Anime

Anime, Editorial, Game Music

Video Game Soundtrack Collectors on Facebook

March 14, 2019 | Ryan Paquet | 2 Comments Share this

Over the past couple of months I have not had much time to write articles here at OSV. Although I haven’t been writing about game music I have been engaged with many collectors of game music through a group on Facebook called Video Game Soundtrack Collectors. The group was created in November 2018, and has grown to over 160 members who have been sharing images of their video game music collections.

Included amongst the Facebook group are OSV alumni and members of The Materia Collective who are very passionate collectors. For me, being a member of this group has allowed me to discuss and share details of my favorite anime and game soundtracks with fellow enthusiasts. I’ve also helped others track down some items, and was at long last able to acquire a CD I’d been seeking for years with a help of a member living in Japan. You may recall I wrote about the album Passion released by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra in an article titled Lost in Time: The Chrono Cross Arranged Album. After posting about my desire to own this album, a group member located it and it’s now a treasured CD in my collection.

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Although I’m not a big fan of Facebook as a platform, I am a member of the group under an alias account. If you are a video game soundtrack collector, on CD, vinyl or have a love of game music I encourage you to check out this group. You can access the group as long as you have a Facebook account at the link below, you’ll be prompted with a couple questions prior to being granted access: What is your favorite game soundtrack, and what is your more sought after game soundtrack?

Facebook Group Link: Video Game Soundtrack Collectors

I hope to see you there. Are you a member of another soundtrack collectors group? Please tell us about it!
Anime, Game Music, Japanese

Top 5 Works by Nobuo Uematsu (That Isn’t Final Fantasy)

September 4, 2018 | Harry Gill | 4 Comments Share this

When people think Nobuo Uematsu, they think “Final Fantasy music” – and that isn’t necessarily always the case. Uematsu has done much and more beyond Final Fantasy, and I hope this top 5 list will broaden your horizons!

This list will not only contain soundtracks, but also his other, original work!
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Anime, Doujin, Game Music

Metal Gear Vocalist Releases Jazzy Covers of Game and Anime Music

April 3, 2018 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Metal Gear Vocalist Releases Jazzy Covers of Game and Anime Music Share this

It’s becoming a fantastic trend to see video game vocalists getting more spotlight in today’s industry. Donna Burke, who has been the vocalist on several well-known titles such as Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Silent Hill 2, among others in those franchises has broken out on her own and is being featured on a collection of game and anime music classics done in a classy jazz style.

Burke founded the GANIME JAZZ quintet in 2016 and has mostly focused on live performances. Now, GAME + ANIME = GANIME JAZZ is the quintet’s first studio album features 12 jazz-infused tracks, including several fan-favorites.

01. Calling to the Night (Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops)

02. Way in the Dark (Implosion – Never Lose Hope)

03. Sins of the Father/Quiet’s Theme Intro (Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain)

04. Glassy Sky (Tokyo Ghoul)

05. Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)

06. No One Can Save Me (Angela’s Song) (Inspired by Silent Hill 2)

07. Hotarubi (Firefly) (Tales of Legendia)

08. Kami to Hito to (God and Man) (GOD EATER)

09. Moonless Starry Night (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles)

10. A Quiet Night (Original)

11. Morning Sky (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles)

12. To Suffer is to Love (Claudia’s Song) (Inspired by Silent Hill 3)

I hope that fans’ interest in videogames and anime leads to a newfound appreciation of jazz. Although I’m well-known for my videogame ballads, I want to take this opportunity to share my passion for jazz with my fans all around the world. – Donna Burke

<a href="http://ganimejazz.bandcamp.com/album/game-anime">Game + Anime = by Ganime Jazz</a>

GAME + ANIME = GANIME JAZZ releases today on Bandcamp in digital and physical formats. Burke will also be performing as a part of the Metal Gear In Concert tour in Los Angeles (Oct. 10), New York (Oct. 13), and Paris (Oct. 28).
Anime, Editorial, Featured, Reviews

Wherein we discuss all things Scum’s Wish / Kuzu no Honkai (Review: OSTs and Singles)

March 12, 2018 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

Lewd. Tawdry. Filthy. Perverse. Smut.

