SurgamIdentidem
TETOTETOMETOME
Ok, here my review of the Album:
Overall thoughts:
I think this album is a lot more than the sum of its parts. To me, it feels like it takes you on a journey through Kajiura’s musical world and along the way you visit all the different styles and varieties of her musical creations from the last decades. And it achieves that, without being a best-of album or anything like that. In my opinion this album is an exceptionally tasteful representation of her musical style as a whole and while it leaned a bit too heavily to her old style for my own taste, I do think it’s fitting for Kajiura’s 30th anniversary. Additionally, it also always helps when the music sounds good production wise which, sadly, was not always the case recently (I’m looking at you Akeboshi, Shirogane and Koi Kogare). Good album overall! I’ll have to listen to it more to be able to compare it fairly to the two previous FictionJunction albums though. I guess Everlasting Songs is out of reach, but it can definitely compete with elemental I’d say.
Well, going in I wouldn’t have thought to come out with such a positive impression!
Prologue: It’s nice, although probably my least favorite “prelude-type” of track she has ever done, but that comes from someone who really loves all the ones she has already done for Kalafina, as well as those for Aimer and JAM-Project, so this doesn’t mean much.
Koto no hoka yawarakai: Ok, hands down my favorite track on the album right out of the gate! The initial verses are really cool and I think Joelle’s voice really fits this song, especially at the beginning in the verse. I agree that the first, exclusively instrumental part of the bridge is not all that interesting, but as soon as the vocals start to kick back in, it starts to get really cool again. The darker edge to it is very much appreciated. Awesome track!
Yako Toryo: This is type of song is not really my cup of tea. I still like it well enough for what it is but it certainly doesn’t excite me. Very Saeko Chiba-ish.
Beginning: And now the first actual Saeko Chiba cover. I already liked the original, so I like this one too. To me, the bass-lines were cooler and more standout in the original, but this version is still superior overall for the vocals and the updated arrangement.
Mo kimi no koto wo mita kunai: The album continues with retro-style Kajiura. This one sounds a bit like See-Saw, which is definitely not a bad thing, but I find the keyboard sounds here (which certainly add to the “retro feel” of the song) rather distracting. I preferred the live version in terms of arrangement. The vocals are better here though than in the live version.
Kai: This might be an unpopular opinion, but this one caught me by surprise in a positive way. I’m (like many people here) not a big fan of Aimer’s voice but the undeniably heartfelt way she sings here does really elevate this track beyond just the compositional value. So does the piano. Excellently and simply beautifully played by Sakurada! The bridge section towards the end almost got me emotional. Very mizu no akashi-ish, but still different enough to not bother me.
Sokyuu no fanfare: Another unpopular opinion, but I really like this song and I actually appreciate ReoNa’s voice here, I think it brings something unique to the song. The chorus is by far my least favorite part of the song, but I dig everything else. And yes, the bridge sounds in parts almost exactly like asa no kuru’s but it doesn’t bother me enough to spill my enjoyment of the song.
Hachigatsu no organ: For some reason, I find myself enjoying this one a lot more now on the album. It sonds like it could’ve been a Kalafina song. For some reason it especially reminds me of musunde hiraku, even though it is not extremely similar. Maybe because I feel the same way about it: It slightly overstays its welcome but is still very nice overall.
Sore wa chiisana hikari no you na: Finally, a studio version of this song that doesn’t cause ear cancer! Not to mention the upgrade from Sayuri to Keiko… It’s great from start to finish, as was already the live version. I’ve got nothing more to say than that I love it.
From the edge: Another unpopular opinion, but I’ve always liked this song. Yes, the instrumental main theme insert at the end of the bridge doesn’t really fit, but the whole rest of the song is great. Also, is it just me, or did they remaster this song for this album? For some reason, it sounds a lot better to me here.
Moonlight melody: I certainly would’ve preferred if they had covered mo hitotsu mawashite but I know that moonlight melody is apparently more liked by most people. It’s much better than the original though and fits well into the album as a showcase of Kajiura’s waltzy tendencies. haha
Seikai no hate: The second Saeko Chiba cover. I never cared for the original, but this version surprised me positively, even though, the arrangement is kept quite close to the original. Maybe it’s Yuuki Airas delivery, or again the piano, but the song really worked for me.
Parade: Yeah, my least favorite track on the album. I really can’t put my finger on it, but this song just doesn’t connect with me. The arrangement is very expertly done, but melodically it just doesn’t want to klick with me. I do quite like the very end of the song though, when the instruments make a brief comeback and we get that last choir part. At least I now found something about it, that I like, I guess. I think, this is the first time for me, that a Kajiura album closer (or even a title track for that matter) was a complete miss.
Overall thoughts:
I think this album is a lot more than the sum of its parts. To me, it feels like it takes you on a journey through Kajiura’s musical world and along the way you visit all the different styles and varieties of her musical creations from the last decades. And it achieves that, without being a best-of album or anything like that. In my opinion this album is an exceptionally tasteful representation of her musical style as a whole and while it leaned a bit too heavily to her old style for my own taste, I do think it’s fitting for Kajiura’s 30th anniversary. Additionally, it also always helps when the music sounds good production wise which, sadly, was not always the case recently (I’m looking at you Akeboshi, Shirogane and Koi Kogare). Good album overall! I’ll have to listen to it more to be able to compare it fairly to the two previous FictionJunction albums though. I guess Everlasting Songs is out of reach, but it can definitely compete with elemental I’d say.
Well, going in I wouldn’t have thought to come out with such a positive impression!
Last edited: