Ai Yori Aoshi : Sakura: Original Soundtrack

By Tiffani Nadeau     July 31, 2005
Release Date: October 07, 2003



What They Say
The original soundtrack to Pioneer Entertainment’s surprise romantic hit on both sides of the Pacific Ocean finally becomes available in North America

The liner notes for this CD also include English and phonetic lyric translations

The Review!
4 out of 5
Music found in the Ai Yori Aoshi Series.

This CD comes with a six-page insert. The first page is the song title list. The next page has both the English and the Japanese lyrics to the two vocal songs. On the next two pages are character pictures from the series. The last two pages are credits for the CD as well as the Anime.

The music in this one is very melancholy. Not quite hitting that level of depressing or sorrowful, just slightly sad. Even the vocal numbers have that slight tinge of melancholy to them. It is actually refreshing. So many Anime soundtracks have great melancholy instrumentals that make up the most of the CD, then they throw on a fast upbeat vocal that really has nothing to do with the entire feel of the rest of the CD. This is not to say that this doesn’t have any of the more upbeat songs, they just fit more into the feel of the story, the instrumental upbeat has a different quality than the vocal upbeat, and it ties more into the slower more melancholy feel to the entire CD. The instrumentals seem to just flow perfectly into one another, and the melodical moments are fit for any occasion. The biggest problem is that sometimes, in a few of the songs the instrumentals flow too well into one another, and it makes for a very difficult time trying to figure out where one ends and the other begins. The basic musical background for each song is however different, so it can be done, just difficult. The flowing instrumentals and the peaceful vocals fit the show and the CD perfectly.

I’d have to say a real winner

Fangboy says…I’d play it at all my special occasions.

Features
Eternal Flower / On Air Version1:33Vocal (Japanese),Fate2:00Instrumental,Promise1:49Instrumental,Loving Heart ~ Someday for Sure2:18Instrumental,Morning2:04Instrumental,Cherry Blossoms1:50Instrumental,Early Afternoon2:09Instrumental,Parting3:10Instrumental,Feel At Ease2:25Instrumental,History1:31Instrumental,Alone1:30Instrumental,Early Evening2:23Instrumental,Seasons Over the Glass2:57Instrumental,Darkness (Part 1)1:54Instrumental,Darkness (Part 2)2:08Instrumental,Instant2:02Instrumental,Midnight2:42Instrumental,Noisy Heart2:27Instrumental,Distance2:02Instrumental,Cherished Memory2:19Instrumental,Flower of Words / Inst. Version2:33Instrumental,Going Far1:57Instrumental,Clamor1:22Instrumental,Be in a Mess2:10Instrumental,Temptation…Meditation…Perseverance2:19Instrumental,Temptation…Hesitation…Action1:33Instrumental,Miyabi’s Theme…Part 11:51Instrumental,Tina’s Theme2:00Instrumental,Taeko’s Theme 2:02Instrumental,Unusual Party2:01Instrumental,Wild Joy Wild dance1:32Instrumental,Miyabi’s Theme…Part 22:22Instrumental,Flower of words / Anime version1:14Instrumental,Dream Talk1:02Instrumental,A Flower Without a Name / On Air Version1:33Vocal (Japanese),Aoi’s Diary “Spring”3:30Instrumental/Spoken Japanese

Review Equipment
Total CD Length: 74:14

MUSIC STAFF

ALL MUSIC & ARRANGEMENT: Toshio Masuda [except tr.35]

Executive Producer: Akihiro Kawamura (PIONEER LDC)

Producer: Yuichi Sekido (PIONEER LDC)

Assistant Producer: Norihiko Hiroi (PIONEER LDC) • Mina Otsuka (ANIMATE FILM)

Director: Naoki Ninomiya (Music Brains)

Recording & Mixing Engineer: Akiko Nakamura • Hitoshi Hashimoto (OPTV)

Assistant Engineer: Hiromi Shinjo (WHITEBASE STUDIO) • Koutarou Takada • Yukiko Matsushita (little BACH) • Ryou Ikeuchi (AOBADAI STUDIO) • Takao Ezaki (Music Brains)

Recording & Mixing Studio: WHITEBASE STUDIO • Little BACH HARAJUKU • AOBADAI STUDIO • Music Brains Studio • DENIM Studio

Recording Chief: Shuichi Kurita (POWER BOX)

Recording Coordinator: Masayuki Watanabe (POWER BOX)

Promoter: Masaru Noaki - Takashi Iida (PIONEER LDC)

Sales Promoter: Jun Nishimura (PIONEER LDC)

Desk: Miwa Sasaki (PIONEER LDC)

Character Narration Director: Tsutomu Kashiwakura

Character Narration Writer: Go * Tamai

Character Voice Narrator: Ayako Kawasumi

Narration Recording Studio: Sanpunzaka Studio

Character Narration Production: ANIMATE FILM



MUSICIAN

Strings: Hiroyuki Koike strings

Vln 1: Yasushi Kozuka

Vln 2: Akira Takahashi

Vla: Kaoru Hagiwara

Cello: Ayumi Kasahara

Sax & Fl: Mitsuru Tsutsumikuni

Gt: Masahiro Ogura

Cla & Fl & Piccolo: Akio Fujita

Ob: Masakazu Ishibashi

Koto: Chito Mukai