LIST OF COMPOSERS - ANIME SUMMER SEASON 2012

[Porter]

Hi there,
Summer season for anime TV series 2012 is almost here so I again uploaded on my blog a table with list of composers.
List of anime is form animenewsnetwork.com. Most of composers were listed with name of each anime TV series separately. I added 3 names or production companies which weren´t listed.

http://www.visualnovelost.blogspot.sk/2012/06/list-of-composers-anime-tv-series.html

All the best
Porter

[Jormungand]

Very useful list--thank you! :)

[LiquidAcid]

Anime Instrumentality has posted a similar overview:
Link (http://blog.animeinstrumentality.net/2012/07/the-music-for-summer-2012%E2%80%B2s-anime-season-thoughts-thus-far/)

[Xenofan 29A]

Anime Instrumentality has posted a similar overview:
Link (http://blog.animeinstrumentality.net/2012/07/the-music-for-summer-2012%E2%80%B2s-anime-season-thoughts-thus-far/)

"Mitsuda can’t compose a battle theme to save his life..."

I've never understood this canard. Why do people think this?

[LiquidAcid]

Another quote from the blog:
Although I am somewhat worried that Tari Tari will yield some enjoyable, but ultimately unmemorable music (see his score for Hanasaku Iroha if you want a good example), for now, I’m more than happy to indulge in the light, whimsical, mellow aura that’s on display here.

I seriously don't see where the score for Hanasaku Iroha should be unmemorable. It's maybe one of my favorite anime scores from 2011. I'm still eagerly waiting for an official release of the score for The Princess and the Pilot.
I've got the impression that a lot of people just put Hamaguchi down as Mr. FF arranger.

[Jormungand]

"Mitsuda can’t compose a battle theme to save his life..."

I've never understood this canard. Why do people think this?
It probably doesn't help that most people can't name more than four games he's written music for--and even those four are a stretch for many.

If, however, we were to judge Mitsuda's prowess in battle composition solely by the CT battle theme, the quote would be true. ;)

[zzeroparticle]

Primary author here. Somehow, I seem like I'm stepping into the lion's den by responding, but here goes:

"Mitsuda can’t compose a battle theme to save his life..."
Yeah, I can accept this being just a tad of a hyperbole on my end. For Jormungand's benefit, I can list 6 games that Mitsuda's written for with the other two that isn't Xeno-related or Chrono-related being Legaia Duelsaga and Sailing to the World. I've listened to Legaia Duelsaga and IF "Fight, then Riot" is a battle theme, it's certainly a solid and enjoyable one. To be more precise (and intellectually honest), I'd say that when most people think of Mitsuda, it won't be for his battle themes (unlike say... Sakimoto).

On Hamaguchi:
Unfortunately, that was the takeaway that I got from listening to Hanasaku Iroha: nice, enjoyable, pretty music that makes up my top 10 OSTs list from 2011. In fact, in looking at a list I cobbled together, it'd be my 9th favorite OST from 2011, sandwiched between Guilty Crown and Nichijou.

That said, most of the issue I had with it was the the themes just weren't as compelling and memorable as some of the others I ranked more highly; stuff like Yumekui Merry was really solid and it definitely made a stamp upon me with the dissonance is uses to sculpt the nightmare-ish world. And then there's Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, which was absolutely charming and memorable in the way the music just washes over you relaxingly. Finally, the music for Chihayafuru, Hunter x Hunter, Last Exile, and Dantalian no Shoka just made a huge impression on me. Chihayafuru especially was memorable with that sweepingly beautiful main theme.

So yeah, all of that... that's just how my opinion falls. If nothing else, hopefully you'll at least know where I'm sort of coming from.

[LiquidAcid]

On Hamaguchi:
Unfortunately, that was the takeaway that I got from listening to Hanasaku Iroha: nice, enjoyable, pretty music that makes up my top 10 OSTs list from 2011. In fact, in looking at a list I cobbled together, it'd be my 9th favorite OST from 2011, sandwiched between Guilty Crown and Nichijou.

That said, most of the issue I had with it was the the themes just weren't as compelling and memorable as some of the others I ranked more highly; stuff like Yumekui Merry was really solid and it definitely made a stamp upon me with the dissonance is uses to sculpt the nightmare-ish world. And then there's Ikoku Meiro no Croisee, which was absolutely charming and memorable in the way the music just washes over you relaxingly. Finally, the music for Chihayafuru, Hunter x Hunter, Last Exile, and Dantalian no Shoka just made a huge impression on me. Chihayafuru especially was memorable with that sweepingly beautiful main theme.

