'Elemental Gelade' anime ~ when Yuki Kajiura was still young

spoiler alert, as usual

It's your usual shounen. But it's also romance and fantasy. So it's a story about a young boy who travels in a different world, fights enemies, makes friends and falls in love. Be ready to see lots of silly things. Shounen as genre is not for you, 30-year-old manager, or even you, university student in his early twenties.

story and characters

Once upon a time in another world there were flying ships. Made of wood.

And then our Hero finds a mysterious girl who's like

and the Hero is like

and like, I'll guide you to the end of the Earth! Oops, it was not Earth but another world. So, they unite and do something like

and the huge attacking monster is like AAA I'M FALLING OMG

but then a guy like this comes and try to guess whether he's a good guy or not.

But our heroes are not giving up!

 And they like

 and

but then another bad guy comes, or stop, can he really be bad having such appearance? Oh he can. He's SUCH a BAD_GUY OHHHH

 But there's also this guy

 Who's all mysterious and merciless. Guess if he is really that bad?

And the enemies are all like

 and our characters are like

OF COURSE YOU HAVE! But guess whether they will win that battle or not? OK, 'twas easy. Now's the time for the main enemy. And they are all very mysterious and their house is all in dark violet.

 

And then our characters have to deal with many troubles. The story tries to look more serious than it is, so we have several unnecessary deaths, and our Hero is like

But then they gain the remaining strength and defeat the big boss. And their enemies are like

 And our heroes are like

And except for those characters that were created only to die artistically, all the others are like

And then after some time they fly in the sky together. Which is essentially a very heartwarming, happy end. Like I said, I don't like it when the adventure ends and they 'live happily ever after'. This kind of ending is much better for me. Oh, wait. Did you think, after seeing all these ironical descriptions, that I hate this anime?

Now you see what kind of story EG is. Does it mean it's bad? Nope. I'm just warning you. It's extremely silly, naive, plain and usual. Did I like it? Yes, a lot. Why? Exactly for those things that most people would probably dislike. It's not the case when people say 'this and this was bad, but instead that and that was good', no. It's the case when people say 'it was so mediocre' or 'it could not happen that way'. And my friend +Арагорн Араторнович said 'shut up and watch'. You don't want all laws of physics maintained here. You don't want credible stories. You want flying ships. You want red or blue hair. You want loli-girls with big eyes. You want magical swords and non-human creatures. You want Medieval Europe villages mixed with Ancient Greece clothes and oriental fighting styles and and 19th century Europe progress.

The story was obviously changed to meet the requirements of a TV series. Some episodes were such obvious fillers you would probably want to skip them, but I did not. I don't know why, but even those parts were enjoyable.
The humour was not original or new, but hey, it's 2004. It was the trend those times.

music
Now for the main attraction. In 2000s Yuki Kajiura was still young and fresh and her music was good. Just in case you want to ask me, I think her latest melodies repeat and resemble one another too much. However, in early 2000s she was still able to write a decent OST with several melodies that can be easily taken for listening as independent tracks. The only minus point for this OST is that not all melodies that were used in the anime were issued on CDs, even though there is an OST album and a special album, too. Like I said to my friend when I started watching, guess who is the composer here if I hear pseudo-Latin lyrics laid on pseudo-gothic chorals?

The OPED songs were not as good, since they were very plain. I would not say they were bad, though, since they belong to the category 'nice to listen when you watch the show'. And just in case you want to know, savage genius' song 'ameagari' was used in episode 15 as a background song. It's a coupling song for 'Forever', the opening.

graphics
It was mid-00s. Anime was becoming better and better, the visual side of it, too.

However, there was still no money for creating absolutely-every-frame-beautifully-decorated. Most moving objects were created simply but nicely. In my mind, it's better than 'kuro to kin to hirakanai kagi' that I looked through the other day, where you will see clear sparkling images with no faults, but won't find anything except for hard fanservice for female fans.
'Gelade' also did not let any slack in design. The clothes were all elaborate and nice, even though simple, and so were interiors. Name the style? =)

voice acting
While art was becoming more and more expensive-looking, voice acting in 00s began to slightly decrease its gorgeousness. Outstanding seiyuus of 90s were giving up their place to new seiyuus, but some of them were not worse than their seniors. 00s were rich in young promising actors. If 'Gelade' is not an eye-candy for you, than it will for sure become an ear candy. Have some Ishida Akira, Ueda Yuji and Ogata Megumi, multiply them by Toriumi Kousuke, Okiayu Ryotaro, Kugimiya Rie, Suwabe Junichi and many others. My discovery of the year is Saito Kimiko. Her low voice was making me tremble with excitement. Another seiyuu that I did not know before is Hanba Tomoe. Her performance was very good. The main heroine voiced by Takahashi Mikako was good. Kuea's Suzuki Naoko was so good it's a big trouble she does not do many anime roles. And even Mizuki Nana whom I basically dislike previously did a very, very good job. That's good that some of them are still active. I'm afraid of times when they will move to an elder category and will have to be replaced with younger ones.
Or you could say that I am simply grumbling because 00s was the period of my youth. Well, that's true.

