The thoughts, reviews and analysis of Comedy, Romance, Drama and Slice of Life Anime of a College Student
Artist: 紅雪
With Charlotte coming to an end in two more weeks, there has been some discussion going around on whether or not Jun Maeda learned his lessons from the mistakes he made while creating the story for Angel Beats because he made a lot of questionable choices that impacted the overall quality of the show. Since five years has passed, it makes me wonder if he learned from his mistakes. (Warning: Spoilers!)
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Unless you are living under the rock, a fellow blogger named zzeroparticle who runs the Anime Instrumentality Blog has created the first tournament for Anime Music. If you like listening to Anime Music like I do, go ahead and nominate your favorite songs. But in this post, I’m going to discuss the top ten songs I nominated. As always, my picks are subjective so you don’t have to agree with them.
So, what criteria did I use for my nomination ballot? First, I only considered opening, insert songs and ending themes for shows I have watched and listened. Second, I also factor in how good the song sounds along with how memorable and enjoyable the song for my nominations. While my choices are biased for recent Anime, hopefully you won’t judge me.
With that, I will share the top 5 picks I nominated for the tournament first with some arrangements on the piano. (Image Source)
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Angel Beats was a rather unique show even though the execution was so tsundere that it was not even funny. The show was pretty interesting with girls with guns, fighting against other people and learning about the heroes’/heroines’ tragic memories. Therefore, this makes it the 8th Anime Moment in our countdown to Christmas.
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It's the Battle of the Bands!
It has been nearly two months since Angel Beats have ended and after listening to the whole Angel Beats OST, I was impressed by how surprisingly well ANANT-GARDE EYES and Jun Maeda songs sounded. I mentioned this since there was a discussion about the composition of the soundtrack a while back on Twitter between me, zzeroparticle and Aorii that happened last week over how long it took to compose the music for Angel Beats, which was rumored to be 3 days. Because of the discussion, I brought up the fictional school band, Girls Dead Monster since it could explain why the songs sounded so lackluster because of the composition and the vocals. The responses I got is that the songs would sound better in the Anime opposed to just listening it as a lone track and that Jun Maeda isn’t exactly cut out to make pop songs that involves guitars.
After watching the last performance of HO-KAGO TEA TIME at the School Festival in Episode 20, it have gave me some thoughts about Angel Beats’s Girls Dead Monster and if they really can compare to K-ON’s HO-KAGO TEA TIME in regards to vocals, composition and its message, which will be discussed in this opinion piece.
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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.
Angel Beats is a very odd Anime. It’s a anime original that was hyped not only because Key was producing it, but PA Works who worked on “True Tears” and “Canaan” was going to animate the show. What we got is the Tsundere of Anime with inconsistent storyline and out of place drama and comedy. Even though I enjoyed Angel Beats, it felt like an experiment.
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Oh noes... They going to work together!
A lot had happen since I last watched Angel Beats. Episode 8 is the battle to save the real Tenshi with the reprogrammed cloning ability by Yuri. In Episode 9, Tenshi looked like she is in an eternal sleep while they have others rewrite the program. Meanwhile, we get more of Otonashi’s memories after the train crash. Otonashi I have to say is a pretty strong character that doesn’t seem to give up and give others hope, but at the same time didn’t survived after the help crew came. The whole 7 days was like you see in Hurricane Katrina back in 2005 where people are left without food and supplies and some dying on the streets. Same case scenario here, but in a train wreck and both ends are covered with rocks.
Retouching on why people end up in this “purgatory,” people come here because they couldn’t live out their youthful days, as Tenshi put it. Life can be unfair and good people might pass away even if they didn’t want to. Life has many variables that it’s nearly impossible to get an accurate meaning of life. People need to live life to the fullest and not end up with a life full of regrets. That way, people can remain optimistic and strive for their goals.
Otonashi and Tenshi seem to want to help others, even though it means that the person disappears. However, Angel Beats seems to have so many unknowns because we don’t know exactly what happens when the person disappears. Does the person get reborn as someone else or reincarnated? Perhaps humans who are in this “purgatory” don’t want to disappear because they are afraid of the unknown. We won’t know exactly until the next few episodes.
