Are you a fan of opening themes for a variety of Japanese video games? Anyone who’s played an RPG from lesser known developers has undoubtedly, and possibly unknowingly, stumbled across an opening theme from a sound team known as Elements Garden. Consisting of five members, Noriyasu Agematsu, Junpei Fujita, Hitoshi Fujima, Daisuke Kikuta, and Nakayama, Elements Garden has contributed opening themes and soundtracks to a variety of popular games and series, such as the opening theme to White Knight Chronicles for the PlayStation 3 or the soundtrack for Wild Arms XF on the PSP.
This single contains the opening theme to a PS2 game entitled Galaxy Angel II Eigou Kaiki no Koku, which never saw release outside Japan, as well as an original piece, both sung by Yui Sakakibara. Yui Sakakibara is a notable singer/songwriter with a multitude of solo albums, as well as voice actor in Japan, who is featured in a variety of anime and games.
So let’s take a jump into the review to see if these angel wings actually work!
The opening theme to the game, “Gessei no Canon,” features the collaboration of two Elements Garden composers. The lyrics were written by the head of Elements Garden, Noriyasu Agematsu, while the music was composed and arranged by Hitoshi Fujima. It’s a bright, happy theme, incorporating some excellent brass and string passages with an exhilarating melody that gives the feeling of flying through the air. While the game only features a shortened version of the theme, the single contains the full version.
The other theme on the single, “Revolution of Fate,” features another Elements Garden collaboration. While the lyrics were written by an outside contributor, Bee’, the music was composed by Daisuke Kikuta and arranged by Masato Nakayama. It also has a very gamey feel and has more of an edge than the former. The guitar riffs, combined with piano and electronica, make for a really invigorating ride that blends a few styles. Out of the two themes, I find this one to much more enjoyable.
Each song also comes with a karaoke version, so you and Tommy Ciulla on our staff will be able to sing your hearts out at your next karaoke outing! In addition, there is also a DVD containing a “Making of” and video clip of the theme song. While I have yet to check out Elements Garden’s work on Suikoden Tierkreis, I look forward to the next opening theme they compose for whatever game it may be. I hope it’s as good as this one. You can find the album at both CD Japan and Play Asia!
Are you a fan of Elements Garden’s works? Have you heard any of Yui Sakakibura’s singles or solo albums? Would you like to see them collaborate again?
Tags: Daisuke Kikuta, Elements Garden, Galaxy Angel, Hitoshi Fujima, Masato Nakayama, Music Reviews, Yui Sakakibura
Good to hear a little more about Elements Garden. First time I heard of them was when I was checking out the Suikoden Tierkreis Extra Soundtrack. I’ve yet to hear the arrangements, but I still want to. They’re also listed as composers/arrangers for the game score, but not sure which ones they did.