conclusion
Yuriko Kaida's and Yuri Kasahara's voices have never spoiled an anime. Bizarre vehicles and strange swords, magic crystals and mysterious people, but more than that, journeys to another towns, to another continents... Yesterday one of my friends told us she's really intending to spend at least half a year in India... but I'm not as brave as her, and Valcione is not India, so I think I'm glad to have travelled to another world with 'Elemental Gelade' team.

NHK's "Great Nature" program always uses FictionJunction or Kalafina-like songs for accompaniment. At least, the ending credits show Kajiura's name. And when they're showing some vast landscapes, views filmed from above, it's great.
But Kalafina in the background and close-up on a volcano magma... is strange

lyrics translation! ~ 'seijaku wa heddohon no naka' by See-Saw

this time I would like to present

Seijaku wa HEDDOHON no Naka (Silence Is in the Headphones) by See-Saw

this song is from 'Kimi wa Boku ni Nite Iru' single. the strange thing, I dislike the title song itself, as well as most of other songs which were written during the period. however this is just a masterpiece which makes me cry every time. every singe line of the lyrics is beautiful and the last one simply kills me

Romaji 

daiji na koto kara dandan usureteku

shizen na koto da yo to dare ka ni sou iwareta

seijaku ga hitori no HEDDOHON o tsutsunde

kimi no koe sagasu yo

massugu nagete kuru kimi no sunao na kotoba ni

boku wa yoku aru koto da to hitokoto de katazuketa

kimi no kakaeteru mono o hanbun kudasai to

naze ienakatta n darou

ano koro boku no ashimoto wa itsu mo

nukarunda tsuchi ni tatteru you de

yasashisa o kuchi ni suru ni wa tabun

mada hayasugita n da yo

kimochi o hadaka ni sureba suru hodo

yasuragi ni aeta no ka mo shirenai

nani ga kowakute kirei na keshiki o

kowashita no ka wakaranai

kimi wa doushite iru no darou

Japanese 

大事なことから段々薄れてく

自然なことだよと誰かにそう言われた

静寂が一人のヘッドホンを包んで

君の声探すよ

まっすぐ投げてくる君の素直な言葉に

僕は「よくあることだ」と一言で片付けた

「君の抱えてるものを半分ください」と

なぜ言えなかったんだろう

あのころ僕の足元はいつも

泥濘んだ土に立ってるようで

優しさを口にするにはたぶん

まだ早すぎたんだよ

気持ちを裸にすればするほど

安らぎに会えたのかも知れない

何が怖くて綺麗な景色を

壊したのか分からない

君はどうしているのだろう

Translation

Gradually parting with what is precious to you

Is just a natural thing, somebody told me

When silence wraps the headphones

I search for your voice

The frank words you threw at me,

I settled them with only one phrase – ‘it’s just a common thing’

But ‘give me half of what you have to carry’ –

Why wasn’t I able to say this?

My underfoot of that time was always

As if I stood on a muddy ground

Putting the tenderness into words

Was perhaps too early

While unsheathing my feelings,

Maybe, I could meet with peace

What I was afraid of to destroy the beautiful scenery

I do not know

I wonder what you are doing now

_____

well, the lyrics were a bit hard to understand even for me. shall I try to explain?

the first two lines are there to show that though the thing described is considered to be natural, the  author is assumed to disagree

silence wrapping the headphones is a thing that not everybody can understand. I personally think I do and I know there are people who do too. for me, this particular silence does not mean the absolute silence, 'tis the phenomenon that when you have headphones (earphones in my case) on, they block all the sounds from the outer world and while you still see what is around you, you move as if in a different dimension. here, the author searches for the voice of his/her beloved

the next paragraph is a flashback. it stated that he or she did not care much about the complaints of the partner. while the Jap-Rus dictionary did not provide a good variant for the word 'kakaeru', jisho.org has a more accurate definition - 'to have (esp. problems, debts, etc.)'. this means, the other person was really in trouble, which explains his/her 'frank words'. the main idea is simple - we don't value a thing until after it's lost

the order of sentences in the last two chorus parts is a bit confusing, so let me rearrange them

the last chorus states the fact that opening one's feelings is the way to retain peace

but this was prevented by the 'muddy ground' which means the unstable position that made the author hesitating

however this particular fear was that what led to the catastrophe

for me this is just a wonderful song, and I think I would like to make an AMV with it. well, a different one from that which already exists, because I did not like it very much. well, I do not like when no attention is paid to the lyrics. I do not care that most of the MV makers cannot understand Japanese, 'tis their own problem

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

me loves finding links

though me was never interested in labels and companies, me happened to open the website of 'Flying Dog'
and me would like simply to list the performers who caught me attention there
first, Arai Akino
then, ALI Project
nothing in common, but for the quality of their songs
then, Chiaki Ishikawa
do me honourable guests get what her presence in the list means? oh yes, we have Kajiura-sama also in 'Flying Dog', therefore Yuuka-chan should also be there, why shouldn't she be? me daresay, the list of artists connected with them doesn't end here, but let us proceed in alphabetical order
Lisa Komine, that's again a coincidence, but she also deserves our attention, eh?
Natsumi Kiyoura is also here, well, counting the previous variety of genres and community of quality we are starting to expect certain persons there as well...
then we see the name of Maaya Sakamoto, and hey! if Kiyoura and Sakamoto are here, then... just wait!
oh yes! me missed the name of Kanno Youko, which was written in kanji, and me was a little absent-minded
then we see the awaited ones - savage genius and See-Saw! if the latter is a simple combination of previously mentioned Kajiura-sama and Ishikawa-sama, savage genius may seem a little odd to some of me honourable guests, but me should remind that Kajiura-sama wrote the 'kaze no yukue' song for them
then we see finally Yuuka-chan's name, of course, as me stated previously, and FictionJunction, of course
and finally - Round Table featuring Nino. again a coincidence, but a pleasant one, eh?

my humble opinion on FictionJunction - continuing the "playlist" topic

unfortunately I`ve found only the discography of FictionJunction Yuuka, and 2 singles and a compilation album of FictionJunction, but I wish I found all the singles... if I have time I`ll certainly search for them!

 well, let us start

"hitomi no kakera" - I liked the song from the beginning and I even cited a phrase from the lyrics `cause it was so

touching... but I`ve got tired of it too soon

"nowhere" - vice a versa. I didn`t like it at first, but then I grew fond of it. the oriental motif is great, isn`t it?

"inside your heart" - nooo, it`s too plain... though it was meant to be great, as the elements do remind me of "here we stand"

"I`m here" - it`s really tense... but I was waiting for the chorus to relieve the tension. it didn`t... a pity.

"akatsuki no kuruma" - this one is a pearl. the beginning makes you think the song is tender and sad, but then you start hearing the strength and energy and this is simply great

~ piano version - well I like it, though it`s not too great

~ acoustic version - this is not the beneficial variant, I`ll tell you honestly. it lacks the deepness of the original version but doesn`t add anything good. and the intonation in the chorus seems somewhat wrong due to the absense of the nessesary chords

"honoo no tobira" - this one is also great, they are even alike with the previous single. I watched some videos and I can tell you it would soooo great to be in the place of Yuuka or just somebody of the musicians who take part in the performances or create the sound in the studio

~hearty edition - no it wasn`t impressing...

~instrumental edition - well this varitation is interesting, still not very touching

"destination" - another attempt to create some rock? failed

"dare mo inai basho" - well it`s not in my walkman playlist I listen everyday but when I heard this for the first time I though I would cry, so touching it was

"seiya" - the melody is plain, but the whole impression is o`k. something positive, isn`t it? ^_^ my thought was like "wow it is a good item for my J-christmas-party collection"

"shizuka na kotoba" - I didn`t like the song at all though it`s ethereal, you know...

"futari" - and this one is too calm......... snooore

"nostalgia" - I was pretty fond of the verse but the chorus is sooo disappointing... you hear the voice of Yuuka longing for something (you know what nostalgia means, don`t you) but then... the chorus is bad, really

"silly-go-round" - oh that`s awesome. the whole song keeps you attentive and the RIZUMU is also contributing to this. and yeah the chinese (I think it sounds chinese...) tune was also a great addition

"angel gate" - as far as I remember it wasn`t composed by Kajiura. and it`s too plain for me...

"kouya ruten" - I like from the very beginning till the very end. it`s so... full..... o_O I know it`s strage but that`s how I call this type of songs

"blessing" - I like it `cause it`s a lovely waltz. but it`s getting a little annoying already

"romanesque" - it`s a spanish-like song. I usually greet such songs with pleasure (like "agehachou" for example) but this is not a great one

"yakusoku" - this is a one more WOW. i somehow overlooked the whole single but when I finally downloaded it.....

"circus" - a little bit too (I like such phrases ^.^) calm but nonetheless I enjoy it!

"aikoi" - another song I missed while downloading and proved to be worth of searching and downloading the elbum several times more ^^` it has a different mood I wasn`t even expecting to meet in a song by Yuuka. and that`s only for the better

"yorokobi" - I was thinking for a while if I like the song or not. it`s not bad but I lean in favour of not-liking it... ^^`

"hikaru sabaku" -yeeah this thing reminds me of  "I have a dream" but it`s not that great. I think I`d better read some manga or just think about something for this song to be a kind of background for some events happening in front of my eyes

"piano" - I did like the song but due to the constant repeating tune it`s getting on my nerve

"rokugatsu wa..." - it`s tooooo calm and doesn`t impress me at all. you know, it doesn`t worth listening at all. it`s not that I don`t like such songs. I liked "torikago no yume" by Arai Akino (it`s from Aria 3rd season if you don`t know) but "rokugatsu..." is not a good work

"hoshikuzu" - it`s interesting and I even added it to the walkman playlist. but it`s not a song I would like to hear Keiko`s voice in. I wonder why Kajiura-sensei gives the worst things to Keiko. she does deserve a good piece for a solo...

"kioku no mori" - the only thing I like in the song is the background high voice (is it Kaida? or Kasahara? or someone else? well in any case - my respect)

"dream scape" - why is that name written in 2 words? well, just wondering. Japlish is a great thing isn`t it? ^.^ the song itself... I love it. the melody well it`s not very unique but the jazz feeling (in the end especially) is just sooo suitable to the general style of Kajiura... (tu-ru-tu-tu-tu-tu-rui-ra...)

"gin no hashi" - there`s a part I like - the oriental tune between the verse and the chorus. the rest is bad

"kaze no machi e" - tooooo plain. again a waste of Keiko`s voice

 "here we stand..." - Kaida can`t be bad, can she? ^____^ I liked the song in the original version (Chiba Saeko to those of you who don`t know ^_~) but this one is also great. love Yuriko`s voice. brilliant

"sinchronicity" - I thought it has always been a Keiko`s song but I was wrong. and you know what surprises me the most? I don`t like neither the original by Yui Makino (I heard her in Aria osts - and that was just the music she should perform, having such a soft and calm voice) nor the Keiko`s version. her vocal is good but the melody and the arrangement are a blow

"hanamori no oka" - let me cite Alice (from Alice of syfy) - what is it??? I`ll even answer - an ugly waltz... so cheap...

"mizu no akashi" - a moodless ballad. nononoo it`s too balladish to listen! I`ve heard this like... millions of times

"casador del amor" - an attempt to create something energetic and... spanish. failed. the violines are great, however

"himitsu" - again Yuriko. what can I add? ^_^

"houseki" - well the chorus is o`k but the general impression is not too great. yeah the melody is interesting and it`s not too pop or anything else... but I just don`t like the song. I feel like there should be something else, something more

"yume no tsubasa" - what`s this, again? a song for a closing ceremony of a children arts festival? like "we`re all united by the spirit of art and we love each other and we love you and everything`s just great and how kind the people and the animals are" (the last is a quoutation translated from Russian ^^`). I see them standing on the stage and waving their hands together under the spreading rhythm of the song. well the vocal is ok

"michiyuki" - a boring song... it`s even hard to remember the melody... I only remember the repeated part which is rather disgusting

"everlasting song" - as an ost it`s good, I do believe, but I`m not eager to listen it many times, you know

"parallel hearts" - a really disgusting thing... I can clearly see how the "pandora hearts" inscription appears on the screen in the opening on the 0-14. it might be a good thing but I don`t like the fact that the song makes any sense only together with the picture. you know, there are all the elements necessary for a successful song. I mean, the vocal is no doubt beautiful, there`s a violin part which is undoubtedly loved by all the fans, especially by those who cannot play violin (like "wow that`s really great how the player can easily play the fast and high notes" or something like this... guys, even I can do this. please don`t be overimpressed) and the melody is o`k for those who aren`t too expierienced in j-pop-...

"hitomi no chikara" - it`s like Kajiura was given 10 minutes to create a new song and asked to make something slow and calm. well, it is slow and calm. cheap and plain, also

"toki no mukou..." - it could be a good song of Kalafina. but that`s FictionJunction`s one, so I was expecting to hear something more distinguished.

"nohara" - and again Keiko`s wasting her beautiful low voice. we have one more plain, slow and calm song with no particular mood or just anything..... what a pity!

conclusion - Keiko`s and Yuuka`s voices are great. others are sooo average... and the songs are good only in Yuuka`s repertoire, others are average again.

though some songs pleased me, the general thought about the Kalafina and FJ projects is "I was waiting for something greater..."