This ultimately means that Tenshi gets back her student council position and the rest of the season focusing on clearing people’s regrets? I won’t know until I watch, so stay tuned and remember to have a box of tissues beside you… It’s going to be an emotional roller coaster ride! ¶
Album Title: Little Braver
Artist: Girls Dead Monster (Singer: LiSA)
Catalog Number: KSLA-0055
Release Date: June 6, 2010
If you haven’t heard enough of the rather mediocre music from Girls Dead Monster, there is more! A few weeks back, there was a promotional video on Little Braver, but I didn’t take a look at it because I don’t want to go and spoil it. Several weeks later, the single is released. Have LiSA improved her rather mediocre and rather forgetful performance of the “Thousand Enemies” single? It’s only slightly better, but I am still not convinced if it’s good enough. LiSA seems to sound good on the lower notes, but she still goes slightly out of tune in some areas. Not as bad as Thousand Enemies, but that is saying too much about it. The songs are still pretty forgettable and made me wish that they had better singers singing these songs…
Little Braver is the song that was shown in the promotional video. It starts off with a calm intro and when LiSA enters. This is where the good composition gets drown out by the mediocre vocals. It does sound slightly better than Thousand Enemies, but it’s slowly goes downhill from there. The songs feel pretty dull and the higher pitches like with the previous album sounds slightly ever out of tune. Not only that, Little Braver is pretty forgettable several minutes after. Little Braver is an okay song, but it doesn’t try to go beyond the mediocrity of Girls Dead Monster.
The intro of Shine Days sounds pretty well like the intro to Alchemy and it’s a pretty upbeat song. This is probably the best song out of the whole single, but it’s hardly perfect. It still have several flaws like the slightly out of tune pitches on the higher octaves and it’s slightly dull. It’s an okay song, but still forgettable like the rest of the songs LiSA has sung. It’s worth mentioning that at 4:30, her vocals are barely audible…
Lastly, we have Answer Song, which is probably the most disappointing song out of the whole album. The performance of the song felt a bit messy and somewhat dull. I don’t feel any energy in this song, except mediocre singing that could put me to sleep. Probably the worst song I heard from LiSA.
I don’t know what they are getting at by not letting the seiyuu sing! I’m pretty sure Eri Kitamura and Miyuki Sawashiro are fully capable of singing, but no! Lets pick two amateur singers that doesn’t necessarily represent Japanese Indie scene and fuck up all 9 songs! Thats how I feel about the whole Girls Dead Monster thing and it’s a big disgrace. Jun Maeda does a wonderful job in composing these songs and these singers go out and ruin the work he worked hard for. It’s just like making a good game with good game play, story and graphics and the orchestra go and fuck the music up. Like I mentioned in my rant in the last paragraph of my Pure Pure Heart single review, they choose singers that can’t sing properly and resulted in the mediocre and disappointing performance of these songs. Girls Dead Monster will never reach the appeal of Houkago Tea Time because their songs continue to have flaws with the vocals, which make them rather forgettable. Houkago Tea Time is simply more polished, sounds better and the vocals don’t go out of tune so many times that it makes me cringe.
Not only that, there is more Girls Dead Monster singles that is coming out and what can you expect out of them after hearing the first 9 songs? More disappointment. They are making a mockery out of Girls Dead Monster and milking it what its worth from the hype. Believe me, My Soul, Your Beats!/Brave Song sounds like heaven compared to the mediocrity of all the Girls Dead Monsters songs combined.
7.0/10 ¶
Album Title: My Soul, Your Beats! / Brave Song
Artist: Lia, Toda Aoi, Maeda Jun
Catalog Number: KSLA-0054
Release Date: May 26, 2010
When something gets animated, the theme song will get referred to as the national anthem.
– Ken from Seitokai no Ichizon
Typically, all the Key Anime Adaptations always had great opening and Eeding Themes (Tori no Uta, Last regrets, Megumeru, Toki wo Kizamu Uta, Light colors and others). Angel Beats is no exception to this, except the insert album songs from Girls Dead Monster since the vocals sound like they were amateurs. From hearing the songs over and over again, I think this is a pretty solid album overall with some tiny flaws (some minor screeches in a few areas in My Soul, Your Beats! and vocals being soft in Brave Song), but nothing that serious. Both songs have strong instrumentals and sound really beautiful, especially with Brave Song.
