Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Sis puella magica! Is it good? Well, yeah, but is the sky blue? Suffice it to say, it’s a testament as to just how good she’s gotten at her own game that she can write so much similar music time and time again but still be praised for it. Strong whiffs of Celtic and Arabic influence? Definitely. Liberally peppered with hammy moments of grandiose uplift? Yes. The standard descriptions apply, as they do to all Kajiura scores. I’d rather not delve into another trite tirade of the typical Kajiuran gripes, but a warranty of this nature is necessary for a discussion of Puella Magi Madoka Magica’s soundtrack. That’s because Kajiura is as predictable as she is excellent she never disappoints but is just as unlikely to surprise. There’s always that familiar, stale satisfaction when fans learn that Yuki Kajiura is scoring a show. Hunter x Hunter 2011 – All I Need Is MONEY! Latin spices tracks like “Kijutsushi no Baire,” the sleazy and humourous pieces like “All I Need Is MONEY!,” lighthearted marches in “Get Funky!,” and a number of rock based themes like “Ikkiuchi!” all bring new dimensions to Hirano’s style, making HxH one of the most diverse and enjoyable soundtracks of 2011. Like Sahashi before him, Hirano took the opportunity to incorporate new genres and styles. Hirano doesn’t fail to satisfy longtime fans of his works by providing his usual graceful waltzes like “Ginpatsu no Shounen,” beautiful requiems like that of “Chichi no Senaka,” as well as the good old orchestral pieces like “Boys, Be Courageous!” But one does not land an OST among the top simply by being consistent. Well, haters can hate, but we stand firm on the opinion that his remake of HxH is every bit as good as the original, and even better in some aspects. Yoshihisa Hirano does seem to be getting undeserved flak for his OST for the 2011 remake of Hunter x Hunter.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE – Gundam AGE ~ The Story of 100 Years So while Gundam AGE’s soundtrack strays pretty far from being subtle and nuanced, fans will find Yoshikawa’s efforts to be excellent on a standalone basis as the action gets underway and the main theme impresses in all of its incarnations. As one delves further into this soundtrack, the bombast succeeds in drawing forth loads of inspiration and capturing all of the action that goes on. Kei Yoshikawa, who performed admirably scoring SD Gundam Sangokuden, once again delivers a work that easily measures up to Gundam scores of years past (setting aside, for a moment, messes like Kenji Kawai’s Gundam 00’s soundtrack).

Those are the words the come to mind upon hearing the fanfare and theme from “Gundam AGE ~ The Story of 100 Years” and its effect leaves one eager to see what new stories this franchise has to tell. And for those who like a long playlist that they can listen to while at work, we’ve included the Master List below.īoisterous, momentous, epic. We do hope you discover something new or get to reminisce over some tune that impressed you during the course of last year. Narrowing the list down to 15 was not going to be an easy task, but we do hope you enjoy what’s in store here.ĭo note that clips presented will be played in their entirety. Doing so serves two functions: it allows people to get an idea for what stuff we liked and think are worth checking out and it allows us to go over worthy soundtracks that we simply could not find the time to review but still want people to know about. Starting last year, we decided that an anime soundtrack retrospective wouldn’t be a bad idea. In August? Man, at this rate, the 2012 music roundup post won’t be released until 2014 at the earliest!

Out there omega edition soundtrack