but becomes much more obvious and more clear at the end of the show. |
8.0 has a great soundtrack that fits the mood of the show extremely well. I was a little bothered by how light-hearted the ED was, seeing how this was a pretty depressing show; almost kinda like After Story’s ED. It’s a shame that most of the soundtrack isn’t very easy to find, and there’s only a couple of them on youtube.
I actually liked the contrast between the show and the ED. After Story is a whole different case though, but it works for me in 8.0.