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The Xenos wrote:

I read that first question:

Quote:

Hey answerman, how come R1 packaging isn't as cool or good looking as R2 packaging? Every time I see a Japanese DVD it looks better than the Amerrican ones. Why don't the american companies just use the same artwork?

For some reason I get the feeling they might be talking about those cheap region zero bootlegs. Maybe I've just gotten paranoid because so many times I've heard people talk about 'Japanese DVDs' and how much better they are than Reigion 1, they turn out to be talking about bootlegs and don't even know it.

Somehow I don't think so since s/he said "R2" instead of just "Japanese DVDs"

Henry Jones wrote:

If you want a great example of what Kajiura is capable of, check out the Xenosaga Episode III soundtrack. Her work on Episode II is good, not great, but just about everyone involved gave a half-hearted effort on Episode II. Episode III's music is honestly amazing both in its use in the game and listening to it on CD. It takes an occasionally over-melodramatic and sometimes laughable space opera and takes up a few levels by its presence alone. It may use a few themes over and over, but it's something like 6 or 7 themes, so it's not like "Sakura's Theme" in Episode II that makes up half the soundtrack. It's the first game soundtrack in a LONG tong I've taken the effort to import (Katamari Damacy is great, but most of the people I know who are into this stuff already own it, so I hear it enough). It's too bad the "Best Selection" leaves some great stuff out, though.

You know what's kind of ironic is that the Episode II music made me cringe for the most part, but then the extra stuff at the end of the game had really awesome music. And I'm pretty sure that some (if not all) of those songs were used in Episode III. I especially remember that the song from Heaven's Ruins was used in III.

But ALL of Kajiura's Xenosaga music doesn't sound very Kajiura-ish. There aren't a lot of strings at all, and almost no vocal pieces. I guess since they're games they need to worry more about looping, but as a Kajiura fan I still find it disappointing.

I personally think Kajiura has a decent amount of variety within her songs as far as mood goes, her MO just happens to be strings and deep "wailing" female vocals. You wouldn't say that van Gogh's paintings all looks the same just because [almost] all of them are oil painting's with muted colors, would you? Or that all of his flower paintings are basically the same.

I love Kajiura and Kanno's music equally, though, and think they're like apples and oranges. If Kanno had done the music for Noir, it wouldn't have worked, and the same goes for if Kajiura had done the music for Escaflowne. Though now that I think about it, it would be interesting to see what Kajiura would do for RahXephon...

ETA:
I love Nana, Absolute Boyfriend, Backstage Prince, and Godchild, and personally found Kaze Hikaru to be boring and rather dull. Absolute Boyfriend is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, and I admit that it's pretty mindless drivel, but Nana is anything but. The main characters are strong young women who happen to -- oh my God! -- have love lives. The thread that holds the series together isn't the romance, though, but growing up and friendship.And I love Backstage Prince because the characters have more depth than the standard shoujo cliches. Though I will admit that the magazine could use a bit more variety.

I've subsribed to the magazine form the beginning, and while I'm not one for fashion or makeup and hate Seventeen with a passion, I find some of the fashion articles to actually be pretty interesting. I'd like more articles relevant to Japanese culture and such, but I read it for the manga in the first place, so I don't really care.

Akukaze wrote:

Henry Jones wrote:

uot;]If you want a great example of what Kajiura is capable of, check out the Xenosaga Episode III soundtrack. Her work on Episode II is good, not great, but just about everyone involved gave a half-hearted effort on Episode II. Episode III's music is honestly amazing both in its use in the game and listening to it on CD. It takes an occasionally over-melodramatic and sometimes laughable space opera and takes up a few levels by its presence alone. It may use a few themes over and over, but it's something like 6 or 7 themes, so it's not like "Sakura's Theme" in Episode II that makes up half the soundtrack. It's the first game soundtrack in a LONG tong I've taken the effort to import (Katamari Damacy is great, but most of the people I know who are into this stuff already own it, so I hear it enough). It's too bad the "Best Selection" leaves some great stuff out, though.

