Pink iPod of Doom: Tuskihime Soundtrack 2, Sister Princess: 12 Angels, Fruits Basket: Four Seasons, Yoko Ishida: all of me

By: Lauren Goodnight
Date: Friday, May 13, 2005

Oh, joy, oh, terror that is you, Anime Boston 2005. There was such sweetness and finesse in the way you combined with the raging river that is my (now-defunct) schooling to bring me deep shades of madness. The only soft relief I found was in the arms of music. And yet, was there any real relief to be found in this week's batch? Find out below, as the pink iPod of DOOM returns!

Moonlit Memoirs: Lunar Legend Tsukihime Original Soundtrack 2

Geneon Entertainment



Let me state for the record how biased I am about this release. I LOVE THE TSUKIHIME ANIME AND SOUNDTRACK 1. Soundtrack 2 is basically an image album that the composer, Toshiyuki O'mori, wrote after seeing the series in its entirety. It restates many of the main themes within the first disc but does it in a way that does not sound stale or redundant. Rather, the listener finds himself patting himself on the back when he recognizes a thread from this track or that. Most refreshing, I will be the first to admit, are the subtle remixes embedded within this mix. As it is an after-the-fact product, there are no tracks which feel unfinished or cut-off. This is a whole package and if you enjoyed going on Arcueid's journey, this disc cannot be recommended highly enough. Soaring violins and somber pianos paint watercolors in dusky rooms for you when you listen, so please experience it soon.



Where I took it, and where it took me: That long plane ride became a playground for my brain when I was jacked into this.

Standout track: Eclipse -- I was surprised at how subtle some of the mixes were, but this was the most inventive and delicate

Skip-it track: None. This was a seamless album that I did not expect.



Rating: 5 out of 5

Sister Princess: My Sweet Twelve Angels

Geneon Entertainment



If you love Sister Princess and do not want to hate me, please don't read this review. The packaging, an aspect I shouldn't take into account when writing from my iPod, is one of the few redeeming qualities of this release. It is slick stuff, with beautiful art for each of the sisters. As well, there is a small vocal clip from each sister at the end of the disc, where each girl reads a "Hi, what's shakin'? I love my brother unnaturally!" note to the main character. The acting here is extremely on point and very, very cute. It, as well, is a serious redeeming quality of this disc. The problems arise when the girls start singing. Every track is what I like to describe as "over-produced". This is an image album, but its as though there is no creativity in the composition, and to cover for this, the producers made it "perfect". No amount of perfect can make "A Little Pansy", Kaho's song, worth listening to ever again in my whole life.




Where I took it: I popped this disc into my friend's car CD player, where we sat in traffic torturing those around us with the parade of sub-par pop frou-frou.

Where it took me: Running at full speed to find my Bubblegum Crisis: Best Vocal Collection disc.

Standout track: Kiss of Darkness -- I harbor a very public love of this track, as it was the only piece that felt edgy or genuine.

Skip-it track: Sweet and Sour Cherry Pie -- See if you can name all of the engrish foods, spices, and actions without looking at the lyrics!



Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Fruits Basket -Four Seasons- Song for Ritsuko Okazaki

Geneon Entertainment



Four Seasons is a disc compiled in memory of the singer Ritsuko Okazaki, who sang the OP and ED for the Fruits Basket as well as Princess Tutu. She was also a composer of the OPs and EDs for other TV shows such as Love Hina and Sister Princess: Re Pure. She died in early May of 2004 of septic shock and the anime world mourned. This tribute album is more like a retrospective and compilation. There are six instrumental tracks, all of which are easily recognizable if one has watched Furuba in its entirety (which, if you have not, I highly recommend it), and five vocal tracks, all composed and sung by Okazaki. This album is lovely and very relaxing, but it is very short, and if you already own Fruits Basket: Memory of You, owning this may seem redundant, but the orchestration on the instrumental tracks is impeccable and the vocal tracks all sound remastered to perfection. If you love Okazaki's soft, inherently Japanese voice, you will enjoy this mix of calm and more calm.



Where I took it: After getting home from Anime Boston, I needed some deflation time, and Four Seasons afforded it.

Where it took me: I went to a softer place, where everyone is polite and actually cares about you just because you exist in your own skin. This is like having a portable Tohru Honda on your side.

Standout track: Serenade - I don't remember this track in Furuba, but it could be one of the many drama CD tracks, or possibly on another Furuba CD than was released stateside. Still, whether I recognize it our not, the way it moves from simple piano and violin into trumpets while still keeping the purity of the vocals is genius. Sunlight Sifting Down Through the Trees is an amazing track also.

Skip-it track: Sky-blue - With so few tracks on this, it was hard to pick a track to skip, but the very subtle use of a drum machine rather than a real drum kit in this song gets under my skin, and I just can't listen to it for very long.



Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Yoko Ishida: all of me

Geneon Entertainment



This is an interesting choice to release stateside, as it contains a mix mainly composed of OPs and EDs from a variety of sources such as a radio show, a video game, and several anime. The petite Yoko Ishida, whose voice, while not a powerhouse, is sweet and expressive, fills this disc with an ambitious feeling in each track. Her first album to be released over here was 'sweets' and this album was supported with a very small US tour, including appearances at Anime Boston. 'all of me' is a different animal than most "best of" discs, as every track here feels like it fits. Trust me, each track is different and distinctive, but one does not clash with another, and on both sequential and random settings, this disc is entertaining. Then again, I am showing both my age and bias: I loved her Sailor Moon work and believe that the EDs she worked on for that series were brilliant. The opening track comes from the brand-spanking-new Ah! My Goddess TV series, which is one of the more anticipated titles of the past year, and it almost does not prepare the listener for the energetic turns this album takes. Fans of fluffy pop music with the primary instrumentation being synth will adore this, so count me in for the ride!



Where I took it: Walking around in costume during dealer's room time felt really appropriate with this music. Oh, and I got the chance to watch a bonus mini-DVD of Ishida's music video and promotional materials for this release, and she is beyond cute. That was enjoyed in my bedroom about a week after convention time.

Where it took me: Every anime/manga-themed project I've been involved in has inspired different opening and ending sequences in my head over time. This album redefined what those could be, and I was revisited by characters from my very distant past who still love the spotlight!

Standout track: I could not choose a standout, because I was so overwhelmed by the quality of all of the tracks. This is a brilliant album from one of anime's classic idols.

Skip-it track: Walking through the empty age - This is the end of the end of Technolyze, and its in English. Sadly, Ishida's pronunciation makes this pretty scary listening. Other acts who speak little or no English end up with decent songs in English (t.A.T.u's 'Stars' and Puffy AmiYumi's 'Planet Tokyo' come to mind), so 'Walking' was a disappointment to me.



Rating: 4.5 out of 5