Forum - View topicHai Fidelity - Code Geass R2
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Big Hed
 Posts: 1607 Location: Melbourne, Australia |
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Yeah, I'm not really a fan of background music albums either, which seems to be what a lot of anime OSTs are. But Code Geass has a lot of lively music, so I'm sure this isn't too bad.
Typo at the top of the penultimate paragraph by the way. The track is described as "face-paced", and I believe that should be "fast-paced". |
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Senna
 Posts: 99 Location: Somewhere, USA |
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I have to disagree on "Continued Story" being "boring." But of course, I have the bias of loving Hitomi's music and listening to the song over and over again after watching the ending of CG. It is a really great ending song.
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BleuVII
 Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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Yeah, that really shows in the review. Which is refreshing, because most soundtrack reviewers absolutely love soundtracks. I am a person who LOVES soundtracks, and I would have had a slightly different take on the whole piece, gravitating towards the songs that you might have listed as "boring." I thought the Code Geass series always had fantastic music. |
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Cassandra
 Posts: 1356 Location: Birdsboro, PA |
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See, these two points here are what proves my review. The songs are good...if you are familiar with the show. While I've watched the first season of CG, I haven't seen R2. So, sure, "Continued Story" may be powerful when it's matched with whatever animation is showing as it plays. However, a music CD doesn't have that animation, leaving the song to fall flat on its own. |
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Si-MoN
Posts: 5 |
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Well when it comes to Anime OST it often gives you a feeling of nice nostalgia when u have seen the show i think,
atleast its like that for me so i can love listening to a song from a show just for that reason. Continued Story is quite nice period though 
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Senna
Posts: 99 Location: Somewhere, USA |
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Naturally, I wasn't trying to invalidate your opinion or say you are "wrong;" I merely wanted to assert my own opinion, which happens to differ from yours  I'm sorry if that didn't come across well.
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8461 Location: Penguinopolis |
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I stopped reading after "'Continued Story' is boring."
I don't even like Code Geass very much, and I thought it was the most beautifully composed piece in an anime for a very long time. |
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Renaisance Otaku
 Posts: 469 Location: Modesto, CA |
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As did I, and I'm also a huge fan of soundtracks and instrumental in general. I attribute to never having had the money as a kid to spend on tapes where I might have liked all of one song. Having seen a film, I knew whether I liked the music or not, and instrumental is always better at expressing concepts and emotion without the confines of words. Which brings me to a disagreement or at least a different view to the reviewers contention that the music doesn't work well on it's own. While it is true that context is the best, instrumental music usually can impart it's meaning without prior knowledge. I heard the R2 OSTs while watching the series, and several tracks were released before their use. The clearest example being "Madder Sky" on OST 1. Since it had not appeared in the series yet, I had no idea what it accompanied. Still, I could get the sense of power and grandeur it inspired (it winds up in a very key scene). Context hasn't really improved it, though maybe it's because I loved it from the get go. Like you said, you can sort of tell context from the tone of each song. Naturally, your mileage may vary. What I'm saying is that, while it's true that the best of scores evoke the images they accompany, music can be interpreted anyway you choose. I don't really see the relevance of the example given of imagining a soft piece set to a battle. It's not entirely wrong to even do such. Not to mention that, if done correctly, one can pair such conflicting emotions and have it work beautifully. Action music need not always have to score the "action" if the emotion is what's important, but that's beside the point. Besides, why would anyone not familiar with the show and not a fan of orchestral music buy a soundtrack? The point's rather moot.  If you're a fan, you can relive moments or enjoy separately. If you like the type of music, you have you're own interpretations. If anything, it will spark interest in seeing what created the piece.
Still, nice to see an actual soundtrack reviewed here. Thanks for the review. |
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Sam Murai
 Posts: 1051 |
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But, doesn't that all go without saying? The primary and targeted buyers of OSTs would be the ones who already watched the show and enjoyed the music. It's not really meant to be picked up by someone unfamiliar with it who is looking for a music CD to listen to. Since the tracks are composed to complement another medium (visual, or in other cases, a radio drama), it will chiefly have an impact on you if you had experienced watching or listening to whatever scene accompanied it and know what context it has. An OST would obviously have lesser value to a "casual fan" or unassuming customer because there is little to no connection to the source material. Some tracks may evoke a certain feeling, but without that actual reference to a particular scene or moment, it's ultimately a shallow one and empty of true meaning. In some sense, there's little point in reviewing a soundtrack objectively if you only have a passing, or no, knowledge of the show, film, or play itself. It's not a standalone album, nor is it really meant to be. |
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Kit-Tsukasa
Posts: 930 |
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All the Hitomi tracks in R2 were great, especially considering the context they were played in (especially those played in the latter end of R2 spoiler[Rollo's, Nunnally's, and Lelouch's death scenes were all perfect for Hitomi's songs])
R1 was far inferior after these songs....Opening and Ending themes on the other hand is a different issue...they're about the same imo. |
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Labbes
 Posts: 890 |
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I'd have to disagree here. A song, or a piece of instrumental music, should, in my opinion, be able to stand on its own. I liked "God knows" before I knew who Haruhi was, for example, and I like the OSTs of most Final Fantasy games even though I didn't play them. The OSTs of Macross can be incredibly touching, especially the ultra-catchy, epic opener. A good OST should be able to stand on its own, in my opinion (As always, there might be exceptions to the rule). Edit: And I also think "Continued Story" is a rather boring piece
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BleuVII
Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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I agree with Labbes. I have purchased quite a few soundtracks to games/ anime that I have never played or watched. I've often gone and played and watched them later, but I listened to the soundtrack for a long time first.
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loka
 Posts: 373 Location: Pittsburgh, PA |
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i'm surprised with how many really good tracks are in this one. honestly, i'm accustomed to the OST 2 and beyond being far worse than the first. example: the first season geass OST2 << OST1
this soundtrack is better than my last purchase: a Shana soundtrack. |
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scortia
 Posts: 174 |
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Wow a lot more love for R2 music over R1. There were some really good Hitomi songs with R1 as well - Stories and Innocent Days especially.
That said, while I personally think "Continued Story" is brilliant having seen the series or not, I must admit knowing the scenes affiliated with it definitely sky-rockets the song to new levels of greatness. I mean, hey, if a song is playing as you are crying manly tears, it sort of sticks with you. I was playing "Continued Story" every day for days after the last ep of R2 because it just fit perfectly with the atmosphere at the end of Geass and gave me a warm, emotional sort of feeling. |
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dangerwhat
 Posts: 187 Location: Central Florida |
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I guess most Anime OST are background music because thats what most of the music in Anime consists of. Though, there are often CDs for just the vocal tracks for shows too. Personally, I like the background music stuff generally. Not sold on Code Geass yet though, haven't seen enough of it to know anything too solid about the music. I think that a good OST works both ways, that is, is effective whether you've seen the show or not - good music is simply good music. Oft times I will actually get the OST for a show that I haven't seen but am interested in or have heard of. Good music often inspires or encourages me to see an Anime that I haven't seen yet. OMG face-paced lol |
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