So yeah, all of that... that's just how my opinion falls. If nothing else, hopefully you'll at least know where I'm sort of coming from.
I very much agree with Chihayafuru, which came as quite a surprise for me, since I never really liked Yamashita's work on Nobunaga's Ambition. It also made me check out the album for Ozma, which I'm also very much enjoying. No love for his Digimon compositions, but that's probably due to the intended audience of the series.

Sadly that's pretty much it: Everything else you listed in the your post didn't strike me as particularly memorable -- especially for Ikoku Meiro no Croisee I felt like I was listening to elevator music, which just poured right through me (with nothing really sticking).

I haven't listened to Nichijou yet, so if you're ranking Hanasaku together with it... maybe I should give it a listen :)


Anyway, these commented overviews are bound to polarize, and I don't think that's a bad thing. Keep up the good work on Anime Instrumentality! ;)

EDIT: I mostly start to watch shows based on the music/composer, so these overviews are really helping me to decide.

[Cedille]

I've listened to Legaia Duelsaga and IF "Fight, then Riot" is a battle theme, it's certainly a solid and enjoyable one.

It was actually the OP theme.

On a side note, "Fight, Then Riot!" is a flat out mistranslation that hasn't been corrected for a decade, and it's surely hard to correct it.

[Xenofan 29A]

If, however, we were to judge Mitsuda's prowess in battle composition solely by the CT battle theme, the quote would be true. ;)

Right, but the (should have remained) unreleased Battle 2 is even worse.

Yeah, I can accept this being just a tad of a hyperbole on my end. For Jormungand's benefit, I can list 6 games that Mitsuda's written for with the other two that isn't Xeno-related or Chrono-related being Legaia Duelsaga and Sailing to the World. I've listened to Legaia Duelsaga and IF "Fight, then Riot" is a battle theme, it's certainly a solid and enjoyable one. To be more precise (and intellectually honest), I'd say that when most people think of Mitsuda, it won't be for his battle themes (unlike say... Sakimoto).

True enough, but I think that some of the time people have criticized Mitsuda's battle themes because they don't fit their personal idea of what a battle theme should sound like, rather than whether or not they're good musically. Uematsu, Ito, and the JDK team wrote battle themes primarily influenced by rock, and that has become (mostly) standard in RPG music. Note how Hamauzu had to have his battle themes for FFXIII and XIII-2 arranged for a rock feel. Sakimoto always sounds like Sakimoto, and his battle themes have been criticized by some as overly bombastic relative to the genre, but generally his relatively traditional orchestral sound is close enough to movie score to be palatable.

Sugiyama is often criticized for his battle themes, though, and while some of that criticism may be deserved (the use of drum kit does sound a little corny at times), part of it is due more to his very chromatic writing, which at times veers into atonality. This is a conscious choice on his part, and while occasionally he doesn't have enough skill to make it work, sometimes it does.

Mitsuda's battle themes are another beast entirely. As his music tends to be relatively slow or laid back, he can't really write his battle themes in the same style. But they are based in the most fundamental element of his style: polyrhythm. Especially since Chrono Cross, Mitsuda's battle themes have emphasized layers of rhythmically dense repeating fragments, usually with at least one abrupt change in key or mood. This pushes it further away from Rock, which depends on one rhythm being stressed above all others for its sound. Some of the most extreme examples of this tendency are the ones that have elicited the loudest criticism (CC's "Gale" and XS's "Battle"). All of this is interesting musically, but it doesn't have the same feeling that a rock-flavored battle theme does, and the musical complexity may actually make these themes feel slower and less energetic than their peers, and hence "not sound like a battle theme".

I'm not criticizing you in particular, of course. I have enjoyed your site quite a bit, and thanks for the write-up. How would I have known that Ichiko Hashimoto was returning to Anime scoring without the comments below? Now that's something I'm looking forward to!

[Jormungand]

For Jormungand's benefit, I can list 6 games that Mitsuda's written for with the other two that isn't Xeno-related or Chrono-related being Legaia Duelsaga and Sailing to the World.
Sailing to the World (the CD version, anyway), has two pretty awesome battle themes. You might check that out. You should also have a listen to:

Tsugunai: Battle Level 2, Battle With the Devil
Shadow Hearts: China Ogre
Shadow Hearts 2: Battle With the Fallen Angel
Armodyne: Strike from Behind
World Destruction: main battle theme
Inazuma Eleven: Activate Burning Phase
Arc Rise Fantasia: In Order to Know the Conclusion
Deep Labyrinth: main battle theme, boss battle

I'm also surprised you don't care for any of the battle music in XG, XS, or CC. Especially CC's FATES and Dragon God or XS's main battle theme.