For decades, those were the words that I associated with virtually all “hentai” Japanese animation and erotic games (eroge). They may have had better plots and production value than a cheesy American porno, but their express purpose was to titillate and turn on. That not only made me uncomfortable, it left me with a moral dilemma time after time; more often than not, I sided with team chaste over time libertine.

(And I won’t even begin to get into concepts like “fan service” or bouncing breasts “chichi yuri.” It’s all quite childish to me. This is not a judgment to any of you who are fans. It’s just where I stand.)

While I very much doubt that this is the first TV anime to break the mold, it is the first one to which I’ve been exposed. Which is to say, I finally found a piece of Japanese pop culture that took on the topics of sex and romantic relationships with some nuance and maturity. I found something I didn’t even know I wanted in Scum’s Wish.

Last year, Fuji TV aired the 12-episode anime adaptation of Mengo Yokoyari’s manga Kuzu no Honkai, which had the unfortunate translated title Scum’s Wish (note: this was not a decision on the part of localization; the title existed from the start in the Japanese manga). Amazon added the English-subtitled localization of the show to their premium channel “Anime Strike,” which is now-defunct, meaning anyone with an Amazon Prime account can now access the show without incurring any additional charge. I would implore you to do so, perhaps before reading the following reviews. We have a lot of ground to cover.

While I will be referencing concepts from the TV show, before continuing on to the music reviews, I cannot state enough how much this anime impacted me. It’s been almost a year, and generally, a week doesn’t go by that I don’t have some memory of the anime or some other reason to recall it. Recently, after (painstakingly) tracking down all the music for Scum’s Wish, I’ve had all the more reason to think on it. But this is not a review of the show itself. I would encourage readers, alongside watching the show, to brush up on the general concept and background of the show by browsing the associated Wikipedia page. The tl;dr — this is a show that is honest about sex, romance, unrequited love, and more. There is no explicit visual content. It is both painfully specific, and surprisingly universal, in scope.

A final note, before the jump: Kuzu no Honkai more accurately translates as follows: “Kuzu” is a term for trash, waste, something used up and discarded. “Honkai” translates to a long-cherished desire, a very deeply-held wish. Something to consider when watching the show, when listening to the OSTs and the singles: who is doing the judging of a human (self or other) as “kuzu” and why? And what are the “honkai”s that rest deep within each character, and within everyday people? Okay, enough existential thought. On to the music! (more…)
Anime, Television

The 1984 G1 Transformers TV Soundtrack Debuts on Vinyl March 9!

March 7, 2018 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on The 1984 G1 Transformers TV Soundtrack Debuts on Vinyl March 9! Share this

On March 6, 2018, Enjoy the Toons Records announced that they were releasing the soundtrack to the G1 Transformers cartoon. The music has never been released in any form since the show’s airing in the early 1980’s. The music for the show was composed by Robert J. Walsh, and Johnny Douglas who worked on a number of 80’s cartoons including G.I. Joe (TV and Movie), Jem and the Holograms, and My Little Pony.

The album will go sale this Friday, March 9, 2018, on their website at noon Eastern Time. The album is limited to 2000 copies total, and is spread across three character color themed variants, and traditional black record. The colored albums include Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee version which will be an exclusive on ThinkGeek. The track list for the album is detailed below, it contains music from seasons 1 to 3 of the show which were personally selected by composer Robert J. Walsh.

Enjoy the Ride Records has confirmed that they will not be releasing this album digitally or on CD as they only licensed the album for a Vinyl LP release. Enjoy the Ride Records have also been hinting at this release since Thanksgiving of 2017 via their Instagram account. I also noticed that the labelling on the album reads: “HASBRO STUDIOS PRESENTS: 80’s TV Classics Music From” and asked the label over twitter if this meant if they planned to release more Hasbro music? They liked my tweet, so I am expecting more releases in the future. If you check out what’s been teased on Instagram I’ve seen pictures of the villains of G.I. Joe, and Thundercats too.

