Hey everybody. This is my second post, and thought I would try and experiment with the Fan Words program. I decided to pick a topic that really interests me, but apparently seems boring to others, judging from the lack of FW's on the topic of music. So here is my first craft of writing, Music of Anime.
Soundtracks are a great way to set a mood for a story or even a life. OST's, as they are advertised, are the number two merchandise, second to the actual anime series itself. Both the anime creators and the audience use them to connect images and experiences to the audio that they are listening to, and, if used correctly, help describe a setting a particular scene. Imagine one of your most favorite moments in anime. What were you seeing? Was it a fierce battle between two arch nemesis? Was it the longest pause as a person watched his friend die tragically before him? Or was it a comical scene, like a high school girl dressed as a bunny tripping on a young male friend and falling down stairs and landing atop each other, creating a humorous awkwardness? Now, imagine what that scene would be without the presence of music. Chances are, you wouldn't feel the same emotions you did that helped you enjoy the moment so much. Or maybe it was the odd lack of music, that helped it put you more out of ease, making the scene more memorable and powerful. Without the soundtrack, the anime would not be.
As some may know, I just got done watching the anime Death Note. What sets the soundtrack apart from other anime's is that it's mode of music is a fusion of metal and jazz groove. Very modal, very cool. I acquired the soundtrack and made a WMP play list of my favorite songs, and listen to it constantly. Not to powerful, not to dull, just in-the-pocket groove. It does a very good job of transporting you to the conformative and rythnmic lifestyle of modern Tokyo. If you enjoyed the Death Note series, and even moderately interested in styles of music, I really recommend you get the soundtrack. I find myself picking up a guitar/bass and picking along with the simple melodies, full of tone and meaning. Or hitting up the keys, adding small riffs and solos over the smooth changes. But when you're watching the anime, you can almost always tell what character the camera will snap to next, the dynamic level of the scene, or how it will climax. In fact, there were many times when there was no dialogue or considerable action; just the music playing in the background, telling the whole story. And the best part is that it did it with very few notes. It's creativity and power was in it's simplicity and lack of uneeded flashiness. Man, I love that kind of stuff. It's like Miles Davis plugging a trumpet shaped guitar into a Line6 amp. All of the story, with such clarity that every note said a hundred words. That's how most music should be, and it really does tell the best kind of story.
A few songs in the double-seasoned Code Geass particularly ear-catching. The soundtrack is really for those that can appreciate complex orchstrations with both an orchestra and a choir. Not that it's ever been done before, but some of it was still done very well. Altough they mostly stuck to the one genre of strings, winds, and choir, they had a very diverse range of moods to convey. So diverse, that if you looked carefully at some of the song infos, that they actually used two different composers to make the OST. One was used for the everyday kind of mood, as well as the powerful battle scenes and pompous introductions to royalty. This composer made great use of the human perception of adjectives.(what? :D) Very strong and loud trumpet blasts were played to represent trouble or suprise, or latin guitar to sustain suspsense. The other composer was employed because of her incredible sense of what emotions sound like. She really only went to work when a critcal moment the storyline for every character was being expressed. This is a testament to the impact songs have in storytelling, the large media companies actually spend more money on hiring more than one person, so that they can encompass a broader range of moods and feelings. And man, does it show. You can hear the difference at the end of the series (I'm no spoiler) when it goes from dramatic to heartfelt, that they switched songs and composers. And it's quality like that that really makes me wanna rewatch that anime series. And I did. :D
I can go and delve into more examples, but I think you get the idea. There is no anime without the music. There is no emotion without the music. There is no connection without the music. There is no confession of love, no stab through the heart, no happy ending without the right note or chord expressing what is going on. Final Fantasy 7 would have been the crapiest game on the planet if it wasn't for the John Williams of gaming, Nobuo Uematsu. Seriously. Have you seen concerts with his music, in any part of the globe? Any song, any song at all, that they start playing, and the crowd goes apes**t. How many games actually have concert tours? Yeah, you can probably count on one hand, and that one Songs of Gaming concert series doesn't count because it's a compliation of different games. But anyway. The next anime you watch, really pay attention to what you're hearing. Download the soundtrack (legally) and listen to it, pick out the songs from your favourite scenes. Chances are, you'll like the music just as much, if not more, than the actual anime. Which is fine. Don't Worry. Be Happy.
-Ryu