The intro of My Soul, Your Beats! has a simular feel to Toki wo Kizamu Uta (A Song Engraved in Time) from Clannad After Story… Heck, the vocals sound similar. From the song, I like how the piano and the guitar is played in the background as it gives this feeling of being blown away because of how powerful it is. Since it’s Lia, the vocals are solid. Nothing else to say about My Soul, Your Beats! as its a very good song. No need to recommend as most people will like this off the bat.
It’s worth noting that while I was listening to My Soul, Your Beats, I was comparing this song with Lia’s past opening themes with Key (Tori no Uta, Light colors, Toki wo Kizamu Uta). While My Soul, Your Beats is a good song, it lacks the emotional feel from these three songs. However, Brave Song conveys that feeling, which is the next song in the review.
Honestly, it took several listens for Brave Song to click in, but it has the feel of Chiisana Tenohira. It pretty much fits in with the whole premise of the show. The vocals from Toda Aoi seem to be a bit soft at first. After listening it a few times, it fits in well with the song although not as good as Lia. The strength of this song is the lyrics that can compare to Toki wo Kizamu Uta as it has emotions that’s not present in My Soul, Your Beats. Although most won’t get Brave Song from listening it to the first time, but after a few listens, it will click in. Maybe not like Go Go Maniac since I still can’t get over the screechy vocals from Toyosaki Aki.
By the way, Brave Song is the song that is played when the rocket goes off, which I found really strange.
From listening to both of these tracks, Jun Maeda should be proud that his Opening and Ending Themes are not ruined by mediocre vocals from marina and LiSA, but with more established singers. Lia delivered just like she alway do from all of her tracks I had listen to. Toda Aoi on the other hand isn’t as refined as Lia, but her performance of Brave Song turned out pretty good. Nevertheless, this is a solid single and is a recommended listen if you are watching Angel Beats or like Jun Maeda’s compositions.
8.9/10, A-/B+, Outstanding
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Been really slow on Angel Beats! since it first aired because I want to watch it with the best subs, but now I am caught up with the 7 episodes, it’s time for my midseason impressions on it.
Angel Beats! is the Sora no Woto of this season. Sora no Woto was unpredictable because it was an Anime Original that led people to do a lot of speculation on what will happen next. We get the same with Angel Beats! since it is also an Anime Original. I can’t say if this is a good thing or not, but it makes things pretty fresh.
Angel Beats features drama and comedy stuffed into random places. Unlike previous Key Anime adaptations like Kanon, Air and Clannad, they were pretty consistent with comedy in some episodes and then drama placed in a few episodes. The pacing was consistent since they focus on each character’s arc separately. We don’t get that in Angel Beats because the comedy is jumbled up with the serious sections. This could be the small flaw of the show as a whole as it makes things feel slightly out of place, especially with Episodes 2, 3, 4, and 7. For some people, it can make people feel that they can’t take the serious scenes seriously. If only Angel Beats had 24 episodes, I would think this pacing issue would ease a bit.
The animation for the whole show is pretty good, but there are some instances that the animation looks a bit quirky as shown in the following:
Just don't ask what the animators were smoking when they made such an ugly scene like this…
Not nearly as bad, but still… mehhhh….
Well, I don’t know what the Animators were thinking when they made these scenes…
The story is pretty much up in the air. In some episodes, they focus on a character’s memory that I found pretty melodramatic and tragic, but not nearly the level seen in Clannad After Story. Since the story is unpredictable, I can’t really comment on it as a whole until the end of the season, but it remains interesting.
As for the music, they have done a very good job with the instrumentals and the opening and closing songs. The only problems I have are the singers of the insert songs as I mentioned in my reviews of the Crow Song and Thousand Enemies single reviews. The singing from marina and LiSA felt amateurish and doesn’t sound professional as they go out of tune in some instances, ruining the whole premise of the song. What they should have done is let the voice actor do the singing… but meh…
Overall, Angel Beats is pretty good, but not a masterpiece. There are flaws like pacing issues, animation quirkiness, and amateur singers for insert songs that prevents it from being perfect. If PA Works pulls through with Angel Beats, they may become a viable candidate against Kyoto Animation if Key plans to do an Anime adaptation of Little Busters!
Fanart used in this post is made by 逢鍵ゆう
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