Original Sound Version has reached out to Sony Legacy Recordings for details on the possibility of additional releases but has received no response. Composer Robert J Walsh has been teasing the release of his music to Transformers, G.I. Joe and Jem and the Holograms for years now on his Facebook page, and with members of many Transformers fans. He has also hinted that he re-mastered the Transformers music in 5.1 audio for a potential Blu-Ray Audio release. OSV will be sure to report on any additional releases as information becomes available.

To purchase this album be sure to check out Enjoy The Toons Records site on Friday, I don’t think these will last long!

Are you excited for the first official release of the music from the Transformers cartoon?
Anime, Film

Listen to some of the Ghost in the Shell 2017 film score every Friday

September 8, 2017 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on Listen to some of the Ghost in the Shell 2017 film score every Friday Share this

On March 31, 2017, Lakeshore Records had planned to release the score to the live action Ghost in the Shell film. The release was unfortunately cancelled for reasons unknown, and ever since that time fans have been signing a petition for its release on Change.org. At the time of writing the petition has garnered over 4000 signatures, whatever you think about petitions of these nature there is evidence that they do work. When the first Transformers film was released in 2007 there were no plans to release a score album, however this changed when a fan run online petition obtained over 5000 signatures. The score was composed by Clint Mansell and Lorne Balfe and details of the original planned release are available on the Video Game Music Database which reveals the extent of talented individuals that worked on the music.

In the video clip above you can listen to the lengthy piece titled “Tank Battle” which is featured in one of the film’s final action scenes. Composer Lorne Balfe has been consistently releasing two tracks every Friday as a means to help generate excitement over the score. He’s also released an unused alternate score for the film’s opening ‘Shelling Sequence’ which offers film score fans a look behind the scenes of crafting the music for the film.

A twitter account @gitsost has also been actively promoting the film’s score and been encouraging Paramount Pictures and Lakeshore Records to release the score. The film’s Director, Rupert Sanders was also recently interviewed by Neil Middlemiss for Home Theatre Forum and was asked about the score release:

Neil Middlemiss:You worked with Clint Mansell and Lorne Balfe on Ghost in the Shell. And the music in your films works so incredibly well. What is your working process like with the composers that you work with? And what on God’s Earth do we have to do in order to get a score release for Ghost in the Shell’s wonderful soundtrack done? Who do I need to call [laughter]?

Rupert Sanders:Well, we will endeavor to do something. I think it’s a valid point and I think a digital release is a fairly inexpensive way to do it. But I work with the musicians as closely as I work with so many of the other collaborators. And as a director, your role when working on that side of the film is to inspire and excite those people around you so they give their best work. You’re not in there telling them what key the opening should be in, but you’re trying to give them as much of your vision of the film sonically as possible, and guide them as much as possible so they understand what you’re trying to do. And that’s really the hardest thing, especially with music, because you can’t draw it. And it’s very hard when you’re not musical, like myself, to talk in phrases and musical expressions because I don’t really know many of them but I can draw the shit out of a prop house. But music is harder [and] I think it’s about getting people who are collaborative, who want to help you on the journey do something different, and I’m really proud of the originality of the score. And I will follow up, and I will make sure that there’s a release. And as soon as it’s released, we’ll email you a link [laughter].

Until the score is officially released I will continue to check out Lorne Balfe’s YouTube page every Friday for the latest tracks he’s shared. OSV will keep you updated if an official score released in announced.

Were you a fan of the music in the 2017 Ghost in the Shell film?
Anime, Featured, Reviews

Turn Up The Dark: TV ANIMATION BERSERK OST (Review)

April 25, 2017 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on Turn Up The Dark: TV ANIMATION BERSERK OST (Review) Share this

The new Berserk TV series aired its first season last year to mixed reviews due to its use of a cell shaded 3D animation technique. In all of the reviews I came across, none had much to say about the music in the series. I have seen the original low budget Berserk anime TV series, the three Golden Age Arc films, played the Dreamcast game and read the manga up to volume 36. I am very familiar with the musical history of the series and actually passed on buying the scores to the trilogy of films by Shiro Sagisu.

However after watching Berserk last year, and listening to the music as it played in the series made this an album I could not pass up. Read on for my thoughts on the latest Berserk musical experience.

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