sotyfan: Can the soundtrack make the anime? From what you have seen and heard does the music impact your thoughts on the anime? What's your favorite anime song and what series has the best score in your opinion?
Funnily enough, I actually just wrote something about this at Comic Vine. I think music’s crucially important but, given the lack of memorable scores at the movies these days, it seems like something that’s easy to neglect. Yes, the soundtrack makes the anime, as it makes every movie. Just compare the versions of DEATH NOTE. The show had these great, minimalist, hypnotic piano leitmotifs that added undercurrents of dread, suspense and obsession to everything. More importantly, they immediately reminded you who these characters were. The movie? You had a pretty forgettable score and then two RCHP songs which, while great on their own, seemed pretty slapdash in their inclusion. Musically and lyrically, they had nothing to do with the story.
In short… you can have a great plot, but it’s a good score that gives it pathos.
My favorite anime song? Hmmm... some of these might be embarrassing.
I’ll fess up. “No Need for Promise”, the theme to VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE, gets me all mushy inside.
I’d say that the score for that whole show stands out as probably the best in total of anything I remember. It’s been almost ten years since I’ve watched it and the “ES-CA-FLO-NE!” choral chant and Falken's violin theme is still stuck in my head. It'll be there forever!
PRINCESS MONONOKE’s score did wonders to add a sense of timelessness and grandeur.
If you count it, I have to add all of INTERSTELLA 5555 because Daft Punk’s DISCOVERY is so rad.
As always, keep the questions coming. I’ll answer anything in this column. Well, within reason.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon here & here.
