Anime Jukebox – Fire Wars

Oh. Oh man. Dear Friends, do you feel it? Sometimes there’s a song that comes along that lights something in your soul. It lights a FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYA!!!

I’m speaking, of course, of Fire Wars, the opening theme for the Mazinkaiser ova series, masterfully rocked by the legendary JAM Project. 

JAM Project is probably a pretty familiar band if you’re in any way up to speed with the Super Robot Wars game series, as they’ve performed many of the title tracks for that series along with many other super robot shows over the years. Interestingly, the Mazinkaiser super robot owes its origin to the same series, as it was originally introduced in Super Robot Wars F Final.

We’re halfway to Friday, folks. Just sit back, relax, and we’ll be at ‘DON’T WANNA KNOW, EVERYBODY READY GET IT ON!’ in no time.

 

Anime Jukebox – Just Forget

For this installment of anime jukebox we feature Nujabes’/Fat Jon’s Just Forget, from the Samurai Champloo Impression soundtrack.

Samurai Champloo is the story of Mugen, Jin, and Fuu as they travel the Japanese countryside in the Edo period. While they are nominally pursuing the “samurai who smells of sunflowers,” the majority of the show is spent with the three protagonists wandering around and getting into various shenanigans. Created by Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop fame, it bears a striking resemblance to that work but with some interesting differences. Where Bebop was a space-western with a jazz soundtrack that was very much about running from the past, Champloo is an action-samurai piece with a hip hop soundtrack that is more about traveling towards a present goal.

Fat Jon and Nujabes produced nearly all of the Samurai Champloo soundtrack. Just Forget is a great piece specifically because it mirrors the sort of overland wandering that the main characters go through in the story. Steady percussion with softer tones and a reliance on cymbals to provide a bit of texture. Just Forget is a somewhat somber instrumental, and echoes the work of other great producers like J Dilla and 9^th Wonder. The steady repetition and general low-key feel of Just Forget makes it as great for “wandering samurai” as it is for getting homework done, chores around the house, or writing blog posts late into the night.

Give it a few listens and let me know what you think in the comments below.

Anime Jukebox – X-Men

Hi, friends! Did you know that the 90’s X-Men animated series had two alternate Japanese animated intros that were on par with its already equally awesome American intro? Because, well, it did.

LLLLADIES…

Yeah yeah, this isn’t technically an intro for an anime show, but I figured I’d bend the theme just a little bit to show off this absolutely fantastic animation work.

These impressive intros were created for the show’s transition to Japanese audiences under the station TV Tokyo. The initial intro lasted for 41 episodes, with yet another brand new anime style intro starting with episode 42.

This is the best quality video I could find for this. If you sit through the whole thing you’ll see both intros:

Both intros featured songs by the hard rock group Ambience, the first titled Rising and the latter was Dakishimetai Dare Yori Mo. While I’m personally not a huge fan of the second track, the first one definitely rivals Ron Wasserman’s now iconic instrumental theme featured in the American intro. If I had a gun to my head I’d probably go with the American version, but there would be a lot of tears and anguish in that decision.

CRY FOR THE MOOOOOOOOOON!!!

Anime Jukebox – Rose of Versailles Theme

For today’s Anime Jukebox we have the theme for the anime Rose of Versailles, Bara wa Utsukushiku Chiru.

1970s anime hair has no equal.

Based on the sweeping 1972 shojo manga by Riyoko Ikeda, Rose of Versailles is an anime released in 1979 that charts the pseudo-historical tale of Oscar de Jarjayes in pre-revolutionary France. Rarely do we find anime that is a mixture of historical fiction, search for gender identity, and melodramatic pairing of romance and action. Filled with engrossing characters that have interesting developmental arcs, Rose of Versailles has been a giant in the shojo field for decades.

The theme song by Hiroko Suzuki is a potent combination of moving, subtle, and catchy. The harpsicord gives a steady tempo as an undercurrent to the verses, and the stirring string accompaniment adds a layer of excitement to the moments just before each chorus arrives.  Perhaps the song’s most memorable element is the chorus, which opens with a quick repetition of the phrase bara wa bara wa – something which is incredibly easy to find stuck in one’s head long after hearing it. Paired with some fittingly overdramatic imagery in the title credits, this theme is a perfect fit for an excellent show.

Alright Rogues, is it worth your quarter, or a pass on this one?

Anime Jukebox – Area 88 “How Far to Paradise”

The first in a new line of blog posts, Anime Jukebox will be a collection of songs that stand out to the Blade Licking Thieves for any number of reasons. Today’s track – How Far to Paradise, from the Area 88 OVA.

Sung by Derek Jackson, this track served as the first opening theme for the Area 88 OVA. Adapted from Kaoru Shintani’s legendary manga series, this OVA is a favorite for a lot of old heads in the fandom. This track firmly plants the show in the glorious cheese of the 1980’s – a story of seemingly endless war with a reluctant pilot and a distant love interest. While the manga and OVA certainly exceed the seemingly “ho-hum/been there done that” of the initial premise, this track is so drenched in 80s absurdity it is hard not to love. The heavy bass line, rhythmic guitar, and over the top brass accompaniment are a perfect pairing with the iconic logo – the unicorn with a burning mane of fire. The highlight of the track is definitely whenever Derek’s voice drops in pitch as he asks, “How far back to my hoo-ooome?” at the end of each chorus.

What’s your take on this classic anime track – is it worth you quarter, or do you skip it? Tell us in the comments below.