by tonyadpx
…(Sigh) She has the voice of an angel… And yes, I have a fan crush on Maaya Sakamoto. But who couldn’t, after listening to such beautiful artistry and dramatic lyrics that can be found on this masterpiece of a collection.
OK, maybe that’s a little melodramatic. But this is a great collection (I’m trying to look at it from the normal fan’s perspective now, not from the one who burns candles in front of a life-size portrait). Though not all of the songs are masterpieces, there are two that have since become somewhat legendary in the world of anime music, those being “Hemisphere” and “Gravity,” the opening theme of Rahxephon and the ending theme of Wolf’s Rain, respectively. With “Hemisphere” Maaya—yes, I’m on a first name basis with her—proves just how powerful she is with her native language, while “Gravity” shows her true talent, shifting to English and never missing a beat.
Between those two songs are numerous other worthwhile songs, mixing both the Japanese and English language. I personally prefer her Japanese tracks, but I can say for sure that I’ve never heard a crossover as seamless as what Maaya Sakamoto has done. I’m used to the thickly accented English that’s occasionally inserted into some Japanese songs. But Maaya’s English is next to perfect, (her “R”s are actually “R”s and not “L”s), sounding like any other pop-idol found on the American Idol stage.
At sixteen tracks, none of which are edited to fit TV openings or endings, this is a hefty CD and worth listening too from track one to track sixteen. The opening song is kind of a light-hearted diversion that doesn’t really match the theme of most of the tracks on this CD, but it’s still a fun introduction nonetheless. It sounds kind of like Maaya just went into the recording studio to have a little fun with the equipment before getting into the serious stuff. After that, though, the CD gets right into Maaya’s best works starting with “Hemisphere” and moving into “Daniel,” the first English track. By track six, she tromps into familiar grounds with “Yubiwa” a song from the Escaflowne movie, where Maaya offered a lot of her work. The CD mixes and mingles between the Japanese and English tracks all the way up to the fifteenth track, “THE GARDEN OF EVERYTHING,” which is a collaboration with Steve Conte, who did a lot of work on the Wolf’s Rain soundtrack. Besides “Hemisphere” and “Gravity,” “GARDEN” would have to be my favorite, with its growing beat and romantic lyrics the continually gain energy and strength.
For anyone who loves anime theme songs, Nikopachi is certainly the best buy out. In fact, anything Maaya does is worth a listen, whether you’re a fan of anime music or not. Besides Yoko Kanno, she’s perhaps the greatest talent in anime music right now, and will no doubt be taking that top spot when Yoko Kanno retires and passes the mic.
Licensor: Victor Entertainment
Distributor: Geneon
Length: 16 Tracks/70mins
Retail: $14.99
Availability: Sitting on the shelves, looking beautiful and waiting for an ear to listen to it
