When the Music Is Better Than the Series Itself...

[IamBoogiepop]

So I went over to a friend's house, and another friend was looking over her anime collection, spying Legend of Himeko. She exclaimed what beautiful music it had, and then went on for five minutes to discuss how pretty the opening theme song is. Then, when I posed the question as to what others thought of the series (because I found it to be the epitome of mediocrity)... NO ONE HAD ANYTHING NICE TO SAY. The only thing anyone even remembered about it was the music.

So, I pose the questions, which series do you believe to have music that is much better than the series itself?

~Justin

[Andrew Cunningham]

Gundam X.

[KShinjo]

Revolutionary Girl Utena. OP and ED songs rocked. The series was not my cup of tea.

[Lego]

Oh boy, this should be fun..

The big, recent one for me would have to be Air Gear. A great set of soundtracks only to be paired with a mediocre show.

[akcoll99]

.hack//SIGN. Couldn't stand the show, but loved the soundtrack.

[mighty_vespa]

My default answer, whenever a topic like this comes up:

Brain Powerd

[Speedy Boris]

Maburaho had some good tunes, especially "Mataaaaaari!" and "i'm kazuki shikimori".

[ZetaEpyon]

My default answer, whenever a topic like this comes up:

Brain Powerd

This was my thought, as well. I've not seen it yet myself, but everything I've heard indicates that it's nothing particularly special. But damn what a fine soundtrack.

[EWD]

Many of the series for which Yuki Kajiura has written the music, I feel that the music is better than the series, or perhaps that it is the music that is the thing that I enjoy most about the series. For example, Noir, Madlax, and My-Hime are all shows I've enjoyed watching, but I do not think that I would enjoy them as much if I didn't like the music so much.

[Spirit Of The Stage]

Battle Programmer Shirase - worst excuse for an anime ever...but had a pretty catch ending song and a good musical opening...

[animegirl]

I really liked the OP for Lodoss War TV but the show wasn't that great.

[Shsway]

Kiddy Grade's music is full of the awesome that the rest of the show's content did not manage to deal to my satisfaction. I'd buy the soundtracks if someone would bring them stateside!

[treatment]

Inuyasha.

:sigh:

The series was pretty much just average overall. The music was pretty good, tho.

[DanielJr]

.hack//SIGN, Noir, Madlax... lol. All of them have better music than story.

I haven't seen Brain Powered though.

[evilarrex]

Ninja Ressurection:
awful OVA but great soundtrack
Brain Powered:
What a waste of a brilliant OST
Hack/Sign:
I really enjoyed the soundtracks to this but was lukewarm overall on this series.
Aquarian Age:
Series started well but kinda degenerated. Another fun YK soundtrack

[Suzaku Seikun]

Kannazuki no Miko - For me, the best part of the show was the OP and ED. I bought the series because I really liked the trailer/OP on one of the Geneon DVDs I had. And it turned out to be the only thing I really liked about the series.

[Serial Experiments Nobue]

Revolutionary Girl Utena. OP and ED songs rocked. The series was not my cup of tea.


The music (BGM and duel choruses alike) complete the full package for me for Utena, a series I like everything about. But then again, this is my favorite series, so I'm a little bit biased. :sweatdrop:


I agree with Noir. I can easily see how if I didn't like the soundtrack, I wouldn't enjoy the show as much. I jokingly refer to Noir as a 26 episode long Yuki Kajiura music video.

[roastedpekingduck]

One day...I swear, one day I will buy Utena. The show's been on my to-buy list every since I became an anime fan three years ago. It always gets pushed down though, because there's always a show I want to pick up a bit more.

[evilarrex]

One day...I swear, one day I will buy Utena. The show's been on my to-buy list every since I became an anime fan three years ago. It always gets pushed down though, because there's always a show I want to pick up a bit more.

Everything sucks compared to Utena! :P
GET IT NOW! :>

[roastedpekingduck]

One day...I swear, one day I will buy Utena. The show's been on my to-buy list every since I became an anime fan three years ago. It always gets pushed down though, because there's always a show I want to pick up a bit more.

Everything sucks compared to Utena! :P
GET IT NOW! :>

Unfortunately, as of now, there are some things that I still want to pick up a bit more than I want Utena. Gah, don't make like any harder! :P

[itsuka]

One day...I swear, one day I will buy Utena. The show's been on my to-buy list every since I became an anime fan three years ago. It always gets pushed down though, because there's always a show I want to pick up a bit more.

Just don't wait too long... CPM has been very close to falling ever since last year, and Utena is an old license, meaning there is always a risk that the license is not renewed at some point, either due to financial CPM problems or because CPM feels they cannot earn back the renewal costs.

Whatever is higher on your list is more likely to be around for a longer time, and even get cheaper if you wait a while...

[Puppet Master]

Noir is the one case that comes to mind at the moment.

[IamBoogiepop]

My default answer, whenever a topic like this comes up:

Brain Powerd

Amen! The complete OST is wonderful, and the OP and ED are EXCELLENT, but the show itself... I stopped Netflix-ing after the first 2 discs :(

~Justin

[Mr. Nail Bat]

Many of the series for which Yuki Kajiura has written the music, I feel that the music is better than the series, or perhaps that it is the music that is the thing that I enjoy most about the series. For example, Noir, Madlax, and My-Hime are all shows I've enjoyed watching, but I do not think that I would enjoy them as much if I didn't like the music so much.

I think that Yuki Kajiura is at the same time a really talented composer and a really terrible incidental music composer. Her music is often a detriment to the series it appears in because it so frequently doesn't match the action or the mood. Instead, it overwhelms it.