You know what's kind of ironic is that the Episode II music made me cringe for the most part, but then the extra stuff at the end of the game had really awesome music. And I'm pretty sure that some (if not all) of those songs were used in Episode III. I especially remember that the song from Heaven's Ruins was used in III.

But ALL of Kajiura's Xenosaga music doesn't sound very Kajiura-ish. There aren't a lot of strings at all, and almost no vocal pieces. I guess since they're games they need to worry more about looping, but as a Kajiura fan I still find it disappointing.

How much have you listened to of Episode III? Yes, there are themes that are reused, but on rare occasions. KOS-MOS' theme is reprised at a very key moment, "Assault" is reprised at a key area, and "Fatal Fight" is replayed at a certain (and awesome) boss fight. But I'd say a good 95% of it is original material, and all the reused stuff is used at the the exact right moment.

Plus Episode III has PLENTY of strings. I'd say half of it has some sort of strings carrying the melody, and the last four tracks on the soundtrack are all string-driven (At least as far as the music goes). While the Emily Curtis song at the end is un-Kajiura, the song "Gobsibbe" is VERY vocal and very Kajiura (Even if it's a choir of nonsense syllables). I will agree that some tracks on II are very jarring and unlistenable, though.

Josh7289 wrote:

hanachan01 wrote:

jgreen wrote:

Josh7289 wrote:

Man, I hate that freaking girl right to the left of this text box! WTF are you thinking, ANN?

That's a typo, right? I think you mean "WTF are you thinking, ADV?" I doubt ANN makes other companies' ads for them.

I think he's blaming ANN for putting the ad up.

Yeah. Couldn't they think about what they are putting up? Maybe send a reply to the email that contained the skin back to ADV saying it's not appropriate for their site? Seriously, I have to be careful where I am when I try to come here anymore, since some people would make a big deal out of something like this.

Ironic that you're making a big deal over nothing. Just change the skin if you don't like it.

Akukaze wrote:

I love Kajiura and Kanno's music equally, though, and think they're like apples and oranges. If Kanno had done the music for Noir, it wouldn't have worked, and the same goes for if Kajiura had done the music for Escaflowne. Though now that I think about it, it would be interesting to see what Kajiura would do for RahXephon..

.
Just want to remind you that Kanno only composed the opening song "Hemisphere", but not the BGM and ending song. Ichiko Hashimoto did that.

I am a big fan of Yoko Kanno. Her music is what had me watch all of Cowboy Bebop and Wolf's Rain.
I've had a subscription to Shojo Beat for about 4 months now and overall I really enjoy it. Other than the "Baby and Me" which I completely skip over, I like reading all the different manga. I totally agree about the articles- they have been a disappointment. A lot of the time they seem to be just promoting more Shojo beat products. It would be nice if they could have some more depth. My favorite things to read are cultural notes.

I worship Yoko Kanno like a god, so I'm not sure my opinion counts, but...

In addition to her diversity, depth, and amazing compositions of her pieces, I also think Yoko Kanno has a bizarre and mysterious ability to really capture something about an emotion or scene she's trying to portray in a way I don't think anyone can match. Her music regularly gives me shivers because of how accurately it summarizes some scene, some feeling, or matches something I've felt or thought but could never express.

Her music runs the full spectrum of music genres, but it also runs the full spectrum of emotion--she writes sad piano ballads, wild rock songs, upbeat pop, sweeping orchestrations, quirky, bouncy techno, energetic jazz, mysterious, ancient-sounding chants, and everything else imaginable. And while she's going across all those genres, sometimes within the space of a single CD, she somehow blends them all together into a whole that's greater than the sum of its pieces. I own most of Yoko Kanno's CDs and I have yet to find a single one I don't adore.

