Forum - View topicMusic that makes the anime.
|
Goto page 1, 2 Next |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Skylark
 Posts: 827 Location: ORE NO TSHIRT |
|
|||
|
I was recently re-watching my current favourite anime, Ef - a tale of memories and being a musician I guess I probably might pay more attention than most. What I want to accomplish as a writer (progressive rock/metal/jazz fusion in case anyone's interested) is getting that spine-shivering feeling; even if it's just for one song, whether it's elation or heartbreak, or just something that touches someone in some way. I want to write at least one song that will bring someone to that point where it really captures them.
One thing I've noticed is that music, whether consciously or not, in anime, has a profound effect on the watcher. Now obviously it's just another layer to the medium, however I really think that sometimes the music can really make or break a scene in that music has the ability to touch anyone regardless of their background or culture. So I started this thread not necessarily to find out what your favourite OP song is or whatever (though maybe it is an OP or ED song that in particular you find affects you) but simply to pose the question: in any part of an anime that has affected you on some kind of emotional level, whether it's happiness, loneliness, anger, spite, sorrow whatever, how much of that can you attribute to the composition playing in the background, setting the scene? As I said I was watching Ef, and it came to the end of episode 11 spoiler[in that memorable moment where Chihiro discards the pages of her diary detailing her life knowing Renji, so that he can be free of her and her curse; free to love another.] Now that scene was dramatic as it was, and the buildup already had me holding my breath.. but I think the thing that really clinched this scene was the backing track. It's probably one of the most beautiful, painful composition I've ever heard, and fit perfectly for the scene. It was really the crowning moment of the anime for me, and that song haunts me - I've watched the last part of that episode over and over because I simply can't get it out of my head. It's a very simply harmony of three guitars and lilting piano flourishes, but it absolutely captured the emotion of the scene. I'd say another favourite of mine (and one that probably put this anime higher in my rank than it possibly deserves) is the theme throughout Elfen Lied, namely the song Lilium. There's a bridge without lyrics that is played at the moment in the end where spoiler[Lucy kisses Kouta], and it really lifts the scene. Again I guess it's kind of a heartbreaking song.. What can I say; I must have a thing for doomed relationships. But all throughout the anime, even if the song is recycled a bit, it completely adds to the impact and I feel really gives the anime the life it has, and sucks you into the character's shoes that little more. If you try and put it into perspective, there wouldn't be music playing for the characters; I mean if you get in a bar fight, it's not like the dj will be like "ohh it's a fight" and throws on the FFVII battle music or something. So really the music is only there to help the viewer feel what the characters do. So; where do you think it worked? Conversely, have you ever felt that the music was wrong for the occasion or just a bad choice? (I felt that posting this here rather than in the music forum was both more pertinent to the topic, which is essentially the anime, and also more likely to generate feedback.) |
||||
|
||||
RHachicho
 Posts: 897 Location: Essex, UK |
|
|||
|
I don't think this is anything new. It's proven scientific fact that the human brain gives more sensory weight to sound than to any other sensory stimulus bar perhaps smell. When writing speaches politicians often pay far mor attention to their tone of voice than to the actual content of the speach.
I can't remember the excact order of sensory importance however there are few senses that can effect our emotions like sound. Smell probably comes in a close second followed by touch and sight imo. |
||||
|
||||
Sparkamus Prime
 Posts: 12 Location: Central Pennsylvania |
|
|||
|
I have to agree with Lilium from Elfen Lied. It is one the most moving pieces I've listened to in anime and its amplifies the emotion of any scene that it is in.
