Nekomimi Music

I had the fortune to actually be recommended a GOOD anime by mDuo. If you haven't seen ARIA the Animation yet, I would recommend it if you are a generally cool and laid back guy or gal. It's big on the "slice of life" style, which in my experience has become synonymous with "pretty music." Kokoro Library, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou ~Quiet Country Cafe~, Windy Days, etc. all have these wonderfully relaxing soundtracks. Since I enjoyed ARIA's so much, I feel like giving it a nice review.

The music is done mostly by Choro Club, a nice acoustic trio who also did the music for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou's Second OVA [Look for both OVAs, but read the excellent manga first or they won't make sense!]. That's where I first heard their music and I was amazed at how wonderful they sounded. Of course, on that OST, Taku Iwasaki also worked on it, and orchestrated Choro Club's songs, which was EXCELLENT. Unfortunately, no orchestration here, just Choro Club, but that's fine with me!

The OP and ED, strangely, don't seem to be included on the OST, but there are singles available for each song. The OP is done by Yui Makino, and the ED done by Round Table featuring Nino. Every time I hear a Round Table song, it's always featuring someone called Nino. Why don't they just make Nino part of their band? [mDuo13's note: I was wondering the same thing!] Yui Makino's song is nice, it's slow and smooth, and fits the show well. During her song, they actually show different things about the town in the anime, and sometimes the characters even have conversations above it. So it's not a very traditional OP sequence, but it still works. More time for characters! The ED theme by Round Table [featuring Nino, of course] is the most upbeat and poppy song you'll hear on the show, but it's quite nice. Actually, if you've heard any of the other billion ED themes they've done, this one is pretty downtempo compared to their usual creations. There's one more thing I thought was worth mentioning. During the show, one of the undines is famous for her beautiful singing voice. I'm glad they didn't hire a VA that sucked at it [Hi, BECK!], in fact I really enjoy the song. It's available on the OST and it's called "Barcarolle."

I have a few small beefs, however! For one, throughout the show, there are versions of the OP and ED with different lyrics. I would've liked to have had those versions. Also, while watching the show in the first few episodes, I couldn't help but think Choro Club was reusing old tricks from music they've done in the past. I kept thinking they reused stuff from the YKK OST, but after watching the whole of ARIA and downloading the OST, I realize it's not an overwhelming problem. Their music is similar mostly from their playing style and instrumentation. SORRY I EVER DOUBTED YOU GUYS!

I heartily recommend the OST, and the two singles if you can find them, especially if you're looking for some nice relaxing music, a thing I am constantly searching for.

Hooray! Shariq Ansari AKA DarkeSword writes:

"Just last night I finished my first remix based on music from an anime, specifically, Naruto. The song is called Iron Dance and the White Eyed Maiden, and it was inspired by an episode of some filler arc where Hinata is fighting a ninja who uses magnetism as a means to fight. At the end of the battle, a muted version of the song "Dance" plays. I really liked the low-key feel that the song added to the scene, so I tried to capture that in my piece. I also added in "Hinata vs. Neji" as a reference to Hinata's character."

Iron Dance and the White Eyed Maiden [5.53MB, MP3]

His filename sucks, but that's alright. I'm listening to it right now and it sounds like... well, pretty much anything else he writes. So fans of Shariq will definitely dig this, and I know some people go nuts over his music. Anyway, enjoy the new tune.

If you don't know who DarkeSword is, you probably didn't ever visit OCR or VGMix. He has quite a few mixes on both sites [or, for now, just OCR. VGMix will be back in January OMFG SO EXCITED] and is actually a Judge on OCR. I know Darke digs anime, and it was about time he remixed something! Let's hope he makes some more in the future.

Check it out!


Click either picture to be taken to the remix page.

One is another good one from Xaleph/Carbunk1e, and the other is the first official Anime Remix by Vampire Hunter Dan! He made a great tune for the Halloween Remix Competition as well, though it's not on Anime Remix right now. This is also the first Anime Remix to feature multiple anime for the source material! Dan says: "The themes involved here are: Ai no Theme (3x3 Eyes), Departure (Rurouni Kenshin TV), Main Title (Giant Robo), Spending Time in Preparation (Evangelion), Theme of Battle (Record of Lodoss War OVA), and Yakusoku wa Iranai (Escaflowne). The original composers are Kaoru Wada, Noriyuki Asakura, Masamichi Amano, Shiro Sagisu, Mitsuo Hagita, and Yoko Kanno." The "Various" image should change a bit too, soon...

me: also hold on a sec
medley-su
but what if it's a medley from one anime
>_>
you need to make it "various-su" or something [tongue]
Matthew: -_-'
me: YA I NO, LOL
Matthew: picky~su
me: hahaha
Matthew: hmm
yeah you're right
I just don't want to open the image again at work
and get weird looks from people

Enjoy the new tunes!