I have an immense amount of respect for Kajiura and think her music is quite beautiful, but, as has already been said by others, I think her music is more repetitive and also more on the surface level. I think her music is great at expressing or accentuating things that are mysterious or pretty, but when the range goes beyond the beautiful or mysterious, I don't feel like she can quite match Yoko Kanno's skill. I listen to a lot of Yuki Kajiura, too, but to me she's much more simple and predictable. I respect people who prefer Yuki Kajiura over Yoko Kanno, because I also find Kajiura-san's style quite nice and can see why people would prefer that stability and gentle style to Kanno's eclecticism, but I don't think she has nearly the same genius abilities as Yoko Kanno.

On the Kajiura/Kanno debate, I'd side with Kanno. Yoko Kanno is a musical genius simply for the fact that she can compose in any style and a range of languages. Cowboy Bebop was a good show on its own, but the music tips the scales into full blown awesome. The music really helped set the tone and style of the show.

Kajiura is pretty awesome as well, but I tend to agree that they overuse her stuff ad nauseum. I happen to like Tsubasa, but come on, how many times can we listen to the same old fight music? What she does, she does well, I'd just like to hear it get mixed up a little. I still love it, but I need more than the same old stuff.

And as for the side pictures... I'd be a lot less disturbed by them if the characters weren't twisting themselves into grotesque shapes. They're all at really odd angles and look kind of creepy to me. o-o

My appreciation for Yoko Kanno is very isolated to certain soundtrack titles and specific songs, I can't just stumble upon a random piece by Kanno and typically have it suprise me in any way. I like the increased awareness that people are getting now with these two composers and their track record, since it was a subject in the latest Answerman and people continue to post in that/those stickied thread(s) about Kajiura and Kanno.

I have been keeping track of those threads as I was one of the people who kickstarted the whole idea to compare these two composers on ANN and openly voiced my preference and love for Yuki Kajiura's music. I haven't been ignoring this contining saga, I just haven't posted much lately in the Music forum. Thank you so much to those other fans for the continued support for Yuki Kajiura. While it still seems like Yoko Kanno is still number one in popularity it's good to know there are devoted Kajiura fans out there that are helping her music career grow even more. I wanted to express the awesome music that Kajiura continues to uplift and suprise me with a couple of the many reasons why I am such a fan of hers:
The song "Silly Go Round" was my favorite anime OP for 2006 which I was researching about in the Encyclopedia for more info about the vocalist. The credits for this song is FictionJunction Yuuka. That is actually a 2 person group: Yuki Kajiura (music) and Yuuka Nanri (vocals). I also managed to grab the MadLax OP maxisingle (also by FJY), awesome songs simply awesome.

I also have to side with Kanno on the debate, albeit I'm a HUUUUUGE fanboy of hers. Her diversity in composition has already been said, but another thing I prefer about her to Kajiura is that Kanno frequently has access to orchestras and such, while most of the time it sounds like Kajiura has to make do with using a synthesizer. There are times where it just sounds like Kajiura hits the "demo" button on her Casio and overlays some opera singer on top of it.

I think Kajiura has some talent, yeah. There's usually three or four songs per series she's worked on that I think are worth listening to. But it seems like she runs out of things to say, and then things just sort of turn to generic mush or get repeated. One of my favorite things to look out for in a Kajiura work is a music box BGM. I swear, it appears without fail. :p

When it comes to faults for Kanno, I have to say sometimes she ventures into genres, such as the Kamikaze Girls OST, that I have no desire to hear. Also, her precious "Gabriela Robin" voice can get TOO precious sometimes. Listen to ABC Mouse Parade and see if you can stand it.

Wow I didn't get what was so funny about the Solty Rei ad utill someone hinted at it and as for the Yoko/Yuki debate I like both of there music equally but I like Yuki's music more.

And the ANN backround isn't that suspecous but they are in wierd positions,that pic with guys that have pillows is scary.

When I first saw the ad for Shojo Beat in Shonen Jump I thought it looked like it had makeup and fashion stuff in it (which I have no intrest in),hey ShiroKiryuu what was the shop called that you bought the Japanese Jump magazene? Anime smile

Josh7289 wrote:

hanachan01 wrote:

jgreen wrote:

Josh7289 wrote:

Man, I hate that freaking girl right to the left of this text box! WTF are you thinking, ANN?

That's a typo, right? I think you mean "WTF are you thinking, ADV?" I doubt ANN makes other companies' ads for them.

I think he's blaming ANN for putting the ad up.

Yeah. Couldn't they think about what they are putting up? Maybe send a reply to the email that contained the skin back to ADV saying it's not appropriate for their site? Seriously, I have to be careful where I am when I try to come here anymore, since some people would make a big deal out of something like this.

Perhaps ANN is a bit too mature for your age Josh?

You know if Answerman had not brought the Solty Rei cover to my attention I honestly would not have noticed it. When I look at it full on I don't see what you all are talking about. The cover does not look salacious or creepy at all to me.

While I'm very familiar with the music of Yoko Kanno I have never heard of the other composer and was not aware that there was a debate or supposed feud of any kind.

As for Shojo Beat I was reading it for about 6 months but they removed all the series that I was interested in. Nana is ok but I don't like it enough to spend the money to buy the mag or the manga for that matter.

B.

On the Kanno/Yuki thing, Kanno wins hands down. While Kaijura does something nice every once in a while, she usually ends up with just the same style of music making everything sound the same. I used to hate her with the abba sounding crap that took up most of .hack and the other anime she worked on, but I changed my mind on her after hearing her work on Petite Cosset or whatever that show was called. She's trying to get out of the usual techno eurobeat stuff she usually does, and for that I give her props, but to even compare her to Yoko Kanno... no. Doesn't work. That's like comparing Fall Out Boy to the Beatles. The teeny boopers will claim they're the best band in existance, but quality wise... it's obvious. Kanno can do anything, gregorian chants, jazz, brazillian, celtic, anything, and it all just seems to come naturally to her, like she's always done that certian style of music. Yoko Kanno is a musical genius while Kaijura is just another random composer of background music for anime.

Shoujo Beat - I agree completly with the rant. I subscribed to it when it first started, and loved it at first. I'm one of the few who had God Child on top of my list, and I for some reason actually liked Kaze, with Nana following after. However after they started doing the usual teen mag thing with buy this crap, you'll look cute in this, yatta yatta, I started to dislike it. Read all the manga, but skip everything else is what I did till my subscription ran out, right before they stopped Cain. Seemed like a sign to me to not renew.

Not a lot of shoujo beat readers are old enough to remember it, but Tokyopop used to have Smile magazine. Great little shoujo manga mag, but it was mostly nothing but manga with a page here or there for a column, and maybe a mention of makeup on another page, maybe some convention coverage on another. Great little mag, but it didn't do so well because it was before the big manga boom here, so they discontinued it. They had shoujo manga like Sailor Moon, Peach Girl, and I can't even remember the rest, but it rocked, and they didn't shove the buy this crap at you.

The Sailor Moon novella - those were small little novellas never published in japan. I believe Tokoyopop commissioned some popular sailor moon fanfiction writer to write them, and they did pretty much summarize an episode here and there, but the writer put enough in there to keep it interesting.

Excellent column this week, as usual!

By the way, those who are troubled by that girl (I presume it's the first girl, aka the second person from the top) being in such a "compromising" angle. Well, once you read the Air Gear manga or watch the anime (I only watched episode 1, though; the IGN ad thing)...

She's one hell of a tease anyway. That angle is tame >,<" (ashamed at Oh! Great's blatant fanservice : P )

I personally don't like this ad that much, though. The Coyote one looks slick; this one...generic. Straight blue lines on blue backgrounds -- eww.

But I'm too lazy to change : )

And I didn't get the Solty Rei joke 'til now too! You perverted people! Razz

I heard that the nudity in the first episode wasn't actually in the original manga, appearantly. But yeah, once I saw the first episode, it suddenly made sense WHY it was being advertised that way. Anime hyper

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