An older song that I've always enjoyed was White Reflection from Endless Waltz. It just hit the mood of the closing scenes perfectly and Bandai was smart enough to use it in the trailer too. I don't like that it was removed when they turned the OVA episodes into a movie. For an OP, Red Fraction sets the tone for Black Lagoon. It's loud, fast, and features a lot of Revy. The lyrics can be a little hard to understand, but they do work for the series. As for a song sung in character that makes an anime is God Knows... from Haruhi Suzumiya. Pay attention to the lyrics and they are quite revealing of the situation that is occuring in the anime. This song only enhances how well animated this scene is and how imporatnt this event is. |
||||
|
||||
|
frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
|
|||
|
The soundtrack itself to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya really added to my enjoyment of the show. Some of the more bluesy tracks, such as The Mysterious (which plays when spoiler[Itsuki first reveals himself as an esper to Kyon], and Mystery Time (plays when spoiler[Itsuki and Kyon are in the car in episode 13] really set the mood for a melancholy and mysterious seeming atmosphere.
|
||||
|
||||
zawa113
 Posts: 7358 |
|
|||
|
Well, for me, music makes every anime! Some more than others, yes, but it should be one of the reasons that if something is both a manga and an anime that I choose to watch the anime instead.
Case in point: Mushi-shi. Mushi-shi's soundtrack was far from a sweeping orchestral that stirred up at the slightest provocation, but when I went to read the manga where it left off from the anime, it actually felt lacking without the subtle tones present during the anime. It always complemented the mood, be it bittersweet, dangerous, or relaxing. Quite frankly, that show wouldn't have been nearly as good without the music and reading the manga just proved that to myself. It was good, but not spectacular when compared to the anime. The music was never dominating until the end credits and always enhanced the mood. Now, for anime that did not start off as manga, music is just as important, sometimes more important. If an anime that has a manga has bad music, I can just read the manga and be left off just as good. Sometimes the music is neutral enough that reading the manga might be faster anyway. Some things could really do without music anyway and if I want it for one scene while reading, I'll just thumb through my classical music in my iTunes until I find something that will fit it at least somewhat. And then other anime will just do that part for me, Princess Tutu and Legend of the Galactic Heroes are my examples here. First to do the latter because its explanation is much quicker from me: if you ask me, LoGH would have been just as good with less music or no music. I find it rare of me to say when the entire soundtrack is classical music that is all picked to fit well, but it really has no bearing on the story and it doesn't necessarily always heighten the mood. That's not to say I didn't love it, but I thought they picked some rather random times to play Dvorak. Still it was nice to listen to and simply icing on the cake. Princess Tutu on the other hand was practically made by the music and fairy tales it took from. Sure, even I found it a little funny to be playing The Blue Danube as the theme for that little tiny river running through the town, but given that they took scenes from ballets in many other episodes, they needed to take the correct music to accompany it too which they did to great effect. Character themes were an important part of the story here too as it tended to represent their inner most feelings, happy for Duck, sad and solemn for Kraehe. Not to mention that I liked how all the pieces were performed. It's difficult not to be taken in by the show when all the music fits the story and characters like a glove. |
||||
|
||||
Top Gun
 Posts: 4824 |
|
|||
|
I know everyone and their mother lists this, but Cowboy Bebop is as good of an example of this as I can possibly think of. It's a very rare piece of entertainment where the soundtrack not only perfectly defines the mood of certain scenes, but even goes so far as to be a legitimate "character" in its own right. Almost every track in Bebop enhances what's going on at the time, whether it be "Ave Maria," "Rain," and "Green Bird" during the pivotal scenes of the inimitable Ballad of Fallen Angels, "Space Lion" at the end of Jupiter Jazz, the wrenching "Call Me Call Me" during the bittersweet conclusion of Hard Luck Woman, the brilliant use of the closer variant "See You Space Cowboy" during the extended scene near the end of The Real Folk Blues Part II, or maybe above all else, the utter tearjerker that is "Blue" during the final closing credits. Even the more lighthearted tracks, such as the incredibly catchy "Want it All Back," the rocking "Heavy Metal Queen," or the funky "Mushroom Samba," are fantastic in and of themselves. This pattern extends into the movie; the utterly fantastic use of the upbeat "What Planet Is This?" during the jaw-dropping animation sequence of Spike's aerial-combat scene takes my breath away every time. And let's not forget the closers: the ridiculous bebop jazz opener "Tank!" is my pick for the best across anime as a whole, and the slower and more bluesy "Real Folk Blues" hits the perfect note to end each episode. I don't think any show has ever come close to using its soundtrack the way Bebop did.
There are a number of other series whose music has done the same thing to me, though. Another of Yoko Kanno's works, Wolf's Rain, definitely qualifies, particularly the heartrendingly beautiful track "Requiem" used at the very beginning and end of the series (seriously, tears are welling up in my eyes just thinking about it), and the wonderful closer "Gravity." Yet another Kanno project, Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex does the same thing multiple times; though I don't want to list all of the examples, "Cyberbird" is a particularly good one. Moving off the Kanno bandwagon for a moment, Eureka seveN had any number of tracks that did this, though Supercar's inset song "Storywriter" was most frequent, particularly during a series-defining scene at the end of episode 26; the extended inset song "Niji" that played during the finale was another highlight. And though I don't know its individual track names, One Piece has an absurdly good soundtrack for a long-running Shounen Jump adaptation; the oft-used rousing orchestral track that was used during spoiler[the march on Arlong Park] is a particular favorite of mine, and the show even dipped into the classical realm by using a Dvorak piece during spoiler[the final spectacular defeat of Crocodile]. Heh, I didn't even intend to list this many songs when I started this. I guess music really does have a big impact. 
|
||||
|
||||
egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
|
|||
|
I'll agree with One Piece's music. It's great for such a long anime. On the other hand, Bleach's still using the same boring crap from the "bounty arc"; it's just frustrating.
To answer this topic's author: Yes, I do think that the music makes a huge difference. Opening, ending and background music, all of them. First I'd mention Code Geass' first opening. It was one of the best out there, and of course, that added to the joy of watching the anime. Second, I'd say Phantom Requiem. Listening to that opening music every episode(until they changed it to a crappy one) definitely pumped me up every time I listened to it. But, out of all anime, I'd pick Darker Than Black's background music as the best. Loneliness, sadness, hope, that was a great addition to the anime, and probably helped me choose DTB as my favorite. And for the same reason I enjoy anime music so much, I avoid listening to the tracks whenever I still have plans on re-watching that anime. Otherwise, the music would get boring, and, well, that isn't a good thing. |
||||
|
||||
ShadowTrader
 Posts: 231 Location: NJ |
|
|||
|
Music is an essential part in all forms of auditory mediums, and is key in setting the mood and tone for the scene. To me its on par with the plot in importance. However I am particularly biased to dramatic music which can be in any style from classical to metal. For example, I liked the rocking tone that Onmyouza set in Basilisk but I also enjoyed the subtle touches of Jean-Jacques Burnel from Gankutsuou. Being a huge Metallica fan as well, I'm always fond of finding metal songs in anime and I was very excited to hear Maxium the Hormone songs in Death Note. The music doesn't necessarily have to be something I like it just has to supplement the storyline harmoniously and bring about a higher sensation then one could have felt by only listening to narration or dialogue.
If only more artists would have such ambitions instead of endless fame and fortune... |
||||
|
||||
Kruszer
 Posts: 7994 Location: Minnesota, USA |
|
|||
|
Music in a series or film is definitely highly influential with me, as there's over a hundred soundtracks in my music collection that I've bought. I can't say that it makes or breaks a series, but it can definitely increase the impact of a series and make scenes more powerful or memorable.
I don't really care too much about a series' opening and closing music in relation to the show, personally, but background music and insert tracks are important and have to fit the mood. I'm not too picky when it comes to music, and listen to most genres, though I tend to prefer the works of Yuki Kajiura (a mix of techo, dance, and instrumentals), Yoko Kano (a wide range of musical genres), Kenji Kawai , or Hikaru Nanase (both orchestral stuff) when it comes to anime and soundtracks in general. I'll also take rock or metal since it's probabally my most favorite form of music, but I feel the others above fit a show or film better. Not all anime soundtracks are gold, but it's very nice when you notice the music and say to yourself "Wow that's a damn good song!". 
Last edited by Kruszer on Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
||||
|
||||
|
RHachicho
Posts: 897 Location: Essex, UK |
|
|||
|
It is true that music in Anime is extremely open. I have seen everything from Rap, Blues, Jazz, Funk, Rock, Metal and weird and wonderful combinations of many styles. This does mean that Anime has some of the most unique soundtracks and the Industry does seem to be blessed with a plethora of talented musicians.
