T5W#153-Top 5 Yuki Kaijura Soundtracks

The music of an Anime can make or break a title.  Sometimes, the score is the most memorable aspect of a show or film.  In the world of Anime, there are many great composers, some of whom are giants in the genre like Kenji Kawaii, Joe Hisashi and, of course, Yoko Kanno.  There is one additional name id throw into that upper echelon of brilliant music minds.  And that is Yuki Kaijura.  She’s been doing a lot of great classical scores with her own unique spin for the last couple of decades now, breathing larger than life feels into already epic pieces.  Also, she and her two groups (See Saw and Kalafina) can produce some beautiful and inspiring theme songs for shows like Gundam Seed and a couple of titles you’ll see in a sec.  And since she’s the one behind the score of the Anime im reviewing right now, I figured this weeks Top 5 Wednesday could go to her.  So take a look at my Top 5 Yuki Kaijura Soundtracks and see why this is one lady whose OSTs belong on your shelf right next to Cowboy Bebop and FLCL.

 

#5-Sword Art Online

This isn’t the first time Yuki Kaijura has done a musical score for an Anime about a kid stuck in his fantasy video game.  That Anime is also on this list but I will say that Sword Art Online is a further spiritual successor to the .hack saga thanks to bringing her onto this project as well.  SAO is a far more fast paced digital journey than .hack and Kaijura is happy to run with it, especially during the battle sequences, which she can match blow for blow with the strikes on screen like Kirito can.  Her work on this title is so renowned that Kaijura has also returned to do the OSTs for SAO II and the SAO movie, Ordinal Scale.  Here’s hoping they bring her talents back for the upcoming third season this fall.

 

#4-.hack//Sign

This was the music that brought Ms. Kaijura to my attention and its easy to see why.  While .hack, as previously mention, is a bit slower paced than Sword Art Online, the music compliments this vast world that is both paradise and prison for main character Tsukasa.  Everything feels so elegant, yet haunting; inviting but dangerous.  And she even throws in some techno beats for some of the more action packed moments, showing us that, like Yoko Kanno, Yuki Kaijura is willing to play with different genres of music and create her own subgenre all her own.

 

#3-Fate/Zero

Ive said in my ongoing reviews that Fate/Zero feels like the Game of Thrones of Anime.  There aren’t many composers you could trust to come up with a musical score to compliment that statement.  But Kaijura knocks it out of the park.  The Fate/Zero OST is full of magic both exciting and dramatic.  Choirs and orchestras clash like Saber and the other servants, making music feel beyond epic.  But Kaijura also knows how to dial it back and let the music highlight some of the more tragic scenes in one of the most awesome but heartbreaking Anime prequels of all time.  Speaking of awesome but heartbreaking…

 

#2-Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Like the whole of Madoka Magica’s Anime presentation, Yuki Kaijura’s score is both magical and whimsical but also incredibly sad and full of tragedy.  After all, you’re taking a popular genre and turning it on its head, showcasing the actual tragedies that come with the territory of becoming a superheroine.  It may look fun and glamorous but can turn deadly and have lasting reprucutions.  Special recognition goes to the score of the entire last episode in which Kaijura brings everything I just talked about under one perfect umbrella of musical achievement.  Also there’s the epic main battle theme/end theme “Magia” which Yuki Kaijura did with her vocal group Kalafina (who will pop up again in a moment too), which is the best magical girl theme song since Sailor Moon.

 

#1-Kara no Kyoukai (The Garden of Sinners)

While I haven’t seen this one all the way through, the score of the first couple of episodes/films was enough for me to give The Garden of Sinners the top spot.  Once again, Yuki Kaijura combines feelings of mysticism, curiosity, fear and danger all in a score that is hypnotic and grabbing and perfectly compliments all of the images unfolding on screen.  Also again, Kalafina plays a pretty big role as well, giving each film an amazing end theme.  “Oblivious” and “Sprinter” are two of my all time favorite tracks from any anime ever and are worth checking out if you can find them.  If there’s one person who can make the impossible look both haunting and exciting at the same time, it’s Yuki Kaijura.