Since zzeroparticle and ETERNAL reviewed the Original Soundtrack very nicely, I don’t feel the need to review the whole soundtrack over again. However, I do feel that I need to share my overall “too long, don’t read” thoughts about the whole soundtrack because it sounded so good.
I do have to admit, even though the plot of Angel Beats and Girl’s Dead Monster’s songs are a big mess, the Angel Beats Orginal Soundtrack does not disappoint. The big surprise that everyone doesn’t seem to notice is that the synth songs. Although they have the Jun Maeda style, they are actually composed and performed by a synth group called “ANANT-GARDE EYES.” Most of these synth songs primarily sound like video game music, primarily music from role playing games like Final Fantasy for example. The video game style music fits pretty well with the overall setting of Angel Beats since it’s a virtual reality purgitory afterall.
From the whole soundtrack, my heart, my most precious treasure, kanade, Ichiban no Takaramono (Orig. Version) and theme of SSS stands out the most. I will pretty much discuss the mentioned songs on why they sound better than the other songs in the soundtrack and my overall thoughts about the soundtrack as a whole.
my most precious treasure and Ichiban no Takaramono (Orig. Version)
There is no doubt that this song strike the listener’s emotions. The overall feeling of my most precious treasure and Ichiban no Takaramono provided by the piano and string instruments makes it a beautiful song. The song starts off with melancholy and sadness to feeling of accepting the fate. I think this song have done its purpose very well.
As for Ichiban no Takaramono (Orig. Version) sung by karuta, it has the same feeling as my most precious treasure. Compared to Yui’s version of Ichiban no Takaramono sung by LiSA, karuta’s version was calmer and had emotion. Even though the lyrics are the same, Yui’s version just doesn’t have the same feeling because of the vocals just sound rough that pieces my ear. The obvious flaw of Yui’s version make it obvious that the original version of Ichiban no Takaramono sound 10x better.
kanade
Tenshi Kanade is always a kind and quiet girl that the SSS seems to bully for no good reason. The song, kanade fits her personality well with its calm and smoothing feeling. Played when Otonashi and Tenshi meet with each other.
my heart
“my heart” is a piano version of My Soul, Your Beats. The slowness of the song gives it a more emotional feeling compared to the original. The ballad version of My Soul, Your Beats sounded very nice. Even though Lia’s vocals were good in the original song, it was slightly messy.
This kinda reminds me, “To the Same Heights” got the same treatment when it was rearranged into what we know as Clannad’s After Story’s Opening Theme, “Toki wo Kizamu Uta”.
theme of SSS
Life is unfair? This theme pretty much conveys the whole message of the song with the chaos and the lack of satisfaction from the SSS members’ former life. The emotional feeling that ANANT-GARDE EYES’s created makes it feel so similar to Jun Maeda’s emotional songs that people could mistake the creator of the song.
Overall Thoughts
The battle themes in the soundtrack sound very familiar to a battle scene in a Japanese Roleplaying Game. They give a sense of conflict and such. Besides the battle themes, there are the slice of life and the character themes that go well with the story.
Not to mention, the soundtrack also contains Brave Song with the extended intro.
Compared to previous Key soundtracks I heard, Angel Beats soundtrack was a bit different out of the bunch. The visual novel soundtracks had a lot more feeling and emotions depending on the scene and suitable for use in Anime. Because of the setting of Angel Beats, there is no way to have visual novel style soundtracks because it wouldn’t work right. The video game synth style was the only way to go and it did pretty well.
Overall, the Angel Beats soundtrack impress me like the previous music I heard from Kanon, Air and Clannad. It was different, but it was an enjoyable two hour listen. By listening to the soundtrack, it can even melt away some of the bad feeling from the inconsistent storytelling. Definitely give this soundtrack a listen and you might get amazed by what you listen to.
Overall Score
9/10 ¶
The four (well, five) pieces you highlighted at the very end are definitely the cream of the crop. Synth is fine within the context of the anime, though out of it, some of them are more hit or miss than the piano stuff which are definitely hits. If nothing else though, it does represent a different sort of direction for Maeda (and ANANT-GARDE Eyes) and I”d say they did pretty well here.
Yes, I do agree with that…
In comparison with the Kanon OST (and others made by Key), it”s a big difference to Angel Beats OST, although it shares the same qualities such as the emotional feel, especially with Jun Maeda”s tracks and the ones I mentioned.