I know Anime certainly would not appeal to me as much as it does without it's music style and my collection of Anime Ost's speaks as to my approval. Like I said before people respond best to music. Take Star Wars imho even the orginal films plot was not that great but because of top notch visuals and an absolutely AMAZING soundtrack it became a timeless classic. Till Mr Lucas decided to take leave of his sanity and write the prequal trilogy anyway. |
||||
|
||||
|
unicron02
Posts: 9 Location: Barksdale AFB |
|
|||
|
Last Exile. The series was good on its own but the music elevated it to another tier.
|
||||
|
||||
|
frentymon
Forums Superstar
Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
|
|||
Oh yes, totally agree. All the epic tracks were one thing in itself, but all the medieval themed tracks really really brought the show to life. The composers (Dolce Triade is composed of three prolific anime composers if I'm not mistaken) really knew what they were doing when writing all those tracks. |
||||
|
||||
rainbowcourage
 Posts: 1216 Location: what is commonly known as "hell week" |
|
|||
OT but you're an Aussie so you've got quite the heritage. I always feel like Australian music is such a big secret but you guys have some amazing bands like The Church, Crowded House, Silverchair, Men At Work etc.
Well there are a couple overall series, and then there are specific scenes. Overall, music is critical to any Watanabe work, specifically Cowboy Bebop (music is a HUGE part of this series--I think it affected me most spoiler[in episode 24 when Ed & Ein left the Bebop]), Samurai Champloo, Eureka 7, and Michiko e Hatchin (the latter two he supervised the music for). One of the crucial reasons I enjoyed Air even though I generally hate moe is the beauty of the opening theme; and Ef also had gorgeous opening themes as well. Then there's the scene in Wolf's Rain which uses "Heaven's Not Enough" that I love. And finally, my best and most recent example of this, Casshern Sins. There is a lovely oohing chorus that I found myself looking for in every episode, and rewinding scenes just to hear again, it was that beautiful. |
||||
|
||||
Redxr
 Posts: 7 |
|
|||
|
A lot of you guys nailed this. Bebop, for me is a magnificent culmination of visuals and music. One of Yoko Kanno's greatest works and that's saying a lot considering the sheer amount of wonderful work she's done.
As far as I'm concerned, the soundtrack is as crucial as the story itself. Imagine Motoko's final battle without "Floating Museum", imagine Tetsuo's hospital dolls scene without, "Dolls Polyphony", imagine Trigun without "Soundlife~LEM" or Berserk without "Guts". The simple truth is years after having seen most of these shows/films, a single song takes me back. Those precious moments when I first experienced them is still intact, the same emotions still ring true. Hence why they will always be timeless for me. My personal top 4 composers in no particular order, Kenji Kawaii, Tsuneo Imahori, Yoko Kanno and Hirasawa Susumu. These four composers have done some of my favorite soundtracks. I genuinely feel their works defined and gave soul to entire shows. These are only 4 incredible composers, there are of course many other great composers out there (just to name a few, Masuda Toshio, Keishi urata, Hajime Mizoguchi, Taniuchi Hideki, Pearl Kyoudai). The older I get, the more I wholeheartedly feel music is ever infinitely more touching than even imagery. |
||||
|
||||
|
Skylark
Posts: 827 Location: ORE NO TSHIRT |
|
|||
Ironic that I'm not really interested in pop music at all I like to write without the restrictions of a catchy chord progression, but having done session work and of course covers I get that there's more there than meets the eye musically because songs are pretty much orchestrated to get stuck in people's heads. The metal scene in Australia is huge as well though. Australian music isn't so different from the American scene I feel, but I definitely would say there is no loss of energy over here. There are stacks of talented musicians around in any genre.
Back to the topic, I definitely agree with both Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop. I really feel the hip-hop feel of the music in the first absolutely fit the cool style of the former, and just added to the kick-ass factor of the fight scenes; same with Cowboy Bebop. The big band jazz stuff just really set the scene and added to the cool factor. That opening theme, "Tank", was my favourite song for ages too. Just so damn cool. You'd have it on your mp3 player, and be jumping round your house in your underpants boxing and doing ninjitsu and flips and breaking furniture and be like "Bang." thinking you're cool. |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group