my humble opinon on See-Saw and Chiaki Ishikawa

the more I listen to what Kajiura-san composes, the more I end up disliking it. moreover, I like the music itself, the melodies, the performance... and still

the more she write she more she becomes 'turned in on herself' - a phrase I read yesterday in my English schoolbook ^^`  - I wonder if 'tis applicable here

I mean, her works 'closed up', she repeats herself a lot. some may call this a style of a composer, I would call it lack of ideas. she might have been a great composer, but somehow...

I should say I did not listen to all of her projects in chronological order. this makes me think, I am less biased... I think, if I listened to the first projects first, and the last projects last - it would be natural for me to hear repetitions and spot musical phrases and tricks which are alike. however, when I hear them in earlier songs, for example when a See-Saw songs reminds me of Kalafina's or FJ's - this is strange. and I realize that 'tis Kalafina girls or FJ members who repeated what was already used in See-Saw's discography

I know I am in no position to say this, but when Kalafina was described as 'three unsatisfied and therefore showing a great deal of affectedness girls' I really laughed a lot..... even though there are some songs of theirs I like a lot... even though they look nice... guys, they DO show affectedness, histrionics, bombast, or how should I call this? and it is revealed in both their music, and their looks, and in WHAT animes their songs are used as OPEDs ^o^

let me be honest, See-Saw is not free of those qualities, also. but! at least their first albums and singles were different. I understand completely why Ishikawa-san left. forgive me, but I am glad she did

her solo career is much more impressive... let girls from Kalafina implement Kajiura-san's dreams, and let Ishikawa-san sing what she likes, being apart with Kajiura-san

the first works of See-Saw I speak about are those until 1995. they present quite usual 90s pop (with a slight touch of disco) and among all those songs there were only a few which really make me unabke to sit straight. however, those which do - DO. they are 'kirai ni naritai', 'suhada' and 'slender chameleon'. however, what is really important, the other songs are not bad, and are not even average. they are just a little less magnificent than 'tis necessary for me to put them in my walkman playlist. however, I like to listen to them at home, using them as a background for me doing homework or working, while usually I skip songs which fail to impress me

speaking for each song

'suhada' is a light song which I could call 'celebrating'. it is a song of feeling happy - and the happiness is sincere and deep

'slender chameleon' is a song that creates a 'cunning' image. an image of someone very strong and self-confident. the words contribute to the image, also

'kirai ni naritai', my favourite, was created while the third member, Nishioka-san, was still there. as far as I know she decided to pursue her writing career, this makes me think she was responsible for the lyrics. and if I am right, I adore her. the chorus part is simple but so very strong. 'tis not the simplicity that sounds cheap and unprofessional, 'tis the high level simplicity. my attitude towards the lyrics will be futher described in the next post, when I provide a translation

after See-Saw reunited, they created several beautiful songs together. they are 'Yasashii Yoake', 'Tasogare no Umi', 'Sen'ya Ichiya', 'Anna ni Issho Datta no ni', 'Kimi ga Ita Monogatari', 'Indio', 'Kimi wa Boku ni Nite Iru' and 'Seijaku wa Headphone no Naka'. at first sight, there are more songs in this part then in the previous one. however, among those I listed, most are just average Kajiura works, which are still beautiful, but already too recognizable, and therefore - boring. better to say, the songs are not boring, they are good, but the fact that they are so close to Kalafina and FictionJunction makes me feel uncomfortable when listening to them

another fact to mention is that latest works of See-Saw, as well as Kalafina's and FJ whole discographies are easy to sing. not simply easy, but VERY easy. just so easy that listening to a song once or twice enables you to repeat it looking into lyrics without the support of the original, while trying to sing early See-Saw made me understand I should better listen to the songs a lot more before I sing myself. in other words, the melodies of latest songs are PLAIN. so very plain that 'tis doubtful if it really required Kajiura-san to put any efforts in them

so, I am not going to describe each song I mentioned, because, as you see, I consider them to be alike to the extent they don't deserve being described. the songs I would like to mark as outstanding are

'Indio' used in 'Noir', where I heard it for the first time. I liked this song then, and I like it now so much that sometimes I cannot help crying, and at the same time I think 'tis a pity 'twas used in such an anime as 'Noir' which is not worthy of such a great OST

'Sen'ya Ichiya' is not a too usual song for Kajiura, also. though retaining a lot of her style, it presents a good attempt to create something new and different. even being used in '.hack' does not make it too plain

'seijaku wa headphone no naka' is a very touching song, and a very unusual one for Kajiura. therefore, one of the few favourites of mine

songs which remind me of some others are

'tsuki hitotsu' - looks like 'sayonara solitaire' used a lot of trick that were used in this song, but even more - 'Love' by Chiaki-san has not gone far from it, also

'kioku' is also a source of future Nanri-san's 'Kouya Ruten', though 'tis also quite close to 'Edge' and 'Obsession', in my mind

'anna ni issho datta no ni', 'kimi wa boku ni nite iru' are Gundam theme songs, but these two and several others are just SO Kajiurish that though the songs themselves are great I could not listen to them too much. I felt awkward. no, I felt 'twas almost repulsive. the latter was especially close to FJ YUUKA's 'akatsuki no kuruma' which was used in Gundam as well. hey, Gundam fans, are you not tired of theme songs almost indistinguishable from each other?

'Kimi ga Ita Monogatari' and 'Tasogare no Umi', '.hack' theme songs - again  a very Kajiura-like works, which reminded me of FJ Yuuka and FJ a lot. nevertheless, I should admit these songs are a bit better than the previous ones

'Yasashii Yoake', another .hack theme song, is the only one where I dislike Chiaki-san's vocal. 'tis really, really bad, and the song itself is one of the most boring among Kajiura's works

'Obsession' and 'Edge' are the two songs which existence I cannot understand, or forgive. in my mind both of them are ugly, and they cannot even be described as energetic or insane creations - oh no, such were 'Paprika' or 'KoBJ' OSTs, but these two songs are just a shame on See-Saw

when I listened to Ishikawa-san's discography I was literally shocked. the amount of her songs I liked a lot was so close to 100%... I though I was mistaken, and probably overly impressed with her songs because I listened to them for the first time. however, I have heard each of them twice or three times as for now, and though some of the songs moved from 'WOOOOW' to 'well, these are good songs' - I am not disappointed. the same as in case with early See-Saw, a lot of songs are better than average and magnificent voice of Chiaki-san makes it impossible to tear yourself off them. another thing I was positively impressed with, is that the lyrics of many songs are very beautiful. as far as I know many of them were created by Ishikawa-san herself

such is 'natsu no niwa' where the word 'dream' is constantly repeated, which makes it really touching, though I was not really fond of the melody itself

'fukanzen nenshou', as well as 'switch ga haittara' are together with the previously mentioned song theme songs of 'Kamisama Dolls' - an anime obviously filled with fanservice, succeeding in graphics and lacking what a good anime should really have, judging by the reviews. 'tis a pity, because while 'switch' is not among my favourites, 'fukanzen' is a really good piece, energetic and with Latino rhythms, which is almost always very nice when Japanese composers use it. but what really pissed me off was using 'natsu no niwa' as an insert song to add dram to the visual component of the episode. well, 'tis an already trite thing, to play a calm and sad song while showing a lot of blood, death, scenes with good memories of the part and the tragic present, etc. and this might be ok. but 'tis not. 'tis NOT ok when the trick is just a calque - and I see 'tis. I have seen a lot of such scenes in other animes, and though sometimes they lacked quality, they were sincere enough for me to shut my eyes to the fact it did not look too realistic. this time they had all the means to create a credible scene, but it looks like a cheap affected trick to make spectators moved. well... I might be wrong. but I am not happy with the fact that such an angelic song as 'natsu no niwa' with such brilliant lyrics and sweet melody is used in such an anime... 

'Mou Nani mo Kowakunai, Kowaku wa Nai' delivers a sharp contrast to the previous song. I did not like the song itself, 'twas too boring for me, but it did fit in with the anime - 'Gundam something', I don't remember well... somehow, this is a much more 'classic' use of a 'classic' song in a still 'classic' anime - oh yes I think that Gundam did not went too far from its origins and thus can be considered the same Gundam 'twas when just created. am I wrong?

'Prototype' is another Gundam theme, and again I see it as a 'classic' anime song used in a 'classic' ending - with a bit of histrionics, but still nice. the voices effect is especially unusual and therefore a good point of the song. however, the chorus part did not impress me too much

'First Pain' is a strange thing. the lyrics have both good parts and parts which I cannot understand. and the melody is quite nice, but in the end, I cannot help thinking 'tis too plain and perhaps even too close to Kajiura-san's style. even the fact that the song was used as an OP in 'Element Hunters' did not change my impression

'Little Bird' is a 'Bokura no' theme song, and even though I think - well, I hope - it fits in with the anime message and overall impression, 'tis a boring song for me

'Uninstall' is a 'Bokura no' song as well, but this is a song I love with all my heart. for me, 'tis one of the top songs of Chiaki-san. the voices in the beginning remind of 'Prototype' but the song itself is not as 'angry' as 'Prototype', 'tis much more gentle, though not less energetic. there is an acoustic version also, though I do not like it very much. the general impression of 'Uninstall' is a sad one, to the extent that it almost makes me cry. the only thing that puzzled me a bit was that some moments in the song reminded me of NGE osts and the anime itself reminded me of NGE itself... though I know there is nothing to confuse them

'Vermillion' is the third 'Bokura no' theme song, but unfortunately 'tis did not impress me at all. it sounds as a very old song of a low quality and I almost regret Ichikawa-san wasted her voice and time on it

'Utsukushikereba Sore de Ii' is a theme song of 'Simoun'. and I am not really happy with the fact. Studio Deen, shoujo-ai - not that I am against these two phenomena, but coupled, they create an image of a HUGE fanservice creation. and Ishikawa-san is not a person whose songs should be used in such animes. and the song it pretty good

'1/2' is a theme song of 'You're under arrest' 3 season. I cannot help feeling this anime is good only because of the fact 'tis based on Fujishima Kousuke manga (and him I consider to be a great mangaka and artist). of course Studio Deen does not contribute to this feeling, but well, they did Kenshin as well, and it was not TOO bad... oh, the topic, the topic - the song is good, but I did not feel like listening to it a lot after trying it for the first time. well, perhaps when I watch the anime I will reconsider my opinion on it. no, not perhaps, I WILL. I can see already how the name of the songs suits the plot, and even images in the ED video were created in accordance with the lyrics. 'tis great when anime directors-animators-etc. pay attention to such trifles (which are not really trifles, for me at least)

'Like an angel' is a 'Mermaid Forest' theme song, and somehow I feel like 'tis also a 'classic' song in a 'classic' anime. 2003 was a period when the quality of graphics dramatically increased and the quality of everything else had not dropped yet. therefore, the song itself and the was 'tis used in the anime seem very nice to me

'Emerald Green' is already a too modern, and too Kajiura-like song, used in  some part of '.hack'. the strange thing about it is that though I was listening to it while going from my university to the bus stop last week admiring the May light green leaves and young grass everywhere around me, I could not link the image I saw with the song, though its name really implies that I should
among her early songs she released under the name Somali, there is one particularly nice - 'zenshin ~karada~' which seems to be a bit close to 'fukanzen nenshou' in its guitar accompaniment
'eden' may seem close to them also, but I somehow dislike the whole album 'Inner Garden', though the verse part of 'yume o mite ita', songs 'like an angel' and 'ame no hi ni koi o shita' with an oriental intro are not bad
'house' is a song that makes me cry almost every time I listen to it. I don't cry because 'tis sad, no. I cry because 'tis so light and ethereal, and the guitar part is very touching, and the lyrics contribute to the general mood greatly
'namida' is another adorable song, very sad and... blue... I know 'twas used in 'Bakumatsu irohanihoheto' - or how is it called? - as an insert song. hope it fitted
'mislead' is the only song which I LOVE and which was not released as a single. 'tis a pity because it has no karaoke version T___T the song itself is energetic and reminded me of songs I heard when a child and teen. something close to 90s esthetics, but already 2000-ish
'cloudy' and 'rakurui', 'squall' are somewhere in the middle. I liked them the first several times I listened to them. but then... not that I got fed up with them. no, they are beautiful... but less than I need them to be
'gyakkou', 'ruisen', 'shylpeed' are very Japanese songs. while being completely modern, they retain the traditional style and this trick I love very much. only a small part in 'rakurui' in the middle of the song does not delight me very much
'TW' is perhaps the greatest song ever. not only among Chiaki-san's songs, but also among songs I have every heard, it belongs to the group of those which stuck in my mind and would not let me go, would not let me live on if I do not have them - download them, put them in my player, listen to them every time I can. the verses are great, the chorus parts are just taking your heart out of your chest, and the ending part with repeating phrases is just.... *BOOOOM* this was my head bursting out with this song's perfection
'The Giving Tree' is a kind of... wild song, with a bit of ethnic? touch... and a very beautiful song which almost makes you dance to it
'insomnia' reminded me of 'suhada' very much. not that they are linked or have a lot of in common, but their mood is close, meseems. and 'tis a good thing. I love this song, I feel as if this song were a song describing everyday life foll of small miracles and pleasant trifles. 'tis positive in spite of what its name could imply. also, I simply cannot help smiling when Chiaki-san sings 'shakashaka' and repeats 'ii n desu ka' in the chorus
unfortunately the other songs I consider to be boring. such as 'sherbet snow' or 'suna no ue no dolphin' are calm and sound more like a lullaby to me. well there are energetic ones like '49 scale' or 'taiyou' but still they lack something more unique and piercing your heart to be 'levelled up'

now that I count once again the amount of songs I like in Chiaki-san's discography coupled with See-Saw one, I am really happy I picked them out ^_^ they brought me a pleasure I was in need of so much