Monthly Anime Music Ramblings – June 2012 – Songs for Summer

Since summer is coming around the corner, I want to share that feeling with some thoughts about three songs to set the mood. (Image Source)

Summer Lights (夏影(なつかげ))

From Air

Composer: Jun Maeda

One of the things I liked about Air is that most of the music fits the summer theme. Although “Bird’s Poem” (鳥の歌) does a good job in capturing that, “Summer Lights” does a better job though it’s present feeling through the piano, xylophone (or something like it), strings and percussion that gradually builds. Naturally, one can see this as the theme song for the visual novel that it turned into an actual song performed by Lia.

Now Loading… Sky

From Asobi ni Iku yo! (Also known as Cat Planet Cuties)

Artist: Sphere

Although I haven’t watched this anime since I’m not into fanservice, the opening song of this show made me become interested in Sphere since their songs sounds enjoyable. While they are a voice actress idol group, they actually have talent and not just there for looks like a well-known group I don’t want to name. They consist of names that you should already know:  Minako Kotobuki, Ayahi Takagki, Haruka Tomatsu, and Aki Toyosaki. You probably seen them take on various roles together, most notably in the currently airing Natsuiro Kiseki.

“Now Loading… Sky” might not exactly deal with summer specifically, but the laid back and upbeat feeling somewhat fits that feeling. While it sounds good, not much really stands out about the song and their newer works (“Moon Signal”, “Hazy”, etc.) improves slightly on that.

secret base 〜君がくれたもの〜 (10 years after Ver.)

From Ano Hana

Artist: Ai Kayano, Haruka Tomatsu, Saori Hayami

While I mentioned this song last summer, it’s worth mentioning it again since the Anime takes place during the summer. Aside for the fact that this song is a cover version of Zone’s popular song, it does fit with the overall feeling of a show. It serves as a remembrance for all the happy memories in the summer during their childhood before that tragic moment that split the group apart. Moreover, this version sounded rather sweet although the original was also good.

With that, this wraps up the songs I think gives a summer feeling. I know that other people will have different opinions, so feel free to share your thoughts about summer themed songs in the comments. As for next time, I will probably start working on some song reviews. Look forward to them! ¶