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Subarashiki Kono Sekai + The World Ends With You :: Review by Bryan
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Album Title: | Subarashiki Kono Sekai + The World Ends With You |
| Record Label: | Square Enix | |
| Catalog No.: | SQEX-10118 | |
| Release Date: | July 30, 2008 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
When I first heard the Subarashiki Kono Sekai soundtrack, I was very displeased. While every inch of it wasn't bad, I felt that 90% of it was just messy and too "urban hip-hop" for my tastes. Over the past several months, however, I have grown to appreciate it to some degree. It seems to fit the style of the game perfectly and really accentuates the characters' moods and personalities. When I first heard that there would be an arranged album for this, I was actually excited to some degree. Maybe what this album needed was just a small shift in style. Did the album live up to my expectations? You'll just have to read on to find out!
Body
The album begins with the original version of "Twister". While this is slightly different than the versions on the soundtrack, itstill doesn't do anything for me. The first arrangement is of the track "Calling". While I actually enjoyed the original version of this track, the new pace and electronic rock feel in this arrangement just isn't as good. Another track that is better on the surface, but still doesn't live up to my expectations is "Twister -That Power is Yet Unknown-". The new hard rock take on it was a refreshing change from the annoying original. Besides that, however though, the vocals are still too horrible to really enjoy the track. "Game Over" is still just bad rap. There's not really anything more to say, other than the lyrics are more understandable. Now you can understand how cheesy they are.
A few arrangements really surprised me though. I'll start off by telling you I hated "Opartz". It was easily the worst track on the album. The arrangement, however, is by far my favorite one on the album. It's similar to the original, but sounds a bit more "real". It must have been what I needed to enjoy it, because I like it a lot. "Hybrid" and "Someday" both received drastic arrangements as well. Both surpass their originals for different reasons. "Someday" is totally unplugged and acoustic. "Hybrid" lost the electronica sound and went for an alternative rock sound. Two more very enjoyable pieces to add to the "wow, that was unexpected" list.
The second half of the album features all of the The World Ends With You exclusive tracks. The majority of these don't deserve much from me, but I will talk about a few. "Twister -Gang Mix-" is just almost as bad as the other. Musically it sounds a bit cleaner, which is a plus. The male vocals though just aren't as good as the other. "Three Minutes Clapping" is my favorite of the Western additions. JD Camaro is a decent singer, and the melody of the track is surprisingly catchy. Mitsuto Suzuki's arrangement "Déjà vu" sounds like something out of a 70s disco dance-off. Someone will enjoy this track, as it's compositionally sound.
Summary
Overall, this album is a mixed bag. For me, when it is good it's really good and where it's bad it's really bad. Takeharu Ishimoto is just one of those composers that has a tonne of potential, but just isn't given the medium needed to express exactly what he wants. I have heard things in the past by him that are very good, such as his arrangement on the Vagrant Story Original Soundtrack. What I am getting at is if you are looking to this arrange album to try to see Ishimoto in a new light, don't. If you enjoyed the Subarashiki Kono Sekai album and want to hear how he could expand your favorite tracks, then this is just what you need.
