#KajiuraYuki #梶浦由記 ~ Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale OST - unboxing / comments

I'm going to do a quick unboxing and writeup of this album just to keep my momentum going.  It looks like I might be getting very busy again but I really don't want to disappear from my blog for so many weeks. So maybe quick unboxings will help me keep at it. :)

Hence, here we go.  Photos. :)

             

The CD came to me n a plastic package, not shrink wrap which is nice.  It makes it easier for me to slot the CD back into the plastic packaging for safe keeping.

The slipcase is actually quite nice.  Matte finish not gloss and the colors really come through quite well.

The CDs inside are quite simply printed and so is the cover of the insert booklet.  The inside of the insert booklet is quite pretty though.  Lots of artwork.  I only shot samples of the booklet and forgot to count how many pages before putting it away. :P  I estimate it's maybe 12 pages including the cover and the back.

I shot photos of the credits pages in case anyone is interested in that but they aren't too sharp, so if anyone really wants a better photo, just let me know.

I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole soundtrack yet because I only just unboxed it.  But I expect that parts of it won't differ too greatly from the general feel and sound of the SAO series because if it did it would be weird.

I actually did purposely go to watch the SAO ~ Ordinal Scale movie in the cinema with the sole purpose of listening to the music.  BUT the mix was TERRIBLE and the music was mixed so much lower than the SFX and the voices that I started wondering if there was even a point in having an OST at all.  I was particularly annoyed about that.  Either that final mix was rubbish or the cinema's speakers weren't working properly.  Whatever the case, it was terribly disappointing and I felt it did a great injustice to the OST.

Many of the tracks are actually relatively short because this is an OST of all the tracks used in the movie and not a compilation release, so that's to be expected.   Hence, there aren't too many signature long tracks here.  There is quite a bit of stuff here that, in my opinion, is useful if one wishes to use it as temp music for a video edit before the cut goes to the composer.

In general though, I felt the OST wasn't bad at all and there are quite a few nice and atmospheric tracks. Seems like Kajiura Yuki used quite a bit of manipulation in some of the tracks like in T7.  That weird sound that increases and decreases in volume.  It actually made me feel uncomfortable which may have been its intended purpose in the movie.  Similarly, T11 and T16 had that really unsettling feel as well.  Even T17 and T20 really felt eerie.  Interestingly enough, I don't remember feeling that way after listening to all the other SAO soundtracks.

I also like T10 for some reason.  It seemed like a really nice take on the "triumphant" wining theme one would hear in a video game. :)

To be very honest, this isn't a release that everyone is going to like.  This isn't even a release that every Kajiura Yuki fan will like or appreciate.  There are really too many short tracks that listening to them out of the context of the film may not sound complete enough for some.

That said, I didn't dislike this release.  I rather appreciate it actually.  I think this release can only be really truly appreciated by people who either really understand what an OST does / contributes to a film / video or someone who works in the film / tv / entertainment industry.  I think if the listener is only a fan of music by itself, then they may not like it much or appreciate it much.

Having seen a badly mixed screening (or maybe the speakers were rubbish, I don't know), I have to say it's a real pity that the soundtrack wasn't given a more important role in the film.  The film was quite boring for me and even the battle scenes and the supposedly more intense scenes lacked urgency and tension quite possibly because the OST was so low it couldn't bring out those emotions in viewers.

Oh and yes, I almost forgot there is a CD2 with songs too. T1 Ubiquitous dB is soooo NOT my cup of tea.  T2 longing was okay, maybe feels a little too Kalafina-ish without the harmony that usually makes their songs sound more distinctive from each other. I did like T3 delete quite a lot though and looped it.  T4 Break Beat Bark! is another song which is really not my cup of tea, pretty generic anisong.  T5 smile for you I didn't mind at all.  It has a nice melody and the arrangement is nice.  Still, in the end, I still like T3 delete the best in the end.  My kind of song, I guess. :)

Well... I wrote a lot more than I intended to again. *sweat :P

Will stop for now. =D

For those who are interested in this OST.  It can be purchased at various online CD shops that deal with Japanese music.

I will provide a link to CDJapan's product page as usual and you are free to use this link or any other link you wish.  Oh, and there are links to audio samples for this OST on the product page if you wish to listen to what some of the music sounds like.

As usual, I urge you to buy, if you can afford it, to support those who created this release.

Theatrical Feature Sword Art Online -Ordinal Scale- Original Soundtrack

Good night. :)