[Isuzu Inugami]

Everything sucks compared to Utena! :P
GET IT NOW! :>


Quoted for the shining diamond core of absolute truth!

Ummm... getting back to the subject, I like the Get Backers soundtrack a lot more than the show itself.

[StudioZEL]

My nominations include:

Hana Yori Dango ('bout the only good quality of the show IMO)
Tsubasa: Resovoir Chronicle (Kajiura's music is awesome, the animation is not)
Noir (Great Kajiura music, no plot)
InuYasha (Not a bad show, but I feel the music made it better than it was ^^)

EDIT: after reading Arrex's post, I was reminded of Ninja Ressurection. How could I forget that one? ^^

[EWD]

I think that Yuki Kajiura is at the same time a really talented composer and a really terrible incidental music composer. Her music is often a detriment to the series it appears in because it so frequently doesn't match the action or the mood. Instead, it overwhelms it.

Well, I would not agree with that - I think she does great incidental music that generally sets an appropriate mood, but then music can be very subjective. I think we will have to agree to disagree on that one.

However, I've read some of the liner notes for the OSTs, and given the working conditions she has, if the music does not match the scene, it's the director's fault, not Yuki Kajiura's. She gets a list with "themes" or moods, and then writes music to try to match that, without ever seeing the scenes or even story boards where the music fits. She isn't even given the plot details. The director decides wher to put the music, how loud to make it, whether the song really fits the scene, etc.

[Yaone]

Escaflowne
RahXephon
Flame of Recca
Samurai Troopers 3rd ova
Wedding Peach ova

[CGord]

Air. The Op & Ed are fantastic, the anime itself...slightly less so.

[Suwako Moriya]

Noir is the one case that comes to mind at the moment.

On that note I am still convinced the purpose of Noir's music was too distract the viewer so they wouldn't notice how boring the actual show was.

[Njr Scrawl]

My default answer, whenever a topic like this comes up:

Brain Powerd

This was my thought, as well. I've not seen it yet myself, but everything I've heard indicates that it's nothing particularly special. But damn what a fine soundtrack.

Being by Yohko Kanno helps ;)

roasted. Utena is worth getting (the Anime Legend sets) just as a backlog title, bookends, whatever... Or only buy the movie which can be seen as a stand alone, if somewhat fantastical story & probably CPM's highest AV quality release.

[coelacanth]

My default answer, whenever a topic like this comes up:

Brain Powerd

I rather enjoyed Brain Powerd, up to a point. The soundtrack was gorgeous, and had nice character design and, well, interesting mechanical design. I did not mind the inscrutable plot, until Baron Maximillian showed up, one of the most ridiculous characters in anime, ever. The show completely sucked after that.

AJC

[Buckeye]

For me, my top choice is Starship Operators. The opening and ending songs were great as they were performed by two members of I've Sound that includes KOTOKO, but the series itself lacked substance and was boring for me to sit through.

[roastedpekingduck]

One day...I swear, one day I will buy Utena. The show's been on my to-buy list every since I became an anime fan three years ago. It always gets pushed down though, because there's always a show I want to pick up a bit more.

Just don't wait too long... CPM has been very close to falling ever since last year, and Utena is an old license, meaning there is always a risk that the license is not renewed at some point, either due to financial CPM problems or because CPM feels they cannot earn back the renewal costs.

Whatever is higher on your list is more likely to be around for a longer time, and even get cheaper if you wait a while...
...hopefully it will still last in supply for a few months because I only recently splurged on some shows...I've noticed some of the boxsets have already gone missing from some of the bigger online retailers...

[Isuzu Inugami]

Just remembered Earth Girl Arjuna, which is a decent show on the rare occasions when things are actually happening, but spends way too much time making a message I basically agree with disagreeable. In any case, the soundtrack is one of Yoko Kanno's best.

[Thanatos]

I liked Himikoden.... :(

I definitely agree with Brain Powerd. I imagine someone's eventually going to mention Macross 7, but Mac7 is easily one of the greatest anime TV series.

[jecca-neko]

Just remembered Earth Girl Arjuna, which is a decent show on the rare occasions when things are actually happening, but spends way too much time making a message I basically agree with disagreeable. In any case, the soundtrack is one of Yoko Kanno's best.

I'll agree with that, and I like Arjuna.

I'll also agree with the .hack//SIGN votes. The series bored me, but I enjoyed the music.

[Ty]

My default answer, whenever a topic like this comes up:

Brain Powerd

Amen! The complete OST is wonderful, and the OP and ED are EXCELLENT, but the show itself... I stopped Netflix-ing after the first 2 discs :(

~Justin
Netflix is perfect for this situation. I almost bought the show once just for the music, but managed to resist. I could probably tolerate a single viewing in order to take in a fantastic Yoko Kanno soundtrack I haven't heard yet. Especially since she never produces music in her older style anymore. :( I'd give just about anything to hear another soundtrack from her like Escaflowne's.

[EmperorBrandon]

A Little Snow Fairy Sugar has nice, catchy music provided by Shinkichi Mitsumune, so it sticks out as an example for me (though I do like the series itself, it isn't one of my favorites)

[RayeKinezono]

It would have to be the Tsukihime anime. Compared to the actual story, the anime is disappointing and falls flat, but the music... I could listen to it for hours on end. I bought both CDs - the Moonlit Archives OST and the Moonlit Memoirs tribute CD.

And Utena is another one where I like and own the OST, and yet have not picked up the series. But I'm still watching it via rentals. Still doesn't make any sense to me.