Kajiura Yuki ~ Hanako to Anne OST3 - un-boxing

I have to really zip through this because it's crazy late right now.  I had to write something else for someone else first and it took a lot longer then I anticipated so here I am now rushing. :P

This is the un-boxing post for the NHK asadora "Hanako to Anne" (aka Hanako to An) OST CD.  This is the third OST that has been released for this series and it will also be the last.  For OST 1 and OST 2 's un-boxings, please CLICK ME and CLICK ME.

First photos...

     

As usual, I shot a photo of the CD with the shrink wrap on and with the shrink wrap taken off. I also took the CD off to shoot a photo of the pretty picture behind.  I often forget to do that, although sometimes it doesn't matter because there may not be an image or there may not be an interesting image.



This is the usual insert that that they place with all their insert sleeves.  This time it's about the Kajiura Yuki's vol.12 lives which no longer matter, I think because I think even general sales is over....I think.  Now, if you want a ticket, I think you'll have to look in auctions and 2nd hand ticket sales sites. I do stress though that I didn't check to see if you can still get a ticket through general sales, so don't quote me. :)

The other side of that sheet is, as usual, about how to join the FictionJunction Club.

   

The above photos are of the insert sleeve booklet. You have the front and back, Kajiura Yuki's message and a message from the chief director of "Hanako and Anne", Yanagawa Tsuyoshi.  I also shot a close up of the list of musicians and the vocalist that Kajiura Yuki used in this release for those who like to keep track of these things.

We only have one vocalist and it is Yuriko Kaida, who has worked with Kajiura Yuki on numerous occasions and from a very long time ago.  She only performs one song and there are no words, just her doing some choral work for T04.

As usual, like with previous releases for "Hanako to Anne" and similar Kajiura Yuki soundtrack releases, it's a pretty bare-bones release.  No photos of anyone again, Kajiura Yuki included.  It's very much in keeping with the look of the OST 1 and 2 releases.

I am listening to the CD as I type this.  I really can't recall OST 1 and 2 in great detail because once I listen a few times through, I usual throw all the tracks into this giant random-shuffle playlist with all her other music.  This means I often don't know which specific album a track came from.

What I think I can safely say is that OST 3 doesn't seem to have deviated greatly from the fist two releases.  And that isn't a bad thing, it's actually to be expected given the nature of the series and that all three OSTs come from the same series.  To have it vastly different would probably be terribly jarring.  To be absolutely certain, I'll have to listen to all 3 OSTs all the way through and in order to see if I can come up with any general differences but I don't have time for that. :P

That said, it's once again an OST that I enjoyed.  I think I like the "Hanako and Anne" OSTs because they offer us something different from her vastly more famous anime and game OSTs.  The anime and game OSTs are usually pretty epic and have lots of dramatic and epic moments.  "Hanako and Anne" on the other hand is nice and understated, yet it manages to somehow retain the essence of Kajiura Yuki.  To me, Kajiura Yuki is an autuer type of composer, some one who has a distinct feel that runs through her work.  But this doesn't mean that it's a bad thing, she's an auteur like Hicthcock is an auteur, at least she is that way to me.  Perhaps it's because I think of Kajiura Yuki as an auteur that I love her music so much.  It just feels so much more personal.  I think bits of this article from the New Yorker by Richard Brody describes how I feel about Kajiura Yuki's music quite well.  The article is talking about film makers of course, since the auteur theory has its roots in film criticism but I think some of it can apply to composers too.

Quote from New Yorker:

Whether Hawks made a Western or a screwball comedy, whether Hitchcock made a glossily romantic thriller or a gritty true-crime drama, whether Minnelli made a backstage musical or a melodrama involving a mental institution, the critics recognized something more important than patterns of images or habits of performance; they recognized a detailed, complex, and original worldview, along with the integrated style of images, acting, dialogue, and tone that embodied it. 

Quote from New Yorker:

The filmed images were of the visible world, but they conveyed, as if through secret codes, the fullness of inner worlds.

Quote from New Yorker:

they made the effort, like moral scientists, to see style in isolation and creation in its pure state.

Quote from New Yorker:

Movies, if they’re very good, aren’t a conversation; they’re an exaltation, a shuddering of one’s being, something deeply personal yet awesomely vast. 

I often get that feeling about Kajiura Yuki's music.  "Hanako and Anne"'s OST is certainly very different from .Hack or Mai Hime or Fate/Zero or Madoka Magica or Tsubasa Chronicles or... .... ... and the list goes on.  The "Hanako and Anne" OSTs are quieter, less dramatic, more classical and more understated.  In OST 3 we only have one track that uses a female vocal but even then,  it was not as in your face as some of her work for anime. There is no Kajiuran in these OSTs and it's not even close to the new-age sounding OSTs for Rekishi niwa Historia. Yet, there is something that is almost imperceptibly Kajiura Yuki.  It's almost impossible for me to put a finger on it and even harder for me to try and explain it. If I didn't already know and someone told me that this music was by Kajiura Yuki, I think I wouldn't immediately dismiss it and most likely would have said after a good listen, "Yes, there seems to be a slight but yet distinct Kajiura Yuki feel about the music."

It might sound pretentious to you but trust me, I'm really not trying to sound arty farty.  It's just that I come from film school, so sometimes I think I can sound a little like a stuffy academic because of my past training.  If I sounded like a pretentious artsy fartsy person, sorry. :P  Anyway, I don't think I managed to convey very well how I feel about Kajiura Yuki's music as a whole.  Maybe someday I will be able to pin-point it better and express it better. :)  In short, I guess I like her music a lot because while its varied and she goes through phases, there is almost always something similar in her music on the whole that makes it feel so personal to me and I like that.

Anyway, you get 35 tracks with a total run time of 68:28 minutes.  Most of the tracks don't run past 3 mins except for T01 which is is only just past the 3 min mark.  If you are a Kajiura Yuki fan, I do think that this is a worthy purchase.  That's a nice amount of music for your money.  And it does showcase quite nicely that Kajiura Yuki is quite capable of writing memorable and really nice music that is quite different from what made her immensely famous and popular.

So for those who like Kajiura Yuki's music and would like to hear music genres and styles that she doesn't write in that often, do consider picking this up.

As usual, I get mine from CDJapan and you are welcome to do so too if you wish.  CLICK ME.

p.s.  I guess I didn't quite zip through this as I thought and said I would. *sweat  I can be so verbose. :(  Time to sleep.... crazy late!! :P  Good night all! :)